Reading Notes W10: Ichiyo, Part B

• The story begins with someone tapping on "her" window (907)
• Okyo is the girl's name (907)
• Okyo lies and says she's going to bed, she tells them to come back in the morning (907)
• It was Kichizo from the umbrella shop who was knocking on the window (907)
• Okyo decided to let him in (907)
• Okyo is a stylish woman (907)
• Kichizo was referred to as a dwarf. 16 years old but looked 11 or 12. Small face. Short. (907)
• Okyo keeps teasing Kichizo about rice cakes (907)
• New Years is the most significant holiday in Japan (907)
• Okyo is working on a piece of clothing for the owner of the pawnshop on the corner (908)
• Kichizo says he should wear it first since it's a waste on the pawnshop owner (908)
• Okyo reminds Kichizo that anyone who wears another's clothes won't get anywhere in life (908)
• Okyo is doing this to support herself, not as a gift (908)
• They both try to get each other to promise they'll make each other happy if they become sucessful (908)
• Kichizo believes he's stuck in his position oiling umbrellas but he's okay with it. He believes Okyo has a better chance at succeeding in life. (908)
• Okyo believes she'll go to hell (908)
• Kichizo doesn't like his boss (908)
• Kichizo says Okyo seems like a sister to him and wonders if she's ever had a younger brother (909)
• Kichizo would be ok with dying if he could just find out who his sister is and meet her. He has no parents. (909)
• Okyo says it makes no difference who Kichizo's parents are. Okyo also believes she'd make something of herself no matter who her parents were (909)
• Kichizo says he doesn't have any "get-up-and-go." Maybe he's depressed? (909)
• Kichizo has been teased because he doesn't know about his identity (909)
• A woman named Omatsu picked up Kichizo 6 years prior to the conversation between Kichizo and Okyo. He was doing his tumbler act along the road (909)
• Okyo is going to live with a relative she hardly knows (912)
• Okyo says she doesn't want to but she has to. She won't be able to see Kichizo anymore (912)
• Okyo wants Kichizo to come inside to get warm but he declines. He says to leave him alone. Okyo says it worries her (912)
• Kichizo explains that everyone he's ever liked dies or goes away. He gets mad and wonders how he could have ever thought of her as a sister seeing how she's leaving. Okyo says she has to leave but she isn't abandoning him. She does think of him his a little brother. She tells him he's impatient and jumps to conclusions (913)
• Kichizo asks if she's going to be someone's mistress and she says it's not the kind of thing anyone wants to do but it's already been decided (913)
• Kichizo looks at her with tears in his eyes and says "Take your hands off me, Okyo" (913)

Ichiyo, Higuchi. "Separate Ways." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 905-913

Week 9 Progress

I'm surprisingly satisfied with my progress so far. I looked at the course grading chart and checked how many points I should have at the end of week 9. I've got more points than the total possible points. I missed only 1 reading assignment throughout the semester so far in this class but I've made up for it with several extra credit assignments. Specifically, I've done the weekly review extra credit assignment once and I've done 3 extra credit reading assignments. The class assignments I enjoy the most are the literary analyses. I enjoy putting extra thought into a small selection of reading as opposed to reading through a story and taking notes. It's also more entertaining because I get to share my thoughts and interpretations on the readings in a meaningful way when it comes to the analyses whereas with the reading notes I'm simply recording important events or details of the stories in a post.

Moving forward, there are some significant changes I really hope I can make. I want the way I approach assignments in this class to return to the way they were in the first 4 weeks of class. I was on top of all my assignments and didn't have to take advantage of the grace periods at all. It was a lot less stressful that way. I keep trying to budget my time in a way that prevents me from having to do assignments at the last minute, but things keep coincidentally coming up on the days that I plan to do work in this class. And when it isn't someone or something stealing my time away from me, it's my insomnia. There'll be nights where I can't sleep well and then I'm tired and unable to sleep but not well-rested enough to think straight or concentrate on working. Regarding my participation in the course, I really should be doing a lot more extra commenting for extra credit. It doesn't take long to do and the points are definitely worth it.

Reading Notes W9: The Travels of Lao Can by Liu E, Part X

• When a baby is born, he or she cries. When an old person is dying, their family cries. (605)
• Crying is the beginning and end of life (605)
• Quality of man is measured by how much he cries; it's an expression of spiritual nature (605)
• Spiritual nature is proportionate to the amount of crying done (605)
• Crying is "not dependent on the external conditions of life being favorable or unfavorable" (605)
• Spiritual nature is lacking to animals such as horses and oxen; they can suffer but are unable to weep (605)
• Apes and monkeys life a life of ease but are capable of screaming which is their way of weeping. They're nearest to man because they've got a spiritual nature (605)
• The old poem says: "Of the three gorges of Eastern Ba, the Sorcerer's Gorge is the longest; / Three sounds of monkeys screaming there cut through a man's bowels" (605)
• Spiritual natures gives birth to feelings and feelings give birth to weeping (605)
• One kind of weeping is strong and the other is weak (605)
• When a small child loses something, this is weak weeping (605)
• When a wife loses her husband, this is strong weeping (605)
• If weeping takes the form of tears then that means the strength is small (605)
• If weeping doesn't causes tears, its strength is great and it has reached farther (605)
• "The deeper the emotions, the more bitter the weeping." (605)
• Lao Dong is the owner of the inn that Lao Can is staying it (606)
• Lao Can went to buy two packets of tobacco (606)
• He sat down and looked at the man behind the counter then asked him what his name was (606)
• The man's name is Wang (606)
• Tie is Lao Can's real name (606)
• Wang refers to the place he lives in as being a hell (606)
• Wang says it's difficult to explain in a word how (606)
• Lao Can asks about bandits and Wang quickly answers that there is no injustice. He seems to be hiding something. (606)
• Lao Can says he's heard bad thing about what happens to those who "doesn't please" some person (606)
• Wang denies it (606)
• Tears filled Lao Can's eyes when Wang said "if somebody talks unwisely" (606)
• Lao Can could tell the man was struck with grief and chose to not continue the conversation (606)
• Lao Can went to go speak to Lao Dong about what just happened (607)
• Dong tells Can that Wang and his wife had a son who was taken by Prefect spies and choked to death, so when Can mentioned Prefect Yu it easily brought back bad memories for the couple (607)
• Lao Can had nothing to do the next day. His feelings took control and he wrote a poem (607)
• He writes a poem that insults the prefect (608)
• He felt bad for the cold and hungry birds outside (608)
• He was angry that he isn't in a position to immediately kill Yu Xian (608)
• He wanted to write a letter to the governor but he was wasting so much time trying to melt the ink (609)
• It was dark and Lao Can asked a servant to bring him a lamp. When the lamp lit up, the servant noticed what Lao Can had written on the wall and said he will be in danger if he doesn't watch what he says. Lao Can proudly says that his name is written at the bottom (609)
• A man came in and requested that Lao Can join Shen Dongzao for dinner (609)
• Dongzao questioned how Lao Can could be wearing a cotton gown when it's so cold (610)
• Dongzao calls Lao Can out for his ringing of bells. They argue about the matter (610)
• Lao Can criticizes the Prefect for how many people he is able to kill in his position as Prefect whereas if he weren't Prefect. (611)

E, Liu. "The Travels of Lao Can." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 602-611

Week 9 Project Action Plan: What to do and how to do it?

I've decided to use the following prompt for my project: "compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts." I'll be analyzing Poem 1129 by Emily Dickinson and "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be" by John Keats and comparing how the two poems approach the theme of death. I'll share my thoughts on how I interpreted various lines from both poems and how they reveal their respective poet's views about death. I believe that John Keats fears death because of how it's an indefinite deadline to accomplish life goals. Emily Dickinson on the other hand doesn't fear death and instead points out the ways other people cope with or deny the idea of death.

My work-in-progress thesis statement is: When analyzing the theme of death present in the poems written by John Keats and Emily Dickinson, we can see that John Keats feared death whereas Emily Dickinson simply viewed death as an inevitable part of human life.

