Weekly Post #3 - The Word Picture

In this picture, an almost ghostly specter carries the body of a young woman down a beach on what seems to be a path running along side the ocean. On one side is the ocean, with a barrier of stones and jagged branches, the other the same. It is difficult to determine whether or not the young woman is alive, but the specter carries her with care, down the otherwise treacherous path. Though there are shadows of both, it is hard to tell what is truly making the shadow, since the specter does not appear to be flesh and blood, giving it a mysterious quality.

This picture symbolizes the well known poem, "Footprints in the Sand". This poem is apparently for many years, was said to be by "Author Anonymous". It took years before the author, Mary Stevenson (Zangare), was able too, but do to her discovering a handwritten copy of the poem she had written, she was awarded the copyright, and eventually the handwritten copy was authenticated. Though the poem is not on the picture, the poem speaks of a man who had a dream about walking beside God on a beach, during his walk he saw his life flash before his eyes, and saw a single pair during his times of trial and hardship. He asked God about this, thinking he had been alone during these times, God told him that these were the times that He Himself carried him, not letting him be alone to carry these troubles.
This poem is generally thought of as a poem, though the format is more of a conversation format. In formalism, this poem would be looked at from all angles, including the relationship between the author and God. Though this theory itself could be argued, since formalism goes for a more formal approach rather than a more informal approach, like structuralism does. With structuralism, this poem would be looked at as the close relationship between God  and the author, and the author wondering why they feel that they are alone in the worst parts of their lives, when in fact, God tells them that He is there the entire time and carries them in His arms through that period of struggle.

Analysis #1 - Burke on the Sublime and the Beautiful

"Whatever is fitted in any sort to excite the ideas of pain, and danger, that is to say, whatever is in any sort terrible, or is conversant about terrible objects, or operates in a manner analogous to terror, is a source of sublime; that is, it is productive of the strongest emotion which the mind is capable of feeling" (p. 459, Burke).
This directly says what sublime or sublimity is, it doesn't necessarily need to be a feeling or pain or danger, or something terrible. It can be something wonderful that sends a shiver down you spine and makes you feel the same sensation over and over again ever time you hear it, feel it, taste it, with any of your senses.
"I say the strongest emotion, because I am satisfied the ideas of pain are much more powerful than those which enter on the part of pleasure. Without all doubt, the torments which we may be made to suffer, are much greater in their effect on the body and mind, than any pleasures which the most learned voluptuary could suggest, or than the liveliest imagination, and the most sound and exquisitely sensible body could enjoy" (p. 459, Burke).
This quite states that pain is the strongest emotion, but there can be a thin line between pain and pleasure, as there is between love and hate. All people have their own personal ideas as to what pleasure or pain, love or hate, are. And many of them will say there is a very, very fine line between all of them, but that they are all connected.
Ever since I first saw the film 'Independence Day', Bill Pullman's speech in the final act of the film has always given me goose bumps up my arms and gives me that shivery feeling all over. Though this speech isn't necessarily pleasing to the eye, but is to the ear, which gives more of a sensation than if you simply read the speech. It is in Pullman's voice that gives the sensation that can give you goosebumps, not necessarily the words themselves. This may not be the way it comes across to everyone, but to some, this speech is the one thing I can see that comes into relation with Burke's ideas on the sublime and beautiful. Though it does work with his idea that is does impact the senses through hearing, but not by sight.
This goes back to what I said previously about a picture being worth a thousand words, but doesn't necessarily mean that the words that are used to describe it are set in stone, but can be whatever words the viewer decides to describe it.
During his speech, Pullman talks about how everyone all over the world are no longer separate, but that that day, Independence Day in America, is now a world wide holiday, the day the world says that they will not go down without a fight and that those that endanger them will regret they ever came to Earth.
It's funny, as I write this analysis, I feel the goose bumps surfacing, my mind and body remembering the last time I heard the speech. Maybe when I am done writing this I'll go watch it again.

Works Cited
Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.

