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.
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| "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.
After an extremely intriguing year of listening to intense class discussions about morality, everyone in class repeatedly complaining, “Mister Clark...do we really have to do this?” and Giana professing her love for BB, I can honestly come to the conclusion that I have learned quite a lot about myself, America, literature, society and writing. My favorite piece of literature this year was, without a doubt, Into the Wild which accounted for the story of Chris McCandless. Chris was an individualist who let his strong hatred for materialism and rejection in society carry him all the way out to Alaska where he planned to live a simple life. While he read books like, Walden by Thoreau, Chris found peace in his transcendental lifestyle. In class, I was surprised to find the irony that while transcendentalism infers complete elimination of the idea of society, American society shares many of the core values. America is was founded on many of the ideas and beliefs of individualism. Known for its freedom, America was built on a system of self-accountability and the idea that if you work hard and pay your dues, you have the opportunity to achieve “The American Dream.” After all, they don't call us a city upon a hill nothing. Similarly, transcendentalism is the belief of being self-reliant. Although, it takes individualism to the extent of examining nature and becoming in-tune with the world around you. Furthermore, this year I became aware of the huge emphasis on man versus society found in American literature. After reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, it is easy to see that Mark Twain is clearly trying to show the struggle of having, “...a sound heart and a deformed conscience...” Almost all of the works we have read this year battle between what you know is right versus what society says is right. For instance, throughout the entire novel, Huck’s heart tells him to help free a slave Jim whereas society tells him that, because of his skin color, the right thing to do is turn him in. Twain mocks the racial barrier by showing society through the eyes of an innocent young boy. By doing so he is able to portray the ideals of individualism in America at the time because Huck repeatedly choses to listen to himself and help Jim, rather than turning him in to his “rightful owner.” This same situation is seen in The Crucible where many intelligent well-minded people are roped into lies revolving around witchcraft. In the story, although the majority of people do not believe in witchcraft, people feel the community has been threatened attempt to restore peace by feeding into the lies of their community. Abigail Williams uses the fear of the devil to manipulate good citizens believing what society wishes them to believe in versus what the honest people know is right. The author, Arthur Miller, shows the results of good people choosing society over their individualism: death. Although it is much more metaphorical in life, the American author depicts how highly individualism should be valued. This year, I a great deal of the American views of having a sound heart versus a deformed conscience. From Into the Wild to Huck Finn to The Crucible, I have been able to have a much more focused and analytical definition of not only American Literature but life itself. Thank you for an amazing year Mister Clark!
ReplyDeleteHitta we made it! This year has been great. I honestly can say I learned the most in Honors English than any other class. Between the great movies and annoying books, I learned many different themes and societies I never thought I would. My favorite movie we watched was no doubt the drama-thriller Mud. Neckbone cracked me up and Ellis always made me proud. He thought and made many mature decisions. Another favorite piece of literature we looked into was Into The Wild. Into the wild was about a boy named Chris Mcandles. Chris was an individualist who let his strong hatred for materialism and rejection in society carry him all the way out to Alaska where he planned to live a simple life. He read books like Walden by Thoreau that fuel his perspective of life. Chris found a lot peace in his transcendental lifestyle. The American idea is some what like transcendentalism. It’s centered on individualism. Many people are focused on themselves only. Another book we read Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain feeds off this same idea. Twain mocks the racial barrier by showing society through the eyes of an innocent young boy. By doing so he is able to portray the ideals of individualism in America at the time because Huck repeatedly chooses to listen to himself and help Jim, rather than turning him in to his “rightful owner.” This same situation is seen in The Crucible where many intelligent well-minded people are roped into lies revolving around witchcraft. Here we can see my classmates and I all had a productive year learning many different things. Thank you so much Mr.Clark. Ur the coolest and cutest :)!! Love ya <3