Notes:

• Consonance in the first line of Poem 1129. "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--" (489). This line introduces Dickinson's belief that the subject of death must be approached delicately because of how easily it can terrify people. It also touches on how the truth about death is told in different ways that hide the true nature of death.
• "Too bright for our infirm delight" is about how death is too powerful a subject and human content is easily disrupted (489)
• "The Truth's superb surprise" addresses how reality is going to hit people in the face at one point or another whether they like it or not (489)
• The second stanza of the poem expands on the ideas introduced in the first stanza. I'll also be analyzing the lines more thoroughly for the proving my point in the project.
• When speaking about Keats, I will be analyzing each line thoroughly as well, but I will list here in my notes the main subject matter that will be brought up
• Keats fears death
• He worries that he'll die before he can write down every meaningful thought he's wanted to share with his readers
• He has many things he wants to accomplish in life and fears he'll die before he has the time.
• He wonders about his love life and if he will be satisfied with how much of it he can experience before he dies.
• He realizes that his desires in the world are nothing in the grand scheme of things given how large the world is.

Here are my sources I will be using:

Dickinson, Emily. "1129." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 489

Keats, John. "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 407

Week 9 Analysis: Close reading of "The Tale of Kieu"

For my close reading this week I decided to write about a stanza at the end of page 563 of "The Tale of Kieu" beginning with "pity the child." The full sentence is "pity the child, so young and so naive-- / misfortune, like a storm, swooped down on her" (562). This sentence repeats the idea that Dam Tien had already told Kieu earlier. Dam Tien told her how she's doomed by fate to grief. All throughout the poem we see Kieu go through a miserable life. She had lost her virginity by being forced into prostitution and was lied to back to back as she had been sold to different people. Some people claimed they would help her, but it was always a lie and she would be sold to someone else to work as a prostitute in their brothel or have to do other labor. She's "young and naive" because of how she still has some of her innocence. She doesn't fully understand love from personal experience when Kim decides that they should be together and it's her first major learning experience relating to love and relationships. All of that was ruined with the prostitute lifestyle that was forced upon her. She was ripped away from her lover and family and considered suicide multiple times. She kept a knife with her in case she ever decided to go through with it. The following sentence in the stanza reinforces the things I've just said: "To part from Kim meant sorrow, death in life-- / would she still care for life, much less for love?" (563). She did struggle with having a desire to live, and she was full of sorrow, but she did give love another chance. She fell in love with Tu Hai and had a fulfilling relationship with him that allowed her to get revenge on those who have wronged her. She indirectly got him killed when she encouraged him to seek war less and caused him to drop his guard and be ambushed. His death was the breaking point for her since it caused her to finally attempt suicide. She tried to drown herself. The stanza ends with "A raindrop does not brood on its poor fate: / a leaf of grass repays three months of spring" (563). In this metaphor, the raindrop is Kieu. While she might have a poor fate, her life and all of the pain that comes along with the depressing portion of her story did repay her her with a superfluous amount of "spring." Her suffering ends at the end of the story and she is reunited with her family and gets to marry Kim after all. They build a shrine and the rest of her life is no longer one full of harm and lies.


Du, Ngyuen. "The Tale of Kieu." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 546-586

Reading Notes W9: Poetry by Ghalib, Part B

Now go and live in a place

In this poem the speaker tells someone to live in a place where no on lives. In this place where no one is, there will be no one to understand their words. They can freely build a home without a wall guarding it since there would be no neighbors around to potentially vandalize their property. If they become sick, no one would be around to take care of them. If they die, no one would be there to mourn their death. To me, this poem sounds like someone giving someone else an ultimatum. It sounds like they've reached their breaking point and are threatening to separate from this person. It's as though the speaker felt unappreciated by the person they're speaking to and admitted that there are perks to being alone, but at the end of the day that person would just die alone. To relate this to Ghalib's life, this poem might be an expression of his doubts and regrets. After the death of his wife, he might have thought life would have been easier if he had just never fallen in love. His wife would have been a stranger and her death would have meant nothing to him, saving him from all of his grief.

Be merciful and send for me

Ghalib wants to be the one to marry the woman he fell in love with. He says that she can see him at any time. He's aware that there's competition to be with her. According to the note at the bottom of the page, she might be a courtesan, which would explain the idea that she might have other suitors. He questions why he bothers complaining about the thought of someone else being with her instead of himself. He refuses to act so weak and doesn't believe that all hope is lost. He tells himself that he can't just give up on her because he's made a vow that the two of them will be together again.

Where's the foothold

This poem took me two reads to come up with something. The speaker asks their God where their other desires are. This individual is aware of the endless possibilities that the world contains, yet they haven't found anything as desirable as the thing they wanted first. Everything else that they want stems from the first thing that they wanted. I believe that this speaker is in love with someone and can't get over them. They know there are countless other people they can fall in love with, but every time they look at someone else they end up thinking about their first love. They wish their God would just grant them the ability to move on and find someone else. To place this poem into the context of Ghalib's life, he can't move on after the death of his wife. He cries to God about the fact that no other woman can replace his late wife.

I've made my home next door to you (Secular and Sacred versions)

I approached this poem in a way that made me laugh. I was frantically going back and forth between the secular version of the poem and the sacred version trying to notice the differences in each and every line of the poem. I read both poems simultaneously as opposed to one after the other. The difference in both poems is who Ghalib is addressing. He speaks the exact same words in both poems and they work equally effective when referring to his wife and God. "I've work to do with her" as opposed to "I've work to do with Him" are examples of the slight differences in both versions (593). In this poem, Ghalib seems to be reflecting on the earlier days of his life when he first met the love of his life. He builts his home next to her/Him in hopes that they'd be able to start making conversation that way and get to know each other but she never seemed to notice him. His lover and God both ask him how he can tell what's in someone else's heart. He know he has work to do with her lover and with God, but he is determined. He says that both his lover and God are both labelled as tormentors by the world. He won't lose his love for the woman he loves nor for God despite all of this. He tells himself that he shouldn't press the subject since his feeling have become apparent both in the eyes of his lover and God.

Couplets

Ghalib is told that forcing his love upon someone doesn't accomplish anything since it won't simply spread like fire and it won't easily die out either. He can't make someone fall in love with, and his love won't simply go away either should he decide he wants to love someone else. He expresses his hopes that the courtesan he loves can be faithful to him even though, as a courtesan, she might not understand what faithfulness really is. He questions God as to why punishments are given for sins committed, yet people are not rewarded for the sins that they've craved but successfully resisted. He admits to God that his situation isn't necessarily love, but madness. He tells God that God is the one who drove him mad. He tells God about how communities have already converged upon a common faith, making his efforts to share his monotheistic message useless. He says it's hard to make everything look easy and it's not easy for humans to be human. He acknowledges other poets' talent, but claims that he's seen as a talented poet as well. He has doubts about his lover, he feels like she's sleeping with someone else and it's haunting his dreams. He says he's gotten over love countless times, but his heart is an enemy of this idea and it ultimately keeps bringing him back in. Remembering images of what she looks like is painful to him. He asks God about how he can feel so strongly about another human if God is supposed to be the only thing that truly exists. Ghalib says everyone felt he would self-destruct, but he never did.


