Poem

The Sick Child
by Robert Louis Stevenson
CHILD. O Mother, lay your hand on my brow! O mother, mother, where am I now? Why is the room so gaunt and great? Why am I lying awake so late? MOTHER. Fear not at all: the night is still. Nothing is here that means you ill - Nothing but lamps the whole town through, And never a child awake but you. CHILD. Mother, mother, speak low in my ear, Some of the things are so great and near, Some are so small and far away, I have a fear that I cannot say, What have I done, and what do I fear, And why are you crying, mother dear? MOTHER. Out in the city, sounds begin Thank the kind God, the carts come in! An hour or two more, and God is so kind, The day shall be blue in the window-blind, Then shall my child go sweetly asleep, And dream of the birds and the hills of sheep. Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden Sundays too my father got up early and put his clothes on in the blueblack cold, then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze. No one ever thanked him. I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking. When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house, Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well. What did I know, what did I know of love's austere and lonely offices?

"Interpreter of maladies" a true work of Post Modernism

 

Post Modernism or Post WWII is a time period known to portray human’s diversities of judgment where interpretation is key to people’s truth and Moral law is relative to each person. In “interpreter of maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri, we see an example of human’s behavioral complexity. The protagonists of the play Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi are drown in complication concerning their relationships with their respective family. Tha characterizes this play as a true work of the Post Modernism era.

Interpretation is a significant theme on this play. Mrs. Das deliberately cheated on her husband with his friend because she wasn't attracted to her husband any more. According to Mr Kapasi this is a flagrant act that one of her son is not Mr. Das biological sun. However what really Bother Mrs. Das was the fact that she is still living with her husband whom she doesn’t have any feeling for anymore. When she asked Mr.Kapasi to interpret her supposedly pain, Mr. Kapasi embarrassed her by saying:" Is it really pain you feel, Mrs. Das or is it guilt" (Mr. Kapasi 66). Judgment and interpretation are also shown in other aspect of the story. Both Mr Kapasi and her wife did not consider his job as an interpreter as a noble job but for Mrs. Das it was really romantic job (50). Interpretation and human’s behavior varies largely among people depending on their cultural environment. Lahiri made a good job presenting characters with two different culture, The Das family with a western culture and Mr kapasi with a eastern culture. We can see they share different thoughts, behave differently but they all live with complexity. 

Human’s desire and ability to make decision make of him a complex being. This thesis advocated during the Post Modernism is well shown in Lahiri’s “interpreter of maladies”. It looks irrational that Mrs. Das is no longer in love with her husband; they were so connected when they started dated each other. Their relationship was really exciting until their human mind will change that. Was it because they were too young or was it because their relation was a setup from their parents? (69). we don’t really know, it’s just another Post Modernism relative opinion. Also, Mr. Kapasi’s lost of a son did not bring him any closer to his wife instead has brought a cold atmosphere between them.

Jhumpa Lahiri’s “interpreter of maladies” depicts human’s complex behavior and difficulties in relationship as it was characterized during the Post Modernism Era. We saw peoples that weren’t too much different than the monkeys; they are obedient but unintimidated when it comes to question the absolute.

Written Law vs. Moral Law in Sophocles' Antigone

              Sophocles made of Antigone his tragic hero by defending his conscience to death; and made of Creon Antigone's antagonist by defending in any ways the written law of his royalty. Sophocles then used other characters such as Ismene, Haemon and Tiresias to show the public how valuable the principle of moral and the respect of the civil law were in the society of Thebes. Moreover, demonstrates how the protagonist Creon and Antigone were confident on their point of view.

              Ismene had a huge significance to the play. She was the first to elucidate to the reader that women were marginalized in this society of Thebes. We catch her saying: "You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men" (Ismene 70-71). She also demonstrates how the average people won't sacrifice themselves or their family to embrace moral law. Ismene had loved Polyneices as Antigone had, but just didn't have the same courage to "transgress against the sovereign's decree and power" (line 69). This proves how courageous and disobedient Antigone was. Furthermore, Ismene help us discover howt Antigone was such a wise person with an honorable character. Ismene knew that Antigone was a noble woman who doesn’t hide behind her action, that's why she asked her sister:" at least do not speak of this act to anyone else" (Ismene 97). However for Antigone, Ismene should "shout it out" (Antigone 99) so that everyone would have witnessed a true act of moral.

              Haemon and Teiresias were primarily interacting with Creon in the play. They were respectively creon's close family and friend. They tried to convince him to veto his law but he wouldn't listen. He was a typical fascist monarch. Speaking to Haemon he said: "Must I rule the land by someone else's judgment rather than my own?" (Cren 792). In his conversation with Haemon, we could understand that Creon could not digest that the offense was made by a woman. It is clear that he wanted to teach his son that "we cannot give victory to a woman" (line 729). Teiresias on his part advised Creon to respect the moral law by burying the dead corpse of Polyneices. Haemon and Teireses were two people that understood the importance of the writing laws but have begged Creon to dismiss the case for a better cause.

