Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, "What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you."
The guru of self-reliance also wrote, "Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is not path and leave a trail."
It's your turn to do both.
You have one week to tap into your own sense of the divine, the universal soul.
By next Monday (12/22), be prepared to share the story or product of your journey.
You must be prepared to share an original creation, no less than 5 minutes in length.
Here are some ideas:
In the midst of nature, reflect and write something!
Compose a song.
Compose a protest song!
Write a letter to a politician expressing concern over an issue important to you.
Educate your peers with a presentation concerning an issue of injustice or inequality.
Make a short film.
Write an essay.
Set to words what you know to be true--a proclamation of universal truth.
These are simply some ideas. Be creative. You will be graded on effort, creativity, aesthetics, and your understanding of Transcendentalist principals.
“All segregation statutes are unjust
because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives
the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense
of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher
Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I
thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of
things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically
unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is
separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic
separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness?”
“In other words, when a sixth of the
population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are
slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign
army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for
honest men to rebel and revolutionize.“
The
moral imperative to break unjust laws
“One
has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws.
Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”
“...if
it [law] is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of
injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter
friction to stop the machine.”
In 1846, transcendentalist thinker and writer Henry
David Thoreau spent a thoughtful night in jail. He had refused to pay his poll
tax in an effort to protest the evils of slavery and the annexation of Mexico.
Some 100 years later, in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent a night in a
jail in Birmingham, Alabama. King had protested the evils of segregation without
a permit and was promptly incarcerated. Both men engaged in acts of civil disobedience, a form of
political protest in which one rebels against an institution and readily
accepts the punishment. Thoreau recorded his experience in the aptly titled
essay, “Civil Disobedience”; King’s experiences were collected in an epistle: “Letter
from a Birmingham Jail.” Both men possess
similar views regarding civil disobedience, as they both protested racially
motivated discrimination—slavery and segregation—and both felt that moral
citizens have an obligation to break unjust laws. However, they differed in
their views regarding the necessity of government. King recognized its
importance; Thoreau, a more ardent individualist, possessed a deep antipathy
towards government in general.
Thoreau and King spent their
lives battling government-sponsored racism. Thoreau was troubled by the notion
that the government supported slavery. He could not condone his tax money being
used to support slavery. Thus, his form of civil disobedience was financial in
nature—he refused to pay his poll tax. In doing so, Thoreau hoped to spark a
bloodless revolution: “In other
words, when a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be
the refuge of liberty are slaves… I think that it is not too soon for honest
men to rebel and revolutionize.” Nearly ten
years later, the issue of slavery reached a head, and the Civil War brought an
end to its tenure in America. However, racial violence in America was far from
over. Nearly 100 years later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the de facto head of
the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, was embroiled in a battle against
segregation, the most inviolate remainder of slavery. King condemned the sinful
“separation” caused by Jim Crow: “Paul Tillich has said that sin is
separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic
separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness?” King
brought attention to this issue, protesting in the city of Birmingham in 1963. King
refused to abide the bureaucratic
loopholes… Both used civil disobedience to combat slavery and segregation.
Mahatma
Gandhi, the leader of a non-violent revolution in India, once said, “An unjust
law is itself a species of violence.” King writes: “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that
degrades human personality is unjust.” Hence,
an unjust law is inherently violent in its destruction of one’s very humanity.
In 1845, A young, twenty-something writer in the throes of disprized love, builds a cabin on his friend's property and produces a piece of writing of profound importance: Walden.
Henry David Thoreau
In 2007, a twenty-something struggling musician gets dumped by his girlfriend, quits his moderately popular band, and suffers a protracted bout of mononucleosis. He moves back home and stays in a cabin on his father's property. He produces an album of critical acclaim: For Emma, Forever Ago.
Justin Vernon
162 years later, we as Americans are fascinated by art created alone in the presence and influence of nature.
When released in 2008, Bon Iver's (Vernon's name for his band/solo project) For Emma, Forever Ago created quite a critical sensation. The record is a perfect blend of melancholy and aching beauty.
Accolades aside, in many ways the sound of the record has been somewhat overshadowed by the story of its creation. In 2008, Vernon could not escape discussing the transcendentalist situation that shaped the creation of the record.
