Hope

The poem that I decided to write this blog on is September, 1918. This poem has so many different interpretations that you can take from it since it is a modernism poem—it has many different themes or events occurring. The theme that I decided to go with throughout is hope. When reading the last stanza of the poem on page 713, I felt like Amy Lowell was feeling that someday she hoped that the world would be a better place to be again.

          “Some day there will be no war.

          Then I shall take out this afternoon

          And turn it in my fingers,

           And remark the sweet taste of it upon my palate,

          And note the crisp variety of its flights of leaves.

          And put it into my lunch-box,

          For I have time for nothing

          But the endeavor to balance myself

          Upon a broken world.”

In life we all could use a little hope; that feeling that everything is going to be okay. Everyday life throws us curve balls and to bring in personal experience, last week all my family could do was hope and pray. On Thursday we got a phone call that no one wants to ever receive. My grandmother was back in the hospital and we were given several options on what could be happening, but of course we all hoped for the best. Unfortunately, she has a battle of her own that she will have to fight off again. This reminded me of the poem because of how the last stanza starts, “Some day there will be no war”, and I pray that someday there will be a cure for cancer. “But the endeavor to balance myself Upon a broken world.” She will have to also find peace within herself to get through her battle that the world, which is broken because it isn’t perfect, has handed her.

Digging deeper, Amy Lowell was definitely trying to send a message. When I did my literary modernism blog on this poem, I didn’t realize a few things until now. The mood at the beginning of the poem brings us happiness and a beautiful scene:

          "This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight;

          The trees glittered with the tumbling of leaves;

          The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves;

          And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows."

While we continue reading we can tell in her tone that she is losing hope, but is using imagery that shows her trying to stay positive about a negative situation. She finds ways that she can put things aside, like possible the negative thoughts.

          “To-day I can only gather it

           And put it into my lunch-box,

          For I have time for nothing”

The amazing thing about poetry is that it can be interpreted in hundreds of different ways. Before last week, I would’ve never thought of the theme being hope or anything along that order because when I researched it, I came up with themes of fall, war, and social changes—the themes were all laid out there for me.  I found that sometimes, it takes something terrible to happen to open up and see what this broken world really has to offer us. 

Tutu, Desmond. "Hope Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Throughout A Streetcar Named Desire it was pretty apparent that there were several different themes. The one that I was caught on was the role that men play, masculinity. It was seen several times throughout the play, but my favorite one that I zoned in on was found on page 1137, when Mitch said, “Poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women.” This is all happening in the middle of the scene where Stella is calling Stanley a drunk and there are lots and lots of action taking place.

When considering this theme in my life I definitely had to take a step back and really consider what parts this play and I have in common. The only thing that I could think of is how we all live in a male centered and male dominated world, a.k.a. patriarchal society. This is around us right now with how the president of the United States is male, and always has been, along with other positions that are held by men. Also, when I take a step back I can see how my dad is the one who, for the majority, makes the decisions for our family, so I could also say he has an “obsession with control”. When in all reality he usually makes the decision that is right for all of us, and not just what is best for him.

Now if we were to dig a little deeper, some people around us suffer from unhealthy relationships because of such control that their boyfriend and sometimes even their girlfriend have. When looking at Stella and Stanley’s relationship we can see that their relationship isn’t the healthiest because of the way Stanley treats Stella. In the play we also read how Stanley hit Stella. This can be referred to as male violence. If we look at the quote, “Poker shouldn’t be played in a house with women”, we can see that there are definite separations from gender roles and men think that they get to order the women around. Even some of the comments such as “women don’t play poker” made my blood boil…like honestly, I can play poker if I want too. This was just two examples from the play that showed masculinity.

