ENG 2150 Gimme Shelter: the spaces we live in

The American’T Dream

This lengthy, but overall very powerful spoken word speech represents the ‘stream of consciousness’ of Americans across the country. It is a satire on the rags to riches notion that is commonly associated with the American Dream and effectively persuades the listeners into thinking on the speaker’s train of thought. His clever use of word association and word play create an easily understandable speech which listeners can tune into with little difficulty. He accurately dissects the mindset of many Americans and immigrants who come to America seeking the various opportunities available. This speech could be an example of James’ idea of substantive and transitive states of mind; the word play building as a transition to the punchlines, the substantive state. He establishes his individual thoughts and proceeds to bring the listeners into his ‘stream of consciousness’. He breaks the idea of my thought is mine and your thought is yours, combining the two into a single flow. Just like thought, his speech is logically continuous and rational in its entirety.

After three long hours, your thighs are burning, your throat is parched, your shirt is drenched with sweat but you finally made it.  You completed the uphill trek and now, as you stand on the very top of the mountain you look down to the most breathtaking, astonishing view you’ve ever witnessed in your entire life.  The waterfalls, the lush greenery, and the sun kissing the top of the hills that surround you.  The beautiful crisp wind blows across your face and instantaneously your thighs seem at ease, your throat is a little less dry and the wind cools the sweat that drips down your back.

You look down to the abyss of scenery, you look up to the clouds, you look to your right and then to your left and for a split second you question the reality of the presence that surrounds you.  That very view at the top of the mountain is direct representation of the type of consciousness that William James refers to.  Consciousness, so personal and unique to everyone individually, is as personal and unique as that very view from the top.  To me, the view from the top of the mountain is my personal slice of heaven.  Consciousness will never be experienced the same exact way by two people and one’s thoughts only belongs to themselves the same way how that view only belongs me to.  You and I can both be standing on the very same mountain at the very same time and experience two completely different experiences.  You can be complaining about the dirt under your fingernails and the ache in you lower back while I breathe in and digest the world that surrounds me.

Numerous emotions run wildly through my head as I stand and admire the world’s natural beauty while wishing I never have to leave.  This view represents our way of being conscious of several different things all at one time.  As I stand on the top of the mountain and ponder about life, where it has taken me and where I plan to go, I am unaware of all the conscious feelings and senses that engulf not only my head but my body as well.

The “Stream of Consciousness” as we call it is, in my own words, an infinite void of information. This information that we accumulate over our individual lifetimes is what spawns our consciousness. Consciousness is the amalgamation of all you know. And that is the primary reason I chose to utilize this image as a perfect representation of the “Stream of Consciousness”. This loosely formed mass of information is what resides in our brains at all times. In specific moments we have different pieces of information take the foreground of our consciousness, and those becomes our primary thoughts in those specific moments. I believe the picture portrays this notion as well, with the different objects being thrust forwards above this void of information.

 When I first read A stream of consciousness, I was puzzled as to what the meaning of the reading was about. Even now I don’t believe i grasp the entire concept 100%, but my interpretation of this would be with the picture shown above. It is water, otherwise known as H2O in chemistry terms. It serves as the life for this planet just as the blood circulating our body serves as life for us. I feel water represents consciousness because if its shape. Water does not have a shape unless it is contained, similar to consciousness, it has not shape or form unless molded by the person its apart of.

According to James ” Every State tends to be part of a personal consciousness, Within each personal consciousness states are always changing, Each personal Consciousness is sensibly continuous, it is interested in some parts of its object to the exclusion of others. Water hold true to all these attributes described by James. It is dependent on the personality and experiences of the person. Water is also always continuously flowing on this planet to continue the life cycle, just like consciousness is continuous. Depending on the direction water is traveling, it is also interested in certain areas with the exclusion of others.  Water represents the Stream of consciousness as depicted by James.

In the image “Two Face Optical Illusion,” we can look at it in two different perspectives. It can be seen as an image of either two faces or simply a vase. Visual images are processed and created through our eyes and mind. Each person translate this optical illusion differently as they respond and perceive it in different order. Our first responses to the picture change as we analyze the picture closer and discover the other hidden message in the picture. This is an example of our stream of consciousness, a never ending system where our thoughts are continuously starting new ones.

