Reflections on the Semester

At the end of this semester, its definitely interesting to look back at the start of the semester and think about what has changed. I am honestly say that this class has made me more sympathetic to American history, even after what I know about the Americans and how the document was filled with ideas that were not completely knew. I'm okay with that. I also see this particular time period in literature differently.  Enlightenment literature always struck me as something that just so happened to come before romanticism. But after this semester, I think I really took this time period for granted. Milton and Voltaire were two authors who by no means wrote boring works.  It was interesting to see the progress of the novel during this time period and also the continuation of poetry.  It will be missed, but at the same time, I look forward to next semester's colloquium and literature.  I think this semester was absolutely necessary to understand modern writing as we know it and I'm glad I can fully appreciate its background. 

Home of the Free (-slaves...)

After this week in Humanistic Studies, I am uncharacteristically patriotic. I thought the Declaration of Independence, regardless of its undertones, was still very moving.  I really like the changes made, such as saying "self-evident." And even though Thomas Jefferson wasn't the best person, I think that I'm not going to base my views on the Declaration on him.  After watching the movie in class and also discussing the French revolution in the cultural history class, I think that America has an inspiring road to freedom.  If they followed the French example, they would have simply killed the New York and Pennsylvania representatives. Besides Brazil who gained independence peacefully, most country can't be that radical and yet successful.  The Americans actually stepped up to the challenge and really made themselves men of their country, rather than making a country for their own purposes. I really thought that what Dr. Svelmoe said about George Washington and John Adams was also really insightful.  Obviously they have their own character flaws, but they were to work past that for the good of the nation. The voice of the people was heard and addressed, although they didn't mention anything about the voices of the slaves, but they had to see the big picture. I guess I'm proud to be an American today. 

(the picture is admittedly obnoxious)

Voltaire

After finishing Candide and discussing it in class, I was left with a lot of questions.  I was concerned with the ending, but also the last chapter in general. I'm still unsettled by it.  To me, I still believe that it was a happy ending.  I felt like Candide really did grow throughout the book, and I think that it was interesting the similarities that arose from Candide's garden and Eldorado.  When he arrives in Eldorado, people are treating jewels like they are unimportant and when Candide attempts to pay with gold, they refuse him because no one has to pay.  They have no need for money because they're risen above it.  They give Candide the money in the sheep so that he can go along his journey, and he slowly has to let go of the money, but it seems as though he starts to give it up more generously and with thought. Which is why I'm surprised by Candide's reaction to Cunegonde is because perhaps his idea of beauty had changed and that's why no one else has realized. Maybe he realizes that the thing he has been basing his journey off of has been as frivolous as the money he gave away.  The fact that Cunegonde's brother still thinks Candide isn't at Cunegonde's level wouldn't make sense if Cunegonde was ugly.  But if isn't an inner beauty, who knows. I don't know. I'm still caught up in the ending. 

Alexander Pope: A Natural Man

This was definitely an interesting read, as far as poetry goes.  I must say that I was surprised by his form and his choice to use an A-A, B-B, C-C, etc format. I am not sure if there was a language barrier or not from a change in pronunciation but there were certain points where his words didn't actually rhyme, for example, sphere and bear. This could just be a time period difference, though. 

Out of all four of the epistles, I think the third was my favorite. I felt like Pope had a lot of really good analogies and a lot of really great lines of imagery.  The way that he weaved nature in and out of the poem in combination with man was really striking. In the beginning, he begins by describing man as emerging from foam and describing the sea. Throughout the poem, he brings back the image of water, as well as fire and lightning. He also describes man as a vine that society is growing on.  I wasn't sure initially why he had chosen to insert nature in that epistle, but he did a good job making sense of it. It seems as though he is saying that man came from nature, but then over took nature because both an and nature come from God, but man has the ability to rise above.  But in the same way that man comes from God, so has nature, so it should be respected. It had a nice little ending of things with man and nature co-existing and supporting each other under the reign of God. 

Eve, Girl, I don't blame you. It's not your fault.

After reading the fall in Paradise Lost, I can't really say that I would have done much different from Eve. I'd like to say that I would have seen through the snake and known better, but Milton really gives Satan an excellent argument. First of all, it's a talking snake in a garden of non-talking animals. Second, the snake has excellent rhetoric and presents a good point. If he can talk and did not die after eating from the tree of knowledge, surely it isn't that bad. And third, as much as people deny it, flattery is hard to turn down. I just don't think that Eve was really prepared for this intellectual struggle. She hadn't been exposed to the world for very long, and she wasn't very aware of the huge wars and battles between good and evil. She only knew a diluted version of what was really going on. Most of the information was passed on to Adam and Adam was placed in control. If anything, I say that Adam is the one who should look stupid. He knew the history. He wasn't as pro-active as he could have been. I don't know. All I know is that I think I would have been as naive as Eve. I would've heard the snake's argument, saw that it did make sense, and wonder why God would put a tree in the garden if he didn't want me to eat it. It seemed more like a challenge. Maybe a test of reason. But no. It was just straight up, "don't do that because I said so."

