Through the Eyes of Someone Else

Presentations

2010-05-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

I was not surprised that Heather's topic is formed around feminism. I found it interesting the different approaches Amy H and Heather were taking on discussing feminism. I found Amy's apporach of "the old way" to the acceptance of "the new way" very intriguing.

Janel's presentation seemed well thought out and put together. The topic is something that also sounds very interesting as well as fun to research.

I was not surprised at all in Kristi's choice in using Dorian Gray as one of her main works. The topic chosen for the paper will work so well using Dorian Gray as a text. The influences of individuals by others that go against the social norms and in turn cause them to do "bad" things.

Michael seems like he's taking on quite a huge load. It will be a task to keep the paper within the requirements. By comparing Gothic and Dark Romanticism he I believe the idea is to show how specific texts would be different if they were written in different generas.

Caitlin's presentation I got a little lost on. I know she intends to use Fuller's American Literature and Dasiy miller. I believe she is going to come up with a connection between Local color, realism and regionalism to show the contrast between american and british writing.

Sarah is going to use Zola's experimental novel to show how gothic texts such as Edgar Huntly and Dorian Gray show realist and naturalist themes.

Dep is doing a civil war paper, pre/during/post, to show how writers of the time were influenced by specific writers.

Disneyland was far more entertaining than homework

2010-04-22T22:41:00.001-07:00

Proposal, I may be way off base, but I'm going to take a shot at it.

Using American Scholar as the basis for my argument; I plan to show how Mark Twain in the text The Celebrated Jumping Frog also possibly bringing in the outside text of A War Prayer, Walt Whitman, using mainly the text Leaves of Grass and Macomber The Gossip of Gold Hill all represent "Man Thinking"

I will start out by analyzing American Scholar and describing what Emerson meant when he said we must all strive to become "Man thinking."

Then I will dissect each text using examples from each text and possibly of each author to show how they represent to the reader their own version of "man thinking"

a day late and a dollar short

2010-04-13T01:50:00.001-07:00

I've been bouncing a few ideas back and forth about what to do my final project on, and I'm still not 100% sure as to if I'm headed in the right direction. But this is what I've finally decided to commit to.

I want to have a main focus on New American Literature and Local Color, while also dabbling just a little with Transcendentalism.

Texts will be
-American Scholar
-Leaves of Grass
-Celebrated Jumping Tree Frog...
-Gossip of Gold Hill

I intend to discuss how Emerson's American Scholar paved a way for new writing styles. The beginning focus will discuss Emerson's thoughts on "Man Thinking" and how he encourages all individuals to strive to become "Man Thinking." Then it will discuss how Twain, Whitman and Macomber represent "Man Thinking" and how each work reflects this. By doing so they took chances with their writing, paving way for new writing styles and generas.

2010-04-07T23:47:00.000-07:00

Howells makes a point early in his article about the response an intelligent American woman would have over Daisy Millers behavior in Europe, saying that Daisy sets a horrible example of a proper American woman.
The point is true, Daisy doesn’t check her American way’s when in a different country that has a completely different standard for the way a young lady should act. Even when her vulgar ways are made very clear to her, Daisy has no mind to change the person she is because it is not acceptable in the country she is currently visiting.
Daisy is first made clearly aware of her unacceptable ways on page 41 when Mrs. Walker asks her to leave her companion, Mr. Giovanelli, because it is inappropriate for her to be walking around with him in such manner; and then again Daisy is told of the nature of her flirtatious American on page 49/50 by Mr. Winterbourne.
It is true that Daisy acts outside of what would be accepted in the European society and she refuses to change her ways because she is not European but in fact American. Winterbourne suggests to Daisy that it is often appropriate for someone to take part of the customs of the country but again Daisy rightfully refuses to change her ways.
Reading this novella, I was annoyed with Daisy, her arrogance and refusal to adapt annoyed me. I expected more of her, but reminiscing on it for this blog I have changed my mind. As an American woman myself, I think it appalling that we judge the way people act in a country that is foreign to them. To adapt to their customs and expectations, all in order to simply visit a place. Sometimes we find it necessary; such a woman in a Middle Eastern country, adaptation is often needed for their own protection. But to expect Daisy to change her American cultured ways in order to tour through Europe is nonsense.

