Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Journal #28 - "I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died"

Dickinson's poem "I Head A Fly Buzz When I Died" was a very interesting poem. The opening line of the poem would not trouble any person who believed that the personality is a large part of a person's soul. Dickinson's main goal of the poem was to show that poetry is not used to depict photographic images, but to engage the readers intellect and provoke thought. The poem begins telling that the character heard a fly buzzing at the exact moment that she died. She recalled that the room became very still, and used the simile "like a lull in a storm." That line could be used to describe the complete quietness that she felt as soon as she died or also the relief form the pain that she was feeling during her death. Dickinson final line in the poem, "I could not see to see" has conflicting interpretations.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Journal #27 - Dickinson's Writing Style

Emily Dickinson was a very interesting person, to say the least. She was confined to her house for much of her adult life, which had a dramatic impact on her writing style. Dickinson would have only been able to write about  events that she could witness from her bedroom, such as her fathers funeral. His funeral was held on her front lawn, and Dickinson watched the event through a window. "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn that was written by an English poet by the name of John Newton. The song's overall message says that forgiveness and redemption can be given regardless of the severity of the sin and that the soul can be delivered to God through mercy. "Amazing Grace" is one of the most popular songs in the English library, and it is no coincidence that many of Emily Dickinson's poems can be sung to the tune of the song. All songs are really just poems set to music, so it would make sense that Dickinson used a very unique writing style which included a lot of slang words. Her use of slang and shortened words would allow them to fit into the form of a song much easier. Dickinson was a very prominent patriot, which would make sense that she would use the song as a model for her poems. She was a Revolutionary War veteran who received a purple heart for her valiant work in the battle of Bull Run. Her main job in the armed forces was to work the cannon, which was when she did most of her poetry writing. Her slacking job on the cannon probably contributed to the German's loss in the American Revolution. She had a very bad experience during one of her meals, where she found a fly in her soup, and that caused her to become a germaphobe, which was ultimately why she stayed locked in her room. Emily Dickinson was a very influential poet after her death and the fact that many of her poems can be sung to the tune of "Amazing Grace" hints towards her themes in redemption and forgiveness.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Emily Dickinson's Writing Style - Analysis

While Emily Dickinson went through her life almost completely unnoticed by society, she is now known as one of the most influential poets of all time. Dickinson was a very confusing writer, and many professionals have used various methods of explaining her character such as her life and her writing (Melani). Dickinson was a very complex person who by age thirty, almost never left her home, or even her bedroom. She even listened to her father's funeral, which was held on her front lawn, from an open bedroom window (Melani). Not many people knew of Dickinson's writings, but that was mainly due to the fact that she hardly ever left her bedroom. That lack of socialization, however, was partially what allowed her to write poetry; it gave her a place to write as well as a lack of other things to do besides write poetry (Melani). Dickinson was very peculiar with the poetry that she wrote. Many of her poems went unfinished, while multiple versions of others exist. She also was known to occasionally write poetry as prose and prose as poetry, as well as make grammatical errors (Melani).  Dickinson was searching for something that she could only find in the confines of her own home. In her writing, Dickinson was looking to find something in herself.

Dickinson was known for breaking the traditional rules of grammar. She occasionally would leave out helping verbs or punctuation, which was one of the reasons that many people loved her poetry. Her style mirrored what many modern poets also used. On the other hand, however, some people found her writing style confusing and could not comprehend her writing, which turned them off from her poetry (Melani). One major downfall of Dickinson's seclusion was that since she was confined to her own house by herself, she lived in her own consciousnesses. She would have the ability to create new meanings for certain words, which would create more confusion and misinterpretation for the reader (Melani). She would also use words just "for the sake of words" (Melani). Some of the vocabulary used in her poem may have been in a dictionary during her life time, but is not used in today's society (Melani). Dickinson was known for using the meter of "English hymns" (Melani). Many famous American composers, such as Aaron Copland, have set her poems to their compositions. She also liked to change the part of speech of certain words, using adjectives as nouns or vice versa (Melani). She would also use the hyphen to stress missing words or place emphasis on a section of a poem.   

