Final Video Blog

Selected Bibliography for Podcast


"BRAND NEW - JESUS CHRIST LYRICS." Sing365.com. Web. 24 May 2011. .

"The Childhood Of Leonard Cohen." Heck Of A Guy — A Pastiche of Posts, Featuring Song, Dance, Snappy Chatter plus Notes on Prose, Poesy, Love, Lust, Life, and beyond. Web. 25 May 2011. .

Gaston, Peter. "Q&A: Brand New's Jesse Lacey | SPIN.com." SPIN Magazine. Web. 24 May 2011. .

"LEONARD COHEN LYRICS - Hallelujah." A-Z Lyrics Universe. Web. 24 May 2011. .
Sibley, Rochelle. "postmodernism." In Maunder, Andrew. Facts On File Companion to the British Short Story. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CBSS454&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 19, 2011).

Tripp, Dick. "Christianity and Truth: Worldviews-Postmodernism." Exploring Christianity. Web. 24 May 2011. .

Modernism Project

Journal 42

I think if I had lived in the time of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman I would have had to go with Emily Dickinson as far as the person that I would have wanted to read the most.

Emily Dickinson has written a lot of poems that touched my heart in some way. I really like her poem "Hope is the thing with feathers" and also "I am nobody, who are you?" I think that they touch the lives of people who are more introverted than anything. Now I am not exactly what one would call introverted exactly. I spend a lot of time speaking my mind about things. However, I believe that there is kind of an introvert living inside everyone at least to some extent. Some people are only extroverts on the outside so that they keep people at a distance from what is going on on the inside. Some people act as though all of their emotions are projected on the surface, when in fact those are only surface emotions and their true emotions are still hidden deep inside. Now I'm not saying that I hide all of my internal emotions by being an extrovert, but I can understand how some people would use that logic in order to protect themselves.

One thing that I would have found difficult about being a fan of Emily Dickinson, though, was that she kept to herself so much of the time. When I am a fan of someone I like to at least be able to get a glimpse of what their true lives are like. This is not because I'm some kind of crazed fan, but rather because I like to make sure that they are not complete hypocrites. If there's one thing that drives me completely insane it's hypocrisy. So I would have to make sure that she was truly the kind of person that was displayed in her writings and not simply a poser of some sort.

Modernism vs. Realism Reflection

There are a lot of similarities between the literary genre of Realism and that of Modernism. They both took place when the country was going through a rough time. However, there are also many differences in the aspects of the two genres that makes them very different.

Modernism is a genre that has been under much debate about when exactly it came about and ended. Some people argue that it started as early as the turn of the twentieth century and end as late as the end of World War two (Werlock). Some say that it never even ended, and Postmodernism is simply another name for Modernism itself. However, most people seem to think that it began in 1922 with two works that were written by James Joyce and Eliot (Werlock).

The basic idea of Modernism was the shock factor. The goal of Modernist writers was to create a genre that completely changed literature and brought a new and fresh way of writing to the world (Werlock). The writings of Modernism encourage a new look at the idea of a hero and the American Dream in a way that no genre had done before. For example, in Modernism the hero does not always have to be a perfect and upstanding person like it always seemed to have been before. Sometimes the reader may not even like the hero, and they may think that the choices that he or she makes are not correct. This idea of a new kind of hero was brought about for the first time by these Modernist writers. Their genre was a way of rebelling against the old ways of writing and creating something for themselves. This attitude was probably a result of all of the devastation that occurred at the start of World War One. Everything was changing around them, so they decided to change something that they could actually control.

Realism is a genre that was created as a result of the Civil War. It was supposed to be a time of healing and redemption during which the country was rebuilding itself. However, there was a big dilemma in the fact that Realism and Romanticists were fighting it out in the literary world about which writing style was more effective. However, Realism was not so much an entirely original style of writing as it was a combination of writing styles that came before it. Realism was a combination of Romanticism and Rationalism. It involved a hero who usually represented what was good and pure in life, but who was forced into a horrible situation that tried him or her emotionally and physically.

Modernism and Realism are similar in the fact that they both come after wars, but they are very different in the content and writing styles that each one portrays. They both focus on entirely different goals as to what their messages are trying to convey. However, they are both important views, and I believe it is important for people to get equal doses of both types of writing.