Paradise Lost Book I

In this reading, its seems like we returned to a work more like Dante and Classics rather than travel journals.  While I do enjoy Shakespeare and more realistic plots, it was definitely a flashback to preview Hust semesters.  When Milton is referring to the muses, I was automatically reminded of Beatrice and Laura, the inspiration of Dante and Petrarch.  This plot is so different and fantastical that its hard not to be intrigued by the writing.  The small details that Milton uses throughout the description of the first book is impressive. The way he chooses to talk about the flames that do not bring light but darkness and the city that the devils create.  It doesn't surprise me that this book is a classic. 

Ooooh No, Oroonoko

Well, I am frightened by the ending. And I am trying to not think that Aphra Behn is sadistically crazy, so with that in mind, the only thing I can say about this book is this: If she is trying to portray the native peoples of Africa in a positive light and prove a point, she definitely did. She has shown a great prince, who was well educated and just like a white man, be literally and symbolically ripped apart and destroyed by white slave owners. This novella strongly shows how a man who similar to the white race and be beaten down and forced to be a savage. It's like the saying, "If you call a dog a bad name, he'll answer to it." I think I've actually used that quote in a blog before, but I think it applies again. Oroonoko increasingly because "whiter" and "whiter" as the story progresses, as he picks up things like the name Caesar, and he becomes more aggressive like the white men. He was not even planning to revolt, and yet by the end he is just as violent as the next. I did think that Behn tried to foreshadow her point when she showed Oroonoko hunting in the woods. He shoots through the heart of a female lion and gives the cub to the narrator. I think that the female lion is somehow representing the murder of his lover, who he kills himself, and she is therefore unable to give birth. But in giving the lion cub to Behn, he is somehow passing on the legacy to her. Maybe that's a stretch, but I'm really trying to think of Behn as a good person who is trying to prove a point. Basically, by allowing the reader to relate to Oroonoko in the first part of the book, she makes them more sympathetic to his gruesome and horrible death at the end. If the reader can be sympathetic to his mistreatment and death, perhaps they will be more sympathetic to slaves and the issues at hand during the time period. Or, Behn is just really sick. I'm not sure but I hope its the first.

Othello Acts 3-5

After this reading assignment, I am impressed by the complex characters that Shakespeare is able to depict and contrast. It is amazing how he is able to manipulate the image of Desdemona according to Othello by using Iago's tales while simultaneously keeping Desdemona a pure character. He keeps her so pure, that is it easier for the plot to further itself. Even when Desdemona is about to die and Othello's rage has steadily increased to dangerous levels, she still remains faithful to her husband and to the principle of loyalty in marriage. Shakespeare also makes Iago a very smart and intriguing character in the way Iago plots out the turn of events. He does not just create ficitious stories that he tells Othello, but he actually plays a role as Othello's close friend. He doesn't just openly turn against Cassio, but attempts to defend Cassio's false actions. In doing this, he makes himself an even more upstanding and believable source in the eyes of Othello. The characteristic that helps Iago with his plan the most is his ability to get people to trust him. He convinces Roderigo throughout the story to trust and believe him while eventually leading him to his death. He convinces Othello so full heartedly that Othello believes Iago over his own wife or others around him. This type of villian is especially malicious when it is compared to the angelic Desdemona, who even in death, tries to defend her lover by saying she committed suicide. Othello's madness almost seems to be Shakespeare's way of combining the two contrasting characteristics of good and bad into one confused character in the middle. Shakespeare has created a piece of literature that covers the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Othello Acts 1-2

After reading this week's assignment after having already read Othello, I can't help but notice just how angry and petty Iago is even from the start. He truly sets out to be the villain and does a pretty good job at it. He's hateful and spiteful towards women and I find it funny that he is convinced that Othello has slept with his wife Emilia.  Othello is portrayed as someone who is in love and loyal to Desdemona and also s very trusting person.  It seems as though Iago is suspicious of Othello because that is something that Iago himself would do.  He wants to cure his problem of Othello sleeping with his wife by sleeping with Desdemona, but I doubt that even that would solve his problems.  He would continue to be even more suspicious.  I think he's just a genuinely corrupted person. 

Montaigne and Bacon Essays

I can honestly say that I loved Francis Bacon's writing and didn't like Montaigne.  Montaigne was long winded and stuffy.  I think he lost me after the story about Marie Germane in "Of Force of Imagination." The writing was unclear at points and didn't grab my attention nearly as much as Bacon's.   

The writings I liked the most were "Of Travel" and "Of Studies," though I will say that I also really enjoyed "Of Plantations" and "Of Friends."  I wish that I had read "Of Travel" before I had studied abroad in Rome.  All of his suggestions for travel were incredibly accurate to how people still travel, and I couldn't help but think of Rick Steve's or Go Europe! when he was describing a book of the city people should carry with them.  His description of a servant or person who knows the area just reminded me of different tour guides people use when traveling, and its not uncommon to bring at least a phrase book with you to have some knowledge of the country's language. I know that I personally kept a journal while studying abroad, as did other girls, and I don't know anyone who regretted doing that.  I really like his suggestion at the end to keep the culture with you, not in dress or souvenirs, but in how you act and carry yourself. 

"Of Studies" was also incredibly interesting to read.  He really seemed to sum up society's views of education when he said "Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation."  He seems to be discussing street smarts versus book smarts, with a strong undertone of being in favor of book smarts.  Its stereotypical, but I think that it still rings true for some, all the same.  

I really enjoyed Bacon as a writing.  His writing style was structured and yet it read much more easily than Montaigne's.  His diction was quote-worthy and he stuck to the point. It was an overall good read.