I stepped into the class this year as someone who hated reading and thought brevity was the soul of wit. I didn’t really think that reading could be that rewarding of an experience. That has completely changed this year. The books we read really made me think and opened my mind to a lot of different ways of thinking. My problem was that I didn’t find authors and books that made me think.
I really got into the concepts of nihilism because of Camus “The Stranger.” It really made me rethink what was important in the world. It was really interesting to see who I associated with the characters in the book. It is a book I will have to go back to once I am older and can look at it again. It was a book I actually enjoyed, which led me to look for different sort of books outside of English class. The book was really deep and had levels that I could get into and enjoy.
Mersault was a really interesting character that showed me how not to be care free. I try to keep in mind that sometimes people get wrapped up in things that really don’t matter. I don’t really care or want much in the world. Mersault showed me a stunning example of how that can make a messy situation. So the story and content gave me a reason to look into nihilism, but the main character let me see the possible downfalls behind it. I’ve sort of melded nihilism into a view that nothing matters, except for what you want to matter.
The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was an interesting read for me. It really was a style of book I didn’t encounter before, and I missed a lot of the point of it at first. A lot of what I got out of it came from the discussion. It is a book that I will need to reread to understand what I could really get out of it. The fact that I feel a need to reread a book is really new for me, because I never wanted to take the time to find deeper meaning in a book.
My most solid piece of writing came from The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It was the highest point for my writing, in many senses. It was by far the longest English essay I had ever written, and will probably remain that way. It really made me keep getting more and more specific until my ideas went from one sentence, into a paragraph being needed to convey that same idea in the best way. It was also one of the most original pieces I think I’ve written, from a thesis stand point, and it was down with some very interesting points and evidence.
Hamlet was the most rewarding read I’ve ever encountered. It has to many philosophical conversations that could derive from it and brings new light on the human mind. I’ve also never related to any character is literature more than Hamlet. It really help me deal with some stuff, and showed me how to not be in emotional lunatic about the situation. There is more to life than wit and justice, but that means you have to keep yourself real.
These books have spawned huge papers that I couldn’t have thought were useful or possible before. I have a more mathematical mind that like quick one answer problems. This class really expanded my mind to how to write a paper, and why length becomes important. It has really taught me how to develop an idea and how to make it clearer. My paper have been getting more and more focused since the beginning of the year. I missed the point of explication.
My appreciation for literature has grown so much. I really though reading was a waste of time. I really couldn’t get into words, words, words. It didn’t make my mind dance like math did, and seemed too unspecific to really explain anything. I’ve learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover, it a literal sense, as well as from reading a story and picking out meaning. There are so many layers in good authors that you need to take time and think about what is happening and what is really trying to be said.
Showing posts with label Portfolio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Portfolio. Show all posts
Friday, April 4
Thursday, April 3
The Green Rose
Stephen Dedalus’s dichotomous view on woman was created by his highly religious upbringing. Subconsciously he is questing for the impossible combination of nurturing mother and pure virgin, like the Virgin Mary, who only exists to Stephen in his Christian teachings. His encounters with woman are affected by this instilled view. As the book progresses, Stephen loses connection with his faith, which also stops his search for the perfect woman.
Stephen looks at moral woman as either virgins or mothers, but throughout the book is looking for the combination of both. He looks to his mother figures as one who nurtures, but also the person who tells him right from wrong. In the first section of the book he knows that “his mother put on the oilsheet”(21), which shows he understands that she is the one who keeps an eye out for him when he needs to be cleaned up, nurturing him because of his youngness. Later his mother tells that “O, Stephen will apologise,”(21) for something he did, which implies that Stephen has done something wrong. This helps spawn his first poem and artist expression. His mother also “encourages his artist expression by playing the piano”(Henke 318). This makes little Stephen “dance”(21). Dancing is very closely associated with sensuality and thus suggests some oedipal longing. At this point Stephen doesn’t associate sensuality as sinful, but he is later made to apologize for something that isn’t made clear. A young mind could associate the necessity for the apology with the movement that was sprung from his mother, causing Stephen to repress his feelings later in life.
Dante is a different, but equitably motherly source for Stephen. Her role is on the nurturing side, but more on the training side of the word. Stephens first introduction to politics was because of Dante, although he wouldn’t have understood it at the time. She “had two brushes…for Micheal Davitt and …for Parnell”(21). The fact that he remembers the names of the politicians that Dante would have told him shows that he already associates the political names with Dante and will continues to do so later in life. She also is part of the forced apology later. She gives him the possible punishment should he not apologize, which is having “the eagles…pull out his eyes,”(21). Again the woman stimulates his art.
Although woman are seen as nurturing and teaching, Stephen sees men, at least in the beginning of the book, as the people who one must be followed and listened to. This following comes from the religiousness of his family again, as well as the social structure in Ireland, and most of the world. The man leads the house and is in charge. The church he would have been going to since an early age told him about the Virgin Mary, which would have made little Stephen look for her in the females, namely Dante and his Mother and later Emma the other girls of his imagination, in the ways he pays attention to them in the first section of the book. He is taught that priest are leaders and even gets to the point that thinks that one of the Fathers “knew more than Dante because he was a priest” even though Stephen knows“ Dante was a clever woman and a wellread woman.”(24) At this point in his life he is accepting everything he is taught.
