The overarching theme of "Miss Brill", I think, is that getting old hurts. Why does getting old hurt? Because the habits of tidings past have carried on to the present moment- and when your that elderly- old enough to think you're the cat's meow when you dawn on "fur"- it hurts, bad, to have those personal traditions belittled, berated, or put-down. Miss Brill has been accustomed to people watching and clothes critiquing for most of her life. She sees herself as on outside viewer- a third person- in the reality of the world and in her vanity, she forgets to make friends or have social interactions.
I'll make some interesting commentary now on the nature of vanity and why it appeals to certain types of peoples: vanity kills charity. When one is caught up in themselves, thinking about how great they are- "reveling in one's excellence" [ is how a priest I know describes it], being self absorbed and generally egocentric- it is painfully difficult to think about others. This is why vain people find it hard to care about others.
I think this is also why Miss Brill has no friends. She's so in-to-herself that her "introspection" is a mere surface level gazing at her own reflection in the mirror (with her fur!). This thinking projects itself onto others when Miss Brill is people watching.
And so, when Miss Brill's reality is shattered, when she realizes that she really is as old as her un-make-uped skin proclaims she is and that her "fur" really doesn't make her all that and a bag of cookies, her earth seems to shift beneath her feet. What she has become used to- these vain habits of thought- is now uncovered for what it really is- vapid and worthless. It's not a surprise that as she puts away her fur (for probably the last time) she begins to cry.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The Crazy Horse Lady
Prompt: Reflect on the impact of setting on the characters and plot in "Christmas 1910."
Response:
"We all left our houses unlocked for each other and for just such a wayfarer, so no one felt it odd in those days if you came home and found a stranger making himself comfortable."
The "home-y", rural feel that the great plains of South Dakota give to both the reader and the characters in the story a sense of amiability and freedom from formality. Such a setting enables the semi-romantic encounters which Abba and John Marsh share in the few stolen moments of the night before, the night before Christmas.
"To the west, the sky was thickening up pretty bad. A sky like this in Kentucky might not say the same thing to a man."
This reflection on the signs of the skies turns out to be a catalyst for capricious behavior on the part of Abba. The setting pushes Abigail onward with Sam to chase after John Marsh- creating a place in which Abigail can realize who her true love is. At once, these thoughts spur Abba to seek John in a romantic and movie-esque fashion- and yet draw her closer to the animal on which she chases.
Response:
"We all left our houses unlocked for each other and for just such a wayfarer, so no one felt it odd in those days if you came home and found a stranger making himself comfortable."
The "home-y", rural feel that the great plains of South Dakota give to both the reader and the characters in the story a sense of amiability and freedom from formality. Such a setting enables the semi-romantic encounters which Abba and John Marsh share in the few stolen moments of the night before, the night before Christmas.
"To the west, the sky was thickening up pretty bad. A sky like this in Kentucky might not say the same thing to a man."
This reflection on the signs of the skies turns out to be a catalyst for capricious behavior on the part of Abba. The setting pushes Abigail onward with Sam to chase after John Marsh- creating a place in which Abigail can realize who her true love is. At once, these thoughts spur Abba to seek John in a romantic and movie-esque fashion- and yet draw her closer to the animal on which she chases.
Friday, March 8, 2013
"I Would Prefer Not To"
Prompt: What emotional response does Bartleby elicit from the narrator? Provide a text example of an interaction between the two that illustrates one of these reactions and explain.
Bartleby elicits an unarticulated sort of frustration from the Boss (which is what I'll refer to him as for the remainder of this blog post- as his name is never mentioned in the short story) that eats at him till he feels guilty for his anger. If you did a close reading of the passages therein, you might have noticed that there were a number of boundary problems between the Boss and Bartleby.
Bartleby would prefer not to look over his copies
- Anyone in their right mind would not have dealt with the insolence of this unexplained "eccentricity" of Bartleby's. Not only does the Boss not wield the power of the paycheck, but he also allows himself to be sequestered into an acquiescent position of powerlessness. It is not hard to imagine that the Boss feels emasculated by his experiences with Bartleby.
