Blog 8 -Social Movements 1960s-80s & the Emergence of Minority and Ethnic Literatures

 The reading which we covered during this course, Tim O'Brien's “The Things They Carried,” could be considered both a post-war and modernist novel. The story contains loss, fragmentation, and other, modernist elements, giving the reader a closer look at the inhumanities of the Vietnam War. It was also written by a veteran of the Vietnam War, giving it the proper history to be considered post-war.

 In the story, O'Brien's closest friend, Kiowa, is killed after their group mistakenly camps in a sewage field. This represents the characteristic of loss, which O'Brien uses to show the uncertainty and cruelty of the war. This is an element of modernist literature because it covers a controversial topic which would not be present in most stories. There is also a deep sense of loss of memory The characters in the story each carry a thing to remind them of the world outside the war.

 In my opinion, American identity is what a person chooses to identify as, no matter what anyone else tries to tell them. I think that “American” is an unnecessary addition to the definition, as I believe both “identity” and “American identity” are exactly the same, and that race would only blur the freedom of choice. I think that literature is any written text, and that it can be expressed through any medium as long as it was written or typed at any point. “American Literature,” on the other hand, is any literature that was written by someone that identifies as “American,” as put forth by our course readings and provocations. I might consider a piece of work about America, but not necessary by an American, American Literature.

 I believe that the American Literary Canon is a collection of the greatest works that our country has produced. Therefore, I don't see how I couldn't have a positive opinion on it. I think that all of the readings that we have covered in this class, especially “Smoke, Lillies and Jade” and “The Things They Carried,” could be considered part of the American Literary Canon because of their historical and artistic significance. In regard to deeper, ideological concepts and philosophies that I understand at a deeper level now than before I started this course, I would consider identity soothing that I know more about now. Because this course has spent so much time on identity, I can see now that it plays a great role in our lives and represents how we express ourselves to others every day.

Blog 7 - Reflections on Essay and Creative Final

 In the process of writing and researching my Literary Analysis Essay, I spent most of my time on Jstor and Google searching for any information on the Vietnam War. I found that Jstor aided me in forming an opinion on my topic by providing me with the educated and sourced arguments of professors and analyzers, whereas Google allowed me to find supporting facts and evidence for the arguments which I attempted to articulate in my Literary Analysis Essay. Many of the sources which I found on Google were biased and unfit to be used in my essay, so I had to be careful which information I could trust.

 My thesis was that the Vietnam War should be taught in classrooms in order for the future generations of our country to avoid repeating the same mistakes and atrocities committed during this time. I developed my thesis over time after being exposed to varying opinions through Jstor journals. I originally had planned to only argue against the Vietnam War, but after learning the basis of America's involvement, I could see that there was a possible rationale for going to war. Although I don't personally think that “Communism might spread” is an excuse to kill over a million people in a foreign country, there are still two, clear sides to the argument.

 In regard to my essay, I was particularly excited to learn about the history of the Vietnam War. I was never taught much about the war in my previous classes, and did not even know that there were more than two countries involved until I began to research for this project. I feel particularly confident about my background information, preceding the body of my essay.

 I think that my essay could have been stronger if I made my paragraphs much longer. I felt that some of the arguments that I made during my essay were cut somewhat short. I think that I did this because I was worried that there wouldn't be enough background information to properly justify my arguments. Although after re-reading it, it does not seem like this is as big of an issue as I had previously thought. My arguments are fairly clear, and I use evidence to support any claims that I make.

 In conclusion, I think that the Literary Analysis essay went well. I am confident that I clearly and purposefully stated my arguments and rationales after providing the proper background information.

 For my final project, I will be recounting my experience going through a near-fatal head injury that happened to me in Bulgaria when I was 8. I will do this through the same writing style used in "Smoke, Lillies and Jade." I believe that this will better explain all the time that I had spent waiting in the hospital. 

Blog 6- Holy, Holy, Holy- The Pursuit of the Spiritual and Living the Liminal in the Poetry of the Beats

  In comparison to the other beat poets, Amiri Baraka uses a combination of persuasive disputation, colloquial composition and familiar, ambiguous elements. These elements are often present in other, beat poetry, although Amiri Baraka seems to use them more often that his peers.

  Amiri Baraka often fills his poetry with the same, ambiguous elements that can be seen in other beat poetry. This allows for the reader to infer their own meaning from the text. For example, the following passage reflects this:

“Like giant rhesus monkeys;

picking their skulls,

with ingenious cruelty

sucking out the brains.

