Whitty Whitman

I have trouble reading cursive, so I cannot read nearly as much as i would like. Several stamps, maybe representing addresses, though one is a red circle stamp with wings in the center and is listed as a Library of Congress mark. “Lessons for a President-Elect” is a phrase below one of the stamps. It is another indicator of Whitman’s conversation with Lincoln. On page 4, where Whitman contemplates “two religions.” I find it interesting that he lists these two opposing forces as the “divine Jew” and the “Greek sage”, though I am missing some historic frames of mind with those two. “Libertad” is someone who Whitman is referencing but I do not know if he is a specific individual or a general type of person. There seems to be a lot of lines and poems based on nature, which is not unusual for Whitman, but seeing so many written in his notebook suggests that he got several ideas and wrote them down while out and about. His profile sketches seems to be of middle age white men, some of them in a cartoon character style. He has an honest and realistic style in the faces, kind of like his writing. The last sketch is of a skull with a heart as a torso with a sword through it with a sunset in the background. It reminds me of Mexican  Día de los Muertos art. The last written words are “Here stood Washington/The last war” with some words before them. This seems to either be in reflection of the Civil War and its horrors or in anticipation of the war.

In the comments, it also says that the two opposing religions also represent the two slavery sides clashing. I didn’t know that Whitman was like Lincoln in wanting to take a third side outside of his personal beliefs about slavery for the sake of maintaining unity with slaveholders. That is something I did not know before, but it does fit in with Whitman’s literary themes of brotherhood. There are extensive imaginary conversations between Lincoln and Whitman. I think it is also a marker of how unsuccessful Whitman was as a contemporary poet because he never had occasion to have a real conversation or meet-and-greet with the president in contrast to how well known his works became later on. Though, that measure of success of being called to the White House to perform or do a reading is probably more modern and not going to be taken advantage of during a war. The early version of “Chanting the Square Deific” with the four-sided version of God reflects the internal conflict better than any nature-based metaphor because those often exist in a two-sided conflict (hot vs cold, wet vs dry, etc.). This multi-faceted conflict within God probably reflected the internal conflict of Whitman and many others of what they should do. “Libertad” is Spanish for liberty and connects the efforts of the Union with the struggles of Latin America colonies and other global struggles. This gives a new perspective on the Union’s reason for going to war and the desperation of so many who believed in American democracy and that they were being held as an example for the rest of the world. It gives perspective to how Whitman might have been committed to the Union later on in the midst of the worst of it despite the Civil War turning brother against brother. It also seems that the sketches of the old white man is of Whitman himself done by a friend.

The American Dream

I think the American Dream is more like an American Promise, which is that if you work hard and honestly that your life will improve and the lives of your children will have greater opportunities that you did. All people are treated equally, regardless of where they come from, whether it is another country or from a well to do American family. Of course some of this is not true. The possibility of being completely new to America and making it big is still there but there is a lot of stuff against them including generally stigma to not having connections that a person who grew up in an influential environment would have.

I define wealth as being able to do anything you want to do, like go on vacation or pay for school supplies, without having to worry for the most part about how to save up for it or how the spending of money will make you vulnerable in the future. The length of time you could keep spending money and not necessarily be worried about spending too much is also a sign of wealth. Since it is difficult for me to conceptualize really large amounts like a billion dollars, I just imagine the things a billion dollars could do. When it comes to a person’s personal wealth, at a certain point the amount does not make a difference until it can be translated into ability to do things or ownership of other stuff. I guess that is one of the reason the “new money” people in The Great Gatsby show off with parties and nice cars. They feel like they have to distinguish themselves in the one way everybody they meet will understand, through purchases. “Old money” has to show their wealth in more subtle ways that other “old money” rich people would automatically recognize like referring to a high end secluded vacation spot or the long line of family members who went to Ivy League schools like Nick does with Yale.

