Engl 145: Survey of World Literature II

T.S Eliot: - 1888 to 1965 - Full name Thomas Stearns Eliot - Modernist poet who rejected the pretentious style of late Victorian era poetry and focused on being highly focused and conjuring strong imagery. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: - Refers to Dante's Inferno by quoting it - Mainly evokes strong imagery, describing things in quirky interesting ways (the evening being described as being spread out across the sky like a patient knocked out on a table, describing the yellow fog to be acting very animal-like). The Wasteland: - Poem is very difficult to read and full of references of other stories on purpose. Eliot wanted people to be frustrated by his poetry so much that they develop interest in learning about it just so they can understand it, and hopefully would gain a deeper appreciation for poetry as an art in the process. Anna Akhmatova: - 1889 to 1966 - Russian poet who spoke as a lover, wife, mother, and person. Covers fear, love, hope, pain and oth...

I have decided to answer the prompt: "You’ve been appointed the student member of a college committee to revise the core curriculum. The committee has decided to require that all students enrolled at LMC must take this course, and you have been asked to nominate 4 to 5 fiction selections (from the selections we have read this semester) that will be required reading for the course. You are, in other words, creating the anthology." The question is asking me to choose 4 or 5 of the stories we've read to create an anthology, and describe in detail why I've selected those stories. For my project, I will seek to use stories from a diverse range of authors. I will ensure there will be a variety of cultures, genders, and orientations from across a broad span of time. I will also ensure that the stories themselves have a wide assortment of themes and writing styles, not just the authors. Since there are three volumes, I can choose at least one story from each, while doubling ...

In this poem, Senghor writes to one of his comrades named Ngom in a German prisoner of war camp. He tells him about what he's seen in wartime Paris after being released from the camp himself. "I write you from the solitude of my precious - and closely guarded -/ Residence of my black skin." (Senghor, 682) This line expresses how he feels as an African man away from his culture. He admits that he is isolated, but rather than use that word he uses a similar one: solitude. Though they both mean being alone, they have very different connotations. Solitude implies that it was a conscious decision, giving him agency in his distance from the people around him. He feels that as a black man he cannot relate to those around him, so he closely guards himself and his identity. "Fortunate are my friends/ Who know nothing of the icy walls and the brightly lit/ Apartments that sterilize every seed on the ancestors' masks/ And even the memories of love." (Senghor, 682...

Senghor: - 1906 to 2001 - Known for his poetry - Founder of the Negritude movement, which sought to educate others, especially Europeans, about African and black culture in writing - First President of independent Senegal - Born in a small fishing village called Joal to a Serer father and a Peul mother. His mixed ethnicity would be a source of inspiration for his work Letter to a Poet: - A letter written to Aime Cesaire, a fellow poet. The letter is a poem itself, making conversation with Aime, telling him about what he's missing back home. Night in Sine: - A poem to a woman about spending an intimate night together, while remembering and connecting to Africa Black Woman: - About the beauty of a black woman, comparing her body to various things like fruit and wine. Prayer to the Masks: - About the spiritual side of African beliefs, involving ancestors watching over them and communicating Letter to a Prisoner: - Shares the experience of being in wartime Pa...

Postwar and Postcolonial Literature: - 1945 to 1968 -  The United States and the Soviet Union became engaged in the Cold War, attempting to create the most powerful weapons capable of destroying the planet - NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization united Western Europe and North America while the Warsaw Pact united the Soviets and Eastern Europe - 1949 Communist Revolution in China lead by Mao Zedong was successful - Fought the war "by proxy" in Korea and Vietnam to avoid destroying the world - American civil rights movement was taking off - Increase in globalization led to hybridity - Much writing from this time period is neorealism, returning to addressing political and social issues James Baldwin: - 1924 to 1987 - Was African American, covered the troubles face by black people at the time - Grew up in Harlem, moved to Manhattan (Greenwich Village aka The Village) where he discovered he was gay - Arrested on false charges of theft, attempted suicide but fa...

One of the most concerning things in my life right now is my new job. This means I'll have even less time than before for school, so I'll have to be extra careful about managing my time wisely to succeed in both school life and work life. This week's reading was really interesting, especially the poem of William Butler Yeats. I love poetry, but mostly when it's abstract and not about particular events. Reading Yeats, who draws heavily from life, especially in Easter 1916, was a bit out of my comfort zone since I'm not used to needing context to understand poetry. While I think Yeats is a great poet, I still feel that the best use of poetry isn't really to be about specific events. I think the best thing about poetry is that you can evoke such universal emotion, that the only thing that really hinders you are language barriers. However, besides that, anyone who can read the poem can share in the feelings described. Not necessarily agree with them, but poetry l...

