Acadameia On Beauty

First English Professor surfaced in 1833. History first came around in 1600. London had the first English professor. London University completed the circle with the first Digital Humanities department. English could be abolished for an area of study in the near future with the addition of Digital Humanities departments to the world of academia. Studying Literature will never fade in Academia world. English Literature study needs to evolve to make the area of study more valuable. Literature study requires at least three different fields. An example for modern day scholars is studying Shakespeare. Shakespeare's plays require at least three areas of study to make a complete examination of the author's works. These three disciplines in studying are Literature, Classics and History. Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus requires all three disciplines. One must understand Roman history to realize the setting of the play along with the study of Classics and Mythology. Shakespeare incorporates Ovid's Metamorphosis in his play.

Picasso a Close Reading

Picasso is known for ever in art lore as the famous painter and sculptor from Spain. Winterson takes the name Picasso and does a one-eighty by making her character the opposite sex of Picasso. Winterson's Picasso reminds one of Picasso’s famous painting that contains women wearing African tribal masks. The African tribal mask painting is connected to Winterson's character. The women in this picture are not painters but objects being painted: is it hard for Picasso to imagine herself a painter instead of an object? By naming her character Picasso, Winterson imagines a non-patriarchal society in which women can be artists as famous as Picasso is in our society now. By creating Picasso as a female character and a lesbian, Winterson challenges our faces of greatness, calling into question the great artist's identity.
Famous painters are mostly men: Picasso, Rapheal, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and, Anthony van Dyck.

Wrongs of Woman

The Wrongs of Woman captures one by having the narrator starting in the middle of the story, in medias res. Wollstonecraft alludes different views on women. Maria’s unjustifiable imprisonment by her husband was fascinating especially the connection one makes with the three monotheistic religions' biased view on women.
Wrongs of Woman has a strong connection to the sins of Eve in the Bible.
The title’s allusion towards Eve in the bible is from the deep rooted idea that
Eve was the reason why man had fallen from God’s grace, because she succumbed to the
serpent’s temptation and ate the apple from the Forbidden Fruit Tree. Patriarchal
society dominates the idea that women are not equal to men but in reality they are ever bit as equal as men. Maria’s imprisonment in the insane asylum alludes to women being prisoners in a patriarchal society.

Poetress Archive

Who is the narrator of the poem?
A woman describing to an older audience never grow up completely because one misses some of the best things in life by trying to "kill" the kid in themselves.
What are the pros?
There are some pros to digitizing texts, which are some poetry is meant to be read than read aloud, so digitizing poems can work. Also, another positive to digitizing texts is one can have access to thousands of texts where without digitizing one would have to buy or loan them from a library to access a ride range of poems.



The poem in an HTML, Picture, and TEI format are all the same poem, but the poem itself takes on a different skin. In the TEI format the poem looks strange to the reader that has never seen a TEI format. The TEI format of the poem does not look the same as the picture or HTML poem because the normal format of the poem is broken up with different parentheses and the bulk of the poem is at the bottom half while there is a lot of "junk" in the top half which would make one not familiar with the TEI version become lost and confused from the different format than a "normal" poem.
Digitizing texts will help people understand literature and other forms of writing in a different view. People using a TEI format will be able to see a text spread out and on a computer format. Also, putting texts on digitizing will allow people to access a higher amount of texts because they will be just a click away from them. The digitizing of the texts does help Herman's aim toward art because now the art aspect is taken on in the digital realm which was not available when the poem was written, which means a new form of art is opened, TEI form, with this poem being digitized.
One can see different meanings of the poem when digitized into different versions, especially in the HTML and TEI versions .

Three novels by Mary Shelly?

Using both JUXTA and Tag Clouds there is concrete evidence for Mary Shelly writing three separate novels with the three different versions of Frankenstein. Even though the title is the same in all three novels, there are significant changes in all three novels. One interesting difference in the three versions discussed by my group was that there is a progression from the first version all the way to the third and final version. The passage describing Victor and Walton's first meeting evolves into a more descriptive and colorful dialogue by the third revision. In the first version there is less evidence for a dialogue for friendship but in the later versions words are added. For example, we find in the last verision the words "Friendship" and Dialogue." The above picture is from the 1818 version and here are less descriptive than the 1831 version.

The ablility to digitize the different verisions of Frankenstein brings to light the alterations Shelly made to the different verisions. Using JUXTA we are able to see the progression in the three editions,1818, Thomas 1818 and 1831, written by Shelly.

Heroes or everyday people?

Can there be heroes in modern life?

