Character Studies

• writing in sections (language, personality)
• the focus
• care/worry
• personality
• What does it reveal about action?
• What does it reveal about other characters and themselves?

Darl

• more order and structure
• level-headed
• observant and sensitive
• articulate
• ponders his existence
• frustrated with the long, difficult process of taking Addie's body to Jefferson
• "thinks too much": thinks more than acts
• trapped artist
• antagonist
• sane or insane?
• thought Cash would have told him that he'd be shipped off

Jewel

• proud, fiercely independent
• tall, stick-like, wooden-eyes (lifeless)
• spoiled, hates when someone else has the attention
• wants control of events but unable to
• Jewel is mad because Cash is building Addie's coffin right in front of her
• He resents all of the attention Cash gets--thinks Cash is showing off
• Mom keeps close eye on him so he won't get married
• Mom's "favorite"?
• Separates himself from family...won't ride in wagon, takes horse
• acts without thinking through it
• passionate, brooding nature
• fierce dedication and protector of his mother

Cash

• selfless
• master carpenter
• perfectionist
• has a task
• very logical and rational thinking
• very exact and detailed
• tunnel-vision
• upset because coffin won't be balance because she's turned around the other way
• does what he must do
• fulfills his duty
• problem solver--thinks a lot about things

Dewey Dell

• the only Bundren daughter, 17 years old
• If the sack is full she'll have sex with Lafe in the secret shade
• found out that she is pregnant
• won't own up to what she decides or believes, FATE decides everything
• Darl finds out, which worries Dewey--doesn't want her dad to know
• uneducated, misspelling run-on sentences
• thinking and reasoning like a teenage girl

Vardaman

• very young
• thinks his mother is a fish
• tries to go to Vernon Tull's to turn back time because "he saw the fish too"
• gets neglected, traumatized--no one is explaining what happened

Anse

• overwhelmingly selfish
• hated and disrespected by his children
• 12 years since he's been to town
• something about him makes men want to help him
• lazy: doesn't want to work, doesn't want to work

Addie

• a former schoolteacher whose bitter, loveless life causes her to despise her husband
• invests all of her love in her favorite child, Jewel, rather than in the rest of her family or God.
• enjoys the abuse of schoolchildren...wants the children to be aware of her
• desires to mark them rather than inspire them...wants to perpetuate her existence [similar to Darl (?)]
• marries Anse simply because he came along
• desires to be alone--or to have possession
• wants to be buried apart from Anse and family
• has affair with Whitfield--gives birth to Jewel
• wants to see Whitfield sin
• Cora tries to talk to her about sin and redemption
• sees the hypocrisy of words and religion--words are empty

