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Victor and the Monster

In the beginning of the novel, Victor goes to school in Ingolstadt where he learns about modern science and, within a few years, masters all that his professors have to teach him. He becomes fascinated with the “secret of life,”  and brings a hideous monster to life which he ultimately regrets.

Over the course of the novel, Victor changes from an innocent kid to a tormented and cynical being.

Whatever the reason be, whether it’s his avoidance of society or desire to attain transcendence, Victor is doomed by a lack of humanness. Eventually, his life becomes about getting revenge on the monster.

We see the same idea of lack of humanness and revenge from the monster as well. The monster is created and immediately abandoned. With no one to care for him, he is forced to live on his own. But his hideous appearance makes this extremely difficult. Realizing the abysmal reality, the monster seeks revenge on his creator and kills Victor’s brother. Having no companions in this world, no one to educate him and differentiate right from wrong, it is safe to say that the monster too is doomed by a lack of humanness.

 

Though Victor wasn’t the monsters biological parent, I appreciate the similar traits between the two, showing a little hereditary.

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Corporal punishment and its limits

                    Jose’s description of what his experience with school was like contradicts with Rousseau’s ideas on education. He lived through a time when the schooling system did not allow these black children that were students to move up. They were not allowed to gain the experience needed to help their individuality and the education by man is controlling them most. By restraining them and their thinking, these students do not have the ability to think on their own, and are not able to “develop as citizens”, something which Rousseau believes comes from education and the freedom to receive one (Rousseau 4).

                  In Jean Jacques Rousseau’s treatise on education, he emphasizes “cruel education… burdens a child with all sorts of restrictions and begins by making him miserable…” (Rousseau 4). Therefore, Rousseau fully believes that one should be “kind” to their pupil during their early childhood as they are only temporary (Rousseau 5). In contrast, throughout Black Alley Shack, we see instances of the students getting beaten up. “Or the mistress had beaten me with that little bamboo switch she used both when showing us the letters to read on the board when correcting those not paying attention or talking in class” (Zobel 63) Another time was when the principal did something which led the students to say “We were already being boxed on our ears” (Zobel 104). This was thought to be a method that would help and encourage the students to study more. In the contrary, all it did was backfire, and it makes the students despise the teachers, as well as discourages them to learn. They should have an experience that will help them get the material they need to succeed as well as have an experience that will help them become better citizens of their community.

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Writing, Freedom and Manhood

In both The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X and A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines, they both talk about the relationship between writing, freedom and manhood. Both pieces of writing are about a man that has been jailed.

In Malcolm X’s autobiography, the relationship between writing, freedom and manhood is portrayed. With Malcolm X being in jail, his physical freedom has been taken away. However, he chooses to better himself by educating himself more by learning more words and learning how to read and write better. Manhood includes being dominant, and better than others, being the best you could be.  Although Malcolm X physical freedom might’ve been taken away, he still has his freedom to better himself.

“Not long ago, an English writer telephoned me from London, asking questions. One was, “What’s your alma mater?” I told him, “Books.” You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man.” (Malcolm X)

Malcolm X didn’t become the educated man he was because he went to some high, prestigious school, but rather because he taught himself.  Because of Malcolm X’s freedom to do better himself and become more educated, he uses writing to make him a more intelligent, better man.

In Ernest Gaines’ A Lesson Before Dying, the same relationships are portrayed. What is different from Malcolm X’s autobiography is that the character that is jailed, Jefferson, is a black man that has been unjustly accused of committing a murder, which he says he didn’t do. Being in jail now, he really doesn’t have any freedom. Being a slave and being in jail, a man is really deprived of their manhood. While in Jail, Grant, a plantation teacher, comes to try and help Jefferson. During the first couple of visits, Jefferson is hard to get to. Finally, Grant is able to get Jefferson to talk when he brings up what he would want his last meal to be.

“I want me a whole gallona ice cream.” (Gaines)

Grant ends up giving Jefferson a notebook to write down the difference between men and hogs. When Grant visits Jefferson the next time, Jefferson has filled nearly the whole note book. Jefferson freedom to write allowed him to speak his mind and explain why he is a real man, like white males, and not anything less because he is black.

 

 

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Knowing what to do with education

“What did you learn (at college) about your own people? What did you learn her – her ‘round there?” he said, gesturing towards the other room and trying to keep his voice down.

