The Tartuffe vs Orgon debate this past wednesday was fun, I only wish it would have lasted longer. I made a choice, but I really enjoy hearing both sides because I could see both of them being evil in their own ways. I didn't like Orgon at all because he chose to do what he did JUST to spite his family, and ultimately that's who I ended up choosing as the most evil, but I do think Tartuffe was also very evil. Another reason I chose Orgon was because even when Tartuffe admitted that he was a horrible guy to Orgon, and tried to tell Orgon that he should make Tartuffe leave, Orgon didn't listen. Tartuffe is a comedy yes, but I feel that there is a lot of truth in the play, and the characters definitely have development and depth to them.
I enjoy movies, plays, books, etc that are more realistic and don't make the "villain" obviously evil. That's something that Disney is just figuring out. Their villains are just now starting to become more real and actually have believable stories behind why they act the way they do. My favorite producer, Hayao Miyazaki, has made almost all his movies in which there are no plain right and wrong groups, everyone has valid reasons and picking a side can be extremely hard. In particular, I have been analyzing Princess Mononoke. Among the three-four main characters in the film, there’s not a particular difference between the two sides. Each person has their own story and reasons for their particular actions. I think Miyazaki tries to pull this out through the character Ashitaka and his struggle. Ashitaka tries to make peace between the humans and nature, and sees the good in both sides, but is also confronted with the evil in both sides.
Response 8 (10/25/13)
I really wish I hadn’t missed class on Wed; I would have liked making a newscast about Columbus, but I digress. Today’s reading and discussion of cannibals was actually fun and interesting to me. And oddly enough ties in quite nicely with a few things that happened over my “fall” break. Oddly enough, I liked reading Montaigne’s “Of Cannibals” because it really sums up a lot of the problems with society, even better than the Inferno. Montaigne boils his essay down a couple of times to the fact that maybe these “barbarians” aren’t that barbaric at all. They simply live life differently than Europeans (of that time) do.
As he clearly states by his disgust, I’m also not saying that cannibalism is right! All I’d like to point out is that these native people were perfectly content in their lives, they didn’t NEED anything else, and the certainly didn’t WANT anything else. The Europeans on the other hand, with all their “civilization,” WANTED more land, WANTED more gold, and WANTED more power. The Europeans didn’t NEED any of that, but they took it anyways. And which party was happier overall? I’d like to make an assumption that it was the natives that were happier overall because they had everything they needed and didn’t want for more.
This ties with my break because I was recently directed to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
I don’t recall of ever having come across this before now; but I’ve had a few issues with where my life is and someone pointed this out as a reminder of need vs want. Now, I know I’m probably assuming quite a bit today, but I think the Europeans could have been reminded of this. The original purpose for their expeditions may have been pure and religious, but in the end, we all know they were more concerned with money. I mean come on! They found stupid excuses to slaughter the natives, like they wouldn’t convert, just so that they would hold more power over them and be able to take more of their riches. Just like most of the Inferno, it all boils down to greed.
Response 7 (10/11/13) Just let me know if you change your mind. I think there is a lot you could say about the contemporary relevance of the Inferno. Make sure that you address specific examples/episodes from the text and from today, so that you aren't just speaking in generalities. - MH
To be honest, I haven't had a chance to think about this first essay or what I will do. I would love to try my hand at a creative one, but I'm so busy and stressed right now that I'm pretty sure I should just stick to a traditional essay. I guess my first thought when I knew that I had to pick a topic today, would be that I absolutely love Dante's Inferno. I think that I'll try to find all the contemporary relevance. I believe that even though the Inferno takes the whole idea of hell to an extreme level, there is a lot of truth into the corruption that Dante was trying to portray. Every time I read the Inferno, I just get the feeling that he could be talking not just about religious corruption then, but all the corruption in society, government, and companies today.
I haven’t thought enough about what detail I’ll go into, and there’s a thought for some sort of creative spin on pulling a company or government setting into the Inferno, but my brain is working slow. Right now I’m leaning towards a traditional essay on the contemporary relevance of Dante’s Inferno. However, I may email Dr. Hartman soon with an idea for a creative one if my brain starts working.
Response 6 (10/7/13)
Utpoia and The Prince struck me this past week as both being very opinionated and stubborn. Both of these works have their own ideas of how the world should work and that there are no flaws in their own plans. As someone who has made a number of plans throughout my life, plans are never perfect. There’s always something that goes wrong or someone who doesn’t follow through.
