Carnival Post

     In the last section of American Literature, the theme of societal expectations kept coming up.  Ralph Ellison refers to it in "Invisible Man."  With an image of a naked woman wearing an American flag painted on her stomach, Ellison symbolizes the "American Dream."  The woman is desirable, yet frustrating to the narrator.  It's as if an opportunity is being dangled in front of his face with no promise of the future.  This notion of an "American Dream" is questioned by this image in Ellison's work.  American society has standards set in place for its citizens to meet--people tend to think that the "American Dream" is attainable if they just work a little harder, yet their work always seems to fall short.
     "Howl" by Ginsberg gives us another image of an unattainable American dream.  The speaker talks about the U.S. as a child would talk about a parent tucking them into bed: "where we hug and kiss the United States under our bedsheets."  This image of a child showing love and affection to its parent is immediately countered by the next line, the "United States that coughs all night and won't let us sleep."  This line gives us the image of a parent that won't let their child sleep, or possibly has such high expectations of their child that the child can't sleep at night for fear of disappointing the parent.  The unrealistic expectations society puts on its members are laid out with the personification of the United States.
     Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston has several examples of the theme dealing with societal expectations.  Janie's life is constantly examined by the eyes of those around her.  Every decision Janie makes is met with scrutiny by people in her society that think they know best.  These people have expectations, shaped by societal norms, for how Janie is supposed to behave, and when she goes against those expectations, people become extremely judgmental.  Janie herself has expectations for how life and her role in society is supposed to be.  She thinks that getting married will solve her problems, but it turns out that doing so causes even more problems.  When her expectations are not met, Janie realizes that her ideas on what is the norm in society don't work in practice, so she tells people to live life for themselves and figure out what works.
   The "American Dream" and other societal expectations are questioned in the post-modernist literature we read for American Lit II.  These themes, even in small ways, come up in several of the works covered.  Authors express what many have questioned but kept quiet about for so long.  The opportunity to see that others feel the same way about the unrealistic expectations placed on them allows readers to think differently and look for other options.

Forgetfulness

     Even though the poem wasn't assigned specifically for class, I really liked "Forgetfulness" by Billy Collins.  After reading and enjoying "The Night House," I wanted to read more by this author, and "Forgetfulness" did not disappoint.  The imagery that is conveyed with the word choice makes the poem relatable and beautiful.  Here are a few examples of my favorite lines: "the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel / which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of," (lines 3-4) "Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye," (line 8) "whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall," (line 17) and finally the last stanza, "No wonder you rise in the middle of the night / to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war. / No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted out of a love poem that you used to know by heart" (lines 20-24).
     Collins describes forgetting in a way that I personally can relate to.  I think of books I've read with "heartbreaking conclusions" that left me with tears, yet I can't quite remember the main characters anymore. I think of the important historical figures I learned about in school that seemed so necessary to store away for tests, yet now can't even remember what their name begins with.  The way Collins ends the poem is very romantic, with the image of the moonlight coming through window.  It suggests that remembering is a special gift that comes to us at the most unexpected of times.  We want to hold onto memories and store them away.  I also suspect that "Forgetfulness" is not so much about the little memories, like the 9 Muses or the name of a book, but about bigger memories.  I would venture to say that this poem is a love poem, and the speaker is reflecting on a relationship or a person that he has forgotten about--or maybe he is the one that has been forgotten about himself.  And I wonder if he wants his audience to remember this "love poem" by heart, so that maybe the moon through the window is a reminder of him.

Persimmons

     So I realize that these next few posts are going to be out of order, but I just realized I forgot to blog about them so bear with me.

     The poem "Persimmons" by Li-Young Lee really resonated with me.  I am very interested in other cultures, languages, and want to work with English Language Learners in the future.  So I empathized with the speaker when he talked about mixing up words like "fight" and "fright" and "wren" and "yarn."  Vocabulary is one of the most difficult part of learning a new language, and native speakers who have never had to learn a second language don't understand that.  I loved how Lee compared these words that seem to have no relation to one another.  Another part I empathized with was when the speaker described Mrs. Walker cutting up the persimmon for the class to share.  The speaker knew that the persimmon wasn't ripe and would taste bitter, but the teacher and the students didn't know that.  "I didn't eat / but I watched the other faces" (lines 44-45).  I assume his classmates made sour faces at tasting the persimmon, which was supposed to be sweet.  This part of the poem further emphasized the gap in understanding of other cultures.

