Sunday, December 6, 2009
Marlow and The Magistrate
The Magistrate, on the other hand, is already settled into his community. Yet similar to Marlow he cannot side with corruption as his morals are strong, and though it starts off as being unintentional he ultimately alienates himself from those he is supposed to cooperate and work with, in his case the Third Bureau and society. The Magistrate's main turning point, which he admits as being one of his faults, is when he grabs his lantern and goes to check on the two prisoners, the grandfather and the younger boy, only to unveil a horror, as the old man's dead, mutilated body lies in the same room as his tortured grandson. Another turning point that is more apparent occurs when the Magistrate openly tells the Lieutenant who comes from the empire that the barbarians are harmless and he makes dangerous comments, that make him look not only crazy but an enemy, such as, "I wish that these barbarians would rise up and teach us a lesson, so that we could learn to respect them." Similar to Marlow he is now viewed as unsound, and later on as a complete lunatic and an animal when he is imprisoned. After being let out of prison, the Magistrate wanders the streets feeling isolated and empty, and even on returning back to his old apartment he is haunted by his thoughts of the barbarian girl. As the Magistrate approaches a group of children building a snowman he describes his desolate feelings as he explains, "This is not the scene I dreamed of. Like much else nowadays I leave it feeling stupid, like a man who lost his way long ago but presses on along a road that may lead to nowhere."
(493)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Colonel Joll's Heartless Motives
It also becomes apparent that the colonel does not have a clear-cut plan to find these “dangerous barbarians” he speaks of, and is overly eager to set out on his expedition to find prisoners. The fact that the Colonel’s first batch of prisoners are members of a fishing village, which includes old women and even a newborn baby, shows his only intention was to find any barbarians and imprison them, as the fishermen’s crime was hiding and trying to run from the Colonel and his men. The Colonel therefore proves himself to be heartless and already holding onto set beliefs about the barbarians, as he will imprison and torture any he comes across, regardless of the fact that they are peaceful and innocent of any crimes.
(409)
Monday, November 16, 2009
1910 Encyclopedia Britannica [European Reaction to Leopold's Abuses]
* In 1891 when wealth in ivory and rubber were discovered in vast regions, a secret decree was made that state had control of the ivory and rubber monopoly in "vacant lands." Vacant lands=lands belonging to the state (disregarded natives).
*Trade between the natives and private trading companies was ruined, this goes against Berlin Act.
* Ended up giving some power to private companies though natives were still restricted (couldn't leave certain territories).
* Leopold II created The Fondation (most valuable rubber region) where natives were treated with the most severity.
*Charges against the state were brought at the end of 19th century: humanitarian charges and exploitation of land.
*Series of "reforms" in June 1906-no real change.
*King Leopold wrote a letter where he described his plan to restrict Belgium's liberty of action in the Congo State when it became a Belgian colony. Native restrictions (enslavement), and state's land control would be law.
*Great Britain intervened first. Sir Edward Grey said, " it will be impossible for us to continue to recognize indefinitely the present state of things without a very close examination of our treaty rights and the treaty obligations of the Congo State."
*Reform associations for the Congo in America, France, and Belgium also started reforming public opinion.
*In July 1907, the Belgian premier announced that negotiations with the Congo State would be renewed. Grey intervened and said the Congo State had "morally forfeited every right to international recognition."
*Forced to surrender The Fondation ("government within a government") though Leopold still received 155 sq. mi. in Africa and other subsidies.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Dilsey
Would the Compson family be able to function without her?
Do you think Dilsey acts as an obstacle towards Jason?
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The Slipper and The Pear Tree
- Meaningful Images in The Sound and the Fury
- Eben Bass
- Modern Language Notes, Vol. 76, No. 8 (Dec., 1961), pp. 728-731
- Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
- http://www.jstor.org/stable/3039942?seq=2
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Time
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Review # 2 The House Behind a Weeping Cherry by Ha Jin
Review #1, The Fountain House by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
Monday, September 21, 2009
One Man's Awakening
One Man’s Awakening
The main character in the story "Catherdral" is humorous and likable, and even though he is prejudice against the blind man, it is his immature mind and his ability to change that attract us to him. The main character seems annoyed and possibly threatened that a blind man is coming to stay in his house. Our main character, who also acts as the narrator, is hilarious as his mental process is out of the ordinary. When his door knocks he thinks, “now the blind man is coming to sleep in my house.” It is these simple and childish sounding thoughts that make the main character seem extremely youthful, and as he spends more time with the blind man his attitude starts to change, similar to a child being forced to try a new food they view as disgusting, once they try it they realize they like it.
