Kafka describes a man in “Before the Law” who shows up in front of the Law and its gatekeeper. The man requests entry into the law, however the Gatekeeper prohibits him from going in. This does not discourage the man, for he continues to try to peer inside the gates. Seeing this, the Gatekeeper steps aside and tells the man that he can go through the gates, but warns the man that he will be met with stronger gatekeepers. The man decides that it would be better if he waits until the Gatekeeper gives him permission. While doing so, the man observes the Gatekeeper for long years. Finally, the man grows older and his eyesight weakens, but prior to his death, the Gatekeeper sees that the man is dying and closes the gates.

A concept I see in “Before the Law” is power demonstrated by the Gatekeeper. The man that approaches the Gatekeeper is passive and never once in all the years forcefully tries to gain entry to the law. Instead, seeing the Gatekeeper’s authority, the man chooses to wait for the Gatekeeper to give him verbal permission to enter. The man demonstrates complete submission to the Gatekeeper’s authority. Although he questions and observes the Gatekeeper’s actions, the man instead chooses to spend his entire life waiting for permission rather than physically try to gain entry. We can see that the passive nature of the man eventually leads him to die without him gaining entry to the law. Perhaps we can say that obeying the Gatekeeper’s authority is more important to the man than finding out what he really wanted.

A poem that stood out to me most was “My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun.” In this poem, Dickinson personifies and describes the point-of-view of a gun. What really caught my attention was the last stanza:

Though I than He – may longer live

He longer must – than I –

For I have but the power to kill,

Without – the power to die –

Contrary to romanticism which emphasizes emotion and nature, realism attempts to represent things as they are. Authors like Mary Ann Evans, who wrote under the pseudonym George Eliot, uses realism to describe her characters as they are. She writes,

But it happens, on the contrary, that my strongest effort is to avoid any such arbitrary picture, and to give a faithful account of men and things as they have mirrored themselves in my mind. The mirror is doubtless defective, the outlines will sometimes be disturbed, the reflection faint or confused; but I feel as much bound to tell you as precisely as I can what that reflection is, as if I were in the witness-box, narrating my experience on oath. (Eliot 1)

She says that although she can refashion life and characters the way she likes, that would not be realistic and defeats the purpose of her writing. In Nineteenth-century British critics of Realism, Elaine Freedgood writes, “realism is responsible for representing social and individual experience as it really occurs in the world outside the novel” (326). Likewise to Adam Bede, which is a plot that follows four characters in their rural lives, describes the lives of Hetty Sorrel, Captain Arthur Donnithorne, Adam Bede, and Dinah Morris. Eliot’s descriptions pose as a window to the daily lives of four distinct characters.

Realism, although descriptive of the way things are, does not really help with emphasizing emotions. It gives depth to normal objects and presents a different perspective of looking at things, however, in describing people it is lacking. The personality of a character may be described, but the intense feelings that develop the character throughout the plot may not be under realism. Eliot compares her works to paintings because paintings frame a certain scene. Paintings act like a window to scenes, scenes like the ones Eliot describes in her writings.

Realism is supposed to be a way to discuss social and individual experience akin to the news. Eliot and Freedgood both do not like to add “embellishments” or “dramatic flairs” to their writing. Both keep it simple and want to show/tell things the way they are. Evident in Adam Bede, Eliot says “falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult” (Eliot 2) which shows that she is aware of how easy one can write a story, but difficulty arises when one is trying to depict an occasion the way it is without showing bias. “‘What good is there in taking all these pains to give an exact likeness of old women and clowns? What a low phase of life! What clumsy, ugly people!'” (Eliot 2). Here, an idealistic friend of Eliot’s attempts to discourage her from writing realistically. However Eliot asserts that their outward appearance isn’t all there is to them and they have tender hearts and other flattering attributes. While idealism romanticizes certain attributes to increase aesthetics, it is realism that brings awareness.

