Mrs Dalloway

MOMA Assignment- Van Gogh’s, Starry Night

There are a few themes that jumped off the page as I was reading the “A Narrative Of the Life Of Frederick Douglas” and then watching the clip the “Discourse on Logic of Language”. Both writers point out how language can be the most basic and powerful tool. Something that remains constant throughout the book and the clip is connect they both had when discussing the power of language, and how it gives us the ability to learn how to think for ourselves and express our feelings towards one another. That is clearly a very power tool, language is the gateway to human connection which in turn opens up tremendous possibilities. In the words of,Edward Bulwer-Lytton,” The pen is mightier than the sword. By learning how to read and write and taking your ideas and writing them down on paper, it threatens the very foundation of slavery, you open the possibility of a revolt and then possibly turning your master into a slave, Douglass was a prime example of that. In the “Narrative Of the Life Of Frederick Douglas,” his master tells his wife “not to teach Frederick to read and write because he believes that illiterate slaves have lesser values and literacy makes slaves become miserable” which only reinforces my point that once the gateway to human connection is established, the slave master believes that threatens the statues quo . He also states,“if you give a n***** an inch, he will take an ell… Learning will spoil the best n***** in the world”. He further states “ the slave would at once become unmanageable and be of no value to his master” In response, however to what master’s perceived and the ultimate threat, Douglass mentions that slaves who had the desire to learn how to read and write were punished, each punishment handed down, quickly kept the established order of things untouched. The slave master’s owners desire to keep their slaves uneducated so, that they are unable to attain the necessary tools that are the fountain of a revolt, change starts with just a single idea, and the slave owners detested the idea of freedom which meant dramatic change. Change that could result with a domino effect for the rest of the country. Nourbese also addresses, that as well in the reading of the poem. She suggests that language and the lack there of can lead to the manipulation of people who are not of great wealth by classifying them as being not good enough.

It was fairly easy to come the conclusion that after reading both William Blake’s, The Lamb & The Tyger ”, that the Lamb and Tyger both contrast each other in a number of ways, like two seasons with changes in weather days apart clearly felt as you walk outside. The Lamb and the Tyger each exhibit characteristics that the outside world we live in today, if I were to describe each of them like a particular season, the Lamb being like summer : warm, fruitful, and innocent and the Tyger I would say is like the winter ; dark, cold and foggy in its intentions . Each poem discusses why each created the way they were, and both question their place in the world. Both both obviously were created by a higher power. The lamb is described like a “child , soft, miled , well clothed”. Although the Tyger is put in a situation where he is doubted as it is exhibiting characteristics that are a polar opposite to the lamb. In both poems, like I mentioned before Blake, made the lamb so peaceful and beautiful like summer, while creating a creature so terrifying like the Tyger.

Shifting gears for a moment, Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, in the eyes of Victor like William Blake their creations appeal to them and are beautiful but at the same terrifying once brought to life on paper. It is with great difficulty to not come to the conclusion that the creature is an amalgamation of both the Lamb and the Tyger. Mary Shelley’s creature was made to be beautiful in the eyes of Victor, but once brought to life his perspective was completely changed. To quote the book, “his limbs were in proportion, and i had selected selected his features as beautiful, his yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles arteries beneath, his hair was of a lustrous black , and flowing, his teeth of a pearly whiteness, but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same color as the dun white sockets in which they were set , his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips”.

After creating something, through a process that many would consider impossible, Victor chose to neglect his creation, out of genuine terror after realizing of what he thought of something as being beautiful, once it was literally set in motion with the enormous size it carries, Victor I believe foresaw the potential damage the creature would cause. His ambitious experiment failed an he felt nothing but distain for his creation. Normally when a creator plan is brought to fruition by bringing something or someone to life, it’s inventor expresses joy and happiness. Once the creature was brought to life, Victor thought of the creature as reflection of himself and realize what he himself was truly like as a person. The Lamb can be described as the creature, while the Tyger can be the creature and Victor. We all live in world that is filled with people and things that are characterized as good and evil, however it on certain occasions it is fairly easy to see that both good and evil can co-exist within something or someone.

My-Journey-Through-NYC-2

My Journey Through NYC