As I Lay Dying

by William Faulkner
http://www.shmoop.com/as-i-lay-dying/themes.html
Characters
Addie Bundren (Ch. 1)— wife of Anse Bundren and mother of Cash, Darl, Jewel, Dewey Dell, and Vardaman. Her death triggers the action of the novel.
Anse Bundren (Ch 2)— head of the Bundren family, Anse is a poor farmer
Darl Bundren (ch 1)—the second Bundren child, Darl delivers most of the monologues in the novel and is more expressive and sensitive than his brothers, sister, or father.
Jewel (Ch. 1)— the bastard son of Addie and Whitfield, the minister. He is very proud and independent.
Cash Bundren (Ch. 1)— the eldest Bundren child, Cash is a carpenter and builds Addie's coffin. He is very selfless.
Dewey Dell Bundren (Ch. 7)— the only Bundren daughter, Dewey Dell is 17 years old and has just fond out that she is pregnant.
Vardaman Bundren (Ch. 8)— the youngest of the Bundren children, Vardaman likens his mother's death to his gutting of a fish.
Vernon Tull (Ch. 1)— the Bundren's nieghbor, he is wealthier than the Bundren family and hires Darl, Jewel, and Cash to do odd jobs.
Cora Tull (Ch. 2)— Vernon's wife who stays by Addie's side in her last few hours of life
Lafe (Ch. 14)— the father of Dewey Dell's unborn child, Dewey Dell muses on Lafe a lot throughout the novel although he never directly appears. Lafe gives Dewey Dell ten dollars for an abortion.
Whitfield (Ch. 18)— the local minister and father of Jewel who resolves to tell Anse that he is Jewel's father but never does it.
Peabody (Ch. 11)— the extremely overweight doctor from town who attends to Addie and Cash
Samson (Ch. 29)— the farmer who hosts the Bundrens on the first night of their journey and is critical of them
Armstid (Ch. 43)— the farmer who hosts the Bundrens on the second night of their journey and tries to lend Anse a team of mules
Moseley (Ch. 45)— the pharmacist who refuses Dewey Dell an abortion and lectures her
MacGowan (Ch. 55)— an employee at the Jefferson drugstore who elicits a sexual favor from Dewey Dell in exchange for a fake abortion treatment
Gillespie (Ch। 49)— the man whose barn is set ablaze by Darl
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summary
As I Lay Dying is told by fifteen different narrators over the course of fifty-nine narrative sections. The first section belongs to Darl Bundren, who introduces us to his brothers Cash and Jewel and his dying mother, Addie. The Bundrens live on a rural farm in Mississippi in the 1920s. Jewel is reserved and introverted; Cash, a skilled carpenter, is obsessively building his mother the most perfect coffin ever.In the first few sections of the novel, we hear narration from all three brothers as well as Anse, their father; Vardaman, their youngest brother; Dewey Dell, their only sister; and Vernon and Cora Tull, their wealthy neighbors. As Addie lays dying, Jewel and Darl embark on a trip for Vernon for which they will earn three dollars. They hope to return before she dies; they do not. Oddly enough, Darl narrates the scene of Addie’s death, though he is not present at the time.After Addie’s death, the family embarks on a long and difficult journey to Jefferson, the county’s central town. The journey is made more difficult by the fact that the Bundrens are poverty-stricken, Cash has a broken leg from a former injury, Anse is a jerk who can’t wait to get a new set of teeth, Dewey Dell is unmarried and pregnant, and bad weather has devastated the bridge they need to cross. When they try to ford the river, the mules drown, the coffin is almost lost, and Cash re-breaks his leg. In the meantime, the young Vardaman, traumatized by his mother’s death, has decided she is just like the fish he caught and killed just before her death (in the sense that both were living, and now both are dead).Meanwhile, we get a narrative section from Addie, who, yes, is still dead. Through her narration comes a bit of back-story: she doesn’t really like her husband, life, or children, except for Jewel, who is the illegitimate child of the minister, Whitfield. Jewel has always been a special bird, especially that time when he moonlighted for a month working a neighbor’s fields to buy himself a horse. Jewel has a thing for horses, but particularly the one that belongs to him and him alone.Back to the journey to Jefferson. Anse decides that pouring cement all over Cash’s leg will help the break. He then mortgages everything he owns and sells Jewel’s special horse to buy a new team of mules. Jewel is not pleased. When the family rests for the night at the farm of a man named Gillespie, Darl burns the barn down in an attempt to cremate his mother. Jewel rescues the coffin before this can happen.When the family finally arrives in Jefferson, Dewey Dell tries to get an abortion and is instead coerced into sex by a young guy pretending to be a doctor. Then her father takes the money she needs to use to get a real abortion and buys himself his new set of teeth. The town doctor explains that Cash’s leg was hopelessly destroyed by the cement cast. Vardaman realizes he can’t have pretty toys like the town boys because he’s poor. Darl is shipped off to an insane asylum when it becomes clear that he is responsible for burning down the Gillespie farm. Anse borrows shovels to bury Addie’s body and flirts with the woman who lends them. He then introduces her to his children as the new Mrs. Bundren.

Death and the King's Horseman

Colonial Factor: "clash between cultures"

• masks / dress up: horrifies Amusa to see the ceremonial clothing worn as costumes for a ball
• suicide: honored in tribe but British disagree
• Captain: shows the breakdown between cultures, not understanding suicide/sacrifice

- Amusa converted and works for British but masks still bother him

Honor---Disgrace

Father---Son: Son takes position of father so the rest of the world can go on.

Elesin is more focused on life rather than his duty; had a very good life and isn't ready to die

His son says he has no father when he hears the news.

Who is responsible?

- Pilkings stops it from happening

- Elesin claims that he would have done it, but do we believe him?

- Elesin: life, bride

- White culture

Success: Has Olunda been successful

Milton

Pastoral: (Latin for 'shepherd'); a deliberately conventional poem expressing an urban poet's nostalgic image of the supposed peace and simplicity of the life of shepherds and other rural folk in an idealized natural setting. (M.H. Abrams)

Death and the King's Horseman | Summary and Analysis: Act I

Characters

Praise Singer: Accompanied by drummers, he follows Elesin Oba and sings praises of his deeds.