The Declaration of Sentiments, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” and Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl offer three vastly different perspectives on what equality means. The Declaration of Sentiments, written by American activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, is a document that expresses the rights women ought to possess as well as list of grievances (sentiments) the women held against men. While in “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” Frederick Douglass discusses constitutional rights and the slave trade. Finally, in Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, is an autobiography written by a slave girl named Harriet Jacobs. Written under the pseudonym, Linda Brent, Jacobs describes her life as a slave who fights to gain freedom for her and her children. In her autobiography, Jacobs uses her narrative to discuss race and gender equality issues. While these three sources address the same issues, each approach is different and offers multiple views.

Intersectionality provide insight and helps explain how certain people in society encounter and react to different social factors. It provides a framework for analyzing the many factors–especially race and gender–that determine how people of a certain minority class lives. Jacob’s narrative contributes an intimate window into what it is like to be a black slave woman. Her autobiography contains many firsthand experiences of being a slave, which she describes in great detail. Jacobs writes about her childhood under her old mistress, and that shatters our visualization of slavery. For instance, Jacobs writes that her old mistress as kind, caring, and a woman of honor and tried to promise Jacobs’s grandmother her freedom after her untimely death. “My mistress was so kind to me that I was always glad to do her bidding, and proud to labor for her as much as my young years would permit” (10). If we were all asked to envision a slave master, we would definitely imagine someone with a short temper, heartless, and violent. However, through Jacobs’s autobiography, we can see that not all slave masters and mistresses were cruel. It’s also important to note that while it was not common for slaves to be able to read or to even be able to read, Jacobs was still offered the opportunity. We then should not dismiss her accounts as fictional because she does come from an educated background.

The Declaration of Sentiments is a document signed by 68 women and 32 men who believed that “women [are] right-bearing individuals [to] be acknowledged and respected by society.” The convention took place in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848 and its objective was to address the rights of women and draw attention to the social standing of women. Similarly, Frederick Douglass’s speech explores the social standing of slaves within the United States, drawing from his own experiences as a slave. He focuses on the Fourth of July–a notable day in America’s history–the day in which the United States was born and declared its independence from Great Britain. Douglass notes,  however, this independence did not resonate with slaves. The American values of life, liberty, and property did not apply to African-Americans and slaves. By noting his own experiences as a slave, like Jacobs, it gives their respective narratives more dimension. These three collective personal experiences offer a broader framework to understanding intersectionality.

David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980), portrays a heavily disfigured man named John Merrick who is on display as a side show freak attraction dubbed “The Elephant Man.” A local doctor named Treves hears of Merrick and pays his owner, Mr. Bytes to allow him to bring Merrick to the hospital for examinations. Treves presents Merrick to his fellow doctors and highlights his deformities which forces him to sleep almost sitting upright or else he might asphyxiate. Afterwards, Merrick is returned to Mr. Bytes who beats him so badly he needs medical attention. Treves convinces the hospital board to admit Merrick into the hospital for long term, however the hospital’s governor needs more convincing.

The scene where Merrick recites the 23rd Psalm is significant because not only because does it grant him long-term stay at the hospital, but it reveals his “human” aspect. Throughout the film, Merrick is belittled and treated as a social pariah because of his outward appearance. However, once everyone in the hospital finds out that he can speak, he is seen as a person. Similarly, in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor was so terrified by his creation–especially after his own creation killed his younger brother. However, once the creature coerced Victor into a conversation; Victor, for a brief moment, saw his creation in a different light. As the conversation continued, Victor abhorred his creation more and more, which prompts the Creature to beg him.

“‘Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies. Begone, or let us try our strength in a fight, in which one must fall.’