Selected Bibliography
Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CASS589&SingleRecord=True (accessed April 21, 2011).

Emily Dickinson Poem Reflection

“Hope is the Thing with Feathers” by Emily Dickinson is a very, for lack of a better term, hopeful poem. It is all about the way that hope has followed her all of her life.

The first stanza says “Hope is the thing with feathers-- that perches in the soul—and sings the tune without the words—And never stops—at all. (Dickinson)” I think this is a line full of a lot of great imagery. When one thinks of feathers, one naturally thinks about softness and comfort. Most people consider downy and soft things to be comforting and bring a smile to your face. I believe that it why she chose the idea of feathers lining hope. Next, she discusses how it perches in the soul (Dickinson). When one thinks of their soul they think of their innermost self and what is important to them, so the image of a comforting and fuzzy thing taking residence in your soul is a very lovely image. Next it discusses how the fuzzy thing within your soul sings a tune without words and never stops (Dickinson). Because it says that it sings a tune without words, it makes me think of the melody of my favorite song being played by a fuzzy creature within my soul. This whole image is very peaceful and tranquil, which is the idea of the imagery in the poem.
The second stanza discusses that the bird continues to sing even stronger when a Gale comes along (Dickinson). The word gale is capitalized in this line and I think that this puts emphasis on it and makes the reader understand that this is a very strong wind and yet the bird is still able to continue its song because of how strong it is (Dickinson). This stanza also discusses that no storm would be able to abash the tiny bird (Dickinson). This imagery of a very strong storm in which the bird is simply perched in my soul continuing to sing makes me once again feel comforted and strong due to its presence.
The last stanza discusses that this little bird of hope has continued to sing strongly even through the “chillest land” and the “strongest sea (Dickinson).” She then says that it had never asked a crumb of her, even in Extremity (Dickinson). The fact that the word Extremity is capitalized makes the reader realize just how strong this instance is, yet the bird still does not even ask a crumb of the person to which it sings. The use of the word crumb is also significant because it provides a very realistic and common image for the reader to compare to. It seems important to Dickinson to make you realize the significant difference between the Extremity and the crumb that the bird of hope can fight through.
“Hope is the thing with feathers” is a very visually strong poem about how strong hope can be in our lives. Through her depiction of hope as a small bird that lives in one’s soul, the reader can truly feel the hope within himself or herself.

Selected Bibliography

Dickinson, Emily. "Hope is the Thing with Feathers." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. .

Journal 43

I really love Jazz music. When I was in middle school I played the saxophone and therefore I have always been attracted to jazz music. I think that it is one of the best forms of music out there in which feelings and stories can truly be conveyed. One senses the musician's every emotion as they play out the song.

I was not here for the day that we listened to the jazz song in class, but I have listened to a fair amount of jazz music anyway. I think that the fact that most instruments that are used in jazz music are played using different strengths of breath by the musician, it is easier for that type of music to display feelings. Based upon the strength of their breath you can tell how they are feeling. When the notes are coming out strong and full of life, one gets the feeling of joy or happiness. When the notes are coming out lazily and luxuriously one thinks that the musician is in love. When the notes come out weak and slow, one could reasonably assume that the musician is depressed or losing strength in some way. However, sometimes the quiet, gentle music can also be working to represent a type of quiet and peace that the musician is feeling at a certain point in time.

When the music goes from slow and soft to loud and fast incredibly quickly, the listener gets the feeling that some action sequence is taking place in the storyline. Then when it hits the final notes and starts to quiet down again, you get the feeling that it has been resolved. The best thing about jazz music is that it tells a different story to everyone. Your own mind creates a story based upon what's going through it at the time, and therefore the song touches you personally and makes you feel as though it were written just for you. I think the whole concept is very soothing.

Job Shadowing Reflection

I had a decent time at my job shadowing yesterday. However, I think I eliminated at least one branch of dietetics that I was exposed to yesterday. I do not think that the second person that I shadowed was employed in the kind of career that I would like to pursue. Her job was to go to the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital and take care of the patients in that unit's dietary concerns. Mainly that revolved around tube feeding or pureed foods. Most of them cannot swallow and some of them had tubes in their mouths to help them breathe so they could not even have a tube in their mouth to feed them, it had to be fed through their nose.