Ghalib. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 587-601

Reading Notes W9: The Tale of Kieu by Ngyuen Du, Part A

• The first stanza of the poem talks about balance. "Talent and Destiny are apt to feud," "You must go through a play of ebb and flow," "Losses balance gains" (550)
• Beijing was the capital of the north during the Ming dynasty and Nanjing was the capital of the south. (550)
• Vuong Quan is the last born son of a burgher in the Vuong clan (550)
• Thuy Kieu is the oldest daughter and her younger sister is Thuy Van (550)
• Both sisters are described as being perfect in their own way (550)
• Kieu possessed a keener, deeper charm, surpassing Van in talents and in looks. (550)
• The Feast of Light is a chinese spring festival when people tend the graves of the dead and make offerings to them (551)
• Kieu asks why no one is burning incense for the grave of a famous singer named Dam Tien (551)
• "Harsh is the fate that has kept us apart! Since in this life we are not meant to meet" (551)
• The stranger who came oversees to meet her purchased a coffin and hearse for her when he found her dead. (551)
• Kieu cried out of pity for Dam Tien (552)
• Van says Kieu should be laughed at for crying about someone long gone (552)
• "Harsh fate has cursed all women, sparing none." Definitely feels like it from everything we read in this class (552)
• Quan says Kieu made a fine speech (552)
• "Transcending life and death, soul sisters meet." "Dam Tien had cared to manifest herself." Tien made an appearance because of Kieu (553)
• Kim Trong is a scion of nobility and is both wealthy and talented. (553)
• Dam Tien told Kieu how she's doomed to grief by fate (555)
• Kieu's mother asks her to reconsider whether she should really be freaking out over a dream (555)
• Young Kim came across a golden hairpin and took it home since he felt it must belong to a woman and that fate has bound them together (556)
• Kieu thanked him for not keeping the golden hairpin which was referred to as a jewel (556)
• Kieu says she's too young for love. Kim says ignoring his desperate love will hurt him and not profit her (556)
• Kim seems entitled for feeling that he is owed something as thanks for returning the jewel. It's also manipulative to guilt trip her into showing affection towards him.
• "How can my heart resist your heart's behest?" "I'm bound to you for life" Seriously? (557)
• They traded. Golden hairpin for sunflower-figured fan. "An oath to seal their pact (558)
• Kim gets his feelings hurt because Kieu took longer than 3 seconds to meet with him again. I don't like Kim. (558)
• Kieu wants to make amends because he feels hurt (558)
• They keep making pledges to each other (560)
• "Why do you choose to play those plaintative strains which grieve your heart" Thank God, Kieu is finally using her head. (561)
• "Who'll bear the guilt? / Why force your wish on your shy flower so soon? / While I'm alive, you'll sometime get your due." (561)
• The above excerpt makes me think Kieu is growing tiresome of Kim's needless whining.
• Kim's uncle died (562)
• A mob of bailiffs interrupted the birthday feast. The were armed and placed collars on the old man and son to show they are punished criminals (563)
• Kieu decided a child should pay the debts of their parents birth and care. She put aside her vows of love. She sold herself to redeem her father. (563)
• An elderly scrivener named Chung witnessed this and decided to take pity. She has to collect 300 liang within 3 days to free her kinsmen. (563)
• It's like Du Tenth all over again
• "She's worth her weight in gold" (564)
• The father asks Heaven why it would inflict such woes on them. Why must his daughter be put in a position where she can't wed a worthy mate as he had wishes for her. Why must she be in this position where she has to give up great parts of her life to save him? He'd rather die than deal with this pain. (564)
• Kieu asks what a daugher is worth "who's not repaid one whit a daughter's debt" (564)
• "Old Chung did all he could and gave help: / gifts once presented, charges were dismissed" (565)
• Kieu says "If only I had known I'd sink so low / I should have let my true love pluck my bud" (565)
• Kieu wonders "If I indeed was born to float and drift, / how can a woman live with such a fate?" (566)
• She takes a knife because she thinks it might help decide her life later (566)
• Kieu woke from a nightmare and questioned her worth. She contemplates killing herself (567)
• Once Kieu paid homage to her household god, her aunt Dame Tu appeared and told Kieu to kneel before her and her uncle (569)
• Dame Tu became enraged from Kieu's story and was about to whip her (569)
• Kieu pulled out her knife and asks what is left of her life. (569)
• Kieu was carried out and nursed. A doctor was there too. A girl whispered "Your Karma"s still undone: / how could you shirk your debt of grief to life?" "You're still to bear the fortune of a rose: / you wish to quit, but Heaven won't allow." (570)
• Dame Tu seems to be the voice Kieu heard. "Why lose your life and hurt me? What's the good?" This sounds a lot like Kim's question (570)
• Kieu is recaptured and forced to work as a prostitute in a brothel. Then she is kidnapped and works as a slave. She's then put in the care of a neighbor who sells her into prostitution. Her life sucks. (570)
• Between Heaven and Earth is Tu Hai. He speaks with Kieu (571)
• "He paid some hundred liang for Kieu's release" (571)
• "The hero chose a phoenix as his mate: / the beauty found a dragon for her mount" (572)
• "She pined and mourned for her old love" (572) Kim? Why Kim?
• "The phoenix-coach held ready for a queen / her glittering diadem, her sparkling robe." (573)
• Lord Tu mustered men and captains after Kieu spoke about Wuxu and Linzi (where she had been mistreated) to track down the people who harmed and mistreated Kieu. They would be dragged to stand due trial. (573)
• The captives were brought in and Kieu said "I'll borrow your almighty power / to pay such dues as gratitude deems fit. / I'll render good, then make return for ill." (574)
• Kieu judges each captive and then says "High Heaven towers over all! / It's not my law that ill be paid with ill." (575)
• The executioner recieved his orders and blood flowed around the room as they were struck. (575)
• Kieu convinced Lord Tu to not leave an ill reputation. He dropped his schemes of war and sought peace. Imperial spies saw what was going on and attacked. Lord Tu gave a secret cue and gunfire ensued. A battle was fought and Lord Tu was killed. Kieu felt guilty since this was kind of her fault by convincing Lord Tu to let down his guard. She sits by his remains and grieves. (579)
• Lord Ho makes Kieu marry a tribal chief. She throws herself into a river and is found by Giac Duyen. Kim finds her family. (579)
• Kim asks where Kieu's husband is and they tell him about Tu Hai. Kim knows about Tu Hai, probably since Tu Hai is so powerful. Kim is still heartbroken about Kieu but still keeps incense. (579)
• Kim requested that Vuong help him look for Kieu after news broke out about the battle. They were told that Lord Tu was ambushed and fell in battle and that Kieu drowned herself. (580)
• They set her tablet up and installed an altar on the riverbank. (580)
• Giac Duyen coincidentally came by and read the name on the alter. She was surprised, asked if they were friends or family of Kieu's, and told them that Kieu is alive. (580)
• Giac Duyen tells about how she found Kieu in the river and brought her. The family follows Giac Duyen to meet Kieu. Kieu cries, uncertain of whether or not she's dreaming. (581)
• Kieu says she sought to end it in the river and didn't imagine seeing them all again. (581)
• Kieu explains that she doesn't deserve any of this. She claims that she'll stay with Giac Duyen for saving her since she owes her and can't just cut her bonds and leave. (582)
• Old Vuong says the gods and Buddhas will discharge her duties and let her keep lover's vows. They'll build a shrine and have their Reverend live near them. Kieu agreed and took her leave of Giac Duyen (582)
• "It's Heaven's own design that lovers meet, / so Kim and Kieu did meet and swear their troth" (582)
• Kieu still loves Kim but feels shameful about what's happened. Kim says "stars may shift their course, / sworn pledges must be kept in life or death" (583)
• Kim suddenly seems less annoying and somewhat likable to me now.
• Kieu tells Kim "You bear a constant love for me, I know-- / but where to hide my shame by bridal light?" (583)
• Kieu continues, "I'll live a nun. / If you still care for what we both once felt, / let's turn it into friendship--let's be friends." (583)
• Kim says "How skilled you are in spinning words!" (583)
• "Heaven grants us this hour: now from our gate / all mists have cleared; on high, clouds roll away." said Kim (583)
• "Outtalked, she could no longer disagree: / she hung her head and yielded, stifling sighs" (584)
• They got married but Kieu still has feelings of shame and guilt and says Kim can always have her sister instead. (584)
• Kim reminds her that "We loved each other, risked our lives, braved death-- / now we two meet again, still deep in love" (585)
• The poem ends with a stanza that points out how Heaven and Karma will correct all wrongdoings and "the heart outweighs all talents on this earth" (586)

Du, Ngyuen. "The Tale of Kieu." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 546-586

Topic Brainstorm (Again.)

