Rivers of Life

Through the poem "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", Langston Hughes fosters verisimilitude by using allusions and first person to convey the hardships of a universal experience of oppression. When Hughes uses the pronoun "I" he demonstrates that he embodies the troubles and experience of a variety of people. It is apparent that a single person could not have lived to experience such a plethora of problems but because of the conviction Hughes speaks with, one is likely to sympathize with what he says. Hughes speaks of the troubles faced at Euphrates at the "dawn" of civilization all the way to the anguishes of the slaves in New Orleans at "sunset". The vast time between these events helps convey the message that human issues have been a recurrent problem. Just like one wizens with experience, Hughes's "soul has grown deep" with the pain and knowledge of what he has had to witness. Hughes various examples of hardships are presented like events in a day. This represents how, even though many people have had to endure the struggle, it is still noteworthy. A person "bathed", "built", "looked" and "heard" at what has been occurring around him. Eventually he has "known" or understood what is happening. He comes to a deeper understand with himself. He understands what these experiences mean to him, they are like a "dusky" river clouding his "flow of blood". But, he acknowledges that this experience is common. He encourages the audience to take action, now that we have endured and understood the societal pains. 

Great Gastby: Rhetorical Precis

F. Scott Fitzgerald in the novel, The Great Gastby, proves that holding onto the past is not efficacious and causes the person to lose sight of the future. Fitzgerald supports his claim by contrasting the glamour of Gastby’s ostentatious life with the internal struggle he endures daily: his love for Daisy. The author’s purose is to use Gatsby’s life story to allow the audience to see the fallacies in Gatsby’s thoughts in order to convey, in Fitzgerald’s social commentary, that displays of oppulence masked the difficult times that people faced. The author writes in an informative melancholy tone for an international audience, who have an interest in the truth of the ‘20’s.

The Great Gatsby is a complex novel with much symbolism. A rhetorical precis is a useful tool to “ensure the reader {you} will be involved in the text”. A precis is a four sentcnce rhetorical summary that answers the questions how, why, what, and who. This specialized summary is used to summarize the piece in the most clear and concise way. For the Great Gatby the precis helps the reader understand Fitzgerald’s true motives. A first, prefunctory read may lead the reader the reader to believe that this is a tale of true love and the beauty of excessive wealth. Rather Fitzgerald uses irony, aphorisms and flashbacks to show that he does not approve of surplus wealth and Gatsby and Daisy’s love is far from “true”.

Simply A Cover?

The title illustration on Great Gatsby is noted as one of the greatest book covers in history. It is not only aesthetically pleasing but also conveys a deeper meaning. At a first glance it many seem like an ominous dark sky overbearing the bright lights of the city. But after further analysis many different interpretations arise, each one correct and elucidating.

In the dark blue section of the illustration- that covers 90% of the picture- two large eyes are seen. The novel itself is a social commentary of the 1920's. The eyes are bright and golden representing the opulence and excess of the time. But everything comes at a cost and that can be seen if one looks deep into the eyes debuted on the cover. In each eye is a naked lady reclining. This represents the many social issues American's were facing. Adultery was just one example but along with the others caused much distress to society. The woman in the left eye appears to be in motion, representing the changing relationships, and this causes the person to cry. A clear teardrop leaks from on eye. The turquoise color is distinct from the rest of the image as it represents the raw pain and emotions that people had to deal with. Whisker-like projections come off from different sides of the face. The fluidity and length of the lines make the face seem never ending and all knowing. The omniscient face then comes to represent a God like figure who watches upon the city below. This also puts the size of the face into perspective. But the bright red lips and three shinning beads on the side of the head make the face more human like. It represents the innate desire of humans to want to openly display their wealth. And so even the person watching the strife of others is likely to want to establish his/her position in other peoples eyes. Though the face recognizes the sadness in what he/she sees, he/she is not willing to change her/himself. Below the face is a bright city. No single part of the city is discernible because the flashes of color blend together. The juxtaposition of the colors represents the happiness, joy, and carefree nature the society wishes to take. But all the light seems insignificant in comparison to the sadness seen above. And so the cover reveals the true sentiments of the 1920s: deep grief and turmoil masked behind the ostentatious glamour of life.

Helping or Harming?

In the poem "The History Teacher",  Billy Collins uses irony to explore how protecting his students innocence is a futile effort.  The protagonist in the poem tries to hide the evil of the world by understating epochal events in history. He does this to such an extent that the events no longer hold even remnants of their actual significance. For example, he transforms a 3.4 million year period of industrial change- the Stone Age- to a mere "driveway" in history. He replaces the atom bomb dropped on Japan by Enola Gay with an atom. By doing this, he is leading his students to believe in an utopian view of the past; this, however, is far from accurate. The teacher's sincere efforts are juxtaposed by the students bullying each other on the playground outside the classroom. The students actions represent that they already understand what the teacher is trying to hide. The idea of leaving the classroom for the playground represents the contrast between a "controlled environment" (the classroom) and "real world" (playground).  And so it is apparent that children, even if they are sheltered from evil in their youth, still have the capacity to perpetrate evil. The better teacher would not hide or "sugar coat" the past. Rather he would teach the students the horrors of the past and explain the horrible consequences it had on the people. This awakening, even at a young age, will serve to show the children to be responsible for their actions. That is the most historically accurate history lesson.

