Before I begin I apologize for being absent from the discussions, and late in posting my posts for family issues kept me from it.

My favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and upon reading Chapter Two: Nice to Eat With You: Acts of Communion I immediately recalled a meal scene that takes place at the beginning of Chapter Three.  It’s the first day of school and, after having made her look bad in front of the whole class and the new teacher, Scoutcaught Walter Cunningham in the playground and began to pummel him before her older brother Jem intercedes and breaks up the fight.

Upon recieving a stroke of genius, and just a jolt of common curtesy, Jem innvites Walter to their house for lunch.  Since he is “one of them Cunningham’s” he hesitates, before finally giving in and follows them home for dinner.  This is where, if you haven’t already guessed, the meal scene takes place.

During the meal Jem and Scout look on in wonder at Atticus and Walter “talked together like two men” in a conversation that neither Jem nor Scout could follow.  But as they are eating Walter asked for the molasses, and upon receiving the pitcher drowns his whole dinner in the syrup.  This act shocks Scout into asking, in her own blunt way, “what in the sam hill he was doin’.”  This of course invokes embarrassment in Walter, who is unable to answer.  Seeing the poor boy’s shame, Calpurnia summons Scout into the kitchen, where she begins to reprimand Scout for contrdicting the boy in such a way.

Scout not only earns a stinging smack to the behind but also a brand new sense of respect.  She learns that when at her family table whoever is sitting there breaking bread with them that at that moment they are equal.  During this time she not only earns a friendship with Walter, which happens to aid in keeping them safe on the steps of the jailhouse later on in the book, but she learns accecptence.  Cunningham or not.

But I also find it slightly ironic that Scout gets her revelation from Calpurnia, who is her black maid, and who isn’t allowed to sit at the same table as Scout.

Archetypes reach into the depths of our mythic ethos.  They are idealizations of forms of people or concepts that help explain the nature of life.  Jung compared his conception of the archetype to the Platonic ideas which existed in pure form in the mental realm but are projected in myriad manifestations in the physical realm.  To Plato all truth lies in the concepts of these ideas.  Perhaps that is why Archetypes are so important to humanity.  They are lights which illuminate truth out of the complicated haze of our existence.

Perhaps one of the most crucial archetypes, in my opinion, in understanding and finding meaning in human existence, is that of Prometheus.  Prometheus was a Greek titan who, according to myth, stole fire from the gods in order to grant it to man.  This gift of fire to man was the nexus from whence all further development and advancement sprung.  The Greek playwright Aeschylus actually represents him as granting some of these early developments to humanity in addition to the original gift of fire.  None the less, because of this Zeus punished him by condemning him to being chained to a rock, upon which a eagle will land every day to devour his liver, which will regrow every night (due to his immortality) so that the process can be repeated.  Prometheus thus is a tragically heroic figure.  One who sacrifices greatly in order to provide for the advancement of man.  Fire set man on a path of greatness, a path of singular cosmic importance.

His archetype is not an exceedingly common one in literature, partly because of the pessimism of much human (especially modernist) thought, partly because of the uniquely splendid nature of a prometheus where he does occur, partly because of the narrow-minded view many share of the human experience.  For example, take Alexander the Great.  The foolish view of him as a tyrant is a common one today, but exemplified by the promethean view, he is a hero, who liberated tens of millions from the yoke of oriental despotism and exposed them to enlightened hellenism. 

Viewed from this perspective there are a number of worthy promethean figures.  Literature brings out a few prominant ones.  In ancient times there is Gilgamesh, a demi-god like figure who eventually accepts the role as a champion of budding mesopotamian civilization.  In modern times there is Superman, who protects humanity from many different threats.

Captain Ahab from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, or The Whale is a promethean figure, in my opinion, a promethean viewed in the tragic sense, like Victor Frankenstein, another romantic literary figure.  Ahab is a whaling captain from Nantucket who has lost his leg to the infamous, allegedly immortal and ubiquitous leviathon known as Moby Dick.  Since that incident he has come to associate it with all evil or misfortune that has, is, or will beset humanity in past, present, and future.  He thus embarks on a frightening voyage to kill this whale, exacting revenge not for himself but on behalf of all man.  He rebels against the most terrifying and powerful forces of nature -the terrible seas and the indominitable whale who makes them his dominion.