Bartleby turns the Boss' office into an apartment
- If someone in their right mind had managed to shrug off these issues with Bartleby, then the incident of finding him convert the copyist office into his home would have certainly been the last straw. But it's not. The Boss' pity, the "human side", gets the best of him and he is not able to say "no" to Bartleby in an assertive and meaningful manner. The Boss' boundaries, at this point, should have been backed up with concrete consequences- such as a situation involving the police (which is what happened in the end anyway).
Bartleby elicits an unarticulated sort of frustration from the Boss (which is what I'll refer to him as for the remainder of this blog post- as his name is never mentioned in the short story) that eats at him till he feels guilty for his anger. If you did a close reading of the passages therein, you might have noticed that there were a number of boundary problems between the Boss and Bartleby.
Bartleby would prefer not to look over his copies
- Anyone in their right mind would not have dealt with the insolence of this unexplained "eccentricity" of Bartleby's. Not only does the Boss not wield the power of the paycheck, but he also allows himself to be sequestered into an acquiescent position of powerlessness. It is not hard to imagine that the Boss feels emasculated by his experiences with Bartleby.
Bartleby turns the Boss' office into an apartment
- If someone in their right mind had managed to shrug off these issues with Bartleby, then the incident of finding him convert the copyist office into his home would have certainly been the last straw. But it's not. The Boss' pity, the "human side", gets the best of him and he is not able to say "no" to Bartleby in an assertive and meaningful manner. The Boss' boundaries, at this point, should have been backed up with concrete consequences- such as a situation involving the police (which is what happened in the end anyway).
Friday, March 1, 2013
A Rose for Emily
Prompt: To what extent do concepts of honor and tradition influence the action in "A Rose for Emily"?
Response: The tradition of the Southern town (which the Griersons, at one point, called home) is one of chivalry, gossip, and conservatism. Colonel Sartoris, essential, lets Emily off of her tax evasion on the account of the fact that she is a woman- and that she can make retribution by way of china-decorating lessons. Along with this comes the expected rumor [mills] that pop up around the town to propagate the news of Miss Emily's personal life, including the burgeoning of her relationship with her "love interest", Homer Barron. Tradition, in the vein of honor, also affects the plot of "A Rose for Emily", in that where conflict would normally arise- there is only acquiescence, pity, and unarticulated fear; the council's meager attempt at convincing Emily to pay her taxes, the pharmacist's innocuous warning about the rat poison, and the community's failed efforts to find out what was going on in that "big, squarish frame house that had once been white" are all examples of how Emily's "imperviousness" stood stark and ostensibly invincible in the face of casual precedents and social norms.
Friday, February 22, 2013
"Amen."
Passage from the text:
"But Thou, being the Good, needing no good, art ever at rest, because Thou Thyself art Thy rest. And what man will teach man to understand this? Or what angel, an angel? Or what angel, a man? Let it be asked of Thee, sought in Thee, knocked for at Thee; so, even so shall it be received, so shall it be found, so shall it be opened. Amen."
- Book XIII Chapter XXXVIII
Commentary:
No one can understand this "rest" of God. Heaven, to be sure, is what Augustine is referring to here. I agree. Busy bee that I am, I, personally, find it hard to rest even on Sundays! While that commandment was given for my benefit, I do a bad job of obeying it sometimes. Now, prudence in mind, Sundays are not "veg-out" selfish days meant to be completely void of any conceivable work- that's devolving into legalistic extremism. What am I trying to say? Well, just what Augustine is saying; I'm so one-minded and blind that I forget to rest- not out of negligence but out of a desire to work. God is the only one that can bring me back to reality- a reality in which repose is present as far as Augustine's logic goes.
The only reasonable ending to Augustine's autobiography/memoir is a sincere, well placed, "Amen."
