Great Works of Literature II

My blogpost was to be based on the story of Bartleby by Melville Harman. When I began to read it, I expected it to be long and boring. But, now, if I had to describe Melville Harman’s story, Bartleby, the scrivener – a story of Wall street, I would use the word queer. It’s a story that would have you wanting more. More of what, you would ask? Well, just more. More information as to who Bartleby is, his past, his present, anything. Melville described it as a loss to literature, the fact that Bartleby wasn’t recorded down. So, the only bit he knew of Bartleby he wanted to share with us, for the reason that Bartleby was such a peculiar character, yet at the same time, he was an interesting one.

Melville worked as one of those lawyers who had a safe job. One of those lawyers who sat behind a desk and filed papers. Bartleby came to him as a person seeking employment. At once, Melville took him in and gave him a small place in his own office, but seperated by a screen, because he was so impressed by the outward look Bartleby gave to him.

A the beginning, he was quite impressed by Bartleby’s spontaneous and clean work. But as days passed, Bartleby surprised him when he “preferred” not to the work, a term he seemed to love to use, and a word which caught on with the others, as Melville hasd mentioned. And it wasn’t only the copying work. It was other things like going to the post office, or allowing Melville to enter into his own office or even leaving the office when he had been let go.

It was so strange, I just couldn’t understand why he would do that and why Melville could stand it. I guess it was the subtle way that Bartleby preferred not to do those things. And how he was with everything, not saying a word and just going on with life.

But, if I had to give my opinion, I too would have great sympathy for him. I’m not quite sure why, because such a character would really annoy me, but I guess, as Melville mentioned, it was the fact that he was a loner and just had nowhere else to go. It grew even more when he lost his vision. I think he felt trapped in this world. For instance, his previous job was working with death letters where he held in his hands items for the deceased. I can’t imagine how that would have felt, having death surround you continuously, day after day. And, even when he was under Melville’s employment, he was caged up in the office in his small space. On top of that, when he wished to stare out of his window, he would have to stare at the brick wall. And later, he was moved into prison and we all know how the prison cells appear to be.
So yes, I think Bartleby suffered from loneliness and depression, though he didn’t show much of it most of the time. But, he did pass away, silently in the prison yard, and that was, well, depressing. Another thing I did not understand. Did death come to him naturally? Or, did he take his own life?
But, Mr. Cutlet did mention that he wasn’t eating so, did that mean he starved to death?

In the end, according to me, it’s a very strange story and it’s no wonder that Melville felt he had to share it with the world. But, it was interesting and I liked the way Melville mashed humour and pity together. Humour when he would speak of his employees and pity, because of Bartleby. I would be reading through the passage, feeling a deep pit for Bartleby and then, I’d be a bit lightened when it was before 12 noon and Turkey was quite serene but Nippers was a bit aggravated. And as for Bartleby, I wonder if I would look forward to meeting someone like him or be afraid to meet someone like him, for the fact that he would bring me so much of sorrow.

Sorry for posting this so late, I had problems posting this blog.

I was unsure of what message he is trying to get across, but I think I am somewhat correct.

If I understood the poem correctly, it seems like Walt Whitman is confused about whom he is, and he is undergoing some identity crisis.  In the first stanza, he portrays himself as a very confident man who is now “thirty –seven years old in perfect health” and is able to speak up for anything.   Then as he transitions into the next few stanzas, his confidence abates, and he is now like everyone else.  He relates himself to the rest of the society, and everyone in the society can relate to each other as well.  He represents us all, and we represent each other.  No person is better than another.  In the 16^th stanza, to emphasize indifference between Americans, he says “A Southerner soon as a Northerner, a planter nonchalant and hospital down by the Oconee.” From my understanding, this means a Southerner can just as easily pass for a northerner as a baby boy can pass for baby girl just by looking at the face.  The second part of the line means that the difference, if there is any, is so insignificant if that a planter and hospital, which signifies advancement in society, can exist nearby each other.

Whitman continues to express that he views each person equally on the 21^st stanza.  He says, “I am the poet of the woman the same as the man.”  He wants to point out that because we are all the same, and that he is able to represent us all, in terms of equality, and freedom.  Overall, his point is that one individual is not better than another person, and because of that he can represent us all.

Well, I thought that title would qualify as a valid title for Whitman’s poem. Despite the fact that he continually refers to himself throughout this poem, I feel like the reader, or any individual, can be placed in his shoes. In fact, the introduction suggests this very idea, where he says “For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” I find this interesting because, judging from the title, I expected to read something more like an argument for, or celebration of his own uniqueness and personality. But it seems like he took a different turn by being more observant of life itself, and human nature in general.

In my opinion, the poem generally appeared as an account of experiences and observations, but it is towards the end that I began to take it on a more personal note. After the second read, instead of acknowledging the author as “myself” I tried to see it as something bigger, like humanity as a whole, or individuality in itself.

For instance, in the 52nd stanza, I believe the “I” could refer to one’s soul. I say this because the way that “I” was used, made it sound like something unique, valuable, irreplaceable, and difficult to reach or maintain. Therefore the last part can be seen as a battle for any and every individual who is fighting to find themselves. And as the last three lines encourage, it is best to keep searching until successful. Even if one fails at the first attempt, the soul will live on and always be present for an individual to find.

Also, what I found the most interesting about this poem was how he took a moment to admire the nature of animals in part 32. It’s almost as if he dreaded being human, because he had much more difficulties to face. He could never really enjoy that lazy and carefree lifestyle of animals, which don’t exhibit the negative qualities of humans, and don’t have to worry about suffering humanity. I’m pretty sure that, in today’s society, many humans really do feel this way when they see the carefree nature of animals, compared to what they have to go through.