Did you expect anything else....

2010-03-27T23:27:00.000-07:00

The War Prayer by Mark Twain

As I stated in my fact sheet. Mark Twain knew people. With each of his works Twain had a way of getting inside an individual's head and making them understand the message he was trying to portray. With the piece we were given to read in class, what was obvious for us to understand is the clash between Easterners and Westerners.
He also had a way of displaying humanities guilty pleasures without making people actually feel guilty about them. The piece I have linked is one of my favorite short works. If you skip to the very end, the last larger paragraph you will see the actual "prayer." In which Twain shows the reality of war. The way in which he does this we can't help but laugh/smile at it. But what he is saying is so painstakingly real it's astonishing. Twain knew how to make it real to his readers, he know how to make them understand the reality of war. People knew it was tragic when they lost a husband or a son. People tried to ignore the brutality of war. Twain writes it, Twain forces it into peoples faces without ever making them feel awkward or uncomfortable about it.

This is why he is my favorite. Twain had a way of making things real, making the things he wrote about, fictional or otherwise, real to his readers.

I'd buy 'em

2010-03-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

I actually like the way Whitman's work is portrayed in the ad campaigns. They take his work and give it a new age twist that I think fit's quite nicely with each selected piece. Many people will have no idea that Whitman's work is being used for the campaign but if they like what they hear and take the time to research it, they can soon find out. I think this also affectively gets many from the younger generation to take a look at literary works they generally wouldn't read or even know. We know because the majority of us are literature majors, even if it haddn't been assigned to us to read now, at some point prior or in the future we probalby would have read many of Whitman's works. But if we consider our peers, those either not in college or prusuing a different degree, many of them may only know Whitman by name and not by work. Levi's helps make many aware of the power Whitman has. Levi's helps keep works that are fading out of the mass population alive.

My personal reaction to it was shock and awe. Shocked that something so popular would dare to step out of the circle and use a powerful literary work in their ad campaign. And awe that they did it so well. It is obviously catered to the youth of America, twenty something's included it that. But also the older generation I think would be able to appreciate it, because more of them know not just who Whitman is, but would be able to know without research that the "Go Forth" ad campaign uses his work.

I especially liked the Oh Pioneers one. I thought the ad went well with the words. What we must remember is this was originally published in the mid 1800's. Levis took this old work, and added a new age twist to it. Something that many people probably had a problem with, but I think it is not only very effective I also think Whitman himself would have approved of the approach Levi's took.

What I got

2010-02-16T23:21:00.000-08:00

Albert Bierstadt "A Storm in the Rocky Mountains"

"The fact is, that sublimity is not a specific term,—not a term descriptive of the effect of a particular class of ideas. Anything which elevates the mind is sublime, and elevation of mind is produced by the contemplation of greatness of any kind; but chiefly, of course, by the greatness of the noblest things. Sublimity is, therefore, only another word for the effect of greatness upon the feelings. Greatness of matter, space, power, virtue, or beauty, are thus all sublime; and there is perhaps no desirable quality of a work of art, which in its perfection is not, in some way or degree, sublime." (Ruskin Modern Painter section 2 chapter 3)

I went through many different photos before choosing this one. I chose this one because I thought it was the most beautiful, looking at it I felt as though it were perfect for what it was I wanted to say. Even though I had no idea what it was I intended to post about. The darkness combined with a perfect amount of "sun" light seemed so surreal. I wanted to be in the picture.