              The character Ismene, help to understand how Antigone was humble to moral law and Polyneices and Teiresias show Creon respect to the state law. Furthermore we realize that since the ancient Greek people have started questioning the laws imposed by the authorities.

Interpretation is relative to each person. (Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder)

            It is said on the philosophic reflections and even the scientific statements that humans are the only being with the ability to judge.This specific characteristic of human, allows them to interpret the world around them. Those interpretations go from a small scale like judging taste and color to a larger scale like depicting the good and the bad. From this, we have seen society ensemble a series of values tagged as good called moral. However, has each of those values the same level of truthiness and importance for each single person?  Many literary works of the post
modernism era especially “The Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri and “A&P” by John Updike show situation where people have justified their depraved action. It appears that values cannot be generalized; it depends on each person interpretation. Values will always be relative as long as humans have the ability to judge.

Interpretation is a natural aspect of human being; it is specific to the human spirit. Our five senses allow us to capture and perceive the outside world, while our intellectual capacity and reasoning power interpret them. How is the reasoning power work? We don’t really know, it is linked to the human spirit, it’s almost inexplicable.We interpret and judge thing without even notice.Everyone is doing so in a regular basis; it is in our subconscious.

            The human spirit or the consciousness present in each individual allows human to gather some similar opinion and thought about life in general. Further, as member of society who shares similar interest, some arguments are accepted as valid and moral by the average person. Moral principles and prides are also interpretation made by the human spirit.
 However, People will interpret those values differently. For some, those values are irrational and not so significant. We can see in “A&P” by John Updike there was nothing wrong on the girls’ perspective to walk in the store dressed with bikinis. They were confident on themselves, it was their normal habit. But In Lengel’s point of view this act was outrageous and disrespectful. Who had reason who was wrong no one can really tell, or at least everyone could interpret it as one sees it

Even though values are personal, people’s behavior and belief are influenced by the outside environment. Moral principles vary depending on the time and place. This time barrier has separated Lengel’s to the girls’. Lengel was an old man who grew up in a different society with different principle. The girls and Sammy in the other hand grew up in a post modernism society where values are more liberal Jhumpa Lahiri’s “Interpreter Of Maladies” is a crucial work of the post modernism era that emphasizes on interpretation. In this play we have seen characters behaving differently according to their culture. Mr. Kapasi with an Eastern culture found it inadmissible that Mrs. Das could have cheated on her husband, like it was the most outrageous thing he has heard of.  After Mrs. Das told Mr. Kapasi that Bobby was not Raj son “he felt a prickle on his skin”. “Are you surprise?” asked Mrs. Das. “It’s not the type of thing one assumes” respond Mr. Kapasi (Interpreter, 62). Yet Mrs. Das has found excuses for her act, claiming that she wasn’t feeling any interest for her husband anymore. The western culture of Mrs. Das does not sympathize with cheating neither, however westerners are more open minded in what concern moral values.

          Withhold someone to have and manifest his own perception of thing is the same a restrain his natural right. No one should be force to accept someone else ideas or opinion. We have seen many conflicts around the world concerning religion, sexual orientation and even abortion.Peoples have been battling since centuries for the respect of their right. Jean Paul Sartre, French philosopher of the 20^th centuries shared this idea of freedom of thinking. On his major philosophic work, “L’Etre Et Le Néant” (Being and Nothingness) he explain that man is condemned to be free. He goes further to explain that being free simply means to determine by your own what you desire.

Man is condemned to have their own interpretation on any aspect of life. This is where anyone is free from the outside word. It should be clear that someone’s natural right is it right to interpret life since human is a being of judgment. Interpretation makes people act and live differently. However, human as a social being, share their judgment to society and have their judgment influenced by society. This influence happens naturally because of the consciousness in human or often by oppression of the society. At the end, value is relative to each person’s interpretation.

Works cited

Both, Alison . "JOHN UPDIKE A&P." The norton introduction to literature. New York: W. W. NORTON & COMPANY, 2011. 409-414.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of maladies : stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999.

Hartmann, Klaus . Sartre's ontology : a study of "Being and Nothingness" in the light of Hegel's Logic. Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1966. Print.

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed". Martin Luther King

After being arrested for disobedient activities to desegregate public facilities in Birmingham, Dr. Martin Luther King Wrote while incarcerated his famous “Letter from Birmingham Jail:” One of the most important documents of the civil rights movement. In this letter DR king Jr. said: "Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." From this quote Dr. Martin Luther king elucidate for the mankind that whenever one feels the need of freedom one should get it by himself and from himself. As Bob Marley said it, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery none but ourselves can free our mind." This fact is also proven in the play Anitigone by sophocles.