Elesin Oba: The horseman of the King.

Iyaloja: “Mother” of the market and acknowledged leader of the market women.

Summary

The market is closing for the day. Women are emptying the stalls, folding mats, and putting away their wares. Elesin Oba, the king’s horseman, enters via a passage in front of the market scene, pursued by praise singers and drummers. He is described in the stage directions as a man of enormous vitality. The primary Praise Singer asks Elesin what tryst he is hurrying off to, and Elesin laughs at the joke. They tease each other a great deal in this scene, speaking to each other in highly poetic language. Elesin states that the market is the home of his spirit and that he has neglected “his” women, by which he means the market women. The Praise Singer states that the women will cover him with expensive cloths because it is a special day. He coyly asks Elesin if there will be a praise singer like him on the “other side.” He expresses doubt that Elesin will meet the Praise Singer’s father, and if not he or his father, who else can sing the horseman’s deeds in such beautiful accents? Elesin tells the Praise Singer that he is like a jealous wife and that rather than accompanying the horseman on his journey to the other side, the Praise Singer must remain behind and sing of his honor and fame to the world of the living. The Praise Singer promises Elesin Oba that his name will be like a sweet berry on the world’s tongue.

At this, the horseman bids the Praise Singer to proceed with him into the market. The Praise Singer acknowledges that the women of the market will spoil the horseman, but he also warns Elesin to be wary of women because too much spoiling weakens a man. Elesin insists that he will lay his head in the women’s laps tonight because he wishes to smell the air of the market one more time before he goes to meet his great forebears.

The Praise Singer then speaks poetically of the continuity of the culture and the way that the world as they know it will keep its course. To illustrate this idea, Elesin replies by chanting and performing the story of the “Not-I bird.” In the story of the Not-I bird, Elesin chants that Death comes calling, but the farmer, the fearless hunter, the courtesan, the student, a kinsman, and a courier all deny that they can hear Death’s calling, out of fear. Everyone says, “not I,” and a bird takes the phrase as its song. Elesin chants that the Not-I bird was even heard in the forest when all other animals were crouching in fear. The Not-I was a restless little bird that Death found nesting in the leaves. Elesin observes that while even the immortal beings were afraid of death, he alone had the courage to tell the Not-I bird to go back to his nest. He explains that he alone is unafraid of Death; he will not say “not-I” to Death when Death comes calling. Elesin tells his rapt audience that he is the master of his fate, and when the hour comes, he will dance along the narrow path. He says that his soul is eager, and that he will not turn aside from the path. During this time, the gathering audience has become infected with Elesin’s humor and energy. Iyaloja and more market women have joined the audience. The women ask him if there is nothing that will hold the horseman back. Elesin affirms that he will approach Death confidently because he goes to keep his friend and master, the king, company. He tells the women how he and the king shared everything, including food and thoughts. The town, the land, the world itself has been his because of his great relationship to the king. Together, they withstood the siege of envy and the termites of time. Elesin proudly tells his audience that life is honor, and life ends when honor ends. The women assure him that they know he is a man of honor. This appears to offend Elesin, who insists that they stop. The women are puzzled and nervous, wondering what they have said that was wrong. Iyaloja speaks for all the women, telling Elesin that they are unworthy and that they ask his forgiveness. The women all kneel down. At first, Elesin behaves as if he is too insulted to explain what the women have done wrong, but after some coaxing from the Praise Singer, he tells his audience that words are cheap. Asking the women how should a man of honor seem, Elesin establishes the appearance of humility and then laughs at his own joke. The women stand up, relieved, and Elesin indicates that he was only playing; the offence was not real. Happily, Iyaloja directs the women to robe the king’s horseman richly, in the cloths of honor, friendship, and esteem. Together, like a chorus, the women say they truly feared they had wrenched the world adrift.

While the women adorn him in fancy cloths and dance around him, the horseman’s attention is drawn offstage. He announces that the world is good and that he was born to keep it so. The women affirm that the world is in his hands.

