It was very interesting to watch the movie Chocolat and to see the different relationships that occurred throughout the movie. First is the relationship between France and Protee. Throughout the film, it was very noticeable the two had a very strong relationship. France looked up to Protee as more than just a caretaker, but rather as a father. He took care of her much more than her own father and mother for that matter. For this reason, the end scene between the two characters really shocked me and I can only speculate on Protee's reasoning's for causing France to burn her hand. He knew she would trust him and that she would get badly burnt resulting in the end of their relationship. The thing I don't understand is his motives behind that. Did he want to somehow retaliate against his unjust demotion to working outside in the garage? Did he feel this was the only way to break his relationship with France because he was no longer able to work in the house and take care of her? It is interesting to see this relationship because it is not one we see in either Heart of Darkness or Things Fall Apart. There were never any close ties between the two races in either book. Both of them portrayed the unknown of the new and foreign people, where as in the film, the Europeans were already established in these areas. The last scene between Protee and France also makes me question what happened next. There is a certain ambiguity with this because it is never clear if the grown up France is returning to Africa or returning to the house.
April 18, 2014
For my final project I am looking at the different movements of art that we have talked about. My thesis for this project is to prove how art has evolved throughout the different movements, but has essentially maintained the same expression. To do this, I will examine three different pieces from different movements. I will then combine the three images based on techniques, subject matter, style, etc. I will start with an image from phase one, Impressionism. In phase two, I will transform the original impressionist painting into either a surrealist or fauvism inspired painting. I will do this by combining certain elements of both paintings using digital programs like Photoshop. In phase three I will transform the image again with a technique inspired by the modern artist, David Hockney. For my final project there will be one image that has been inspired by three. For the presentation, I plan to show the final combined image, as well some of my process. This would include each of the paintings that I was inspired by as well as the image derived after each phase.
The idea I want to express with this project is that art is always expression. In each of the different phases, artists at the time used the medium and techniques that were available to them to comment on society and everyday life around them. I think it is important to understand and appreciate the beauty in all of the techniques, but fundamentally they are all the same, because they provoke a thought and an emotion.
This sounds great. I can't wait to see the results. -MH
April 11, 2014
The explanations given on Friday about the artwork was an amazing experience. To me, her artwork embodies what modern art truly is. We discussed what modern art meant to us in class, and for me, it is no different than what art has been in the past. Art stands for expression, yet modern art truly explores different mediums and techniques to portray this expression, than what has been done in the past. The work we saw on Friday exposed different political, social, and personal feelings for both the artist and the people of her country. The artwork was unique in the sense that instead of solely using images to get the message across, but rather the combination of physical objects, like the plants and insects, and the use of text. I thought this was very powerful because it held a deeper meaning because it represented her culture and religion.
Another thing I really enjoyed about her artwork was the fact that the pieces were not create to be aesthetically beautiful. I feel that when we typically think of art we want something that will look nice, something that is very pleasing to the eye. Yet, the pieces we saw on Friday were not obviously beautiful. Their beauty truly stood out after we received the deeper meaning for each detail and aspect of the work of art. This is what modern art really is. It is the boldness of not making something that is strictly beautiful, but something that evokes an emotion and something that stands for a deeper meaning.
March 28, 2014
I found Freud’s interpretation of dreams to be both very interesting and very confusing. I completely understand the basic meaning of wish fulfillment when the message of the dream is rather obvious; you are thirsty so you dream of drinking water. I also made sense of how Freud interpreted the dreams that had become distorted. Using context from the person’s life, it was easy to deduce the meaning of the dreams. What I don’t understand and still a little confused about is the idea of fears in your dreams. To me, fear could be a synonym of a wish. One is a desire you want to come true and the other is something you dread coming to fruition. Both are things that you have suppressed into your unconscious, so to me it is only natural that these fearful suppressions would come out in your dreams. For example, I have dreams about wolves chasing me. I obviously do not wish that I was being chased by wolves, so I attribute this to a fear that I have that I never want to come to pass. Or is there an underlying meaning that Freud would draw from these dreams?