It is difficult for many Americans, including myself, to understand what poverty looks like in our own country. I grew up at least with the images of poverty being shown by the commercials asking for less than a dollar a day, shown on regular TV or by my church. The people in those commercials had no shoes and rarely did they interview the people in the commercials so it was assumed they could not speak English since the voice-over was in English. Rarely in America, does poverty look like that, but poverty still exists in America. If you believe in the American Dream, where every person has equal opportunity to get wealthier, the logical conclusion is that people in America living below the poverty line are either not smart enough to get out or do not try hard enough. I think wealth can grant a person privacy through having lawyers to make sure your privacy is protected to being able to afford homes and vacations in the middle of nowhere.

I feel like poverty puts people in situations where they have to make choices on which necessities they need to live they are not going to get, like deciding to buy food instead of pay the heating bill in the winter. That is an experience that people who do not even consider themselves very wealthy like I do in my family, will never truly understand because my family has been able to cover the bases all my life. We were lucky to do so especially when my dad was in between jobs for a few months. In terms of acting towards people who are considered by most people to be wealthy, I think gated communities and private school. Though not everyone who is in either or both of those is automatically wealthy. Friends of my family in Florida are middle class and they lived in a gated community and plenty of families choose private school because they believe it is quality education. Those are about the richest people I could imagine having direct contact with though.

Freebie...Nothing Really Mattress

Freebie Semester Post

IOC Practice

Knowledge and Understanding: 4

I did not go into the political atmosphere around the time when the novel was published or any of its literary influences. I did point out certain phrases and words to talk about specifically in how they represented the theme. I did point out what scene the excerpt was in, but did not cover many major events that already occurred.

Understanding and Use and effects of literary features: 3

I had difficulty discussing how certain elements effected Offred's narration, such as the different tenses she used, and the effect on overall mood for the reader or reader's understanding.

Organization: 2

I did not clearly differentiate between when I was talking about the eyes/eye line as a symbolism and red as symbolism. I also had difficulty clearly linking each example to the overall theme I was aiming towards which was gender rolls. I also did not summarize each point or conclude effectively in relating how each point connects back to the overall theme.

Language: 3 

I tried to use literary specific words, but I fell short of using more than what was required to name the devices I was going to analyze. I also start, stop, and restart several sentences in my commentary.

Cover Analysis

Cover 1 seems to be an unfocused photograph of a girl with long blonde hair, pink blouse, and black skirt, sitting down on the grass looking down with greenery in the background. The author’s name is in pale yellow text and the title is in white text. The author’s name is a smaller font than the title. Cover 1 uses an image of a lone girl looking down at the grass and this reflects Kathy’s narrative the most. The cover brings up a similar feeling as in the scene where Kathy pauses and stares at a spot to feel like she is the only one in Hailsham. It also reflects the environment of Hailsham and how peaceful it is supposed to be, letting its occupants be well cared for and enjoy the environment.

Cover 2 seems to be blurry image almost like an impressionist painting of a figure with short dark hair in a blue shirt and skirt spinning to look backwards against a yellow background. The author’s name is in black and the title is in red lettering. Cover 2 gives the impression of something being told yet not told, similar to how Kathy’s narrative is structured with only parts of the overall picture revealing itself at any one point. Through Katy’s perspective, her life feels almost like something the reader could have grown up in with a few key details missing or hidden. It also captures the whirlwind of Kathy’s narrative, her jumping from tangent to tangent before going back to the original story. The color scheme is kept bright, almost distracting from the red lettering of the title.

Cover 3 brings about a feeling unpreparedness. There is a boat on the shore of the shallow part of a body of water with the rest of the shore outline in the background with several poles. The color scheme ranges from black to a yellow green, making the white lettering of the cover stand out more. The boat is tied to a post and on shore but lacking any other equipment like paddles. The small “dingy” provides an illusion of leaving the shore as an actual choice. This reminds me of the guardians giving the children ways and means of being able to survive out in the real world by teaching them history and literature, but not any a practical means of controlling where they go, such as balancing a budget or the legal process. The boat is also small enough to only allow one or two passengers enforcing the feeling of isolation of the viewer.

