Dickinson Commentary–makeup!!

They shut me up in Prose

As when a little Girl

• She is looking back at her past
• Possibly at a time is weighing heavy on her mind

They put me in the Closet –

• Tried to hide her from the outside
• Could be associated with guilt or embarrassment of who she is or how she acts

Because they liked me “still” –

• “still”–can be literally seen as calm and quite
• “still”–can be figuratively been seen dead

Still! Could themself have peeped –

• Anger, maybe at the fact they whoever “themself” is is that are probably in a “still” state and she is mocking them for it

And seen my Brain — go round –

• “go round” can be referring to her possibly going crazy

They might as wise have lodged a Bird

• their acts could possibly be hindering her or locking her up as one would a bird

For Treason — in the Pound –

• When I see this I think of the play “The Merchant of Venice”– which takes about the Jew Shylock giving up a pound of flesh for him being found guilty in the trial.

Himself has but to will

• Can be contesting that all we have is free will

And easy as a Star

• This line is most peculiar because the idea of a Star is not an easy thing to grasp

Abolish his Captivity –

• We need to be free and not be still

And laugh — No more have I -

• She has obviously become still and is no longer happy

The Yellow Wallpaper- makeup!!

“Now why should that man have fainted? But he did, and right across my path by the wall, so that I had to creep over him every time!”

This ending can be seen as victory for the woman because she has finally has overcome her husband overbearing presense. Yet it can be a defeat because mentally she seems to be crippled especially after finding out that all this time it is ripping off the wallpaper

Sister Carrie Narrative–makeup

—Make-up!!

1)    This except is found in  chapter 32, in which Carrie is taken out to one of the finest resturaunts in New York City by the Vances. This being her first time in high society, she is thrilled and in awe of the glamour that is all around her.

2)    The perspective is seen through both Carrie and the narrator’s eyes. At first most of what is seen is through what Carrie is seeing. She notices the “Incandescent lights, the reflection of their glow in polished glasses, and the shine of gilt upon the walls, combined into one tone of light which it requires minutes of complacent observation to separate and take particular note of.” All these images are connected to what Carrie is seeing as important to her experience in New York. Yet the narrator is also present adding their emphasis on how frivlous people in the group are with money, having the bill equal that would equal “one over night in an average hotel”
3)    The narrative is about what Carrie sees and experiences; she is extremely interested in the surroundings and her thoughts are made available.It really isn’t until the last paragraph that the narrators prescene is felt with his comment on the lifestyle of the wealthy.

4)    Carrie’s narration is focused more on her current surroundings and her narration is describing what she sees around her. She is consumed with the pleasure of being in this environment and is envious of people who can afford to be in this lifestyle. The narrator on the other hand is offering commentary on the actions of the wealthy. Through his commentary is can assumed that he finds their actions with spending to be quite disgusting. The narrarition offers a social commentary, which can be assoicated with someone who is well edcuated, at least educated enough to note the misuse of money.

5) The setting is described in great detail by Carrie because that is what her character is mostly concerned about, apperance. The narrator is concernded with the moral makeup of the characters.

6) The narrative describes to the reader that Carrie’s dreams are obviously to be able to live in this glamours and rich environment. This lifestyle is definaltey different from she was shown back in Chicago and even going back as far as her homelife with her parents. However the narrative also points out the flaws that this lifestyles had including the ridiculous amount of money spent on food alone between three people is “wonder and astonishment of true culture and dignity the world over” shwoing what can be seen as freely wasteful society”

Howling

The Body

Examples of The Body

• Sodomized (“who let themselves be fucked in the ass by saintly motorcyclists)
• Ejaculation (“who balled in the morning in the evenings in rose gardens and the grass of public parks and cemeteries scattering their semen freely to whomever come who may)
• Abuse of drugs on the body (“Peyote solidifies of halls, backyard green tree cemetery dawns, wine drunkenness over the rooftops”)
• Self-inflicted pain (“who burned cigarettes holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism”)

How does the meaning of the motif change over the course of the poem?