In the play Antigone, Creon the king of Thebes has imposed his authority and has defended anyone to bury the dead corpse of Polyneices. This was the most outrageous punishment that could be inflicted to someone’s family. Everyone obey to Creon, watching their natural right taking away from them. No one except Antigone knew that her own freedom where on her own hands. Antigone, later on, buried the corpse of his beloved brother and emancipated herself from mental slavery. Talking to her sister Ismene she said, "It's not for him (Creon) to keep me from my own".

The oppressor would never give away freedom because at some extend the oppressed man has conditioned passively his restraint. That is what Niccolò Machiavelli so-called the founder of modern political science explained by saying:" One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived”. In the course of history, no group of people has ever taken their freedom without battles and grieves. Since the story of the Egyptian civilization with Pharaoh going to those latest revolutions in the Middle East, we have seen people battling bitterly for their liberty.

A real fight for natural right will always have success as they had in the past. Napoleon Bonaparte said once "A man will fight harder for his interests than for his rights", but he was wrong. Toussaint Louverture has freed the slaves in Haiti because he fought for theirs rights, women have obtained suffrages because they fought for theirs right. People who's being oppressed will find their freedom only if they fight for it as their life interest.

A letter to the censorship committee

Thursday 22, 2012

Censorship committee

2350 Broadhollow Road
Farmingdale, NY 11735-1021
 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

“The Storm” by Kate Chopin portrays scenes that many would qualify as graphic and inappropriate. However, this short story has profound connections with abstract and hidden issues in society. Issues that concern primarily the maltreatment of women in their marital relationship and secondly, their separation in society. I think “The Storm” is a great step ahead in the movement of protecting women's rights and freedom. I suggest strongly that the censorship committee take this in consideration and publish the storm.

 

Chopin presents herself as the inner advocate of the women’s spirits in “The Storm.” She shouts it out for everyone that women are natural human beings who also have sexual desire and need tenderness. Her story is set in a residential house surrounded by tall trees while the storm was occurring. The Setting alone sets the tone and made the story romantic. Calixta the main character receives visits from Alcée a man that she had a flirtation with before her marriage. As Alcée is entering the house, the raindrops grow bigger. Throughout the story, as the tension is rising the storm is getting more aggressive. Chopin uses this imagery of the storm to demonstrate and qualify the tension of their sexual Desiree. Calixta said to Alcée : “It’s been two years since it rain like that.” It seems like Calixta haven't have such passion since years. Her body and her mind were waiting for this as a dry land is waiting for the rain. When it takes longer to rain, that's when we have a deluge. “The Storm” as a phenomenon of nature represents normal passion and sensuous desire of Calixta.

 

Also in the beginning scene, Chopin points out that Calixta was left home alone by her husband. She stayed sewing linen furiously and doing domestic work. She was so frustrated and exhausted that she had to wash her face, and didn't even notice the rain until later.

 

This is this costume that Chopin is trying to denounce in our society. Women have been treated like insensitive being. They were left aside. Women have been considered like being devoted entirely to serve man. They haven't get opportunities to socialize or to participate in intellectual activities. That is what Chopin portrays when we see that Alcee’s wife, Clarisse, is able to go away for vacation.

But still, our women who have raised this country and continue to raise our children of tomorrow, are still battling for suffrages. 

This text from Chopin is a decisive call to egalitarianism. It is the time to ban gender inequality and set equal social and economic convenience for women. Censoring this play will be like restraining the country from justice and freedom for all.  

Sincerly,

Thelusmond Ninel

 Ninel Thelusmond, NOW (National Organization for Women)
06 decibel road
Farmingdale, NY 11735-1021

Class lecture

  

            The lecture about interpretation has really taken my attention for quite a while. I actually made a whole paper about this theme. I was always amazed by the fact that people always interpret values or beauty differently. And during this one lecture I learned that perspective is a big factor on people’s interpretation. I remember Professor Brady standing up the desk to explain that even we all looking at the same thing we won’t see it the same way in other words in the same perspective.

Fantasy was a huge theme discussed during this semester. Many texts we have read embodied fantasy as theme; from “A Street Car Named Desire” to “The Interpreter Of Maladies. They show how people hide their real situation to live in a fantasy world. The class discussion has helped me realize that we all do that in smaller scale. One of my peer’s took scenarios in relationship as an example, when people pretend to love their partner’s while they are not; their just scared to start something over. Fantasy is just the easiest way for people to win over their hardship.

"Sacrifice Today and Enjoy the Glory Tomorrow." Ernesto Rosario Mignano. This quote has motivated me essentially at the end of this semester when things were getting harder. That make me think about my own dad who also would tell me over and over again” success has a price it’s call sacrifice”

Introduction to literature (ENG 102) With Professor Mignano Brady

 Coming from English 101 where I wrote a couple of research paper and narration, I thought English 102 will have followed this same pedagogy. It turns out that this course instead, accentuated more on doing critical reading and writing personal responses. Everything we wrote on this class came from our understanding and opinion on subjects that concern the human condition.