When looking at broader implications of the theme, we can see that this is also brought too, and can be compared to patriarchy. When comparing my previous knowledge on how a man should treat a woman and vice versa it had me putting up red flags while I continued to read the play. This doesn’t only connect to patriarchy, but even to relationships and domestic violence. Some of these comments were made in previous paragraphs! I hope you enjoyed reading my blog, until next time. J

Literary Modernism

While researching Literary Modernism I found it most interesting to hear that poets struggled to find new ways to create pieces that reflected huge changes that occurred. When it came to style writers began to change the time and order, perspective, point of view and form. In poetry, this meant metaphors stacked on top of each other, mixing meters and free verse, and allusions to the past. They were willing to challenge the ideas of what were already in place on how and what to write about. Instead of a chronological order we saw many themes throughout our poems that we had to read for class that day. Just in case you forgot what we had to read, the poems included: “September, 1918”, “Thirteen Ways to Look at a Blackbird”, and “To Elsie”. We definitely got to see how each of these poets used modernism in their writing. The fact that they jumped and included more than one theme throughout the poem in ways other than chronological order suggests that they used the key concept that everything is relative no matter what the order. When we look at the characteristics of Literary Modernism that include: a break in tradition as a result of changes in the cultural, political, and artistic sensibilities that occurred in the years before, during, and after the war; there is no such thing as absolute truth. All things are relative; no connections with history or institutions; and concerned with the subconscious, we can definitely see many of these and how they stand out in the poems.

For example, when we look at “September, 1918” by Amy Lowell, I noticed that it was a free verse poem, which is another characteristic of which Literary Modernism has, and her poem has many themes that include: fall, nature, social commentaries, and war and conflict. To break down the poem I’ll take it line for line. The poem is found on page 713 of our text.

“This afternoon was the colour of water falling through sunlight”, this line suggests that nature is beautiful, and that it could possibly be raining if the water is falling through sunlight. “The trees glittered with the tumbling leaves”, which tells us that we are in the season fall. So now we get a picture that it is raining and the leaves are falling. Okay, fair enough. This poem could still follow a chronological order from what we know in the first two lines. “The sidewalks shone like alleys of dropped maple leaves”, when I think of an alley I think dark and dreary and a little scary. This could also suggest that it is now storming instead of sunlight beaming. “And the houses ran along them laughing out of square, open windows”, this line I don’t quite know what to suggest it could mean and where I become more lost than anything in the poem. I know that the houses have got to be a metaphor of some kind here. The next stanza begins with “Under a tree in the park”, now we just changes settings. “Two little boys, lying flat on their faces,” this now is where we see war might be taking place because of them trying to lay flat while gathering food. “Were carefully gathering red berries to put in a pasteboard box” they felt as if they had to hide what they were doing, or save the food for a hard time that they face ahead of them. The next stanza tells us more about why they were doing what they were doing. “Some day there will be no war.” Here we are reassured that the reasons they were picking berries and hiding on the ground while doing so was because of the war happening. “Then I shall take out this afternoon” Almost as a sign that they will have more freedom. “And turn it to my fingers”, put matters in their own hands. “And remark the sweet taste of it upon my palate”, and revisit how it feels to have what we want and need in a peaceful world. “And note the crisp variety of its flights of leaves”, knowing that there is more out in the world to explore like the seasons. “To-day I can only gather it”, referring back to the berries, “And put it into my lunch-box”, but with the next line it really makes me question if the berries were really berries in this poem. “For I have time for nothing”, if he/she didn’t have time for nothing then how can they put things into the lunch box? “But the endeavors to balance myself”, this is showing social commentary to the readers that there is more out there and to make a difference is to carry yourself at a different standard. “Upon a broken world”, in order for the world to be unbroken, we have to work together and get rid of war. We have to fix what is happening in a reasonable way.

With reading more about Amy Lowell it helped me understand that with her determined personality and sense of humor she was going to try with all of her effort to awaken American readers to contemporary trends in poetry. She wanted us, her readers, to know that there is still joy in this world with all of the bad things that are occurring. With layering her metaphors, it was difficult to see what was truly happening, but she definitely wanted her readers to be able to paint a picture with the imagist style that she displays.