March 21, 2014
One moment that stood out to me was when the fog started rolling in. This scene was just very eerie and unknown. At one point it talks about how there is complete silence and the next the is a loud cry. The narrator says "it seemed as though the mist itself had screamed". They describe how they can only see the steamer around them. Further it goes on and some of the men are whispering 'will they attack?' I think this was an important scene to the story because it highlighted the fears of the men and the foreignness of their surroundings. It was also important in how it dealt with the fog as a symbol. The fog alludes to darkness in the same sense that you can not see through the fog and it also gives you false allusions. By this, I am referring to the men imagining shapes and noises around them. An interesting thing to note about the fog is that it is white. In class, we discussed the symbolism of black and white, where black was associated with the unknown wilderness and environment around them. By this description the fog should be black, but it is described as a white mist. I think this could refer to the allusions the men give themselves of the natives and jungle around them. It could also refer to how they are not seeing the environment around them correctly and misjudging based on their own prejudices clouding their vision.
March 7, 2014
It was interesting to see all of the different accounts and takes on women’s rights from our readings from this week and previous. The first is Mary Wollstonecraft and her writings we studied last semester in 202. In her writings, she was very articulate in her approach to women’s rights. Her writings reminded me of the Women’s Bible and the Declaration of Sentiments by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Both of these women advocated directly for women’s rights through their writing, whereas in the story of a Doll’s House, The Yellow Wallpaper, Story of an Hour, and The Revolver, all of them comment on the social situations of women. I think the writings of Wollstonecraft and Stanton are more effective in gaining rights then the other works we looked at. This is because both Wollstonecraft and Stanton lay out logical reasons for why women should have equal rights as men. For Wollstonecraft, she advocated for equal education on the grounds that women would be better mothers and wives. Stanton, argued that women should be given equal rights that have been “endowed by their Creator”, the same points given in the Declaration of Independence. We made a point in class today that the only thing Stanton changed in her Declaration of Sentiments that was not in the Declaration of Independence is “and women”. I think this is a very powerful yet simple statement. Everyone can identify with the Declaration of Independence as being a good and crucial document for our country, and the United States was founded on these principles. It almost reminds me of the phrase “Am I not a man and a brother”. Both statements play at the essential “inalienable” rights all humans have.
February 28, 2014
On Wednesday in class, our groups note card had us reflect on the meaning of the title of a Doll's House. Our group deduced that it was either Nora of Torvald who was considered the doll. In Nora's case, she was the doll because she dealt with all of the frivolous things around the house, such as the shopping and during Christmas the previous year she locked herself away to make ornaments. Torvald also treats her like she is a doll or simple plaything by using pet names like little squirrel or lark. In reality though, Nora is not simply wasting all her time and money on frivolous items, but rather trying to pay back a debt. To do this, Nora has to make her husband think he is in charge, but is manipulating him so he doesn't find out about the loan. In this case, one can argue that Torvald is the doll.
After our discussion in class though, I thought of a new way to interpret the title. A traditional doll's house is a section cut through a building that allows the user to see all of the different rooms of the house at a time. As we discussed in class, the setting for the play a Doll's House takes place mostly in the living room, yet the audience gets to see the all of the different interactions between the characters in this single space, much like the person playing with a traditional doll's house would. The way the stage is also set reveals the space much like you would see it in a doll's house. The curtain would act as the walls that would be cut away by the section. In this case, we can look at every character as a doll set within a doll's house and it is society who is the puppet master dictating the doll's actions.
February 21, 2014
Talking about the Death of Ivan Ilych makes me think about our modern society and the thoughts that were brought up in the novel and in our class discussion are still relevant today. Death is a struggle that we see many characters question and we still see characters today question what happens after death and our struggles with it. Looking back on Dante’s Inferno, we can see the constant struggle of life after death and the consequences of life. Several of the characters that Dante and Virgil encounter warn Dante of their struggles in life or ask him to relate a warning or message back to a loved one still on earth. Another story in which death is discussed, which we mentioned in class, is Faust. In the play, we see Faust talking to the sun and the moon about his dissatisfaction with his life on earth. He says that he wants to experience more, to roam over the earth and look down on it from above like the sun does, to be free. Later, at the end of the play, we see Gretchen accepting her death to release her from her misery on earth and in the final scene she is saved by God.
