Nihilism derives its name from the Latin root nihil, meaning nothing, that which does not exist. This same root is found in the verb “annihilate”, to bring to nothing, to destroy completely. Nihilism is the the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. looking into Samuel Beckett’s play Endgame and his life as a writer more I was able to see some of these nihilistic ideologies within his works easier. The setting of Endgame is a somewhat dark room where four characters are in conversing with one another supposedly after some sort of world Apocalypse. The characters seem somewhat lifeless and lack care for most.This is evident in the first speech, Clov says, “I can’t be punished any more”. In Hamms first speech you get the same nonchalant vibe. Hamm’s first speech, he asks, “can there be misery loftier than mine?” In the play Hamm is blind and cannot walk. On the other hand Clov can walk, but he can’t sit. Nagg and Nell are both legless, and have lost some of their hearing and sight. What one character lacks physically per say you can see it in another character. They all play off one an another. Straying away from characters and their nihilistic tones, the language in the play is very important. The constant pauses portray a worldview of brokenness. The play is very fragmented and it seems that Beckett is trying to portray the idea that the world is incomplete. Their is a failure to explain what is going on in this incomplete world.

A.Green

Un Chien Andalou and Ballet Mécanique are by far two of the most unique films I have ever come across. It wasn’t so much the time period the films were made but the structure of how the films were put together. In the film Ballet Mécanique by Fernand Leger, besides the Halloween themed music in the background, the assortment of pictures and videos give off a weird vibe. I believe the producer intentions were to puzzle the audience and bring about such confusion. I don’t really see a clear cut plot or an emphasis on anything in particular.

Surrealism is cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for its visual artworks and writings. The aim was to “resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality”. In Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel it was more of the same but indeed felt more organized and I was able to understand it clearer. Classified as a surreal film you see the beginning start with the slitting open of a woman’s eye. In my opinion this action is basically what they mention as a dream.

In “Diary of a Mad Man” Lu Xun brilliantly uses the idea behind cannibalism to portray the belief of how the narrator thinks the people around him are out to get him. As the story goes on it becomes evident that the narrator is suffering from paranoia. The paranoia that everyone around is just waiting to eat him is very interesting. In my opinion the idea of the cannibalism rejects on the nature of society in China during that time. In a feudalist society those at the top indeed are eating off of those at the bottom. The cannibalism portrays the overall abuse and corruption of those in power against the general population. Like how the narrator in the store believes that his own brother and doctor is out to eat him those at the bottom on the feudalist system believe the top dogs are bound to do the same. Along with the concept of feudalism and cannibalism throughout the text you see that their might be hope in a change to society. The paranoid man believes that many of the children have not yet been educated in cannibalistic ways. They indeed have a chance to change the future of China. I believe Lu Xun message remains a powerful one for society in general. Every society has its dark side and he reminds the reader to continue to fight and hope for a better future.

Charles Baudelaire – “Her Hair”

My analysis of this poem is that the author, Charles Baudelaire, brilliantly describes how a woman who it seems he has interest in looks. What he is describing gin particular is her hair. “O curls! O perfume nonchalant and rare.” He ties in nature with his words as he refers to her hair as black ocean. What i took from this statement was basically as he dips his head into her hair its kind of like a dream and he gets lost, somehow like you would get lost in a black ocean. This poem is about senses, the texture, the smell and the sight of the hair is what intrigues Baudelaire.

The text I have decided to interpret and understand is the “Olympe De Gouges” section. In my opinion, the argument throughout this writing piece was that women indeed do need to be treated better by society and they must make the conscious effort to attain those rights. Olympe De Gouges was very influential in the movement in gaining these rights for women. Her work, the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, was a piece that was created as a retaliation of the male version Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Gouges questioning of society’s oppression against woman makes her argument stronger as she raises some extremely good points. She then challenges her oppressors to examine nature and try and find somewhere where oppression is as asinine as it is in her society. Gouges 12th section of her declaration was also an interest to me. ” The guarantee of the rights of women and the women-citizen requires a major service, this guarantee must be instituted for the advantage of all, and not for the specific utility of the women to whom it is entrusted.” To me, this statement shows values as Gauges indeed wants rights for the whole improvement of society and not just women in general.