‘How can I move thee? Will no entreaties cause thee to turn a favourable eye upon thy creature, who implores thy goodness and compassion? Believe me, Frankenstein: I was benevolent; my soul glowed with love and humanity: but am I not alone, miserably alone? You, my creator, abhor me; what hop can I gather from your fellow-creatures, who owe me nothing? they spurn and hate me. The desert mountains and dreary glaciers are my refuge. I have wandered here many days; the caves of ice, which I only do not fear, are a dwelling to me, and the only one which man does not grudge. These bleak skies I hail, for they are kinder to me than your fellow-beings. If the multitude of mankind knew of my existence, they would do as you do, and arm themselves for my destruction. Shall I not then hate them who abhor me? I will keep no terms with my enemies. I am miserable, and they shall share my wretchedness. Yet it is in your power to recompense me, and deliver them from an evil which it only remains for you to make so great, that not only you and your family, but thousands of others, shall be swallowed up in the whirlwinds of its rage. Let your compassion be moved, and do not disdain me. Listen to my tale: when you have heard that, abandon or commiserate me, as you shall judge that I deserve. But hear me. The guilty are allowed, by human laws, bloody as they are, to speak in their own defence before they are condemned” (100-101).

In this passage, the Creature convinces Victor to hear his tale where he justifies his own actions. He tells Victor that he is miserably lonely and wants Victor to create a woman, same as him to keep him company. Unlike the elatedness Merrick received when Treves discovered his eloquence, Victor only further abhors his creation after hearing his tale. Although Victor agreed to create a second monster, it is under threatening terms. In the end, Victor decides to cross the Creature and destroy the work.

John Merrick and Frankenstein’s Monster are similar in that they are both social outcasts. Both were pushed out of society for their grotesque appearance. Merrick was met with politeness, it has a lot to do with Treves. Treves helped him “reintegrate” into society by being his friend, while on the other hand the Creature was pushed out. Victor viewed the Creature with abhorrence, why would the public see him any differently? It is not helpful to only be able to communicate, it is also necessary to have a helpful friend.

The Elephant Man Trailer

“‘The ancient teachers of this science,’ said he, ‘promised impossibilities, and performed nothing. The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted, and that the elixir of life is a chimera. But these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature, and show how she works in her hiding places. They ascend into the heavens: they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows.’

Such were the professor’s words–rather let me say such the words of fate, enounced to destroy me. As he went on, I felt as if my soul were grappling with a palpable enemy; one by one the various keys were touched which formed the mechanisms of my being: chord after chord was sounded, and soon my mind was filled with one thought, one conception, one purpose. So much as been done, exclaimed the soul of Frankenstein,–more, far more, will I achieve: treading the steps already marked, I will pioneer a new way, explore the unknown powers, and unfold to the world the deepest mysteries of creation” (47-48).

Out of curiosity, Victor attends M. Waldman’s chemistry lecture. There, Victor hears his speech about the achievements these “philosophers” have made in the field of chemistry. M. Waldman discusses the powers that people thought once belonged to only God, but modern masters have been able to recreate phenomenas such as earthquakes and thunder. In short, because of discoveries in science and advancements in technology, even man can harness the powers of God. Upon hearing this lecture, Victor develops a fervent purpose that we later find out is creating life from death.

While reading, I wondered what Victor’s intentions are. It seems that at first his intentions were to finish his studies in a place separate from his native country in order to become acquainted with other customs. However, I detected a shift between his intentions at the beginning of the chapter and the end of the chapter. As I described before, his intentions were to continue the rest of his education in a different country, but as we near the end of the chapter, his purpose shifted after he hears M. Waldman’s speech. What I find interesting is that he started out full of pride and wanting to expand his knowledge. After a conversation with M. Krempe, his pride is slowly chipped away but, he is not fazed. Victor finds out that the knowledge he possessed was all rather antiquated and was of really no use to anyone now. To alleviate the outdated information he studied, M. Krempe recommends Victor a list of books that he feels will help him. Another thing I find significant is his “obsession” with fate and destiny. Earlier in Chapter 2, Victor says “Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction” (42). I point this out because Victor blames his laments on destiny rather than taking responsibility for his own destruction. Later, he mentions that the words of M. Waldman were also responsible for his destruction.