Both of these stories allude back to our discussions in class about the Death of Ivan Ilych. We can see the regret and fear in Peter when he is at Ivan’s funeral. He fears death and what it brings and he also regrets everyone’s attitude towards Ivan’s death because he can see the similarities in their lifestyles. We can also see Ivan’s turn to redemption and him no longer fearing death, but almost welcoming it, much like Gretchen.
February 7, 2014
After finishing our discussion on Romantic poems, music, and style in general it has started me thinking about our upcoming presentation about Romantic art. In most styles and movements in art, you can see a direct correlation to music and literature, and the Romantic period has a strong relationship.
The Romantic period placed an emphasis on nature, mythology, the grotesque, etc. To me, it is a period in which freedom of expression was explored after coming out of the strictly classical age. In the music, there is a clear progression throughout the piece. In the compositions we listened to in class, there was a clear climactic moment. The Romantic piece also seemed to be darker and had more angst then the classical. This seems to fit with the romantic portrayal of the the mythological and the grotesque. In poetry, there was a plot in the lyrics, and the writer took us on a journey of discovery. Both of these aspects can be seen throughout the art work of the period. In a lot of Romantic paintings, there is the portrayal of man and nature. There is also a lot of ruins seen in Romantic art. This relates to both the aspect of the grotesque as well as the idea of nature. In these types of paintings, you can see nature overcoming the old ruins.
January 31, 2014 After reflecting about the romantic hero in class today, it made me think about how often romantic theories are used in contemporary writing. In today’s modern society we see a rise of the romantic hero. As we discussed in class, characters from major movies, television series, and novels are based off of the notion and principles of the romantic hero. In Hollywood blockbusters such as The Dark Knight and Inception by Christopher Nolan, the main characters share similar traits as the romantic hero including: a dark and troubled past filled with despair, they are conflicted by their emotions and desires while still being ambitious and passionate to achieve their goals. In The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne struggles with his dark past while still trying to do what is right, yet allows himself to take the fall of the false hero and become the villain the citizens need him to be. Inception is much the same, where the main character lives in a grotesque version of his own mind in which he blames himself for the death of his wife, yet still needs to remain the hero for the rest of his team. I think that we as viewers and readers of these romantic heroes are so fascinated by these characters, and can relate on a fundamental level. As all humans, these heroes are not perfect and have a troubled yet passionate side to them which creates a more dynamic and interesting character.
January 24, 2014
This week we started reading Faust and in class on Friday we discussed Faust’s speeches about the sun and the moon. This reminded me of what we had talked about last week in class and our discussions of freedom. While he was talking to the sun, he kept addressing the issue of being free to roam over the earth, watch the earth illuminate with the warm rays of the sun, how he envied the bird’s ability to fly free. He was talking about how he wanted to experience everything the world had to offer and the only way to do so was to experience the earth the way the sun does. In his speech to the moon he is also envious of the moon and wants to be free from the confines of his study. He relates this experience to be trapped in a prison cell, not being able to feel and experience the world. This is the reason why I think he made the deal with Mephistopheles. He wants to be free to experience everything he reads about in books and believes that by making a deal with the devil is the only way to do so. He even goes so far as to say if he is completely satisfied by what the devil has to offer he will immediately go with him to be his servant in the afterlife. What I don’t understand here is if he wants to be free so badly, why does he make the deal to serve the devil forever in the afterlife? It almost seems as if he is so desperate to feel something he is willing to do anything to experience that, even selling his soul to the devil.