Mao 2: Chapters 7-9

     "She was thin-boundaries.  She took it all in, she believed it all, pain, ecstasy, dog food, all the seraphic matter, the baby bliss that falls from the air.  Scott stared and waited.  She carried the virus of the future.  Quoting Bill" (119).  This was one of my favorite quotes about Karen from the reading.  Karen is someone that feels deeply the pain and passion of others.  She is very empathetic, and desires to understand others.  This is what I like about Karen; she's not someone that goes through life unaffected by other people.  Karen also seems to be very hopeful--carrying the "virus of the future."  Even when things seem dismal and people disappoint, Karen tries to see the best in situations.  Where Scott thinks Bill have forgotten about them altogether, Karen reminds him that Bill loves them, and asks Scott to give Bill a chance to call.  Karen tries to understand what others are going through and give them the benefit of the doubt.

Mao 2: Chapter 4-6

     While I was reading chapter 5, I could relate to Bill somewhat--which is something I never thought I would say.  I don't consider myself a recluse writer by any means, but I connected with some of his ideas.  One of those instances was when Bill is having dinner with Karen, Scott, and Brita.  He says, "It's interesting how 'guest' and 'host' are words that intertwine.  The etymologies are curious.  Converging, mixing, reciprocating.  Like the human groupings marked by the words.  Guests bring ideas from outside" (67).  After writing an etymology paper for Grammar this year, I think a lot about the origins of words, how they used to be used, and how they came to be as they are now.  I sometimes find myself thinking about things that would never come up in other's minds, and when I try to explain my thoughts to people, they give me strange looks.  Bill also seems to think deeply about ideas that others would dismiss without a second thought, which would explain why he admires Brita for her work photographing writers.  I also liked what Scott says a little later in the conversation: "the withheld work of art is the only eloquence left" (67).  He understands Bill's passion and dedication to writing, just as he understands Brita's passion for photography.  It doesn't matter so much to them that everyone sees their work.  But the fact that they continue to do work that goes unseen proves their dedication and passion.

At Yankee Stadium-Part One, Chapter 3

     "Cultish" and "mass crowds" are not words that one would typically use to describe weddings, but they are certainly appropriate for Karen's wedding.  When I think of a wedding, I imagine a special, personal, sometimes intimate event.  I think of close friends and family coming together to celebrate a special union, not parents searching with binoculars just to catch a glimpse of their daughter--"like looking for the body of a loved one after a typhoon (9).  The theme of the individual vs. mass identity manifests itself in Karen's thoughts.  Just as the reader gets wrapped up with the image of this huge, chanting crowd, we get a glimpse into Karen's thoughts: "It will take some getting used to, a husband named Kim.  She has known girls named Kim since she was a squirt in a sunsuit....My husband, as weird as it sounds" (16).  Her thoughts remind us of the individual identity within the crowds.  The last paragraph of "At Yankee Stadium" also reminded us of the individuals within a crowd.  It pointed out all of the daily activities of individuals that get lost within the hustle and bustle of crowds.  But this section also pointed out how crowds can cause excitement--"He leads them out past religion and history, thousands weeping now, all arms high.  They are gripped by the force of a longing.  They know at once, they feel it, all of them together, a longing deep in time, running in the earthly blood" (15-16).  The people are more emotional and worked up when they are a part of a crowd, and their chant becomes more powerful.  People tend to feel more empowered when they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and moved to do something or make a difference.  They are more hopeful and things seem more exciting.  Perhaps that is why "the future belongs to crowds" (16).