Cover 4 is a blurred grey image of tall trees among a grey sky with the outline of a human torso and internal organs in barbed wire imposed on top of it. The title is made with the barbed wire with inconsistent font. The author’s name is near the bottom in a much smaller font with alternating black and white lettering. Cover 4 is the only one that makes it feel dystopia and not a romance, almost going as far as horror. The barbwire reflect feelings of danger and being trapped. The outline of organs makes gives a clue about the plot, along the lines of organ donation/focusing on body parts/organs. The background of dark forest gives the impression of being kept from something, especially with the use of the barbed wire. The different font for the letters also contribute to the feeling of unrest and desperation, maybe even childishness.

None of the covers portray a sense of community while they are promoting the isolation of their subjects though each does provide a different interpretation of what that looks like. Cover 1 shows the isolation as a moment of choice and reprieve, a chance to reflect. This is shown by the girl almost relaxing as she sits among nothing that seems to be disturbing her. Cover 2 portrays the figure in motion, making the viewer to partake in any single detail other there is movement among bright colors, which is typically associated with positive emotions. Yet, being unable to see her face or having any other people to compare it to leaves this doubt to this assumption of happiness. As said before, the lone boat of Cover 3 taunts a small party with the possibility of getting away from the dark shore but only onto the yellow-brown water which based on color scheme, does not seem welcoming. The sheer horror of Cover 4 makes the figure to seem lonely because with its imagery and materials promote the idea of being trapped and examined down to uncomfortable levels.  

Cover 1 Analysis

The cover brings up words like “lonely,” “peace”, and “calm”. This cover makes me think of sitting in the grass during recess and focusing all of my energy on making flower chains with the yellow dandelions. If I had not read the novel I would think the book is similar to The Fault in Our Stars in the sense that the girl is calmly waiting for death or a major change to happen to her without her consent. As stated, I think this image is trying to recreate the impression of Kathy focusing on a single point whenever she is sort of alone to zone out everyone else and pretend she is the only one in the building.I would say that this point of view is from one of guardians or maybe Ruth or Tommy. While the viewer can see how the girl is focusing on something, the image does not make an attempt to understand what that is. The image re-enforces that it takes place in England with the Western clothes. The types of people who would read this book would probably be teenagers or young adults. The title “Never Let Me Go” in combination with the young girl would draw someone interested in romance novels with that target audience.

TedTalk Storytelling

https://www.ted.com/talks/aspen_baker_a_better_way_to_talk_about_abortion

Baker sees a problem with people in need of support often cannot find it because their problem involves subject matter that is heavily politicized, like abortion. Baker’s argument is that in order to create a more empathetic environment to fill the gap between real lives and politics through listening and storytelling. Listening and storytelling is never easy because sometimes it needs people to adjust their own world view or recognize that the other person may have been in the same situation but made a completely different choice for just as valid reasons. This  “pro-voice” ideal focuses on the unique reality of each human experience in these difficult situations regardless of who they are and what they should feel because of that identity.  

In the beginning, Baker relies mostly on ethos and pathos by retelling the story of her own abortion and in doing so created an emotional connection with the viewer. This demonstrated what Exhale hopes to achieve because each person is the most credible source on their own life experiences. The speaker also uses specific examples from the fifteen years of her organization of how people modified their methods or views in order to better support the people they were trying to serve. An example of this is when a non-religious volunteer practiced saying “God” over and over again in order to be more comfortable in supporting religious women who were asking for support.

The speaker also uses logos in arguing that a person’s individual experience is difficult to express because of the political atmosphere surrounding issues like abortion and guns creating absolutes. These stances do not create room for people who do not complete the political narrative people are willing to talk about with empathy for the person and not bring in their own agenda to recommend how they should feel or do. If there is automatic judgement for talking about something, people will not want to talk about it without hesitancy of being judged. This creates a logical need for her organization that makes it a priority not to judge.

In talking about abortion, I am am more leaning towards the pro-choice argument because I thought that provided for the needs of people who need to have a choice. No one has ever talked with me about any abortions they have had like the speaker at this point in my life. I did not realize that even in this ideal of people being able to chose and supporting whatever that choice is. But the reality that in talking about politics we make assumptions about what is best for people and that creates a need for organizations like this. In talking about specific examples that ignored the political narratives and creating their own name helped get their point about putting people first more clear.