Somewhere in his mind he still associates learning with woman because as soon as he “heard Father Arnall’s voice…all his eagerness passed away”(25) for his math work. This could be taken as his first form of rebellion, although not conscious and not even slightly realized by Stephen at the moment. After this loss of eagerness Stephen begins to think about the colors of roses. Roses are very closely associated with woman. So, Stephens mind set switches off from work because of a man’s voice, then his mind wanders into thinking about woman.
One of the things he mentions is about a “green rose”(25). He thinks of roses of many different colors, until he get to the green rose. This thought of a green rose is caused when he “remembered the song about the wild rose blossoms on the little green place.”(25) The thought of the green rose is only brought to Stephen’s attention through another’s art. This green rose is also something Stephen knows “you could not have”(25) but for some reasons still thinks it is “somewhere in the world,”(25). This could be Joyce showing the artist who wrote the songs quest for the green rose, or a quest for something impossible, is just as in vein as Stephens subconscious quest for the Virgin Mary. The green rose could be an allusion to Mary through its purity, because the a green rose would be purely green, or Joyce may be using green’s association with immaturity, but also fertility, because Mary was a virgin mother. Stephen could be fascinated with the green rose just because he subconsciously knows that he and the song writer are both aiming for the impossible.
Only slightly after this rose day dream Stephen longs “to be home and lay his head on his mother’s lap”(25-26). He wants to be with his mother and be nurtured by her. He wants to return to being a child, almost to the point of wanting to be fetal because of where he wants to place himself. He understands that “he could not: and so he longer for the play and study and prayers to be over and to be in bed.”(26). He wanted everything else of his day to be done with so he could be in bed and sleep. In his dreams he could control what was going on, and therefore do whatever it is that he liked to, which at that moment would have been to be at home with his mother. This is another form of rebellion, because he doesn’t want to pray.
The next day he is made fun of for kissing his mother, which caused a question in his mind. He was made laughing at for both answers, which created a huge ripple in his mind. He couldn’t decide “was it right to kiss his mother or wrong to kiss his mother”(27). He actually did kiss his mother goodnight, because that was what he wanted to do, and was brought up to do. This also would subconsciously change how he treated woman later. If it was wrong to kiss his Mother even on the cheek, then how could he imagine of going any further with any other woman? The boys making fun of him came from the church’s beliefs, because they were brought up to follow them. Although they didn’t condone bullying, they didn’t like any sort of physicality toward woman before marriage.
Soon after winter vacation came. At Christmas dinner the main discussion was over the issue of the priest “turning the house of God into a polling booth.”(41) Dante was offended by this statement because she believes “any man calling himself a catholic”(41) should follow what the priest suggests. The fact the character dispute the correctness of the combination of church and state shows that it was an issues even then. Mr. Dedalus and Mr. Casey believe that the church should be used to “pray to our Maker.” The males in the situation, who Stephen was always taught to follow is questioned at this point An even bigger and wider idea was brought up by Dante, who taught Stephen and was his first glimpse into politics. Dante sees the church as the people who “must direct their flocks.”(41) This concept of the church goers as a flocks suggest that people who attend church are birds, and not free thinking human beings. She sees the church goers, and therefore herself, as beings who need someone to tell them what to do, and she finds it in the God the church preaches about.
The conflict between male and female is a maturing point for Stephen. He needs to decide whether he should follow the sex who he was taught to follow, or the sex he has learned from and was first introduced to politics. This conflict is also the first time other people have questioned religion. This is another step towards Stephen’s open rebellion against religion. There is an interesting transition from the topic. Mrs. Dedalus brings up food, but at the same time puts “down her knife and fork.”(41) The knife and fork hold a violent connotation to them. Knives were always used as a weapon before it was a utensil, and the fork resembles a miniature pitchfork or trident. So, Mrs. Dedalus put down the aggressive “weaponry” in order to bring the peace. This is good for Stephen to witness because it shows that his mother is still trying to protect and keep him safe. He is starting to see that people don’t’ have to strictly follow what they are told, because Dante, who is suppose to listen to men because she is a woman, isn’t just accepting what the men say.
The topic of discussion was then brought to food for a moment, then quickly shifts back. Food is a very primal thing that every creature looks for. The topic shifts from a very thought driven need, to the physical need. Then the religious topic gets brought up again. This quick change suggests that one may try to cover up the mental needs with the physical, but the mental needs are much more important to everyone as people. Dante believes that the church was right to be against the leader because he “was a public sinner.”(42) The suggests that Dante believes the church leaders couldn’t have sinned because she wouldn’t follow them. Mr. Casey then brought up that “we are all sinners and black sinners”(42). These opposing views on who should lead suggests another topic of discussion. Should our leaders be thought of as perfect or thought of as people who have sinned like us? There is also more reason for Stephen to question his faith because the leaders in his world may also be sinners who shouldn’t be followed.
Stephen visits the chapel with his uncle Charles, while Stephen‘s faith is still . Uncle Charles “would often pay a visit to the chapel.”(66) The way Joyce phrases that is interesting. He uses the word “pay”(66) as if it is something that uncle Charles owes to someone. It suggests he may not be doing it fully by choice. It’s almost as if Charles is just following the flock, like Dante suggested at the Christmas dinner. The height of the font where they are getting the blessed water is also very meaningful. It is “above Stephen’s reach,”(66) which suggests that Stephen hasn’t grown enough to fully understand religion, but also would make him feel like he doesn‘t belong there. If he can‘t do it himself, how could he feel accepted by it? This might cause more thoughts of rebellion. He is being brought along by an adult who believes it. This concept of belief being passed on is suggested in how “the old man would dip his hand and then sprinkle the water briskly about Stephen’s clothes” (66). The concept that children are brought along and marginally forced to observe religion until they accept it. This could be suggesting that religion isn’t something one can chose. Its also interesting that Stephen didn’t get hit with any of the water, just his clothes. This could suggest that for Stephen religion is something that he wears on the outside, but doesn’t believe, which we find out is true by the end of the book.