In case you missed class on the day of my presentation feel free to ask me for my notes and powerpoint. I would be more than happy to share it with you! Also, when i was doing more research after my presentation I found a great youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVNBy5GHuqo) that explains more in depth what we talked about in class and can add to the presentation that I gave on March 9th. 
sources that I used to make my research and presentation possible include: 

http://www.shmoop.com/literature-glossary/modernism.html

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/29453-modernism-in-literature/

https://www.poets.org/search/node/william%20carlos%20williams%20poem%20to%20elise

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-are-characteristics-of-modernist-literature-fiction-in-particular

Literary Analysis:

Throughout the reading of Uncle Tom’s Cabin I found interest in relationships between child and mother, so I focused on the theme of motherhood. Even though some of the characters that portray motherhood itself in the book aren’t mothers, Stowe definitely knew what emotions to tie to which characters to give this book life and meaning. In the book we see many mothers, to refresh your memory we saw Eliza, Aunt Chloe, Cassy, Mrs. Shelby, Marie St. Clare, Mrs. Bird, and Madame de Thoux and later Miss Ophelia becomes a mother to Topsy. There is also talk in the book about mothers who are deceased. At the beginning of the book we come to believe that Eliza is one of the main characters because of the portrait that is drawn. Some quotes from chapter seven which is called, “The Mother’s Struggle” helps support what a mother like Eliza goes through to save her only son, Harry.

          “But stronger than all was maternal love, wrought into a paroxysm of frenzy by the near approach of a fearful danger. Her boy was old enough to have walked by her side, and, in an indifferent case, she would only have led him by the hand; buy now the bare thought of putting him out of her arms made her shudder, and she strained him to her bosom with a convulsive grasp, as she went rapidly forward” (page 45). When reading this quote it is almost as if Eliza is being Harry’s hero. She doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her son, which no mother would want anything bad to happen to their child, but she also shows great maternal instinct through her journey.

Also in this chapter the author tries to pull the reader in to put the reader in Eliza’s shoes as a mother and protector.

         “If it were your Harry, mother, or your Willie, that were going to be torn from you by a brutal trader, to-morrow morning,--if you had seen the man, and heard that the papers were signed and delivered, and you had only from twelve o’clock till morning to make good your escape,--how fast could you walk? How many miles could you make in those few brief hours, with the darling at your bosom,--the little sleepy head on your should,--the small, soft arms trustingly holding on to your neck?” (Page 46). When first reading this quote in the book it gives me the shivers due to the fact that I felt like I was Eliza myself. To have to run with all your might to protect your child, to save a relationship and bond that you don’t want to get broken because of a slave trade is just a scary image that I could never imagine doing, but hands down would do it for my child someday if it came to it. Eliza’s motherly instincts are incredible! The way that Mrs. Shelby has raised her through Christian beliefs and values is overwhelmingly amazing to read through the adventures in Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Although Susan, mother of Emmeline, isn’t mentioned above, I found her to be a very relatable character. When bad things were about to happen in my family, I remember my mom coming in and telling us as a family when my grandma was ill, and she didn’t leave us out of her sight. If she saw us struggling she would be there to hug or to comfort us in hard times. In this case, Susan is struggling to let Emmeline go to a sick, dangerous man. In chapter 30 we see conversation that leads us to believe and shows us the motherly instincts that Susan shows towards Emmeline.

          “I haven’t any heart to sleep, Em; I can’t; it’s the last night we may be together!” “O, mother, don’t say so! Perhaps we shall get sold together,--who knows?” “If’t was anybody’s else case, I should say so, too Em,” said the woman; “but I’m feared of losin’ you that I don’t see anything but the danger (page 301).” When reading this section from page 301 it was obvious that Susan’s upbringing with her daily Bible readings and Christian ways that it was only mother-like for her to have horror of her child being torn away from her. Further down the page there is another quote that really underlines what Susan has taught Emmeline as her mother. “And, Emmeline, if we shouldn’t ever see each other again, after to-morrow,--if I’m sold way up on a plantation somewhere, and you somewhere else,--always remember how you’ve been brought up, and all Missis has told you; take your Bible with you, and your hymn-book; and if you’re faithful to the Lord, he’ll be faithful to you (page 301).” This shows how Susan feels helpless, but she wants to protect her from whatever may come her way. With trusting in the Lord, she believes that the faith that she has taught Emmeline will keep her safe.

