My Writing: Nicole Ratliff

Whelp. It's over. I guess this class was not what I was expecting to say the least, although now that I think about it, I don't even know what I was expecting to be honest. I think in all reality I thought that this would be just like my AP English Language and Composition course where I wrote my first 15 page paper on The Grapes of Wrath... I even chose that to be the same book I would write my final paper on for this semester! But this class was wayyyyy different! Yes, there was structure. Yes, there was a goal. But I really felt that I was constantly being pushed out of my comfort zone. Although not everything I wrote was perfect, I feel that every thing I did this semester improved my writing and now I know what I enjoy as well as what I don't as well as I think I am really beginning to understand myself as a writer.

Although this first post isn't necessarily anything important, I feel like this was the first time I really expressed my love of writing to others through writing! And throughout the semester I used this piece as inspiration and a reminder of why I am an English Major especially when I didn't do as well as I would have liked and felt discouraged.

Besides the first blog post I feel that the first time we tried writing our essays in an hour which can be seen in this post, "Flashback, Flashback!" Giving myself only an hour- a productive hour to write- really helped me to focus on the important themes and concepts that I wanted to address in addition to creating an outline that would make filling in the rest of my paper much easier! I learned that I really like this way of writing in addition to the ways that we built upon it aka being accountable to someone else in class and helping others in their writing process. It was amazing to see how much talking to others really helped me flesh out my ideas for my papers and really understand what I was writing about and why! In my future writing I would love to take more of a social approach, including posting more on facebook and other platforms and really understand if my "why" is important to others!

Although I do have to admit that I am not the best writers of literary criticism, I learned a lot about how to improve my formal writing as well as what kind of writer I am. I am extremely lengthy and sometimes my writing is as complicated as I am! I love to bask in the creative aspects of the writing process and enjoy looking at my work feeling accomplished because of the improvements I have made as well as the successes I have had. I like to compare stories and love to see how to bridge the gaps between generations. I am glad that I was able to learn social aspects of writing as well as improve my formal writing habits. This class was another way I could develop myself as a writer, and I enjoyed it!

Happy End of the Semester! Idk about you guys but I'm ready to hit the beach!

Another Successful Hour

So for this time around I decided to try Veronica's method of writing the Introduction and Conclusion and then filling in from there to make sure that my ideas would match up. So for this hour I really focused on solidifying those 2 paragraphs and I feel like they definitely show where I want my paper to go and so here's what I worked on that is in addition to the outline I made last time:

God or Man?

            Democritus, also known as the Laughing Philosopher, once said, “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul” [Brainy Quotes]. As a part of human nature, individuals are constantly looking for the source of happiness. Some look for happiness in others, some look for it in material goods, sometimes it is sought after in oneself. Others look for happiness in dreams, religious pursuits, and the divine. In The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, the Joad’s- a family who has been affected by the Dust Bowl- are forced to migrate west. Along their journey they are constantly looking for ways to find happiness, whether it be through a son’s return, daughter’s pregnancy, or hope of a promised land. Unfortunately, every time the Joad’s put their faith in something, the outcome never is what they desire because it is based off of the powers of human nature. Their son is not able to save them, their daughter’s baby is a stillbirth, and the Promised Land is instead an overcrowded wasteland. Similarly to Steinbeck, Samuel Johnson explores the follies of human nature in The Vanity of Human Wishes. Johnson explores how pride, stubbornness, and worldly pursuits harm the progression of individuals because it is only through divine help that the vanities can be put aside and real progression can begin. As described in the Norton Anthology of English Literature’s introduction to Samuel Johnson’s The Vanity of Human Wishes, “ In a world of blindness and illusion, human beings must struggle to find a point of view that will not deceive them, and a happiness that can last” [Norton Anthology]. Although The Grapes of Wrath is perceived as a novel of triumph of the oppressed and a call for socialism, in actuality the novel exposes the vanities of human nature as described in The Vanity of Human Wishes and calls for a return to God for the betterment of society.

            BODY PARAGRAPHS

            The Grapes of Wrath shows the struggles that are a part of the nature of humanity and the vices that are described in The Vanity of Human Wishes. The novel exposes the follies of individuals placing their faith in humanity and hoping for things that no human could possibly fulfill. Through exposing human vices such as stubbornness, pride, and wishful thinking, as well as using Christ figures and using historical evidence, Steinbeck and Johnson call for a return to God and separating from the unreliable- human nature.

            

Next Steps and Draft: The Grapes of Wrath

Okay so me and Courtney discussed my ideas and really talked about fleshing them out as well as figuring out the exact path I will go with for my paper. We talked a lot about Steinbeck's life and how it influenced his writing. There was also a ton of synopsis of each one off our stories so that we could understand each other's arguments and direction.
Here's my writing goal for today:
1. Flesh out ideas
2. Outline and structure argument
3. Start backing up ideas with research
4. Not freak out about a time limit!

See you in a couple of hours!

Update: So for the one hour of writing #anxietytime I got together my white board, quote guide I made for the Vanity of Human Wishes and all my sticky notes. First I divided everything up into sections and then I gave a brief summary of where I want it to go. Now all I have to do is fill it in with research and actually write the paper!

 Here's what my work looked like:

The Grapes of Wrath and Vanity of Human Wishes 

Introduction

            Hook: How are we exposed to our own follies? After we are exposed to the vanities of human nature, how do we react? Is this what causes change? If so, what change do we want it to or does it bring?

            Introduce the Claim: Begin with the Grapes of Wrath because it’s the main source. Joads, constant struggle, stupidity of humans continuing to hope. Then move onto The Vanity of Human Wishes as the second primary source (used on as a juxtaposition for the Grapes of Wrath). Laughing philosopher, vanities of all humans, letting vices take over virtues.

            Thesis: Although The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is perceived as a novel of triumph of the oppressed and a call for socialism, in actuality the novel exposes the vanities of human nature as described in Samuel Johnson's The Vanity of Human Wishes and calls for a return to God for the betterment of society.

            Evidence: See Body Paragraphs 1-

Body #1: Reason Vs. Stubbornness

            Grapes of Wrath: “But at last its legs waved in the air, reaching for something to pull it over.” (After almost being killed, the Turtle still gets back up and tries again… WHY?)