Macduff's Netflix Queue

Macduff is a character that does not get much attention until the last couple of acts in Macbeth, but when he did deliver his arguments to Malcome and reacted with horror at the news of his family, I felt that I already knew Macduff’s actions because I had followed his archetype in so many different shows. The honest politician (though that can be seen as an oxymoron), a man betrayed by an institution he was supposed to trust, or attempting to separate personal emotions from professional position. In most of these archetypes are held some ideal of how masculinity handles certain situations like politics or being the head of the household.

Leverage is a wonderful show of a perfect five seasons filled with non-stressful plot and character dynamics that is worth every second and the good guys go home at the end of the day knowing at least they made a positive difference. As you can see, I am extremely biased. The premise of Leverage is a group of five criminals (mastermind, grifter/conman, hacker, thief, and hitman) play Robin Hood and use their illegal skills to defend their often vulnerable clients against major corporations. The “Mastermind” of the group, Nate Ford, was not a criminal until after his son died due to an illness might have been treatable by a new drug but Nate’s insurance company who he worked for and was a personal friend of the boss would not allow for an exception in the policy for Nate’s son to receive this new treatment. Nate soon lost his job and was approached for a con-job that would include revenge against his former employer as a side bonus. He took the job with the other criminals and became the leader of their group after the first episode, being reminded of losing his son when a job became too similar and struggling with alcoholism throughout the seasons. Macduff would see himself in Nate on many levels. They both seek to avenge lost loved ones and are driven mad with rage at some points in achieving those goals. Both characters encapsulate an idea of the what grieving masculinity should look like, a narrative of personal pain fueling vengeful justice.

The West Wing is well known for being about a fictional White House administration and their day to day handling of politics and crises. While there are dramatic elements to it, the characters that the show focus on are seen in pursuing believing in politics, though with a comedic style. The show feels out of place in today’s world now that our view of politics have sunk so low. West Wing reflects the ideals that Macduff tried to persuade Malcolm with and is a type of show he could have shared with his son. I believe Macduff would relate most to the characters Leo McGarry and President Bartlet. I have a feeling that their arguments and banter would remind Macduff of arguments with Duncan while being an advisor. The dynamic between First Lady Abbey Bartlet and President Bartlet is also reflective of Lady Macduff and Macduff’s relationship. Lady Macduff is angry at Macduff for leaving their family and putting their family in danger with Macduff’s sense of duty to his country. This is reflective in Abbey criticising her husband for putting his health or the safety of their children at risk by working too hard and through certain orders. Leo is also known for putting work first and gets a divorce because of it. Bartlet and Mcgarry represent the a trait that is often included in masculinity. The trait of overworking at the expense of the people around them is worth it in the end and that nobody can ever truly understand their sacrifice except for people like them.  I think Macduff would find their overall loyalty and moral commendable, even use it as a justification for his own actions, even outside of the one time where he left his family unprotected.

Blue Bloods is a show about a family of Irish-American Catholic police officers in New York City. The father, Frank Reagan, is the Police Commissioner and his children are apart of the New York criminal justice system. There is frequent bickering between one of his son, a detective, and his daughter, an assistant district attorney, disagree on what is allowed under law and to what extent the police should go. Each family member represents a different aspect of police work, allowing the show to reflect the mechanics of their jobs while keeping up family drama. Macduff would be drawn to this show because of the family as the core cast and the elements of the everyday bureaucracy that is included through Frank’s job that is not necessarily shown in other police shows. Frank would also fulfill the masculine aspect of control and justice that Macduff seeks as well, given that one of Frank’s son was killed by dirty cops before the beginning of the show.  

Continuing with the police theme in Macduff’s queue, Law and Order (the original) is up next. Though it has dramaticized elements, Macduff would appreciate its partial base on real life events and attempt to do episodes on relevant issues. All lead characters try to stick by a moral code in bringing justice, even if their code might conflict with that of those around them. Also seeing the justice system play out in a more hopeful light than that of reality would also be encouraging to Macduff, who may have lost hope in finding justice for his friends and family. The detectives also emulate the masculine quality of professional detectives until personal elements are involved and the viewer cannot help but sympathized with the character in that point of the story line, just like when Macduff finally kills Macbeth.