It is interesting to note that there are some who would cast Milton’s Satan from Paradise Lost, who proclaimed he would “rather rule in hell than serve in heaven,” as a Promethean figure, and furthermore compare Ahab to Satan, stating that his mission is one of blasphemy (as is the nagging suspicion of Starbuck in the book).  However, I would dispute this view.  The jealous and imperfect gods who Prometheus rebels against bear much more resemblence to Satan, who becomes the enemy of man, than the benevolent deity of Christianity.  Similarly, Ahab, is striking at all cosmological powers which would stand in the way of man.  The whale is a rare physical portal through which man can address its metaphysical woes.  Ahab is no narcissist, but rather the ultimate democrat.

For centuries, those who wielded the quill (or, in modern day, the pen or even the mouse) had a more acute understanding of pressing issues and events than their fellow members of society.  Their understanding and captivation with events and problems, with time, developed into a sense of concern, which needed an outlet for expression.  Rather than bluntly stating their opinions on pressing matters in forums dedicated solely to the issue (works entitled like Essays on _______), some minds chose to use characters, plots, and sundry literary devices to craft and share their opinions on matters.   For these minds, story telling simply was not a form of entertainment, but a capsule for dissertation. 

In modern day, this form of veiled communication reaches far from the binding of a book, the birthplace of political advocacy.  It stretches to cinema, theatre, and other, more accessible forms of communication.  Regardless of the media, the author’s opinion still stems forth through similar avenues.    

To illustrate this point, I have chosen a popular comic book, V for Vendetta.  Many of you will immediately spring in your minds to the 2006 movie (titled the same), with thoughts of how awesome his (V’s) knife skills were.  Yes, they were.  However, the comic book, admittedly with a few variances in plot compared to the film, transfers similar messages on anarchy versus order and the price for one or the other.  For reasons of familiarity, I will focus on the movie’s plot. 

In the movie, a fascist regime rules England with an iron, censored grip.  The citizenry is subdued and fails to gag on the “truth” fed to them by government-run news agencies.  The propaganda used by the ruling regime keeps the people at bay by giving them the illusion that the government is the barricade between order and chaos – the thin, blue line.  This lack in deviation in information in conjunction with institutions such as curfew create a battle between ideas of individualism and the need for stability brought forth by conformity.  On one side of the aisle, the “fearless” Chancellor fights with his army to maintain conformity; on the other side of the aisle, the libertarian protagonist (V) fights to maintain individualism.  While some censorship and restriction is needed to maintain stability, an imbalance of restriction against individualism creates a breed of anarchy – a world in which men cannot choose their own.  This imbalance costs – one side taxing civil liberties and the other potential stability (I say potential with the belief of utopia and people’s willingness to behave righteously). One takes rights; the other takes justice. 

The author of the comic (and the movie’s director, for the matter) therefore believes that a world bereft of individualism is cold, damp, and too regular for talent to flourish.  On the other hand, too much individualism and rights lead to fanatics partaking in fantastically fanatic activities (such as blowing up landmarks).  However, in an effort to counter-balance the evils of one side, some force equal to its opposite may be required (such as the Chancellor’s assassination) to restore the glorious equilibrium.   This is the struggle between power systems – the government against its people and vice versa.  While the government takes rights from its people, it takes from itself, as it is comprised of what it takes from. Therefore, the government’s well is limited to its populous, whereas the citizenry is limitless in that it only makes government, rather than tax it.  

            Just like I said at the beginning of my last post, I don’t wanna ruin this movie for anyone.  It’s a really good one.  Here is the IMDb link to it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/  Watch out, there are spoilers in this…

            I Am Legend (released in December of 2007) is a sci-fi thriller based on a short novel of the same title by Richard Matheson, starring Will Smith as the main character, Robert Neville.  Dr. Robert Neville is the lone human survivor of a world-wide plague that turns its victims into “zombified” versions of themselves that crave nothing but blood.  While the doctor, colonel, family man searches for a cure to save the Infected, his fourth role as a Christ figure becomes more and more evident.

            The following five items are examples of character connections between Christ and Neville.  (They might be hard to follow without having seen the movie.)

·        The virus spread by the cancer vaccine infects everyone on earth except for Robert Neville.  He is the only immune person on earth.

·        The set of beliefs held by Christians say that sin has infected everyone who has ever set foot on this planet, except for Jesus Christ.

·        Dr. Neville had spent his whole life in New York City, but after three years of societal decay, the terrain he once knew so well has become foreign to him.

·        The Bible states that Christ has been around since the earth was formed so he should know it better than everyone else in his time, but the fact that he is holy and our earth is sinful and fallen without a doubt made him feel out of place.