The first person I shadowed had an interesting job though. She worked at Memorial Clinic and saw outpatients. Basically most of her job is having people come into her office and discuss with her the kind of ways they can alter their lifestyle in order to be healthier. She told me the majority of her patients are diabetic, therefore it is incredibly important for them to get the right kind of nutrition to get their blood sugar levels in a safe range. She also saw children who did not get the proper nutrition for any number of reasons.

I also got to discuss college plans and internships with the ladies that I shadowed. They told me the requirements I would have to meet in order to become a nutritionist. I talked to the first lady about how there are other ways to go with it, such as becoming a nutritionist who deals with predominately healthy people that just need to know how to make themselves better.

Overall I thought that it was a very rewarding experience, although I do not think I will be pursuing the careers that these ladies held.
O

Emily Dickinson's "If I can stop one heart from breaking"

I read the poem "If I can stop one heart from breaking" by Emily Dickinson. I believe this poem is about Emily wanting to be able to use her writing to influence other people. Because she writes a lot about her own personal heartbreaks and problems, it would make sense that she wants to be able to use her writing to keep someone else from having their own heart broken. People always want to impart their own knowledge to people.
She also uses the symbolism of a bird falling out of its nest as a symbol of helping someone who is afflicted in the following lines:
"If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain."
So basically this poem is talking about how she wants to be able to help people who are wounded to get back into their "nest" or the place that they belong. When a bird falls out of its nest it is unable to get back into it by itself because usually it is only a baby bird that falls out of the nest. Sometimes they are injured and unable to get back up, so if they do not have help they cannot. So Emily Dickinson is saying that if she can assist anyone in getting back where they belong like that, she will consider her life worthwhile.
This is an important life lesson in my opinion. So many people want to spend their lives changing the entire world. But for some people, that just is not in the cards for them. So the ability to consider helping a single person to be a worthwhile venture is important. Because even if you are not literally changing the world, if you change one person's hold world it is in essence the same thing. I think this is the main idea of the whole poem, and it is a good one.

Walt Whitman's "Look Down Fair Moon"

"Look Down Fair Moon" is a powerful, albeit brief, poem that can be found in the "Drum Taps" section of "Leaves of Grass." It is a poem about the beautiful and somber moon shining down upon a field where dead bodies are strewn. Because the poem is so short, I will include it in the following paragraph:

"LOOK down fair moon and bathe this scene,
Pour softly down night's nimbus floods on faces ghastly, swollen,
purple,

On the dead on their backs with arms toss'd wide,
Pour down your unstinted nimbus sacred moon (Whitman)."

The first thing that struck me about this poem was it's use of the word nimbus, especially because it is used twice (Whitman). Dictionary.com defines nimbus as "a shining cloud sometimes surrounding a deity when on earth." I find this to be particularly interesting because it seems to suggest the spirituality of these corpses laying on the battle field. If nimbus means a cloud that surrounds a deity when on earth, that seems to suggest the importance of the things which the moon was surrounding. If this is the case, this means that Whitman believes that when a person dies he or she takes on a kind of holy aspect. This would flow along well with Whitman's idea that there is a spiritual afterlife that comes after death. This is a perfect example of Whitman demonstrating the ideas of spirituality and Christianity in his writings. The Christian faith teaches that when a person dies he is given a new heavenly body that is holy. This would fit along well with this idea of a body warranting a nimbus light to surround it.

According to Randall Huff, during the American Civil War certain battles would drag on for many days at a time. As a result of this, oftentimes corpses had to be left where they fell on the battle field due to a lack of ability to go back and pick them up. The author of this analysis believes that this poem is based upon Whitman's plea for the moon to look down on such battlefields and clean and purify the bodies of the wounded (Huff). Whitman does not specify or speak out for either side of the war, he simply wants all of the bodies to be purified equally (Huff). This idea of wanting to respect and honor the dead when the accepted way of doing this is not possible is also incredibly spiritual and respectful. In this poem Whitman shows the way that he believes in the purification and spirituality of death and how it is also an important part of life.