I didn’t answer him. “No, you not educated, boy,” he said, shaking his head. “You far from being educated. You learned your reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic, but you don’t know nothing. You don’t even know yourself. Well?”

“You’re doing the talking, Reverend.” “And educated, boy,” he said, thumping his chest. “I’m the one that’s educated. I know people like you look down on people like me, but” – he touched his chest again – “I’m the one that’s educated.” (Pg 215)

Reverend Ambrose explains to Grant the meaning of education. Just because Grant went to college and received a degree does not mean he is free or even a man.  An educated man knows himself, knows his people and their suffering. Grant has lost connection with his own community which is why he feels trapped everyday. He doesn’t understand them and they don’t understand him. Reverend Ambrose’s understanding and empathy for his people is his education. Also, in their conversation, Reverend Ambrose asks Grant if he knew about Tante Lou’s hands, scarred from cutting cane to pay for Grant’s college or her knees scarred from praying for Grant. Grant doesn’t know about any of this, she’d hid it from him. He didn’t pay for his own schooling like a man. I think that’s what the Reverand is trying to say to him by mentioning his aunt.

“I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive. I certainly wasn’t seeking any degree, the way a college confers a status symbol upon its students. My homemade education gave me, with every additional book that I read, a little bit more sensitivity to the deafness, dumbness, and blindness that was afflicting the black race in America. Not long ago, an English writer telephoned me from London, asking questions. One was, “What’s your alma mater?” I told him, “Books.” You will never catch me with a free fifteen minutes in which I’m not studying something I feel might be able to help the black man.”

Malcolm X used books to open his mind. He was not trying to be a “status symbol” but someone who knew about his people and was making an effort to educate them.  He wanted to free their minds from the little they knew about their own history. Malcolm X wanted to answer questions and have his followers question what was going on during their time. When he learned to write he learned many different words which enabled him to read. Through reading he gained a mental freedom. Malcolm X knew what he wanted to do with his knowledge and for that he became an amazing leader. A powerful man in everyone’s eyes.

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Writing, Freedom, Manhood

In Malcom X’s text there is a connection between writing, freedom, and manhood.  Malcom really matured into the man he became in jail through reading books, initially the dictionary and then eventually books on slavery.  In the quote “In my slow, painstaking..” (page 2) Malcom mentions how he educated himself on reading and improving his penmanship by copying down the dictionary.  Once he actually started building his vocabulary he was able to read books he was never able to.  Even though Malcom was locked up in jail at the time, he never felt so “free” through his new found ability to read.  In a quote he states, “-and my reading of books, months passed without me even thinking about being imprisoned.  In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” (Page 2) Another quote that stuck out to me was when a man from England asked Malcom, “What’s your alma mater?” and Malcom replied, “Books”. (Page 3) As mentioned earlier Malcom grew into the man he became and more educated through books.  His education made him understand life and opened his eyes to the real world.

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Free even when trapped

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Earnest Gaine’s book A Lesson Before Dying depicts a life of a convicted man named Jefferson and his time before his execution. Although Jefferson claims to be innocent of the crime, he is still being sentenced for his murder charge. Throughout his time in jail, he is helped by Grant Wiggins, a well-educated teacher. The ideas of manhood, writing, and freedom is portrayed through the character Grant Wiggins. His goal is to spread these ideas to Jefferson so he can “feel like a man.” Grant teaches Jefferson about dignity and to understand that he has worth. Jefferson refused to comply at first and said “that’s only for Youmans” (Gaines). However, Grant’s dedication in helping Jefferson understand life is phenomenal. He buys Jefferson a radio, books, and other items to help him be free in his mind. After understanding Grant, Jefferson begins to turn his life around in jail. He begins to write in his journal daily, starts to understand life, death, and society. Although it ended in a sorrow way for Jefferson, he “died like a man” ( Gaines) as his Godmother wanted.

In his autobiography, Malcolm X, describe his time in jail, and how he became self-educated even in the most trapped places. The relationship between manhood and writing is shown during his time in Jail. “I not only wasn’t articulate, I wasn’t even functional.” (Malcolm X). Malcolm wasn’t quite literate and it had a lot to do with his manhood. He began to change the way he spoke and got a hold of a dictionary. One thing that jail taught him was to become educated and learn about the world around him. Although he wasn’t a free man because he was in jail, he wanted to free his mind. “in every free moment I had, if I was not reading in the library, I was reading on my bunk.” (Malcolm X.)  Malcolm became really dedicated with reading because it allowed him to be free. Malcolm also began to get answers from all the readings he had done. “Book after book showed me how the white man had brought upon the world’s black, brown, red, and yellow peoples.” (Malcolm X).  A connection between writing, reading and freedom is made here. Malcolm understood the oppression against the colored people by the whites, and understood why the black community needed to free. His self-education allowed him to build his manhood and also allowed him to be free.