January 17, 2014
Freedom has been a key word this week throughout our readings. After finishing up both Douglass's and Jacobs' slave narratives, the meaning of freedom becomes obvious. Both authors discuss their eventual escape to freedom and the road that led them there. For me, an intriguing notion that was brought up in class was, "at what point did Jacobs reach freedom?". This was a very interesting question in which there were several possible answers. The first is when she steps off the boat for the first time onto free soil or sees the sunrise over the free land. These are very romantic notions and I don't know if they are necessarily true. For one, she mentions that they "then" believed to be entering freedom. The inflection on the word "then" is very important in this situation. It suggests that they were never truly free. In class, we discussed how former slaves who escaped to the north could still be recaptured and returned to slavery. The doctor and his family even put out a reward for her recapture and were actively searching for her.
The other point in which I believe she gains her freedom is when she decides to have her children with Mr. Sands. Whereas this isn't see as a more traditional escape to freedom as the literal escape into the north that is typically portrayed in slave narratives, it is still important to consider. By choosing to have children with Mr. Sands, she frees herself from the unwanted advancements and harassment from Dr. Flint.
January 10, 2014
I am a senior in architecture and this is my last of the honors humanities sequence. I took 202 with Dr. Hartman last semester and am looking forward to this one and the material we are covering. I am most looking forward to the modern section of the course, for this is a topic that has interested me in previous classes.
I thought an interesting part of Fredrick Douglass's narrative was his discussion on before his attempt at freedom. He mentions how tentative his freedom would be even if he managed to escape and make it to the northern states. He would constantly live in fear of being recaptured and sent back to slavery. He also mentions how living in north could be harder than being a slave in the south, "with the certainty of being treated tenfold worse than before." (pg 533) It is something that we rarely think about when discussing slavery and freedom in the United States as we typically only think of the southern plantations. However, with the strong prejudice that existed in the north, there was no true sense of freedom for the emancipated slaves. This also relates to our discussion during class about how Douglass ended up moving to England after he escaped to avoid capture. This makes me wonder if the conditions and prejudices in England were better or worse than those in the United States against former slaves.
It was very interesting to watch the movie Chocolat and to see the different relationships that occurred throughout the movie. First is the relationship between France and Protee. Throughout the film, it was very noticeable the two had a very strong relationship. France looked up to Protee as more than just a caretaker, but rather as a father. He took care of her much more than her own father and mother for that matter. For this reason, the end scene between the two characters really shocked me and I can only speculate on Protee's reasoning's for causing France to burn her hand. He knew she would trust him and that she would get badly burnt resulting in the end of their relationship. The thing I don't understand is his motives behind that. Did he want to somehow retaliate against his unjust demotion to working outside in the garage? Did he feel this was the only way to break his relationship with France because he was no longer able to work in the house and take care of her? It is interesting to see this relationship because it is not one we see in either Heart of Darkness or Things Fall Apart. There were never any close ties between the two races in either book. Both of them portrayed the unknown of the new and foreign people, where as in the film, the Europeans were already established in these areas. The last scene between Protee and France also makes me question what happened next. There is a certain ambiguity with this because it is never clear if the grown up France is returning to Africa or returning to the house.
April 18, 2014
For my final project I am looking at the different movements of art that we have talked about. My thesis for this project is to prove how art has evolved throughout the different movements, but has essentially maintained the same expression. To do this, I will examine three different pieces from different movements. I will then combine the three images based on techniques, subject matter, style, etc. I will start with an image from phase one, Impressionism. In phase two, I will transform the original impressionist painting into either a surrealist or fauvism inspired painting. I will do this by combining certain elements of both paintings using digital programs like Photoshop. In phase three I will transform the image again with a technique inspired by the modern artist, David Hockney. For my final project there will be one image that has been inspired by three. For the presentation, I plan to show the final combined image, as well some of my process. This would include each of the paintings that I was inspired by as well as the image derived after each phase.
The idea I want to express with this project is that art is always expression. In each of the different phases, artists at the time used the medium and techniques that were available to them to comment on society and everyday life around them. I think it is important to understand and appreciate the beauty in all of the techniques, but fundamentally they are all the same, because they provoke a thought and an emotion.