My Papa's Waltz

     When reading the title of Theodore Roethke's poem "My Papa's Waltz," one would think that it would be a pleasant or uplifting poem.  However, when glancing through the poem, words such as "dizzy," "like death," "battered," and "scraped" suggest otherwise.  Through the contrast of a waltz and a drunk father, Roethke presents a scene of tension.  The boy waltzing with his father obviously cares about his father and wants to be like him/be close to him.  Lines 15-16 show this in the way the boy clings to his father as he carries him to bed. Even though the father is drunk and unintentionally being rough with the boy, the boy still desires to waltz with his father: "But I hung on like death / Such waltzing was not easy" (lines 3-4).  The mother observes the scene and is not pleased--"My mother's countenance / Could not unfrown itself" (lines 7-8).  The mother knows that the father is being careless, possibly selfish, and a bad example to their son, yet she doesn't do anything but frown at them.  I wonder why this is.  Did the mother not want to draw any more attention to the father's drunkenness, or did she feel that she could not step in and stop the waltz out of fear?  Either way, the scene gives us a picture of a child wanting to be like his father even though the father is flawed.

Lady Lazarus

     I thought the metaphor used by Sylvia Plath of herself being a "Lady Lazarus" was an interesting consideration.  Understanding that the poem deals solely with her attempts at suicide gives the biblical reference a dark connotation.  The reason Plath gives for being a Lazarus isn't necessarily because of her own want to be raised, but because someone else stopped her from death. She desired to die, but wasn't allowed to because society doesn't allow it. When she refers to herself as Lazarus, she does so cynically.  Lines 43-48 exemplify her want to die: "Dying / Is an art, like everything else. / I do it exceptionally well. / I do it so it feels like hell. / I do it so it feels real. / I guess you could say I've a call."  It doesn't seem as though the speaker is alive out of her own free will; she clearly wants to die and considers herself good at it.  Her language makes her sound sort of like the walking dead; she is here on this earth but clearly doesn't want to be and looks forward to another opportunity to leave it.

Diving into the Wreck

     Through an analogy of scuba diving down into a wreck that many myths have been written about, Adrienne Rich cleverly brings up hints of feminism, gender, and history.  The speaker in the poem is adamant about one thing--she will not just hear about the wreck, she will experience the remains of it first-hand.  The speaker doesn't want to settle for what other people have said, but rather wants to form her own ideas.  "The thing I came for: / the wreck and not the story of the wreck / the thing itself and not the myth" (lines 61-63).  One image that comes up several times is that of the female figurehead that is on the front of the ship--"the drowned face always staring / toward the sun," (lines 64-65) "I am she: I am he / whose drowned face sleeps with eyes open," (lines 77-78).  The image presented is one of a woman who has been forgotten, left behind, yet still sees what is before her.  Rich compares this to women who has historically been marginalized.  Even though they played an important part in history, their "names to not appear" in the textbooks as prominent influences (line 94).  The speaker in the poem does not want to be marginalized, nor does she want to be one who marginalizes.  Therefore, she literally dives down into the wreck--the myth--in order to disperse the myths and figure out how they came to be.

The Armadillo

"The Armadillo" by Elizabeth Bishop points out the tensions we see, or pretend not to see, between nature and man.  In the third stanza, when the speaker references the "illegal fire balloons," she says that "it's hard / to tell them from the stars" (line 9-10).  It's as if manmade things have become so much a part of everyday life and our existence that they have become indistinguishable from nature.  Humans have almost forgotten that the things they create are not natural parts of creation.  It isn't until the manmade clashes with nature and causes destruction that we notice it.  But even then, it seems as though the speaker is the only one in the poem to take notice.  Only she pays attention to the horror that has befallen the animals--specifically the armadillo who, despite its best efforts to curl up and protect itself, cannot escape the fire and manmade destruction.  

Howl

     I can't say that Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" was my favorite poem we've read thus far, but it did bring up some topics to consider.  In the first section, the mood and feeling I got from the poem was dark, sinful, filthy, and chaotic.  Many of the lines referenced suicide, sickness/disease, crying, drunkenness, and just general chaos.  Section 2 solidified this with Moloch, the Canaanite fire god.  Ginsberg's way of relating American culture and society to Moloch was an interesting consideration, and one that I had never thought of before.  The line, "Moloch! Moloch! Robot apartments! invisible suburbs! skeleton treasuries! blind capitols! demonic industries!" related this sacrificial burning of children to Moloch to Americans and the "American Dream."  Ginsberg gives some of the negative effects of buying into this notion that there is an American Dream to work toward--hopelessness and despair are what he finds on the other side of the search for this dream.  Lines like "Jumped off the roof!" "Down to the river!" and "Into the street!" give us a vision of giving up and suicide.  This is what Ginsberg said the search for the American Dream leads to.  In the last section, one quote in particular caught my attention.  "I'm with you in Rockland / where we hug and kiss in the United States under our bedsheets the / United States that coughs all night and won't let us sleep."  These lines related a child/parent relationship to Americans and the United States.  The United States presents all of these opportunities for Americans to work toward, and then keeps Americans up all night, restless and worrying about this dream.  The desire for something that ends up being hurtful is a tension that Ginsberg presents a lot in "Howl."