The next image is of uncle Charles and Stephen kneeling. Uncle Charles kneels “on his red handkerchief.”(66) Handkerchiefs are used to wipe sweat from your head, or to wipe your nose. Depending on how uncles Charles uses it suggests different thing. If it used for sweat, uncle Charles is presenting his sweat because of hard work before his lord, or if it is used to wipe his nose, he is presenting his sickness. Either way it is presenting uncle Charles as just a human before his lord. He thinks he needs to show his lack of godliness to feel closer to god. Stephen “knelt at his side respect, though he did not share, his piety”(66) This again suggests that Stephen is showing religion on the outside, but doesn’t believe it in his head.
The bible the uncle was using is interesting. It had “catchwords…printed at the foot of every page”(66) Dictionaries also have the catchwords. The parallel brings up the way religion is going. Religion has become too much of a science for people to look for meanings in life, like people look for meanings in a dictionary. Religion’s focus changed from faith to science, even though religion isn’t suppose to be a science. None of this is something Stephen enjoys in a faith.
I
n the nights Stephen would read The Count of Money Cristo. He would imagine himself as the Count and imagine the scenery on his table and live his life through the count. For some reason he was “sadly proud,”(67) of refusing his made up woman character. He is sad because somewhere in his mind he wants to be with her, but proud because he is doing what religion has told him was right. He encounters this woman only through his thoughts because religion has created two forces against him having a real woman, one is the fear of making a woman impure, and the other is his quest for the perfect, which in his mind is the Virgin Mary.
Rather than making a woman impure Stephen ends up having sex with a prostitute. This is justified in his mind because they are already impure and don’t’ have a chance of being his perfection. They have already committed sins of the flesh so immaculate conception couldn’t be possible anymore. This is also another open form of rebellion for Stephen, although he does feel the need to repent at this point of the book. Part of this need to repent is also shows that he is looking for a real life Mary to be his mate. His sin, which had covered him from the sight of God, had led him nearer to the refuge of sinners. Her eyes seemed to regard him with mild pity; her holiness, a strange light glowing faintly upon her frail flesh, did not humiliate the sinner who approached her. If ever he was impelled to cast sin from him and to repent the impulse that moved him was the wish to be her knight(102).
Stephen is looking to be the Virgin Mary’s “knight”(102) and he compares confessing his sins on her name to “the savour itself of a lewd kiss”(102). Every woman he encounters for real is a mother figure for him because the girls he is attracted to he becomes afraid of, because of his fear of making them dirty, and the fear that church has in stilled in him, that physicality is wrong. He creates this fake world because the real one would create sins. As he loses connection with his faith he becomes more accepting of the physicality between him and woman.
As a open rebellion against the church he refuses to take part in “easter duty”(211), which is also slightly because he is starting to accept that his mother could not be pure. He is older and understands better that his mother isn’t perfect. This realization made him want to rebel, although one knows that your mother is someone you will always have to follow and have in your life. The fact that he would argue with his mother about doing it shows that Stephen is beginning to want to leave the nest and start his own life with a new female force and is finally coming into his own views on faith. Stephen tells Cranley that he “will not serve that in which” he “no longer believe whether it call itself my home, my fatherland or my church”(218). Little Stephen has realized that to be in the place he desires he must leave.
The big finale for Stephen’s love life is when he meets up with “her”(223) although he never tells us who she is exactly. Prior to this journal entry his encounters with woman were all made up when it came to having feelings for them. Stephen has matured enough to even touch her, which is a big step. When they “shook hands” she became as real as real can be, there is no way a figment of your imagination could shake your hand. He even says that he “liked her today. A little or much?”(223) he didn’t know, but either way he finally encountered a woman for real, only after he rebelled against the church and therefore rebelled against Virgin Mary. The reality of woman can now be shown to Stephen.
Stephen looks at moral woman as either virgins or mothers, but throughout the book is looking for the combination of both. He looks to his mother figures as one who nurtures, but also the person who tells him right from wrong. In the first section of the book he knows that “his mother put on the oilsheet”(21), which shows he understands that she is the one who keeps an eye out for him when he needs to be cleaned up, nurturing him because of his youngness. Later his mother tells that “O, Stephen will apologise,”(21) for something he did, which implies that Stephen has done something wrong. This helps spawn his first poem and artist expression. His mother also “encourages his artist expression by playing the piano”(Henke 318). This makes little Stephen “dance”(21). Dancing is very closely associated with sensuality and thus suggests some oedipal longing. At this point Stephen doesn’t associate sensuality as sinful, but he is later made to apologize for something that isn’t made clear. A young mind could associate the necessity for the apology with the movement that was sprung from his mother, causing Stephen to repress his feelings later in life.
Dante is a different, but equitably motherly source for Stephen. Her role is on the nurturing side, but more on the training side of the word. Stephens first introduction to politics was because of Dante, although he wouldn’t have understood it at the time. She “had two brushes…for Micheal Davitt and …for Parnell”(21). The fact that he remembers the names of the politicians that Dante would have told him shows that he already associates the political names with Dante and will continues to do so later in life. She also is part of the forced apology later. She gives him the possible punishment should he not apologize, which is having “the eagles…pull out his eyes,”(21). Again the woman stimulates his art.