This sounds great. I can't wait to see the results. -MH
April 11, 2014
The explanations given on Friday about the artwork was an amazing experience. To me, her artwork embodies what modern art truly is. We discussed what modern art meant to us in class, and for me, it is no different than what art has been in the past. Art stands for expression, yet modern art truly explores different mediums and techniques to portray this expression, than what has been done in the past. The work we saw on Friday exposed different political, social, and personal feelings for both the artist and the people of her country. The artwork was unique in the sense that instead of solely using images to get the message across, but rather the combination of physical objects, like the plants and insects, and the use of text. I thought this was very powerful because it held a deeper meaning because it represented her culture and religion.
Another thing I really enjoyed about her artwork was the fact that the pieces were not create to be aesthetically beautiful. I feel that when we typically think of art we want something that will look nice, something that is very pleasing to the eye. Yet, the pieces we saw on Friday were not obviously beautiful. Their beauty truly stood out after we received the deeper meaning for each detail and aspect of the work of art. This is what modern art really is. It is the boldness of not making something that is strictly beautiful, but something that evokes an emotion and something that stands for a deeper meaning.
March 28, 2014
I found Freud’s interpretation of dreams to be both very interesting and very confusing. I completely understand the basic meaning of wish fulfillment when the message of the dream is rather obvious; you are thirsty so you dream of drinking water. I also made sense of how Freud interpreted the dreams that had become distorted. Using context from the person’s life, it was easy to deduce the meaning of the dreams. What I don’t understand and still a little confused about is the idea of fears in your dreams. To me, fear could be a synonym of a wish. One is a desire you want to come true and the other is something you dread coming to fruition. Both are things that you have suppressed into your unconscious, so to me it is only natural that these fearful suppressions would come out in your dreams. For example, I have dreams about wolves chasing me. I obviously do not wish that I was being chased by wolves, so I attribute this to a fear that I have that I never want to come to pass. Or is there an underlying meaning that Freud would draw from these dreams?
March 21, 2014
One moment that stood out to me was when the fog started rolling in. This scene was just very eerie and unknown. At one point it talks about how there is complete silence and the next the is a loud cry. The narrator says "it seemed as though the mist itself had screamed". They describe how they can only see the steamer around them. Further it goes on and some of the men are whispering 'will they attack?' I think this was an important scene to the story because it highlighted the fears of the men and the foreignness of their surroundings. It was also important in how it dealt with the fog as a symbol. The fog alludes to darkness in the same sense that you can not see through the fog and it also gives you false allusions. By this, I am referring to the men imagining shapes and noises around them. An interesting thing to note about the fog is that it is white. In class, we discussed the symbolism of black and white, where black was associated with the unknown wilderness and environment around them. By this description the fog should be black, but it is described as a white mist. I think this could refer to the allusions the men give themselves of the natives and jungle around them. It could also refer to how they are not seeing the environment around them correctly and misjudging based on their own prejudices clouding their vision.
March 7, 2014
It was interesting to see all of the different accounts and takes on women’s rights from our readings from this week and previous. The first is Mary Wollstonecraft and her writings we studied last semester in 202. In her writings, she was very articulate in her approach to women’s rights. Her writings reminded me of the Women’s Bible and the Declaration of Sentiments by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Both of these women advocated directly for women’s rights through their writing, whereas in the story of a Doll’s House, The Yellow Wallpaper, Story of an Hour, and The Revolver, all of them comment on the social situations of women. I think the writings of Wollstonecraft and Stanton are more effective in gaining rights then the other works we looked at. This is because both Wollstonecraft and Stanton lay out logical reasons for why women should have equal rights as men. For Wollstonecraft, she advocated for equal education on the grounds that women would be better mothers and wives. Stanton, argued that women should be given equal rights that have been “endowed by their Creator”, the same points given in the Declaration of Independence. We made a point in class today that the only thing Stanton changed in her Declaration of Sentiments that was not in the Declaration of Independence is “and women”. I think this is a very powerful yet simple statement. Everyone can identify with the Declaration of Independence as being a good and crucial document for our country, and the United States was founded on these principles. It almost reminds me of the phrase “Am I not a man and a brother”. Both statements play at the essential “inalienable” rights all humans have.