Who're you, outsider?

     "Who're you, outsider? / Ask me who am I."  The last two lines from Langston Hughes' "Visitors to the Black Belt" sums up how I assume natives feel in tourist land.  Countries like Mexico and Jamaica, where poverty and drugs are prevalent, are huge tourist traps.  People come to the country to stay at a resort and pretend like they understand the culture.  They might pick up a few words in the native tongue of the country and repeat them to the natives, feeling like they now can connect so well to their culture.  The resorts are safe and blind the visitors to what's really going on in the country.  Tourists might get glances of what life is like while taking a tour bus from one sight to the next, but their exposure to the truth is limited, and they can continue to pretend that the country is beautiful and tropical, void of problems.
     Even I can't pretend like I know what it's like to live permanently in a poverty stricken country.  I go for a mission trip, get exposure to the culture and the true living conditions of most people, and leave a week later, back to my safe home in America.  We can talk about "across the railroad tracks" (line 2) or "up in Harlem," (line 6) as Hughes points out, but we can't truly know what life is like--because we are outsiders.
     Hughes poem is somewhat of a reality check for privileged people like myself, who haven't ever had to experience poverty or poor living conditions firsthand.  But Hughes isn't asking for pity in his poem; he isn't asking for us to go home and report the poor conditions for others' sympathy.  His question is simple: "Ask me who am I."  He's wants us to ask, but more importantly to listen.

Come and See

     This is the second time I have read Their Eyes Were Watching God this year, and I still can't decide whether or not I like Tea Cake.  I was wary of him toward the beginning of he and Janie's relationship.  He seemed too good to be true.  Then he left for long periods of time with no explanation--other than gambling--but he didn't seem to slip up anywhere else.  However, in chapter 17 he beat Janie, and with that event my respect for him dropped significantly.  I don't like the idea Tea Cake had of owning Janie, like she was an object.  "Being able to whip her reassured him in possession" (147).  It sounded all too familiar to the trophy wife Joe Starks wanted her to be, and nothing more.  The second Janie showed signs of rebellion, he would verbally abuse her and put her back in her place.  The way that Janie acted after he beat her also displeased me, because Tea Cake knew that he now had the power in the relationship.  All he had to do was suck up to her a little and "the helpless way she hung on him made men dream dreams" (147) and even made the women jealous--of an abusive relationship!!

     Tea Cake won a few brownie points back when he saved Janie from the dog, but not enough to win me over completely.  Especially because he then tries to kill her.  I know that he was mad out of his mind with rabies, but it still bothered me that he would try to shoot his wife.  However, Janie loved him deeply, and that made him somewhat lovable in my eyes.  The way she speaks of him makes it almost impossible not to like him, or at least see him from her eyes.  Here is one of my favorite quotes about Tea Cake:

          "He drifted off into sleep and Janie looked down on him and felt a self-crushing love.  So her soul crawled out form its hiding spot" (128).

     It's obvious that Janie has never loved another man the way that she loves Tea Cake, with a "self-crushing" love.  She is willing to sacrifice for him because she loves him so much.  At the very end of the book, this love is shown again with the beautiful imagery and personification of the horizon.  I love these last lines, and I don't think any of my words could ever do them the justice they deserve, so I will just leave them here:

          "Tea Cake, with the sun for a shawl.  Of course he wasn't dead.  He could never be dead until she herself had finished feeling and thinking.  The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall.  Here was peace.  She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net.  Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder.  So much of life in its meshes!  She called in her soul to come and see" (193).

