Reading Notes Week 10B: Ichiyo

Higuchi Ichiyo 1872-1896

"Separate Ways" Page 907-913

Okyo and Kichizo have a brother/sister relationship.

The boy is feeling lost and does not know who his mother and father is.  He feels that he is better off dying now.- 909

He is hopeful that someday he will run into his mother and father and want to live longer.

Kichizo gets upset because people that he likes in his life are always leaving.  Granny at the umbrella shop died of palsy; Kinu threw herself into a well; Okyo is now leaving him.

Kichizo is very disappointed and upset with Okyo.  She took a job to be a mistress, hearing this he breaks off their relationship. 

Reading Notes Week 10A: Notes From Underground

Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1821- 1881

"Notes from Underground"

The underground man is representative of the current population.

He admits that he is ill right off the bat- "I am a sick man....I am a spiteful man. I am a most unpleasant man.  I think my liver is diseased" 635

The narrator seems to be very depressed and is rambling on about his feelings and thoughts of people.

He contradicts himself a lot- "an intelligent man in the 19th century must be, is morally obliged to be, principally a characterless creature; a man possessing character;" 637

The Underground is very rude to the prostitute.  This shows he is a senseless character- "But you realize right from the start that you're a slasve.  Yes a slave!" 687

Underground then wants to love the prostitute Liza, "Liza, Id Say, Do you really thing that I haven't noticed your love? I've seen everything. I guessed, but dared not be first to make a claim on your heart" 697

Week 9 Progress

So far I feel that I have been pretty well with this class.  I have found that most of the readings so far have been pretty entertaining and I have been engaged with them.  My favorite assignments that we have done so far this semester were on the Growth Mindset Theory.  I really enjoyed those articles and I thought it was a great read for everyone.  One thing I need to do is take advantage of the EC that is offered and do some assignments to make up for some missed readings and some points that I forgot to claim in Canvas. I keep forgetting to claim my points after I post my assignments. >_< 

For the second half of the course, I am going to try a different strategy with my homework.  I want to try and get a lot of the home done during the week over the weekend.  It gets tough during the week to do homework late at night. If I could get a big chunk of reading or some assignments done during the weekend, it will make the week a lot easier.

-Patrick.

Week 9 Analysis: Close Reading of Ghalib

The poem I choose to do a close reading on was “Petition: My Salary”.

I chose to write about this poem because I thought it was very powerful. Ghalib really flexes his muscle using words to defend himself and get his message across to Bahadur Shah Zafar, emperor of Mughal. In the poem, Ghalib is petitioning to get paid more frequently. When he wrote this poem, he was getting paid once every six months, rather than the normal once a month salary pay.

Ghalib’s poem has many powerful messages within it and justifies his claims using poetry. For example lines 10-14 read,

“But if you look at me,
You’ll see that I am
A prisoner of life, not death-
And six monthly paydays
Fall only twice a year. ”

In these lines, Ghalib is telling how his six month salary is only given to him twice a year. He compares his pay schedule to the practice among Muslims in India remembering the dead twice a year (600, footnote).

In the next few lines, he talks about how he has to continually pull out debt and borrow money to get by each month.

“All I do each month
Is take out debt,
With wrangles over interest
Repeated endlessly-
My money-lender has become
A partner
In one-third my earning”

In lines 15-21 above, he is telling the emperor that a third of his money takes a third of his money each pay period. Too get himself by in between his pay periods, he is constantly borrowing money and taking on more and more debt.

Lastly, he defends himself by writing,

“If you wish to hear
An epic of war,
My tongue’s a sharp sword;
If you convene an assembly,
My pen’s a cloud
That rains down pearls”

I interpret this line as him telling the emperor to call an assembly to hear his plea. “My tongue’s a sharp sword” means he will use his skill of powerful words and poetry to debate. And lastly, “my pen’s a cloud that rains down pearls” is Ghalib telling the emperor that his poetry is as good as pearls.