February 28, 2014
On Wednesday in class, our groups note card had us reflect on the meaning of the title of a Doll's House. Our group deduced that it was either Nora of Torvald who was considered the doll. In Nora's case, she was the doll because she dealt with all of the frivolous things around the house, such as the shopping and during Christmas the previous year she locked herself away to make ornaments. Torvald also treats her like she is a doll or simple plaything by using pet names like little squirrel or lark. In reality though, Nora is not simply wasting all her time and money on frivolous items, but rather trying to pay back a debt. To do this, Nora has to make her husband think he is in charge, but is manipulating him so he doesn't find out about the loan. In this case, one can argue that Torvald is the doll.
After our discussion in class though, I thought of a new way to interpret the title. A traditional doll's house is a section cut through a building that allows the user to see all of the different rooms of the house at a time. As we discussed in class, the setting for the play a Doll's House takes place mostly in the living room, yet the audience gets to see the all of the different interactions between the characters in this single space, much like the person playing with a traditional doll's house would. The way the stage is also set reveals the space much like you would see it in a doll's house. The curtain would act as the walls that would be cut away by the section. In this case, we can look at every character as a doll set within a doll's house and it is society who is the puppet master dictating the doll's actions.
February 21, 2014
Talking about the Death of Ivan Ilych makes me think about our modern society and the thoughts that were brought up in the novel and in our class discussion are still relevant today. Death is a struggle that we see many characters question and we still see characters today question what happens after death and our struggles with it. Looking back on Dante’s Inferno, we can see the constant struggle of life after death and the consequences of life. Several of the characters that Dante and Virgil encounter warn Dante of their struggles in life or ask him to relate a warning or message back to a loved one still on earth. Another story in which death is discussed, which we mentioned in class, is Faust. In the play, we see Faust talking to the sun and the moon about his dissatisfaction with his life on earth. He says that he wants to experience more, to roam over the earth and look down on it from above like the sun does, to be free. Later, at the end of the play, we see Gretchen accepting her death to release her from her misery on earth and in the final scene she is saved by God.
Both of these stories allude back to our discussions in class about the Death of Ivan Ilych. We can see the regret and fear in Peter when he is at Ivan’s funeral. He fears death and what it brings and he also regrets everyone’s attitude towards Ivan’s death because he can see the similarities in their lifestyles. We can also see Ivan’s turn to redemption and him no longer fearing death, but almost welcoming it, much like Gretchen.
February 7, 2014
After finishing our discussion on Romantic poems, music, and style in general it has started me thinking about our upcoming presentation about Romantic art. In most styles and movements in art, you can see a direct correlation to music and literature, and the Romantic period has a strong relationship.
The Romantic period placed an emphasis on nature, mythology, the grotesque, etc. To me, it is a period in which freedom of expression was explored after coming out of the strictly classical age. In the music, there is a clear progression throughout the piece. In the compositions we listened to in class, there was a clear climactic moment. The Romantic piece also seemed to be darker and had more angst then the classical. This seems to fit with the romantic portrayal of the the mythological and the grotesque. In poetry, there was a plot in the lyrics, and the writer took us on a journey of discovery. Both of these aspects can be seen throughout the art work of the period. In a lot of Romantic paintings, there is the portrayal of man and nature. There is also a lot of ruins seen in Romantic art. This relates to both the aspect of the grotesque as well as the idea of nature. In these types of paintings, you can see nature overcoming the old ruins.