Spend some time with the album.
Your Task: In the comment section of this post, discuss why you feel that Americans continue to be fascinated by art created in the solitude of nature. Also, weigh in on the music: Do you like it? Explain.
Responses are due before class, Monday, November 17th.
Next week, in honor of Halloween, we will continue reading works concerning evil, duality, and Ol' Scratch himself.
We will begin today with Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," a didactic tale satirizing the underlying greed of the Puritan world.
The story is a uniquely American take on the Faustian myth: an archetypal story in which the protagonist sells his or her soul to obtain something desirable from the devil.
We'll come back to this story in a moment.
Interestingly enough, the Faustian myth has woven itself into the fabric of American Music.
This is Robert Johnson, the most influential blues guitarist of the 20th century. He lived a short, mysterious life, but in those 27 years (FYI: He is the founding member of the 27 club, whose most recent inductee was Amy Winehouse), he managed to revolutionize the blues guitar. According to his contemporaries, Robert got really good really fast. In 1936, Robert penned the song, "Cross Road Blues." In the song, Robert claims to have sold his soul to the devil for his musical abilities.
Hey, remember this scene from O' Brother Where Art Thou?
The Coen's just changed Robert's name to Tommy. Anyhow, here's the real "Cross Road Blues":
My musical hero, Bob Dylan is aware of this myth's prominence in American music.
He alluded that he himself followed in Robert Johnson's footsteps during a 2004 60 Minutes interview:
Back to "The Devil and Tom Walker."
In 1937, the story was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film: The Devil and Daniel Webster.The plot of the film is loosely based on Irving's short story, but the main character, a down-on-his-luck farmer who sells his soul for two cents, has a chance to win his soul back. But to do so, he must be tried by Ol' Scratch and Judge Hathorne (Nathaniel Hawthorne's grandfather, or as you all know him, the idiot judge from The Crucible.). The lawyer, Daniel Webster, agrees to be the protagonist's defense attorney. The following is his closing statement:
Miller wrote the following about Puritan society in the Act One Overture of The Crucible:
"...the people of Salem developed a theocracy, a combine of state and religious power whose function was to keep the community together, and to prevent any kind of disunity that might open it to destruction by material or ideological enemies. It was forged for a necessary purpose and accomplished that purpose. But all organization is and must be grounded on the idea of exclusion and prohibition..."
Let us remember: the Puritans were fighting to survive in the harsh environment that was the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 17th century. As Miller puts it, "...the people were forced to fight the land like heroes for every grain of corn, and no man had very much time for fooling around."
Thus, it was literally conform or die in those days.
In his book of essays on horror, Danse Macabre, Stephen King writes: "The writer of horror fiction is neither more nor less than an agent of the *status quo."
*status quo: a Latin phrase which as come to mean, "the way things currently are"
He explains this idea more fully:
"We love and need the concept of monstrosity because it is a reaffirmation of the order we all crave as human beings... and let me further suggest that it is not the physical or mental *aberration in itself which horrifies us, but rather the lack of order which these aberrations seem to imply."
*Aberration: a departure from what is normal.
Thus, in the days of the Puritans, aberrations were frightening because they were literally associated with death. However, King argues that we continue to be frightened by aberrations and anything that interrupts the status quo.
In his essay, "Are you Now or Were You Ever," Arthur Miller describes the fear of Communism as a "free-floating apprehension." In my opinion, Americans in the 1950's feared Communism because they felt that it was an invisible, intangible force that possessed the power to transform their loved ones into enemies--a force akin to the corrupting power of the devil in 1692.
Your Task: Respond to each of the following four questions in a response posted to this blog post. Your responses must be posted before class on Monday (10/27).
Do we continue to be frightened by aberration in America--is this still reflected in contemporary horror? Give me an example.
Does this idea of aberration help to explain the underlying terror portrayed in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers? Explain.
How did this same sense of fear affect the Puritans in Salem, Massachusetts?
Why do you think that I elected to show The Invasion of the Body Snatchers in conjunction with The Crucible?
"What is your solution?" Affleck asked of Maher and Harris. "Just condemn Islam? We've killed more Muslims than they've killed us by an awful lot."