The second line of the poem also struck me when reading it, particularly the sequence of the adjectives describing the corpses. It seems as though they are being described as the speaker gets steadily closer. First he simply sees that they are ghastly, then that they are swollen, and finally he sees that they are purple (Whitman). I think this is an important image because it draws the reader to the scene and makes one feels as though they are there (Whitman).

Selected Bibliography

Huff, Randall. "'Look Down Fair Moon'." The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 1. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CPAP0247&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 11, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "Look Down Fair Moon." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 11 Mar. 2011. .

Journal 32

Christmas is one of my favorite times of year. Every year when Christmas break happens my family decides to put up the Christmas tree together. My family is pretty busy most of the year, what with everybody running around and doing their own various activities, but every year we somehow find a day that we can all get together and participate in the putting up and decorating of the Christmas tree. This is a pretty exciting ordeal for us, and although it has lost some of its appeal since we were younger and believed in Santa Claus, it is still an important part of the Christmas routine.

This year was no different. A few days into Christmas break mom told us it was time to put up the Christmas tree, so we all went downstairs and helped move around boxes of junk in the storage area of our basement so that we could get to the Christmas tree box. Finally we got to it and we hauled it out and up the stairs to the spot that we keep our Christmas tree in the living room. Then we set to work dividing the branches into piles based upon the stripes on their bases. Each different level of branches has a different colored stripe. When we got them all sorted out we began to fan them out and put them on the Christmas tree.

While all of this was taking place, mom turned on some typical Christmas music and we were all dancing around and singing at the top of our lungs. My family likes to do weird things like that. When the Christmas tree branches were all put on, we got out the box of ornaments. We all dove on the box in order to get to our own various ornaments that we have been collecting since we were little kids. Each one is special to us, and we put every single one on the tree. Lastly, we put the angel on the top of the tree. When all of this was complete we set back on the couch, basking in the glow of the lights and admiring our accomplishment. This is one of my favorite parts of Christmas.

Journal 33

Obviously one thing that is particular to our region is the dedication to the honoring of Abraham Lincoln. He spent a lot of his lifetime around Illinois and therefore honoring him is seen as particularly important around these parts.

Clearly there are many attractions that can be visited to honor the memory of Abraham Lincoln. In Springfield we now have a museum called the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum that is filled with artifacts from Lincoln's time and presidency. The unveiling of this museum was a huge deal around these parts. I remember the day that the museum celebrated its grand opening there was a large laser light show and a bunch of people went out to see the grand opening. This was considered a huge deal.

Also, every year at the Illinois State Fairgrounds they have an Abraham Lincoln 10k run called Abe's Amble. This run takes place through the fairgrounds and then around some of downtown Springfield. It was created in memory of Abraham Lincoln and is run every year in order to honor him. I participated in this event in August of 2009. I believe that the money raised by the race goes to some kind of Abraham Lincoln fund, however I am not sure of this. In any case, it is a great way to commemorate Lincoln while also doing some good and getting some good exercise.

Also, there is a place downtown that Lincoln lived before he became the president that has been turned into a museum. People can walk through room by room, and it has been restored to look like a genuine house from that time period.

There is also Lincoln's tomb in Oakridge Cemetery out by the airport. This is located near Lincoln Park, which is a park dedicated to Abraham Lincoln. Also we have the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield that is the public library for Springfield. This is also located downtown.

Clearly, we are big Lincoln fans around here. So, I think it is pretty much safe to say that honoring Lincoln was not only a thing started around here but is also something that is still extremely prevalent and important.

Journal 40

I think that Self is a very important part of who we are. It is all about the way that we perceive ourselves and wish to portray ourselves to others. I think Self is both a sense of who you are and also who other people think you are. However, who you personally think you are is way more important than who others think you are because sometimes you keep parts of yourself back from people because you are too afraid to let them see your true Self. Still though, the way other people perceive you is also important because sometimes we can become jaded and think that we come off a certain way when in fact we are not.

I know several people who think they act and are one way, but in fact they truthfully are not like that at all. They believe they are selfless people who always work for others when in reality they spend all of their time preoccupied with themselves and not doing anything for anybody else. Sometimes people work so hard to eliminate certain bad qualities in themselves that other ones come shining out. For example, some people work so hard to suppress their anger that they become preoccupied with other things such as looks or something else that they become susceptible to due to their focus on the other aspect they are trying to work on.