I had a perfect plan these past few weeks for my new puppy. I was going to take her on walks in the morning, crate her while I was gone, cuddle with her while I did homework, and play with her after agility classes. We were going to be the best of friends and have a wonderful time. I soon found out that she has separation anxiety and claustrophobia. This threw a wrench in those plans and I had to revise our whole routine to try and accommodate this. Eventually, even after my revised plan seemed to work, a new caveat appeared and I had to revise once again.
Just like my plan with my puppy showed something out of my control, perfect plans don’t exist. Neither does a perfect world, or a perfect prince. In class discussion, we pointed out that even in this perfect world, there were slaves. In The Prince, there are contradictory statements and rough guidelines for how he should be and act. There is no one plan to a perfect life. Stepping stones to think through to a better and happier society are a good thought, but saying that the description of Utopia is the end goal is not perfect. I believe that happiness can only be found through trial and error and each person’s happiness is different from the next. We are all individuals, and your utopia would not be the same as mine.
Response 5 (9/29/13)
The Canterbury Tales is an interesting story to me, and the Wife of Bath in particular is a memorable tale just because of how frank she is in the prologue. She has a lot of experience with marriage, and she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. I think it’s interesting that a lot of women in the current time could take a note from the Wife of Bath. While I disagree that women need to control their husbands, I like that she doesn’t just stand by and let her husband make all the decisions for her. Women should not just be instruments of pleasure for men, but instead an equal partner in decisions and life.
A lot of her arguments about virginity and marriage are also extremely valid. She makes a good point that not everyone can be virgins. While that is a noble path, if everyone stuck to it, then there would be no more people to follow the path of virginity. Because of this, the world needs those that cannot follow the path of virginity, and she likes sex. She makes it clear that she is not afraid of her sexuality and not afraid to stand up for it. The Bible doesn’t say anything about remarrying after a husband has died, and she doesn’t want to sit around as a widow for the rest of her life. So instead of participating in corrupting other marriages, or soiling other men by just sleeping with them, she finds those that would marry her.
The Wife of Bath led an interesting life for her time and set a few trends that could almost be called noble for that time period. However, some of her arguments are slightly off, like the fact that she argues that a woman’s duty is to produce offspring, yet she has none herself even after five husbands. Overall however, the Wife of Bath leads a relatively positive life and role model for women.
Response 4 (9/20/13)
As we finished reading the Inferno this week, many pieces fell into place for me in the final discussion we had in class. The parallels of three in all of the Divine Comedy, and the figures throughout the Inferno finally make some sense to me. The discussion today in class was wonderful and actually captured my attention more than any class discussion I’ve been a part of. I really enjoyed some of the interpretations of different aspects of Dante’s work. I prefer not to speak out about my opinions, but I enjoy comparing them to that of others’. Often times I find that someone else’s opinion shows me a whole new angle to something and makes me think on a deeper level about what the symbol could mean.
My favorite idea from today’s discussion was probably the thought that the treacherous hosts’ bodies are now occupied by demons in treachery of their own “home” on earth. It brought a new light to looking at the sinners of the ninth circle and the thought that maybe some of them could be interpreted otherwise. However, I still stand by my opinion that the ninth circle is icy cold because of how far they are from God, and how their hearts are turned to stone and thus cold as ice.
Comparing the two different translations has also been an interesting pass time for me, as I said last week. Now that I’ve finished them, I can say that personally, I stand by John Ciardi’s translation mostly because I find it easier to read. However, given the chance, (and the given that I would learn the language first) I’d really enjoy reading Dante’s original meanings instead of a translator’s interpretation. Re-reading the Inferno has been a lot of fun and although it’s not required, I may pick up the rest of the comedy as Christmas reading.
Response 3 (9/14/13)
I am extremely thrilled to be re-reading Dante's Inferno because it is one of my favorite works I have read in a school setting. I love the story and for being an allegory, most of the meanings are straightforward and I have little trouble following what's going on. Dante's depiction of hell is also one of my favorites because of the physical layout and structure of it. This time around, I am picking up more and more on the allegorical details rather than focusing mostly on the story. It confused me the first time around how the different animals connected to different sins, but I finally made the connection this past week.
I have been comparing the reading to a different translation that I own, and it’s interesting to see the choices of words and phrases and how the translations differ. The meanings that are conveyed by them are almost slightly different it seems. Each translator emphasizes different points and brings up different key facts. Between the two of them, it strengthens my idea that translations are never as good as the original; however, if these translations are so good, I just wonder how cool it would be to read the original.
I like the story of Paolo and Francesca because of the history I’ve found in a variety of notes, and yet how the storyline in the Inferno never actually lets on this history. I think it’s interesting to think about that and how readers of the time would have inherently known this history while readers of today only get the biased side that Francesca tells us. I wonder if Dante thought about how readers of the future might not understand all the references that he gave in his work.
