World Text Essay

Janeth Vega-Barraza

English 495

The Two Faces of Capitalism

            "Capitalism is the astounding belief that the wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone" states John Maynard Keynes, one of our most renowned economic thinkers. This seems to be the view held by many: from the day-to-day laborer trying to make ends meet, to the powerful executive chief wielding his wand, magically creating billions of dollars more in the coffers of a few. The dichotomy that exists in capitalism as a force that can give in abundance but can also exploit and destroy is one of the themes prevalent in A Slumdog Millionaire. The movie present us with the two faces of Capitalism: one face is destructive in its obsession to take it all without consideration for humanity, morals, ethics, or even love. The other side of this force is altruistic because it gives, it thrives on risk and reaps the rewards from it and, most importantly, it offers the opportunity of equality. Both of these sides are embodied by two brothers, Salim and Jamal. Weather Capitalism is good or bad is a question that the movie doesn't care to answer. However, what this story does is confront the viewer with modern day capitalism and its complexity.

            Before we can discuss capitalism in a Slumdog Millionaire, it is necessary to discuss both sides of this economic force. We can start by discussing the negative aspect of this system. Capitalism is rooted in the exchange of goods and services between individuals and between nations. This is the simplistic way to look at this highly complex system. Although, it is true it might have started this simplistically, the truth is that capitalism has evolved throughout the years and, with today's advancement in communications and technology, capitalism has changed dramatically into a new form of capitalism that operates through financial means - a capitalism that lends billions of dollars with no real collateral to back it up. This new capitalism is also global. This might mean that other countries might have the same opportunity to develop. However, the criticism is that capitalism and globalization have done nothing but further plunge Third World Countries into even more poverty. Capitalism has been accused of exploiting, creating inequalities, creating injustices, and destroying basic human rights. Many believe it "is a deeply entrenched ideology that has survived and benefitted from slavery, immigrant labor, and other forms of exploitation" (Machado 723).  Because capitalism is a system with the only purpose of creating wealth, human rights and justice are not elements with which it deals. Most notably, these elements work against the very nature of capitalism as we know it today. As M.D. Litonjua states, it is "sweeping across the one world in the making, commodifying and commercializing human life and everything it touches - without moral mooring, without human values and considerations, without humane intentions and aspirations. It is a revived Social Darwinism (115)". In this sense, capitalism is a beast without conscience, preying on the downtrodden by the use of power and force and by implementing policies that only promote the benefit of that developed part of the world; it is a sponge that absorbs everything it comes into contact with of which benefits only trickle down to the few.  This results in a system that "enable perhaps twenty percent of the world's population to reap the fruits of globalization, leaving eighty percent losers and victims of the unfettered global capitalist economy" (Litonjua 116 ). Thus, it is a force that seems golden but, beneath that sheen, is destructive.

            The other side of capitalism is the one that promotes opportunity for equality. Because capitalism is unhindered by personal beliefs, politics, and prejudice, it offers the opportunity for success to anyone. Capitalism's impersonality promotes an equal opportunity for anyone willing to work hard and take risks. Thus, it is not a system constructed only for the rich but, it is a system invented for the creation of wealth which means that anybody is free to reach for a dream of luxury and wealth provided they have the ambition and risk-taking qualities necessary to climb up this golden ladder of prosperity.  Like Skidelsky points out:

"In both capitalism and science, mankind discovers and proves a new power - the power to change his natural and social environment according to his will. Realms of life that previously lay under the ban of custom or religion are suddenly opened up to manipulation. We might regret this discovered power, but we can no more renounce it than we can return to childhood" (Skidelsky).

Again, we see that the importance in capitalism lies in its power to offer hope - real hope that can change living conditions. Thus, the American Dream has now become global in the sense that now everyone is offered access to this transformation.