My first project idea is to use the following prompt: "compare and contrast elements of two different texts. For example, explore the similarities and differences between two characters in the texts, or examine how one theme is handled in similar and dissimilar ways in two different texts." With this prompt, I would be interested in comparing Emily Dickinson's poem "1129" to that of Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" and/or "When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be" by John Keats. I would examine how these works handle the theme of death. I'm interested in this topic mainly because of how much I enjoyed reading poem "1129" by Emily Dickinson. The theme present in that poem was the theme of death and I felt like it was present in Keats and Melville's writings as well. I think this would create a strong foundation for me to work off of. By completing this project, I feel like I'd be able to learn exactly what it is that Keats and Melville are trying to say about death in their works since I haven't thought about it as much as I did with Dickinson's poem.

Another idea I would be interested in trying is this prompt: "Think about a theme you see running through your life (failure is the best lesson, love is eternal, etc). Choose a reading that you think also discusses this theme (even if it reaches different conclusions about it). Explore connections between how the theme plays out in your life, and how the theme gets played out in the reading." A theme in my life that I would enjoy writing about is my belief that everything gets better. I think I could use "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger" by Feng Menglong to show how differently my belief compares to the way Jia Li views his own life since I feel the two are almost complete opposites. This project should be something I can manage since my life is the only one I lived, so there's no way I can realistically mess up that half of the project, meaning I would just need to be careful when addressing Jia Li in order to make sure that I've clearly analyzed his life and the way his story doesn't line up with my beliefs. Something I would hope to learn from writing this project is whether or not everything can get better for people, or if maybe some people are destined to crash and burn.

My third idea would be to address the prompt that asks me to choose a female character to focus on and discuss several questions about her. For this project I would discuss the character Du Tenth from Feng Menglong's "Du Tenth Sinks the Jewel Box in Anger." Of course, if I end up choosing the previous project idea I listed, then I won't be able to use this idea for my third project. I'll need to think about my options. For this project, I would address how several characters view her in a negative manner and share my contrasting opinion about her. I'm interested in this topic because I felt sympathetic for Du Tenth the whole time I was reading this story. At first I had doubts as to whether or not her love for Jia Li was sincere, but it ended up becoming clear to me that it was sincere even if Jia Li didn't realize until it was too late and he had already ruined things with her. I might end up learning something about the way that we as people perceive others who don't meet society's standards of what makes someone a good person and whether or not our judgments are fair.

What I've learned from the first project that I've written in this class is that I might be better off trying to stick closer to a provided prompt than trying to completely reshape one into my own. I feel like it will help me stay organized and keep my thoughts in a presentable structure. Organization is a reoccurring criticism I receive in my essays not just in this class but others as well. I know I'm capable of writing a thorough and well-written analysis, I just need to collect my thoughts and lay them out in a way that's clear to my audience.

Reading Notes W8: Poetry by John Keats, Part X

On First Looking into Chapman's Homer

Reading through this poem, I didn't understand it that much. I only understood it when I reread what was on the previous page: "The poet is pointedly celebrating Chapman's 'loud and bold' seventeenth-century translation of the ancient Greek poet over the neatly rhymed, standard translation of his own time--that of Alexander Pope" (405). So in this poem, he's explaining how he's loved the translations of Homer's works that he's already read. But by reading Chapman's translation after reading Pope's translation, he's experiencing it all over again but in a way that he can appreciate even more. He tells of how he's "traveled in the realms of gold" and has seen "many goodly states and kingdoms" from getting lost in his immersion by reading Pope's translations of Homer's works (406). However, halfway into the poem Keats says "Yet did I never breathe its pure serene / Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold" (406). He's hearing the same exact story, but when is written in a way that he's found to be more enjoyable. The message I take away from this poem is that someone can tell a phenomenal story, but it won't be as memorable if it wasn't written as good as it could have been. Different writing styles can create a major difference in the way someone appreciates a story and can be what decides whether or not the story is treasured briefly or for a lifetime.

When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be

I liked this poem more than the previous one since it isn't directly referencing an existing work. I like poems that actually give me a realistic chance of being able to understand them without needing to be told what they're about or what they meant. Keats starts off this poem by expressing that he has reoccurring fears about his death. He worries that he'll die before he can successfully write down everything he's wanted to write. He looks up to the stars at nights and wonders if he'll be able to accomplish everything in life that he's wanted and whether or not love is something he can really achieve on a fairy tale level. "Of the wide world I stand alone, and think / Till love and fame to nothingness do sink" (407). It's with these last two lines that he realizes all of his desires, while a big deal in his eyes, are microscopic compared to the rest of the world. The poem kind of reminded me of the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes where Langston Hughes wonders about what happens to a dream deferred.

Bright Star

Keats speaks to a star and wonders what it would be like to be a star. He would be up in the sky able to look at all the beautiful things on Earth. He would watch how the waters shape the shores and how the snow coats mountains. While he would enjoy being a star and having these sights all to himself, he realizes there would be downsides. He wouldn't be able to sleep with his wife if this were the case. He cherishes the feeling of her touch and the sound of her breath. It's because of this that he's okay with not being a star.




Keats, John. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 403-407, 410-415

Week 8 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "1129" by Emily Dickinson

I chose to analyze poem 1129 by Emily Dickinson because so far it's my favorite piece of writing that we've read this semester. The poem begins with a line that uses consonance. "Tell all the truth but tell it slant--" (489). It's consonance because of the way it repeats the "T" and "L" sounds: Tell all the truth but tell it slant. The way this line is written causes it to sound almost like a tongue twister when read aloud. I also felt like the the line complements the message she's sharing with this poem. To read a line as entertaining as this one creates a feeling similar to that of a nursery rhyme that uses an A and B rhyme scheme, allowing for consistent moments of entertaining sounds and words. The reason I say the playfulness of this line's sounds complement her message is because of how she mentions the way that adults and religions teach kids about death. They try to make death not so terrifying in their eyes as a means of maintaining their innocence and allowing them to have fun and be kids without having to worry about getting killed or feeling so torn up about the deaths of others. Heaven, reincarnation, and other similar ideas give people a sense of comfort and security when the subject of death comes about. Dying isn't so bad when you can find solace in the belief that your death will at least allow you an afterlife full of joy and peace or an opportunity to live another life. These beliefs aren't bad at all and there are nothing wrong with them. I'm a Christian and I believe in heaven, but Emily Dickinson does bring up a great point and it's something that people choose to find bliss in ignoring. "The Truth's superb surprise" is that death is nothing more than an end and Emily Dickinson claims that "The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind" (489). People don't like to accept the idea that their lives end when they die and it's because of this that it's so easy for everyone to instead accept the idea that there's something more after death. I believe that Emily Dickinson placed a lot of her life experiences and her religion into this poem and a lot of her other poems. In the biography provided in our anthologies, Emily Dickinson said "Christ is calling everyone here" "and I am standing alone in rebellion" (481). She states clearly that she feels isolated in her criticisms and doubts about her religious faith. To me, this is evidence that she is indeed criticizing views of death in poem 1129 and wanted to get her ideas on paper because she felt alone in her beliefs.



Dickinson, Emily. "1129." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 489

Reading Notes W8: Percy Bysshe Shelley, Part B

"Ode to the West Wind" begins by addressing the beginning of Autumn. This season leaves behind the ghostly remains of dead leaves. The remains of these leaves eventually give rise to new life come Spring in a never-ending cycle of life. Spring brings about rain and lightning. The lightning is an unpredictable pattern and each shape looks like that of hair being lifted. From what I can interpret, Shelley seems to want all of his knowledge and wisdom to be spread around like dead leaves when he passes away in hopes that he can leave behind something great. He wishes for his death, while he views it to be sad, to at least allow it to do something great for the world. "Scatter" "my words among mankind. (401). "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" (401). He hopes that the spreading of his wisdom won't come too long after his death.