Although woman are seen as nurturing and teaching, Stephen sees men, at least in the beginning of the book, as the people who one must be followed and listened to. This following comes from the religiousness of his family again, as well as the social structure in Ireland, and most of the world. The man leads the house and is in charge. The church he would have been going to since an early age told him about the Virgin Mary, which would have made little Stephen look for her in the females, namely Dante and his Mother and later Emma the other girls of his imagination, in the ways he pays attention to them in the first section of the book. He is taught that priest are leaders and even gets to the point that thinks that one of the Fathers “knew more than Dante because he was a priest” even though Stephen knows“ Dante was a clever woman and a wellread woman.”(24) At this point in his life he is accepting everything he is taught.
Somewhere in his mind he still associates learning with woman because as soon as he “heard Father Arnall’s voice…all his eagerness passed away”(25) for his math work. This could be taken as his first form of rebellion, although not conscious and not even slightly realized by Stephen at the moment. After this loss of eagerness Stephen begins to think about the colors of roses. Roses are very closely associated with woman. So, Stephens mind set switches off from work because of a man’s voice, then his mind wanders into thinking about woman.
One of the things he mentions is about a “green rose”(25). He thinks of roses of many different colors, until he get to the green rose. This thought of a green rose is caused when he “remembered the song about the wild rose blossoms on the little green place.”(25) The thought of the green rose is only brought to Stephen’s attention through another’s art. This green rose is also something Stephen knows “you could not have”(25) but for some reasons still thinks it is “somewhere in the world,”(25). This could be Joyce showing the artist who wrote the songs quest for the green rose, or a quest for something impossible, is just as in vein as Stephens subconscious quest for the Virgin Mary. The green rose could be an allusion to Mary through its purity, because the a green rose would be purely green, or Joyce may be using green’s association with immaturity, but also fertility, because Mary was a virgin mother. Stephen could be fascinated with the green rose just because he subconsciously knows that he and the song writer are both aiming for the impossible.
Only slightly after this rose day dream Stephen longs “to be home and lay his head on his mother’s lap”(25-26). He wants to be with his mother and be nurtured by her. He wants to return to being a child, almost to the point of wanting to be fetal because of where he wants to place himself. He understands that “he could not: and so he longer for the play and study and prayers to be over and to be in bed.”(26). He wanted everything else of his day to be done with so he could be in bed and sleep. In his dreams he could control what was going on, and therefore do whatever it is that he liked to, which at that moment would have been to be at home with his mother. This is another form of rebellion, because he doesn’t want to pray.
The next day he is made fun of for kissing his mother, which caused a question in his mind. He was made laughing at for both answers, which created a huge ripple in his mind. He couldn’t decide “was it right to kiss his mother or wrong to kiss his mother”(27). He actually did kiss his mother goodnight, because that was what he wanted to do, and was brought up to do. This also would subconsciously change how he treated woman later. If it was wrong to kiss his Mother even on the cheek, then how could he imagine of going any further with any other woman? The boys making fun of him came from the church’s beliefs, because they were brought up to follow them. Although they didn’t condone bullying, they didn’t like any sort of physicality toward woman before marriage.
Soon after winter vacation came. At Christmas dinner the main discussion was over the issue of the priest “turning the house of God into a polling booth.”(41) Dante was offended by this statement because she believes “any man calling himself a catholic”(41) should follow what the priest suggests. The fact the character dispute the correctness of the combination of church and state shows that it was an issues even then. Mr. Dedalus and Mr. Casey believe that the church should be used to “pray to our Maker.” The males in the situation, who Stephen was always taught to follow is questioned at this point An even bigger and wider idea was brought up by Dante, who taught Stephen and was his first glimpse into politics. Dante sees the church as the people who “must direct their flocks.”(41) This concept of the church goers as a flocks suggest that people who attend church are birds, and not free thinking human beings. She sees the church goers, and therefore herself, as beings who need someone to tell them what to do, and she finds it in the God the church preaches about.
The conflict between male and female is a maturing point for Stephen. He needs to decide whether he should follow the sex who he was taught to follow, or the sex he has learned from and was first introduced to politics. This conflict is also the first time other people have questioned religion. This is another step towards Stephen’s open rebellion against religion. There is an interesting transition from the topic. Mrs. Dedalus brings up food, but at the same time puts “down her knife and fork.”(41) The knife and fork hold a violent connotation to them. Knives were always used as a weapon before it was a utensil, and the fork resembles a miniature pitchfork or trident. So, Mrs. Dedalus put down the aggressive “weaponry” in order to bring the peace. This is good for Stephen to witness because it shows that his mother is still trying to protect and keep him safe. He is starting to see that people don’t’ have to strictly follow what they are told, because Dante, who is suppose to listen to men because she is a woman, isn’t just accepting what the men say.
The topic of discussion was then brought to food for a moment, then quickly shifts back. Food is a very primal thing that every creature looks for. The topic shifts from a very thought driven need, to the physical need. Then the religious topic gets brought up again. This quick change suggests that one may try to cover up the mental needs with the physical, but the mental needs are much more important to everyone as people. Dante believes that the church was right to be against the leader because he “was a public sinner.”(42) The suggests that Dante believes the church leaders couldn’t have sinned because she wouldn’t follow them. Mr. Casey then brought up that “we are all sinners and black sinners”(42). These opposing views on who should lead suggests another topic of discussion. Should our leaders be thought of as perfect or thought of as people who have sinned like us? There is also more reason for Stephen to question his faith because the leaders in his world may also be sinners who shouldn’t be followed.