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, when I saw my first essay grade, I said to myself, "this is going to be a long year." And in a way, I was right. Walden, is and always will be, my least favorite book. No offense, but I could not care less about a bitter, rich old man who hates everything, including himself. Thoreau hates charity. How could anyone hate charity ? In fact, the whole idea of transcendentalism is one that I would like to forget. However, Into Thin Air and The Crucible were definitely my favorite reads but I would probably never read them again. The lessons I learned in English class extend way beyond the classroom. The informal discussions about consequentialism or individualism or morality are the moments that I will remember the most (and maybe a few grammar rules). Sure, English class is usually used to teach students how to read and write and communicate but I discovered new things about myself which I appreciate way more. I had never actually paid attention to the prevalence of "man vs. society," in American literature or if the "ends justified the means." Up until that point, I can't remember a moment where I was actually forced to focus on the tiny details. I would always look at the big picture and come to a conclusion from that. In a way, that's very similar to Huckleberry Finn's view of the world. Mark Twain does a great job of showing the struggle between the "individual's moral voice" and the "morality one ascertains from society." A perfect example of this is Huck's hesitance to return Jim to his owner. According to Huck's society, slavery is legal and slaves are property, not people. This idea is deeply engraved into almost everyone at the time. Yet, as Huck spends more time with Jim, he realizes that Jim is not a bad person and that everything society has been telling him is not necessarily true. Through Julius Caesar, I learned that conflict is sometimes unavoidable and almost necessary. Through Lord of the Flies, I learned that our psyche can be divided into three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego which basically reaffirmed my interest in studying psychology. I also learned that kids are cray cray so they should definitely not be left alone on a deserted island. And finally, I learned that English class is not something that I hate anymore, it's something that I can look forward to.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Mr. Clark, you were an awesome teacher and I can't believe this year is over already.These 179 days have been very memorable and I can honestly say that I have learned something. You've been really lenient with us so thank you for that and for every other time you should've yelled at me but you didn't. Have a great summer !
Waking up five in the morning, dragging my limp and reluctant body to actually have the will power to brush my teeth then go to bed once more, and then finally entering into a school that annoys me, and into my first period class, English class. Truth is told, I hate learning about the English language or any language in that matter, but surprisingly I didn’t mind Mr. Clarks English class. I actually had fun; it wasn’t any ordinary “get piles of work sheet” class, but more of an interactive and informative way of teaching what American literature class. All of the books and stories that we had relates profoundly to the points about society vs individual, and how the people around an individual really define what the person actually do with their decisions. The Crucible was one of the examples where it was literally Jon Proctor vs the town. At the time people were secluded in little towns scattered all over the “new world”. In this town that Proctor lived in believes strongly in super natural occurrences, and because of this absurd believe one girl, Abigail, who claims to know who is a witch or wizard, used the town’s fears as a weapon do obtain her desires. There was another story, Into the Wild in which it tells the story of Chris McCandless, an individualist who has a strong hatred for or current societies believe of materialism. This reflects on how the society can drive people away even from people they love. It might be odd to say, but I like how Adventure of Huck Finn portrays man vs society, but I like it more in that it is plainly a kid who protects a run-away slave and along the way discovers his true inner self and not an uneducated bum like his father. I see aspects like hoe he defy society by turning back on how it says that he should turn in the run-away slave and how he use is deceiving persona for the good of not just the slave but for everyone else, but there is some child hood themes to it that makes it enjoyable to read endless chapters of the book. Ironically, it is as if I ended my own personally book about sophomore year, and I’m on the last page reminiscing the good times and envying for it not to end. Yeah, at least when finishing the last page I’ll learn something valuable that will carry on to the prequel.
ReplyDeleteThis year, to be completely frank, was the most upsetting year of my life.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I found the books we read to be very informative, inspiring and helpful to me; they were thought-provoking by forcing me to think on a deeper level. I do believe you should be proud of yourself as a teacher because such deep thought should be a common occurrence in the classroom but unfortunately, isn’t found in many classrooms today.
My favorite book we read this year was Huckleberry Finn. My favorite film was Into the Wild, followed by Mud. Prior to viewing Into the Wild, we studied bits pieces of Walden, which I found to be a dry and tedious read. After watching Into the Wild, feeling inspired and connected, I read Walden in its entirety for my own pure enjoyment.
I learned a lot about myself through Christopher McCandless. I realized that I didn’t want to conform to society any longer. As days go on, I become increasingly annoyed by societal expectations, but I don’t necessarily believe in becoming an extremist like Chris.
I also learned that I’m not a huge fan of American literature, due to what I find to be the uninteresting themes around which it evolves. Obviously, there are exceptions…. I appreciate some of the ideas behind American literature, and the books this year were certainly good picks.
I also realized this year that, despite what I was deemed to be in the past, I am not a very good writer. I learned, and came to accept, that writing pieces at this level are much more harshly analyzed and graded, thus enhancing my initiative.