When he first starts off the poem, the images that are concocted are rather disturbing and are often associated with pain.  The body is one of these motifs that are both viewed as a vehicle of both pain and pleasure. In the beginning lines the body is sodmized, burned, tortured, but also is seen as a way for pleasure to be given and to be had. Ginsberg brings these two ideas of pain and pleasure through the motif of the body.  At first you are bombarded with having the body endure the abuse of drugs and self-inflicted burns and cuts,  yet he changes the representation of the body to also show the pleasure that the body can produce through sex. In doing so I believe that he is saying that pain and pleasure are intertwined and are apart of living out our life.

A View From The Bridge

Why is loyalty so tragic in the play “A View From The Bridge”?

Loyalty can be considered to be a tragic to Eddie in the play because of the bonds that are associated with loyalty. Loyalty can only be achieved if someone is loyal to you. If you have a friends who is always loyal to you and can be someone you can be dependable on then that bond will be strong. However if you have no one that can be loyal to you or if you yourself cannot be loyal to anyone, then your bond is weak. In doing so loyalty can never be strong or weak, leaving it to be dependable on the situation and people, with having the possibility be a tragic outcome.

Loyalty in the blue-collar ethnic community is important to survival. Being a working-class, blue-collar worker means that you are not at the top of the heap, yet at the same time you are not at the bottom. People at the top are often times portrayed as backstabbers and untrustworthy people who are out to get the better of others. The people at the bottom are somewhat like the people at the top, they have nothing to lose so loyaty at times might not be all what it is cracked up to be so they instead with fight to try to make it to the top . People in the middle, they see the effects from the top and bottom and instead can bond together in order to not see others crumble at the top or waste away at the bottom.

There has been times where loyalty has been tested in my life, but nothing to the extent of Eddie. Granted I have never been in certain situations like Eddie but I have had friendships and relationships broken over loyalty or lack there of but nothing that has driven me to kill myself or rather someone to kill me.

Indian Camp

From the two Hemingway stories that were assigned, I personally thought that “Indian Camp” was more cryptic than “Hills Like White Elephants”.  In the story “Hills Like White Elephants”, the American and his traveling companion Jig, are deciding whether or not to go through with a particular operation. Although there is a narrator describing some of the actions of the two, you never fully understand or hear what their inner-thoughts are. Their conversation in rather secretive, which includes them both not ever mentioning what the operation is. Despite this ambiguity, each character is able to express their take on the situation with the American stating simply that “they just to let air in”.

Yet in “Indian Camp” the focus is not on the Indians but rather the visitors to the Indian Camp, Nick, Nick’s Father, and Uncle George. From the beginning of the story it is made clear that these three are outsiders coming into this camp. Yet when they do arrive and see the woman in labor, Hemingway gives her no dialogue in the story or any of the other Indians for that matter. In doing so, we never find out what the wife is feeling, why the husband kills himself, or even why the Young Indian laughs at Uncle George. This combination of having background characters introduced, but giving them no avenue to speak, left me to wonder what is their importance in this piece. Obviously their presence in the story is important enough for them to included, yet Hemingway leaves it to the reader to decide what drove them these three to do the things they did.

The Armony Gallery

Today, the word modern is thrown around quite frequently. Today’s version of modern art might range from soup cans in the shape of a pyramid or a sculpture made up of bicycles parts. Now, being use to this idea of what modern art is today, you might ask what makes the artwork shown in The Armony Gallery, well modern? Well to explain that lets take a look at some of the galleries shown at The Armony Gallery.

Pieces shown in the gallery ranged from sculptures to paintings from around the world. In Gallery A for example, the artwork that was shown was of American Sculpture and Decorative Art. In this gallery, visitors were exposed to sculptures that were created and conception in different from what had been done before. One sculpture for example entitled Lucifer, was constructed by a man named Andrew Dasburg whom used a life-size plaster made by a man named Arthur Lee and carved directly into the plaster. Another sculptor named Ethel Myers also created sculptures that moved into a non-representational area which was cited seen by many art critics as artistic license. From this gallery alone one could see that this type of art was considered a departure from the literally and straightforward sculptures that many were accustomed too. Instead, this gallery showcased a more creative, modern approach to how the human body could be represented. Artwork in this gallery were not neccissarily concerned with what the sculptured represented but how the viewer perceives the that representation.