Dickinson was not known for writing about social or political events (Melani). Because she was confined to her home for most of her life, there really was no way that she could have even been aware of those types of events in the world. One major theme that seems to occur in many of her poems, however, is the concept of self-identity (Melani). That theme can be very obviously observed in her poem "I'm Nobody."








Melani, Lilia. "Emily Dickinson: An Oerview." Http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu. 25 Feb. 2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2012. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/dickinson.html>.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Walt Whitman's Writing Style - Analysis

Walt Whitman has been considered by many as a "tweener." This slightly humorous name is given to authors who do not fit into a specific literary period, but fall between two periods. Whitman fell between the Realism and Modernism periods. Realism writing focused a great deal on the characterization more than the plot of their stories. Most examples of Realism writing pertained to real life events or events that could be plausible. The characters in Realism writing show their personalities and how they react to things. Modernism writing is slightly different from Realism writing. Literary works that represent modernism writing style weren't always presented in a logical order. Loss was also a major theme in Modernism writing. There was a great movement from religion and the narrator cannot always be assumed to be telling the truth.

Walt Whitman began his writing career as a journalist for the Brooklyn Eagle (Price). He seemed to know all there was to know about politics, which would lead a reader to assume that he was a realism writer. Journalists were supposed to write about life events that were happening as well as details about those events. Soon after, he was offered a job at a journal in New Orleans, and he moved down to take the job (Price). The poetry that he wrote following his trip was very bland. Whitman never seemed to be inspired, such as in his work "Sailing the Mississippi at Midnight" (Price). Whitman's writing style reflected Realism characteristics during this period in his life. His journal seemed to depict every day items, but soon after his movement to New Orleans, he was struck with a profound transformation (Price). Whitman became more open to the Democratic party's views, which may have fostered the experimentation with unorthodox poetry (Price). Whitman seems to be favoring Transcendentalist characteristics with his free verse poetry. Whitman's poetry was commented on by renowned Realist thinkers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson (Price). Whitman even labeled his book Leaves of Grass as "al fresco poetry, poetry written outside the walls, the bounds, of convention and tradition" (Price). Transcendentalism writers were some of the first to break the traditional methods of literature. Whitman was doing exactly what the Transcendentalist writers had done many years before. Whitman's style of free verse poetry was closely related to the ideas of the Transcendentalist writers, even thought they were popular before his time. Walt Whitman was known for adding to his work Leaves of Grass, as well as rearranging them. Modernism writing tended to not follow a specific order. Whitman was able to rearrange his poems, making the order unimportant. That characteristic leads a reader to believe that his writings could be Modernism writing. Walt Whitman used nature as a major topic of many of his poems, which would be a typical topic for Transcendentalism writers to use.  Overall, I believe that to call Walt Whitman a "tweener" would be an unfair label. He has very distinct characteristics from the Transcendentalist literary period as well as the Realism literary period. He doesn't show very strong characteristics from the Modernism literary period, which is why I believe that it is unfair to associate him with such. 





Price, Kenneth M., and Ed Folsom. "About Walt Whitman." Welcome to English « Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/whitman/bio.htm>.

Monday, March 12, 2012

I'm Nobody! Who Are You?- Analysis

Emily Dickinson was a very famous Realism writing period poet. During her life, however, she was not famous, which is partially the motivation behind this poem. This simple, 8 line poem revolves around the title. It starts with the simple phrase "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" The poem continues on for the character to imagine what it would be like to be "somebody" (Leiter). The poem is very short, but it is a great representation of Realism writing. A major component of Realism writing is very great detail and development of the characters, and not as much emphasis on the plot of the story. This poem really did not have a plot, but ended up characterizing the character in the poem, assumed to be Emily Dickinson, at the same time (Leiter). The whole struggle with the poem is the thought of being a nobody. Dickinson grouped herself into the category of "nobody," and in her life time, she was correct. The irony of the poem was that after her death, many of her poems became very famous, and she is today a paradigm for many different styles of literature.