"But Thou, being the Good, needing no good, art ever at rest, because Thou Thyself art Thy rest. And what man will teach man to understand this? Or what angel, an angel? Or what angel, a man? Let it be asked of Thee, sought in Thee, knocked for at Thee; so, even so shall it be received, so shall it be found, so shall it be opened. Amen."
- Book XIII Chapter XXXVIII
Commentary:
No one can understand this "rest" of God. Heaven, to be sure, is what Augustine is referring to here. I agree. Busy bee that I am, I, personally, find it hard to rest even on Sundays! While that commandment was given for my benefit, I do a bad job of obeying it sometimes. Now, prudence in mind, Sundays are not "veg-out" selfish days meant to be completely void of any conceivable work- that's devolving into legalistic extremism. What am I trying to say? Well, just what Augustine is saying; I'm so one-minded and blind that I forget to rest- not out of negligence but out of a desire to work. God is the only one that can bring me back to reality- a reality in which repose is present as far as Augustine's logic goes.
The only reasonable ending to Augustine's autobiography/memoir is a sincere, well placed, "Amen."
Convoluted or Philosophical?
Passage from the text:
" For altogether as Thou art, Thou only knowest, Who art unchangeably, and knowest unchangeably, and willest unchangeably. And Thy Essence Knoweth and Willeth unchangeably; and Thy Knowledge Is, and Willeth unchangeably; and Thy Will Is, and Knoweth unchangeably. Nor doth it appear just to Thee, that as the Unchangeable Light knoweth Itself, so should It be known by that which is enlightened and changeable. Therefore unto Thee is my soul as "land where no water is," because as it cannot of itself enlighten itself, so it cannot of itself satisfy itself. For so is the fountain of life with Thee, like as in Thy light we shall see light."
- Book XIII Chapter XVI
Commentary:
By the end of the book, the reader is clued in to the fact that Augustine understands a great deal about God. What does he understand about God? That only God can know His unknowable self. While this sounds like some mental gymnastics, Augustine believes it to be true- in a way that is as complicated as it is obscure. What reasons does Augustine have for sharing this with his audience? For none other than the evangelization of souls wandering aimlessly through life, looking for meaning, as Augustine once did.
" For altogether as Thou art, Thou only knowest, Who art unchangeably, and knowest unchangeably, and willest unchangeably. And Thy Essence Knoweth and Willeth unchangeably; and Thy Knowledge Is, and Willeth unchangeably; and Thy Will Is, and Knoweth unchangeably. Nor doth it appear just to Thee, that as the Unchangeable Light knoweth Itself, so should It be known by that which is enlightened and changeable. Therefore unto Thee is my soul as "land where no water is," because as it cannot of itself enlighten itself, so it cannot of itself satisfy itself. For so is the fountain of life with Thee, like as in Thy light we shall see light."
- Book XIII Chapter XVI
Commentary:
By the end of the book, the reader is clued in to the fact that Augustine understands a great deal about God. What does he understand about God? That only God can know His unknowable self. While this sounds like some mental gymnastics, Augustine believes it to be true- in a way that is as complicated as it is obscure. What reasons does Augustine have for sharing this with his audience? For none other than the evangelization of souls wandering aimlessly through life, looking for meaning, as Augustine once did.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Augustine, the Humble
Passage from the text:
" I listen to all these arguments and give them thought, but I will not engage in wordy disputes, such as can only unsettle the minds of those who are listening. The law is intended for edification, and it is an excellent thing, where it is applied legitimately, because its end is charity, based on purity of heart, on a good conscience and a sincere faith. Christ our Master well knows which are the two commandments on which, he said, all the law and the prophets depend. O my God, Light of my eyes in darkness, since I believe in these commandments and confess them to be true with all my heart, how can it harm me that it should be possible to interpret these words in several ways, all of which may yet be true?"