Hair and Freedom

     Throughout Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie's hair has served as a symbol of her freedom, or lack thereof.  Joe made her keep it wrapped up when they were together, because he noticed men staring at it and even trying to touch it.  However, once Joe dies, Janie is able to wear her hair down--she is free.  But in chapter 11, we have the scene with Tea Cake combing Janie's hair.  On one hand, we recognize the freedom Janie now has because of the fact that a man (other than Joe) is able to touch her hair.  But on the other hand this scene foreshadows the power Tea Cake will have over her.  By power, I don't necessarily mean domineering, cruel,  or suppressive power, but rather power over Janie's emotions.  The next morning, this foreshadowing begins to manifest itself in Janie's thoughts:
          "All the next day in the house and store she thought resisting thoughts about Tea Cake.  She even ridiculed him in her mind and was ashamed of the association.  But every hour or two the battle had to be fought all over again.  She couldn't make him look like just any other man to her.... He was a glance from God" (106).
     With Tea Cake now in the picture, Janie begins to lose her freedom in the sense of independence.  She is no longer satisfied to be alone because she wants to be with Tea Cake.  She falls so deeply in love with him that the power she once had over her own emotions begins to deteriorate, and is replaced with a dependency on Tea Cake and his affection for her.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

     Poor J. Alfred Prufrock.  This man seems to have a pretty crappy life.  He's super insecure, suffering from unrequited love, has social paralysis, and greatly lacks confidence.  At the beginning of the poem, he is already aware that what he is about to say is basically meaningless; the girl he wishes to share his feelings with will never know them or share them with him.  In lines 8 and 9, "Streets that follow like a tedious argument / of insidious intent" suggest that he is already tired of what he is about to say.  He himself doesn't even want to hear it, which leaves us, the readers, wondering why he's even saying it.
     You know how when someone has a bad breakup and can't quite get closure, so they write a letter to their ex-partner, but then never actually give it to them but end up burning it?  I think that's pretty much what J. Alfred Prufrock is doing in this poem.  He constantly questions himself, "Do I dare / Disturb the universe?"  He wonders if sharing his feelings is worth his time.  As he begins to pity himself more, "No!  I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; / Am an attendant lord, one that will do / To swell a progress," (lines 111-113) we come to understand that he sees himself not as the main character--the one who the story is about, the one that everyone is looking at--but just an "attendant lord," someone seemingly unimportant in the background.
     At the very end, Prufrock is awakened from his trance.  If even for a second he thought he might give this letter to the woman he loves, or share his feelings with her in person, he now knows that was completely ridiculous.  The last stanza, "We have lingered in the chambers of the sea / By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown / Till human voices wake us, and we drown," relates to the idea of Greek mythology and sirens, where sailors get drowned by sirens who lure them in with beautiful singing.  Prufrock relates himself to a man that has been lured in by the song.  The song being the idea that this woman he loves would ever know his feelings and reciprocate them.  But in the end, he is awakened from this seemingly ridiculous thought, and drowns in the reality that he will never be with her. 

Sunday Morning

     Although "Sunday Morning" by Wallace Stevens seems to be questioning and critiquing Christian theology, I think the speaker in the poem may be onto something, and may even have a stronger grasp on what Christian theology truly hopes for than most Christians who set their eyes on "heaven."  In line 76, the question is posed: "Is there no change of death in paradise?"  The speaker is concerned with the fact that in the after life, everything is still, stagnant, unchanging.  Where on Earth humans could move about, have passions and emotions, enjoy the seasons, in the heaven that is so often described by the Church and Christians, everything seems to stay the same.  This concerns the speaker--especially the fact that people sit in wait of this as their desired future.  "Death is the mother of beauty; hence from her, alone, shall come fulfillment to our dreams and desires" (lines 63-65).

     It's somewhat humorous to me that Christians, who so adamantly claim that God created the earth, are so willing and ready to leave it.  Christians, who fight for pro-life rights, recognize humans as precious, believe life is sacred, focus so much on their own death. They essentially await their death in order to be with God, in order to be fulfilled.

     But Stevens seems to be giving an alternative to death: life.  Line 19 he says,
   
          Shall she find not comforts of the sun,
          In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else
          In any balm or beauty of the earth
          Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven?

