Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Different Pages for Different Sages?!

Okay, let's be honest with one another.  I'm just going to get it right out there in the open:

I DO NOT LIKE EMILY DICKINSON!

I guess I should clarify my statement.  Of course, I've never actually met the woman.  She was born in 1830 and died in 1886 - a little before my time {by, like, 100 years}!

But I have met her work, and it is not for me.

Before you all get your virtual pitchforks out, let me first state that I am in no way saying that Dickinson wasn't a good writer.  She obviously knew how to write poetry.  Her body of work has endured for over a century.  There is certainly talent behind something with that much staying power.  I am capable of appreciating that, as well as her zealous use of my favorite literary device: the metaphor!

What I don't appreciate, though, is her free form, simple language, death-y {No, it isn't a real word - But it is soooo necessary here!} poetry.  I crave the strict forms, predictable meters, and ridiculous verbosity of old, old-school poems.  I actually prefer a poem that seems really difficult to understand, but is actually discussing a simple topic VS. Dickinson's seems-really-simple-to-understand-but-is-actually-an-uber-complex-concept!  But I digress...

I will give Emily this, though.  People the world over seem to adore her.  Some of them love her for the very reasons I just told you that I hate her.

To prove this point, I made a little internet trip over to faithful Pinterest and typed in "Emily Dickinson."  You know what I got in return?  A seemingly endless amount of results in the form of pictures, quotes, books, and even tattoo ideas!  {Really, people?  Dickinson forever etched into your skin?  MEH!}

I guess what I'm getting at is that every reader loves or hates something different...  And that's okay!

You know:

...  Different books for different cooks?!
...  Different reads for different breeds?!

Maybe not.

{READ ON anyhow!}


Thursday, November 15, 2012

Modern-day Scarlet Letters

Last time I checked in here, I shared a cross-section of Classic Meets Modern {literature style}.  And today, I've got another example of the ties between something that might seem archaic {like, I don't know, a story from 1850} and something else that is completely here and now.

My entire ENGL222 class is currently immersed in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

This classic bit of literature focuses on Hester Prynne, who is sentenced to wear the book's namesake embroidered on her clothing for the remainder of her days.  Her crime?  Adultery - thus "the scarlet letter" is actually an "A".  The book is set in puritanical Boston during the mid-1600s.

Her very public and degrading punishment instantly made me think of these:


{This 12-year-old girl's mother happened
to catch an online photo of her with a Vodka bottle.
The consequence was swift and public.
The picture above was posted on
her Facebook page for all to see...}



{The trend is even catching on with pet owners...
This one always makes me giggle!}
---
The modern-day version of the scarlet letter may not entail walking through the center of town and standing on a scaffold as it did in Hawthorne's pivotal work.  It may have gotten a makeover and been upgraded to work even virtually, but it is nevertheless making a reemergence.

Although the two examples above were chosen by "parents," there have been actual legal cases where a judge issued the convicted to wear similar signs in a public area.

I wonder what Hester {and her literary creator} would think of this...  I wonder what you think of it, too!

Monday, November 12, 2012

POE-tic Humor in the Modern Age


<----  I saw this little treasure on Facebook today!  I so love finding that people out there still know how to read...

In case any of you readers - ummm...  do people actually read this?! - are unfamiliar with elements of this meme:

The original "99 Problems" is a popular rap song by superstar Jay-Z.  Its lyrics are not academia- or child-appropriate, but suffice it to say that the song's central message is that getting a girl is not one of the guy's 99 problems.

This 'geek-chic' parody of the song refers to Edgar Allan Poe's The Cast of Amontillado.  In keeping with his eerily entertaining and darkly provocative standards, Poe's Montresor exacts revenge on his peer, Fortunato, by luring him down into the wine cellar and catacombs with the promise of a very fine and rare alcohol called Amontillado.  Once far below the ground, Montresor  captures Fortunato - whose Italian name equates to "lucky" {Haha, Poe!  You devil!} - by chaining him to a cellar wall and then immuring him, thus sentencing him to death by starvation and dehydration. Although Montresor is the criminal here, Fortunato's indulgent overuse of alcohol is what dooms him.