Of the poems in this section, this one was my favorite. The metaphors used in this poem make it very fun to read. When I first read over it, I missed the underlying meanings. However when I read it a second time around and went line by line, I really was able to appreciate his skill. Ghalib knee he had a strong talent to write poetry and he used this to his advantage when he went to the Emperor to petition for a monthly salary.

-Patrick

The Norton Anthology: World Literature, Vol E. Ghalib. Petition: My Salary. Pages 600-601.

Reading Notes Week 9B: Ghalib

Ghalib Poems - Pages 591-601

There were a few poems that stuck out to me from this reading.

Couplet 8- Page 596
This poem is about an ex-lover of his who must have appeared in his dream. "You're sleeping by the side of another lover" -meaning his ex is sleeping along side another man. "what reason would you have for visiting my dreams" -From this line, we know that his ex appeared in his dream.  It seems to have disturbed him.

Petition: My Salary Pages 600-601
This poem is directed towards his emperor.  At this time, Ghalib was getting paid twice A YEAR. "but if you look at me, you'll see that i am a prisoner of life, not death- and six monthly paydays fall only twice a year"

He also defends poetry in this poem. This is what intrigued me.
"It's a violation of etiquette not to praise poetry, it's an act of violence not to love me"

Defends himself
"Today, the world has no one like me- a poet of worth who speaks beautifully. If you wish to hear an epic of war, my tongue's a sharp sword"

Project Two Topic Brainstorm

After doing the last project, I have a better idea on what to expect going into the second project.  Below are the following three topics that interest me most, in no particular order.  For the second project, I will be doing A LOT more leg work ahead of time.  For the first project, I realized I didn't do much for the week to week project work and it hurt me big time when it came down to finally having to write out our project. I will not be making that mistake this time.

1. "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"
-This topic interests me because it will require me to really dig deep in a couple of readings.  So far this semester, our readings tend to be grouped into similar themes or have similar messages behind them.  This topic will require me to really understand the reading and to pick them apart to find similarities.  So far I have been very into the readings and have enjoyed reading them.

2.  "From a piece of fiction (short story, section of novel, or a play) choose a female character on whom to focus, and create a project that discusses some of the following questions:

• what is the author's attitude towards her? (How can you tell?)
• What is your attitude towards her?
• How do (at least 2) other characters view her?
• How does she view herself?

-This project interests me because usually there is a hidden message behind the woman in the stories.  The author's attitude towards the woman can relate to current culture or society.  I hope some of the stories we read in the upcoming weeks involve a female character that I can write about.

3. Choose one short story or novel excerpt. Write a piee in which you explore the following:

1. In what ways could this story be considered an artifact of history?
2. What does this story teach us about history?
3. How does a story teach us about a time or place differently than a history book?

-This topic was interesting to me because so far this semester, the stories we have read have given us a glimpse of what struggles people faced.  Although the stories have been fiction, they were based on real events at the time.  History rarely tells us what it was like from a first person point of view like the stories. do.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Thus far, the reading and writing assignments are working out pretty well. I do not really have any complaints with them.  Thankfully the readings have not been huge and overwhelming to the point where I struggle to keep on pace.  I like how we have enough time to read and also appreciate the fact there is tons of opportunity for extra credit work.  I have yet to do some EC but I will be doing some shortly to make up for some missed assignments.  My favorite reading that we have gone over this semester has been Tartuffe.  This story I understood the most and it was very entertaining to me.

One thing I would like to improve on going forward, would be to take better reading notes so they will help me with my project later.  I tend to do the readings late at night and then I am so tired that my notes are very shallow.  I ran into this issue with my first project and had to pretty much pull the project together without my notes.  Totally my fault and I will make sure I don't make the same mistake for the second project.  My first project was just okay, I was not satisfied with it but after the revision I feel better about it. I hope to really knock it out of the park with the second one to make up for it. 

I also need to remember to declare my points in canvas. I keep telling myself I will log into canvas in the morning but end up getting caught up with other things and don't follow through. 