I think Self is the person that you are deep down inside yourself that has not been touched by anyone else. However, I still think that experiences that people go through in their lives are part of what shapes them to become who they are. But your true self is still just the person that you are without trying to emulate anyone else. We spend so much of our lives trying to be like other people that we never quite stop to figure out how we would handle a certain situation ourselves, without the opinion of others. That personal opinion that comes to you all on your own, that gut feeling, is the one that comes from your true Self. It is incredibly important that we each find a way to access our true selves.

Journal 36

My favorite meal would probably be my dad's chili and cornbread on a cold winter day. The following will be a description of how he makes it.

First he takes a giant silver pot out of the cupboard and places it on the stove. Next he takes two giant cans of foul-smelling, (in my opinion), Campbell's tomato juice and he pours them into the pot. He then takes a cutting board and chops up a white onion into tiny little pieces and puts them into the pot as well. He does not cry when peeling the onions, which I find incredibly strange. Anyway, the smell of the onions is sharp and I love being in the kitchen when he's cutting them. There is a sort of crisp smell to them.

Next he gets out five or six orange cans of Ray's chili. This is an incredibly unhealthy mixture of beans, meat, and a heck of a lot of grease. You can look at the surface of it and see the orange dots of grease and nastiness, but it tastes wonderful. Anyway, he scrapes all of that out into the giant pot as well and sets it on simmer. Slowly you can start to smell the chili smell.

Next he takes out a pan and a large chunk of defrosted ground chuck meat and puts it in the pan. He then cooks it until it is browned all the way through. The smell of the meat as the smoke wafts up from the pan is wonderful. You can smell the meat all throughout the house and pretty soon my brothers and sisters come to investigate where the wonderful smell is coming from. My dad makes sure that all of the meat is perfectly brown and not a single ounce of it is pink in any way, and then he sweeps all of that with a spatula into the giant pot as well.

Lastly he puts in all sorts of spices. I do not have those memorized because most of the time he is just messing around with them anyway, there is no specific plan for how he puts them in. Still, he must do something right because they make the chili perfect.

Analysis of Walt Whitman's "A Song of Joys"

Walt Whitman's "A Song of Joys" is a very happy poem about all the wonderful things that life has to offer. As pointed out by Charles Oliver, Whitman represents life and leaves in the following lines (Oliver):

"O to make the most jubilant song!
Full of music—full of manhood, womanhood, infancy!
Full of common employments—full of grain and trees (Whitman)."

In the last line of this excerpt Whitman sums up what most of his literary work is about. Grain is used to represent life, because it is the way in which people are fed and given sustenance. Trees are the representation of leaves which are very important and prominent in Whitman's poems, especially because the name of his collection is called "Leaves of Grass."

Whitman also covers the Everyman in this poem by referencing all different types of people (Whitman). He references the drivers of locomotives, horsemen and horsewomen, firemen, fighters, mothers, fishermen, boaters, miners, soldiers, orators, whalemen, and farmers. He references the joys that are accompanied by each of these professions and how exciting it would be to participate in them. He speaks about each one with a certain kind of wistfulness that is beautiful and wonderful (Whitman). It seems as though he is romanticizing the work of even the most laborious jobs and things. In this way his optimism shines steadily through.

He also makes references to all sorts of wildlife and nature in his poem. He talks about different types of fish that one would find in the rivers and about the voices of all the animals in the world (Whitman).

In this poem Whitman discusses everything you can possibly think of and puts a beautiful spin to it. Even death is not left untouched in his optimistic whirlwind. He talks about the joys of thinking about death (Whitman). He references the feeling of dying as a gentle touch, and then he talks about how his body will figure out the "great spheres of time and space (Whitman)." To me this line suggests a hint of spirituality in the idea of the heavens and space.

Spirituality is hinted at mainly in Whitman's lines about Death in this poem. The folowing lines illustrate my point:

"Myself discharging my excrementitious body to be burn'd, or
render'd to powder, or buried,
My real body doubtless left to me for other spheres,
My voided body nothing more to me, returning to the purifications,
further offices, eternal uses of the earth (Whitman)."