“If a man owns a little property, that property is him, it’s a part of him, and it’s like him.” (This is the reason why the turtle gets back up, because it feels like there is something worth fighting for… is this stubbornness or reason?

“For a moment he was about to walk on down the road, but instead he sat on the running board on the side away from the restaurant” or “But sometimes a guy’ll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker.” (It’s both! Reason and stubbornness. But I think in terms of this essay, I will argue stubbornness because of the fight that the people engage in.)

“Rose of Sharon loosened one side of the blanket and bared her breast. ‘You got to’ she said.” (Only reasonable thing! Not the best of options but needed for survival)

            Vanity of Human Wishes: “How rarely Reason guides the stubborn choice,/ Rules the bold hand, or prompts the supplicant voice/; How nations sink, by darling schemes oppressed,/ When Vengeance listens to the fool’s request.” (This is arguing the point of them being stubborn. The want vengeance, they want to rise up and live a good life without the demands of the government BUTTTT because they do it out of stubbornness, they will never get far!)

Body #2: Democritus

            The Grapes of Wrath: “You don’ know what you’re a-doin.” (Jim Casy, Christ figure, tells the police that they don’t know what they are doing, that they are judging the Okies, without even trying to understand. Crucifying the innocent.) “It’s all work” the preacher replied “They’s too much of it to split up to men’s or women’s work. You got stuff to do. Leave me to salt the meat.” (Casy talks about how silly we are to split things into men and women’s work. Vanity that there’s a difference and that we have to divide things up based off gender.) “There ain’t no sin and there ain’t no virtue. There’s just stuff people do. It’s all part of the same thing.” (Casy remarks on his philosophy of human nature, it’s not black or white or even gray. It’s any and everything.)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “Once more, Democritus, arise on earth,/ With cheerful wisdom and instructive mirth.” (Democritus and Casy are juxtaposition because they both are preaching the same things and looking at human nature from a different point of view,. BUTT go about it differently – laughing vs serious)

Body #3: Change

            The Grapes of Wrath: “ nobody can’t keep a turtle though.” (turtle is a symbol for the people, for time, for the world and basically you can’t stop it. You can’t stop progression and there’s only 3 options) “She saw the turtle and swung to the right, off the highway, the wheels screamed and a cloud of dust boiled up.” (Option A: Try to avoid it) “And now a truck approached and as it came near, the driver saw the turtle and swerved to hit it.” (Option B: Face it head on, or C- which I don’t have an exact quote for- try to keep pace/pick it up like Tom). “Times are changed, don’t you know.” (And you can choose one of those 3 options but either way it will continue to move forward.)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “Where change of favorites made no change of laws, And senates heard before they judged a cause.” (We want…. We don’t want… BUT we don’t want to put in the effort ourselves.)

Body #4: Power

            The Grapes of Wrath: “The bank- the monster has to have profits all the time. It can’t wait. It’ll die. No taxes go on. When the monster stops growing it dies.” “Men made it, but they can’t control it.” (Power is something we want in a pretty box with ribbon topped with a bow but really it’s uncontrollable and when we create something with power we are allowing that to take over because no human can control the force that drives it.)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “Claim leads to claim and power advances power.” (It’s a never-ending cycle. What do we do about it now?)

Body #5: People in Charge

            The Grapes of Wrath: “Some of the owner men were kind because they hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel, and some of them were cold because they had long ago found that one could not be an owner unless one were cold.” (Sad life of being in charge, nothing you can do because POWER aka the monster is in charge and so these people HAVE to submit to its rule.)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “He views, and wonders that they please no more;/ Now pail the tasteless meats, and joyless wines,/ And luxury with her slave resigns.” (There comes to a point when being in power hits reality and it isn’t great anymore and so like the owners you have 3 options for how you can react… Which will you choose with the city lights become dull?)

Body #6: Education

            The Grapes of Wrath: “Mechanical engineering. It’s easy. Just study a few easy lessons at home.” (Oh how naïve! Is this how we view education and the educated? There is something more, promise!)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “Through all his veins the fever of the renown/ Burns from the strong contagion of the gown” “And Bacon’s mansion trembles o’er his head.” (it could all crumble, all the hard work, because that’s what it is, yet we still pursue it. It will burn in the end)

Body #7: Future Generations

            The Grapes of Wrath: “That lady that says I’ll lose the baby.” (What people do now, does have an effect on future generations.) “He guided the box gently out into the current and let it go” (Sometimes we have to let go and allow the future generations to decide what they want to do. (Raise a child in the way he or she should go and then let him/her decide where they will take it)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “from age to age in everlasting debt.” (What we do now will leave the future in debt. We won’t see  the consequences of our actions but rather we will see the consequences of the actions of those before us and the future will have to pay for what we have done, etc.)

Body #8: Second Coming/ Christ’s Reign

            The Grapes of Wrath: “She looked at Pa and Uncle John standing helplessly gazing at the sick man.” (We don’t know what to do without the Lord. We are helpless without him and so we need him to come back!) “And the two women looked deep into each other… She said, ‘Yes.’” (The women are live the servants of the Lord who understand his plan and know what needs to be done to help.)

            The Vanity of Human Wishes: “In life’s last scene what prodigies surprise,/ Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise!” “To Interest, Prudence, and to Flattery, Pride,/ Now Beauty falls betrayed, despised, distressed,/ And hissing Infamy proclaims the rest.” (Our wishes and thoughts are vain but heaven’s are not. The truth, beauty, and good. Things fall into place when God is on your side.)

Conclusion:

Wrap it up! Like a crunch wrap! JK, not really.

Symposium Adventures

This was my first symposium and wow it was amazing!

The first thing I did was attend the Shakespeare session at 1215-115 on Thursday. Like Sage, I work and so my boss was cool enough to let me have the hour off, although I had to make up by staying later on Friday, but we will over look that for now haha

So for the Shakespeare session the first two papers really stuck out to me.

The first one a girl discussed the translation of Shakespeare in to movies, text messages, even into sign language. She argued that while there are many aspects of the beautiful language that are lost, the translations bring the universal themes into a new light and make them available to more people.