On Friday night, actor, political activist, and future Batman, Ben Affleck, appeared on the HBO program, Real Time with Bill Maher. The host and the actor got into a heated debate regarding Islam, and the United States' role in addressing the issue posed by the terrorist group, ISIS.
You can all decide whose viewpoint you agree with more, but the Affleck comment listed above, got me thinking about The Crucible and our on-going discussion of duality.
Affleck's comment reflects the duality of America's role as a foreign policy interventionist. Put simply, our actions overseas have two sides.
To some, our nation acts in defense of democratic principles and freedoms.
To others, our acts of war kill innocent civilians and further destabilize nations.
In The Crucible, duality--moreover the rejection of the concept--fuels the hysteria and violence of the witch trials. Miller was onto something: when Americans are not willing to accept, discuss, and debate human duality, things seem to deteriorate rather quickly.
Ah, progress.
This week, we will continue our ongoing discussion of Puritanism and duality.
As a class, we will read aloud and discuss Act IV of the play. I'm hoping to finish by Friday.
Independently, you will be responsible for reading the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story, "The Minister's Black Veil." The short story must be read and the accompanying questions must be completed by Friday, October 10th.
Copies of both the story and the questions will be distributed tomorrow (10/7)
Momentarily, let us leave behind our discussion of the Puritans and the Massachusetts Bay Colony and discuss another region of the United States: the American South.
I am a longtime fan of Athens, Georgia's own Drive-By Truckers, an independent, smart, and raucous rock and roll band fronted by the one and only Patterson Hood.
Patterson is the second guy from the left.
For nearly 20 years, Patterson and crew have been writing songs about the complexities, intricacies, and contradictions of the south. Patterson has spent a good portion of his career attempting to rectify his own progressive politics with his love of a land that ofttimes stands directly opposed to his views.
Recently, Patterson wrote an essay about this complex relationship for the website, The Bitter Southener, entitled, "The New(er) South."
Patterson even coined a term for this relationship: "the duality of the Southern thing."
In a song written from the perspective of the devil, Patterson fully explores this "duality" by examining the lives of three great Alabama Icons: Ronnie Van Zandt, Bear Bryant, and George Wallace.
"The Three Great Alabama Icons"
Puritans, Batman, and rock and roll in one post? Yes! We did it! Ah, America.
Batman is pensive.
Your Task:
Explain what you think Patterson means by "the duality of the Southern thing."
Reference both the song and the essay in your response.
If you're really stuck, explain why you feel that Patterson believes George Wallace is deserving of hellfire.
Discuss your own views regarding America and duality.
Explain why duality plays such an extensive role in defining the idea of America.
Your response must be posted to the blog before class on Thursday (10/9).
So, I was watching the film version of The Crucible, and two quotes from the play literally leapt out at me. These quotes may help you compose your conclusion paragraphs.
At the very end of Act II, after Elizabeth is taken away, Proctor says:
"Now Hell and Heaven grapple on our backs, and all our old pretense is ripped away--make your peace! Peace. It is a providence, and no great change; we are only what we always were, but naked now."
Proctor is directly addressing the duality of the people of Salem. In his opinion, the trials have removed "pretense," faked outer personas, and revealed the true inner feelings of the townspeople: envy, resentment, jealousy, lust, et al. In a strange way, he almost seems relieved that he can stop pretending to be a morally upright man.
Proctor is self-aware; Danforth, the "hanging judge," is decidedly not so. He too feels that the trials have removed the "pretense"; but unlike Proctor, he actually believes that there are witches in the town. In Act III, he proclaims:
"This is a sharp time, now, a precise time--we live no longer in the dusky afternoon when evil mixed itself with good and befuddled the world."
A strict Puritan, Danforth is relieved at the prospect of ending a period of duality.
I hope these help. I will continue to check my email until about 10:00 PM.
In lieu of reading Act III together, you will all be responsible for reading it on your own and creating study guide questions and answers. Requirements:
15 questions, 15 answers -
10 questions must address or include a specific quote from the text;
2 questions must refer to 2 separate AP Lang. devices;
3 questions may refer to simple plot comprehension, i.e. they need not include a quote from the text;
Each question must also include a detailed answer.