·        There is a scene where Neville has to rescue his dog, Sam, from an abandoned warehouse full of sleeping virus victims.  Since too much exposure to light will kill the Infected (much like sin), the building is completely swallowed up in darkness.  The only light we see is blazing from the scope mounted on the barrel of Neville’s gun.

·        The New Testament also compares Christ to light.  Most notably in John 8:12 where Jesus calls himself the “light of the world.”  Just like the light on the end Neville’s gun sliced through the darkness of the warehouse, the light Christ brought to the world cut through its thick darkness.

·        In the next to last scene of the movie, Dr. Neville discovers that he is able to transfer his immunity to the virus to infected hosts in order to cure them.  He does it through a small blood transfusion.  The cure is in his blood.

·        The first chapter of 1 Peter explains that we are redeemed by the blood of Christ.  The cure is also in his blood.

·        In the same emotional scene that the fourth example came from, Neville is screaming to the Infected mob that he can save them and that they are sick; he has the cure.  But they kill him anyway.

·        Although, according to the Old Testament, Jesus Christ was the Savior of man, he was brutally tortured and then murdered.

When reading Chapter 18: If she comes up, It’s baptism, I couldn’t help but think of Edna in The Great Awakening by Kate Chopin. Through the book Edna is afraid to go into the water but wishes that she could. One night, she decides to go in by herself. For her, being in the water was like no other feeling. She could be herself and not who others wanted or felt that she should be. For Edna, it was like being baptized. She was a new person. She loved it. However, it didn’t last long. One night she went out again by herself and she didn’t make it. But, while it lasted, her new feeling of rebirth was joyous and amazing!

Chapter 15: Flight of Fancy caught my attention, so for prompt two, I have decided to discuss a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom, though it is ironic.

 In The Awakening by Kate Chopin uses imagery of birds and wings to symbolize Edna’s desire for her personal freedom, which consists of painting and self-knowledge of who she really is and her relationships with others. A caged green-and-yellow parrot that shouts out his need for solitude, but is forced to follow the guide lines laid down by society represents Edna. ““Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi!”,” which translates into “Go away! Go away! For heaven’s sake!,” the parrot cries from his cage and Edna cries from her heart, for she does not aspire to become a typical Victorian mother-women. During the Victorian ages, the mother-women were “ministering angels,” that “[fluttered] about with extended, protecting wings when any harm, real or imaginary, threatened their precious brood. They were women who idolized their children, worshiped their husbands, and esteemed it a holy privilege to efface themselves as individuals and grow wings.” Even though mother-women obviously did not literally sprout wings and fly around saving children during the 1700s, nor have mothers ever, but Foster reveals in his novel that by Chopin referring to mother-women as angles, captivates us as readers. But why? I sure do not wish to become an “angel” that literally cannot fly and has to “[worship] her husband” and “[idolize] her children.” As a rhetorical and symbolic reader, one has to dig deeper to discover the true message of the Victorian mother-women. She allows her wings to be clipped, making her inapt for flight, but that does not necessarily mean she will never reach her destination of personal freedom. Ironically, a mother-woman aspires to be an extraordinary mother and wife, plus, since they are married to well-to-do businessmen, they are given rewards for running their household and caring for the children, such as exquisite homes and clothes, and a upper-class place in Victorian society. A mother-woman’s personal freedom consists of being domesticated.

In the ninth grade we were all assigned to read the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, little did we know that Scout’s childhood tale is all political.  Yes it is true.  Harper Lee’s 1960 book is about racial injustice in Southern America.  In this novel the South itself, with its traditions and taboos, seems to affect the plot more than the characters.

 The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional “tired old town” of Maycomb, Alabama. The narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt for the summer. The three children are terrified as well as fascinated by their neighbor the reclusive “Boo” Radley. The adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk about Boo and for many years few people have seen him. The children feed each other’s imaginations with rumors about his appearance and reasons for remaining hidden, and they fantasize about how to get him out of his house. Following two summers of friendship with Dill, Scout and Jem find that someone is leaving them small gifts in a tree outside the Radley place. Several times the mysterious Boo makes gestures of affection to the children, but to their disappointment he never appears in person.