The second paper was written by a guy who chose to place Ophelia in a position of power. Instead of Ophelia being acted upon she was acting in her own way. She wasn't insane but rather moved past reason. It was brilliant and I loved how he shed new light on a character that gets so much crap most of the time!

Both of these papers I thought would work well with what I am arguing because they take the original mindset of the audience and flip it on its head. Their arguments made me really think and could be useful for keeping my paper from being boring and conforming to everyone eles's views on Steinbeck.

The other thing I did was I volunteered at the English Society's table during the symposium. It was super fun working at the table and getting a look into the behind the scenes.. PLUS during that time Michigan lost to Midd Tennessee which I mean who doesn't love a good Basketball game?

Check out the English Society FB page for more recaps of the Symposium!
https://www.facebook.com/byuenglishsociety/

Sources!

I always get so caught up in my research because sometimes it gets so much more interesting than the actual book... sometimes haha Whelp. Trying to stick close to my original plan here are my citations for the research I have done!

Thesis:

Although The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, is perceived as a novel of triumph of the oppressed and a call for socialsim, in actuallity the novel exposes the vanities of human nature as described in Samuel Johnson's The Vanity of Human Wishes and calls for a return to God for the betterment of society.

Works Cited

Amis, G. T. "The Style Of The Vanity Of Human Wishes". Modern Language Quarterly 35.1 (1974): 16-29. Web. [online article]

This  article talks about the style in which Samuel Johnson wrote the Vanity of Human Wishes and how this style contributes to the power of Johnson's message. This article points out the pathos in Johnson's argument and how the emotion moves people -- Similarly to Steinbeck's appeal to pathos in The Grapes of Wrath .The sympathy the audience feels towards the Joads moves them towards reform and reevaluation of society-- like the poem does but in regards to the pathos that is created towards the people who are overtaken by the vices and lose their virtues. 

French, Warren G. A Companion To The Grapes Of Wrath. New York: Viking Press, 1963. Print. [book]

This book is a compilation of the who's who and the what's what of The Grapes of Wrath. It give geological information about the dust bowl, insight to book vs. movie adaptations, the way that it affected america back then and in the present day. It's a great overview of the basics that need to be understood for the first time reader and help give a new perspective after reading the novel a bunch of times .

Jackson, Joseph Henry, Carter Meredith, and A. A Milne. Why Steinbeck Wrote The Grapes Of Wrath. New York: Ltd. editions club, 1940. Print. [article]

This is a small book, tbh it's more like an article- literally it's 3 pages with binding, that discusses the reasons behind the novel. It tells about Steinbeck's life, his being drawn the the little man, and then the novel being taken as fact rather than fiction and how that grew the debate which can still be said is going on today. It discusses the reality of the duct bowl and the fiction of the novel.

"Johnson, Samuel". Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia 2015: 1. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [encyclopedia]
The biography of Samuel Johnson that briefly outlines his life, works, etc. Short simple, dictionary                but gives the reader the info needed to know the basics of his life.

Meyers, Jeffrey. Samuel Johnson. New York: Basic Books, 2008. Print. [ebook]

This ebook is another biography of Johnson's life that goes into great detail about his disabilities, views, and works. It exposes the reader to his life, the lack of influence from his parents, the constant competition he was engaged in and finally his influence from then on out. Really helped me get another look into his life and why he wrote what he did and how I could tie in Steinbeck's life and both the poem and novel.

Millichap, Joseph R. "Biography Of John Steinbeck.". Critical Insights: The Grapes of Wrath (2010): 14-17. Web. 21 Mar. 2016. [ebook]

This is another biography that explains in simple terms how Steinbeck's upbringing in California contributed ot the novel and influenced his success throughout the years.

Noggle, James, Lawrence Lipking, and Stephen Greenblatt. The Norton Anthology Of English Literature. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print. [primary source]
Samuel Johnson's The Vanity of Human Wishes

Owens, Louis. The Grapes Of Wrath. Boston: Twayne, 1989. Print. [book]
In this book Owens, describes Steinbeck's life by year, the influences of the bible and romantic era's, and the style of The Grapes of Wrath. This is very useful because I am comparing this to Johnson's poem which is around the same time period and they both have the same influences. This book also tells about how others perceive The Grapes of Wrath and the history behind the novel.

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes Of Wrath. New York: Penguin Group, 2002, Print. [primary source]

Da Book.

The Moral Philosophy of John Steinbeck; Ed. Stephen K. George. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2005. 199 pp.

This book discusses Steinbeck's values and how they are portrayed in his books. Gives a great insight to the why he wrote things and a new perspective on The Grapes of Wrath in regards to his other works

WOW THAT TOOK 5EVER TO DO.

A Little Bit of Prewriting

So prewriting is always the fun part where anything can happen. I always start off by first reading the text for enjoyment and then reviewing it in a more scholarly analysis.

After reading, re-reading, and yes re-reading the novel again, I set to discussing ideas with those around me. This weekend I went home to California because my sister just got back from her mission in Barcelona and discussing the socialist values and other aspects of The Grapes of Wrath was definitely... whats the best way to put it? how about it was definitely something haha. With the upcoming election, party tensions, and many opinions floating around I got way more information and many more opinions about the Grapes of Wrath than what I was expecting.

After this fun discussion I went back to other texts to make connections. The biggest connection I have made is with The Vanity of Human Wishes by Samuel Johnson and so when I went back through the novel and looked for all the vanities, wishes, and stupid parts of human nature.Thank you Steinbeck for making that easy! The whole novel is one big pile of vanities and stupid wishes that the people constantly are making and even at the end when all else fails, they still have hope... oh human nature...

Also apart of this prewriting process I went through and used stickies as well as pictures (from the internet, sorry Prof. won't be getting me to draw) to divide up the quotes into sections and tie them in together with what I am thinking about arguing... Here are what these papers look like:

I'm pretty sure that my boss was wondering why my desk was covered in stickies today haha

Whelp that's all I have :)

Revelation 14: 19-20

For my research paper I will be focusing on the Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I just love Steinbeck's work and I guess you could say I am obsessed with his style- 1900's American literature, discussing controversial topics such as loss of innocence, socialism, and the cruelties of the world, with so many biblical illusions that the analysis would take an entire book to fill up. Okay that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point? Plus, in high school I wrote a similar essay on this novel and so I think a reevaluation would be interesting to do!