Response 2 (8/30/13)
This week, reading the Koran really caught my attention because compared to other readings that I've done, in this class and over the years, I have never read a text that caused so much anger at what was being said. Although I was raised in a Christian household, recently, I would say that I've strayed pretty far from that background; however, reading this I know I had somewhat of a biased opinion because of my history. I cannot objectively say that this text is wrong in any way, but in my opinion, much of the text is contradictory and opinionated.
While reading the Koran, I also noticed that most of the rules addressed in it are very detailed rules about what seem to me more government-controlled proceedings. And although we did not read the whole Koran, there seemed to be no basic rules on how to live in a way that pleases God.
In many ways, the Koran has similar ideals to the Bible. The stories about Jesus still exist and a One True God, The Creator of all things, and many others. However, many of the ideals and rules of the faiths seem to differ greatly and it really sparked an interest in me to learn more about them and how they are so different.
Part of me knows that most of the reason the text angered me so much is because as a woman, I noticed that it was directed to and talking to men, and women are an afterthought or a thing rather than a human being to be talked to and guided as well. Along with this, I know that there is something else that angers me and I want to be able to put my finger on what it is and why it angers me. Because of this, I will be doing more research and reading to quench this quest for understanding.
Response 1 (8/23/13)
I’m really looking forward to this class because I don’t particularly enjoy history unless I can learn it through something “fun.” My section of 201 could be called fun in a way, but it really stressed me out having only one grade, so I’m glad to go back to a normal class set-up. I feel that looking at these time periods through artwork will help keep me focused and interested instead of daydreaming about other things.
I used to look forward to my art classes in high school; however, since then, I haven’t had too many chances in college to draw much of anything. I miss art and all that it entails. I don’t have tons of skill and creating my own artwork, so it’s really interesting to me to dissect and see what different artists may have been trying to portray through their works. I have especially enjoyed learning about the elements or art, and how they can drastically change the mood of a work.
Building off of the basics of the artwork can lead to a deeper understanding of the artist’s message and what the content of the piece is trying to portray, and it really excites me that I can depict a lot more than I originally thought from a simple painting just by looking at the elements. I have been one of those 5-second museum viewers, but now that I know a bit more about the basics and dissecting art, I feel like I could appreciate art much more. This opens up a world of opportunities and learning for me that never really existed before now.
Looking through the syllabus, I’m excited to touch on Dante’s Inferno and some Japanese literature. I love reading, and I really enjoyed the Inferno when I read it in high school, so I can’t wait to dissect it more now and re-experience the levels of hell.
The Tartuffe vs Orgon debate this past wednesday was fun, I only wish it would have lasted longer. I made a choice, but I really enjoy hearing both sides because I could see both of them being evil in their own ways. I didn't like Orgon at all because he chose to do what he did JUST to spite his family, and ultimately that's who I ended up choosing as the most evil, but I do think Tartuffe was also very evil. Another reason I chose Orgon was because even when Tartuffe admitted that he was a horrible guy to Orgon, and tried to tell Orgon that he should make Tartuffe leave, Orgon didn't listen. Tartuffe is a comedy yes, but I feel that there is a lot of truth in the play, and the characters definitely have development and depth to them.
I enjoy movies, plays, books, etc that are more realistic and don't make the "villain" obviously evil. That's something that Disney is just figuring out. Their villains are just now starting to become more real and actually have believable stories behind why they act the way they do. My favorite producer, Hayao Miyazaki, has made almost all his movies in which there are no plain right and wrong groups, everyone has valid reasons and picking a side can be extremely hard. In particular, I have been analyzing Princess Mononoke. Among the three-four main characters in the film, there’s not a particular difference between the two sides. Each person has their own story and reasons for their particular actions. I think Miyazaki tries to pull this out through the character Ashitaka and his struggle. Ashitaka tries to make peace between the humans and nature, and sees the good in both sides, but is also confronted with the evil in both sides.
Response 8 (10/25/13)
I really wish I hadn’t missed class on Wed; I would have liked making a newscast about Columbus, but I digress. Today’s reading and discussion of cannibals was actually fun and interesting to me. And oddly enough ties in quite nicely with a few things that happened over my “fall” break. Oddly enough, I liked reading Montaigne’s “Of Cannibals” because it really sums up a lot of the problems with society, even better than the Inferno. Montaigne boils his essay down a couple of times to the fact that maybe these “barbarians” aren’t that barbaric at all. They simply live life differently than Europeans (of that time) do.