Stephen visits the chapel with his uncle Charles, while Stephen‘s faith is still . Uncle Charles “would often pay a visit to the chapel.”(66) The way Joyce phrases that is interesting. He uses the word “pay”(66) as if it is something that uncle Charles owes to someone. It suggests he may not be doing it fully by choice. It’s almost as if Charles is just following the flock, like Dante suggested at the Christmas dinner. The height of the font where they are getting the blessed water is also very meaningful. It is “above Stephen’s reach,”(66) which suggests that Stephen hasn’t grown enough to fully understand religion, but also would make him feel like he doesn‘t belong there. If he can‘t do it himself, how could he feel accepted by it? This might cause more thoughts of rebellion. He is being brought along by an adult who believes it. This concept of belief being passed on is suggested in how “the old man would dip his hand and then sprinkle the water briskly about Stephen’s clothes” (66). The concept that children are brought along and marginally forced to observe religion until they accept it. This could be suggesting that religion isn’t something one can chose. Its also interesting that Stephen didn’t get hit with any of the water, just his clothes. This could suggest that for Stephen religion is something that he wears on the outside, but doesn’t believe, which we find out is true by the end of the book.
The next image is of uncle Charles and Stephen kneeling. Uncle Charles kneels “on his red handkerchief.”(66) Handkerchiefs are used to wipe sweat from your head, or to wipe your nose. Depending on how uncles Charles uses it suggests different thing. If it used for sweat, uncle Charles is presenting his sweat because of hard work before his lord, or if it is used to wipe his nose, he is presenting his sickness. Either way it is presenting uncle Charles as just a human before his lord. He thinks he needs to show his lack of godliness to feel closer to god. Stephen “knelt at his side respect, though he did not share, his piety”(66) This again suggests that Stephen is showing religion on the outside, but doesn’t believe it in his head.
The bible the uncle was using is interesting. It had “catchwords…printed at the foot of every page”(66) Dictionaries also have the catchwords. The parallel brings up the way religion is going. Religion has become too much of a science for people to look for meanings in life, like people look for meanings in a dictionary. Religion’s focus changed from faith to science, even though religion isn’t suppose to be a science. None of this is something Stephen enjoys in a faith.
I
n the nights Stephen would read The Count of Money Cristo. He would imagine himself as the Count and imagine the scenery on his table and live his life through the count. For some reason he was “sadly proud,”(67) of refusing his made up woman character. He is sad because somewhere in his mind he wants to be with her, but proud because he is doing what religion has told him was right. He encounters this woman only through his thoughts because religion has created two forces against him having a real woman, one is the fear of making a woman impure, and the other is his quest for the perfect, which in his mind is the Virgin Mary.
Rather than making a woman impure Stephen ends up having sex with a prostitute. This is justified in his mind because they are already impure and don’t’ have a chance of being his perfection. They have already committed sins of the flesh so immaculate conception couldn’t be possible anymore. This is also another open form of rebellion for Stephen, although he does feel the need to repent at this point of the book. Part of this need to repent is also shows that he is looking for a real life Mary to be his mate. His sin, which had covered him from the sight of God, had led him nearer to the refuge of sinners. Her eyes seemed to regard him with mild pity; her holiness, a strange light glowing faintly upon her frail flesh, did not humiliate the sinner who approached her. If ever he was impelled to cast sin from him and to repent the impulse that moved him was the wish to be her knight(102).
Stephen is looking to be the Virgin Mary’s “knight”(102) and he compares confessing his sins on her name to “the savour itself of a lewd kiss”(102). Every woman he encounters for real is a mother figure for him because the girls he is attracted to he becomes afraid of, because of his fear of making them dirty, and the fear that church has in stilled in him, that physicality is wrong. He creates this fake world because the real one would create sins. As he loses connection with his faith he becomes more accepting of the physicality between him and woman.
As a open rebellion against the church he refuses to take part in “easter duty”(211), which is also slightly because he is starting to accept that his mother could not be pure. He is older and understands better that his mother isn’t perfect. This realization made him want to rebel, although one knows that your mother is someone you will always have to follow and have in your life. The fact that he would argue with his mother about doing it shows that Stephen is beginning to want to leave the nest and start his own life with a new female force and is finally coming into his own views on faith. Stephen tells Cranley that he “will not serve that in which” he “no longer believe whether it call itself my home, my fatherland or my church”(218). Little Stephen has realized that to be in the place he desires he must leave.
The big finale for Stephen’s love life is when he meets up with “her”(223) although he never tells us who she is exactly. Prior to this journal entry his encounters with woman were all made up when it came to having feelings for them. Stephen has matured enough to even touch her, which is a big step. When they “shook hands” she became as real as real can be, there is no way a figment of your imagination could shake your hand. He even says that he “liked her today. A little or much?”(223) he didn’t know, but either way he finally encountered a woman for real, only after he rebelled against the church and therefore rebelled against Virgin Mary. The reality of woman can now be shown to Stephen.
Blog for Hamlet's Soliloquy
This one was the most effective in my humble opinion because of the thoughtfulness of the setting, actor choices, as well as audio and visual decision made by the director. The overall effect made one feel like you were witnessing a man that truly wasn’t positive he wanted to be alive.