The struggle that Dickinson finds through out the poem is being a nobody, but she doesn't have a major problem with it. In fact, she even finds out that she is not alone. The second line of the poem reveals that the reader is also a "nobody," but the two cannot tell anyone, otherwise they will be kicked out of their society. Since they become a pair, they really are not "nobodies" anymore, which is why they cannot tell anyone (Beyond). While the poem is very short, it is distinctively divided into two separate sections. The first section has a very sad tone, with the character discussing the fact that she is a nobody. The second section, however, has a much more positive attitude. The character, now realizing that there are other "nobodies" out there, has a much more confident look on life (Beyond). The short Dickinson poem has become one of the most quoted poems of the time period.


Leiter, Sharon. "'I'm Nobody! Who are you?'." Critical Companion to Emily Dickinson: A Literary Reference to Her Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCED064&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 12, 2012).


Beyond Books, Apex Learning Inc. "1f. "I'm Nobody! Who Are You?" by Emily Dickinson [Beyond Books - Reading Between the Lines]." Beyond Books. 30 July 2007. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. <http://www.beyondbooks.com/lit71/1f.asp>.

When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer - Analysis

Walt Whitman was known for being a writer not specifically bound to a specific literary period. He helped to bridge the gap between Transcendentalism and Realism, as well as a gateway out of the Realism writing period as well. Whitman's poem "When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer" is a great example of Realism writing. The poem is a single sentence, but it is a very deep poem. The poem begins with Whitman describing a lecture hall filled with applause after an astronomer finishes his lecture (Oliver). The main character found the lecture to be quite boring, and slowly gets up to leave (Oliver). Once outside, the narrator looks up into the vast night sky and realizes, in awe, how huge the universe really is (Oliver). The main character in this story goes through a slight transformation through out the poem. At first, he is very reluctant to listen to the astronomer describing how large the universe was. Upon leaving, however, after viewing the sky and stars first hand, the character becomes very aware of exactly what the astronomer was talking about in his lecture. Realism writing usually shows a connection between nature and man or emphasizes the characters more than the plot, but because this poem was so short, it was not as detailed as many Realism writing selections. The main lesson learned by the character in the poem is that life cannot be taught to a person. Life must be learned first hand to truly understand things. The poem was written in a time in American history where every aspect of society was experiencing changes, and this poem was a direct mirror of what society members were experiencing. Whitman used a technique, that I've found common in realism poetry, of juxtaposing two common places. He compares the closed space of the lecture hall to the vast, open world. Whitman uses those two setting to stress the importance of living life to gain experience, and that nothing can be taught to a person as well as it can be learned.

Oliver, Charles M. "'When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer'."Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CCWW573&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 12, 2012).

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

To Build A Fire - Analysis

One of Jack London's most famous short stories, To Build A Fire, was actually written twice. The original version had a named protagonist, while the second version consisted of a nameless protagonist and a dog that was also without a name (D'Ammassa). The plots of the two were very similar, where the main character was in the process of making a long trek in the snow and subzero temperature. In both stories, but in different ways, the protagonist ends up with his feet wet, forcing him to build a fire. The second version includes an unsuccessful main character, who is forced to rely on his dog for warmth when he is unsuccessful in creating a fire. He creates a plan to kill his dog and warm his hands in it, but the dog suspects uneasiness and will not let him get near him (D'Ammassa). The narrator is forced to be doomed by his poor decisions that he made and lives, or dies, with the consequences.

The first version of the short story was written with very little detail, and in a very short, choppy format. The first revision included a writing style that was very detailed and opened the reader up to more information pertaining to the main character (D'Ammassa). Also in the first revision, London depicts his theme very obviously than in his original draft. The man is completely out of touch with reality and loses all sense of survival skills (). The main idea of the story is that while the main character did finally learn his lesson, he was not able to save himself from the doom that he created for himself. London also portrayed a message that followed the philosophy of "survival of the fittest." At the time that this story was written, many people believed in a theory known as social Darwinism. This theory was adapted from Darwin's theory of evolution, but applied to a social sense. This theory is directly related to the time period, which was when realism writing was the popular writing style.