The conclusion of Shelley's "A Defense of Poetry," I assume, summarizes most of his key points. He believes that poetry is the best method of recording life's best moments. He acknowledges this idea that looking back on memories through poetry can sometimes leave yourself with regret or wishing that things were even better than they were but reminds himself that pleasure is still there regardless of any negativity. He believes that poets can bring experiences and feelings to life with their poems. Poetry is a powerful tool to explain things such as emotions that other wise can't be expressed with literal terms. Poetry is a way to immortalize something throughout time. Shelley believes that the most divine feature about human beings is our ability to capture feelings through the simple act of writing a poem. Poems can retain the sense of beauty that the writer saw when appreciating nature or something else they enjoy and they can use poetry to address darker topics as well. You can coat words of darkness with things that can shed light on them and make them less painful or at least make them into something that can be appreciated for having occurred.

Shelley, Percy Bysshe. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 395-401

Week 8 Reading and Writing

The reading and writing assignments are both two different things to me. The close readings and literary analyses are something I feel confident in writing and I don't have any noticeable difficulty with completing them. The reading assignments vary. Some of the readings throughout the class are difficult for me to try and get into while others are at least tolerable. It can take a lot more time for me to read depending on how interested I am in the reading.

For example, trying to read through "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" by William Wordsworth was a nightmare. It just felt like it wouldn't end. It was only three and a half pages long but it dragged on for so long. It's probably just a bias I have against poems that worship scenes of beauty and long poems that don't move from a single subject. After the first two large stanzas on the first page I couldn't help but wonder how long he could realistically fantasize about this place. I also don't feel like he lacks the talent to do so, but I really wish he would have condensed his thoughts a lot more since most of the content in the poem felt redundant.

Poem 1129 by Emily Dickinson on the other hand was a great read. I mentioned in my reading notes for Emily Dickinson's poems that I'm not normally a fan of her works. I don't dislike her writing, I just typically don't like it either. It just exists. But Poem 119 was really enjoyable. I was engaged from the first line. I'm probably being biased since this poem was short and I feel like my best poems are usually short as well. When I write poems, they average about 10 to 30 lines. Rarely ever do I write a poem longer than a page. But when it comes to poetry, I'm one of those people that believe poems should be concise unless the amount of content in the poem requires a larger amount of writing to do it justice. Emily Dickinson definitely did a lot with just 8 lines in Poem 1129. I was able to understand the message she was trying to share about the way people view death and think about the ways that different people process the idea of dying and their beliefs around it. I'm not one to be fascinated by death since I'd like to live as long a life as possible, but this poem was just so well written and interesting.

My reading notes are helping me a lot with my story posts since I take way more notes than I actually end up managing to use. I practically type up a summary of every important event or detail that I feel is worth noting in a bullet point format with page numbers so I can read through them and remember how the story went. The page numbers help me if I need specific quotes to make a point or explain my thoughts. These notes do get tiresome though. I move away from this style of note-taking when it comes to the poetry. My notes for poetry feel more like analyses than notes with the exception of William Wordsworth's poems but I don't want to rant about him again.

I wasn't exactly satisfied with the end result of my class project because I confused myself somewhere along the way and was under the impression that we had one more week to finalize our projects. I know there's still things I wanted to add into my project. Ignoring that, I do feel like I relearned a lot of things that I had forgotten about writing thanks to the revisions that I did. I feel as if I have a stronger grasp on how to organize and structure my projects better. This should definitely help me with our upcoming projects.

I don't feel like I've had any accomplishments worth praising in this class. All of my work in this class feels satisfactory to me which is good and all, but I don't feel like anything I've written really stands out in a way where I can pick something and say "this is the best thing I've written in this class." Maybe I'll finish an assignment before the end of the semester that I feel proud of and maybe I won't. If I don't, maybe that just means I don't care much for any writing I do that isn't poetry or fiction.

Moving forward I think there's at least a few things that I could do to get the most out of this class. I should probably look at my classmates' notes when it comes to readings that I didn't understand well or struggled with. Or maybe their notes and analyses can change my opinion when it comes to writings that I didn't particularly like.

Reading Notes W8: Emily Dickinson Poems, Part A

Poem 216

Dickinson seems to be talking about death. She refers to the "members of the Resurrection" as being "safe in their Alabaster chambers" and remaining untouched all throughout the day and night (482). I feel like she's saying the members of the resurrection are in their graves or coffins. They're safe because they're dead and cannot be harmed. They remain untouched because of the way that their dead body was buried or preserved. "Roof of stone" makes me think it's more likely that they're in some kind of stone tomb or coffin (482). She thinks of them as being wise and of good judgment since she described them as being sagacious when she said "Ah, what sagacity perished here!" (482).

Poem 258

Dickinson seems to be speaking about death again. She refers to a "certain Slant of light" in "winter afternoons" that "oppresses" similar to the "Heft / Of Cathedral Tunes" (483). The way I interpret this is that she's seeing a cloudy and gloomy sky because of the current season and weather. Barely shining through the clouds at a slant is a beam of light. The way it shines down makes her think of heaven. And by seeing such a heavenly light, she feels a daunting sense that she feels whenever she listens to the music played at cathedrals as if some impending doom is awaiting. She also mentions "Seal Despair" and describes it as being "an imperial affliction / Sent us of the Air" (483). As I understand, she's saying that despair is in the air and the sky as evident by the slant of light and her earlier feelings. She then goes on to share how the landscape and shadows react to this. "The Landscape listens" and "Shadows--hold their breath" (483). "When it goes, 'tis like the Distance / on the look of Death" (483). I think she's viewing the shadows on the ground as they move due to the movement of cloud blocking sunlight and causing the visual effect of a moving shadow across a large space of land. This sight to her looks like that of death spreading.

Poem 341

"After great pain, a formal feeling comes-- / The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs" (484). Emily Dickinson seems to be speaking about a feeling of peace that occurs when one dies. She says the nerves "sit ceremonious" as if relaxing and celebrating, and mentions the "stiff Heart" (484). She speaks about how feet move but goes on to mention "a Wooden way" and says regardless, they grow a "Quartz contentment" (484). She's saying that people move and function for so long as living beings before eventually dying and no longer being able to move; as if they were an inanimate object with no other option besides being content with their new permanent state. "As Freezing persons" they "First--Chill--then Stupor-- then the letting go" (484). Ignoring undesired Frozen vibes, she's saying that death is like freezing. First, you becomes still, then you lose your sense and mind, then you accept fate.

Poem 435

"Madness is divinest Sense" (484). I'm not completely sure, but I feel like this poem is about rebelling and not conforming to society's norms. She says "Assent-- and you are sane" meaning if you express approval of life and the way other's live, you're sane because you meet their expectations (484). But if you "Demur-- you're straightaway dangerous / And handled with a Chain" (484). So if you object to society's rules and expectations, you're seen as a threat and dealt with legally. This poem also might be Dickinson's way of expressing her belief that corruption is present and her fears of sharing her thoughts about it with others because she doesn't want to be arrested for speaking her mind, writing out her thoughts for her eyes alone.

Poem 519

"Twas warm--at first--like Us" (485). Dickinson continues to express her fascination with death. She describes this life as being warm at first, but goes on to mention a "chill" that "crept upon" the life until they had to "be gone" (485). She's a lot clearer in this poem than the previous ones. "The forehead copied stone" meaning that the person is dead and no longer has the feeling of life that can't be felt with bodily contact, as if a stone. "The Fingers grew too cold" because they're lifeless and cold (485). "The busy eyes--congealed-- / It straightened--that was all-- / It crowded Cold to Cold" (485-6). Dickinson is pointing out how the eyes lose life and any definite direction when someone dies. They became cold and solid as well due to the lack of fluids in the eyes. "'Twas lowered, like a Weight" is her way of illustrating the coffin being lowered into the grave (486). "It made no Signal, nor demurred, / But dropped like Adamant" (486). The dead cannot object to their burial and instead must drop like adamant, meaning they are no different than a heavy rock being dropped.