Audiences that I believe would be interested are:
- Those who follow politics because of it's addressing of the subject of socialism, especially with the election coming up
- Religious groups because it has at least on Christ figure and biblical allusions which bring the bible to life.
- High school aged students who are studying this in their classes and could use a deeper understanding of the text.

And I mean there are probably tons more but I'll leave it at that!

The Art of Procrastinating

Okay so if there is one thing I am amazing at it is procrastinating. I went to the library and did my research. I have had my sources for a couple of days now and I just have just put off writing about it. SO sorry about my lateness haha

So I went to the library and ended up using many online resources for my research. I feel more comfortable navigating the website and web for sources rather than actually going up and down cases of books. But anyways... I thought it was productive and fun to see all of the interesting resources I could find that had absolutely nothing to do with Wit, but completely helped out my essay!

And I've got to give a shout out to Jonah whose resources were seriously so perfect and the ideas he gave me really helped to improve my essay! So thanks :)

Some Ideas for Shelby :)

Okay so here we go!

While reading your paper I thought that it would be cool to not only make comparisons of Vivian and the Holy Sonnet but also some comparisons between other works of literature, uses of literary functions, as well as scientific research.

Morphine:

So when reading your paragraph about death as a drug my mind immediately went to a Brave New World and Soma in the hospitals. I thought it would be really cool to pull some connections about how in that novel, the doctors give their patients so much soma to take away the pains of dying that by the time they do die, they have been in a soma coma for a hecka long time... AND SO you could totally compare that to the doctors giving patients morphine and allowing them to choose how much they want and when they want it, etc...

So for this I found a couple of resources:

1) The Novel-- For direct comparison

Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Perennial Classics, 1998. Print.

2) A Book About Soma- It's uses, and everything else you would possibly want to know about it

Wasson, R. Gordon. Soma: Divine Mushroom Of Immortality. [New York]: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1971. Print.

3) Morphine Practices in Medicine- Uses, Misuses, etc

Hirsch, Anne et al. "Prescription Histories And Dose Strengths Associated With Overdose Deaths". Content.ebscohost.com. N.p., 2014. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

4) Morphine in Other Works of Literature- This tells of another woman's experience in the hospital similar to Vivian's

Partyka, Iwona. "Morphine." Green Hills Literary Lantern 26.(2015): 1. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Feb. 2016.

Okay so now that I beat that point to death.. (see what I did there??)

Here are some other points I saw that would be cool to look into:

Religious Views on Death:

Translation VS. The End -- In regards to the comma/semicolon

Fowler, Marsha Diane Mary. Religion, Religious Ethics, And Nursing. New York: Springer, 2012. Print.

You could look at it from a nursing perspective, how are nurses trained to look at death... With a comma or a semicolon??

Punctuation Usage

Salzmann, Mary Elizabeth. Comma. Edina, Minn.: ABDO Pub., 2001. Print.

Or the correct uses of a comma! And take that in consideration with the usage of semicolons...

2011, Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature & Fine Arts, volume 23, issue 2, starting on page 125, English

Parallelism

One of the things I noticed is that you are trying to draw parallels between Vivian and the poetry and so one thing you could also do is show different works of literature and explain the uses for parallelism as well as how things can be the same but completely different at the same time...which can be found:

2015, Linguistics & Philosophy, volume 38, issue 4, starting on page 289, English

Drama + Poetry-- Using One Genre to Create Another

Sewell, Elizabeth. The Structure Of Poetry. [Folcroft, Pa.]: Folcroft Library Editions, 1974. Print.

This is a book about poetry structures and you could take this and compare it to:

Hartnoll, Phyllis, and Peter Found. The Concise Oxford Companion To The Theatre. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press, 1992. Print.

Drama and Theater.. which this book has any definition you could possibly want for this genre

Okay so I think I went a little research crazy but I just think there is SOOOOO much you can do with this paper!!

Flashback, Flashback!

*Says title in the Dora "Backpack, Backpack" voice*

Okay so I took Prof. Burton seriously when he said only one hour. I timed myself and once the time was up, it was up. So here it is!

Flashbacks have been used throughout literature in a variety of ways. Most commonly flashbacks have been used to elicit and portray a change in characters as seen with Margaret Edson’s film version of the play Wit and Charles Dicken’s  A Christmas Carol.  Edson portrays a proud woman, Vivian Bearing, who has Scrooge like qualities such as her lack of sympathy towards others because she is too focused on advancing herself intellectually. While suffering from cancer, Vivian goes through a series of flashbacks of moments in her own life to see how she, herself, has stopped her own progression and happiness. On the other hand, Dickens tells of a bitter old man, Ebenezer Scrooge, whose only concern is money and himself. Ebenezer also goes through a journey through flashbacks to see how his actions have effected and continue to affect others. Although both works of literature use flashbacks as a journey to change, Wit’s portrayal shows how Vivian must look within herself to see that it was her own choices that brought her to where she is now in contrast to Scrooge’s lesson of looking outside of himself and realizing the affect he has on others.

            While in the hospital, Vivian sees a flashback of a childhood memory where she is talking to her father about the word soporific. At first, Vivian merely observes the scene before taking the place of her younger-self. While in the flashback Vivian still looks the same; her head is still bald, she’s in a hospital gown, but this time there is a difference. She has taken on the persona of the child version of herself. She is youthful in thoughts, energetic, and excited about the world. Her childhood innocence portrays the pure love she once had for literature, for it started out as something to be enjoyed and filled her with happiness. In contrast, Scrooge’s flashback of his childhood years paints a different picture. He is sad and all alone, with no one there. His life started out dreary and as the present day Scrooge observes his dark past he is able to see from another perspective his life and how the choices of others affected him. Looking at his life from the outside Scrooge is able to see how he did not have much light in his world to start with and how he has basked in that state, instead of trying to change it. Because Scrooge was merely observing  the audience doesn’t get the same feeling that are elicited when Vivian takes on her childhood persona. While participating in the flashback, Vivian is able to see how far she has come from living and enjoying her life like she did as a child. Looking inside herself, allows Vivian to  reevaluate her current condition and see that she wasn’t always miserable, instead she brought it upon herself; in contrast, Scrooge’s flashbacks through a third party allow him to see that lack of progress he has made in his life.