We were thankful to have a professor like Mignano Brady who taught with the most sincere enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, “enthusiasm” became our motto during the whole semester. And this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm” was our ode. Professor Mignano’s enthusiasm was contagious and mademe gain interest in the materials.

I did not understand the true meaning and purpose of literature till this course. Finally, I discovered that literature is the study of the human condition and its culture. It portrays human with all their emotions and feeling, their flaws and their keenest joy. More, it is the study of human behavior, and relation with nature. 

Coming out from this class, I have the expertise to critically read a text. I know to take in consideration the place and the time it was written; that allows a better understanding of the metaphor and theme present in the text. Most importantly I have developed the intellectual capacity to generate my own argument. Moreover when it comes to disserted my ideas, I now become more organize on my thought and choose the words that best describe my points. 

What will your verse be?

               Familial love is the most profound and natural emotion among living beings. It’s not quantifiable but it can be express with the power of word. The poems “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden and “The Sick Child” by Robert Louis Stevenson are examples where people used poetry as a mean to nude their most sincere emotions of love. Further, by listening to the song “Dear Mama” by Tupac Shakur, we saw it shares the same theme with “The Sick Child” and “Those WinterSundays”. The poems “The Sick Child” and “Those Winter Sundays” and the song “Dear Mama” express love along with support and need while the authors use different tones and styles.

The poem “Those Winter Sunday” by Robert Hayden portrays an adult who is retracing his dad activities and attitude when he was still a kid. Robert explains all the extra work that his dad was committed to do for him that he used to neglect. Robert starts the poem saying, “Sundays too my father got up early” (Hayden 1) instill that his father wouldn’t take any break. Then at the end of the paragraph he said: “no one ever thanked him” (Hayden 5). Robert Hayden used this kind of irony throughout the entire poem. Whenever he explains how hard his dad worked he goes to mention how he has stayed indifferent, this is shown in this verse” Speaking indifferently to him, who had driven out the cold and polished my good shoes as well”.

Furthermore his dad also was strict with him, as a kid this wasn’t sign of love for him. He wrote: “I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic anger of that house” (5). But now that the author has grown up, he realizes how his dad loved him, he understand the love that he’s father was expressing through the hard work that he was doing for the family. And now in a tone of regret he wrote what did I know what did I know of love’s austere. See in this sentence Robert uses a repetition of word to accentuate to his feeling of regret.

This same scenario is sung on “Dear mama” by Tupac Shakur. The rapper now grown up is expressing his love and his appreciation to his mother in a tone of regret. Tupac starts to explain how he was a trouble boy. He constantly had beef with his mother and “breaking all the rules” (Shakur 6). This line tells more,” I reminisce on the stress I caused, it was hell hugging on my mama from a jail cell” (Shakur 11-12). But now the author realizes how his mother was doing the impossible the raised him. He wrote;” I finally understand for a woman it ain't easy trying to raise a man. He goes further to say “there is no way I can pay you back but the plan is to tell you that I understand” (19-20)

The rapper also talks about the support that he got from his mother; a kind of support that he wouldn’t get from anyone else but from a mother. In a state of deep regret he’s remembering how special this love that he has favored. He wrote, “Pour out some liquor and I reminsce, cause through the drama, I can always depend on my mama, and when it seems that I'm hopeless, you say the words that can get me back in focus.”(Verse 3,1-4). This psychological support in another word this love from his mother was so profound and so real that it seems to become a need for the author.

               The Sick Child” by Robert Louis Stevenson shares this same idea of support and need as the song “Dear Mama”. However, this play is melancholic and sad. The author, instead of telling stories, represents a dialogue between a mother and her sick child. The child felt the need to have her mother around him, asking her to “O Mother, lay your hand on my brow” (Stevenson 1). The setting of this poem makes it even more romantic because of the direct conversation of the two. The child is lying on his mother’s arm and she is whispering sweet words to comfort her sick kid. Line 5 and 6 tell more:” Fear not at all: the night is still. Nothing is here that means you ill” It appear clearly this kid did not encounter love’s austere and lonely offices”.

                In those two poems, “The Sick Child” by Robert Louis Stevenson (1913), “Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden (1966) and the song “Dear Mama” by Tupac Shakur (1995) the authors embraced this emotion of familial love and expressed it in words as they feel it. While “Those Winter Sundays” and Dear Mama express love and appreciation in a tone of regret, “The Sick Child” in a tone of melancholy and romance shows the purest love between a mother and a child. Robert Hayden, Tupac Shakur and Robert Louis Stevenson have contributed their verse as members of the human race. What would your verse be?