So I had the perfect picture. All that was left to do was pick out something from Modern Painter that worked. I first read the section on beauty, I thought that since I picked this piece because I thought it was beautiful that it would probably have something perfect in which to talk about. Alas, it wasn't good enough for what I wanted.

I scrolled down and read the sections and the chapter titles. Then I landed on "Of the sublime" I thought I'd take a gander, and the very first thing in the chapter seemed perfect. Both the piece of art and the segment from the book spoke to me.

"...elevation of mind is produced by the contemplation of greatness of any kind; but chiefly, of course, by the greatness of the noblest things."

I choose "Of the Sublime" from Ruskin's Modern Painter because I thought it fit perfectly the way I felt about the painting. Ruskin talks in the chapter that the feeling of sublime is not just about beauty, greatness or pleasure, it is in something more and it is also all those things. His thoughts on sublimity reminded me of the saying "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." It works the same way with sublimity. The feeling is in the beholder being able to take the beauty, greatness and pleasure recieved by a certain thing and make it something more. To expand your mind and be able to feel something more than what it was meant for.

That is how this painting made me feel. I don't just think its beautiful, I wish to be apart of it, or to find this place along the rocky mountains and experience it during a storm. Also, this segment from Modern Painter. Because upon reading the parts about beauty I felt it was not enough to use to talk about this painting, I needed something more. Then I ran across the segment I used and thought, "Wow, this is amazing." But part of what I believe Ruskin was trying to say about Sublimity was; in some way or another one may find any piece of art sublime, while others may find it average at best. I think this picture is amazing, while others who read this post may question my amazement.

Better late than never

2010-02-16T22:59:00.000-08:00

`Why do you tremble at me alone?'' cried he, turning his veiled face round the circle of pale spectators. ``Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friend; the lover to his best beloved; when man does not vainly shrink from the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and, lo! on every visage a Black Veil!''

The end to this truly got to me. It said what I was thinking throughout the entire piece. He made a vow to wear this veil. It represents the transgressions and sins of men and not just himself. He believed that when he died was the only time he would not be wearing a figurative veil over his life, so he wore a literal one to show the world.

I found it rather ironic that although the veil made people afraid of him, they shuddered when they saw him and children ran from him; it also made him a better minister because he was able to express the most depressing matters and people truly understood them. The veil represented the people. The veil made people afraid of things they were already thinking; sad and depressing things; which in church would often be perfect, but in real life they are things people generally tend to run from. The veil represented everything that people wanted to forget about life.

The mister understood what the veil represented to himself and to others. He was not afraid or ashamed to confront the transgressions in his life and thus wore the veil to symbolize this. People are so unwilling to acknowledge their own transgressions, being around the mister with his black veil to the world reminded them of the things they can't admit to.

Titles are important too

2010-02-04T21:26:00.000-08:00

In class we were told to never skip the epigraph because it is almost always very important to the story it proceeds. I love to write, generally poetry, and often times my poem barely resembles what I have titled it, but the title is important to the message of the story. Sometimes the title is meant to make the person think deeper about the poem than what I've actually written. And even if I have left the poem untitled, that is just as significant. Just as titles are often there to make us think deeper into the meaning of something, epigraphs are meant to as well.

I believe this epigraph perfectly represents the comment I made in class on Tuesday: about nature being the starting point for Man thinking. Nature when you think about it, is pure clean and untouched. It is the untouched canvas of beauty and chaos combined. Ephemerals, in nature, are plants marked by short life cycle (stolen from wiki) ephemeral the word means transitory or quickly fading. In "Circles" Emerson suggest that we are constantly making new circles, in life and in thought. That to become Man Thinking we must constantly draw another circle around the starting point. The last lines in the poem "Knew they what that signified/ A new genesis were here." Though I am not religious, Emerson was. Genesis immediately made me think of the bible. It is the first book of the bible, where it all begins. Nature is our genesis, we should form our minds from the beginning as an untouched canvas, ready for us to develop it to benifit not only ourselves but others around us.