The first moments of the scene set it apart from the others, and made the other two really difficult to compete with the choices made in the film. The first thing it shows is the water. The water was already used earlier. In Act 1 scene 4 Horatio is trying to convince Hamlet to not follow the ghost that seemed to be his father. One of the reasons was that Horatio thought the ghost made lead Hamlet “toward the flood” (49). The camera then begins to tilt toward to reveal that there is a cliff. This is another reference to the same speech Horatio was giving Hamlet; he didn’t want Hamlet to be lead to a “dreadful summit of a cliff” (49). This speech continues to describe how Horatio is concerned that might get drawn “into madness” (49). The reason this is a good speech to make reference to is because this was the moments before Hamlet talked to his dead father, whose death festered within him and is one of the main reason Hamlet is contemplating suicide. Still before any words are said, the back of Hamlet’s head comes into view. Then the camera zooms in onto it. This is a really effective choice because it shows that we are beginning to hear what is going on in Hamlet’s mind, not how’s he acting around other people. Then there is a cut to the front of Hamlet, then back to the water. This is an effective choice because it is showing that Hamlet’s mind is crashing a rushing around like the water.
The music also added to the vibe that was trying to be shown. The first few notes are really slow, controlled and lamenting, which also describe Hamlet throughout his speech. The first notes are also played by violins, which are often associated with sadness. Strings also have the ability to make noise without using breathe; making them less alive sounding depending on how you play them. The waves beating across the cliff can also be heard. The waves are constant, like the pressures that he is being put through at the moment. The waves are creating a chaos in the sounds one can hear. There is a dichotomy created between the random rushing of the waves and the focus of the strings. Next enters in a low brass notes, with a slightly harsh tone. It is another interesting choice. The feel of the music quickly switches to a more hectic pace, mirroring the pace of Hamlet’s thoughts.
The acting was highly effective also. The choice of pace for the words was highly effective for the Hamlet that is suggested by the other elements of the film. Every word is controlled, direct and sad with slight suggestions of anger. This tone is mirrored by the music, as I mentioned before. This Hamlet doesn’t feel crazy at this point. His sadness is apparent, but he seems very controlled with his words, although the way this portion was filmed shows his thoughts are rushing an chaotic.The choice for when the words were spoken and when they were simply heard added a cool texture to the overall piece. Hamlet begins speaking about sleep and this makes the words of simply heard, although the actor is no longer mouthing them. It shows how he is slipping more into his mind, and into a more dream like state. What snapped him out of the talking in his head to the real world was thinking about dreaming. This connect back to act 2 scene 2 when Hamlet says that he “could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space-were it not that I have bad dreams”(68). Hamlet associates dreams with a negative feeling and fears what dreams would come should he be forced to dream forever.
This combination of effects made this segment the most effective. There is many references to early parts of the play. There are also suggests of character made by the elements surrounding the character. The actors portrayal is very clear and really focused. This is why I believe this is the most effective clip.
The first moments of the scene set it apart from the others, and made the other two really difficult to compete with the choices made in the film. The first thing it shows is the water. The water was already used earlier. In Act 1 scene 4 Horatio is trying to convince Hamlet to not follow the ghost that seemed to be his father. One of the reasons was that Horatio thought the ghost made lead Hamlet “toward the flood” (49). The camera then begins to tilt toward to reveal that there is a cliff. This is another reference to the same speech Horatio was giving Hamlet; he didn’t want Hamlet to be lead to a “dreadful summit of a cliff” (49). This speech continues to describe how Horatio is concerned that might get drawn “into madness” (49). The reason this is a good speech to make reference to is because this was the moments before Hamlet talked to his dead father, whose death festered within him and is one of the main reason Hamlet is contemplating suicide. Still before any words are said, the back of Hamlet’s head comes into view. Then the camera zooms in onto it. This is a really effective choice because it shows that we are beginning to hear what is going on in Hamlet’s mind, not how’s he acting around other people. Then there is a cut to the front of Hamlet, then back to the water. This is an effective choice because it is showing that Hamlet’s mind is crashing a rushing around like the water.
The music also added to the vibe that was trying to be shown. The first few notes are really slow, controlled and lamenting, which also describe Hamlet throughout his speech. The first notes are also played by violins, which are often associated with sadness. Strings also have the ability to make noise without using breathe; making them less alive sounding depending on how you play them. The waves beating across the cliff can also be heard. The waves are constant, like the pressures that he is being put through at the moment. The waves are creating a chaos in the sounds one can hear. There is a dichotomy created between the random rushing of the waves and the focus of the strings. Next enters in a low brass notes, with a slightly harsh tone. It is another interesting choice. The feel of the music quickly switches to a more hectic pace, mirroring the pace of Hamlet’s thoughts.
The acting was highly effective also. The choice of pace for the words was highly effective for the Hamlet that is suggested by the other elements of the film. Every word is controlled, direct and sad with slight suggestions of anger. This tone is mirrored by the music, as I mentioned before. This Hamlet doesn’t feel crazy at this point. His sadness is apparent, but he seems very controlled with his words, although the way this portion was filmed shows his thoughts are rushing an chaotic.The choice for when the words were spoken and when they were simply heard added a cool texture to the overall piece. Hamlet begins speaking about sleep and this makes the words of simply heard, although the actor is no longer mouthing them. It shows how he is slipping more into his mind, and into a more dream like state. What snapped him out of the talking in his head to the real world was thinking about dreaming. This connect back to act 2 scene 2 when Hamlet says that he “could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space-were it not that I have bad dreams”(68). Hamlet associates dreams with a negative feeling and fears what dreams would come should he be forced to dream forever.