As he clearly states by his disgust, I’m also not saying that cannibalism is right! All I’d like to point out is that these native people were perfectly content in their lives, they didn’t NEED anything else, and the certainly didn’t WANT anything else. The Europeans on the other hand, with all their “civilization,” WANTED more land, WANTED more gold, and WANTED more power. The Europeans didn’t NEED any of that, but they took it anyways. And which party was happier overall? I’d like to make an assumption that it was the natives that were happier overall because they had everything they needed and didn’t want for more.
This ties with my break because I was recently directed to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.
Response 7 (10/11/13)
Just let me know if you change your mind. I think there is a lot you could say about the contemporary relevance of the Inferno. Make sure that you address specific examples/episodes from the text and from today, so that you aren't just speaking in generalities. - MH
To be honest, I haven't had a chance to think about this first essay or what I will do. I would love to try my hand at a creative one, but I'm so busy and stressed right now that I'm pretty sure I should just stick to a traditional essay. I guess my first thought when I knew that I had to pick a topic today, would be that I absolutely love Dante's Inferno. I think that I'll try to find all the contemporary relevance. I believe that even though the Inferno takes the whole idea of hell to an extreme level, there is a lot of truth into the corruption that Dante was trying to portray. Every time I read the Inferno, I just get the feeling that he could be talking not just about religious corruption then, but all the corruption in society, government, and companies today.
I haven’t thought enough about what detail I’ll go into, and there’s a thought for some sort of creative spin on pulling a company or government setting into the Inferno, but my brain is working slow. Right now I’m leaning towards a traditional essay on the contemporary relevance of Dante’s Inferno. However, I may email Dr. Hartman soon with an idea for a creative one if my brain starts working.
Response 6 (10/7/13)
Utpoia and The Prince struck me this past week as both being very opinionated and stubborn. Both of these works have their own ideas of how the world should work and that there are no flaws in their own plans. As someone who has made a number of plans throughout my life, plans are never perfect. There’s always something that goes wrong or someone who doesn’t follow through.
I had a perfect plan these past few weeks for my new puppy. I was going to take her on walks in the morning, crate her while I was gone, cuddle with her while I did homework, and play with her after agility classes. We were going to be the best of friends and have a wonderful time. I soon found out that she has separation anxiety and claustrophobia. This threw a wrench in those plans and I had to revise our whole routine to try and accommodate this. Eventually, even after my revised plan seemed to work, a new caveat appeared and I had to revise once again.
Just like my plan with my puppy showed something out of my control, perfect plans don’t exist. Neither does a perfect world, or a perfect prince. In class discussion, we pointed out that even in this perfect world, there were slaves. In The Prince, there are contradictory statements and rough guidelines for how he should be and act. There is no one plan to a perfect life. Stepping stones to think through to a better and happier society are a good thought, but saying that the description of Utopia is the end goal is not perfect. I believe that happiness can only be found through trial and error and each person’s happiness is different from the next. We are all individuals, and your utopia would not be the same as mine.
Response 5 (9/29/13)
The Canterbury Tales is an interesting story to me, and the Wife of Bath in particular is a memorable tale just because of how frank she is in the prologue. She has a lot of experience with marriage, and she’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in. I think it’s interesting that a lot of women in the current time could take a note from the Wife of Bath. While I disagree that women need to control their husbands, I like that she doesn’t just stand by and let her husband make all the decisions for her. Women should not just be instruments of pleasure for men, but instead an equal partner in decisions and life.
A lot of her arguments about virginity and marriage are also extremely valid. She makes a good point that not everyone can be virgins. While that is a noble path, if everyone stuck to it, then there would be no more people to follow the path of virginity. Because of this, the world needs those that cannot follow the path of virginity, and she likes sex. She makes it clear that she is not afraid of her sexuality and not afraid to stand up for it. The Bible doesn’t say anything about remarrying after a husband has died, and she doesn’t want to sit around as a widow for the rest of her life. So instead of participating in corrupting other marriages, or soiling other men by just sleeping with them, she finds those that would marry her.
The Wife of Bath led an interesting life for her time and set a few trends that could almost be called noble for that time period. However, some of her arguments are slightly off, like the fact that she argues that a woman’s duty is to produce offspring, yet she has none herself even after five husbands. Overall however, the Wife of Bath leads a relatively positive life and role model for women.
Response 4 (9/20/13)
As we finished reading the Inferno this week, many pieces fell into place for me in the final discussion we had in class. The parallels of three in all of the Divine Comedy, and the figures throughout the Inferno finally make some sense to me. The discussion today in class was wonderful and actually captured my attention more than any class discussion I’ve been a part of. I really enjoyed some of the interpretations of different aspects of Dante’s work. I prefer not to speak out about my opinions, but I enjoy comparing them to that of others’. Often times I find that someone else’s opinion shows me a whole new angle to something and makes me think on a deeper level about what the symbol could mean.