{Side note here:  Yes, Poe was a little crazy...  maybe more than a little...}

The Cast of Amontillado could certainly be considered creepy, but it's also an interesting read.  As usual, Poe's writing captivates readers with its delectably dark descriptions while not completely answering their questions.  {I both hate and love this quality of Poe's stories.}

Anyhow, back to the picture:  Sometimes Facebook makes me cringe.  There is plenty of internet drivel {Uh-oh!  Is this nonsense, too?!} that showcases all the less-intelligent ideas brought forth from humanity.  But every now and then, I come across something that requires a little knowledge and that ever-welcome wryness that can be rare these days.

Good literature is timeless.  Good humor is, too.  Today's post is really all about the way that those two things sometimes come together.  There are a lot of ways this might happen, but today it occurred when Jay-Z was introduced to Poe!  A delightful encounter indeed...


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Women Warriors in Literature

One of our featured authors in our Anti-Transcendalists Pod was feminist Fanny Fern.

I had never heard of or read anything by Fern - whose real name was Sarah Willis Parton - before this class.

I was quickly caught-up in her rebellious and outspoken manner as I read through the selections.
As a woman that is often annoyed with sexist attitudes, I found myself feeling elated at Fern’s sharp wit and observations while feeling saddened that these experiences and examples were an actuality for women in Fern’s time.

Fern utilizes both schools of thought to present full information on the times.  For her to dispute common cultural ideas, she needed to illustrate the ridiculousness of popular opinion.  Just when you think she’s re-affirming male superiority, she shows her true colors by blasting men with parody or satire!  

Fern’s daring and ferocious approach would have sent men into seizures, but women of her ilk, would have been inspired and further encouraged...  Or at least, I would have been!

{Meanwhile...}

My ENGL112 class just reviewed another feminist writer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman.

Again, I had never even heard her name.  Like Fern, Gilman set out to disrupt the placid lake of gender inequality.  Her "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a searing examination of gender roles and perspective on mental health during in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

I appreciate how much of a journey the selection takes you on.  Not only does Gilman accurately describe the repression of women, but she also does a brilliant job of demonstrating the overwhelming suffocation of depression and mental illness.  The piece builds beautifully until it crescendos like a concerto.  It gains in intensity.  While I finished reading it, I felt tired.

Gilman's use of the wallpaper to reflect the decline of her mental state is genius.  I love the way she describes its pattern, color, and even smell.  Like depression, one can easily be consumed with trying to make heads or tails of something that others may view as simple.  I appreciate the way the wallpaper becomes this rolling machine that carries the story along into frightening oblivion.

The husband in the story makes me furious.  The lines where Gilman describes how much he loves and cares for her make me want to scream!  I hate how condescending he is.  I hate how he refuses to acknowledge the very reality of her depression and helplessness.  I know this was the prevailing view of mental illness in those times (and even up until a few decades ago).  The husband's existence and attitude are maddeningly accurate for Gilman's time.

Likewise, I find John's sister to be irritating as well.  Gilman's reference to the fact that the sister is a "perfect and enthusiast housekeeper, and hopes for no better profession" and that she "thinks it is the writing" that has sickened Gilman makes me hate her even more.  As if it wasn't bad enough that women needed to fight men for their advancement, it is much worse to need to fight those of your own gender.  The repression of women by other women is a very real thing, even now.  It never fails to incite fury in me.

{What I'm Getting At...}

Both of these authors were pioneers in their time.

Women of their day were coached to be only good wives and mothers.  They should serve their husbands without expecting anything in return, cook lavish dinners but eat theirs cold if necessary, maintain the house impeccably while raising intelligent, "normal," but quiet children, and still be groomed and dressed in a manner that pleased their husband.  {And no, I'm not saying there is anything wrong with a woman today that continues these goals; however, there IS something wrong with an entire culture that tells women they are incapable of anything else.}  

At great personal costs, Fern and Gilman utilized their writing as a means to inspire women to respect themselves even if no one else did.  Their ideas and words proclaimed that there could be more for any woman who wanted it.  Not only did F & G refuse to submit to cultural norms, they essentially called for a revolution.

I'm sure that there were times when they wondered whether anything would ever change.  I'm sure name-calling, harassment, and hate mail were endured.  But I think they both knew the cause was greater than just their discomfort.

I wish I knew more "women warriors".  I haven't been this worked up in a long time!  "Write" on!  ;)