This combination of effects made this segment the most effective. There is many references to early parts of the play. There are also suggests of character made by the elements surrounding the character. The actors portrayal is very clear and really focused. This is why I believe this is the most effective clip.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young journal
“It was very big to think about everything and everywhere. Only god could do that. He tried to think what a big thought that must be but he could think only of God.”(28)The church taught Stephen all he knows on God. So, his view on what god is came from that. They’ve instilled an omnipotent view of god upon Stephen, and made him think that everything can’t be understood except by god. Joyce making Stephen think of everything and everywhere makes us attempt to think of the same thing, or at least to think of what Stephen thought of as his answer. His answer was god. This was an easy choice, because it was instilled on him since he was a young student. Joyce could be suggesting that we have to try to find answers, but some can’t be, which lends to a need in a belief in god.
Ed Sanders Poem
Let’s bridge the gap between the ones who kept time and those who think with their hipsThe sands of the new shore that’s eternally temporary, lets start the fugueWhen the festival arrived, the sands never lacked eloquence, they never lacked opinionThe sands say he was imperfect, but he was generous
We have in common our curved thoughts, and our curvier words
Let’s leave Missouri and move to New YorkAnd I’ll write my poem from jailOn toilet paperAnd when I’m free I’ll put up a finger With text for the artsAnd Graduate in NY,NY
I will print anything, print print anything, but stop when I am thirteen I will print anything, print print anything, but stop when I am thirteen
Civil rights created the silly three, but lead the good fight
We have in common our curved thoughts, and our curvier words
Let’s leave Missouri and move to New YorkAnd I’ll write my poem from jailOn toilet paperAnd when I’m free I’ll put up a finger With text for the artsAnd Graduate in NY,NY
I will print anything, print print anything, but stop when I am thirteen I will print anything, print print anything, but stop when I am thirteen
Civil rights created the silly three, but lead the good fight
College Essay
I am perfect because I create. Some may disagree, you may even disagree. Your existence is arguable though, just as much as my own is, although I believe I exist. My music also exists. Descartes is attributed with saying “Dubito ergo cogito; cogito ergo sum.” this suggest that to doubt and to think is to exist. “I think theretofore I am,” sounds like something sensible. Let’s just assume I think and that I am writing for someone who also thinks.
Music can feel doubt. I believe doubt is a useless human leash that squelches creativity. In writing music I can express what I want, how I want to. My writing style is very different than most because I don’t us the normal set up of a song, with a verse then a chorus, and then repeat the process. I love catchy choruses though. At my favorite performance of my career I had the entire audience singing along with something I wrote, even though they had never heard the song before. It was the best high anyone could encounter, and it reestablished my want to make music.
Music has always interested me. At first I merely sang on stage during musical theatre performances that my mother musical directed. She would let me roam the stage without much direction, but still making sure I staying within the world of the scene. She let me build my character without much direction, but she made sure made sense in the world.
Music has become the center of my life. It is what I live for. I look for things that can further my music making. I understand music theory, but I know how to brake the rules. I think the core concept for making music is that it isn’t important where you are but where you are going. I note can sound conformable one moment, but then can resolve, making both notes make sense. Strictly following music theory steals potential artists from the world, but you have to understand the rules to brake in the music world. Music is a personal experience and is not exactly the same between anyone.
I feel the same way about faith. No two people have the same beliefs. I believe death is a sad truth. To live is to eventually also die. I was almost led to a shared with my mother when I was being birthed. I enjoyed my mother so much I didn’t want to leave and this created problems for my mother and me. I almost passed away because of me conium aspiration. I would have greatly regretted causing my mother to join me in death. I however wouldn’t’ have doubted that I was going to write this inevitable paper should I have been able to know of its existence.
I love that I am part of a species that can question existence. Now, does this thinking of my possible lack of existence bother me? No, in fact I think it is a fun concept to deal with. I believe there is only a marginal phase of Thomas Gray’s suggestion that “ignorance is bliss.” If one accept Descartes’ belief that “I think, therefore I am,” ten to be, on must think, and to think one must know. Ipso facto, to know less is to be less. To not know about certain things may lead to a false sense of safety, which is what we are all only chasing. To only know about the premonition may lead to a lock this aforementioned bliss. Further thought lead us to acknowledge death, but not lose sleep over it, because everyone dies, which is a sad truth. Just as this paper is ending so does life
Music can feel doubt. I believe doubt is a useless human leash that squelches creativity. In writing music I can express what I want, how I want to. My writing style is very different than most because I don’t us the normal set up of a song, with a verse then a chorus, and then repeat the process. I love catchy choruses though. At my favorite performance of my career I had the entire audience singing along with something I wrote, even though they had never heard the song before. It was the best high anyone could encounter, and it reestablished my want to make music.
Music has always interested me. At first I merely sang on stage during musical theatre performances that my mother musical directed. She would let me roam the stage without much direction, but still making sure I staying within the world of the scene. She let me build my character without much direction, but she made sure made sense in the world.
Music has become the center of my life. It is what I live for. I look for things that can further my music making. I understand music theory, but I know how to brake the rules. I think the core concept for making music is that it isn’t important where you are but where you are going. I note can sound conformable one moment, but then can resolve, making both notes make sense. Strictly following music theory steals potential artists from the world, but you have to understand the rules to brake in the music world. Music is a personal experience and is not exactly the same between anyone.