            While reminiscing about her young adult years, Vivian flashes back to her days in college. In this scene, she is talking to her professor about a paper she had written that the professor found disappointing. The present day Vivian replaces her college-self as the professor admonishes her lack of understand of John Donne’s Holy Sonnet X. After this chastening, the professor advises Vivian to not worry about the paper and instead to go outside and socialize, live life. Coming out of the flashback, Vivian remarks that instead she went back to the library. In this flashback, the audience is able to see how Vivian yearns for the intellectual side of things, even in her current state, she places herself back in the shoes of a college girl trying to justify a paper that was not right. It is also through this flashback that one can see how Vivian loses her sense of wonder about the world and interacting with others and instead focuses on her own intellectual improvement. In contrast, Scrooge’s flashback to his young adult years show a time of happiness. He observing a party in which the young Scrooge is with a beautiful woman, the love of his life. She makes him happy and it seems as if though Scrooge’s life is beginning to look up. But as with Vivian’s own choice of going back to the library, Scrooge made a choice to pursue money and greed instead of a happy life with the woman he loved. And this choice broke the woman’s heart, and affected her in ways that Scrooge wouldn’t know about until he witnessed the flashback all those years later. Both of these flashbacks showed pivotal moments in Vivian and Scrooge’s lives, they show the moment of decline in the characters’ lives because of their greed. By looking in herself, Vivian is able to see that her greed for knowledge is the beginning of her decline to her present state, while Scrooge is able to see that not only does his actions affect himself but they have a detrimental effect on others.

            Vivian also witnesses a flashback of her adult years as a professor. After a lecture a student approached her desk to ask for an extension on his paper because his grandmother had died and he needed to travel to her funeral. Lacking mercy and sympathy for the student’s current condition, Vivian states that she will not allow for an extension and that either the boy turn his paper in early or not at all. Vivian compares this moment to herself in the hospital, how when she needed sympathy, no one was there to give it. By looking at her past actions and comparing them to her present state, Vivian is able to see not only how it feels to be without the sympathy of others but also gives her a look into how she is perceived by others. Not as someone great, but rather someone to be feared and strongly disliked. In contrast, Scrooge sees a flashback of an earlier moment, where he denied Bob Cratchit a wage large enough to treat Tiny Tim’s sickness. Scrooge is then shown a present day glimpse into the life of the Cratchit’s where they have a small Christmas dinner and the sadness of the parents because the inability to fully help their son. Scrooge is able to see that because of his greed and unsympathetic ways, he is affecting more people than he realizes. With an inside look into her own life, Vivian can see that  her lack of sympathy brought her to her sad and lonely present state; in contrast, Scrooge’s look into the life of others show how he has an effect on their lives and truly does make a difference, in this particular case that difference is bad.

            After going through these series of flashbacks, Vivian is still in the hospital with a changed heart, only now she is dying. Along the journey of flashbacks, she has seen where she came from, her decisions that brought her to where she is now, and what she desires for herself, that being sympathy and real human interactions, in the present and future. At the end of the play, Vivian is finally released by death, which she was able to choose because Susie, the nurse, had taken the time to explain the different options Vivian had. This small action Susie took not only fulfilled the desire Vivian had to have someone who truly cared about her, but also allowed Vivian to be released- through death- from her current unhappy state. Vivian is finally able to see that it is not all about the intellectual pursuits, but rather the love extended towards others that really matters. In contrast, at the end of Scrooge’s tale not only has his heart been changed by the flashbacks he has witnessed but he also has the opportunity to make things right. He is released from his current unhappy state by helping out the Cratchits as well as changing his outlook on life, that being it’s not about the money it is about the people. While at the end Vivian is released through death and Scrooge is released from his present state with an opportunity to fix his life, it is through the use of flashbacks that the change was elicited in both of these characters. Vivian had to look within herself to see how she had been brought to where she was currently at to learn the lesson of where she needed to go and how, and Scrooge had to look into the lives of others to see how his actions affected others and how he could fix the wrongs he had committed.

It's All About the Medium

W;t.. what can I say?! I have read, watched, and studied this play so many times that you would think that after all of that I would finally get tired of it, that the tragic end would not have an effect anymore... Whelp, unfortunately I still can't help but cry as Vivian realizes the intensity of her situation, while seeing Jason's apathy in comparison to Suzie's kindness, and in the end "comma death."

It is always fascinating for me to look at a piece of after multiple times and comparing what I first noticed with new elements and just seeing new things every time.. Gah I love it! I guess for me this time around, i loved seeing the parallels with what we had studied of Donne as well as the flashback scenes... I'll explain more :)

1) Genre: A drama. Oh how very important, changes everything. When something is meant to be acted out, you read it completely differently. I imagine actors, a stage, etc... Fictional characters turn into real people. And I think that that is the most important aspect of this genre.. REAL people, REAL interactions, REAL struggles.

2) Script Vs. Screen: As we watched the film, I was following along in the play looking for differences. Although there were many similarities, the film did cut out parts, disregarded certain stage directions, and was able to add effects that stage portrayals (which the play was written for) do not have the ability to do because of the limited view the audience has (... not having multiple camera angles)

3)Flashbacks: i absolutely loved the flashbacks because of the different use of characterization they created. How Vivian saw the younger version of herself, and then became her. They added a whole new meaning to it, Vivian wasn't merely just observing her past, like in Dicken's Christmas Carol, rather she was completely reliving the moments.

4)Transitions and Music: The play was very calm and quite, but there was music during transitions of scenes as well as times of intensity. The part that I remember most clearly is the beginning when Vivian finds out that she has stage 4 ovarian cancer. The sound goes from quiet, to soft violins play, to finally crescendo-ing to a fortissimo which increased the intensity of the moment only to end in the screen blackening and silence. I thought that the music carried the audience throughout the entire play.

5)Sound Effects: Sound effects were definitely interesting because on a script, you can't hear Vivian throwing up and you can't hear the silence that takes up the space, but the movie I felt that it was so effective because it increased the intensity in a simple way. It showed what was real and really brought the audience in the moment, could even make some sick themselves.