I believe the answer is yes. The reason I believe heroes can be in modern life is because people find the actions of people amazing. One figure in today's society that is considered a hero by many Americans and people around the world is Barack Obama, the current President of the United States of America. He is a hero for people because he is "African" American, and there has never been an African American President, and he was able to win the majority of votes in the modern day when there is still racism, especially in elderly people and people that are brought up to think one "race" is better than another.
I do not have any modern heroes, because I like the heroes of the past; for example King Arthur. The reason why I like King Arthur, is because of the mysterious history people have of him. Is he real or just a romatic story? Many people also look to Jesus of Nazereth as a hero, because he was able to treat everyone with respect, which seems to be a hard concerpt to handle in today's soceity. No matter who one's hero is there is always room for heroes in modern day life to give hope to the people of Earth.

Notes on Browning Guest Speaker

She used Opiates.

She had four miscarriages from the drugs.

Did not have the baby until she was forty-three.

Aurora is stuck in the middle of two different aspects for women, Mother-Italian amd Aunt English.

She realizes she should fit into the "grey" space between the two stereotypes for women.
She published under an anonymous name after she was married.
She was more wealthy than her husband but lost her money when her father did not approve of her marrying.

Book IV Notes Lines 320-40.

Romney is angry at Aurora for not marrying her and he has to settle for his second choice. "less mutual love than common love" (330). I believe Romney is setting up Aurora to bash her for not accepting his marriage proposal.

You did not, do not, cannot comprehend
My choice, my ends, my motives, nor myself:
No matter now–we'll let it pass, you say.
I thank you for your generous cousinship
Which helps this present; I accept for her
Your favourable thoughts. We're fallen on days,
We two, who are not poets, when to wed
Requires less mutual love than common love,
For two together to bear out at once
Upon the loveless many. Work in pairs,
In galley-couplings or in marriage-rings,
The difference lies in the honour, not the work,–
And such we're bound to, I and she. But love,
(You poets are benighted in this age;
The hour's too late for catching even moths,
You've gnats instead,) love!–love's fool-paradise
Is out of date, like Adam's (Aurora Leigh Book IV 324-40).

After Romney explains how he feels about the love between his second choice and what his love would have been if Aurora did accept his marriage offer.
(You poets are benighted in this age;
The hour's too late for catching even moths,
You've gnats instead,) love!–love's fool-paradise
Is out of date, like Adam's (Aurora Leigh Book IV 324-40).

Romney dissolves into a whiny child who did not get his way by bashing Aurora's trade with the above quote, because he decides to tell Aurora "You poets are benighted in this age;" Yet poets are never benighted because some of the most famous poets were the very educated and informed, Milton and Shakespeare.

Advice to Walton never changes

At the end of the novel Victor still cannot give up the dream of becoming someone who will be remembered for ever in time. Even though Victor was able to see his flaws he still could not put down his ultimate goal of becoming immortal in history and with his final goal still being intact his advice to Walton does not change even though Victor's admittance to his flaws does allow Walton to be careful to think things through before he makes a major decision. The advice between these two men will never change because both men have the same goal to be someone great in the world and Victor's overall aim at rising to power will never tell Walton not to be someone great, when the hunger for the immortality in Victor burns.

Monster Sympathy

The monster in Frankenstein does draw sympathy from me. A reason why I feel sympathy for the monster is that he was created by Victor, and then Victor, horrified by him, ran away. With Victor's abandoning the monster then the monster had no one to teach it the ways of the world, because the monster was brand new to the world with no one to help him and the only image he saw when he came to life was his creator running away from him, which i why I understand his hatred towards Victor and the slaying of Victor's brother. The main area of sympathy I have for Victor's abomination is with Victor not caring for the monster because his expectation of his creation was not to his. Parents always want their children to be healthy. Sometimes children do not meet the parents' expectations, but they do not abandon their children and continue to care for them. Since parents take care of their children when they are not "perfect" then Victor should have stayed and looked after his creation even though he was not the image Victor had in mind when he wanted to create life, which might have saved Victor's brother's life from ending early.

Walton vs Victor

Walton is like Victor in many ways. The main way these two men are alike is with there aspirations to become ever remembered in history for greatness. Walton wanted to be a great poet, yet he only wanted to spend one year one writing his poetry, while Victor wanted to become famous for bringing a being to life. Victor's main flaw is that he believed that he would be able to achieve his goal of bringing inanimate matter to life and that the newly created being would be perfect, even though perfection is impossible because nothing is perfect. Walton has a similar aspect with his poetry, because he barely is able to write any poetry, before he finds his mind on another possibilty that will have his name remembered in history forever. When I look compare these two men the first object or notion i compare them to is the Greek god Janus, because the two faced statue which represents Janus, makes me see Walton and Victor on the statue, with Walton wanting to start the journey on greatness, and Victor is the other side of the statue resembling the person already undertaking the path to greatness and knowing its consequences.