January 31, 2014
After reflecting about the romantic hero in class today, it made me think about how often romantic theories are used in contemporary writing. In today’s modern society we see a rise of the romantic hero. As we discussed in class, characters from major movies, television series, and novels are based off of the notion and principles of the romantic hero. In Hollywood blockbusters such as The Dark Knight and Inception by Christopher Nolan, the main characters share similar traits as the romantic hero including: a dark and troubled past filled with despair, they are conflicted by their emotions and desires while still being ambitious and passionate to achieve their goals. In The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne struggles with his dark past while still trying to do what is right, yet allows himself to take the fall of the false hero and become the villain the citizens need him to be. Inception is much the same, where the main character lives in a grotesque version of his own mind in which he blames himself for the death of his wife, yet still needs to remain the hero for the rest of his team. I think that we as viewers and readers of these romantic heroes are so fascinated by these characters, and can relate on a fundamental level. As all humans, these heroes are not perfect and have a troubled yet passionate side to them which creates a more dynamic and interesting character.
January 24, 2014
This week we started reading Faust and in class on Friday we discussed Faust’s speeches about the sun and the moon. This reminded me of what we had talked about last week in class and our discussions of freedom. While he was talking to the sun, he kept addressing the issue of being free to roam over the earth, watch the earth illuminate with the warm rays of the sun, how he envied the bird’s ability to fly free. He was talking about how he wanted to experience everything the world had to offer and the only way to do so was to experience the earth the way the sun does. In his speech to the moon he is also envious of the moon and wants to be free from the confines of his study. He relates this experience to be trapped in a prison cell, not being able to feel and experience the world. This is the reason why I think he made the deal with Mephistopheles. He wants to be free to experience everything he reads about in books and believes that by making a deal with the devil is the only way to do so. He even goes so far as to say if he is completely satisfied by what the devil has to offer he will immediately go with him to be his servant in the afterlife. What I don’t understand here is if he wants to be free so badly, why does he make the deal to serve the devil forever in the afterlife? It almost seems as if he is so desperate to feel something he is willing to do anything to experience that, even selling his soul to the devil.
January 17, 2014
Freedom has been a key word this week throughout our readings. After finishing up both Douglass's and Jacobs' slave narratives, the meaning of freedom becomes obvious. Both authors discuss their eventual escape to freedom and the road that led them there. For me, an intriguing notion that was brought up in class was, "at what point did Jacobs reach freedom?". This was a very interesting question in which there were several possible answers. The first is when she steps off the boat for the first time onto free soil or sees the sunrise over the free land. These are very romantic notions and I don't know if they are necessarily true. For one, she mentions that they "then" believed to be entering freedom. The inflection on the word "then" is very important in this situation. It suggests that they were never truly free. In class, we discussed how former slaves who escaped to the north could still be recaptured and returned to slavery. The doctor and his family even put out a reward for her recapture and were actively searching for her.
The other point in which I believe she gains her freedom is when she decides to have her children with Mr. Sands. Whereas this isn't see as a more traditional escape to freedom as the literal escape into the north that is typically portrayed in slave narratives, it is still important to consider. By choosing to have children with Mr. Sands, she frees herself from the unwanted advancements and harassment from Dr. Flint.
January 10, 2014
I am a senior in architecture and this is my last of the honors humanities sequence. I took 202 with Dr. Hartman last semester and am looking forward to this one and the material we are covering. I am most looking forward to the modern section of the course, for this is a topic that has interested me in previous classes.
I thought an interesting part of Fredrick Douglass's narrative was his discussion on before his attempt at freedom. He mentions how tentative his freedom would be even if he managed to escape and make it to the northern states. He would constantly live in fear of being recaptured and sent back to slavery. He also mentions how living in north could be harder than being a slave in the south, "with the certainty of being treated tenfold worse than before." (pg 533) It is something that we rarely think about when discussing slavery and freedom in the United States as we typically only think of the southern plantations. However, with the strong prejudice that existed in the north, there was no true sense of freedom for the emancipated slaves. This also relates to our discussion during class about how Douglass ended up moving to England after he escaped to avoid capture. This makes me wonder if the conditions and prejudices in England were better or worse than those in the United States against former slaves.
202 Responses (Fall 2013)