The Birth by George Gray Barnard

The Armony Gallery also showcased paintings from Europe, such as Gallery I, French paintings and sculptures. Showcased in Gallery I, paintings from artists such as Duchamp and Picabia expressed the cubist movement and received much praise from viewers, although at the time Duchamp had thought to believe painting to be a disillusionment. These paintings caused confusion to many viewers. Some viewed these paintings as unfinished or rather made attempts at guessing what exactly they were.  Paintings in this gallery reflected an idea of familiarization. While many art viewers are accustomed to viewing actual representations of humans or objects, artists in this gallery focused on using their art pieces to have the viewer engage with the piece and determine what it could represent.

Dances at the Spring by Francis Picabia

So what can constitute this work as being modern? Looking at our version of what modern art is today, the artists who created these pieces back then were in fact representing what modern art is considered today. The Modern artist is focuses on perception rather than representation, defamiliarizing their viewer on what can be art, and having the view interpret what it could mean. The Armony Gallery showcased artwork that defined what modern art is. Sure today’s modern art can be as loopy as using small fish bowls to construct a sculpture of a boy, but in connection with what was considered modern art at the time, it’s focus is still there on introducing the viewer to something different than what they can expect.

Whitman’s Crossings

The “I vs tide” and the “I vs crowd” poses a problem for Whitman because he cannot find a connection within the people around him (ie the crowd) or with the flowing tide (nature).  The constant usage “I” and “You” shows that there is a separation between Whitman and the reader. Unlike in “Song of Myself”, Whitman is detached from the people, calling for a boundary between the two to be implemented.

Yet this does problem is slowing resolved in the end when he begins to tell the reader that he shares the same experiences with the people in the crowd. Partaking in the trip on the ferry across the same tides that people have done in the past, Whitman acknowledges that people have and will continue to experience the same things throughout time. In doing so, Whitman crosses over into more of “we” standpoint and by the end makes a connection with the reader without any line in between.

Wiki Response

What I liked about the assignment:

1. For one I liked the fact the format was different then what we have been used to. It was nice to be able to showcase our interpretation through a more creative avenue.
2. It was also interesting to see how other students in the class responded to the same passages as me and also to see how they interrupted it. Some responded in the same way as I did and other in drastically different way. 

What I disliked about the assignment:

1. I think that directions for setting up the project were a little confusing, like how we were suppose to set up the picture first, write our blog, and then add a link back on the picture. I thought that maybe we should have just have linked the picture to the blog first and then write the blog.

What new things did I learn:

1. Well looking at other students responses, I did learn once again that great poetry is one that can be interrupted in many ways and each way is not necessarily wrong. It helps to open up a discussion with others about how they thought the passage was saying.
2. I also learned that what Whitman speaks of in his poem can be seen in our society still today. We are still focused on disguising ourselvesand not learning to celebrate ourselves like we should. It is something that still has not been grasped centuries later.

Changes I would make on the project:

1. I would probably just make the directions a little bit more simpler (see note 1 in disliked section)– but overall it was a good way to responded to Whitman.

“Song of Myself” Image

For this assignment I chose to use lines from Walt Whitman’s poem entitled “Song of Myself” that state:

“Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any man hearty and clean,
Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be less familiar than the rest. I am satisfied…..I see, dance, laugh, sing;”.

The image I chose depicts a young girl dancing out in the woods, seemingly content with herself and her surroundings. I believed this to connect with Whitman’s words in-29- because he states that his body is pleasing to him. He does no believe that any inch of himself is repulsive or disgusting, and that he is familiarized with his body. This satisfaction calls him to be satisfied, to enjoy himself in happier things like dancing, singing and laughing.

The reason why I chose this passage and this image is because I believe that in today’s society, we are constantly bombarded with images and sayings stating that we are not pretty by “societies” standards. In doing so we are unable to celebrate our bodies because we are focused on the negative. People turn to extreme lengths to hate their body and in turn do it harm. In doing so we cannot sing, laughing, or dance because we are too busy mopping around. Yet Whitman’s words and this image I have chose exemplify the fact that we can celebrate our self and ignore the satisfactions of others.