Poem 1129

I normally don't care much for Emily Dickinson's poems, admittedly. But I really loved this poem because of word choice, the message behind it, how simple it was to grasp despite not being completely literal, and because I felt like she successfully got her message across without trying to put too much meaning in too little text or dragging out over unnecessary stanzas. "Tell all the Truth but tell it slant--" (489). She's saying that people explain life in ways that hide the complete truth in order to protect innocence and allow people to retain their sense of hope and not view life as some downward path to a meaningless end. She's pointing out how, religion, folktales, and the ways that people explain death to children are shaped in a way that tries to not seem as terrifying. When people die, some people share the belief that they go on to Heaven or some other afterlife, or are reincarnated into another life. There's this idea that death doesn't need to be an "end," but just a shift in life. "Too bright for our infirm Delight / The Truth's superb surprise" (489). She's reinforcing the fact that the reality of death is terrifying to our human delight because of how fragile our happiness can be when faced with impending death; the truth is a surprise that slaps many people in the face because of how sudden and tragic it is. "As Lightning to the Children eased / With explanation kind" (489). She's making it clearer how the mysteries of death are explained to children in a gentle and delicate way as to not deprive them of their innocence and scare them from life. "The Truth must dazzle gradually / Or every man be blind" (489). People have to slowly learn and understand the reality of death because it's traumatic to fully realize. Everyone would be unable to see the rest of the world and what life has to offer because death would be the only thing they could see if it was forcefully realized.



Dickson, Emily. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 480-490

Week 7 Analysis: Close reading of "Bartleby, the Scrivener"

For my close reading I chose to analyze the middle paragraph on page 307 of "Bartleby, the Scrivener" by Herman Melville. The narrator of the story begins the paragraph by telling readers about another appearance from Bartleby. He describes his "nonchalance" in a peculiar way (Melville, 307). He chooses to describe Bartleby's nonchalance as "cadaverously gentlemanly" (Melville, 307). To use a cadaver as an adverb to describe how gentlemanly his nonchalance was is to say that he was like a corpse in some way. Bartleby isn't very full of life or enthusiasm throughout the story in the way that he's very passive about life, simply preferring not to do things as if he were dead and unable to take action. This also foreshadows Bartleby's fate at the end of the story seeing as how he dies in prison when the narrator goes to visit him. Later in the paragraph, he questions what Bartleby could be doing in his office in his "shirt sleeves, and in an otherwise dismantled condition" (Melville, 307). Again, there is a very specific choice of words being used by the narrator. He refers to Bartleby's condition as being "dismantled" which could be a commentary on both his mental and physical condition. Mentally, Bartleby has been a strange employee in the office that has constantly frustrated and confused the other copyists in the office. They've made fun of his way of speaking in the story by intentionally using the word "prefer" simply for the sake of pointing out how unusual Bartleby is. Bartleby isn't a very opinionated individual and he seems to not put much thought into anything nor does he speak up for himself. He let his vision be impaired by working in dim lighting as opposed to requesting better lighting at his desk or to work next to a window that provides better lighting than the one he worked at. Physically, in addition to the impairment of his vision, he developed a habit of sleeping at the office, as if being dismantled meant he fell apart at work and couldn't be bothered to leave the office to sleep elsewhere. He also refers to Bartleby as an "immoral person" (307). Bartleby isn't necessarily immoral in the sense that he has a cruel or evil nature; he simply doesn't grasp onto society's expectations or norms the way that typical people do. He doesn't leave the office when he's supposed to nor does he cooperate when he's kicked out after the office no longer belongs to the narrator. It's because of his indifference to other people's needs and his inability to understand why certain things are requested and expected of him that he doesn't follow orders well and is seen as being defiant or immoral.


Melville, Herman. "Bartleby, the Scrivener." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 293-325

Reading Notes W7: Melville, Part B

• Bartleby is the strangest scrivener - 296
• Before Bartleby joined, the narrator had two copyists and an office-boy: Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut - 298
• Turkey got his nickname because of his inflamed manner and the redness of his face after 12pm that made the narrator uncomfortable - 298
• Nippers got his nickname by always being displeased with the height of his table and his constant fidgeting around trying to adjust it - 299
• Ginger Nut got his nickname because he always ate ginger nuts. Tons of effort went into that nickname. - 304
• "I can see that figure now--pallidly neat, pitiably respectable, uncurably forlorn! It was Bartleby." - 301
• Bartleby was an extraordinary employee at first - 301
• The narrator asked him to look over some papers, as is normally done in their copyist business, but Bartleby said he "would prefer not to" - 302
• The narrator was shocked and in disbelief. He asked again. Bartleby responds the same way. He would prefer not to. - 302
• He somewhat lost his temper when asking again and told Bartleby to take the paper. Bartleby still preferred not to - 302
• He called Bartleby over a few days later and Bartleby simply "appeared" standing at the entrance to ask what is wanted of him - 303
• He preferred not to again - 303
• The narrator speaks to Turkey. Turkey agrees with the narrator that he's right. Nippers says they should kick Bartleby out of the office - 304
• Ginger Nut's opinion was that Bartleby was luny - 304
• After Bartleby prefers not to again, the narrator exits furiously and Turkey says he should black his eyes - 305
• "You will not?" "I prefer not" - 305
• The narrator calls Bartleby twice. He doesn't appear. After the third calling of his name, Bartleby appears "like a very ghost, agreeably to the laws of magical invocation, at the third summons, he appeared at the entrance of his hermitage." This is my second time reading this story. The first time I read this I immediately compared this to calling out Bloody Mary 3 times in a bathroom in the dark towards the mirror. I still make this comparison as of this second reading. - 306
• He told Bartleby to tell Nippers to come see him, Bartleby said he prefers not to and "mildly disappeared" - 306
• Described Bartleby as "pale" again - 306
• The narrator got used to Bartleby's nonsense and eventually began to expect it - 306
• Bartleby seems to have been staying at the office overnight. - 307
• The narrator felt sympathetic for Bartleby because he feels he's just lonely - 308
• The narrator tries to get to know Bartleby but he prefers not to share anything about himself - 309
• "At present I prefer to give no answer" - 309
• "mortified" - 310
• "Somehow, of late I had got into the way of involuntarily using this word "prefer" says the narrator -310
• They seem to be mocking Bartleby by using the word "prefer" - 310
• "The next day I noticed that Bartleby did nothing but stand at his window in his dead-wall revery" - 311
• Bartleby said he won't do any more writing and when asked why he said "Do you not see the reason for yourself?" copying in his dim window might have impaired his vision - 311
• Even if his eyes were to get better, "I've given up copying" - 311
• Bartleby prefers not to quit but is told he must - 312
• He tries to give him some money before sending him off. Bartleby doesn't move. He leaves the money on the table for Bartleby - 312
• Bartleby was still in the office the next day even though he was supposed to be gone. Narrator is "disappointed"  - 313
• Bartleby would prefer not to quit - 314
• Narrator doesn't want to "thrust such a helpless creature out your door" - 316
• He plans to move offices that way Bartleby has to leave - 316
• The narrator was contacted by someone and told he's responsible for the fact that Bartleby is still at the old office - 317
• "He persists in haunting the building" - 317
• "Going upstairs to my old haunt, there was Bartleby silently sitting" - 317
• The narrator tries to suggest other jobs for Bartleby. "I like to be stationary. But I am not particular" - 318
• "The poor scrivener, when told that he must be conducted to the Tombs, offered not the slightest obstacle, but in his pale unmoving way, silently acquiesced" - 319
• The narrator goes to the tombs and sees Bartleby. He calls out his name but Bartleby says "I know you... and I want nothing to say to you." - 319
• He speaks with the cook of the prison and slides him some silver, asking that he take care of Bartleby and feed him the best dinner he can get. - 320
• He went to find Bartleby so that he could introduce him to the cook as the cook requested. Bartleby was dead, however. - 321
• "Ah Bartleby! Ah humanity!" - 321

Melville, Herman. "Bartleby, the Scrivener." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 293-325

Reading Notes W7: Dessalines & Equiano, Part A

Dessalines

"Liberty or Death"

