For my motif I chose Night:
” angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night” - (Night is seen with mechanical characteristics which I believe shows how much night is independent disregardless of the situation).
” Who ate fire in paint hotels or drank turpentine in Paradise Alley, death, or purgatoried their torsos night after night” – ( I fell that night is represented as eternal, very repetitive).
“Who sank all night in submarine light of Bickford’s floated out” – ( Again i feel that night in this line is seen as eternal but with a melancholy feeling because of the word sank).
” Whole intellects disgorged in total recall for seven days and nights with brilliant eyes” – ( For some reason when day and night are being described by seven days it reminds me of the creation story, how God created earth. Night is seen here through a religious perspective).
” Who wandered around and around at midnight in the railroad yard wondering where to go” -( Not only is night described as eternal but i feel that it is given a mystical characteristic. Midnight is usually the time when bad things ocur ).
” …lonesome farms in grandfather night”- (I feel that night is given a human characteristic, granfather night makes the night seem like its full of wisdom due to its age).
“… on the impulse of winter midnight”
“ stolen night-cars”
“walked all night”- ( night is eternal)
“dream of life a night-mare”
I think that Ginsberg gives night physical (mechanical), human, spiritual (religious), and eternal characteristics throughout the poem. All of these characteristics tend to go back and forth throughout the poem it’s not just one evolution of night.
May 12, 2009
cbeltran
I believe that Miller gives loyalty a tremendous importance in this blue-collar community in the play for an important reason. Eddie’s family, along with the rest of the families in his social class, doesn’t have any money to be valued in a high social status; Therefore, one’s word and loyalty seems to be valued as much or more than money. The phrase ” I give you my word” is used quite often in today’s society as it was in past ones. Those who can’t offer money offer their word which has a high value. Loyalty, in Eddie’s eyes, is seen as a sign of respect as well.
When Marco and Rodolpho arrived at eddie’s house not only would Catherine’s loyalty, in the eyes of Eddy, change towards him but he also didn’t receive it from the newcomers. Eddie felt threatened right away by Rodolpho, he didn’t seem right. To Eddie Rodolpho was never loyal to him and was disrespectful by misguiding Catherine. Eddy could almost foreshadow a terrible event due to the fact that he was not only disrespected by Rodolpho but also because he didn’t trust him with his loyalty. Eddie might have related Rodolpho’s disloyalty with Vinny Bolzano and his tragic outcome, foreshadowing a tragedy in his own situation. To Eddie’s conservative view of loyalty change was not welcomed.
I personaly have never been in Eddie’s situation but it is understandable. A way in which i can relate to loyalty would have to be regarding friendships and relationships in general with people. I think that people in general only want positive people around them who are going to respect, support, comprehend them among many other things. There is always the option of not socialising with the people who you don’t feel comfortable with. Eddie didn’t really hve a choice with Marco and Rodolpho. I think that eddie might have been scared to quick them out right away because of the fear of being seen as the bad guy. Eddie might have been scared to ruin his good image infront of his wife, Catherine, and maybe even Rodolpho and Marco.
May 6, 2009
cbeltran
When i was reading “Indian Camp” I kept pondering about who these Indians were. The word Indian is just a general classification of a group of people. Similar to the word hispanic, its just classifying the people from latin America but ofcourse there are many nationalities and races with their own individual name. All of the Indians belong to tribe with its corresponding name which is why i found it interesting that the author didn’t make this distinction. In most articles or novels that talk about Native Americans usually refer to Indians by their tribal name (for example Navajo) and by the person’s individual name. In this story the readers are not given the information of what tribe Nick, his father and uncle george are visiting. The Indians that are mentioned in the story are not only not being tide with their tribe but are not known by their own name which i think aparts them from being individuals. The Indians are referred to as “young Indiand,” “Indian woman or woman,” “husband” and “Indian.” This sense of no individuality and identity in the Indians makes me think like there is a class distinction, as well as a race one, going on. All of the main characters, except Indians, are known by their name (nick, father, uncle george) and whats interesting is that their nationality is not directly mentioned but the readers somehow know that they are American.
April 29, 2009
cbeltran
I found the all the galleries in the Armory Show to be extremely interesting and beautiful. Although all of the galleries have their own space in order to demonstrate a certain category, they all work together in order to change American culture respecting art. Sculptures and paintings are different from each other in many ways such as style, origin (European or American), message, colors, etc. The works of art come together in order to bring modernism into American art, pulling away from the traditional literal meaning of a painting or sculpture and its representation.
Even though the entire art show comes together in order to portray modernism each style/gallery is an individual with its own identity. The American art differs to that from European in several ways. In American art, painters such as John Sloan, Eugene Higgins and Robert Henri capture a picture moment where the piece of art is not disfigured but portrays a deep meaning. Most of the meanings in modern American art has to do with problems regarding social classes, gender roles and oppressions along with many other things which were often criticized. Now European art was also criticized but for other reasons. Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia had their art work concentrated mainly in gallery I which was also known as “Chamber of Horros.” Duchamp and Picabia concentrated mainly in cubist paintings but it was criticized due to the fact that items and humans were disfigured and dark colors were used.