At this moment, a beautiful young girl enters along the market path. Elesin tells the women that he embraces the world and appreciates the farewell the world has designed. He tells the Praise Singer how great his reputation is, and the Praise Singer confirms this by referring to the horseman as a stallion. Elesin then asks Iyaloja who the girl is, calling her a goddess. As he describes her beautiful body in the most poetic terms, Iyaloja starts to interrupt him by calling his name. Elesin responds by reminding her that he is still among the living, and inquires again who the radiant girl is. Iyaloja tells him that the girl already has one step in her husband’s home. Irritated, Elesin asks her why she must tell him that. Iyaloja falls silent, and the women shuffle nervously. Iyaloja placatingly tells Elesin that today is his day and the whole world belongs to him, but that even those who are about to leave like to be remembered by what they leave behind. Elesin replies that the considerate traveler likes to shed that part of his excessive load which may benefit those left behind. He tells the women that he deserves a bed of honor upon which to lie. He expresses the desire to travel lightly and adds that he wants to leave behind his seed in the earth of his choice, meaning that he wants to sleep with the girl before he goes to the world beyond that of the living. Iyaloja tells the women that she dare not refuse him this request. The women protest that the girl is betrothed to Iyaloja’s own son, but Iyaloja reminds them that her son will do whatever she wishes; his loss can be easily remedied, but she will not perform the impiety of denying the honorable Elesin his last request. Iyaloja sighs and tells the king’s horseman that he always had a restless eye, but his choice has her blessing. She sends some of the market women off to prepare the girl. But she warns Elesin to make certain that his final actions among the living do not earn him their curses. She announces that she will go prepare his bridal chamber and then lay out his shrouds. Elesin asks why she must be so blunt and then expresses his desire that his new bride be the one to seal his eyelids and wash his body when the time of his death comes. The women bring out the beautiful young girl, and as she kneels in front of the king’s horseman, the lights fade out on the scene.

Analysis
Death and the King’s Horseman is set in the Yoruban village of Oyo in Western Nigeria during World War II. Scene One opens at the bustling marketplace; this immediately festive scene establishes the marketplace as the site of not just commerce but also community and even kinship. The market women have a “Mother,” Iyaloja, and Elesin refers to all the women of the market as his mothers. In this scene, Elesin’s reputation as a great and honorable man is revealed, and his immediate future is gradually unfolded. The word “Elesin” means “horseman,” and “Oba” means “king”—for Elesin Oba, the horseman of the king, his royal title is also his name. He derives his identity from his important cultural role. The king has died, and it is the Elesin’s duty to follow the king in death to the world of the ancestors. The play begins on the day that Elesin is to die. He visits the market because it provides him familiarity and comfort. His character is robust, entertaining, magisterial, and not lacking a certain degree of arrogance. All the women treat him with great respect bordering on fear, as Elesin is followed about by men employed solely in making music and singing his praises. His role as king’s horseman has such importance to the community that everyone views him as a sort of hero; Elesin is told repeatedly that the world is in his hands, and he replies that he was born to maintain the world as everyone knows it. Elesin is also shown to be quite clever, as demonstrated in the complicated story of the Not-I bird, as well as in his reasoning for why he should be allowed to “marry” the beautiful girl on such an important night. It is clear that he feels lust for the girl, but he rationalizes this by explaining that sleeping with her will allow him to unburden himself of unnecessary seed and, at the same time, benefit the community by impregnating the girl and leaving behind more progeny. This scene introduces one of the central motifs of the play: the metaphysical conflict between the individual and the community, between private desires and public duty. The community depends upon Elesin to fulfill his cultural obligations as the king’s horseman in order to keep their world in balance. The Elesin’s self-sacrifice will bring into proper balance the three levels of existence in traditional Yoruban cosmology: the worlds of the living, the ancestors, and the not-yet born. The Elesin’s death will ensure harmony among these three worlds; thus, the ritual suicide has a regenerative function in maintaining the community. This public duty comes into conflict with the Elesin’s private desire to sleep with the beautiful girl, for Elesin’s character is also established as lusty and enjoying the pleasures of life.

This scene contains two crucial moments of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is when something happens that prepares the reader for some future action or event in the play. The first is when the Praise Singer warns the king’s horseman that he must be careful around women for they can ruin (weaken) a man by spoiling him. This warning seems to indicate that Elesin’s distraction—his desire to “marry” the beautiful girl—might disrupt the ritual he plans to participate in later that evening. Similarly, Iyaloja warns Elesin not to commit any last actions that will cause him to lose his honor or be remembered badly by the living. This warning hints that all will not go as smoothly as planned with the evening’s important ritual. These two moments of foreshadowing suggest that Elesin’s “restless” and roving eyes, his attraction to women, may turn out to be not only his personal downfall (the loss of honor and esteem) but also the downfall of the entire community (the upsetting of the delicate balance among the worlds of the living, dead, and unborn).