• Dessalines was the governor-general to the inhabitants of Hayti - 37
• "Perish all tyrants over innocence--all oppressors of mankind" - 37
• American People were being killed simply due to the greed of white French men - 37
• "Yes, I have saved my country. I have avenged America." - 37
• Dessalines has seen both slaves and freed colored people cherish and assist one another - 37
• Harmony among yourselves is the pledge of happiness, salvation, success, and the secret to being invincible - 38
• In order to strengthen those ties, one must remember the atrocities and massacres committed against them - 38
• "Let that nation come who may be mad and daring enough to attack me." Dessalines seems to be fearless - 38
• "Have I forgot that I command a people of no common cast, brought up in adversity, whose audacious daring frowns at obstacles, and increases by dangers?" - 38
• "War to death to tyrants" "Liberty! Independence!" This is his motto and rallying cry - 39
• "Never again shall a colonist or a European set his foot upon this territory with the title of master or proprietary" is his oath - 39
• It is derogatory to Dessalines' character and dignity to punish the innocent for the crimes of the guilty - 39

Equiano

"The Interesting Narrative of the Life"

• Olaudah Equiano = Gustavus Vassa - 76
• "I believe it is difficult for those who publish their own memoirs to escape the imputation of vanity; nor is this the only disadvantage under which they labor: it is also their misfortune, that what is uncommon is rarely, if ever, believed, and what is obvious we are apt to turn from with disgust, and to charge the writer with impertinence." *I immediately wondered what this says about himself then since he's documenting his own story but says it's difficult for those who publish their own memoirs to escape vanity - 77
• "I believe there are few events in my life, which have not happened to many" He then lists some of those events. "But when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself as a particular favorite of heaven and acknowledge the mercies of Providence in every occurrence in my life." - 77
• He feels as though God is on his side and taking mercy on him every step of the way
• "I am not so foolishly vain to expect from it (publication) either immortality or literary reputation." "I do not aspire to praise" I believe him that he isn't a vain person, he just wants to share his story. - 77
• Trade for slaves is carried out on Guinea, in Africa - 77
• He was born in Essaka in 1745 - 77
• His father was "one of those elders or chiefs." "Embrenche" as indicated by a mark conferred by cutting the skin across at the top of the forehead and drawing it down to the eyebrows and rubbing it until it shrinks up into a thick weal across the lower part of the forehead - 78
• Adultery was sometimes punished with slavery or death - 78
• If a woman is put to death because of adultery, she might be spared on account of the child - 78
• "We are almost a nation of dancers, musicians, and poets" - 78
• "Before we taste food we always wash our hands" - 79
• "When people go out to till their land, they not only go in a body, but generally take their arms with them for fear of a surprise" - 81
• They guard the "avenues to their dwellings" by driving sharp and poisonous sticks into the ground, so that the stick would pierce the foot and allow the poison to enter the body. - 82
• When a trader wants slaves, they apply to a chief for them and tempts them with their wares for the slaves. - 82
• If the chief accepts the offer with little reluctance there is always the chance that a battle takes place. If he wins, he sells them; if he loses, he is put to death since it might be dangerous to let him survive. - 82
• They have firearms, bows and arrows, swords and javelins, and shields. - 82
• Equiano was once a witness of a fight, when it began he climbed a tree to watch. - 82
• Spoils of battle are divided according to the merit of the warriors - 82
• The natives believe there is one Creator of all things - 82
• Equiano was fond of his mother and sometimes joined her when she went to her mother's tomb. She would spend the night crying and lamenting. He was terrified on these occasions and took note of the loneliness of the place and the darkness of night - 83
• They practiced circumcision - 83
• He was named Olaudah, which signified vicissitude or fortune, and having a loud voice and well spoken. - 83
• They had priests or magicians, or wise men - 84
• The magicians were also doctors or physicians - 84
• They practiced bleeding by cupping, which meant to use glass cups to create a heated air vacuum for drawing blood, and were successful in healing wounds and expelling poisons - 84
• They had a method of discovering theft, jealousy, and poisoning - 84
• Natives are cautious about poisoning. When buying food, the merchant will kiss all around the food to prove it isn't poisoned. - 84
• Some of their snakes were poisonous. There was a time where a snake passed through Equiano's feet and he stepped on it. Many people saw it happen. He was not bit by the snake and people saw it as a remarkable omen in his favor - 85
• Equiano hopes that us readers are not feeling trespassed on our patience because he spent so many pages introducing us to his culture and the customs of his country. Admittedly, I was struggling to pay attention because he was dragging on and on. But he says all of this knowledge was implanted in him with great care, so it must have been important for him to share it - 86
• There was a time where he was up in a tree to keep an eye out for kidnappers. He saw a rogue and called it out. People immediately swarmed him and entangled him with cords to prevent his escape - 87
• There was another time where he wasn't as fortunate. Two men and a women got into his home when only him and his sister were home. They had their mouths covered and were taken away. Their kidnappers didn't feed them overnight. The kidnappers typically kept to the woods when travelling with Equiano and his sister. Eventually they traveled on a road that Equiano thought he knew so he began to call for help. They tied him up and covered his mouth, putting him into a large sack. They tied and quieted his sister too. This continued until they were out of sight from people. - 87
• Eventually him and his sister were separated. He grieved and would not eat unless they literally forced food into his mouth. - 87
• While traveling, he often was switched between masters. He eventually ended up into the hands of a chieftain in a pleasant country. They used him well and comforted him. - 87
• He accidentally killed a chicken when throwing a pebble. He gave an honest answer as to what happened and expected a flogging. He ran because he didn't want to be beaten. He hid and heard everyone searching for him. He didn't even want to try and run away back home because everyone already suspected he'd attempt it. They didn't find him. "I must perish in the woods" - 88-89
• An old woman slave found him then spoke to his master. The master slightly reprimanded him but demanded that he be cared for and not ill-treated. Soon after this, his master's only daughter got sick and died. The master would have killed himself if he were not watched and prevented. - 89
• He acquired two or three different tongues while traveling through Africa - 89
• His sister was brought to his house and they wept and held each other the second they saw each other. People indulged that they stay together. They were happy for a while, but then they were separated again. - 89-90
• He didn't remain long after his sister and was eventually sold too - 90
• He ended up in Tinmah, which was in what he felt was the most beautiful country in Africa - 90
• A widow and her son (Equiano's size and age) came by and liked Equiano. They bought him. He was allowed to eat and drink with them. The son was free, yet only ate after Equiano had eaten due to their customs. They treated him well and made him forget he was even a slave - 91
• His delusion spontaneously vanished one night and he felt worse than he's ever felt before. - 91
• He ran away and eventually came across a slave ship. He was astonished at first, then terrified once he was grabbed and thought they were going to kill him -91-92
• "I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country" - 92
• He wanted to jump off the ship, but the netting would catch him. He's seen other slaves severely cut for attempting to do so. - 93
• He saw a white man flogged to death with a large rope, then thrown off the side of the ship - 93
• Their ship came into contact with another and they were moved onto the new ship. It was cramped and breathing was hard and everything smelled bad. Many died. - 94
• He eventually sort of hoped that he would die since it meant his misery would be put to an end - 94
• They were conducted to a merchant's yard and pent up without regard to their age or sex - 95
• "I now totally lost the small remains of comfort I had enjoyed in conversing with my countrymen; the women too" - 96
• He saw a black slave woman with an iron muzzle on her face and it frightened him - 96
• While fanning the gentleman he belonged to in his sleep, he looked around the room and saw a picture. He had never seen a photo before and he thought it was magic that the whites used to keep their men when they died. He felt anxious - 97
• He was called Jacob here. - 97
• On board the African Snow he was called Michael - 97
• A gentleman named Michael Henry Pascal liked Equiano and bought him. On board the Industrious Bee, Equiano was now Gustavas Vassa. - 97
• Equiano told his new owner he wanted to be called Jacob, and he wouldn't respond to Gustavas. He was beaten until he submitted to answer to his new name - 97
• He was amazed when he first saw snow and thought someone threw salt all over the ship. He wanted to know who made snow and what it's purpose was. He was told that God made it. - 98
• He made an American friend named Dick. - 98
• He saw his master and Dick reading all the time and wanted to do as they did. He picked up a book and spoke to it, then raised it to his ears hoping it would answer him. He was concerned when it said nothing. - 98