6)Juxtaposition: I love how there are foils such as Justin and Vivian, juxtapositions between Suzie and Vivian, Vivian and her younger self, Vivian and the doctor, etc. In the script you can only see so many, but while acted it out-based on the actor's performance- one can see more comparisons.

7)Diction: I notice while comparing the script to the film, the differences between what was written and what the characters had said because what sounds good on paper doesn't flow as well in real life and so changes need to be necessary to make the moments more real, the create real emotion rather than just reading what sounds good on paper.

8)Irony: The whole play was filled with irony, the drug killing Vivian rather than the cancer, Suzie's deeper understanding of the metaphysical (without knowing it) rather than Vivian's. The movie made the irony even more satirical because of the tone Vivian displays and the emotions we can see on through her body language.

9)Acting- Energy: I thought it was interesting comparing the energy that the script portrays in contrast to the energy displayed in the film. The script portrayed things in a very exaggerated way because of the necessity of the stage portrayal. The film on the other hand portrayed scenes in a more calm and somber manner which I though was cool.

10) Dialogue and Inter-monologue: I thought it was interesting that throughout the film we didn't get to hear any of Vivian's intermonologue. While she still narrated, the intermonolgue was instead replaced with body language.

Hopefully this makes sense!!

Writing a Working Thesis!

Number One: Transitions and Music
In the film version of the play, W;t, emotional connections are made with the audience through the usage of music in regards to the transitions between scenes.

Number Two: Acting and Energy
Although in the written play script of W;t scenes are shown with very loud and expressive means, the same emotions can be felt through the subtle means portrayed in the film reenactment.

Number Three: Flashback and Characterization
Flashbacks have been used throughout literature in a variety way. Most commonly these flashbacks have been used to elicit and portray change in characters, as seen with Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol and the play, W;t. Although, both works of literature go through a journey of change through flashbacks, it is the emotion and change felt by the audience during the film version of Wit's portrayal of flashbacks by placing Vivian in place of her younger-self that not only makes it unique from Dicken's usage of the flashback but also creates a new form of characterization.

A Wordy Thesis

The paper I chose to work with is "Wherefore art thou, bae Romeo? or, An Argument for Modernizing Shakespeare's Texts." (Boy, that is a mouthful!)

The thesis is:

"However, I argue that twenty-first century Shakespearean adaptations that translate the original text into modern English vocabulary provide new ways to express the same universal social commentaries on love, sacrifice, and ambition for a wider audience, while honoring Shakespeare's innovative wordplay and word-creation with our changing, growing millennial vocabulary."

As with the title, I can tell that the author of this paper is very wordy. The thesis seems to be giving too much information too fast! I feel that a simpler version would not only make it easier for the reader, but also make the author's claims more clear. I understand that the author thought that he/she was making things more clear by adding definitions and examples into the thesis, but really I ended up feeling confused and like the less he/she explained the better the paper would become.

Rewrite:
Although many would argue against the modernization of Shakespearean texts, twenty-first century adaptations do provide new ways to express universal social commentaries, while honoring Shakespeare's innovative wordplay and creation.

I would say that my new thesis is a comparison claim because of the difference between purism and modernization of texts. I also feel that shortening it down and taking away all of the fluff makes it easier to understand!

What do you guys think??

Let's Get This Over With

Thesis statements. The dreaded thesis statement, that will make or break your paper, that will set you up for complete successful or total failure...

Not my computer, but I thought it looked cool!

I guess you can tell now why I procrastinated this... but in reality, I was planning on getting this over with as soon as possible, I just have the worst luck ever... By that I mean that my computer died, not like stopped working for a moment, like it literally died!!! With everything on it! Jk I am over exaggerating a little bit, because I save everything to my one drive or google docs, but nonetheless I was computerless this weekend!!! And so as I sit here at my computer at work I just keep thinking how people did it back then. How could anyone survive without their own computer!?!? 

Okay I guess I'll stop boring everyone with my upset about my baby and get to the point. Here are my tries at a good thesis statement:

Policy:

Although Susie is disregarded throughout the play as being simple minded, through her understanding of the metaphysical- the threshold between the physical and spiritual world- one can see that individuals should not judge a person based on their academic achievements but rather on their interactions with others.

Definition:

Although W;t shows the temporal success of being highly educated, through the use of juxtaposition of Jason and Vivian one can see that the key to success is not through academics but rather though sympathetic interactions with others.

Comparison:

Although through inter-monologue one can see the sympathy and compassion that Vivian craves in the play W;t, it also shows how distant she is from the elements of human nature because she has spent her entire life studying them, not living them.

Evaluation:

Despite the doctors' efforts to rid Vivian of cancer, it is through irony that one can see that it is not the cancer that ends up killing Vivian but rather the cure.

Causal: 

Although Vivian learns the importance of creating relationships in the end, it is through the use flashbacks that one can see how she wasted her life by placing relationships after intellectual pursuits.

Well there you have it! 5 thesis statements :)

#itried  

for what is the point of living, if you aren't truly present?

While reading Wit, I found myself stepping into Vivian's shoes and looking at the possibilities of life that one can only see when it ends. This play led me to contemplate my life, my decisions, and my goals which can either lead to tragedy or happiness. It was tragic to see someone so brilliant, in such a weak place and have no where to go.. no one to lean. And in the end the only one who ended up caring, was the Susie, the one that Vivian felt was so plain and dumb. I guess what I am trying to say is that this play was about hiding behind our intellect and being afraid to live- to be human. And in the end, we realize that we missed out on truly living.

Throughout the play I was completely fascinated with the literary devices used. I loved to see how they worked within the play and produced a whole new meaning. Some of these included:

- Personification: "Now I know how poems feel" I thought that it was interesting how Vivian drew the parallels between her being physically examined to the point of it being unbearable and how we do the exact same things to poetry and all other forms of literature. It gave the constant analysis more meaning.

Dialogue, Inter-monologue: I absolutely loved how Vivian's thoughts were portrayed as the doctors examined her. It was witty and so SASSY! I liked how I could get a glimpse into her mind and how she was one step ahead as when she thought, "Excellent command of details" as Jason points to the different parts of her body... right before the doctor says the same thing. Except for I believe she is sarcastic in contrast to the doctor actually praising Jason's intellect.