     The speaker is suggesting that life needs to be lived; the beauty of the earth we live on is a gift, and should be cherished like the thought of heaven is cherished by those longing to be there already.  Although Steven's ideas about "heaven" may be informed by some bad theology, he offers a good suggestion to those who live (or wish to die) by those beliefs.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

     "Mending Wall" by Robert Frost validated some feelings that I have about neighbors and people in general.  It seems to me that people try as much as possible to avoid one another and be alone rather than get to know each other and live in community--which is something I am just as guilty of as anyone.  I have heard the phrase "good fences make good neighbors" before and thought it was kind of rude.  Because essentially what is being said is that good neighbors stay away.  Frost seems to share the same belief as I do.  He wants to question this old folkism.  In line 28, he begins,
          Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
          If I could put a notion in his head:
          "Why do they make good neighbors?...."
     He goes on to talk about how he and his neighbor don't have cows to keep out of each other's yard, they only have trees.  In doing so, Frost is challenging those who are cemented in their old ways; his neighbor certainly seems to be.  The neighbor is described as "bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top in each hand, like an old-stone savage armed" as he is preparing to mend the wall.  Just as he grasps firmly onto the stones, the neighbor seems to be grasping on to old ways of thinking without questioning them.  He lives by his father's motto, and doesn't think twice about the implications it has.  But Frost acknowledges "something there is that doesn't love a wall," possibly saying that there is something within him, even if he can't quite explain what it is, that doesn't like this old idea of separation and isolation.

Open Boat

     While reading "Open Boat" by Stephen Crane, I couldn't help but think about how much I am not in control of my life.  The men in the boat have no control over the seas; they are "impressed with the unconcern of the universe."  Nature was "indifferent, flatly indifferent" to their suffering (616-617).  These men couldn't get away from the fact that there was something more powerful in charge of their lives.  In our Western culture, we can deceive ourselves into thinking that we are in control of our lives, that we can control nature.  We can minimize the impact nature has on us.  That is, until the wifi goes down or a hurricane destroys an entire city.  Only when we are confronted with these drastic occurrences do we realize how small and weak we are as human beings.  This can seem extremely overwhelming if we don't have an idea of who or what is in control.  For these men, it was "the seven mad gods who rule the sea."  This was the best they could come up with in their situation.  Even though they are aware they aren't in control, one thing they do have is each other.  "It would be difficult to describe the subtle brotherhood of men that was here established on the seas.  No one said it was so.  No one mentioned it.  But it dwelt in the boat, and each man felt it warm him" (607).  This was a gift to the men--not having to die alone like the Legion soldier in Algiers.  The relationship and sense of community that was built between these men gave them hope to keep going, even if they didn't know what lie ahead for them.

Sister Carrie

"How true it is that words are but vague shadows of the volumes we mean.  Little audible links they are, chaining together great inaudible feelings and purposes."

"Ah, the promise of the night.  What does it not hold for the weary.  What old illusion of hope is not here forever repeated!"

     These were two of my favorite quotes from the excepts of Sister Carrie.  I love the romantic ideals they hold.  Sister Carrie wavers between a romantic and a realist at different times--her ideas about life often contrast each other.  On the one hand, she imagines idyllic experiences--she allows her emotion to preside over reason; but on the other hand, when she is confronted with the realistic issues around her, she puts aside her emotion and lets logic win.  She sets off on this journey to Chicago with fear and excitement; the realistic qualities in her keep reminding herself that Chicago is not that far away from her home--she can turn back at any time.  She continues to reason with herself and rationalize her trip.  The more she comforts herself about this decision to leave her home, the more she lets in romantic ideas about Chicago.  "There were lights and sounds and a roar of things."  Her fear begins to slip away and in its place there is excitement.  Of course, the appearance of Drouet only heightens her excitement of all the new things she will encounter.  However, her romantic thoughts are again interrupted by her job search.  The real world confronts her with serious questions, like--How will you get a job with no experience?  Although she gets discouraged for a time, she once again finds a way to get past the realistic obstacles and lets romanticism win over.  "Ah, the long winter in Chicago--the lights, the crowd, the amusement.  This was a great, pleasing metropolis after all."