The narrator’s wife pleads with him to help make the blind man feel at home, and it is comments the narrator makes such as, “maybe I could take him bowling,” that make us laugh, and realize even though he is judgmental, he is quite harmless. One of the first things he asks the blind man is what side of the train he sat on, which is amusing because he was not able to think through the fact that the blind man can not appreciate the scenery outside the train. He is also shocked that a blind man enjoys smoking, and sports a beard. As they “do some serious eating” the narrator starts to become more comfortable with the blind man as he starts making jokes, and then proceeds to invite him to smoke. The blind man shows he is open to new things as the two men sit down to smoke marijuana. The narrator is not used to having company, and therefore he often feels awkward around the blind man for he must reach out and interact with him in order to help him feel more situated and to help understand what is going on. For example, he must explain the images on the television to him. This pushes the narrator’s limit but also helps him break down a wall he has against this new stranger as he must befriend him.
The narrator realizes his descriptions of cathedrals on the television are fruitless and that the blind man cannot create an image of the cathedrals in his head. The main character now proves his ability to try something new as he has a type of renaissance and goes to get heavy paper and a pen. He then sketches out a picture of the cathedral and not only does the blind man see the cathedral, but so does out narrator. When the blind man asks him if he’s looking at the cathedral he says, “It’s really something,” these are three extremely powerful words. For it is not that the picture of the cathedral that is something but it is the fact that with his eyes closed the narrator has put himself in the blind man’s shoes and he can finally see.
(519)
Hope Vs. Despair
Sarah Bauer
AP English-1
Hope vs. Despair
There are two sets of contrasting themes in “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” the first being a lack of understanding in which members of a younger generation may display toward members of an older one, and the next being the difference between the lonely darkness and hope filled light. The story consists of two waiters, one is young and has both confidence and a wife waiting in bed for him, while the other is older, claims not to have confidence, and views the café as a safe haven for certain visitors. The waiters would gladly spend the early hours of the morning partaking in different activities, making this is a story of contrast and human emotion.
The dialogue between the two waiters and between the younger waiter and the old man in the café shapes the characters. The younger waiter is impatient, and shows no sympathy for the old and deaf man in the café. He makes harsh comments such as, “I’m sleepy now. I never get into bed before three o’clock. He should have killed himself last week,” in reference to the old man’s futile attempt to commit suicide. It clearly agitates the younger waiter that this old man, though he “is clean…drinks without spilling. Even now, drunk,” enjoys staying in the café till 3 a.m. Though the old man is in fact very pleasant, as he is both neat and polite. The waiter on the other hand exemplifies rude behavior and he takes advantage of the fact the old man cannot hear, as he informs him he should of committed suicide, and as he makes comments such as “I wouldn’t want to be that old. An old man is a nasty thing.” The old man shows more respect for the waiter than the waiter does to him, a paying customer. Yet since this customer is both deaf and old, it is acceptable to disregard the old man, and treat him as if he has no feelings and is simply a “dumb drunk.” The younger waiter states the old man “has no regard for those who must work,” but it is the waiter who has no regard for those who have lost their wives, who are old and lonely, and who simply need a clean and well-lighted place to pass the hours. On the other hand, the older waiter believes that some people need the café to pass time, such as the old man, yet the younger waiter wins and the old man is “kicked out” as the café closes.
The main reason the café closes is because it is almost three in the morning, and the younger waiter wants to get back to his wife. Yet, to the older waiter and the old man, it is still a decent hour to be out, especially when there is no alternative. The older-waiter even asks, “Why didn’t you let him stay and drink?...It is not half past two,” showing his compassion and understanding for the old man. Loneliness and despair are the forces that keep both the old man and the older waiter up at night. The old man has no wife, unlike the younger waiter, and therefore he has no one to return to. All he has is an empty bed. In fact he feels “empty,” and the fact that he tried to commit suicide shows he has lost his hope in life. The older waiter also claims at the end of the story to suffer from insomnia, as he cannot fall asleep till the sun rises. Yet, it is the hollowness and fear of the hopeless dark that keeps him up at night, and a good light, such as the electrical light in the café, provides comfort and acts as a symbol of hope to these lonely souls. The older waiter recites the Lords Prayer as the café closes and he replaces many of the words in the prayer with the word nada, showing that he has nothing, and feels hopeless under the grace of God.
The older waiter goes to a bar after the café closes, yet he does not get the same satisfaction from the bar’s atmosphere as he did in the café, even though the bar’s light is pleasant. The barmen thinks the older-waiter to be “otro loco mas” which is similar to the feelings of annoyance the younger waiter felt towards the old man. The night therefore consumes all the characters with feelings of loneliness, and restlessness, and whereas the younger waiter yearns to be home with his wife, the older characters yearn for light in their dark desperate worlds.
(772)