D'Ammassa, Don. "'To Build a Fire'." Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAdvF140&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 8, 2012).

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Edwin Arlington Robinson - Analysis

Edwin Arlington Robinson wrote two very interesting poems that both depicted realism writing characteristics. One of his very popular poems, "Richard Cory," had a very intense ending that really drove the meaning home. "Richard Cory" was a poem about a man who was supposedly "like royalty" to the towns people of "downtown" (Cusatis). The main character, Cory, takes a trip downtown and the poem notes that he inspires the people in the lower class. This poem was written during the Gilded Age in history. Gilded literally means "covered in gold." One misconception that goes along with that is that the society was only "covered with gold," and was not completely gold. A major portion of the society lived in poverty, while the rich business men, the gold part of society, lived the "high life." This poem was a perfect comparison of what the Gilded Age was really like. The final like of the poem basically said that Cory went home after the day of being downtown and "put a bullet in his head," meaning that the poverty was simply too much for him to handle (Cusatis). Cory's characterization is an example of how some people really lived their lives, which is why the poem can be considered a realism writing example.

Robinson is also known for his poem "Miniver Cheevy." This poem is very different from the previous poem, and is much less morbid. His poem is known for displaying dissatisfaction with the modern society of the the time period when it was written (Barton). Robinson uses the technique of juxtaposing the society of the time period to the society of past eras to depict his annoyance with the popular society. He basically showed his displeasure about growing up in his time period, and expressed how he wanted to grow up in a previous decade.This poem is definitely realism writing at its finest. Robinson wrote about the society that he lived in from his point of view, as are most all realism writing examples. Robinson also illuded to his dissatisfaction with the cultural and artistic life of the modern age (Barton), which would have been characteristics of literary periods before the Realism period.

Barton, Edwin J. "'Miniver Cheevy'." In Kimmelman, Burt, and Temple Cone, eds. The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CAP298&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 6, 2012).


Cusatis, John. "'Richard Cory'." In Anderson, George P., Judith S. Baughman, Matthew J. Bruccoli, and Carl Rollyson, eds.Encyclopedia of American Literature, Revised Edition: Into the Modern: 1896–1945, Volume 3. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= EAmL1333&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 6, 2012).

Monday, March 5, 2012

The Darling - Analysis

Anton Chekhov's story "The Darling" was a very debated story when it was written. Chekhov wrote the story during the Realism writing period, which was very different from the transcendentalist writing period. The Transcendentalist writers were great critics of the modern society because of the level of conformity. Transcendentalists believed that every person should strive to find their own identity in society. Chekhov's story "The Darling," when it was published, was a very controversial story that not even his friends could agree on its meaning (Bloom). One of the popular theories on the interpretation of the story is that the main character, Olenka, is portrayed as a "gentle slave" (Bloom). Through out the story, Olenka marries and becomes completely involved with a husband, and as soon as the husband leaves or dies, she immediately becomes completely absorbed in another man. The first man that she falls in love with is a man named Kukin (Bloom). She initially creates an interest for Kukin when he complains about the weather. That event could be used as an event to foreshadow the future events that Olenka would be eventually completely absorbed in Kukin's business. After Kukin's sudden death, Olenka falls into a depression for three months, until she meets Pustovalov, another man whom she falls in love with (Bloom). Similar events take place, and once again, Olenka is completely absorbed in Pustovalov's life and interests. Pustovalov dies, and Olenka is thrown into a depression once again. The cycle completes one more time, and Olenka is left once again with a man she is completely absorbed in. Another interpretation of the story would be that Olenka was devoted to another human for her entire life without asking for a single thing in return (Bloom). She would have been seen as a heroine, not as a slave. Her actions were perceived as selfless, and were deserving of recognition, which she never once asked for. She simply loved other human beings, unconditionally, asking for nothing in return. This story leaves a pleasant thought on the modern woman of the time, making her out to be a selfless person, despite the many marriages. 