Atticus is assigned to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. Although many of Maycomb’s citizens disapprove, Atticus agrees to defend Tom to the best of his ability. Other children taunt Jem and Scout for Atticus’ actions, calling him a “nigger-lover”. Scout is tempted to stand up for her father’s honor by fighting, even though he has told her not to. For his part, Atticus faces a group of men intent on lynching Tom. This danger is averted when Scout, Jem, and Dill shame the mob into dispersing by forcing them to view the situation from Atticus’s and Tom’s points of view.  Because Atticus does not want them to be present at Tom Robinson’s trial, Scout, Jem, and Dill watch in secret from the segregated balcony reserved for blacks. Atticus establishes that the accusers—Mayella and her father, Bob Ewell, the town drunk—are lying. It also becomes clear that the friendless Mayella was making sexual advances towards Tom and her father caught her in the act. Despite significant evidence of Tom’s innocence, the jury convicts him. Jem’s faith in justice is badly shaken, as is Atticus’, when a hopeless Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape from prison.

I wrote earlier that the traditions and taboos of the South influenced the novel to an extent more than the characters.  One visible example of a taboo is the inability of Mayella to admit she made advances toward Tom.  In the South at that time any hinting of a sexual transgression by a black male towards a white female often resulted in the death of the accused.  In this case Tom escapes a lynching (although one was attempted), but he does eventually get slain by police violence.  He was shot seven times as he was trying to escape prison.   Another statement Lee makes is aimed at the corrupt justice system in the South.  Tom, despite clear evidence he was not guilty was still convicted by the all white jury.  The Southern town follows tradition blaming the black man for the act of violence. 

Lee’s theme of racial injustice also appears symbolically in the novel.  For example, in the novel a rabid dog is roaming the streets of Maycomb.  This rabid dog represents the town’s racism.  Atticus kills the rabid dog although that is not his job.  This killing of the dog represents Atticus’ struggle to defeat the racism in the Maycomb in defending Tom Robinson.  Also it must be noted Atticus killed the dog by himself representing not only that he was single-handedly fighting racism in Maycomb, but also that America as a whole was largely apathetic in furthering race relations. 

 In summation, I have proven that To Kill a Mockingbird has a political agenda but simultaneously concluded that as freshman we were unable to perceive the political side of the novel. The fact is politics is in about all the literature we read, some of the messages are timeless others are aimed only at a moment in time.      

Chapter 20- …So Does Season

Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way.

April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.

T.S. Eliot
The Waste Land

While most poems referring to spring bring on a since of new life, Eliot places a harsh tone on the season of renewal. “April’s showers” revive plants from the bitter cold of winter. However, Eliot refers to April as cruel. Just a mother pours burning alcohol on her child’s knee after a bicycle accident to clean out the dirt and heal the wound, April pours out her cleansing waters out to the earth to rid the land of winter and to bring in new life. Sometimes pain must come before gain. After her unkind rain, life can arise “out of the dead land.” The rain brings forth a healthy land, one where plants and flowers can thrive. It is know that seasons run in a continuous cycle—spring, summer, fall, winter. The “memorie[s]” are those of the life from the past. Nature goes through the same pattern every year. With memories of the life the earth once had, it is anxious (desiring) to obtain its life once again. The last line of the poem reemphasizes that only the spring rain can bring this life back.

“Well Alice,” Edward said conversationally as we walked. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here.”

“It was my mistake,” Alice answered in the same tone. “It was my job to set it right.”

“What happened?” His voice was polite as if he were barely interested. I imagined this was due to the listening ears behind us.

“It’s a long story.” Alice’s eyes flicked toward me and away. “In summary, she did jump off a cliff, but she wasn’t trying to kill herself. Bella’s all about extreme sports these days.”

In the second book of the Twilight series, Bella Swan jumps off of a cliff. This intense jump was made out to appear as a suicide. However, Bella just wanted to escape from the stresses of her life. She was dealing with many complicated issues, and wanted to be free. The idea of cliff diving came from the Quileute tribe that lived by the cliffs. Bella’s free fall seemed to be a desperate attempt to escape from reality. The author describes this flight with such vivacity that one can’t help but feel the wind whistling through their own ears.  She did it off of a whim and ended up experiencing the biggest adrenaline rush of her life. Falling so fast, and so far, she experiences a huge mix of emotions. Pain, fear, love, hate, trust, and anxiety all ran through the text. One could almost feel every emotion pulling at the heartstrings, and the sheer terror of her flight chilled to the bone. Bella’s fall was very quick, and very dangerous. Sometimes when life becomes too much to handle, one just wants to run away…or, in Bella’s case, fly. She is so hopelessly in love with Edward that in order to hear his voice, she would put herself in danger. After months of being without him, she realizes that the only way to hear his voice is to do things he would not approve of. This example of a daring flight is a perfect description of an escape from reality. Bella Swan was a brave girl who only needed a short time to spread her wings and fly.