-Patrick

Week 8 Analysis: Dickinson Poems

Emily Dickinson’s poems were very dark and different.  One of the poems that really caught my attention was “712”.  In this poem, Dickinson uses personification to describe death.  Death is talked about as if it were a person.  For example, in line 2 of the poem, she refers to death as “He”.  The line reads, “He kindly stopped for me-“.  Death is referred to as “He” throughout the entire poem and is referred to as if Death was a man.  I believe this poem is about her journey to the end of life with this “man” called Death.  She talks about being in a carriage with Death, and slowly driving past Schools, Fields, and the setting sun.  The poem ends with the line, “were toward Eternity-“, which I think was referring to dying.

The main theme of her poetry is obviously death.  When she wrote of death however, she wrote as if it was a person or something that he was fascinated with, rather than something that was feared.  For example, in poem 712, she refers to death as a person and wrote, “He kindly stopped for me”.  In addition to giving death human traits, death is talked about in a positive tone, as opposed to be something fearful or negative. 

Emily Dickinson’s poetry really caught me off guard.  I had no idea someone could be so passionate about death and to also look at death the way she did.  She took death, something that people fear and something that is usually associated with dark times, and made death an experience.  She wrote about death curiously, as if she wanted to experiment with death or “meet” death.  My favorite poem from this section was 712.  I thought it was very interesting how she gave death a personality and then wrote about a ride that she went on with death to Eternity. 

-Patrick

Emily Dickinson, Poems, Page 482-490.

Reading Notes Week 8B: Shelley

Percy Bysshe Shelley, "England in 1819", page 399.

This poem talks about a time when the king has passed and the princes are about to take over.  The princes are not in "in the loop" with how to rule.  "Rulers who neither see nor feel nor know" .   The general public do not like the princes, "through public scorn, mud from a muddy spring" .  

Reading Notes Week 8A: Dickinson

Dickinson-

A common theme I noticed in her poetry was death.

Poem #465-
This poem seems to be about what happened in the room when "she" died.  "When I died"
She talks about a fly in the room that starts to "eat" her dead body after death.
-"What portion of me be assignable- and then it was there interposed a fly"

Poem #519
Death of someone close to her?
"Twas wrm- at first- like us-
until there crept upon
a chill- like frost upon a glass-"
Talks about someone dying, going cold.
"The fingers grew cold"
"The busy eyes-congealed"

Poem #712
In this poem she talks about how death came after her, unavoidable and the journey she went on with death. Death is given a personality.
"Because I could not stop for Death-
He kindly stopped for me"

"we slowly drove- HE knew no haste"
"For HIS civility"

Week 7 Analysis: Close Reading of Bartleby, the Scrivener

My favorite paragraph from Bartleby, the Scrivener was the paragraph that described the office, or chambers as the narrator called it.  This paragraph caught my attention, because the descriptive language used painted a picture in my head of where majority of the story about Bartleby takes place.

Most of the story takes place in the office of a lawyer.  The office is located on Wall-street in New York City, New York.  The lawyer's office is described to be very plain and without any bells or whistles inside.  The lawyer describes his office as being "rather tame" and "deficient in what landscape painters call "life" (297).  What he means by this is his office lacks any sort of life or excitement. It made up of white walls and has a skylight in the ceiling that offers light from the top of the building to the bottom floor.

What is even more impressive than the lack luster interior is the lack of views the lawyer's office has of Wall-street or New York City.  His office is built right up against other buildings, he mentioned his neighbors being "within ten feet of my window panes" (297).  Irony is used to describe the wall that he is able to see through his windows.  He said, "in that direction my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall, black by age and everlasting shade" (297).  While it may seem that the narrator is cracking a joke about the wall, he is actually serious and expresses his "passion" for the wall when by saying, "which wall required no spy-glass to bring out its lurking beauties" (297).  While this wall may seem like just an uninteresting brick wall, the lawyer has found the wall to be beautiful and an important characteristic of his office space.