Now respecting sculptures both those that were American and European concentrated on a meaning other than the actual sculpture itself. The American sculptures like those from Robert Aitken and Andrew Dasburg were mainly concentrated in human sculptures often portaying different ethnicities of people and their stories. The European sculptures like “Mademoiselle Pogany” by Constantin Brancusi focused on parts of the human body. There were many critics regarding Brancusi’s sculpture because no one liked how he portrayed the human body.
I think that all of the art in the Armory Show is modern because it represents a new way to not only demonstrate art but certain messages about culture and society. This new modern art was a new way to express oneself through different colors and styles which i think attracted the younger people and pulled away from the traditional way of art.
April 27, 2009
cbeltran
The scene at the end of the Yellow Wallpaper when the narrator is creeping around the nursery over the body of her husband represents a defeat for the narrator because it is through her husband’s eyes that she has finally lost it. It seems almost as if the narrator wasn’t impacted by her fainted husband on the floor and was only concentrated in taking of the wallpaper, almost as if the wallpaper had defeated her. Yet this is also represented as a victory because as her husband fainted and stayed on the floor, it represents empowerment on the narrator’s side. The narrator is now in power rather than her husband being in control of every step she takes, she finally breaks free. The narrator in a sense has taken control of her life again, actions and goals through taking off the wallpaper.
March 13, 2009
cbeltran
The differences that must be crossed in Whitman’s poem are problematic because they both don’t allow unity, the unity for example of the atoms and grass. In the I vs. tide Whitman explains how individuals set themselves apart from nature, the individual (or ferry rider in this case) and nature (in this case the ferry itself is a barrier between the individual and the water, or nature). Now when it comes to the I vs. crowd, Whitman describes how individuals like to distance themselves from the rest of the people, not becoming a whole. In the end Whitman says that no matter what the physical boundaries are, in the end individuals become a whole with others as well as with nature. In the end humans are humans, physically and biologically the same, and nature will always be a daily interaction to them.
February 25, 2009
cbeltran
I enjoyed the assignment because it was something different than what we usually do, which is write a blog about the reading. This assignment was creative and we as students got to interact more with the reading. There was nothing that I did not enjoy, i think that overall the project was well organized and easy to comprehend. By doing this project it was easy to realize that there isn’t one specific picture to represent Whitman’s poem, but rather many and each individual picture represents the poem in their own way.
February 20, 2009
cbeltran
I decided to pick the picture of a man wearing a mask in order to represent Whitman and his protection against intoxication. Whitman describes how he enjoys the smell of perfumes, yet he also states that he does not allow it to intoxicate him, therefore, going against the unreal ( substitution of smells) for the real (nature). Even though there are great artificial smells in our world, Whitman is saying that one should protect themselves from them, they only lead to lies, and rather enjoy the real smells of nature, reality.
February 17, 2009
cbeltran
Emerson is trying to say that people need to learn how to read properly. That is, one must critique the reading material as well as the institutions. Readers should take from the readings ideas or thoughts that will help them further understand certain material or ideas. After all the books that people read are written by people themselves with their own experiences and perspectives. Therefore, one must also live their own experiences in order to learn the proper way about life and everything in it. Instead of reading about peoples life one must live their own. It’s the same with the institutions. One can’t learn in a room, the true learning is lived outside the walls. When people make mistakes they learn from them.
February 10, 2009
cbeltran
Episode 1 Saying Goodbye to Faith
I came , came, came forth at sunset into the street at Salem village; but I put my head back, after crossing the threshold, to exchange a parting dreadful kiss with my young wife. And Faith, as my wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the silent, silent street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap while she called to me.
“Dearest heart,” she whispered, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to my ear, “prithee put off your journey until sunrise and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts that she’s afeard of herself sometimes. Pray tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year.”
“My love and my Faith,” I replied, “of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again and again, must needs be done ‘twixt now and sunrise. What, my sweet, pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married?”
“Then God bless you!” said Faith, with the pink ribbons; “and may you find all well when you come back.”
“Amen!” I cried. “Say thy prayers, dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee.”
So we parted; and I pursued my way until, being about to turn the corner by the meeting-house, I looked back and saw the head of Faith still peeping after me with a melancholy air, in spite of her pink ribbons.Oh those pink ribbons.
“Poor little Faith!” thought I, for my heart smote me. “What a wretch, a wretch, a wretch I say to leave her on such an errand! She talks of dreams, too. Methought as she spoke there was trouble in her face, as if a dream had warned her what work is to be done tonight. But no, no; ‘t would kill her to think it. Well, she’s a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night I’ll cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven.”
With this excellent resolve for the future, I felt myself justified in making more haste on my present evil, pure evil, purpose. I had taken a
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dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through and through, and closed immediately behind. It was all as lonely as could be; and there is this peculiarity in such a solitude, that I, the traveller know not who may be concealed by the innumerable trunks and the thick boughs overhead; so that with lonely footsteps I may yet be passing through an unseen multitude.
February 8, 2009
cbeltran