- Book XII Chapter XVIII
Commentary:
This passage says much about the character of St.Augustine. Not only is he legitimately righteous, but he is also completely humble. Augustine acknowledges the fact that for truths both so divine as to be obscure and indeterminable and so basic as to be commonplace and mundane that there may be alternate interpretations of the scriptures in which these truths are revealed. In an age when so many people cling to Christian dogma with an iron, narrow and scrupulous, grip this message is almost revolutionary. How avante garde this saint wasp; He accepted the possibility of having to share his concept of what is proper or true to the point of being free of the insularity that would cripple him in an effort to be infallible.
I Want To Know
Passage from the text:
"In what way, then, do you, Ruler of all that you have created, reveal the future to the souls of men? You have revealed it to your prophets. But how do you reveal the future to us when, for us, the future does not exist? Is it that you only reveal present signs of things that are to come? For it is utterly impossible that things which do not exist should be revealed. The means by which you do this is far beyond our understanding. I have not the strength to comprehend this mystery, and by my own power I never shall. But in your strength I shall understand it, when you grant me the grace to see, sweet Light of the eyes of my soul."
- Book XI Chapter XIX
Commentary:
I'm not too anxious about my college decision letters. But I want to know: am I accepted? Or not? Augustine alludes to a theory that we can know the future by looking at the present in the qualities and states of that which is looked upon. This is in accordance with human reason, though, and has little do with supernatural uncovering. According to Saint Augustine the future does not exist- yet- and, he argues, how can one know what does not exist? In my mind I have created an construct; my college decision already exists, I tell myself, I have just yet to know what it is. The admissions officers might not have even discussed my application or placed the acceptance letter in the envelope but I am so certain that the decision exists in such a way that though it does not exist, the very essence of its potential existence excites in me desire to know. Yes, we impatient human beings have a hard time dealing with the facts of things in the future and often in the present as well.
?
Friday, February 8, 2013
She Can Judge For Herself
Passage from the text:
"'Now you drink water because you are not allowed to have wine. But when you are married and have charge of your own larders and cellars, you will not be satisfied with water, but the habit of drinking will be too strong for you.' By making rules of this sort and using here influence she was able to keep the natural greediness of childhood that they no longer wanted what it was not correct for them to have."
Commentary:
The above is sagacious advice from a woman who has been around the wine bottle, herself, a few times. Yes, Augustine's mother had a drinking problem in her youth and this wise admonishment comes from her. But why is this significant? Because everyone needs a thorn in their side- some weakness that, initially, cannot be overcome. Such things keep us humble enough to know that we rely upon something else besides our own strength. Having experienced her own trials, Monica was fully qualified, then, to pray for her son's conversion unceasingly as the distraught widow she was.
"'Now you drink water because you are not allowed to have wine. But when you are married and have charge of your own larders and cellars, you will not be satisfied with water, but the habit of drinking will be too strong for you.' By making rules of this sort and using here influence she was able to keep the natural greediness of childhood that they no longer wanted what it was not correct for them to have."
Commentary:
The above is sagacious advice from a woman who has been around the wine bottle, herself, a few times. Yes, Augustine's mother had a drinking problem in her youth and this wise admonishment comes from her. But why is this significant? Because everyone needs a thorn in their side- some weakness that, initially, cannot be overcome. Such things keep us humble enough to know that we rely upon something else besides our own strength. Having experienced her own trials, Monica was fully qualified, then, to pray for her son's conversion unceasingly as the distraught widow she was.
?
Passage from the text:
"O God, who are so good, what is it that makes men rejoice more for the salvation of a soul for which all had despaired, or one that is delivered from great danger, than for one for which hope has never been lost or one which has been in less peril?"- Book VIII Section III
Commentary:
I think this quote is interesting if only for the fact that it's a poignant, introspective, question indicative of the rest of Augustine's Confessions. He uses them alot. Like alot. Yes, Augustine was certainly a teacher of rhetoric! The questions are also a tool used to lead the reader towards the implied conclusions- which is useful for Augustine who didn't just write the book for laughs. Augustine wanted to lead his audience on the same journey he had embarked on at the beginning of his life. This might also be why the saint aides each account of his life with extensive explanations and musings.