I can picture this scene in my head, the office is wedged between two tall buildings and the windows that run down the sides of the buildings offer nothing but views of the brick walls that make up their neighbors.  Being that the story takes place on Wall-street, the buildings are built on top of each other and crammed together.  I think this paragraph is most often overlooked and is important because it sets the tone for most of the story.

-Patrick

Bartleby, the Scrivener- The Norton Anthology World Literature, Volume E, Page 293-325

Reading Notes Week 7B: Bartleby, the Scrivener

Bartleby, the Scrivener

Narrator- Lawyer "do a snug business among rich men's bonds and mortgages and title-deeds" 297

Chamber location-wall street, crowded area with buildings stacked on top of each other -"my windows commanded an unobstructed view of a lofty brick wall, black by age and everlasting shade; which wall required no spyglass to bring out its lurking beauties, but for the benefit of all nearsighted spectators, was pushed up to within ten feet of my window panes" 297

Turkey- described as short, around 60 y/o
-has a temper, calm and efficient in the morning, angry and sloppy afternoon - the end of the day.
-too energetic and sloppy-"he would be incautious in dipping his pen into his inkstand.  All his blots upon my documents, were dropped there after 12 o'clock" 298


Nippers- young man, around 25 y/o
-ambitious
-always bothered by the height of the table he worked at. Either to high or too low.
-grinds teeth-nervous habit
-short fused in the morning, calm and collected afternoon -2nd to last paragraph 300

Ginger Nut- 12 years old
-student at law
-errand boy
-cleaner/sweeper
-made $1/week

Bartleby-
-"extraordinary quantity of writing. as if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents" (301) -Bartleby was a workhorse.
-Worked all day and all night.
-"I would prefer not to" 302
-Homeless, chose to live in the office.
-Refused to leave the office

Bartleby, the Scrivener- The Norton Anthology World Literature, Volume E, Page 293-325

Reading Notes Week 7A: Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Jean-Jacques Dessalines- 36-39

-Saint Domingue was the jewel of the French empire in 18th Century.
--good source of sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton and slaves.

-French Revolution wiped out hierarchy.
--Free blacks vs. white population
--Slaves made up majority of the population and rose up

-After more than a decade long war led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, France officially liberated slaves.
--1801 Slavery was abolished

-Jean-Jacques Dessalines- Second in command to Toussaint
--Defeated french troops in 1803
--Proclaimed new nation called Haiti
--Crowned himself emperor
--Assassinated in 1806

LIBERTY or DEATH

-"never again shall a colonist or a European set his foot upon this territory with the title of master or proprietor" (39)

-moto: "Liberty! Independence!"

Reading Analysis Week 6: The Lamb by William Blake

The Lamb by William Blake was a very interesting poem. I had to read the poem through a couple times to really understand what it was about.

The poem is told from a young child who is questioning a “Lamb”. The poem is divided into two separate parts. The first part of the poem, the child speaking questions the lamb’s origins. “Little Lamb, who made thee?” The child is also questioning the lambs purpose in life and how it came to be the one who is eaten and who has to give up their wool for clothes. “Gave thee life, and bid thee feed” and “gave thee clothing of delight, softest clothing, woolly, bright;” (335)

The second part of the story reveals who the Lamb is. The Lamb is really a symbol for Jesus, it is a religious reference. This is revealed in the 3rd line from the second paragraph, “He is called by thy name, for He falls Himself a Lamb”. He is referencing Jesus in this poem, so “He falls Himself a Lamb” translates to “Jesus calls himself a Lamb”. The poem ends with “God Bless thee”, another religious reference.

The main theme of this poem is religion. The Lamb is being used as a symbol for Jesus, thus this poem is about Jesus and how he came to be. In the beginning of the poem when the child is questioning the lambs origin, it isn’t clear. It is revealed however in the second paragraph what the Lamb represents.

William Blake was a known Christian so this poem comes at no surprise. His religious faith influenced his poetry and this is just one example of his poetry that involves religion.

-Patrick


Blake,William. “William Blake.” The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition., E, W.W. Norton & Co, Pp. 330-341