Middle East Policy, Diplomacy & History

What could history contribute here?

What would we like to know from history?

What perspectives of history would we like to know?

How might historical knowledge change actions or outcomes?

• Problem of colonialism created alot of the problems today (WWI - kept redrawing border lines, using them, going back on promises...left them bitter toward US)
• the way US has handled the Middle East in the past...inferior (Iran '67)
• How have we handled our differences in the past that didn't work out...learn to use different methods.
• Realize that there are differences in how we govern.
• We've tried to set up democracy even though we seen it not work.
• We've tried to make them another US and it only increases the tension.
• Use history of the past to develop new policies instead of sticking to the old failed ones.
• Learn what doesn't work and what may work.
• Remember why they are angry, why they won't follow our lead after we let them down so many times.
• Americans can typically be very present-day/future focused rather than historically focused
• History needs to be involved in foreign affairs and policy

Where Are Historians?

• Museums
• Historical journals
• Television: news/interviews, history channel
• Movies: consulting
• Political Campaigns
• Gov't Consulting
• Law/Legal issues
• Expert witnesses
• Family genealogy
• Teachers
• Textbooks or popular books

Yellow Wallpaper

Where is she?

• mental institution?
• nursery?
• bars on the wall, pretty outside, not allowed downstairs, visitors

Treatment for depression: rest

Post-partum

Husband vs. Physician

Attempts to have real conversations with her husband but he ignores her...adds to her sickness

Seems to get worse: seeing people in the wallpaper

Over-active imagination

Wallpaper

• color
• pattern: artistic in the subpattern (night by the moonlight)
• figure of a woman

Images vs. Words

Image

objective

context beyond image is missing

role of photographer

viewer can interpret

can be staged or misunderstood

can be edited

Word

subjective

context possible

role of author

You'll never find a source that isn't biased, so use it to factor into your interpretation.

Frederick Douglass

Treatment

• basic needs met: no clothes
• emotional needs-mother/son separated
• brutality
• lack of personal information: birthday, etc
• its not just the masters but the wives: females were possibly the worst
• Mrs. Auld: seemed kind but kept education from him

Covey

- takes pride in his reputation of breaking slaves

- fights with Douglass and leaves him alone bc not his own slave

- breaks Douglass's spirit and elasticity...

• ...Douglass realizes he'd rather die on his own accord rather than another man break him down
• Douglass becomes a man when he fights back and wins, gains control of the situation, educated

Religion

- the more religious, often the more cruel

How are slaves made?

- denied the ability to think--work only

- dehumanize: no family, no birthday, no identity--no sense of unique self.

- don't know any different

- denied privileges of free will/control

- starvation, whipping

- mind games: holidays-get really drunk as a way to control them

Hedda Gabler

1890

• Norwegian
• Translated: Edmund Gosse (1890s)

Hedda

• bored: needs something to do
• "ennui": intense boredom; life is not providing excitement
• snobby, hard to please
• selfish
• avoids responsibility
• burns Lovberg's book..."their curly haired child"
• jealousy
• anti-maternal
• detached
• manipulative
• threatened by anything/anyone who would take away her freedom
• feels trapped

Tesman

• eh?
• historian: domestic industries in middle ages
• travels to conduct archival research in libraries, even on honeymoon
• not yet a professor
• nice guy: easy to pity, invites our sympathy
• naive, simple-minded

Lovberg

• passionate
• genius
• 2 books
• distraught over the loss of his manuscript...suicide
• loves Hedda but close friendship with Mrs. Elvsted

Mrs. Elvsted

• softer, feminine
• curly hair that was pulled by Hedda when they were younger
• closer to Lovberg
• emotional
• sadistic

Love triangles:

• Lovberg---Hedda & Mrs. Elsted
• Hedda---Brack & Lovberg

Hedda Gabler

• not plot-driven
• plot = romance, marriage plot
• dialogue
• character-driven
• realism
• - focus on real people
• - home
• - authorical detachment
• naturalism

Train allegory with Judge Brack--suggests adultery

Oral History vs. Oral Tradition

Oral History is a powerful, primary source but is complicated because we don't always remember correctly. Formal, intentional and saved in order to be able to be analyzed.

"Doing Oral History" Donald Ritchie

• well-prepared interviewer: questions ready.
• person to interview
• recording: transcribed, summarized
• placed in library or archives: saved & documented

US History Midterm

BLUE BOOK!!!