Victor entered the university at Ingolstadt with no clear objective in mind. This passage I highlighted marks the shift of his interests and the beginning of his objective. The second paragraph alludes to his desire to create life from death, which I believe was influenced by the death of his mother prior to his entrance into the university. Although Victor says that he “will endeavour to resign [himself] cheerfully to death, and will indulge a hope of meeting [her] in another world” (43), his objective says otherwise. I observed this as a sign of denial in the five stages of grief. After attending M. Waldman’s lecture, he shifts to bargaining. While he is not lamenting his inability to help his mother, his desire to bring life to the dead can be seen as his need to regain control. Through analysis, Victor can be described as an impressionable person. He is easily swayed by the words of others, but will blame fate for anything that goes wrong instead of taking responsibility for his own actions.

The relentless crowd struggle to fit into a train car that’s already packed like sardines. It seems although New Yorkers usually do not like to make contact with other riders while on the train, it is times like these where they’re willing to make an exception. “Sexual Harassment is a Crime in the subway, too – A crowded train is no excuse for an improper touch. Don’t stand for it or feel ashamed, or be afraid to speak up. Report it to an MTA employee or police officer” plays over the intercom while I struggle to find room to breathe.

Train stops, doors open.
Hurried crowds quickly get off.
There is peace again.

As I make my away out of the seemingly worst part of my day, I feel the weight lifted off my shoulders. The cold air nips at the tip of my nose, and my breathe seems to cling to the air. For a couple of seconds, I feel as if I’m free of all this confusion. However, a new weight immediately replaces the one prior and I start to feel the impending doom in my stomach once again. I am not nervous, but rather cynical. I cannot allow myself to get enveloped by all this disarray, but I am partially hoping that if I leave it alone, it will all go away. I know it will take too long–I must make sense of it for myself.

Imminent deadlines,
What is the point of all this?
Don’t forget to breathe.

In the midst of all of this daily chaos, I sometimes forget how to breathe. However, I find that setting aside just five to ten minutes to sit down and feel the warmth of the sunlight from a seat by the window helps me unwind the chaos and feel less anxious. This pause allows me to ponder about things other than schoolwork. My breathing slows and my leg falls asleep, but I do not care.

The warm sunlight streams
Into the cold empty room.
Shadows luminous.

Hello, my name is Rong and I’m currently a sophomore pursuing a major in accounting. I’m passionate about photography and I spend most of my free time with a camera.

Kant describes enlightenment as “man’s emergence from his self-incurred immaturity.” Essentially, this refers to the process in which man disposes his immaturity. According to Kant, immaturity is the lack of doing things for one’s self while seeking guidance from another. He continues on to describe immaturity as second nature to a large proportion of men since men have grown accustomed and comfortable to the cushy lifestyle provided by “guardians”. Kant writes, as a consequence, the individual man will rarely take the initiative to “escape” his immaturity. Instead, man would rather rely on “a book to have understanding in place of me” or “a doctor to judge my diet for me.” In other words, man heavily relies on other people to know and decide what is best for him. This, as Kant points out, is one of the main challenges preventing the enlightenment of man. If man does not take the initiative to overcome his own immaturity, then he will never be enlightened.

Currently, I do not believe we live in an enlightened age. Although our society has had many “forward” technological advancements, I do not believe we as people are enlightened. Simply put, as a society, we are moving towards increased dependence on technology. Although the creation internet has helped our generation learn faster, we instead tend to utilize it in a non-academic way. Instead, we mindlessly scroll through social media, browse “clickbait” articles, and mindlessly share articles that only present one side of an argument with insufficient information. This in turn, has created a generation of people who are dependent on the web who rarely do any thinking for themselves. Outside of technology, we seek approval and guidance from others without really thinking whether or not they have the best intentions for us. I believe, in order to achieve this abstract idea of enlightenment, we have to take matters into our hands. We need less dependence upon the internet (and other people) and more independence and initiative to learn and grow as individuals. If we allow others to do our thinking, then are we really as enlightened as we’d like to believe we are?