Pick Up Your Buckets and Walk Away

     "Cast down your buckets where you are."  When I read Booker T. Washington's speech, I was all for it; I thought, what a great and practical idea.  Start somewhere, do what you know, and work your way up.  I thought his speech, addressing both the freed African American community as well as white community, was inspiring and helpful.  It was a "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" kind of speech.  He asked of both races to work together and pull the load upward.  In remaining faithful to one another, he suggested, both races would feel empowered.  It sounded like a great idea, until W.E.B. DuBois asked this question: "How does it feel to be a problem?"
     The more I thought about this question, the more I realized Washington's idea wouldn't work in reality.  If African Americans remained on plantations, working for the white owners that enslaved them for so long, were they truly free?  Even if they were being compensated, what was the difference between their life pre- and post-slavery?  It had been engrained in the white American's brains for so long that African Americans were the inferior race; that they were a problem and their only worth was working in the fields.  Did we really think those attitudes would change overnight?  That "casting down your buckers where you are" on white land, continuing to work under white control, would help bring about any sort of change?  Chances are, the white owners would continue to mistreat the African Americans, to continue to treat them as slaves, because who would hold them accountable and tell them otherwise?
     By casting down their buckets, African Americans would be compromising.  They would continue to be treated unequally.  They would remain in their situation indefinitely; their children would inherit that fate, and their children's children the same fate.  By continuing to be the ones bossed around, uneducated and without a voice, they would continue to see themselves as the white people saw them--inferior, a problem.  DuBois suggestion turned out to be more powerful, inspiring, and helpful than Washington's.  Although his message would require more work and would by no means be easy, what he wanted was true equality, and he knew it wouldn't happen if African Americans continued to accept the lives they had been forced to live before freedom.

Human Nature

     I couldn't help but notice the irony in the scene with the doctor in chapter 42.  When he needs help to cut the bullet out of Tom's leg, Jim--knowing the consequences of coming out of his hiding spot and showing himself to an unfamiliar white man--offers to help.  The doctor recognizes this goodness in Jim, yet it seems to shock him--solely because of the color of his skin.  Although Jim's actions were proving his selflessness and faithfulness to other people, all the doctor could think about was that he had to sit around and wait with the runaway slave.  While Jim felt it his obligation to give up his freedom to help someone in need, the doctor felt it his duty to give up a warm, cozy bed in order ensure another man's slavery.
     It came as extremely ironic to me that the doctor stands up for Jim after he puts him back into slavery.  It's as if Jim is only of good character as long as he is in chains.  The doctor notices Jim's humanity, but still doesn't do anything about it!  Reading this was so frustrating to me; I just wanted to shake the doctor and make him realize how contradicting he was sounding.
     I guess this is just another way Twain was showing us the true human nature.  We know what is morally right, but we also know the rules.  And we deceive ourselves into believing that those two things alway go hand in hand.  I think we can still apply this to our society today.  What rules or laws are there set in place that contradict with our morals?  Do we try to justify what we're doing because "it's the rules," even if the rules may be corrupt?  It's certainly an interesting concept to think about.
     I would like to end this with another little comment Twain makes on humanity, in a seemingly insignificant sentence.  Just after the doctor is finished with his praise of Jim and his speech convincing the others not to treat him so badly, this is one of the onlookers response:
     "Well, it sounds very good, doctor."
     And then they move forward with their business and lock Jim back up, this time with a shackle on each limb.

The Return of Tom

     Just when we think Huck has begun to cut ties with Tom Sawyer and his romanticized view of life--full of adventures, murder, and heroic events--he proves us wrong.  Huck keeps referring back to Tom and what he would have done along the way, sometimes modeling his life to look like Tom's, and chapter 32 is the culmination of this.  Huck literally takes on Tom's identity, which is something, it seems, he has been striving for all along.  It is extremely frustrating as a reader to see Huck begin to think for himself, only to revert back to his old ways.  When Huck is away from his old society and Tom Sawyer's opinions, it is so easier for him to begin to think for himself, to feel sympathy for Jim and to want to help him for the right reasons.  But as soon as Huck is reminded of where he came from and what he has held true his whole life, he loses all the progress he has made.
     Even though Tom agrees to help Huck get Jim out of his "prison," he isn't doing it for the right reasons.  Tom doesn't seem to understand that freeing Jim is a matter of life or death; he just sees it as another adventure.  For me, it was so irritating to listen to Tom's ideas on how they would break Jim out.  He made everything way more complicated than it needed to be, because that was what was in the books; that was what all the great heroes did, so of course Huck and Tom had to follow suit.  What was even more frustrating was that even though Huck may have disagreed, he never stood his ground.  He allowed Tom to sway him into doing things how Tom wanted them done.
     Reading conversations like this one really made me dislike Tom:
          "You got any rats around here?" 
          "No, sah, I hain't seed none."
          "Well, we'll get you some rats."
     No matter how many times Jim told Tom that he didn't want anything to do with the rats, snakes, or spiders, Tom just wouldn't listen.  Tom was only concerned with setting up the scene just right so he would have a good story to tell to his friends later.  These chapters were extremely frustrating to me; watching Huck switch his loyalty from Jim, who had been looking out for Huck's best interest all along, to Tom, who could not care less what happens to Huck or Jim in the end, irritated me and made me not only despise Tom, but Huck as well.