My favorite idea from today’s discussion was probably the thought that the treacherous hosts’ bodies are now occupied by demons in treachery of their own “home” on earth. It brought a new light to looking at the sinners of the ninth circle and the thought that maybe some of them could be interpreted otherwise. However, I still stand by my opinion that the ninth circle is icy cold because of how far they are from God, and how their hearts are turned to stone and thus cold as ice.
Comparing the two different translations has also been an interesting pass time for me, as I said last week. Now that I’ve finished them, I can say that personally, I stand by John Ciardi’s translation mostly because I find it easier to read. However, given the chance, (and the given that I would learn the language first) I’d really enjoy reading Dante’s original meanings instead of a translator’s interpretation. Re-reading the Inferno has been a lot of fun and although it’s not required, I may pick up the rest of the comedy as Christmas reading.
Response 3 (9/14/13)
I am extremely thrilled to be re-reading Dante's Inferno because it is one of my favorite works I have read in a school setting. I love the story and for being an allegory, most of the meanings are straightforward and I have little trouble following what's going on. Dante's depiction of hell is also one of my favorites because of the physical layout and structure of it. This time around, I am picking up more and more on the allegorical details rather than focusing mostly on the story. It confused me the first time around how the different animals connected to different sins, but I finally made the connection this past week.
I have been comparing the reading to a different translation that I own, and it’s interesting to see the choices of words and phrases and how the translations differ. The meanings that are conveyed by them are almost slightly different it seems. Each translator emphasizes different points and brings up different key facts. Between the two of them, it strengthens my idea that translations are never as good as the original; however, if these translations are so good, I just wonder how cool it would be to read the original.
I like the story of Paolo and Francesca because of the history I’ve found in a variety of notes, and yet how the storyline in the Inferno never actually lets on this history. I think it’s interesting to think about that and how readers of the time would have inherently known this history while readers of today only get the biased side that Francesca tells us. I wonder if Dante thought about how readers of the future might not understand all the references that he gave in his work.
Response 2 (8/30/13)
This week, reading the Koran really caught my attention because compared to other readings that I've done, in this class and over the years, I have never read a text that caused so much anger at what was being said. Although I was raised in a Christian household, recently, I would say that I've strayed pretty far from that background; however, reading this I know I had somewhat of a biased opinion because of my history. I cannot objectively say that this text is wrong in any way, but in my opinion, much of the text is contradictory and opinionated.
While reading the Koran, I also noticed that most of the rules addressed in it are very detailed rules about what seem to me more government-controlled proceedings. And although we did not read the whole Koran, there seemed to be no basic rules on how to live in a way that pleases God.
In many ways, the Koran has similar ideals to the Bible. The stories about Jesus still exist and a One True God, The Creator of all things, and many others. However, many of the ideals and rules of the faiths seem to differ greatly and it really sparked an interest in me to learn more about them and how they are so different.
Part of me knows that most of the reason the text angered me so much is because as a woman, I noticed that it was directed to and talking to men, and women are an afterthought or a thing rather than a human being to be talked to and guided as well. Along with this, I know that there is something else that angers me and I want to be able to put my finger on what it is and why it angers me. Because of this, I will be doing more research and reading to quench this quest for understanding.
Response 1 (8/23/13)
I’m really looking forward to this class because I don’t particularly enjoy history unless I can learn it through something “fun.” My section of 201 could be called fun in a way, but it really stressed me out having only one grade, so I’m glad to go back to a normal class set-up. I feel that looking at these time periods through artwork will help keep me focused and interested instead of daydreaming about other things.
I used to look forward to my art classes in high school; however, since then, I haven’t had too many chances in college to draw much of anything. I miss art and all that it entails. I don’t have tons of skill and creating my own artwork, so it’s really interesting to me to dissect and see what different artists may have been trying to portray through their works. I have especially enjoyed learning about the elements or art, and how they can drastically change the mood of a work.
Building off of the basics of the artwork can lead to a deeper understanding of the artist’s message and what the content of the piece is trying to portray, and it really excites me that I can depict a lot more than I originally thought from a simple painting just by looking at the elements. I have been one of those 5-second museum viewers, but now that I know a bit more about the basics and dissecting art, I feel like I could appreciate art much more. This opens up a world of opportunities and learning for me that never really existed before now.
Looking through the syllabus, I’m excited to touch on Dante’s Inferno and some Japanese literature. I love reading, and I really enjoyed the Inferno when I read it in high school, so I can’t wait to dissect it more now and re-experience the levels of hell.