MID-TERM Study Guide

n “ --“ indicates themes from textbook reading

n “$$” indicates themes from supplemental readings such as Hollitz, articles, or web

n “ **” indicates themes from lectures/discussions

FORMAT:

n Essay questions (1 out of 5)

n Choice of which questions to answer

n Graded on:

--Accuracy of content

--Ability to use specific details to support points

--Directly answering the question as fully as possible

--Demonstration of an understanding of the ideas as well as details

--OVERALL: the level of understanding of the impact of the Economic Revolution in shaping modern American life, inc. politics, economy, society, culture, and peoples

n What will help you to succeed in writing the essays:

--Be specific in drawing from the readings, lectures, and discussions whenever possible. Examples are good!

--Explaining your statements and points as fully as possible. Don’t assume I know what you are talking about already. Write as if I have no idea of the subject and that I am dependent on what you are telling me in order to pass an exam myself!

--Try to write as clearly and logically as possible but don’t sweat the grammar too much for an in-class piece.

OVERALL THEME: Origins, scope, impact, outcome of the Economic Revolution, from 1870s through the 1930s: economics, politics, society, & culture

CHAP. 17: The Development of the West

--the impact of peoples on the West and each other

--Native Americans and federal Indian policy—Reservation Acts, Dawes Allotment, Humanitarian Policies (Hollitz)

**Farming the Great Plains-reaction to farmers

**/$$Reservation policy v. Dawes Act/Indian education as federal Indian policy

$$ Farmers protest/”Wizard of Oz” and Populism

CHAP. 18: The Machine Age

--technological innovations of the industrial revolution and their impact

--/$$human responses to the industrial revolution: how experienced/reaction

--/$$ Impact of industrial revolution in life in America

**Overview of the Economic Revolution: what was it and what did it do: Boost urbanization…

CHAP. 19: The Vitality and Turmoil of Urban Life

--elements of urbanization during the industrial revolution

--immigration, inc., its sources, causes, and impact in the US—what was urban life like

--Cultural products of the new cities

CHAP. 20: Gilded Age Politics, 1877-1900

--the nature of party politics and legislation in the Gilded Age-what were politics before Industrial Rev.?

--efforts to reform Gilded Age politics, inc. exclusionary efforts: corruption in political system—literacy tests to keep immigrants out from politics

--/$$ Agrarian unrest and politics, and Wizard of Oz as metaphor: farmers protest and populism

--political impact of Depression of 1890s: transition from old politics to issue-oriented politics

**what happened to politics as a result of the Economic Revolution?

**Southern Race Relations: disfranchisement, segregation, lynching, and black responses to Jim Crow

CHAP. 21: The Progressive Era

--defining and describing the many types of progressivism

--progressivism as a response to the industrial revolution

--political impact of Progressivism

CHAP. 22: The Quest for Empire, 1865-1914

--reasons and motivations for American imperialism

--types of American imperialism and in various regions

--causes and outcome of the Spanish-American War

**Problems of Empire

$$Imperialism as an expression of distressed masculinity (Hollitz-quiz)

CHAP. 23: Americans in the Great War, 1914-1920

--Reasons for American involvement in World War One

--Impact of American involvement on home front

--Peace settlement of World War One

**European Origins of World War One

CHAP. 24: The New Era, 1920-29

--economic, political, social, and cultural developments of the 1920s

--positives and negatives of the 1920s

--How the 1920s ended

**Ku Klux Klan as a reflection of the themes of the 1920s

$$ Advertising in the 1920s—consumer revolution

$$ Tulsa riot of 1921: a reflection of the 1920s and impact of the economic revolution

CHAP. 25: The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1929-1941

--Causes of the Great Depression

--/$$Problems/Impact of the Great Depression

--Presidential responses to the GD, i.e., Hoover v. Roosevelt

--New Deal’s origins, intent, program diversity, phases, and impact

--New Deal’s successes, failures, and politics

**/$$ Experiencing the Great Depression: white men, women, African Americans, Mexican Americans, families, children (Farm Security photos)

**Impact and limits of the New Deal: Origins? Intent? Phases? Successes and Failures

**Ordinary citizens and the New Deal

>Surviving the Dust Bowl (film): American Sahara…environment has bigger impact than what people anticipated. Incidentally, people got kicked off land with New Deal acts.