Diction: Wit, is it or isn't it? Professor says not, she says it is… Some definitions said are "[the] sharpening mental faculties"and, "a way to see how good you really are." But when the student gives the insight by saying that John Donne "hides behind this wit," the word has a whole new meaning. Almost like the bully who is insecure, Donne uses wit because he feels unsure. And at the very end when Vivian says, "I want to hide," the realization that her wit couldn't save her is heartbreaking.

Stage Directions: so open to interpretation while still keeping a uniform almost of what should be going on.

Setting: Simple, but gets the point across

Juxtaposition: Jason as foil in regards to other fellows, "(the fellows trying to catch up)"… "She's tough. She can take it" Both Vivian and Jason are in this thought process of always pushing, even past the point of no return. They take away the human aspect of life, and as Vivian realizes her mistakes of the past and the lack of sympathy she conveyed, one can see the same traits in Jason.

Flashbacks: Irony of the time wasted, what led her to where she is "I can recall the time- when I knew words would be my life's work." All of her flashbacks show her in almost a regretful stage. Each moment led her to where she is now and unfortunately, it's tragic end.

Simile: "It seemed like magic" how words look when paired with pictures and seem to come alive. I felt that Vivian perfectly described how I felt when I learned that I wanted to do English for the rest of my life. This use of simile shows the caring qualities of Vivian and makes her more personable. Showing that she has more sides than just the scary professor, and even allows the reader to be able to identify with her on a small level.

Irony: "I am in isolation because I am being treated for cancer." I loved how this brought up how it's not the disease that kills, it's the cure.

Repetition: "How are you feeling today" "Fine." "That's great. Just great." I loved how this phrase was constantly repeated and how it showed how routine it really is... that no one actually cares, but rather it is just another formality that must be gone through... sad really how we can give off the impression of caring but really have other motives in mind

Metaphysics: Living life, without living "So anything's okay, as long, as life continues." Susie is one character that I felt was really real (for lack of better words). She didn't put on an act and in the end- like the clown in a Shakespeare play- was the only one to truly understand the point of John Donne. She had the ability to respect the living but also the living's choice of death, because unlike Jason, Susie realized that sometimes living isn't the best route... especially when it's not truly living at all.

Writing Plan and Record: Nicole Anne Ratliff

The beautiful thing I find about poetry, as well as all other forms of literature, is its ability to be read and re-read it thousands of times with new meanings created each time. Although it took me longer to start this assignment, once I was immersed in the literature I felt at home. Taking into consideration what was discussed in class as well as in the last blog posts, I found it completely mind blowing how these pieces seemed to change right before my eyes.

 Unfortunately this time around I lent my whiteboard to a friend and so my scatterbrained thoughts were written directly on the poem and in my handy dandy notebook. Not as much fun as using different colored expo markers, but it does the job just fine!

1/19/2016- 10:53am 

I realized that while reading these poems, there were a few points that really stuck out for comparison. Those included the differences between genres- lyric and ballad- as well as how these genres influenced my expectations of what was written as well as how it was given. As well as the language used, such as the repetition in both poems of the words "two" and "one," "souls," as well as the point of a "refin'd" love. I also noticed how each poem brought in the metaphysical concept of how a temporal love turns eternal and where those lines meet.

1/19/2016- 12:46pm

Listening to the audio, brought a whole new experience to the poetry. It's so interesting to notice how different the words sounded in my head, in my own voice, compared to another's. For A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, the speaker brought the poem to life. I felt almost a reverence while listening to his soft but firm words and could imagine Donne speaking the same way. It was smooth and gentle but portrayed a certain level of passion and firmness that he really meant what he was speaking. For The Ecstasy, Burton spoke as if he was still in the moment, as if the poem were a dream like moment. His voice was smooth and had a musical, almost lulling like quality. As the explanation of the metaphysical world comes about in the poem, his voice rises and one can hear as the passion increases. He is articulate in his pronunciations which adds to the delicate but also unyielding tone of the poem.

1/20/2016- 11:30am
Well that was a lot harder than I thought... I had an idea of what I wanted to do but this time around I really felt as if though I couldn't put my thoughts on paper! Maybe it was the topic of sappy love poetry or maybe it was because I didn't really know what I was supposed to be saying, but I couldn't help but be reluctant while writing this #thereasonwhyIprocrastinated... On a more serious note, it took me about 2 hours to write, but I have never felt so unsure and lacked so much confidence in a paper before. While writing though, I did realize that it was nice to talk to my coworkers and roommates about my ideas and sort a few of the things out in the jumbled mess I call my thoughts.

Slightly Unstable

A whiteboard or DaVinci notebook. They are the same to me.

While reading A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, my hand flew across the whiteboard, filling every open space with different colored EXPO markers trying to write down every bit of analysis of the poem that I could find. After reading it once, I fell in love with Donne's writing, the imagery, the theme, and after analyzing it, I was sold. I guess you could say, my notes on first glance looked like a blur of colors and the thought process of the mentally unstable. But that's just the way that I think..