Brotherly Love

     Although the Christian believers portrayed in Huck Finn are terrible examples of how Christians are called to live their lives, they are unfortunately accurate depictions of many "Christians."  Miss Watson, a strong believer who has Huck pray every day, ironically equates prayer with a genie granting wishes.  Yet another example of criticism is given in chapter 18, where Twain satirizes the Church in regards to the society it exists in.

          "Next Sunday we all went to church, about three mile, everybody a-horseback.  The men took their guns along, so did Buck, and kept them between their knees or stood them handy against the wall.  The Shepherdsons done the same.  It was pretty ornery preaching--all about brotherly love, and such-like tiresomeness; but everybody said it was a good sermon, and they all talked it over going home, and had such a powerful lot to say about faith, and good works, and free grace..." (176).

     The irony is unmistakable, particularly in this passage.  These two rival families, who have long forgotten what exactly it was that made them enemies in the first place, just so happen to attend the same church.  And if you know anything about Christianity, it is all about loving your neighbor, being kind to others, submitting to one another, and living in peace with one another.  The Shepherdsons and Grangerfords are anything but an accurate portrayal of the Christian walk of faith.  "Good works" and "free grace" are completely absent between the two families.
     Huck can see right through this act of Christianity.  The fact that the families bring guns...to church...shows the cynicism that Twain has toward the Church, which he speaks about through Huck.  Huck finds the church sermon tiresome; the families will go home to continue owning slaves and killing one another.  Since the Christianity Huck has been shown is a self-serving, hate-filled, failed wish-granting type of faith that provides no solace to Huck , it's no wonder he rolls his eyes at God.

Because I Said So

"Because it ain't in the books so--that's why."
     This seems to be Tom's answer, at least in the first few chapters of Huckleberry Finn, whenever someone challenges his ideas.  In other words, just go with what the books tell you; follow the rules because they're the rules and that's what you're supposed to do.  It sounds like an answer educated people often give.  It reminds me of an answer my teachers or parents gave me when I asked them why I had to do something--"Because I said so."  In high school I remember questioning the importance and application of Calculus in the real world and getting shut down because, "it's important to know."  Side note: I can't remember a thing I learned in AP Calculus.
     I think Tom has fallen prey to blindly following the rules--which is what his education system is teaching him to do.  Tom is the leader of the group and the mastermind behind all of the adventures, but he doesn't alway know why he's doing what he's doing.  Although Tom is educated and has read enough books to imagine robbing Spanish merchants and "rich A-rabs," his creativity doesn't really go past what he learned in those books.  The education system that taught him to read and write also seemed to stunt his personal logic and reasoning.  Yes, he was educated, but the system failed at allowing him to think for himself.  Tom had been taught to think a certain way, while Huck, who was not educated, was still free to imagine other scenarios.  What's the point of educating people if they're not learning to think for themselves?
     I was babysitting a few weeks ago, and the little boy was standing on the shoulder of a chair, trying to reach something above him on a shelf.  Here was our conversation:
"Jack, get down from there."
"Why?"
"What if you get hurt?"
"What if I don't?"
     His question took be by surprise, and I wasn't really sure how to answer it.  Jack is just in kindergarten; he hasn't yet fallen prey to thinking how "the system" wants him to.  Even though it annoyed me that he didn't obey right away, he had a point.  What if he didn't get hurt?  What if he safely got his toy down off the shelf with no assistance from myself?  Although I hope Jack doesn't grow up to constantly question and disobey authority, I also hope he doesn't grow up to think the way they want him to without understanding why that is.