For Tuesday, please read (and print out):

Allen Ginsberg’s “A Supermarket in California”

http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/supermarket.html

**note that this is in addition to the Whitman assigned on the syllabus**

For Thursday, please read (and print out):

Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener”

http://www.bartleby.com/129/

Before I get into the second part of the book, I would like to talk about what I think about Frederick Douglass. If I had to sum up the life of Frederick Douglass with one word, the word would be inspiring. In the beginning of the book, Frederick Douglass struggled to find his own identity. He had questions about his life that he painfully knew that would never be answered. Because of this, it left a huge gap in his identity. Although these questions would go unanswered even at the end of the book, he knew one thing about himself; he was not a slave.

That is what is so inspiring about Frederick Douglass. Instead of living the life that the world forced upon him, he chose to defy it by going through obstacles that every slave had to go through, such as enduring the constant beatings from his owners, learning how to read and write, and achieving his freedom. I think that the determination and will that Douglass has is enough to distinguish himself from not only the slaves, but also the rest of society.

A point that I found interesting is Douglass’ perspective on religion. He says that, “For of all the slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst.” (958). The reason why I found this interesting is because I would normally expect otherwise.  It’s baffles me to think that a “righteous” man would involve himself with slavery, let alone be even more cruel than the average slave owner. Take Mr. Hopkins for example (pg. 958). He asserts himself by whipping his slaves in advance every Monday in case they do something to deserve it. How can anyone who whips other human beings for a living have the audacity call themselves a righteous man? Granted, Douglass classifies this religion as the “Christianity of the land” (slaveholding religion), distinguishing it from the “Christianity of Christ”. Even still, these people preach with their heads held up high about what is wrong and what is right, yet they cannot see that what they’re doing is immorally wrong. The hypocrisy is MIND BLOWING.

Also..

In the second part of the Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick finally had something that he didn’t have in the beginning: love. When he experienced the bond that he shared with the other slaves while he stayed at Mr. Freeland, it was a life changing moment for him. He finally knew how it felt to love and to be loved. The passage in page 960 powerfully shows how much his fellow slaves meant to Douglass. He said, “I loved them with a love stronger than any thing I have experienced since. It is sometimes said that we slaves do not love and confide in each other. In answer to this assertion, I can say, I never loved any or confided in any people more than my fellow-slaves, and especially those with who I loved at Mr. Freeland’s… we would have died for each other” When he finally arrived at New York, Douglass’ happiness of finding freedom became overshadowed by his loneliness. So taking the bond Douglass has with his friends into consideration, it makes me wonder if he would trade it all for a chance to reunite with his friends. Would you guys?

After living in the city Frederick Douglass experienced how it felt like to learn how to read and write just like the Whites. He started to think about his future and how he doesn’t want to be a slave all his life, the thing that Mr. Auld was afraid of might come true where he said “If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell”(393). After having knowledge Frederick Douglass began to have his own opinion and started to fight back against his master just like when he is working for Mr. Covey. After fighting back against his master Frederick Douglass was never whipped again, and that might gave Frederick Douglas the courage to come up with the thought of running away since he is fighting back now he might as well risk his life and take a bet to see if he can run to the North.

Mr. Covey’s way of making wealth is the same as Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” because in Swift’s proposal it was about hiring women to have babies and sell them at a price for others to eat. And what Mr. Covey did was the same thing where he bought a black women and hired a black man so that they can help him gain money. At this point I think that the Blacks were not only treated as slaves to do labor but they were treated like animals where they were just bought for breeding so that the slave owners can sell there babies for profit. Another odd point was when Frederick Douglas mentioned slave owners that are religious are more cruel since they use excuses to whip their slaves, but it seemed odd since most people use religion to hope for peace or wealth but the slave owners are using it to torture others.

This is the song that we were supposed to listen to in class… It’s about working at the gap… I guess that’s kinda like slavery

education is the key

“Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, I was gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merest accident, I had gained from my master. Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read” (Douglass 938).

“If we are serious about building a stronger economy and making sure we succeed in the 21st century, then the single most important step we can take is to make sure that every young person gets the best education possible.” (President Obama)

$100 million donation towards education

Fredrick Douglass: The Speaker and Representative for the Slaves

Frederick Douglass’s life just like any other slave suffered a great deal of inhumane acts. Before I read this, I thought I knew enough about slavery because slavery is always mentioned in my history classes. Now that I have come across this autobiography with clear details on exactly what the slaves have to endure, I can’t help but want to curse at how heartless the white people were back then. How can someone “seemed to take pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity?” How would you like it if I beat you like that and enjoyed it with popcorn in my hands? This definitely reminded me of the Great Inquisitor in Candide because he also enjoyed watching Jews burned alive while having refreshments. It’s a good thing that Douglass learned how to read and from the Hugh family in Baltimore so that the gruesome of slavery is finally published and shared. It’s enough that slaves did not have knowledge, beds, and good amount of food. But not knowing their birthdays and separating children from their parents is totally wrong. Who doesn’t need family love and warmth? I know I do. Douglass’s mother’s death was no more than a stranger’s death. He was also separated from his siblings and grandmother, who later dies alone in a hut. Beating the slaves without punishment is another thing, but killing the slaves and getting out of it is just the worst. Demby, one of Colonel Lloyd’s slaves, who got shot by Mr. Gore for not coming out of the creek for a beating. Douglass’s wife’s cousin who was around fifteen to sixteen was beaten to death by Mrs. Hicks just because she fell asleep and did not hear the baby cry after not having sleep the previous nights. Douglass may have learned knowledge, but sometimes he wished he was simple minded like other slaves because “it opened his eyes to the horrible pit, but to no ladder upon to which to get out. In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for stupidity.” Even though Douglass had to deal with the ruthless white men, his writings will help the public open their own eyes to how slavery is not only wrong, but also against God’s will.