Although I missed a large portion of the year, I truly enjoyed the time that I spent in your class. I had a really hard year, with one tragedy after another that really distracted me from my life. I want to commend you for working with me and understanding. I appreciate your patience and attitude in general, with the whole class. It was a pleasure being your student, and I hope you have a fantastic summer and subsequent school year while I’m in Russia! :)
Mir, lubov, i borsch! :D
Well, I'm not one to get very sentimental, but it really has been an awesome year in this class. I wouldn't have wanted to start my day off with any mother class. It actually helped wake me up for the rest of the day with the sometimes heated debates, opinions, Giana yelling at Sebastian, or declaring her love for B Bell and whatever other boys she had a slight obsession with that day. You are a great teacher and I have learned more in your English class than any other in the past and I plan on learning from you again senior year in film institute. My favorite book that we read this year was definitely The Crucible. I think it was just the fact that I was able to get a kick out of how clueless the people seemed to be. Also, the fact that John Proctor showed typical heroism in his sacrifice. In regards to the information received on America, we learned that the American ideals are very individualistic. The American dream is a white picket fence, a house, green grass yard, and beautiful family. This all before the greater good of society. It has really been an awesome year and I am sad to see it end (mainly just for this class). Thank you for everything Mr. Clark, take care of that shoulder, and have an awesome summer!
ReplyDeleteIt feels like just yesterday I was walking into your classroom for the first time wondering who you were and what had happened to Coastal. People always talked about how great the class was and I couldn’t agree more. This was probably one of the best classes I have ever taken. I can without a doubt conclude that I have learned quite a lot about myself, literature, society and writing this year. We didn’t focus on dumb things that I won’t remember in a few weeks. I learned things about life that I’m never going to forget. We’ve read books that before this year; I never would have even looked at or be remotely interested in and ended up loving. The Handmaids Tale for example was one of the most influential things I’ve read. But I think my favorite of the year was Into the Wild. It made me realize that people really do focus way too much on material things. I wouldn’t take it as far as Chris McCandless and go live in the Alaskan wilderness alone, but I learned that when you want something in life, you just have to reach out and grab it. In past years I’ve learned to write essays that must reflect a strict formula but the things I’ve learned about myself this year are so much more valuable to me than any of that. In the end, these past one hundred and seventy nine days have been some of my favorite and I just wanted to say thank you for one heck of a good year! It’s been real, thanks Clark :~)
ReplyDeleteClark, I would just like to start off by saying how much of an awesome time I had in your class this year, and how not only how you're a great teacher but also that you're just a cool freaking dude all around. I really learned a lot this year, the most I learned out of any of my classes, which is actually a lot, lol. But yeah I really enjoyed 179 days of the big man Clark. On another note, I want to let you know that the book/movie I enjoyed the most out of everything we did this year would have to be, "Into the Wild"! I loved that movie soooo much, everything from the music to the deep imagery that Chris McCandless provides the audience. When it comes to a sound heart vesus a deformed conscinece Chris McCandless is sooo far towards a sound heart preception of marlaity that he should be the spokesman of all people with a sound heart. No even trying to be funny, I respect him for that, screw society maaaaann! To answer your question, Ireally did learn a lot about myself, America, literature, society, and writing. I know now who i really am as a person because this class was a huge reality check for sure. America's America, we aren't the smartest/most intelligent people which was proven to me by The Crucible. All the other stuff, writing and literature and society, yeah all that, I learned a lot about too, its all cool, which is why I am going to UC Berkley to be and English major so I can be just like you one day! Hahahaha, just kidding Clark, I'm not a creep like Kartik Garg. Alright man, well I guess I'm done my post, I love you; I'll see you in Flim Instituite senior year; and last but not least, have an awesome summer big man! ;)
ReplyDeleteSo Clark what a long, strange trip it's been.....ahaha i bet you know that line. I'm glad your class was the first of the day because it was fun, not overly hard, and it was easy to wake up for the rest of the day from your class. We have read and watched many inspiring pieces of art, but my favorite would have to be "Into the Wild." Watching the movie was one of the best times in your class because I felt like i could relate in some ways with Chris and agreed how he thought of society. Chris' strong hate for materialism made him give away his life for a small one in Alaska. He didn't see the sense in going to college or doing what everyone thinks they have to do to live a good life. I can totally relate to this because I strongly feel that if one wants to not go to college and thinks there's a different way to spend their lives while still being to contain a living, then I would go and try it. He got a sense of thinking from transcendentalists books that got him thinking the same as the author of the book. When