Understanding Heathcliff

One of the most interesting characters in Wuthering Heights is Heathcliff. The scholarly journal by H.W Gallagher compares Heathcliff to Mary Shelly’s character Victor Frankenstein. If one compares Heathcliff to Frankenstein then one can have a better understanding of Heathcliff’s actions throughout the novel. Events include: Heacliff’s beating of Hareton and his hatred of Catherine because she looks like her mother. These first two events are easily explained through the history of the story. The last event which is confusing to understand is Heathcliff’s death.
I was shocked once I realized Heathcliff died from the pain brought to him by the haunting of the ghost of Catherine, and also how much he realized his daughter in law resembled the one woman he once loved. Since Heathcliff was in love with Catherine, the lost of her pushed him to an edge where few humans go, because all he wanted was to take revenge on the people that turned him into the “monster” of being “lower” class.
I believe Heathcliff died finally because he realized taking out his thoughtless revenge on Catherine and Hareton, finally made him realize, his crazed state of “evil,” will never bring back Catherine no matter how much he tries to destroy the people who destroyed him.
I believe once he realizes how much his daughter in-law resembles Catherine Heathcliff, hits a turning point when he realizes the only way he can see Catherine again is to die. The ending of Heathcliff struck me similar to the death of Catherine because he stops eating until one day he finally dies.
Heathcliff is the polar opposite to Victor Frankenstein because Frankenstein creates life, while Heathcliff tears down the worlds of people who remind him of his failure to marry Catherine. Heathcliff is ruthless in his injustice, because he takes his revenge out on his own daughter in-law; he takes it almost to the point of striking her.

Heathcliffe- A sad fellow

Wuthering Heights is filled with muti-leveled characters including the mastermind Heathcliff. The scholarly article by H.W Gallagher compares Heathcliff to Mary Shelly’s character Victor Frankenstein. The comparison of Heathcliff to Frankenstein creates a clearer understanding of the complex character created by Emily Brönte. Understanding Heathcliff requires one to comprehend his shocking actions. Two of the most beastly acts by Heathcliff are his hatred of Catherine and his malicious attacks he takes out on Hareton. Closer looks at these two acts help define the man that Heathcliff is; a man who starves himself to death. Is his act of self starvation an act of pity or to punish himself for the wrong he had done during his life?

Heathcliff’s self starvation is shocking to one but we need to look at why a man would take his own life in a painful way. The death of Catherine pushed Heathcliff to an edge where few humans go, because all he wanted was to take revenge on the people that turned him into the “monster” of being “lower” class. Heathcliff finally took his own life because his “evil minded” plans for taking out his thoughtless revenge on Catherine and Hareton made him realize, his crazed state of “evil,” will never bring back Catherine no matter how much he tries to destroy the people who destroyed him.

The realization of how much his daughter in-law resembles Catherine Heathcliff hits a turning point when Heathcliff understands the only equation which allows him to see the deceased Catherine is to become deceased himself. Heathcliff’s choice on death ironically is similar to his soul mate’s route to the afterlife, the act of starvation. Heathcliff is the polar opposite to Victor Frankenstein because Frankenstein creates life, though the “new” life is in him, while Heathcliff tears down the worlds of people who remind him of his failure to marry Catherine. Heathcliff is ruthless in his injustice, because he takes his revenge out on his own daughter in-law almost to the point of striking her.

There is one similarity between Heathcliff and Victor; they are both “monsters.” Victor’s monster was created him from his endless greed to be in the “pantheon” of the greats, while Heathcliff’s monstrous traits where created by the class stratification in England.

A Room of One's own

Virginia Woolf wrote this essay just after women achieved the right to vote. Woolf brings up an interesting point that there has not been a female Shakespeare in British history, even though during the 18th century mass printing was available for the citizens of England for the first time . I believe with the addition of mass printing press available to the public, there should be a woman who ranks up there with Shakespeare. Her answer to this question is, even if there was a woman with the talent, women are educated differently. They are educated to become homemakers and proper wives.
Shakespeare's sister tried to follow in her brother's footsteps, but the problem at the time was women could not act in the plays. Women started to burn their work because it was looked down upon to write and be faced up to men's writing. That notion is just ludicrous and people believing this idea were bigger fools than the women they looked at negatively during the 19th century. The sad part about this essay was for me is I know men who believe women should stay at home and be a housewife. The question I ask is how sad is it that some men still think women should not work outside the house. Blasphemy is what I call it.
The room of my dreams to help create ideas is a room that is bounded by bookshelves on all sides. The bookshelves would contain a fiction section. The fiction bookshelf would hold volumes of literature from the European continent; including Shakespeare, John Donne, John Milton, Beowulf, Friedrich Schiller, Goethe, E.T.A Hoffman, Alexander Dumas, Edgar Allen Poe, and H.P Lovecraft.