This is not only the message of the epigraph, but also the message of circles. "Nature centres into balls/ and her proud ephermerals" Nature constantly cycles itself, dying and regrowing in its own due time. Nature is it's own circle. But most importantly, and what I was trying to portray in this blog is that the epigraph sums up the meaning of the essay.

We should all be in constant circles. Dying and regrowing in due time, starting over from our beginning, our genesis, when needed; but more often adding to our story.

do not part with your delusions

2010-01-30T23:25:00.000-08:00

Upon my first read of this poem, at this particular part:

Once did I see a slip of earth,
By throbbing waves long undermined,
Loosed from its hold; -- how no one knew
But all might see it float, obedient to the wind.

Might see it, from the mossy shore
Dissevered float upon the Lake,
Float, with its crest of trees adorned
On which the warbling birds their pastime take.

When I first pictured it, I imagined standing on a beach, and seeing a log float in and out with the waves. No one ever really knows how the log ended up in the ocean, but there it is, and sometime soon it will be washed up on the shore.

When I read it again I got something completely different. I thought of what it's like when you're a little kid, pretending different things. I though about seeing a small piece of land floating in a river or a lake. And as a little kid, imagining that it was my own private island, and all the adventures I would have.

This poem invokes imagination. One reader to the next may see something completely different when reading it. It may make someone feel happy and nostalgic, while someone else feels saddened by it.

Even in my own reading of it, I was able to imagine two completely different pictures from it. How very interesting such few lines can do for ones imagination.

mysterious eyes

2010-01-23T13:36:00.000-08:00

"I cast my eyes wildly and languidly around. The darkness was no less intense than in the pit below, and yet two objects were distinctly seen.
They resembled a fixed and obscure flame. They were motionless. Though lustrous themselves they created no illumination around them. This circumstance, added to others, which reminded me of similar objects, noted on former occasions, immediately explained the nature of what I beheld. These were the eyes of a panther." pg 158-59

-Here is where Edgar wakes up, after having sleepwalked into a cave and fallen into a pit. He is completely unaware of his surroundings, until escaping from the cave only assumes he knows where he is, and as he is trying to escape from this mystery he encounters a panther.-

Before having read the blog assignment, I paused at this particular description. I thought how much more intense this picture was knowing absolutely nothing about the surroundings, other then the probability of being in a dark cave. Imaging seeing two pairs of eyes in a pitch black setting and nothing else. This situation is all about the mind and how it can work against you. The scene is set up to be pitch black. If you guys are as me, and like to picture being in the setting as your reading, then its easy to get the overwhelming sensation of fear combined with curiosity. What we know is that the Edgar has assumed he's fallen into a pit in a cave. It is pitch black, he is unaware of his surroundings, how he got there and what time of day it currently is, and also he has a tom-hawk that he is unaware of why or how it is there. Then suddenly, out of the complete darkness he encounters nothing but two eyes.

This scene would have had a completely different effect had the setting been more finely depicted. Cave or no cave, I believe it is the absence of light that provides the lingering fear. Not knowing the surroundings, where and why Edgar is there adds more suspense to this scene. Without the suspense, the fear is not the same. I won't say the fear wouldn't be there at all, because lets face it, encountering a panther whether or not you are aware of your surroundings would be rather frightening. But had another author been more descriptive of the scene, the affect would have been entirely different. It is in not knowing that creates the suspense, that adds to the fear of encountering the panther.

Being terrified is an exhilarating feeling

2010-01-12T16:48:00.001-08:00

Discussion on Terror versus Horror.