1. Genre: This poem followed the ABAB rhyme scheme and was separated into nine quatrains. As a ballad it contained a music like element and therefore was plot driven. The abstraction of love was used to tell the story of a couple whose love would last, and even if they became separated, the two lovers would always find their way back.
2. Narrator/Persona: In this poem Donne is speaking to his, at the time, pregnant wife Anne. He is telling her his biased point of view that because of their refined love that she should not worry about it falling apart while he goes away to travel the Continental Europe.
3. Setting: Historically this was written to Anne before Donne left to travel the continental Europe, so one can assume that sometime in Britain in the early 1600's this poem took place. If the reader though, takes a step back from Donne's life, the poem can be placed in more than one setting. While reading I could just see two lovers at a train station where the husband is leaving for war and the wife watching the train long after it had left, or the husband telling his wife his last goodbyes on his deathbed as she weeps about the uncertainty of the eternities. While these could all be possibilities, there is not one setting in which Donne places the poem.
4. Tone: Donne's tone throughout the poem is one filled with raw emotion. His words are loving and soothing. Although it is a sore subject for the woman he is leaving behind, he displays his confidence in the words he says and shows that he is firm in his belief that their love will last forever.
5. Character: As previously stated, one can assume that the characters are Donne and his wife Anne, but with another look the lovers in the play can represent many other characters. Those being like the husband leaving for the military or on his death bed as previously described in the setting section.
6. Symbolism: One of the most beautiful aspects of this poem is Donne's symbolism of the compass. During the 1600's the compass was not only meant as a device to guide individuals but also meant eternal perfection. Donne uses it to describe to his wife, that not only is she the center of his world- his everything- but also that no matter what happens he will always come back to her. As the circle is never ending, so is their love.
7. Style: Donne's style can be used in many ways. Some words that first came to mind were: beautiful, lyrical, and articulate. Beautiful because there is something so pure about the love he expresses. Lyrical because of the rhythm throughout and the way the words portray his love. And finally articulate because he knew what he meant and there was no way to confuse his feelings.
8. Historical Background: In order to fully understand the thoughts and worries of the lover Donne is feeling the reader must look at what was going on throughout the 1600's. This time period not only had the plague and deaths upon the young, but was also a time of exploration and scientific revolution. Donne and many other individuals were full participants of this era and living up the exploration that came with it. So many things though could go wrong, especially with mortality rates so high, and so it only makes sense that the lover is concerned when he leaves. This increase in exploration also further explains Donne's use of the compass, as a symbol of the era and his love.
9. Audience: Donne's intended audience was his wife, the woman he wanted to proclaim his never ending love and reassurance. Although now days, this poem's audience ranges from hopeless romantics who can't help but be love sick, to English majors who are required to read it for their class and analyze it.
10. Persuasion: Throughout the poem, Donne is trying to and is pretty successful in his persuasion to his lover that his leaving is not the end but rather just another moment that will bring them back together again. He uses pathos as a key strategy, because it is his emotions, his thoughts and feelings that will keep them together, or bring them back together in the end.

So I hope that no one was too bored reading my analysis, and that some of it made sense! I'm a little new to this whole Donne world haha but I really enjoyed looking a little deeper into the why behind the beautiful poem.

And yes that is a picture of my whiteboard of notes that I took today.

The Dreaded Paper

Nicole has always been pushed by competition. Whether it was against her sisters, friends, or even herself, she has always been driven to work harder than expected- than she ever thought she could. It was during her junior year of high school that her outlook on academic writing changed. It wasn’t just a competition but instead became something more. It was as if though something lit up inside of her when she was writing.

It all started with the DREADED TERM PAPER. Every junior in Mr. Powell’s AP English Language and Composition course was required to write fifteen pages full of literary analysis and criticism on one of the books that was reviewed during the course. Nicole was nervous but up for the challenge.

This paper was one of the most difficult things Nicole has ever done in her high school career. Wanting to challenge herself, Nicole chose to write her paper on The Grapes of Wrath a book that the class had not yet covered but Nicole had read a couple of years earlier.

Never before had Nicole stayed after school for hours to discuss a book and an assignment with her teacher. Nicole was the only one who had chosen to write the paper on The Grapes of Wrath and so these hours spent were necessary for a full understanding of the novel.

Steinbeck’s words opened up a whole new world for Nicole. The views portrayed and rhetorical devices used in the text made Nicole fall in love with literature and the powerful way it can change society. Looking up literary criticism was more difficult than expected. Using resources at the local college library, Nicole set out with many and many rough drafts incorporating the criticism in her analysis.

Each time she wrote, Nicole’s analysis and assimilation of criticism in the paper continued to improve. Her teacher was patient as she continued to bring in drafts and work with him after school. It was long, and Nicole put all of her effort into this assignment.

Finally the paper was due. All of the stress, hard work, and time had brought Nicole to this point. And two weeks later Nicole received not only the grade she had been hoping for but also gained the experience needed for success in future endeavors.

Looking back Nicole realized that some of her strengths while writing these types of academic papers included:

·         Determination

·         Ability to realize the resources she had and use them correctly

·         Not be afraid to ask for help

Her weaknesses included:

·         Difficulty with incorporating resources

·         Time management

Nicole looks forward to working on and improving her academic writing throughout the semester.

Playing Catch Up

"Come on, Nicole."

"We are going without you!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

I never wanted to be the kid that was left behind. If my sisters could do it, so could I. This was seen in practically every aspect of my life. They took AP classes, were cheerleaders, class presidents, had jobs… And although I was a year behind them, I walked almost perfectly in their footsteps.

Growing up, well into my high school years, I followed this path. One of the main aspects of my sisters' lives that I always admired was their love for literature. As with school and extracurricular activities, I didn't want to be left behind when they would stay up late on school nights and weekends reading fantastic stories and then discussing plots, themes, rhetorical devices, and sharing reactions to the twists and surprises that came with each page. In the mornings I would then wait for them to come out of their room so that I could be the next one in line to read the book. And while I enjoyed that for a while, it always felt like I was playing catch up. Running and getting so close, but always somehow falling so far behind.

During my junior year of high school everything changed. My sisters were moving on, one was headed off to college and the other was enjoying her senior year. Their interests began to change and I realized that I could no longer follow them like I was so comfortable doing. It was time that I found who I was. During this time I took AP English Language and Composition and I fell in love. I could now pick out all the rhetorical devices in a text, analyze plots and themes, and find my own books to bring to my sisters to read. Not only did I catch up, but it finally felt like the race had subsided. We were now all walking along the same path, helping each other along the way. I was no longer on the sidelines, but rather a participating member engaged in the late night conversations and daily book exchange.

Since that year, mine and my sisters’ interests have evolved. While they chose the math and science fields, I decided to take the route of English. With this my world has become one that is filled with the joys of reading and studying all aspects of the English language.

A dominant part of this world is still reading and recommending books to my sisters so that when we all get together we can have discussions like those nights that seem so long ago. I have also moved from doing this with my sisters to other family members, friends, and even random people who I just so happen to strike a conversation with. Sharing the love I have for books, authors, and even writing styles, makes me happy. And the sharing of viewpoints and knowledge is like the cherry on top.

A race is what brought me into this literary world, but it was the knowledge that I gained that kept me here.