In these lines Whitman is talking about how his physical body will break back down to become part of the earth yet again and be used for whatever the earth needs. Yet he says that his real body will leave him for other spheres. I believe this is a reference to his spirit or soul going on to his afterlife. As his body is left behind here on the earth, his soul goes on to live in heaven, because he believes in the Christian faith. This belief in an afterlife is a common thread found in a lot of Whitman's poems and is a clear indication of his belief in a higher power beyond our sight. By talking about the wonder that one will find in the afterlife, he is able to make even Death look like something to be excited about.

Selected Bibliography

Oliver, Charles M. "'A Song of Joys'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW436&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 1, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "A Song of Joys." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .

Walt Whitman's "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing"

I think the short poem "As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing" is a good example of the way that Walt Whitman incorporated spirituality and Christianity into his works. The poem is about him watching a person plowing a field and illustrating the symbols that this action and the results can correspond to life and life after death. He says that life is the tillage and death is the result of your labor.

This idea corresponds very well to the Christian idea that you reap what you sow in your afterlife. However, in a way it also seems to reflect the idea of Hinduism. In Hinduism people are constantly reincarnated back into life in a different form based upon the way that they lived their former life. For example, if you were a very good person you might be elevated to a higher part of the chain in your next life, but if you were evil in your life then you would be demoted lower onto the chain. That goes along better with the idea that is represented in the poem, which is the idea that you get out of life what you put into it.

In the Christian faith, while you do get rewarded in the afterlife for doing nice things during your life, the good deeds are not the means by which you actually get to said afterlife. The only way you can even make it to this final place is by believing in Jesus throughout your lifetime and striving to do your best because of that reason. In this way you cannot earn your way into heaven, but rather you get there by believing. Still though, once you get there you do in fact reap what you sow and get crowns of jewels and all kinds of lovely things for what you did right, according to the Bible.

Walt Whitman's "Native Moments"

To be quite honest, Whitman's poems shocked me in their blatant sexuality. I can understand why the people of the time were shocked and thrown off when his writings first went public.

I happen to admire the audacity and brutal honesty with which Whitman goes about writing about sexuality in his poems. He is certainly not afraid to say exactly what is on his mind and what he is feeling at the time. The poem I read was called "Native Moments," and it was purely about all of his desires and how he did not care if people frowned upon them because he was going to do whatever he wanted anyway (Whitman).

In this poem, Whitman talks about how he wants to have "Libidinous joys only (Whitman)." He also discusses how he is going to pick the lowliest person he can possibly find who is the worst of all men and go party with him basically. He is basically saying that he just wants to live a life of lust and gluttony and all of the other deadly sins that are frowned upon in society. He says that he has been hiding his true self for too long and will no longer act the part of a proper gentleman when he could be enjoying himself with these sorts of people (Whitman).

I do not exactly agree with his morals in this poem by any stretch of the imagination, but I can respect brutal honesty when I see it. Acknowledging that you have really bad morals and continuing to have them is better than continuing to have them while subsequently being in denial of their very existence.

I think that Whitman's complete intention with this poem was not to endorse a life full of lust and giving in to your temptations. I think the true purpose of the poem was to wake people up and make them realize that it is okay to have these feelings sometimes and that it does not make you a bad person. I think all he was trying to say was that everybody should not be such huge prudes all the time and act like they are so far above and beyond the people who engage in this sort of behavior, when in reality they are probably wishing in their minds that they had the guts to shake off the bondage of their rules and just have fun.

As pointed out in the criticism that I read, the "Native" word in the title suggests that exact same thing (Oliver). These things and feelings that Whitman is experiencing in this poem is a native instinct to all people. Everybody experiences these feelings and they are completely and totally natural. What is not natural is trying to pretend that they do not exist and that you are so proper and hoity toity that you cannot see past the end of your upturned nose. This is all that Whitman is trying to get across to the uptight people of the world with this poem.


Oliver, Charles M. "'Native Moments'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW285&SingleRecord=True (accessed February 27, 2011).

Whitman, Walt. "Native Moments." The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 27 Feb. 2011. .