Paragraph on Rape in Cyberspace

I believe that Bungle did commit rape. Bungle committed rape while playing a game, which is still considered rape, even though there is nothing the police could do about it because it is in a fictional setting, with no merit in real society. The fictional world of the MOO is comparable to the world of a novel in which a character commits rape. The character in the story actually does commit rape but it happens in the world of fiction and depending on the story is whether he will come to justice. Bungle did commit rape even though it is in a fiction setting, but at the same time the victim is an avatar figure, with not standing in real life. I hate to say it but Bungle committed rape, but there was no real victims because they were all "created" characters.

Notes 2/2/2009

There is an emotional investment to the characters being tortured. Is there a different investment in being a character as an avatar? Could the investment be stronger if it is your character? From my experience from playing Role Playing Games (RPG) I would feel sad just because if something happens to a character in an RPG, your character is reloaded at the last save point, when your character dies. Now if my character died and i could never retain my character i would be upset and mad, because my beloved character I've created, would no longer "alive."

Mary Wollstonecraft January 26th Quiz

Because her father was an alcoholic, Mary Wollstonecraft took over caring for her family when she was young. She educated herself. Wollstonecraft tried writing for a living. Edmund Burke attacked the French people for revolting against their King. Wollstonecraft wrote the first response to Burke's attack, Vindication to the Rights of Men. In it she defends a Republic as opposed to a Monarchy. Her term "man" mean humans. Wollstonecraft used "manly" to mean "rational." Her Vindication of the rights of Woman explains sexism as systematic and

structural.

Through education society trains women to be immoral and irrational. Meritocracy the rise through merits and talents. Soldiers are like women, because both are disciplined and educated in the same way, following orders when they are given. Wollstonecraft argues that, no matter what gender a human being is, he or she can be educated in the same way as the opposite sex and then will act the same way as a person of the opposite gender. Wollstonecraft argues for a revolution in Women manners. Women take advantage of the power inequities because it is easier than working hard. Wollstonecraft says that women should not behave as if they are inferior to men but should instead behave as equals. I have never understood why people have fear women playing major roles in business. How free can a person be if he or she cannot chose how to live?

Cinderella in Fable II

The Video game Fable II is an RPG game for the Xbox 360. In the beginning of the game, the person playing the game is able to choose between being a homeless boy or homeless girl. After playing the game I realized that, when a person chooses the girl as their character, the story line resembles Cinderella tale in a way. The way this game resembles the Cinderella fairytale is that the little girl starts out with nothing as an orphan on the street, but as the storyline progresses she becomes a hero who is able to achieve what ever she wants.
Even though the story line does not match exactly with the Cinderella story, the part about a girl coming from nothing and achieving great riches mirrors the Cinderella story.

Another example of the fairytale Cinderella is Knut Hamsun's novel Victoria. This novel reverses the gender roles found in the conventional Grimm story. The woman in this story is the rich one with the man being from a poor; he does not have the social status to catch the eye of the royal woman. Although she does fall in love with him, she tries to live aqs an elite woman would. Nonetheless, in the end she kills herself while the man in the story lives out his life. Hamusen flips the conventional Cinderlella stort upside down.

Carter's Bloody Chamber book of Fairytales

In the the "Courtship of Mr Lyon," Beauty is fascinated by Beast and at the same time she is scared by his claws which kill meat. Beauty finds the Beast intriguing and repulsive because he is so different from "normal" men; he is an other. Angela Carter bases her story on the Grimm brothers' story The Singing, Springing Lark. Beauty finds the Beast attractive and obscene because he has animal qualities which relate to humans' animal instinct. Sometimes animal instincts are expressed in dreams or imagination, which is the basis of Fantasy stories. Fantasy stories make the unreal seem real by incorporating them into a believable story. Beauty's fascination is just like our fascination with Fairytales: we can come terms with our own animal desires in an imangitive way.

Cinderella Complex and introduction to Weight

It is interesting to think that someone like Colette Dowling who was ambitious enough to write books like the Cinderella Complex would take a one eighty in her lifestyle, to go from being self-sufficient to depending upon a man. She got remarried again, and expected to get taken care of. This makes me think that, once a human gains a state of comfort, they lose their drive to become successful and become complacent.

Now turning to the introduction to Weight written by Jeanette Winterson. Art does help counteract ideology when one retells fairy tales. Winterson writes that humans have a gigantic appetite for the "real" yet they turn to reality T.V. However, the only way one will experience reality is to live one's own life instead of watching others live theirs. The Introduction to Weight asks us to face "isolation, loneliness, responsibility, and burden" with Atlas by reading her revised story as a way of preparing us to do so on our own.

Angela Carter's Ashputtle is also an interesting story because the mother sacrifices a great deal for her daughter. She gives milk and as a bird she gives blood. She sacrifices everything for her daughter. As a result, the daughter does not have to overcome obstacles and becomes passive.