I decided to tell a friend about Growth Mindset, because we've had discussions about the similar problems we have in school and in life. We always suggest things to each other that might help, so she responded well and listened to see if it sounded useful for her. She agreed that it seemed like a productive way of thinking, and expressed interest in looking into it later. We have an agreement with each other on holding the other accountable, so I'll be sure to check up on her in a week or two to see if she has.

1. Compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the text, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts.  One common element in the questions I chose is they all involve multiple works. This is because we are required to do one project that discuses at least two stories within it, and my other two projects were both about one. I really enjoyed the poetry we read, so I feel like comparing any two poets could be good for any of these questions. Dickinson, Shelley, Keats, Yeats, Whitman, and even Ghalib have elements in common, but are also very different and unique in their styles which would make it easy to point out dissimilarities.   2. Pick a subject: love, work, freedom, etc. Then choose two selections and discuss how that subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion.   ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Rising I wanted to learn more about the real uprising that Yeats based his poem on, so I looked it up. They Easter rising was a group of Irish nationalists rebelling against the British power because they wanted Ireland to become independent. It only lasted six days in April 1916, and over half of the deaths in the battle were civilians. I find it really sad that most people killed were just by standers, the British forced were using machine guns so they didn't care about collateral damage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_warfare It was mentioned that some of the rebels in the Easter Rising successfully used guerrilla warfare and I had heard that term before, so I wanted to see what it meant. The idea is a "hit and run" strategy, where you catch your opponent off guard by quickly rushing in to do as much damage as possible, and before they can collect themselves enough to fight back, rushing out to avoid casualties on yo...

I backed everything up and read the announcements.

In this poem, Yeats is referring to the real life Easter revolution of 1916, where the Irish fought the British for the independence of Ireland. "Too long a sacrifice/ Can make a stone of the heart/ O when may it suffice?" (523, Yeats) Here he refers to the sacrifice of lives lost in the revolution, and becoming numb to them. He questions how many people have to die for this cause. "That is Heaven's part, our part/ To murmur name upon name/ As a mother names her child/ When sleep at last has come/ On limbs that had run wild." (524, Yeats) Here Yeats feels as though Heaven's part is to take the dead, and there is nothing they can do but remember them, murmuring their name in either a literal sense or a symbolic one, by keeping someone in your memory. The comparison to mother and child strengthens the bond between these people, making it feel like they meant a lot to each other. The "running wild" is a reference to the revolution, and the sle...

Modern poetry: - Poetry became big in the 19th century thanks to the popularity of the Romantic movement, which encouraged people to become more expressive, however along with it came many writing cliches. - Modernists rebelled against these cliches, seeking precision and clarity over self expression - Some modernists saw symbolism as another way of expressing your feelings and not looking at things objectively and clearly, but some used symbolism to challenge the reader's thinking and felt it enriched their writing - Similar logic applied to the use of mythology in poetry - Modernists usually wrote longer poems and epics, and many were politically minded William Butler Yeats: - 1865 to 1939 - Became a major poetic voice for Ireland - Eldest of four in a middle class Protestant family - Was homeschooled by his father who taught him to be skeptical of science and that art was superior - Yeats went to art school and intended on becoming a painter like his father and br...

Jun'Ichiro: - 1886 to 1965 - Published his final novel at seventy six years old - Born to a merchant family in the commercial quarter of Tokyo - As a young adult he wrote "demonic" fiction, called so because of its focus on topics such as sexual obsessions and sadomasochism. These brought him fame and money, so he moved into a luxurious Western style home that even had electricity. Would later write negatively about Japan being obsessed with the West and forgetting their customs, perhaps because he experienced it himself. The Tattooer: - One of Jun'Ichiro's early "demonic" stories - The story is about a masterful tattoo artist named Seikichi who has a secret fetish, he loves the pain he gets to inflict on people when they get tattoos from him - Comments on beauty culture and how people are willing to endure pain in the name of looking good - Seikichi becomes obsessed with finding the perfect woman to tattoo - He one day catches a glimpse of...

I really liked the reading this week, mostly because we got to read Virginia Woolf, who I am a big fan of. I feel really sympathetic towards her struggles with her role as a woman in a sexist society, her struggles with mental illness, her desire for independence, and so much more. It's hard to think about these things because it's so depressing, to think that people were once okay treating their fellow human beings as second class citizens because of their gender. It's even worse when you realize there are still people out there like that today. Still, it's important to read and learn about, because knowing the truth is important even when it hurts. I've found that a good strategy in improving my writing is to focus on the work piece by piece, tackling only what is immediately in front of me and not thinking about the rest. If I think about the whole work, I end up feeling overwhelmed and unsure of myself. When I take it piece by piece I end up thinking "Oh...