No use for beauty

collapsed, with moldy breath

done in. Insidious weight

of cankered dreams. Tiresias'

weathered cock.”

  This passage is rather unusual, because it does not seem to have any discernible meaning. Although, because the poem is titled “WAY OUT WEST”, and because this beat author often spoke with Jack Kerouac, I can infer that this might be about Kerouac's novel “On The Road”. Although I can't understand why it would be about Kerouac's novel, it does seem to touch on the emotion of exhaustion, which was extremely present in Kerouac's journey across America.

  Amiri Baraka also used a somewhat colloquial method to get his meaning across. He used sentences such as “Am I a sage or something?”, “Love is an evil word. Turn it backwards/see, see what I mean?” and “I certainly wouldn't like to go out on that kind of limb.” This is interesting, because I have not seen it to this extent in other beat poetry. It gives the feeling that the author is attempting to communicate directly to the reader. It makes the poetry feel more natural and inspired to me.

  In conclusion, Amiri Baraka uses similar elements to other beat poets, but also introduces his own, regular patterns. For example, he often speaks directly to the reader, giving them a more personal feeling towards the text. He also uses ambiguous elements, much like other beat poets. Finally, he often uses his writing as a method to show his opinions, again, much like other beat poets.

  (Bonus Point)

On a different topic, musician Bob Dylan, winner of a Nobel Prize in Literature, has been under the spotlight for a controversial debate about whether or not music can be considered literature. I think that it can, because literature is merely the concept of getting your ideas across. The medium should not matter, and therefore, music can be literature.

  Some might argue that literature must be written. And alas, Google definitions seem to agree, stating that literature is “written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.” But, if an author reads their work and records it, is it still literature? In much the same manner, I'm sure that at some point, Bob Dylan wrote down his lyrics. Is singing literature not the same as speaking it?

Blog 5- Human Geography in Kerouac's On The Road and Mexican Fellhaven

 In Jack Kerouac's novel, "On The Road," mobility plays a massive part in the main characters' behavior. It seems as if they use mobility as a way to escape responsibility and normality, because if they keep moving, then they will never be grounded to a single task.

  Tim Cresswell, a human geographer, argues that “Kerouac used mobility, alongside other themes, to express resistance to established norms in the culture of the United States during the nineteen fifties.”(Cresswell 1) This is absolutely clear in Jack Kerouac's novel, as the main character continues to explore the United States with no goal in mind.

  Examples of this mobility are present in Jack Kerouac's novel constantly, because it is the main theme of the entire story. The characters never stop moving, and it is plausible that they do this to escape the social norms and responsibilities of American life. This is seen in the quote,

“I spun around till I was dizzy; I thought I'd fall down as in a dream, clear off the precipice. Oh
where is the girl I love? I thought, and looked everywhere, as I had looked everywhere in the little
world below. And before me was the great raw bulge and bulk of my American continent;
somewhere far across, gloomy, crazy New York was throwing up its cloud of dust and brown steam.
There is something brown and holy about the East; and California is white like washlines and
emptyheaded-at least that's what I thought then.“ (Kerouac 51)

  It is blatant that Kerouac is trying to picture that the character is escaping something. This is why Tim Cresswell, the human geographer from earlier, theorizes that the mobility in Kerouac's story is a way to run from the human responsibilities of nineteen fifties America.

  There are more interesting passages in the story, which suggest that the characters are tiring of running. For example,

“It was time for us to move on. We took a bus to Detroit, Our money was now running quite low. We
lugged our wretched baggage through the station. By now Dean's thumb bandage was almost as
black as coal and all unrolled. We were both as miserable-looking as anybody could be after all the
things we'd done. Exhausted, Dean fell asleep in the bus that roared across the state of Michigan.” (Kerouac 152-153)

  This quote shows that the characters are being exhausted and bankrupted by the immense burden of their traveling. Yet, they continue to do so, because they want to run from their responsibilities.

Blog Entry #4- More Modernist Poets

  In complete honesty, I struggle to find a definition for modernism by reading the given poems. To aid myself, I have looked up the definition, in order to understand what I am looking for. According to “Dictionary.com”, modernism is “a deliberate philosophical and practical estrangement or divergence from the past in the arts and literature occurring especially in the course of the 20th century and taking form in any of various innovative movements and styles.” After I read this, I could understand where my confusion was originating from.