"O God, who are so good, what is it that makes men rejoice more for the salvation of a soul for which all had despaired, or one that is delivered from great danger, than for one for which hope has never been lost or one which has been in less peril?"- Book VIII Section III
Commentary:
I think this quote is interesting if only for the fact that it's a poignant, introspective, question indicative of the rest of Augustine's Confessions. He uses them alot. Like alot. Yes, Augustine was certainly a teacher of rhetoric! The questions are also a tool used to lead the reader towards the implied conclusions- which is useful for Augustine who didn't just write the book for laughs. Augustine wanted to lead his audience on the same journey he had embarked on at the beginning of his life. This might also be why the saint aides each account of his life with extensive explanations and musings.
Friday, February 1, 2013
That Theatrical Drama Makes Us Less Human
Passage from the text:
"Can I, then, love in another what I hate in myself, though both of us are human?"
- Book IV Chapter XIV
Commentary:
I felt this question was especially compelling; it's couched right in the middle of a discussion on why Augustine derives pleasure from the sadness of actors in a play, yet dislikes being sad. It's a testament to humanity's inconsistencies. Personally, I think that I enjoy drama and tragedy because, in a way, I can feel all the anguish of the fictive protagonist without any of the pain; I get to live another life without any of the consequences. Not only that, but if it's an especially badly done work, I know that the ending will be better than the beginning- and so I risk very little in letting the production tug at my pathos. My only qualm with any of the above is that in thinking that pity being drawn out of me is a form of entertainment I become desensitized to the actual occasions of unhapiness in life [or worse, begin to seek them out so as to feel picturesque and complicated].
"Can I, then, love in another what I hate in myself, though both of us are human?"
- Book IV Chapter XIV
Commentary:
I felt this question was especially compelling; it's couched right in the middle of a discussion on why Augustine derives pleasure from the sadness of actors in a play, yet dislikes being sad. It's a testament to humanity's inconsistencies. Personally, I think that I enjoy drama and tragedy because, in a way, I can feel all the anguish of the fictive protagonist without any of the pain; I get to live another life without any of the consequences. Not only that, but if it's an especially badly done work, I know that the ending will be better than the beginning- and so I risk very little in letting the production tug at my pathos. My only qualm with any of the above is that in thinking that pity being drawn out of me is a form of entertainment I become desensitized to the actual occasions of unhapiness in life [or worse, begin to seek them out so as to feel picturesque and complicated].
"It's Your Fault That I'm This way"
Passage from the text:
"But I was all words, and stupidly I used to ask them, 'If, as you say, God made the soul, why does it err?' Yet I did not like them to ask me in return, 'If what you say is true, why does God err?'"
- Book IV Chapter XV
Commentary:
At first I had to re-read the above as it made no sense at all upon first glance. But then, what sense it did make! St.Augustine, here, was being the big shot orator and arguer that he is, questioning the 500 A.D. Christians of Carthage about the perfection of God. The line of thought goes: if God is perfect, what he makes should also be perfect. Why, then, are we not perfect? This alone would be a sure-fire argument against the existence of God. But, unlike many modern-day Christians, those persons that Augustine poses the question to are astute enough to know that the two things, God and creation, are independent of each other when it comes to qualities like goodness or perfection. I think it's a clever little repartee worthy of musing: We're not perfect and it's not God's fault.
"But I was all words, and stupidly I used to ask them, 'If, as you say, God made the soul, why does it err?' Yet I did not like them to ask me in return, 'If what you say is true, why does God err?'"
- Book IV Chapter XV
Commentary:
At first I had to re-read the above as it made no sense at all upon first glance. But then, what sense it did make! St.Augustine, here, was being the big shot orator and arguer that he is, questioning the 500 A.D. Christians of Carthage about the perfection of God. The line of thought goes: if God is perfect, what he makes should also be perfect. Why, then, are we not perfect? This alone would be a sure-fire argument against the existence of God. But, unlike many modern-day Christians, those persons that Augustine poses the question to are astute enough to know that the two things, God and creation, are independent of each other when it comes to qualities like goodness or perfection. I think it's a clever little repartee worthy of musing: We're not perfect and it's not God's fault.