Weekly Post #2 - Kevin O'Neill Lecture

This lecture was informative, but the set up of the whole thing was confusing. At first I felt that it was just a different version of our class, but found out later that in fact that anyone that wanted to come could. Also I was told that were supposed to, but didn't have to come back to our other classroom afterwards. This troubled me.
Last summer I got to hang out in Poland with another class I had taken about the history of Poland and the Holocaust, along with Dr. O'Neill. This adventure was fun and enlightening about this horrible, tragic event that shaped so many lives into something different than those people ever thought it would become.
The main part of the lecture was difficult to follow in such a large group, since I also got stuck in the back on the far side of the room. Thus, I did not get to enjoy the lecture as much I would have liked.

Weekly Post #1 - Classical Literary Theory - Plato's Allegory of the Cave

Blogs are not exactly my cup of tea to write, but once I get going I don't think I'll stop until the end of the semester.
Plato talks about in his 'Allegory of the Cave', that the world is perhaps not what we see in front of us, but what we see is in fact just shadows and the brief murmurs of what is occuring and not what things really sound like. I always liked this one, but didn't always delve deep into it, feeling a sense of repetition. It comes across sort of like, 'a picture is worth a thousand words', but it depends on what words you use to describe the picture. Are the people in it old or young, men or women? This idea can go into other theories as well. Plato though is talking about imitation of things around us and whether or not we really know if something is real. Imitation is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery and it isn't always easy to tell what is the original and what is the fake. And when it comes to naming an object say an orange, what if some one else calls it a tomato? Who is wrong and who is right at calling it one of these names? The prisoners in the cave might decide on different names, rather than agreeing on one, like today how blue is blue, green is green, an apple is an apple. But in today's society, many things have a set name and can't be changed except in our own heads.
During the Emperor Qin (221 - 206 B.C.) in China, he took what was in the written language of the country, several "characters" that were for things like horse and cat, and placed single characters for each one, so that each would have one "name" rather than several. This is sort of Plato's idea in his allegory put into action, single objects that have several names, but in Qin's case, he forced upon China the idea to give several things single names rather than several, giving him more control of his people.
Plato states in Book VII of Republic: "...the eyes can become confused in two different ways, as a result of two different sets of circumstances: it can happen in the transition from light to darkness, and also in the transition from darkness to light. If he [the slave] took the same facts into consideration, when he also noticed someone's mind in such a state of confusion that it was incapable of making anything out, his reaction wouldn't be unthinking ridicule. Instead, he'd try to find out whether this person's mind was returning from a mode of existence which involves greater lucidity..." (Plato's Republic, pg. 63-64).
For many years, American military forces have attempted to push democracy on countries that do not have democratic forms of government. Those that attempt to push it on them, do not realize that those that they are pushing it on have to be open to the idea, and can't just cram it down their throats. These people who have lived in socialist, imperialist and other forms of government, are not mentally, morally or even maybe spiritually prepared to take in a new form of government. When the freed slave returns to the cave and shares his adventures with his comrades, they are unwilling to accept the fact that what he saw outside the cave is real, unable to go see it for themselves, or unwilling to accept that such things exist.

Works Cited
Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. New York: Norton, 2001. Print.

Introduction

Theory is but a way that we as humans attempt to understand what is occurring within us and around us throughout our lives. Plato tells us of how that which exists around us, trees, birds, the sun itself, may not be real but just a perspective of what we believe to be real. In the "Allegory of the Cave", he tells this theory in more detail, having us try to decide whether the shadow or the object that the shadow is of is real. With Freud, he attempts to explain how from infants into adults, our behavior has reasons that are attached to how we see our parents, ourselves and others. Both these ideas are dealt with by many other theorists that are trying to understand the human condition, why we do certain things and why we react the way we do to things that scare us, make us mad, make us laugh, and as to what is real and what isn’t in the world around us.

This semester, I myself will learn more about this subject and post what I have learned personally and in class on this blog.

I see theory as trying to figure out our own idiosyncrasies and more about the world around us. Theorists tend to go over the same subjects with rather little change, attempting to find something new. On some points, they may find new ground to walk on, others they are just trampling down further the ground others have gone over before. Not all their theories cover every person as an individual, but try to cover humans as a whole. Not every description they come up with works for everyone.

For as long as anyone can recall, humans have sought out the answers to their existence and that is where theory mainly comes from: the need to understand why people react and act as they do.