“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
–from Through the Looking-Glass
Question: What method or reason is there in this madness (by which I mean, the strange word concoctions, cartoonish characters)? Does the poem make sense after all? What appeal does it make to children or adolescents?
Another charming, albeit cruel, nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll: "The Walrus and the Carpenter."
Here, too, a short commentary on nonsense lyrics by George Orwell: http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/essays/orwell_1.html
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Today, we look also at the theme of freedom/necessity (or captivity) in stories and poems, including stories by Guy de Maupassant and Charles Bukowski, focusing on boyhood, adolescence . . . growing up. All are stories of initiation. The point of view varies from first person to third, including third-person dramatic voice (dialogue!). Each protagonist is young and trying to figure things out from the little experience he or she has.
We'll build on what you wrote in last week's assigned response work, reproduced here:
Writing Assignment #2
Famous ballad here by Bob Dylan, written in 1962 and modeled in part on an old English ballad tradition, some 2500 of which were included in The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, published in the latter half of the 19th century. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/ahardrainsagonnafall.html
We'll build on what you wrote in last week's assigned response work, reproduced here:
Writing Assignment #2
In 250-350 words or more, explore the
theme of freedom, or its lack. You may
use any prose or poetry piece ( you are not limited, as I said in class, to
poetry) from the handouts given thus far, and may follow associated ideas,
whether of power, personal autonomy, independence, experimentation and
discovery and growth, peace, joy, or some opposite, as of obligatory work,
rules, discipline, confinement, deprivation.
Recall the range of responses given in class and President Roosevelt’s
Four Freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Freedom
of Worship, Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear.
----------------Summary Presentation Examples
In Charles Bukowski's “Son of Satan,” a semi-autobiographical account, the author tells how a group of boys alleviate boredom by torturing an erstwhile playmate, Simpson is a a quiet kid, different, the narrator says, but perhaps simply weaker than the others, “a loner. Probably lonely.” The narrator takes Simpson's offhand boast of having been with a girl under the narrator’s house as a challenge, though they know in all likelihood it was just a boast, “a lie.” After a brief trial, they hang him from his porch.
Before Simpson comes to serious bodily harm, the narrator cuts him down, and then the narrator goes for a long walk, feeling lost, “vacant” and somewhat remorseful. His shoes are thin and “hurt [his] feet.” When he says that the “nails started coming through the soles,” we might imagine the story of Christ, whose feet were nailed to a cross. When he gets home his father is waiting for him, and he wants answers. But the boy, perhaps unable to explain, and afraid, chooses instead to fight his angry father, who for all he knows, might kill him. In the end, the boy is hiding under the bed, hoping to elude the big man’s grasp, waiting.
The power and influence of parents and other authority figures is something we contend with throughout our lives as we come into our own. The story, to me, illustrates something of the cruelty, suffering, and longing for relief that mark a human life. The narrator is coming to terms with these experiences in, perhaps, the only way he knows. The fight between him and his father, their coming to blows, appears a crucial departure in his young life.
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"The White Heron," by Sarah Orne Jewett, portrays a young girl who, along with her grandmother, lives in the woods, remote from town, the wild things her closest companions. Her relative social isolation and peace are interrupted by the arrival of a young man in search of an elusive white heron.
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Homework: Poetry Essay #3, due week 6: Compose an essay of 600-700 words on a theme illustrated by one or more works presented thus far. Introduce the
text(s) by title and author and proceed to support a thesis point or claim
about the text(s). You may address poetry and/or prose selections but under a comprehensive thesis, each serving to develop and support
your main thesis. Include some description of the formal structure of the poem
and prose elements, for example, stanza form, line length and rhyme pattern,
use of repetition or anaphora, use of narrative structure, conspicuous sound
devices, imagery, figurative elements (such as metaphor, simile, symbol,
personification). Remember, that story (narrative) always
involves the perspective or point of view of the narrator (first person or
third person typically, as well as plot, setting, character development, tone
or mood, and central thematic concerns. Lyric poems may have little in the way
of narrative or story, though they always have a speaker and the speaker
provides perspective, along with whatever other voices may be presented in the
poem.
You may include brief examples of personal experience to show the ways in which the text mirrored your direct experience or made you think about the theme in personal terms.
Provide support and evidence for your claims in the form of textual summary and direct quotation, formatted in the MLA style, with line citations. Prose quotation do not to be cited unless you are borrowing another critic's comments. Avoid using quotations unnecessarily or dropping quotations in without explanation or clear purpose. With poetry integrate short quotations into the text with quotation marks and slashes to indicate line breaks. Quotations of 4 and more lines should be block formatted. Title your essay (do not use the poetry title in the essay title unless a subtitle is also present). Double‐space the lines.
You may include brief examples of personal experience to show the ways in which the text mirrored your direct experience or made you think about the theme in personal terms.
Provide support and evidence for your claims in the form of textual summary and direct quotation, formatted in the MLA style, with line citations. Prose quotation do not to be cited unless you are borrowing another critic's comments. Avoid using quotations unnecessarily or dropping quotations in without explanation or clear purpose. With poetry integrate short quotations into the text with quotation marks and slashes to indicate line breaks. Quotations of 4 and more lines should be block formatted. Title your essay (do not use the poetry title in the essay title unless a subtitle is also present). Double‐space the lines.
Bring
the printed copy to class week 6.
A Guide to the Study of Literature: Explore the pages and links at the site below, where you will find helpful introductory material and insightful essays and responses to the themes and topics readers have discovered in literature.
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