One last quote I’d like to share was one from page 72 with Mrs. Bird and Mr. Bird. Here we learned a lot about these two characters and their ways that Stowe painted them to be.

          “Now, John, I don’t know anything about politics, but I can read my Bible; and there I see that I must feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the desolate; and that Bible I mean to follow (page 72).”

Here we don’t only get to see the power that Mrs. Bird holds towards her husband, the senator, but also her sense in motherhood. She, herself, represents what any mother should do for her child and to anyone else’s child who needs some kind of love and protection. In class we got a handout that we had to look deeper into these two characters. We made a list that shows Mrs. Bird being timid, sweet, blushing, and how she can’t handle cruelty of any kind. As we keep reading through the chapter Mr. Bird loosens up after hearing Eliza’s story and changes what end of the spectrum he lies on for the fugitive slave law.

As we learned in class, Uncle Tom’s Cabin was written to the readers to let them know that slavery wasn’t good, that it should be abolished. With learning about the genre, sentimental fiction, it helped with the understanding of where Harriet Beecher Stowe was coming from in a sense. It helped us better understand that of the emotions of many characters and why religious overtones were so important. With connecting this to motherhood, it shows the significance in the spiritual guidance and wisdom the mother figures show throughout this novel. It shows that those women hold power in a different way than what we are used to hearing when people say that the men hold the power. In this case, as mentioned on a previous blog post, that in sentimental fiction, there are different spheres in which the genders fall into. Women: Home, domestic, private; Men: public, commerce, government. This is definitely outlined throughout the book through many of the characters relationships to their spouses. One of the first contexts at which we see this unfolding is when Mr. and Mrs. Shelby have a conversation about Mr. Shelby’s business trade. 

Critical Commentary:

For this section of the book I chose to read Sentimental Power: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Politics of Literary History, pages 539-561.

Throughout the article Jane P. Tompkins really expresses her understanding on sentimental fiction and brings examples to support her claims that she makes. For example, she talks about motherhood and the way that Eva showed Miss Ophelia that it is okay to love a child who doesn’t know that she can be loved has she never had a mother, father, or friend to love her. Thompkins brings in text that is from the book to show this happening:

          “Topsy, you poor child,” she said, as she led her into her room, “don’t give up! I can love you, though I am not like that dear little child. I hope I’ve learnt something of the love of Christ from her. I can love you; I do, and I’ll try to help you to grow up a good Christian girl.”

                Miss Ophelia’s voice was more than her words, and more than that were the honest tears that fell down her face. From that hour, she acquired an influence over the mind of the destitute child that she never lost. (P. 273)

As the article continues, and near the end it talks about gender roles. Throughout Uncle Tom’s Cabin we can see many gender roles that are followed throughout the book like how women are into their religion and the right that all people should follow the religion of good Christians, while the men are strictly there for the work and labor part to become more successful in the world of business. Here is what some of the article points out;

          “Men provide the seed, but women bear and raise the children. Men provide the flour, but women bake the bread and get the breakfast. The removal of the male from the center to the periphery of the human sphere is the most radical component of traditional values: religion, motherhood, home, and family. Exactly what position men will occupy in the millennium is specified by a detail inserted casually into Stowe’s description of the Indiana kitchen. While the women and children are busy preparing breakfast, Simeon Halliday, the husband and father, stands “in his shirtsleeves before a little looking-glass in the corner, engaged in the anti-patriarchal activity of shaving” (page 128).

This signifies what Stowe was trying to show with the role of the genders back then in history. It showed that women did most of the work while men made themselves look good, minding their own business off somewhere away from where the work was being done.