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Week 11: Useless education

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Education comes in every form. Anything can be considered as education. Education is the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process therefore if you teach one how to tie a shoe or how to be respectful that is still considered as education. In the film To Sir, with Love, E.R Braithwaite is a new teacher at Greenslade School. At first he had a hard time teaching them merely because they were being difficult and didn’t cooperate with him. He would say one thing and they would do another. The students had a hard time learning the traditional way because of the fact that they lacked respect to the teacher and school system. The teacher was an African American man in which had no respect from the students. He gained the respect by trying a new approach of teaching. This new approach was to give the students respect. If you respect the students, they will respect you. The teacher asked the students to act a certain way and have good manners. This made a huge difference in their minds for many different reasons because the students gained new insights.

Since Braithwaite gave the students respect, the students finally felt like someone actually cares about them and they have potential to survive reality. By giving the students respect, the students gained self-worth and confidence to go out and make a change. Braithwaite’s technique of teaching was he would ask the students what they wanted to learn instead of the typical form of education in which there is a curriculum. When the students were allowed to choose the topic during class, the students participated and were genuinely interested in what Braithwaite was saying. The things that they were talking about were based on how to survive real life, topics such as marriage, sex, love and how to deal with it all. There was no restriction on the questions that the students can ask. Basically everyday was a clean slate in which they can ask anything they want. He wanted the students to question reality, explore their mind and express their opinion. The students weren’t used to this type of learning method, however it made them realize their worth and the potential they have as students. This class helped them to gain basic knowledge of reality. Braithwaite motivated his students and treated them like adults. Instead of teaching them boring subjects that they don’t care about, he taught them things they were curious about and would come handy in real life. Every student is different and Braithwaite found a way to teach them effectively.

In Malcolm X, he adjusts to the prison environment and utilizes whatever he has to gain more knowledge. He gets a dictionary and starts reading it to gain more knowledge. Working with what you have is the best thing to do. Malcolm X had a freedom of mind because of self-education. With hard-work and determination, he learned how to read and write, and reading changed his life forever. “Months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” As learning these new words, he opened up to new concepts and broaden his horizon. Through his self-education, he gained the freedom to explore his mind and have his own opinion.

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Writing, Man, Freedom

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It is evident in Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Ernest J. Gaines’s A Lesson Before Dying that there is a relationship between writing, man, and freedom. By learning how to read and write, one’s mind reaches freedom, and eventually they become a man.

At first, Malcolm X was unable to understand books, “but every book I picked up had few sentences which didn’t contain anywhere from one to nearly all of the words that might as well have been in Chinese” (Malcolm 1). With a strong desire to understand books, he started to  familiarize himself with a dictionary. He copied each word in the dictionary and this led to the expansion of vocabulary, which opened the doors to reading for Malcolm. For the first time, he picked up a book and could fully understand the context of it. He felt really proud and confident with himself. Malcolm X began reading more book, “months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life” (Malcolm 2). All the reading Malcolm X did had freed his mind where he learned about every general subject and the sufferings of black men and woman. He was more confident with himself after learning how to read. Malcolm X stated,” I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life. As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive” (Malcolm 3). Malcolm X entered prison as street hustler, but the seven years in prison had changed him forever. In prison, Malcolm X had learned how to read and write and gained freedom of the mind. Malcolm X walked out of prison as a man who became a powerful leader striving to help the black man.