The two quotes I chose from other students are: 1. Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible. - Doris Lessing I thought this was a great quote because I put the same impossible and pointless restrictions on myself. Rather than getting something done, I wait until the time is "right" and all the conditions are met, but of course that never happens and it ends up stopping you from making progress you would have made if you had just started right away. 2. Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited about what could go right. I appreciated this quote because I think pessimism really gets in the way of making progress and growing as a person. The fear you feel over making mistakes convinces you that you should never try anything, when really there could be even more reasons you should take that risk. Looking on the bright side of things, having hope for the future, and even being excited about what's in stor...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Woolf After reading A Room of One's Own this week, I really wanted to go on a Wikipedia Trail relating to Virginia Woolf's lesbianism. I've already read a lot about it, but I like reading about historical lesbians. It makes me feel less alone and less strange, because it shows that we've been around forever, and in so many ways the culture we share is the same. Sadly, there wasn't much mention of Woolf's sexuality for some reason, so I ended up looking into her mental illness, which led me to the next page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipolar_disorder I was interested in this page because bipolar disorder is so frequently misunderstood by people, I wondered what was on the Wikipedia page. It was very expansive, with many different sections, but each section was usually only about a paragraph. I think it's unfortunate that there are people in the world who would think they fully understand this disorder from a Wi...

I backed up everything I needed to and checked the announcements. Figures that the week I did the work on time, the deadline was extended anyways, but at least I know I did it.

A major theme in "The Dead" is, unsurprisingly, death. The inevitability of it, the way it affects the living, and the way it connects us as human beings are all touched upon in the story. One way the theme of death is conveyed in the story is symbolically, in the snow that is present throughout the story. We see it introduced from almost the very beginning of the story, mentioned as Gabriel enters the scene. He is taking off his coat as he enters the house, and it is covered in snow and ice. This is symbolic of how we can try to shield ourselves from death as Gabriel shields himself from the snow with his coat, but it will still impact us regardless, just as Gabriel is still covered in snow. In the following conversation about the snow with Lily, he comments that there is probably going to be snowfall that night. This is foreshadowing about the looming existential crisis Gabriel is going to have involving death. At the end of the story, when Gabriel begins to think about ...

James Joyce: - 1882 to 1941 - Born in Dublin to a family of thirteen children (though three of those children died in infancy) - Taught English in a Berlitz school and began writing short stories - As his eyesight deteriorated he would get other young authors to write his stories down for him as he dictated to them. The Dead: - Draws from a lot of things Joyce saw in his life. - Main character is Gabriel Conroy, who is a professor. - He has to give a speech and is worried his audience won't understand him. - The story is mainly just Gabriel interacting with various people at a party, then at the end he has an existential crisis because he realizes that everyone he knows, and himself, will one day be dead. The story ends with him watching the snow fall outside "upon all the living and the dead". - This existential crisis was brought on by his wife's revelation to him to when she was young she had a boyfriend who she was in love with, but he died and she bl...

Modernism: - Lasted from 1900 to 1945. - World population tripled from 2 million to 6 million. - Advancements in technology, transportation, medical care, agriculture, nutrition and public health. - Large cities became large, making urban life a common topic. - Horrors of the modern era: 200 million dead of war, genocide, revolution, and famine. - Major events: The Holocaust, WW1 and WW2, The Great Depression, Pearl Harbor. - Together, these elements became the modernist movement. Virginia Woolf: - Feminist who frequently explored gender roles in her work. - Known for the evocative way she combined the state of mind and body. - Born as Adeline Virginia Stephen on January 25, 1882. - Was one of four children to Leslie and Julia Stephen. - Her two brothers were sent to boarding school while she and her sister were home schooled. - She resented this unequal treatment and discouragement towards women becoming educated. - Was mentally ill, received treatment but tried to k...

So far, I've been much more on top of my work than I was before. When it came to commenting, I was surprised by how much I learned from the writings of my peers this week. They pointed out a lot of things I hadn't thought of, and had unique perspectives that I didn't necessarily agree with, but it's good to understand other people's points of view and the way their analyses are different than mine. Also, they noticed many literary devices that I hadn't thought about, which helped me learn how to recognize them myself and be more aware when they make an appearance. Another thing that was useful to me was editing my project. I became more aware of when I'm actually making my points clear, or when I'm just summarizing without including my own thoughts. My other classes are going really well, making more time for this class hasn't changed my performance in my other classes at all. In fact, I actually did better on my most recent midterm compared to th...

