First read the following article which details the most practical and contemporary tenets of stoicism. The article also contains the TED talk concerning the actual biochemical benefits of stress.
I also recommend watching this video in which former UFC fighter and high school math teacher, Rich Franklin, explores the benefits of learning to lose:
Then, peruse the information I collected regarding Stoicism and Epicureanism.
The following is a portion of the definition of Stoicism from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:
Stoicism was one of the new philosophical movements of the Hellenistic period... The Stoics did, in fact, hold that emotions like fear or envy (or impassioned sexual attachments, or passionate love of anything whatsoever) either were, or arose from, false judgements and that the sage—a person who had attained moral and intellectual perfection—would not undergo them. The later Stoics of Roman Imperial times, Seneca and Epictetus, emphasise the doctrines (already central to the early Stoics' teachings) that the sage is utterly immune to misfortune and that virtue is sufficient for happiness.
"...Virtue is sufficient for happiness."
Questions to consider:
Does this philosophy help explain the words and actions of Shakespeare's Brutus?
Does he consider himself to be a "sage," one immune to emotional judgments?
Consider how he responds to the death of his wife, Portia:
Why, farewell, Portia. We must die, Messala:
With meditating that she must die once,
I have the patience to endure it now. [IV, iii]
There's just something about sin and guilt. Nathaniel Hawthorne touched upon this American predilection in his short stories, "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Young Goodman Brown." These themes are also often explored in American music. "Americana" is the name given to a genre of music that is uniquely American. It is equal parts rock and roll, blues, country, soul, rhythm and blues, folk, and jazz. One of the very first groups to be recognized as Americana is The Band. Yes, that's their name: The Band. They also happen to be my favorite band of all time. Their rise to fame actually began in Somers Point, NJ. During the summer of 1965, the Canadian group (sans singer/drummer and Arkansas native, Levon Helm), then known as Levon and the Hawks, was hired as the house band at Tony Mart's, a music club in Somers Point.
As you all probably know, I love--LOVE--Bob Dylan. In 1965, Bob, then a hero of the acoustic folk genre, decided to go electric, and he was looking to find a backing band fluent in high-volume, electric blues. Fate intervened, and members of Levon and the Hawks soon found themselves auditioning in New York City, and the rest is rock and roll history.
Levon and the Hawks eventually became The Band, a joke name of sorts (No artist name is listed on their debut LP, and their first proposed name--"The Crackers"--was shot down by their label).
Their debut album, Music From Big Pink, contained a rendition of a classic country song initially made famous by Lefty Frizzell: "The Long Black Veil.
The song explores guilt, shame, and all of that emotional, Puritan baggage that is just so American.
Ten years ago on a cool dark night There was someone killed 'neath the town hall light There were few at the scene and they all did agree That the man who ran looked a lot like me The judge said "Son, what is your alibi? If you were somewhere else then you won't have to die" I spoke not a word although it meant my life I had been in the arms of my best friend's wife She walks these hills in a long black veil She visits my grave where the night winds wail Nobody knows, no, and nobody sees Nobody knows but me The scaffold was high and eternity neared She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear But sometimes at night when the cold wind moans In a long black veil she cries over my bones
While we are on the subject of American music, let us also consider a true icon: Johnny Cash. Here is his "theme" song, "The Man in Black."
Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.
I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.
I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.
Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.
I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.
And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.
Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.
Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.
Current songwriters continue to write about the disparity between public perception and private personal guilt. Here is a song from 2013 from one of my favorite songwriters of all time (Yes, this is a plug! His album, Southeastern is my favorite record of 2013 by a country mile.): "Live Oak" by Jason Isbell:
There's a man who walks beside me
It is who I used to be
And I wonder if she sees him
and confuses him with me
And I wonder who she's pinin' for
on nights I'm not around
Could it be the man who did the things
I'm living now?
I was rougher than a timber
shippin' out of Fond du Lac
When I headed south at 17
ol' sheriff on my back
I never held a lover in my arms or in my gaze
So I found another victim every couple days
But the night I fell in love with her
I made my weakness known
Through the fires and the farmers diggin' dusty fields alone
The jealous innuendos of the lonely hearted men
Let me know what kind of country I was sleeping in
Well you couldn't stay a loner
on the plains before the war
My neighbors had been slightin' me
I had to ask what for
Rumors of my wickedness had reached our little town
Soon she'd heard about the boys I used to hang around
We'd robbed a Great Lakes freighter,
killed a couple men or more
And I told her her eyes flickered like the sharp steel of a sword
All the things that she'd suspected
I'd expected her to fear
Was the truth that drew her to me when I landed here
There's a man who walks beside me
he is who I used to be
And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me
And I wonder who she's pinin' for
on nights I'm not around
Could it be the man who did the things
I'm living down?
Well I carved a cross from live oak
and a box from shortleaf pine
Buried her so deep
she touched the water table line
I picked up what I needed
and I headed south again
To myself I wondered
would I find another friend
There's a man who walks beside her,
it is who I used to be
And I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me.
Your Task:
Select one of the aforementioned songs.
Explain how the song is similar to the short story "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Young Goodman Brown."
Discuss the themes of "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Young Goodman Brown" and the theme of the song you select.
Support your response with references to both the song and the story.
Be original! Your response should consist of your thoughts and your feelings.
Your response should be approximately 250 words in length (500 max).
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 recurring symbols/motifs::
Man and the Animal Kingdom
Blood
Fire
Time
Illness/Infirmity
Note: You pick which 3 to write about.
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, or multiple sentences.
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 Ragan):
“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.”
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 information needed to cite the book is available on the blog);
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.
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; long, complex sentence that incorporates the 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
Things to remember:
You are responsible for uploading a completed paper to Google Classroom on time
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
In the Green Machine there is no mercy; we make mercy, manufacture it in the parts that have overgrown our basic reptile brain.
...
He wondered if, in the great body of humankind, in the minds of men set on civilization, the vicious urges we control in ourselves and the dark instinctive knowledge of those urges function like the crippled virus the body arms against.
Communication is the concept that drives writing and speaking alike. One simple way to improve your writing is to ensure that both of these very human processes are not divorced from one another.
Any essay written in this class should sound clear when read aloud.
Read aloud all of your writing before submitting it as finished.
To continue your familiarization with rhetoric and effective communication, we will indulge in a weekly viewing and analysis of a TED Talk.
Let's kick it off this week with a speech with "On Getting Up Again," a speech delivered by Rodney Mullen, one of the most innovative professional skateboarders.
Here's some weekend viewing: "Pop an ollie and innovate!":
Your Task: Watch Rodney's second video, and identify what rhetorical devices and appeals he uses in his speech. Analyze their effectiveness.
Post your analysis as a comment to this post [Your comment must begin with your name!]
Comments must be posted before class on Monday (10/5).