In Gaines’s text, Jefferson had spent most of his life working on plantations. One day Jefferson was in the wrong place at the wrong time leading him to be convicted of murder. When his lawyer tried to defend him, he called Jefferson a “hog.” The lawyer said, “Gentlemen of the jury, look at this—this—this boy. I almost said man, but I can’t say man” (Gaines 9). The degrading of Jefferson as not a man, but a hog really affected him and made him contemplate on whether he is really a mindless hog. Grant is given the responsibility to change Jefferson and make him believe is much more than a man, he is a hero. The first few times Grant is unsuccessful at reaching Jefferson. During one visit, Grant tries to connect with Jefferson by buying him a radio and giving him a notebook–hoping that these items will ease him, feel less trapped in the jail cell, and free his mind. Jefferson writes his thoughts or questions down for Grant so they can talk about it next time they meet. To truly reach Jefferson, Grant tells him “He tells Jefferson, “The white people out there are saying that you don’t have it—that you’re a hog, not a man. But I know they are wrong. You have the potentials” (Gaines 157). In Jefferson’s diary, we can see that Jefferson has not received much formal education because he can’t spell correctly. Jefferson writes about his moments in his days, his godmother, food, poor people, white people and more. Through Jefferson’s writing, it is noticeable that his mind has become free.  With the help of Grant, Jefferson really thinks more about his position in society. Jefferson is so much more confident with himself. He sees himself more as a man rather than a hog. Although the death of Jefferson can’t be changed, Jefferson died as a true man.

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The Plight of Manhood

Both texts by Gaines and Malcolm X suggest a pattern that starts with writing and reading. These actions lead to a freedom of mind and therefore allow an individual to be more certain about himself. This self-certainty and education is what opens the doors to manhood, as these texts portray a man as someone who stands strong and tall despite the adversaries and obstacles that surround him. A man knows who he is and is firm in that belief, even if others try to destroy his self esteem.

Grant narrates, ““They must believe, if only to free the mind, if not the body. Only when the mind is free has the body a chance to be free’” (Gaines 200). Though this quote has quite the negative context, as Grant refuses to believe in God or that Jefferson has been fairly judged for his supposed crime, it can relate to Jefferson and even Grant himself in other ways. After receiving the notebook, Jefferson begins to write, and his words vary from thoughts about death to the difference between being a hog and being a man. Through his writing, Jefferson begins to understand himself more and with Grant’s help, starts to see himself as an actual human and not as an animal like he previously believed. Jefferson’s mind has become free and he has become overall more confident in who he is, something that Grant never really knew for himself. Grant recognizes this difference and tells Jefferson: “‘You’re more of a man than I am, Jefferson…My eyes were closed before this moment, Jefferson. My eyes have been closed all my life’” (Gaines 184). This experience with Jefferson has freed Grant’s own mind a bit, as he has never been sure of who he is or what his purpose is. Jefferson has taught him to get over this uncertainty and stand firm in his belief in himself. And through Jefferson’s own freedom of mind obtained by Grant’s encouragement and his own writing, Jefferson becomes a man, and his final moments display this change as he walks towards the electric chair.

Malcolm X also gained a sense of manhood through the freedom of mind that his self-education brought him. His first display of manhood is what actually started it all, as he was determined to be able to articulate his strong thoughts through writing and took charge of his own learning. Through his own willpower, he learned how to read and write, and soon enough, his reading would change his life forever. Malcolm X wrote, “Months passed without my even thinking about being imprisoned. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.” All of the books he read freed his mind and opened it up to concepts that he would have never thought possible to understand. The readings, especially those that had to do with black mistreatment, inspired him to take a stand. He wrote, “As I see it today, the ability to read awoke inside me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive” (Malcolm X). This mental alertness spurred by his freedom to think for himself is what showed him what it was he needed to do. Malcolm X, through his self-educated reading and writing skills, gained the freedom of mind to become a man – a man who dedicated his life to relieving the plight of the black man.

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Order, Morals, and Rebellion

Morals: Morals and the attainment of moral perfection acted as driving forces in the young like of Benjamin Franklin, and although him and Tom Sawyer were similar in their energy and creativity, their moral compasses were not very similar.  Tom Sawyer lied, sometimes for the greater good (in Becky’s case), and othertimes for his own personal gain.

Order:  Tom Sawyer did not partake in any form of order or organization.  Both his thinking and his actions defied rule and regulation, while Benjamin Franklin attributes all of his success to having an orderly, mindful life.  Tom Sawyer did not respect order, or the personification of order found in his teacher and other adults.

The argument to be made is that every young person is different, and education cannot be standardized to suit just one.  Some people hail order and rule, while others completely reject them.  It seems that the American education system caters to the attitudes of pupils like Ben Franklin.  For example, an ordered day, every day/schedules/etc while reflecting on a set of rules and virtues made him an extremely successful man, while teachings of the same manner didn’t do as much for Tom Sawyer.