When we examine the image quickly with our eyes, we create first impressions, but as we slowly look closer into the image, we form thoughts. The transition from looking at the image simply to complexly shows how our thoughts are changing by having our thoughts built on one another. For example, a person’s first impression of the image as a black and white blob change into an image of a vase through his or her chain of constant thoughts. This demonstrates how the stream of consciousness move from point A to point B. When we examine the picture deeply, our stream of consciousness flows constantly, resulting in finding out there are two different definition in one image which give us the element of surprise. This image can also help prove that two people’s stream of consciousness of this image can happen in different order creating different feelings. A person can see “Two Face Optical Illusion” as an image of  two faces and then a vase while another person can see the vase first then the two faces. Although their feelings differ, their thoughts are constantly moving like a stream.

When I was first prompted with the assignment to bring in something that represents the stream of consciousness, I was stumped! After reading and researching about the stream of conscious, I found that stream of consciousness is something gives the person a creative impression, an observation, and a reflection of thought. A lot of things came into mind but the one that stood out was this painting that is commonly seen in the N and Q trains of New York City. This came into my mind representing what I think is the stream of consciousness, because I always think about how much time of my life is used to commute on the NYC MTA. A large majority of the time there is absolutely nothing to do except listen to the music, play that new game you downloaded on your phone, take a nap or stare around and think about what you see on the train. I always take the Q train, so I almost always see this painting. This painting in short is basically all the different types of everyday commuters in NYC. It shows the tourists wearing the iconic “I heart NY” shirt looking for directions on the map, the many different types of ethnicity, a woman doing her makeup, performers/actors, an old Jewish rabbi, an old Asian lady with bags of groceries, a musical artist with a large instrument, a hipster, a business man, a couple kissing, and a mom with her kids misbehaving.  I remember the first time seeing this painting and it brought some chuckles to me because it is so true and relevant to my life. This is really what I see almost every day I take the train; and I truly believe this painting depicts the meaning of NY, NYC. The melting pot of many different diversity and different people is the heart of NY. I also think this what people who live in NYC that takes the train almost every day, perceive the many different people they encounter on the train, but someone may look at this painting and feel totally indifferent.

This picture shows many principles of what reminds me of the stream of consciousness. Our minds are never stagnate and so many people have seen or came across this picture before. These people all interpret this picture differently to their own personal experiences on the train. Plus there are so many different people and actions happening at once in the picture, it’s hard to focus on just one part of the picture; which can bring many different thoughts and feelings about this picture.

Personally “The Stream of Consciousness” told us clearly that our feelings and emotions changed the way we perceive things.  The images above I believe help give some visual representation of what William James’s might’ve meant.  Both images show what is going on in the heads of two different people.  These two people could be looking at the same thing, and perceive completely differently. The first image shows a mass amount of pictures and words jumbled together, all coming from the single brain of a person, shown in the bottom middle.  It also shows more darkness, confusion and a continuous, non-stop flow.  The second image also helps understand James’s idea but in a different manner.  The seconds shows confusion as well but holds a clear, clutter of images, with more detail.  The comparison of these two images can help illustrate the thoughts of two people, both going through life.  Their feelings alter their perception of situations and objects therefore leading them to have completely different beliefs, thoughts, and images in their heads.

Both images can also accurately represent James’s idea that consciousness is complex.  Clearly the two drawings show different interpretations of one’s thoughts, ideas and feelings.  However what they do not represent is the idea the consciousness is better thought of as a stream.  The idea that consciousness is best perceived as a stream suggests change and a difference in one’s view of the world.  Although the first suggests the idea of continuity with its never-ending images that seem to be connected by a single line, there’s no way of telling if there is change.  We are only given the feelings and thoughts of the people now, at that moment.  We can assume that their emotions will change as they go through life but again there’s no single suggestion that indicates such development.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”   -Mark Twain

The first part of the quote addresses the way William James defines the concept of time in “The Stream of Conciseness.” With time the way we view objects, people, situations, experiences, changes. One day you might hate (insert a object) but the next day you might love it. With time our thoughts shift, with each new experience our views evolve and with each day we grow as a person so its natural that our analysis advances and develops.