CHAP. 26: Peacemakers and Warmakers: Americans in the World, 1920-1941

--Attempts to establish international peace and security in the 1920s

--International dimensions of the Great Depression

--US in Latin America

--Steps to war in Europe and Asia

Economic Revolution

• Economy
• Politics
• Society
• Culture
• International relations

Sidney's Astrophil and Stella (Histories)

History

• Protestant Reformation (1517 - Martin Luther's 95 Theses--about 60 years before)
• Dissolution of Monasteries (1536-1541)
• - many monasteries are closed by King Henry VIII due to the assumption that they would remain loyal to the pope
• Elizabeth I takes reign in 1558, 4 years after Sidney is born, until 1603
• Spenser composes Faerie Queene (1590-1596)
• Shakespeare's theatrical career (1585?-c.1613)

Sir Philip Sidney

• born on November 30, 1554, at Penshurst, Kent. He was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney, Lord Deputy of Ireland, and nephew of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. He was named after his godfather, King Philip II of Spain.
• lived the life of a popular and eminent courtier.
• attended the court of Elizabeth I, and was considered "the flower of chivalry."
• an active patron of the arts
• Sidney's Astrophil and Stella ("Starlover and Star") was begun probably around 1576, during his courtship with Penelope Devereux. Astrophil and Stella, which includes 108 sonnets and 11 songs, is the first in the long line of Elizabethan sonnet cycles.
• Elizabethan sonnet = a sonnet consisting three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg
• Most of the sonnets are influenced by Petrarchan conventions — the abject lover laments the coldness of his beloved lady towards him, even though he is so true of love and her neglect causes him so much anguish.
• Lady Penelope was married to Lord Rich in 1581; Sidney married Frances Walsingham in 1583. Some speculation if A & S could be autobiographical.
• In 1586, Sidney fought in a skirmish against the Spanish at Zutphen, and was wounded by a musket shot that shattered his thigh-bone. Twenty-two days later Sidney died of the unhealed wound at thirty-one.
• His death was greatly mourned in England by the Queen and her subjects, as he had been the man who had come to exemplify the ideal courtier.
• It is said that Londoners, come out to see the funeral progression, cried out "Farewell, the worthiest knight that lived."

Sidney's Astrophil and Stella (Questions)

1, 2, 6, 20, 28, 31, 52, 71, 72, 74, 108.

Sidney as Astrophil

(6.14) What do you think “trembling” means? Fear? Sadness? What does he mean? Why?

(20) Who is he speaking about? Why does he think Cupid shot the wrong person?

(28) What is he saying? is he concerned with validating his reasons? W Why hy was this sonnet chosen?

(31) Why is he upset with Cupid? Doctor mentality/never been sick.

(52) What is the debate between Virtue and Love? What is Love claiming, what is Virtue claiming?

(71) How does Astrophil change his tactic; what strategy is he using?

(72) What does he part ways with, what problems does he encounter?

(74) What similarities can we glean between 28 and 74? What does that say about Sidney’s audience?

(108) What did he end with? What is the ending to these sonnets? Was it worth it?

What is the debate between love and virtue throughout the poem?

Who is he speaking to?

What kind of love do you think he ended with?

1. Reason for writing these sonnets, to try and obtain the favorable disposition of a woman.

2. Gradual process of obtaining the love. She doesn’t know how he feels because he’s finally come to the realization.

6. He can’t spit it out that he loves Stella. “His voice trembles,” loss for words. First time we hear “Stella.”

20. Cupid? Why do you think he thinks Cupid shot the wrong person.

28. This isn’t about fame. It’s not just to show off. Bound to his love, but loving it.

31. Cupid knows all about love, but does he understand it? Complaining that Cupid shot the wrong person. At this point the love is still unrequited. He thinks Stella is being proud. And she’s scorning his love because she enjoys getting the attention.

52. Debate between love and virtue. Love (Cupid) is on Astrophil’s side, but Virtue is on Stella’s husband’s side

71. Losing his ability to resist. Trying to appeal to her reason instead of force. In the back of his mind, he still wants her.

72. He wants to take Desire out of the picture, but he acknowledges that its very difficult to do, to the point of not knowing how to do so.

74. He’s inspired; he’s not a professional. “Stella’s Kiss”

108. Didn’t get the girl, when I think of her I feel happy, but then I feel sad because I don’t have you.

That, in my sadness concerning you, you are still my joy,

And in my joys concerning you, you are my only suffering.