With Jane P. Thompson’s interpretation and examples she leaves the reader, it helps more interpret the text a little bit by showing with motherhood that the things that they did in the story didn’t go unnoticed and the fact that sentimental fiction is most definitely underlined in this article helps me understand more in depth what it really is. When we learned about sentimental fiction in class it was very helpful to have the spheres in which the gender roles are categorized. Women were at home, the domestic, and were more private, while the men were public and were dealing with the business and government decisions. The article clarifies just that and goes to say more about what other authors in this century also have written through sentimental fiction.

I agree with the author’s interpretation because with sentimental fiction it has emotion, story of a heroine, and spiritual/religious overtone. With religion being the overtone through the females in this book it definitely gives motherhood a bigger picture. The fact that because Miss Ophelia (as quoted above) was able to take from Eva and be a motherly figure to Topsy and bring her up to be a good Christian girl makes the statement of motherhood and religion very powerful. In this book you can see that mothers or mother-like figures carry power in more ways than one. 

Reader Response:

When reading Goodreads.com there was definitely a mixture of emotions coming from the reviewers and the amount of stars that were given. The one star rating that I read was very harsh and dealt with the woman’s opinion itself. As nice as I can summarize it, she said that this book just didn’t fit her genre of reading and even with the significance in the book she believed that it was poorly written. The two star rating said that the book was also poorly written and that he would’ve preferred to hear from the oppressed person themselves verse reading about it through a racist text based book. Aside from the negative comments there were also many, many positive comments that range in the four star and five star spots. The one that was most relatable was this one: 

           “This book is one of the most moving, provocative pieces of literature I've ever read, and it's the first time that I can recall being moved to tears from a book. As long as I live, I will never be able to remove from my mind the vision of Eliza, panicked and frenzied, in the dead of the night with her baby boy in her arms, leaping across the frozen ice of the Ohio river to escape the trader her baby had been sold to. And if anyone wants to read a profound and well written narrative for the view of a Black Slave, look to George's monologue on page 127-128, where he is at the Inn with Mr. Wilson, disguised as a white upperclass gentlemen, and explaining to Mr. Wilson how he feels about his country.
I was involved in the book up to that point, but after that, this book owned me. This should be required reading of every American Citizen, and it's in my top five of the most important books I have ever read. For whatever the cause of the American people, it all comes down to "When in the course of human events..."

From Barnes and Noble the average for the reviews was a 3.9. These reviews it was easy to see a trend of many people’s thoughts and feelings towards the book. I noticed that on Barnes and Noble that there were only a few negative comments, but they were well overbalanced with positive feedback. There was lots of positivity and in every post that I read referred it to someone specific or to the general public or to a specific group. The one review that I thought was relatable on this review site was:

“I loved this book. I will admit that it wasn't an easy read. But I was determined to finish it anyway. It had so many valuable life lessons that I don't have the space or time to mention them all. I strongly recommend it for christians to read, because we do sometimes forget how to hold on to our faith, when times are bad. I laughed and cried, and I feel so much more enlightened now about faith and love. I hope I'll never forget the teachings in this book.”

On Amazon the average review was 4.5 stars. Throughout many of the reviews it was easily noted that this was a significant piece to learn more about slavery through someone else’s eyes. It is also noted that the significance to this story is moving on many different levels through the mind and body. Several people’s reviews warn others on why they should or shouldn’t read it. They also highlight what is happening with racial comments. Some cons that are mentioned are how hard it is to read it, her ways of having long and over descriptive sentences. One review that I thought was interesting to read was:

One of the best books I've read. In the beginning of the story it was not easy for me to 'step back in time' with the author, but by sticking with these characters there are great rewards. Not only have we forgotten the horrors that took place in our country during slavery, we are reminded what oppression did to generations of families whose roots were intertwined with slavery. What damage was done to body and soul during the infancy of our nation. Probably everyone should read the book Uncle Tom's Cabin. H.B. Stowe weaves a powerful story around compelling characters who are not forgotten easily and are interesting, meaningful and spiritual. Some are admirable, some are sweet and humorous, others are wretched. They all have an important role in this story, they all teach; providing many variables or shades of slavery's affect; as many shades as can be found in humankind's skin…The books Chistian vertue leads to the only redemptive conclusions during a time when hopelessness and treachery prevailed. This book is a national treasure, it was an important catalyst in our American history for awakening. Not just a presenting of facts and ideas, feeling and emotional sympathies but a book which brought to its audience a demand (not a request) for decision. and a quick decided action within each decent conscience. Thankfully, it's reader's took action and fought to see slavery abolished. If there was such a book for our time, to change hearts and minds to as decisive an action against oppression (evil disguised as acceptable practice), we would be extremely blessed. All the more reason for each generation to continue to revisit this classic. If we allow this book's core message to gnaw away at any crippling prejudices or sympathies which we overlook , or uncover the injustices that we currently practice or protect, Uncle Tom's Cabin will be a timeless tool in the hands of Providence.

When reading through the reviews on Uncle Tom’s Cabin I agreed with most of them but also disagreed with many from Goodreads. I agreed with a majority of the reviews because of my opinions and my takes on the book itself. I disagreed with many people who said not to read it and were negative due to the fact that I learned a lot through reading this book and would refer it to someone else. I do believe that it is important for many people to read this—I won’t say everyone because not everyone would be able to handle a book that goes so in depth with lots of purpose. 

Textual Background and Context:

The piece that I read for this portion of the project was Harriet Beecher Stowe: Letter to the Abolitionist Eliza Cabot Follen found on pages 444-446.

In this letter to Eliza, Harriet talks of the kind of woman she is and a little bit about her life. Her life consisted of her getting married at twenty-five and having children. She then talks about what her “wealth” really was—her twin girls. When he husband was on his death bed she said that she pictured what it would be like for a slave mother to have her “wealth” ripped away from her and that that was something she could never live with. She could never watch her seven children be taken away. Harriet then goes on to say what her part as a mother is: being in the kitchen and nursery. We then learn about her faithful friend who watched the children as Harriet became an authoress. With becoming an authoress is where she came out of her poverty life at which she thought she would never leave. The letter then goes on to tell us about why she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin and what it did to her. She said that writing this was a challenge and she looked to God to help her through it.

“To begin then, I am a little bit of a woman… (page 444).” This drew my attention because I have never heard someone talk in such a way that they call themselves ‘a little bit of a woman.’ This she used to describe her age and her appearance I believe because if you keep reading in her letter she then says, “But then I was abundantly furnished with wealth of another sort (page 444).” Here she talked about her children that God gave to her. This I could relate to because when my family and I would go to church on Sunday’s they would say, ‘Go enjoy your wealth today, as if they were just born today!’ This brought much joy and happiness to the rest of the day because we had more to celebrate—family.

“Having been poor all my life, and expecting to be poor to the end of it, the idea of making anything by a book, which I wrote just because I could not help it never occurred to me (page 445).” When reading this it was almost like Uncle Tom’s Cabin was her diary. She didn’t really expect anyone to read it, but now that it was out there, she now made a future for herself that she never pictured. This is very interesting and realistic because it happens even in our society today.

“I suffer exquisitely in writing these things (page 445).” This is when she explaining what is all in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. With her suffering it was almost as if when reading this book I could feel the other people suffering as well, which made some parts hard to read and a bit emotional.

This text adds to our understanding of Uncle Tom’s Cabin because of the way that she looked to God. As a mother herself, she put herself into the female characters and that’s why we see Christianity through most of the females in this story. Throughout the story I was cheering for the females because they made the choices to help the mothers and their children along the route of slavery through this novel of sentimental fiction that steers people into what Harriet Beecher Stowe wanted them to believe—slavery is a bad thing. 

Race and the American Novel Project: Part One

The theme I have picked to carryout this project is motherhood. Motherhood is defined as the state of being a mother. A mother is someone who gives birth to their child and brings the child up with care and affection. These are all definitions that you can find right on definition.com! I hope you enjoy my project.