I feel the same way about faith. No two people have the same beliefs. I believe death is a sad truth. To live is to eventually also die. I was almost led to a shared with my mother when I was being birthed. I enjoyed my mother so much I didn’t want to leave and this created problems for my mother and me. I almost passed away because of me conium aspiration. I would have greatly regretted causing my mother to join me in death. I however wouldn’t’ have doubted that I was going to write this inevitable paper should I have been able to know of its existence.
I love that I am part of a species that can question existence. Now, does this thinking of my possible lack of existence bother me? No, in fact I think it is a fun concept to deal with. I believe there is only a marginal phase of Thomas Gray’s suggestion that “ignorance is bliss.” If one accept Descartes’ belief that “I think, therefore I am,” ten to be, on must think, and to think one must know. Ipso facto, to know less is to be less. To not know about certain things may lead to a false sense of safety, which is what we are all only chasing. To only know about the premonition may lead to a lock this aforementioned bliss. Further thought lead us to acknowledge death, but not lose sleep over it, because everyone dies, which is a sad truth. Just as this paper is ending so does life
Modernist Test Essay
Robert Duncan suggests two modernist concepts, that knowing you path in life leads to an overall beautiful life and that we understand the world better though one’s downfall. To say that an average person knows where there course of fate is untrue, but if one were to know it, modernist thinking suggests it would lead to a fuller life. We are united only through “common human suffering.”(Duncan 79)
If one knows their fate there life holds more “beauty”(Duncan 79). This concept is an interesting view brought on by modernist thinking, Sisyphus is very aware of what the rest of his fate looks like. He will ever be pushing a rock up a hill, until it’s weight forces it to fall down again. Camus suggest that “we must imagine Sisyphus happy,”(Camus). He is happy now that his tragic love for life brought him a conscious, although repetitive, fate. His downfall brought a better fate in Camus’ eyes, Sisyphus now knows his world and where it is going. To better know one’s world leads to a closer understanding of our fate. Borges better learned of his fate through loss of sight, God granted him “books and blindness at one touch"(Borges). Then his life had more direction after his blindness started. Duncan suggests that Oedipus “tears out his eyes and sees at last,”(Duncan 79) which is a more literal connection to Borges than Duncan meant for us to deduce. Borges lived his life mostly thought literature and worked through his blindness .
Sometimes fate leads us to a downfall, but this downfall brings us to see the world. Oedipus knew his fate and once it was fulfilled he couldn’t bare to see his world from a physical standpoint. He left his sight to later understand tate one can’t escape their fate. Mersault from Caums’ “The Stranger” later learned of his fate, this lead him to confront the bishop and say “everyone is privileged,”(Camus) No life is better or worse than any other. To know your life’s course is to know happiness. Mersault’s downfall was his lack of personality. Only when we about to be executed did he finally show emotion to the bishop. He could finally be human only after his downfall. This downfall leading to better understanding is suggested in modernist thoughts.
This concept of better understanding through out downfall is not a completely original modernist thought, but modernist took bigger downfalls and better understanding. Learning from you mistake is a philosophy that has been around fro ages. Modernist, however, made the “mistakes” personality flaws and made them so big they cause death. The learning, in modernist thought, may be as big as becoming human and having emotion, like in Mersault’s case.
Modernist thinking is hard to surmise a list of core belief. The modernists are linked only through “suffering in loss and longing.”(Duncan 79) that was brought on by their world. Some thinking were directly influxes, others less. There thought starting the same place, but were directed by their lives.
If one knows their fate there life holds more “beauty”(Duncan 79). This concept is an interesting view brought on by modernist thinking, Sisyphus is very aware of what the rest of his fate looks like. He will ever be pushing a rock up a hill, until it’s weight forces it to fall down again. Camus suggest that “we must imagine Sisyphus happy,”(Camus). He is happy now that his tragic love for life brought him a conscious, although repetitive, fate. His downfall brought a better fate in Camus’ eyes, Sisyphus now knows his world and where it is going. To better know one’s world leads to a closer understanding of our fate. Borges better learned of his fate through loss of sight, God granted him “books and blindness at one touch"(Borges). Then his life had more direction after his blindness started. Duncan suggests that Oedipus “tears out his eyes and sees at last,”(Duncan 79) which is a more literal connection to Borges than Duncan meant for us to deduce. Borges lived his life mostly thought literature and worked through his blindness .
Sometimes fate leads us to a downfall, but this downfall brings us to see the world. Oedipus knew his fate and once it was fulfilled he couldn’t bare to see his world from a physical standpoint. He left his sight to later understand tate one can’t escape their fate. Mersault from Caums’ “The Stranger” later learned of his fate, this lead him to confront the bishop and say “everyone is privileged,”(Camus) No life is better or worse than any other. To know your life’s course is to know happiness. Mersault’s downfall was his lack of personality. Only when we about to be executed did he finally show emotion to the bishop. He could finally be human only after his downfall. This downfall leading to better understanding is suggested in modernist thoughts.
This concept of better understanding through out downfall is not a completely original modernist thought, but modernist took bigger downfalls and better understanding. Learning from you mistake is a philosophy that has been around fro ages. Modernist, however, made the “mistakes” personality flaws and made them so big they cause death. The learning, in modernist thought, may be as big as becoming human and having emotion, like in Mersault’s case.
Modernist thinking is hard to surmise a list of core belief. The modernists are linked only through “suffering in loss and longing.”(Duncan 79) that was brought on by their world. Some thinking were directly influxes, others less. There thought starting the same place, but were directed by their lives.
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