Bloom, Harold, ed. "'The Darling'." Anton Chekhov, Bloom's Major Short Story Writers. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 2001.Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= BMSSAC28&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 5, 2012).

Friday, March 2, 2012

I Will Fight No More Forever - Analysis

The speech "I Will Fight No More Forever" was given by the Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph. After his father's death in 1871, Joseph became the chief of the tribe (Joseph 531). The tribe was very aggressive and prone to war, but they kept peace with the white men for a great deal of time. Following the gold rush, however, the government reclaimed a great deal of the Nez Perce's land. Chief Joseph was very angered by the outcome, but he and his tribe were forced to march towards Canada (Joseph 531). Joseph and his tribesmen were allowed to return to their home, but not for a great deal of time.

Chief Joseph's speech basically summed up that he did not want to fight anymore, hinting at the name of the speech (Joseph 533). Joseph discussed how people of great importance had died and that he did not want to keep up the fighting and death. His speech also told of the children and women who were forced out of their homes and had to travel, with no food or blankets (Joseph 533). Joseph also assumed that they might be dead. He ended the speech with the final line "I will fight no more forever" (Joseph 533). Joseph's speech represents Realism writing in many ways. Realism is the "attempt to depict life as it actually exists" (Werlock). Joseph's speech was a very brutally honest depiction of the lives of the members of his tribe. Realism writing will contain details that help depict the events as clearly as possible, such as the events included about the deaths of the members of the tribe (Werlock). Joseph's speech shows slight parallels to Romanticism writing because of its Native American background. The Native Americans were very in touch with the spirit of nature, which was a very prominent focus of Romanticism writing. Overall, however, this speech by Chief Joseph is a clear example of Realism writing. Realism became prominent after the Civil War, which was the time period in which this speech was given.

Chief Joseph. "I Will Fight No More Forever." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 531-533. Print.


Werlock, Abby H. P. "realism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= Gamshrtsty0575&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 2, 2012).

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Spoon River Anthology - Analysis

"Spoon River Anthology" is a very different type of book that is composed of a great deal of free verse poems about people who are "sleeping on the hill" (Masters 514). Masters grew up in Petersburg, Illinois, and this story is composed of people from another small Illinois town. The "Spoon River" was a small tributary to the Illinois River (Cone). One of the characters from his book is Lucinda Matlock. That free verse poem was supposedly about Masters mother (Cone). The poem used a great balance of happiness as well as sadness. The line "we were married and lived together for seventy years" is immediately followed by "raising the twelve children, eight of which we lost" (Masters 516). Realism writing always has the characteristic of depicting life as it occurs, and Master's poem book depicted the lives of around 200 people from the small Illinois town. The final line of the poem "Lucinda Matlock" reads "it takes life to love life" (Masters 516). This special quote helps the reader to realize Ludinda's overall outlook on life. She believes that no one can judge life with out living it first. No one can say that they hate their life if they are not really living it to the fullest. Masters second poem "Fiddler Jones" also depicts somewhat of the same message. The poem is also supposed to depict the life of yet another member of the small Illinois town, which is another example of why this poem is Realism writing. Fiddler Jones was a farmer, which was common for a person to be in the time period that this story was written. He talks about how he has to "till my forty acres" (Masters 517). Fiddler Jones was the perfect example of a farmer at the time, which was the purpose of Realism writing. Master's Spoon River Anthology was well received by many people and is still in printing today. It has also been adapted into some forms of plays.



Masters, Edgar Lee. "Lucinda Matlock." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 514-516. Print.



Masters, Edgar Lee. "Fiddler Jones." Comp. Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Ph.D. and Douglas Fisher, Ph.D. Glencoe Literature. American Literature ed. Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2009. 517. Print.



Cone, Temple. "Spoon River Anthology." In Kimmelman, Burt, and Temple Cone, eds. The Facts On File Companion to American Poetry, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= CTAP0520&SingleRecord=True (accessed March 2, 2012).