The second part of the quote in my opinion holds a lot of meaning and will signify something different to each person. The general idea of the quote will be similar for most but the way you apply it to your dreams, experiences, goals will be unique as well as personalized and that’s what makes it beautiful. This relates to “The Stream of Conciseness” because the interpretation of the quote will differ for each reader just like anything else in life. One person might love the Opera, someone else might like it, and another might hate it! This quote goes beyond the concept of time, and the act of sailing a boat, you have to analyze what the quote means to you, applies to your life, and how it makes you FEEL. To me it’s about the endless possibilities that await if one becomes open to the thought of adventure.

What does this quote make you feel?

Britanick’s A Monologue for Thee – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbVylFKfisU

“If music be the food of love, play on” these are the first words in this production of BritANick’s A Monolouge for Thee, a video about a man named Brian who’s trying to recall the final lines from Orsino’s monolouge in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. While trying this, his friend Nick tries to help him remember by spouting anything that comes to his mind. This sketch video represents the the stream of consciousness through the thought process of Nick’s mind. Nick’s stream of thought is  complex and annoying. Brian gets more and more annoyed with Nick’s random and incorrect answers that ultimately distract Brian from figuring out the  real last lines of the monologue .Nick’s thought process goes from different  non-relatable topics like Dr. Suess’s Green Egg’s and Ham, an Imitation of Tennessee William, and Brian’s Ex-Girlfriends suicide note. Nick’s stream of conscious is not only random but rarely connected as in none of the solutions make any sense just like the Stream of Consciousness. His ridiculous ideas are so consistently ridiculous which makes his thought process/stream of consciousness is unique. Eventually Nick’s thought process reach the final quote and they together rehearse the line “Even in a minute: so full of shapes is fancy that it alone is high fantastical.” this final line seems so far from the original quoting of Twelfth Night that they seem like they aren’t even part of the same quote. This video shows represents the Stream of Consciousness because two different experiences being unique bc they encounter the world though different  feelings and different emotions. The stream of conciseness doesn’t relate perfectly to this though this video as the its really only the thought process of Nick’s mind and not Brian as Brian doesn’t really think out loud just comment on Nick’s thinking.

“A quarter after what an unearthly hour I suppose theyre just getting up in China now combing out their pigtails for the day well soon have the nuns ringing the angelus theyve nobody coming in to spoil their sleep except an odd priest or two for his night office or the alarmlock next door at cockshout clattering the brain out of itself let me see if I can doze off 1 2 3 4 5 what kind of flowers are those they invented like the stars the wallpaper in Lombard street was much nicer the apron he gave me was like that something only I only wore it twice better lower this lamp and try again so that I can get up early.” (1922, rpt. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986, p. 642).

James Joyce’s famous novel, Ulysses, is known for its vast use of the stream of consciousness as proposed by William James. When first investigating the assignment I was unclear as to what would remind me of the stream of consciousness. After better understanding the meaning of the phrase,  I chose  this quote from Ulysses. The narrator appears to be restless in his attempt to find slumber, as his mind is racing from one thought to the next. He begins to ponder the fact that people far away from him in China are waking up from their night of sleep while he still hasn’t found any. He then drifts off into thought regarding priests and their sleep patterns, and then counts to five in his head seeing if he can fall asleep. This pattern of random thought continues on, as his thoughts ramble.

As we stated in class, James infers that the stream of consciousness suggests that a person’s mind is never static, so that our thoughts are continuously running with no lapse in between. The narrator in Ulysses runs from thought to thought never giving a moment to breathe. It’s a perfect example of how a restless person tries to fall asleep at night. You get the feeling of a continuous thought process from this quote due to the fact there are no periods or commas present in the writing. With no grammatical pause in the writing, the narrator’s thoughts seem to form a perfect “stream” of consciousness. This element in Joyce’s writing corresponds accurately to James’ description of the stream of consciousness.