You may work in groups of 2-3
We will be in the library on Thursday and Friday
Completed questions are due by the end of class on Friday (10/3)
Questions must be typed; a hard copy must be submitted with all group members' names
Independent Writing
The Prompt: In his notes for his play, The Crucible, Arthur Miller wrote, "The concept of unity, in which positive and negative are attributes of the same force, in which good and evil are relative, ever-changing, and always joined to the same phenomenon--such a concept is still reserved to the physical sciences and to the few who have grasped the history of ideas." Miller implies that humanity has a difficult time understanding that good and evil can actually stem from the same source. The characters in The Crucible demonstrate this duality. Write an expository essay in which you analyze how two characters from the play demonstrate duality. Assess the difference between actual intention and the perception of the characters' actions. Support your analysis with specific references to the play.
In other words, you are analyzing the discrepancy between the appearance of two characters' actions and their actual motivations/desires, or the irony of the separation between intent and result.
For example, on the surface, Abigail pretends to be concerned with identifying witch-craft and devil worship, but she actually has concocted an elaborate plan to drive John Proctor back into her arms.
Reverend John Hale believes he is combatting the forces of evil, but he is actually simply fueling into murderous revenge fueled by jealousies and pre-existing conflicts.
Due Tuesday (9/30): Completed thesis statement
This does not need to be typed.
Basic Outline:
4 paragraphs
A clearly defined thesis; it must appear as the last sentence(s) of the introductory paragraph
Two body paragraphs containing specific references to the play
Pictured: Arthur contemplating metaphysical truths regarding religion and human behavior. And , Marilyn Monroe
In Act I of The Crucible, Arthur Miller writes:
"The concept of unity, in which positive and negative are attributes of the same force, in which good and evil are relative, ever-changing, and always joined to the same phenomenon--such a concept is still reserved to the physical sciences and to the few who have grasped the history of ideas."
In laymen's terms, humanity tends to gravitate towards a view of good and evil in which the former is embodied by God and the latter is the work of the Devil. To Miller, a man all too familiar with persecution, the Devil can be used as a tool to control and demonize one's enemies.
Miller phrases this idea succinctly: "A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."
The Puritans needed the Devil; their world of faith and suffering would almost be too much to bear without him.
But do modern Americans still need him?
Today, we can view the Puritan concept of the Devil under the lense of psychology and a scientific understanding of the brain and human behavior.
This is an idea more fully explored in the following article posted on Scientific American: "The Psychological Power of Satan." The author argues against the traditional view of the Devil and evil.
Your Assignment:
Read the article and post a comment on this blog post.
What does the article have to do with The Crucible? Does it help you make sense of the Miller quote at the beginning of this post?
What do you make of the author's view of the Devil and evil? Is it a good or bad thing to abandon the concept of "evil" and replace it with a more psychologically sensitive view? Explain.
Your responses are due before class on Thursday, September 25th.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Last year, Slate Magazine posted a humorous and telling article concerning some of the most unsual and occasionally downright spiteful Puritan names of yesteryear: "A Boy Named Humiliation". If this article sparks your interest, feel free to check out Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature, a comprehensive study of Puritan naming practices published in 1888.
But what about your name? What does it mean? What does it reveal about you and your relationship to your family?
Please research the meaning of your own name using the Behind the Name website. If your first name does not deliver any results, try your last name, or ask your family members what the name means to them.
In the comment section of this post, respond to the following:
Select what you feel is the most memorable Puritan name from the article from Slate Magazine and explain what the name reveals about the Puritan culture.
Finally, explain the significance of your own first or last name. Please include information you find from Behind the Name or from your own research.
Responses are due prior to class on Monday (9/22).
My Response:
Regarding the Puritan names, one name in particular doesn't stand out. Rather, I am disgusted by the cruel, depressing names given to children.
Forsaken? Were these poor people robbed of all joy? Children were indoctrinated at birth: life is constant struggle and suffering.
Now, my name.
I am named after my mother's father, Edward Earle Allen. Interestingly enough, my father picked the name.
Pictured: My mother, the little girl, my two uncles, my grandmother, and my grandfather, Earle (1953).