The three favorite sayings I found on the page of Growth Mindset Cats were: "Failure teaches you to deal with disappointment." I have a hard time seeing failure as positive, but this saying helped me realize that it's unrealistic to expect that you will never be disappointed in your life. Therefore, failure is useful because it teaches you how to deal with disappointment and push through it. "Those who don't jump with never fly." I worry a lot about being perfect, and that keeps me from doing things because I'm afraid it won't work. This phrase reminded me that if I don't try, it's true that I'll never fail, but I'll also never succeed. "My mistakes help me grow." I was raised to believe that mistakes are a sign of incompetence, that you're just not good at whatever you tried to do and will never be. This phrase reminded me that making mistakes is actually part of the growing process, not a sign that I will ...

Tagore: - 1861 -1941 - Born in Calcutta to one of India's most famous families due to their huge fortune from agriculture, mining, banking, and trade, and their aid in establishing major institutions such as Hindu College - Despite this, Tagore actually rebelled against being formerly educated -First Asian to receive a Nobel Prize for literature - Had three daughters and two sons - Wrote 42 short stories between 1891 and 1895, the most active time of his career - Wrote over 2,200 songs over several decades - Wife died in 1902, middle daughter in 1903, his father in 1905 and his youngest son in 1907 Kabuliwala: Kabuliwala (Rahamat): An lower class, Muslim, Afghan peddler who interacts with the narrator's daughter by bringing her little gifts. Rahamat ends up killing a man over not being paid for a scarf when he needs the money, and gets put in prison for a long time. The narrator almost forgets about him until he comes to visit Mini when he is released. The narrator...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedda_Gabler I began with one of the week's reading, Hedda Gabler. On the page I noticed that a writer named Joseph Wood Krutch analyzed the character Hedda Gabler, and came to the conclusion that she was the first depiction of a "neurotic" character, psychoanalyzing her using Freudian theory. This piqued my interest because I took AP Psychology in high school and I vaguely remembered Freud, and wanted I refresher. The clearest memories I have involving Freud in that class were of my professor saying the Freud "was on enough cocaine to tranquilize a horse" so we should take his theories with a grain of salt, and then seeing exactly what that meant when we learned how Freud believed young boys were attracted to their mothers and daughters to their fathers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud Reading the Wikipedia page for Freud is exactly as crazy as when I read about him in AP Psychology. I immediately spotted the ...

I'm up to date on announcements and backed up my work.

In the story "The Death of Ivan Ilyich", a man who fears death finds that he will soon be dead. This causes him to snap at his loved ones in a panic, and have his communion right before he dies in hope it will save him. In the moment before he dies, we see the process he goes through that has been built up over the course of the story. First, he behaves selflessly by sending his family away. He knows that watching him die will hurt them. This shows character development because before he was selfish, and would have clung to them in order to make himself feel better, even if it would have cause them emotional pain. "And suddenly it grew clear to him that what had been oppressing him and would not leave him was all dropping away at once from two sides, from ten sides, and from all sides. He was sorry for them, he must act so as not to hurt them: release them and free himself from these sufferings." (Tolstoy, 778) When he finally does so, he expects to feel like he ...

Leo Tolstoy: - 1828 - 1910 - Gambler, womanizer, high ranking aristocrat, vegetarian, anarchist, and pacifist. - Excommunicated from the Russian Orthodox Church. - Known for his wisdom on marriage but had a rocky marriage himself. - Lost his mom at 2 and his dad at 9. - Two most famous novels: War and Peace / Anna Karenina. Both were realist stories about 19th century Russian life. - The Death of Ivan Ilyich was very different from his other work, possibly because of his religious conversion. - The story may be somewhat autobiographical, because of the guilt he felt over not reacting very strongly when his own brother died. The Death of Ivan Ilyich: - Ivan Ilyich: An official in the Court of Justice. He ends up with some mysterious terminal illness and begins to ponder the nature of death and suffering. Right before he dies, he loses his fear of death, and the author suggests this erases death itself. When Ivan dies he sees a light, feels joy, possibly symbolizing that death...

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notes_from_Underground I began on the page for one of this week's readings, Notes from the Underground. Most of what was on the page was just a summary of the story or some brief context that was also in the book, but what caught my eye was the section analyzing the themes of the story. Our textbook did touch on the existentialism, but didn't go into detail on what these ideologies were exactly. This is what sparked my curiosity to go to the next link about Nihilism. 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism Here I learned that Nihilism is the belief that life has no intrinsic purpose or value. This often accompanies a rejection of theism and existential despair, but not always. The term was first used in the 19th century by Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, but was popularized by Ivan Turgenev as it became a big movement in Russia. Nihilism developed many subsets, one of which is moral nihilism, which lead me to the next page. 3. https://en.wi...

I checked the announcements and saw that the reading Declarations were posted, but still not the extra credit declarations. I'll follow up about that.