  I do not usually read poetry. Because of this lack of history, I don't really know what a regular poem is supposed to look like, especially from the timeframe which these were written in. Reading over the poem, I can now see that there are many, abstract lines that don't have a visible correspondence with something that is “real”. For example,

“No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;

Am an attendant lord, one that will do

To swell a progress, start a scene or two,

Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,

Deferential, glad to be of use,

Politic, cautious, and meticulous;

Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;

At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—

Almost, at times, the Fool.”

  This passage makes nearly no sense to me. Because of an immense lack of context, I can only assume that the author is trying to say that they were never meant to be successful, nor will they ever be.

  To conclude, with this analysis into the poetry, I can come to the inference that modernism is anything that challenges the traditional history of a medium. This could be anything, including, but not limited to art, music, poetry, architecture, speech, and design.  

Blog Entry #3- Harlem Renaissance Provocation and Connections

  From my experience during the Harlem Renaissance provocation, I have noticed many, major themes throughout the time period. These include poverty, crime, disparity in social situations, but also hope, community, and feminism. I will now discuss these major themes in this blog post.

  In my opinion, community was the most present, major theme from the provocation. As the power point presentation explained, “Community was the glue that held everything together” (Slide 9). This is why, in the example of Luke Cage (An African American superhero from the Marvel series Luke Cage), he reflects this idea of people helping each other. The police in the series are often trying to stop Luke Cage, most likely because they don't trust him. This may be a symbolic feature of the series, to show that African Americans are often misrepresented and unlawfully arrested by the police.

  This analysis brings me onto my next point, which is the Harlem Riot of 1935. In this event, an African American teen was caught shoplifting. The shop owner then threatened the teen, and soon, police, along with a crowd of “10,000 people” (Slide 11) arrived. The cops released the teen, without informing the crowd, so they assumed that they had beaten the teen. What ensued was a violent riot, in which “3 people died, (and) 125 (were) arrested.” (Slide 12)

  The Mayor of New York, Fiorello La Guardia, told a commission to investigate why the riot happened. What they discovered, and published in “The Negro in Harlem: A Report on Social and Economical Conditions Responsible for the Outbreak of March 19, 1935,” was that African Americans were struggling to educate their children, unable to find work due to racial discrimination, and that they were unable to trust police. This follows the major theme of racism, which I believe is very present in the time period of the Harlem Renaissance.

  One could make comparisons between this provocation and the poem “Smoke, Lilies and Jade.” For example, Alex, the main character of the poem, is obviously in poverty. This can be inferred from the line “why wasn't he worried that he had no money ... he had had five cents . . . but he had been hungry . . . he was hungry and still(...)”(1) Arguments could be made that his poverty is a result of racism, but that cannot be known for sure, as the story is fictional.  

Blog Entry #2- The Harlem Renaissance Readings

  "Smoke, Lilies, & Jade" is a poem that is littered with ellipses. Every few words, there's a "..." separating the sentence. It gives the impression that every single time the author made a thought, they jotted it down and moved onto the next.

  The story continues this somewhat relaxed sense of disposition with the first line, "He wanted to do something... to write or draw... or something... but it was so comfortable just to lay there on the bed... his shoes off... and think... think of everything... short disconnected thoughts--to wonder... to remember... to think and smoke...why wasn't he worried that he had no money... he had five cents... but he had been hungry..."(569) This shows the major trait of the main character; a pronounced sense of depressed laziness.

  The main character, Alex, is written as having a somewhat tragic life. His father died when he was six years old, and his mother is very reserved with her emotions. Although this is the underlying past of the character, the story is about the struggles that he endures pondering over his sexuality and his inability to work as a "normal" person. He wants to be an artist, and he seems to want a carefree life. This is symbolized by his constant smoking.

  In regard to modernity and the contemporary time, I see a lot of modern hints in the story. For example, Alex, the main character, struggles to know whether he is more interested in Fania, an African American girl that he is attracted to, or Adrian, a white man that he is involved with whom he calls "Beauty." This is similar to the LGBTQ community that we see today. The difference in time period is stark in the poem, because it is clear that Alex doesn't want people to know of his involvement.

  The style of this story is like that of a dream. The author's thoughts are simply spilled out on the paper, making the story seem somewhat flowing. It is unique because I have not seen any stories written in this manner before. I personally enjoy the break from normality.

  When comparing this poem to Nella Larsen's "Passing," I notice that there are similarities in the way that the characters speak. I also see a resemblance in racist undertones, hinting that the poverty displayed in the story is a result of skin color. This poem is also similar to "Passing" in that there is death involved.