Journal 39

With his poem "Bardic Symbols," Whitman applied to the Everyman pretty well I think. Basically he just talked about how every person at one point or another has tried to explain something about life through the means of literature, yet he gets the feeling sometimes that nobody really knows anything at all. Despite how hard he tries to convey some hidden meaning left by the gods in nature, he can never quite put his finger on exactly what he is trying to say. He strives and strives to find the words but it is as though they are mocking him and just out of his reach. I think this applies to a lot of people. While not everybody is going to strive to write deep and meaningful poetry about the meaning of life, people often still find it difficult to express themselves in just the way that they're looking for.

I thought it was a pity when I read about the way that people reacted to Whitman's poems. Although the critics loved them, the people just simply did not appreciate them the way they should have. Still, I can understand how they would have frowned upon his work. The people disapproved of his style because it was a different style than they were used to seeing in that time period. He did not use the forms and usages that they were used to and apparently he also kicked some laws that they were used to out the window in a manner of speaking.

I really liked the critic's viewpoints about criticism. Critics are only swift to judge when they do so out of prejudice or ignorance. A person who is a worthy critic will take his or her time to assess all points of the thing that they are criticizing and then make an informed decision based upon facts rather than passionate nonsense. And those who are quick to believe these critics are also either prejudiced or ignorant.

Selected bibliography

"Bardic Symbols." Atlantic Monthly 5 (April 1860): 445-447. Revised as "Leaves of Grass. 1" in Leaves of Grass (1860) and reprinted as "Elemental Drifts," Leaves of Grass (1867). The final version of the poem, "As I Ebb'd With the Ocean of Life," was published in Leaves of Grass (1881–82).

[Howells, William Dean]. ""Bardic Symbols"." The Daily Ohio State Journal (28 March 1860): 2.

Song and Self in Walt Whitman's Poetry

Walt Whitman poems are full of a lot of detail and passion. The important factor that he employs in his writings is the emphasis on self. One way he uses to define self and illustrate his importance is through song.

I think this idea of song can mean many things. For me this is especially important because I am heavily interested in music and lyrics and everything that goes along with those things. However, I think that Whitman’s point in these poems is that song does not have to just be music or lyrics. Song is the thing that lives inside of you that comes out in whatever way you individually show it. That is why this idea of Song is so important to your true Self. It helps decide your character and who you are.

I think Whitman’s poem “ When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom’d” has a few lines that are a perfect example of this. The lines are as follows:

In the swamp, in secluded recesses,
A shy and hidden bird is warbling a song.
Solitary, the thrush, 20
The hermit, withdrawn to himself, avoiding the settlements,
Sings by himself a song.
Song of the bleeding throat!
Death’s outlet song of life—(for well, dear brother, I know
If thou wast not gifted to sing, thou would’st surely die.) (When Lilacs)

I think these lines are beautiful and do a great job of describing just exactly what I mean by the importance of Song to Self and how closely they are related. No matter if you are a hidden bird or a solitary hermit, everybody has a song that they sing. And as stated in the last line, “If thou wast not gifted to sing, thou would’st surely die,” you cannot live without your own song to sing. It is simply necessary to life to have some sort of expression for yourself that comes forth from a song.
Songs are expressions of the soul. I am the type of person that will walk around singing songs all day. I do not have a great singing voice, but that does not stop me because singing forth songs is part of my true Self. My true Self is the kind that believes in spreading joy and happiness by keeping a smile on your face and a song in your heart at all times. I think Walt Whitman must have been exactly that type of man as well.

“The Singer in the Prison” is get another one of Whitman’s works that heavily displays the idea of song. In the poem there is a prisoner stuck in jail who is weeping and wailing about the woes of being stuck. The following is an excerpt:

O sight of shame, and pain, and dole!
O fearful thought—a convict Soul!
RANG the refrain along the hall, the prison,
Rose to the roof, the vaults of heaven above,
Pouring in floods of melody, in tones so pensive, sweet and strong, the like whereof
was never heard,
Reaching the far-off sentry, and the armed guards, who ceas’d their pacing,
Making the hearer’s pulses stop for extasy and awe (The Singer).