But it is clear that the teacher is still teaching his students. Though it may not be factual history he still provides his students with insight into the past. Many of his students may never have heard about the Spanish Inquisition or the Boer War, but when he references them in his teachings it arouses his students interest. He follow these references with far-fetched depictions that would inevitably lead his students to question the validity. This innovative style allows students to question what they don't understand and further supplement their learning. For example, when we were young our parents would tell us about the alleged tooth fairy that would replace our teeth with money. Personally, I was at an age when I began to question this story. I remember placing my tooth under my pillow and willing myself not to fall asleep. I had a conviction that I would catch the "fairy" and disprove the lie my parents were telling me. At a young age children are able to distinguish fantasy from reality. Many children are this way: it is human nature to want to discover the truth. So before completely rejecting the history teacher's methods, we must take time to appreciate the valuable life lesson he is teaching his students.

Change? Change.

In todays ever-changing world it is imperative that linguistic rules be altered to remain culturally relevant. 

Change is "not always a bad thing". Punctuation, like culture, has changed over time (Hitchings). It is human nature to experiment with his/her boundaries. People have suggested various punctuation marks that they believe would be beneficial to the language, but as these suggestions (pilcrow and hedera) have been tested they either remain with the language or gradually disappear. As today’s society moves towards a greater emphasis on expressing oneself, the rules of punctuation hinder this "possibility" (Dickinson). Each mark of punctuation carries much weight, and so it should be used with caution. When people use punctuation marks according to convention, a meaning -the author did not intend- could be conveyed (Thomas). If people were to be given the liberty to use punctuation marks more liberally, then people would have the ability to delve deeper into their own thoughts and convey their message more precisely. In addition, there is greater emphasis on conveying ones message concisely.  The number of people who use Twitter to convey their message is growing rapidly. People who are able to phrase their words succintly are called “poets” according to Cosco (Cosco).  The limitation on the number of characters has allowed people to experiment with new ways of using punctuation. The language we speak has changed before, and now we are witnessing another revolution. As technology advances and society adapts, language in itself will inexorably change. Both grammar and punctuation will have to keep pace with this evolution. Soon words like "gr8", much to the chagrin of the purists, will become mainstream (Hitchings). The rules of punctuation are- and should- change to fit societies cultural norms.

Feminism is Equality

The Scarlet Letter is an effective means of not only showing the fallacies of Puritanical beliefs, but also highlighting the stark inequalities women face. Hester Prynne is made to bear the brunt of a crime she and Dimmesdale committed together. As a woman, Hester is seen as a disgrace to her community. She is ostracized and made to wear a letter "A" to symbolize her transgressions. Dimmesdale on the other hand is able to keep the secret to himself, until he wishes to confess. Hester is forced to endure her community's stares, gossip, and judgement.

As we discussed in class, there exists double standard for men and women. And as the Deborah Tanner states, it is rooted in our quotidian actions
such as, the way we speak. For example, many men believe they are acting chivalrous when they say "ladies first";rather, a different message is conveyed. This statement is antiquated. This statement portrays that women are weak, and that they need the support of their male counterparts. Yes, this may have helped many women when the Titanic was sinking, but in today's society it is time each individual is able to fend for themselves. Women have shown others that they are fully capable of managing their own lives.

Despite all the advancements in women's rights, women, as Lily Myers says, "are still forced to grow in" while "men grow out". In her original piece for Button Poetry, Lily comments on now she witnessed her mother shrink to accommodate for her father's "growing" ego. Tanner, too, agrees with this. In her prose, The Unmarked Woman, she states that she could not concentrate on the topic of discussion at her meeting because she was too consumed in deciding where to have another slice of pizza. This is a dilemma that many women today can relate too. If they take more food people around them will judge them for being greedy, but if they don't eat, then people will wonder why not. On the other hand, the man sitting beside the woman will likely be eating heartily and talking away.

This inequality for women is a problem that needs to be addressed and resolved right away. Men and women together need to make a conscious effort to allocate space for women to grow. Women are the rightful counterpart to men, and so should not be treated any other way.

Watch Lily Myer's piece here, and reflect on what she says.

Is the Truth Always the Best?

When Robert Chillingsworth first spoke with Hester, he made her promise to never reveal his true identity. Hester, feeling indebted to her husband because she cheated on him, agreed to his terms. But as time goes by and Hester sees Dimmesdale suffer, she wonder if it would be best to tell him Chillingsworth's secret.  Hester ponders over whether the truth will help the situation or it would hurt it. 

People are told, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all” many times while growing up. This saying highlights one of the greatest fallacies in human nature; by keeping something left unsaid it makes it nonexistent. For example, when someone sees their friend at school wearing a new outfit she instinctively compliments her friend- regardless of how the outfit truly looks. This approach may again you a couple of brownie points with your friend at first, but in the end it truly hurts her. By paying her a compliment you have boosted her self-esteem and given a false sense of security. But, if you are feeling especially honest one day, you can tell your friend how you truly feel about the outfit. The truth can have very negative consequences. Your comment could do the opposite, it could permanently ruin her self-esteem.

Hester’s dilemma is not the same, but it is similar. By keeping Chillingsworth’s secret – inadvertently lying- she gives Dimmesdale a false sense of confidence that Hester is trustworthy. On the other hand, if she does tell Dimmesdale Chillingsworth’s secret she risks hurting a person and risks permanently losing a relationship. As we near the climax of the story it is interesting to see what Hester will do.