            Consequently, Slumdog Millionaire juxtaposes these two sides of capitalism in the characters of the two brothers, Salim and Jamal, which grow into symbolic representations of this dichotomy as India is transformed from a backward country into a westernized capitalistic society and, Salim is the representation of the threat inherent in capitalistic values and norms. One of the characteristics we notice in Salim from the beginning of the movie is his love for money. Salim likes wealth and is savvy in the way he pursues it. We see this when he takes his brother's autographed picture and sells it for a couple rupees. This moment in the film highlights what is important for Salim: wealth. Besides his apparent love for money, Salim's action is very telling of his lack of consideration and respect for his brother. This instance in the film is one of many actions in which Salim exhibits capitalistic traits. With the exception of saving his brother from being blinded by Mamman and with the exception of the ending, Salim consistently abuses his brother and earns his living through unfair practices and means. When he works for Mamman, his aggressive personality calls the attention of his boss who decides to put him in charge of the rest of the beggar children. Salim fits perfectly into this position of task master, yelling at the kids to work harder and threatening Lakita of dropping the baby if she didn't take care of it. He helps exploit them and becomes abusive with the rest of the children. This can be symbolic of capitalism's effective use of exploitation - the powerful, in this case Salim is given the power, exploiting the vulnerable, in this case the children who are at the mercy of Mamman. Another symbolic representation of this is seen when Salim and Jamal go to the Taj Mahal. Salim is the first to jump into a pair of sneakers left by some of the tourists visiting India. The sneakers are a manufactured product sold globally. They stand for business, money, American Culture, Western Society, and Capitalism. Salim wearing them is an indication of the path he is taking. Another symbolic event that captures capitalism at its best is Salim's use of a gun to rescue and, at the same time, abuse his brother Jamal. The Simon Colt, which is the brand of the gun, stands for western society. When Salim uses it to rescue Latika from prostitution and help his brother Jamal, it can be seen as capitalism's attempt to rescue those underdeveloped countries that have decided to adopt it as an economic system. However, he rescues them violently which can also be noted when we mention the many times Western nations, specifically the U.S., have interfered in other countries' wars, looking to implement their own ideals of democracy and capitalism. For example, the U.S. intervention in the Salvadorian Civil war which, in conclusion only opened the doors for Americanization and, with Americanization, it opened the doors to capitalism. However, when Salim wants Latika for himself, he cares little for his brother's feelings and, he takes by pointing this symbol of capitalism right on Jamal's head. Again, we see this event as symbolic of the many times Capitalism has imposed itself by force on those who are most vulnerable. Although Salim dies helping his brother reach his dreams, he dies inside a bathtub - a manufactured western product - and beneath hundreds of rupees. He becomes self-destructive and, this is the self-destructive quality of Capitalism when it is unchecked by any morals or ethics. In Salim's case, the love he had for God and his brother held a permanent check over his destruction and those of others.

            On the other hand, Jamal represents the golden side of Capitalism. This is the side that has a dream and a goal to pursue. Jamal's dream is to find his beloved Latika. Although this is romantic, it is his risk-taking quality and his tenacity to achieve his goal that encompasses the whole film. Jamal embodies the good qualities promoted by capitalism. He is the poor, orphan boy with no future who, because of his sheer perseverance and his risky choices, becomes a rich man with the girl that he loves. He is Cinderella. He is the poor man, going from rags to riches. However, unlike his brother, he gets there by noble means. When Jamal jumps into the zest pool to meet his favorite actor, the viewer can see the tenacity in the character. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goal and, he is rewarded for it when the actor signs an autograph for him. He is also giving. When he meets his friend who was blinded by Mamman, he gives him a hundred dollar bill to help him. Life rewards him again, when in the show he is asked who the man in the one hundred dollar bill is. Similarly, capitalism has given transformation and opportunity to certain regions and, India - the setting of this story- is one of the beneficiaries of this. The transformation of Mumbai from a slum village to a cosmopolitan city is evident as the two brothers grow up.  Finally, Jamal shows his risk-taking quality when he risks all the rupees he has won on the show to answer a question he doesn't know the answer to. This is gambling with the unknown but, what is capitalism based on? Capitalism is based on the risky choices of many individuals when they partake in the exchange of services and goods or, when a new business is opened. Jamal gambles everything he has and is rewarded with the correct answer. The show itself, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, is a product of capitalism and it rewards Jamal with money and with the woman he loves. Capitalism gives him equality but, Jamal earned his equality through the chances he took.