This excerpt shows exactly how moving a song that comes from a person’s soul can be. It reflects their true Self. Although the person is feeling sorry for themselves through their song, they nevertheless chose a beautiful way to express themselves. While they could be screaming or shouting or crying, instead they have chosen to sing what it is in their heart, and I happen to believe that this shows their true Self to be a lot more beautiful than one might assume based upon the place that they found themselves stuck in.

As proven above, Song is an incredible factor that plays into a person’s true Self. It is the song in their heart’s and one might say it is the music of their soul. Hearing a person’s Song is like hearing who they really are.


Selected Bibliography
Whitman, Walt. “The Singer in the Prison.” Leaves of Grass: 1900.
Whitman, Walt. “When Lilacs Last in the Door-Yard Bloom’d.” Leaves of Grass: 1900.

Journal 35

It would be super intense to be a reporter in the trenches of a war. I think it would be very difficult in many ways. First off, it would be difficult because I think you would feel as though you did not quite belong. The soldiers would be sitting there fighting for their lives and the reporters would just be sitting there writing stuff down about it. I feel like there would definitely be a sense of alienation there.

Another thing that would be difficult would be that it was very dangerous. Going behind the lines without a weapon is a very risky venture. Also, some of the time these reporters are rookies and therefore not used to the battle ground. This could cause them to be a liability during battle because the soldiers would feel a responsibility to protect them while also trying to maintain their own job that they are responsible for. In this way I think if I were a journalist behind the lines of a battle I would feel like more of a hindrance than anything.

I think there would be a lot of excitement involved too though. I am the kind of person that would enjoy being in there with all the action. Any reporter worth anything is the type of person who lives for their story. They love to get in where the action is happening and the bombs are falling and report what they came to figure out. So in that way I think it would be an exhilarating experience. Most reporters would kill for the experience to get some kind of story that most people do not have access to, and they would be willing to do anything to get it, even if that meant putting themselves in harm's way.

So there would be both highly good qualities and terribly bad qualities to being a reporter in the trenches with soldiers during a war.

Realism in "Miniver Cheevy" and "Richard Cory"

"Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" were two poems that fit very well into the genre of Realism. Realism is all about a common, everyday hero who has big dreams and has to work hard in order to achieve them (Werlock). In literature days of old, the character was always some kind of great hero who went off to daring places and had great adventures in exotic locales. However, once Realism came along it allowed people to write stories or poems about real, everyday people like you and me. This was an important step in the advancement of literature because it allowed people to experience characters much like themselves in the works that they were reading. In this way, the works made people think about the world surrounding them and enabled the authors to introduce new points of view to common circumstances, and they could also teach lessons from these circumstances (Werlock).

In "Richard Cory" the subject of the poem is a rich man who seems to have everything, while the narrator seems to be an everyday man who wished he could be exactly like this glamorous man (Robinson). However, in the end the truth comes out. The important man, Richard Cory, shot himself in the head (Robinson). This shows the real idea that money and material items cannot buy happiness. Though the world was practically laid at Richard Cory's feet, for some reason he still was not happy. Yet those common people who desired his life and toiled for everything they had were somehow able to go through their life and find happiness somewhere else. This real idea that the author brought out with his poem was inspirational, because it made common people feel as though they were actually better off than or at least equal to the people who had everything they wanted.

In "Miniver Cheevy" the poem is about a man who feels as though he was born into the wrong time (Robinson). While he is stuck in his generation, he wishes he would have been born in the ages of medieval knights and lords (Robinson). This concept is also familiar to the idea of Realism. As previously stated, Realism discusses concepts that are familiar and relatable to the common problems of the time (Werlock). I believe that this idea of Miniver Cheevy wishing he was born in a different generation is familiar to the generation it was written in as well as our generation today. Generally speaking people always want what they do not have. Sometimes I wish I had been born in the 70's because I believe that this would have been a cool era to exist during. Many people feel this desire at some point in time to exist in a place that they were not born into. Because this is such a familiar concept for people, it functions well as a part of the Realism movement.

These two poems are very good examples of Realism because they talk about real concepts that apply to people in personal ways that they can relate to well.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Richard Cory." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 575.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. "Miniver Cheevy." Glencoe American Literature. comp. Wilhelm, Jeffery. McGraw Hill. Columbus, OH. 2009. pg. 576.

Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Feb 13, 2011.