Dessalines, Jean-Jacques. "Liberty or Death." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 36-39

Equiano, Olaudah. "The Interesting Narrative of the Life." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 73-98

Reading Notes W6: Bunina & Wordsworth, Part X

Anna Bunina

"Conversation Between Me and the Women"

The women are happy because of Anna. They're proud of talent and refer to as a "poetess" before telling her that her palette is able to write an ode or a fable (385). They claim that they wait for madrigals, which I remembered as being a kind of song from my music literature class, yet all the receive are epigrams, which are "a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought." (385). They're eager to hear her answer to the question of whether or not she sings (385). Anna says she's been singing for five years (385). Russian verses aren't in fashion at this time anymore, apparently (385). Anna seems to sing only about nature, and very peacefully so (385-6). The women don't care about what Anna sings about since they aren't being praised in her songs; they think animals are the only things she praises (386). Anna claims that she does sing about people too (386). When she shares who she's sung about in the past, the women again do not care because nothing has been about them (387). "So what good are you?" (387). They tell her she only sings about men (387). If I'm understanding Anna correctly, she claims that she's writing about men because men are dominant in writing and music, and that she doesn't believe people would care for her works if they were about women. "All an author's fame is in their hands" (387).


William Wordsworth

"Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey"

Wordsworth has gone five years without returning to this place that he enjoyed visiting as a child (351). The experience seems very nostalgic and unbelievable to him: "One again / Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs" (351). He's cherishing being reunited with this place, and soaking in all of its beauty (351). He claims that we as people "become a living soul" with an "eye made quiet by the power / of harmony, and the deep power of joy" and that allows us to "see into the life of things" (352). He notices the place has changed over the years (352). "I have learned / to look on nature, not as in the hour / of thoughtless youth" (352). He seems to really want to return to his past self, as a young boy, so that he could once again view this place from the same wondrous eyes (353). Wordsworth is a "worshipper of nature" and "this green pastoral landscape, were to me / more dear, both for themselves and for thy sake" (354).



Bunina, Anna. "Conversation Between Me and the Women." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 384-387

Wordsworth, William. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 345-348, 351-354

Weekly Review: Week 6 - Not as well as I had hoped

I don't feel like my reading this week and last week went as well as the first three weeks of class. I feel like I've been unable to fully absorb and comprehend longer readings lately. I guess all of my stress is distracting me? I've been very stressed out the past few weeks due to: being sick enough to have missed a few classes, constantly needing to sleep in order to get better but being unable to sleep due to my insomnia (the insomnia is a regular problem for me and normally not a big deal), dealing with paperwork and other things that go into transferring from LMC to San Francisco State University, financial aid and scholarships, unexpected family emergencies, and studying for other classes. I feel like there's no room to really breathe or relax and it's honestly kind of frustrating because I had so much of a drive when it came to starting this semester, especially the first few weeks of this class. I've had to rely on the grace period 2-4 times or so in the past two weeks when it comes to turning in assignments despite telling myself at the start of this semester that I would budget my time better to avoid these kinds of situations. I guess this is what happens when I'm simply too overwhelmed though. I really hope things get better within the next two weeks because I just want to return to a mindset that allows me to do a better job not just in this class, but my other classes as well.

For whatever it's worth, I've been prioritizing reading and giving feedback on everyone else's analyses and projects before finishing my own because I'd rather everyone else receive the feedback they deserve as opposed to me giving feedback after being burnt out, thus giving useless feedback in the most untimely manner possible. I just finished reading and giving feedback on three projects. Felonie's was seemingly flawless, so I hope mine turns out that good after I revise it. Eli's project was fun to read because I love reading about morals and people's opinions on such ideas. Kim's project was impressive because of how he thoroughly analyzed three different works in order to produce his project.

Week 6 Analysis: Literary Analysis of "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Experience by William Blake

"The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Experience is a vastly different poem than that of "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Introduction. I feel as though the reason for such difference in the nature of both poems is explained by which collection of "songs" they're from. "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Introduction has a more innocent and hopeful tone present throughout the poem. I'm assuming this is because the child is still new to the world, as the word "introduction" would imply, they haven't fully learned how the world works and therefore still have the ability to hope for the best. In "The Chimney Sweeper" from Songs of Experience, we get to see the perspective of a different child who seems to have lost hope and realized exactly how unfortunate their situation is as a chimney sweeper since children easily died while carrying out this job. The reason for this is also most likely tied to the word "experience," since they've probably been sweeping chimneys long enough to see what happens to the other children. When the child says "they clothed me in the clothes of death," the clothes of death were a metaphor for the clothes he had to wear when working as a chimney sweep (Blake 340). The parents sold him for money, and he was destined from that point onward to sweep chimneys until he inevitably died from doing so. His uniform cemented the idea in his mind that he was going to die. Present themes I noticed included gloom, hopelessness, and irony. The theme of gloom when using a metaphor that identified the child as a "little black thing among the snow" (Blake 340). He was described as black because he was covered in soot from sweeping chimneys. He also cries "'weep, 'weep," in "notes of woe" because of all the misery he feels (Blake 340). Hopelessness is present when he was clothed in the clothes of death. Irony is present when he says that his parents think they haven't harmed him because he can sing and dance and they continue to go to church and praise God as they "make up a heaven" from his misery (340-1). William Blake wrote this poem because it must have saddened him to know that children who swept chimneys lived such terrible lives. He wrote two different "Chimney Sweeper" poems because it bothered him to know that children had to try and negotiate with themselves to justify their parent's rationale for selling them into this lifestyle only to end up learning the truth as they gradually die.

Blake, William. "Songs of Experience." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. D, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 330-341

Reading Notes W6: Barbauld & Bello, Part B

Barbauld

1) To a Little Invisible Being

Barbauld is excited about babies being born into the world. The world is so much larger than they are and there is no way they can anticipate how grand it is. The mothers are excited for the day they can be with their newborns. The newborn is a part of their self that they've "fed with their life" (327). Barbauld believes that a baby can't fathom how much their mother loves them.

2) Eighteen Hundred and Eleven

Britain had been at war with France for almost 18 years. People are on edge because they're scared of the war. Weapons and violence accomplish things in this time, not hard work. People are having to deal with the heartbreak of finding out a loved one was killed. Beauty is being ruined despite all the nice things that used to be there because of war.

Bello

Ode to Tropical Agriculture

• "You weave the summer's wreath of golden grain." I liked the assonance present with the words "weave" and "wreath" (Bello 389). "Golden grain" was a nice, tiny dose of alliteration (389).
• "Where sick ambition fans the flames / of civil strife, or indolence exhausts / the love of country" (390). There seems to be mention of war, violence, and political conflict, similar to "Eighteen Hundred and Eleven" by Barbauld.
• "Is beauty less attractive / without false ornament and lying paint" (391). Bello seems to be wondering if people can still be beautiful without makeup and other things to help them look more attractive. How much have standards of beauty changed?
• People are destroying nature. "let the axe break the matted trees," "the wild beast flees," "What do I see? a tall and crackling flame / spills over the dry ruins of the conquered forest"
• "We have atoned enough for the savage conquest / of our unhappy fathers" (393). The state of one's country shouldn't remain at the hands of the predecessors who ruled it.
• "No matter where we look, do we not see / a stubbled wilderness where once were fields, / and cities too?" (393). Once again, nature is being destroyed. Humans have inhabited too much of the world and have deprived animals of their homes.
• Peace has long been desired by the people. Once peace is restored, everyone will hurry on back to doing what they were doing before times of war and violence.

Barbauld, Anna Laetitia. The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 326-330

Bello, Andrès. "Faust." The Norton Anthology World Literature, edited by Martin Puchner, Third Edition, vol. E, W. W. Norton 2012, pp. 388-394