When discussing examples of what we could blog about for terror in class today, I was reminded of a recent event I experienced around October. My boyfriend at the time and I were trying to figure out something fun to do. After each coming up with a few rejected ideas I was reminded of something some of the older class members in my high school did with the younger class; the Finley Ghost. SPOILER ALERT: For those of you who have never heard of this; there is a place out in Finley just off the river where there is a water pump that releases water into the river every 15 and 45 of the hour, making this very loud noise and a lot of bubbly commotion in the river where the water is pumped out. If you tell a good enough ghost story before hand and get the other person scared enough it can be rather frightening to new comers. The problem with doing it at this age is it becomes less believable that something truly ghostly is going to happen when the other person isn't terrified. One thing that is important to note for the rest of this story: I believe in ghosts. So in order to truly scare my boyfriend I had to make myself scared. After telling him my made up ghost story while we waited I started telling him of a creepily haunted house my brother used to live in. After telling that story I began to think what I would do if for some reason a ghost did happen to pop up when the water pump was supposed to go off and how terrifying that would be. The plan worked, I was truly scared of the coming event, even though I knew what was going to happen. When the water pump went off, I had released all my fear but my boyfriend jumped about a foot grabbing onto my arm and almost cutting off the circulation. The anticipation of what I told him was going to happen scared him, along with the fact that I in turn had made myself truly scared in anticipation also added to the effect because he knew I had experienced it before.

As for horror the best example that fits into my personal life would be the movie arachnophobia. Spiders are my one true fear. I haven't watched arachnophobia in years, not because the movie itself is overly scary, but because the effect it has on me after having watched it. This is true for any movie where the main plot is about spiders, I have yet to watch 8-legged freaks even after I was told how stupid and unrealistic it was. After watching arachnophobia two things happen. The first is I get creepy crawlies, I constantly feel like there is something crawling on me and then I instantly freak out and brush whatever area has the feeling. Even after I have found nothing in the area I previously felt something crawling on, I still am not completely convinced there isn't a spider somewhere around me. The second thing that happens is without fail I have a nightmare about spiders. Even if I were to watch the movie with the knowledge it is not real, and that millions of spiders are not going to invade my house, I cannot prevent those two things from happening. I can talk about spiders, I can have one crawling on my wall in real life. But watching that movie (or seeing pictures of gigantic existing spiders) create this overwhelming since of horror in me causing me to think irrationally and believe spiders are crawling on or near me where there are none to be found.

Remembe me, I could be famous someday

2010-01-12T16:17:00.000-08:00

Hello Class

I am Meredith Staley obviously I go to WSU TC with all of you. I also take online classes because I find it easier to actually attend a class when I can do it at my own will instead of by a schedule. I am a night person, so my one and only class that I have on campus is with you fine people.

I am a literature major, which I am assuming given the level of the class, most of you are as well. Please forgive my blog postings from here on; though I am a English Lit major I have terrible grammar and spell check only does so much. This is my weakness in my field and something I am improving with every new class. I love to read and I enjoy really getting into a book and becoming a part of the story for a short period of time. The one thing I hate about taking literature classes is that being required to read a book isn't quite as enjoyable as picking one up on your own. Also, I find that often I am required to read authors I do not enjoy. There are very few on that list so far, but as is stands I would rather poke my eyes out with a blunt object than have to read Hemmingway or Virgina Woolf. I am also not a huge fan of Hawthorne, but that is because I find his way of writing particularly hard to follow. I aspire to one day be in front of a classroom teaching the things I am learning now to prospective literature majors in a college class room one day. My ultimate goal is to one day become the Dean of Literature at whatever college I end up teaching for.

As for my life personally. I am 23, and currently living with my mother. I moved in with her last year to keep her company after my parents married for 36 years divorced. I have 2 kids, and by kids I mean pets. One cat named Lady and a lab/chow mix named Akira. I work as a dealer at the Crazy Moose casino and I absolutely love it, it is the perfect job to get me through everyday living until I can finally start my career. At the end of next school year I should finally finished my bachelors degree and from there I intend to go to Portland State University to continue my Masters and my Doctorate.

It is my personal belief that you can never truly know someone unless you know the little/simple things. So I will leave you with what I believe to be the most important and simple thing you can know about a person: My favorite color is silver.