Admittedly, I am not crazy about the name Edward. However, I admire the man that I was named after.
Also, I don't think anyone regularly calls me Edward.
Ed, Eddie, Eduardo, Edsel--these are all more common.
Mark Twain described The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as "a book of mine where a sound heart and a deformed conscience come into collision and conscience suffers defeat."
As we discussed in class, to Twain, the conscience represents the morality one ascertains from society; the heart represents an individual's moral voice, an instinct if you will.
Twain, an American writer, values individualism. Hopefully you see a connection here.
"Society! Society! Society!"
We have read The Crucible, Thoreau's transcendental writings, and watched a harrowing account of the last adventures of young Chris McCandless. Hopefully you have learned something about yourselves, America, literature, society, and writing.
Please reflect.
Peace, love, and bacon grease. It's been a pleasure, all.
On Friday we watched an episode of Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown in which the chef, restaurateur, and global connoisseur traveled to the recently liberated Republic of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.
Are there any similarities between Myanmar and Gilead, or in other words, why would I show this episode during our Handmaid's Tale unit?
Please respond to this question in a comment posted to this blog by midnight, Wednesday, April 30th.
You will all be responsible for writing a literary analysis of the William Shakespeare play, Julius Caesar. In your analysis, you will explain the ways in which the play centers around an on-going conflict between order and disorder. Your essay will explore this conflict as it is depicted in regards to the following three recurring symbols/motifs:
Man and the Animal Kingdom
Blood and Fire
Time
You need to develop a thesis statement, that is the point you will prove in your paper with analysis and cited facts. The actual thesis must appear as the final sentence in the opening paragraph. It may need to be a long, complex sentence constructed with semicolons.
Remember, a thesis is simply a viewpoint that is proven in the paper. Your viewpoint must be supported with scholarly facts and insights, i.e. the views of literary critics and meaningful references to the play itself.
Here is a sample piece of a possible thesis statement (Inspired by Sophie):
“The motif of time in the play is used to convey the idea that time and politics are synonymous, and Brutus’ lack of understanding of time reflects his own political naivete and malleability. This very misunderstanding of time results in an outbreak of violent disorder.”
Note: The aforementioned is ⅓ of a proper thesis statement; the other 2 symbols and motifs require a similar statement, i.e. things your paper will prove and substantiate with research and analysis.
You will support your analysis with:
Quotes and ideas stemming from the book, Julius Caesar: A Guide to the Play, by Jo McMurtry (The handouts I gave you come from this very book.);
2 scholarly Internet sources that you find on your own;
And multiple, specific references to the play itself.
Introduction
Begin the essay by discussing Stoicism and Epicureanism. These philosophies concern the crux of the play: the on-going conflict between order and disorder, albeit internally.
Look up the concepts and use a citation to support your analysis of these schools of thought.
Conclusion
Incorporate young adult writer Alex Bledsoe’s simple interpretation of the play. It will help you reintroduce the main idea and your thesis in a non-redundant manner: “So what, ultimately, does the 400-year-old Julius Caesar tell us? About ourselves: that in the war between passion and intellect, passion always wins.”
Suggested Outline
I. Intro
A. Stoicism and Epicureanism: the internal, timeless struggle of order and disorder
B. Recurring Symbols and Motifs: introduce the concepts -- blood, fire, etc.
C. Thesis: what your paper will prove; a long, complex sentence that incorporates the main ideas previously mentioned in the intro.
II. First symbol/motif
A. Cited fact, quotation, or analysis
B. Supporting/example lines from the play
C. Your analysis/interpretation
III. Second symbol/motif
A. Cited fact, quotation, or analysis
B. Supporting/example lines from the play
C. Your analysis/interpretation
IV. Third symbol/motif
A. Cited fact, quotation, or analysis
B. Supporting/example lines from the play
C. Your analysis/interpretation
V. Conclusion
A. Alex Bledsoe: Intellect v. Passion
B. Reiteration of the thesis
VI. Works Cited (must appear entirely on a separate page)
Things to remember:
Length: 4-6 pages
Double-spaced
Size 12 Times New Roman font
Proper MLA formatting
No cover page
Proper Header
a MLA-formatted Works Cited; this does not count towards the overall length of the paper