you think of transcendentalism you will think of America because our way of life is based on individualism and the rights we feel we should have. "Into the Wild is a great example to use for the blog post because society and his parents were telling him to go to college and that's the right thing to do, but his heart said no so he left society even when everything around him told him to further his education. Another piece of literature we went into this year was "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." This novel was amazing and related dead on to how society was trying to controlling someone how to live their life and how they thought about certain kinds of people because they think its right. When a slave named Jim crossed paths with Huck, the first thing that went through his mind was that he was black and he was different than everybody else without even knowing him. Society had him thinking since he was black he was someone's property so he should bring him in, but Huck thought realized Jim isn't a bad person and he shouldn't hate or bring him in just because he's black. His conscience was saving Jim from being over powered by his master. These novels and movies has taught me so much this year I hope i will remember it for next year. I know way more about the way of life and how the government and society wants you to do so that's why i always say the feds are watching all the time. I am going to miss you Clark over the summer so i wish you have a great summer and hope your arm gets better. I am going to be visiting you next year and remember our deal where when I turn 21 I am coming back to come and party with you. Thanks for everything!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mister Clark for showing me the light. I have learnt the most in your class about myself, society, and people, and how we all interact. For example, from the Crucible, I learned that I shouldn't spread lies or gossip behind people's backs. From "Into Thin Air", I learned that I should be fearless. I learned that I don't really know myself, and sometimes, people might know me more than I do. I have to explore myself and see where all my potential is. From Into the Wild, I learned that even though transcendentalism is too ideal to practice, it can still be practiced, and that society can be a bad thing depending on how you look at it. Society forces you to conform, whereas the individual has freedom of choice without anyone's judgement. Society will always be there because disorder came before order. The chicken came before the egg, as Clark would say. In Huck Finn, I learned that I should follow my heart instead of my brain. That means that I must be a better person instead of that jerk who just wants attention, sacrificing everything for no reason. People say that I am annoying and a bad person, but after summarizing what I learned in your class, I promise I will follow it and be a better person who isn't annoying, and I will make people around me happy. Thanks for opening my eyes and I promise you I won't annoy anybody from now on. Good luck with that arm Mr. Clark.
ReplyDeleteI just want to start off by saying I have ALWAYS hated English class because I suck at writing but having your class first thing in the morning didn't bother me at all. It was actually a good thing I was entertained with G walking in all jolly at 7:20 in the morning or Apria always voicing her opinion whether we all agreed with her or not. I have become a better writer and all the books we read and movies we've watched have made me see life differently. Even though some of the books I thought were stupid at first they didn't turn out to be that bad but the movies were great. My favorite movies were Into the Wild and Mud. In Into the Wild Chris the main character decides to move away from society traditional view of what he should and do what he wants to do. He was an individualist who decided that material things weren't necessary and traveling all the way to Alaska without telling anyone was what he wanted to do. We read many things that had that same perspective in class but of course the most interesting was the movie. My favorite book hands down had to be The Crucible even though it upset me that Abigail Williams got away and John Proctor died. I learned a lot this year and I feel like I can actually used what I learned not only in school but in life. Thanks for a great year and being an awesome teacher Clark!
ReplyDeleteMr. Clark I tried to send you my feminism power point and it appease that I had the wrong email but that's the only one I knew of.. If you could give me your correct email so I can send it you as soon as pose
ReplyDeleteIn the Crucible, everything is related back to the Devil and Witchcraft immediately after there is no obvious reason for abnormal activity. It all tied back to the Devil and his commands. The article does help me make sense of the Miller quote because I do believe that positives and negatives come from the same force because certain people might believe they are doing the right thing that others think are horrible. It’s all a matter of opinion and how people try to please their God.
ReplyDeleteThe writer of this article implies they do not believe in the Devil or evil. He basically is saying people are using the Devil and evil as a backstop to their problems. Everyone has different opinions and views on different topics that others might completely disagree on. That doesn't automatically mean they are wrong and evil. Looking at the concept of evil with a more understanding mindset would be a lot better but we wouldn't react the way we do to certain things which can be a good and a bad thing. Things like war and reacting in a violent matter are times we should think more maturely but there times where we need to react that way.