Friday, January 25, 2013
Young (Stupid) at Heart
Passage from the text:
"Can this be the innocence of childhood? Far from it, O lord! But I beg you to forgive it. For commanders and kings may take the place of tutors and schoolmasters, nuts and balls and pet birds may give way to money and estates and servants, but these same passions remain with us while one stage of life follows upon another, just as more severe punishments follow upon the schoolmaster's cane. It was, then, simply because they are small that you used children to symbolize humility when, as our King, you commended it by saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
- Book I Chapter XIX
Commentary:
St. Augustine makes the proposal in this passage that we all play with vain things, whether we are young or old. That, truly, as we grow up, we never stop being childish. While some would like to think that they are smart and mature, an educated adult, in their state in life the truth is that for all their gambles and vices they are still children. Who's to say that the childish games of children are much different from the "adult" games of grown-ups: hide-and-go-seek versus not paying taxes, tag versus gambling?
I believe him. Adults still have their toys; their iPhones and yachts and guns and stocks. The difference is only symbolic.
"Can this be the innocence of childhood? Far from it, O lord! But I beg you to forgive it. For commanders and kings may take the place of tutors and schoolmasters, nuts and balls and pet birds may give way to money and estates and servants, but these same passions remain with us while one stage of life follows upon another, just as more severe punishments follow upon the schoolmaster's cane. It was, then, simply because they are small that you used children to symbolize humility when, as our King, you commended it by saying that the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
- Book I Chapter XIX
Commentary:
St. Augustine makes the proposal in this passage that we all play with vain things, whether we are young or old. That, truly, as we grow up, we never stop being childish. While some would like to think that they are smart and mature, an educated adult, in their state in life the truth is that for all their gambles and vices they are still children. Who's to say that the childish games of children are much different from the "adult" games of grown-ups: hide-and-go-seek versus not paying taxes, tag versus gambling?
I believe him. Adults still have their toys; their iPhones and yachts and guns and stocks. The difference is only symbolic.
Immutability: Invincibility?
Passage from the text:
"You, my God, are supreme, utmost in goodness, mightiest and all-powerful, most merciful and most just. You are the most hidden from us and yet the most present amongst us, the most beautiful and yet the most strong, ever enduring and yet we cannot comprehend you. You are the unchangeable and yet you change all things. You are never new, never old, and yet all things have new life from you. You are the unseen power that brings decline upon the proud. You are ever active, yet always at rest."
- Book I Chapter IV
Commentary:
I'm really digging the paradox motif St.Augustine has going here. It illustrates the elusiveness of God that few can comprehend. "Unchangeable and yet you change all things" Augustine tells us. Who is so immutable and of such strong a will as to be capable of changing all things? But for God, is Augustine's constant refrain. What's interesting about this passage is that it's sandwiched between Augustine's account of his childhood and his boyhood. In a way, this prayer to God symbolizes the fact that Augustine, himself, is changing- whether or not he wants to.
"You, my God, are supreme, utmost in goodness, mightiest and all-powerful, most merciful and most just. You are the most hidden from us and yet the most present amongst us, the most beautiful and yet the most strong, ever enduring and yet we cannot comprehend you. You are the unchangeable and yet you change all things. You are never new, never old, and yet all things have new life from you. You are the unseen power that brings decline upon the proud. You are ever active, yet always at rest."
- Book I Chapter IV
Commentary:
I'm really digging the paradox motif St.Augustine has going here. It illustrates the elusiveness of God that few can comprehend. "Unchangeable and yet you change all things" Augustine tells us. Who is so immutable and of such strong a will as to be capable of changing all things? But for God, is Augustine's constant refrain. What's interesting about this passage is that it's sandwiched between Augustine's account of his childhood and his boyhood. In a way, this prayer to God symbolizes the fact that Augustine, himself, is changing- whether or not he wants to.
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