            A Slumdog Millionaire does not pronounce a judgment against capitalism. Rather, it shows us both sides of the coin. Capitalism provides an opportunity to anybody who wants to move up the ladder of prosperity. This system also provides this same opportunity to other countries that are underdeveloped. In some cases, this has worked and countries like India have seen the results of embracing capitalistic views. The call center featured in the film is important because forms part of India's new step into the capitalistic world we live in. However, capitalism also takes and, as India is transformed, another side emerges which is darker. Mafias become prevalent and Salim becomes a part of this as well as a symbol of capitalist brutality. Thus, this film puts forth the dichotomy of the economic system that has now taken over the country and how it can be used to exploit its potentiality but, aware of the dangers that lurk within it.

Works Cited

Litonjua, M.D.. "Third World/Global South: From Development to Globalization to Imperial Project." Journal of Third World Studies vol. 27 (2010). 12 Dec. 2010 <http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.csun.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&hid=105&sid=70d396e0-8132-4512-ba1c-c5ffb4613140%40sessionmgr114>.

Machado, Daisy L.. "Capitalism, Immigration, and the Prosperity Gospel." Anglican Theological Review vol. 92 (2010). 11 Dec. 2010 <http://web.ebscohost.com.libproxy.csun.edu/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=105&sid=70d396e0-8132-4512-ba1c-c5ffb4613140%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=afh&AN=54967293#db=afh&AN=54967293#db=afh&AN=54967293>.

Skidelsky, Edward. "The Wealth of Nations, Capitalism, Far From Being Natural and Inevitable, Can Only be Created through Political Intervention." New Statesman (2010). 11 Dec. 2010 <http://www.newstatesman.com/200002280050>.

Slumdog Millionaire. Dir. Danny Boyle. Fox Searchlight Pictures and Warner Brothers Pictures, 2008.

           

A Look at Destiny in the Film Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire claims that we all have a destiny. Jamal's experiences served the pupose of fulfilling his destiny to be with the woman he loves. There is something about this that sounds romantic.Can something be destined or do we write our own destiny? I guess this is more philosophical but it is a question many have dealt with. The movie posits that it is written. If our fate is written, there is nothing that can be done to avoid it. Discussing this is almost like discussing Oedipus' fate. In a sense Jamal made choices that took him down the road that led him to reunite with Latika. We can say he wrote his own destiny and that his experiences served as a knowledge base from which to draw upon. We can also say the same thing about our lives. Every experience we have teaches us something about ourselves and our world. Eventually, we will encounter situations in which we will need to draw upon our prior experiences in order to make choices about our future. Thus, we write our own destiny as we breathe. However, the notion that destiny can be written down is a romantic one but, one that  means that your choices are not really yours. Did Jamal really have freedom or was he born with all the skills and qualities necessary to pursue this task? Are we like Jamal, born with certain qualities that will ultimately give us our fate?

PowerPoint Presentation From One of the Groups

I really appreciated the presentation that was made by one of the groups working on this media project. I think that appealing to students with things they are familiar with is a good way to teach. I loved their PowerPoint Lesson Plan. Having the students create a PowerPoint dedicated to an artist they admire is an intelligent way to get the student excited about working with PowerPoint. Students might love using Youtube or blogs but, PowerPoint presentations can become something dull when compared to all the other venues open in technlogy. By having them create a PowerPoint like this, students will a lot more engaged. In addition, this is also  a good way to gauge the student's grasp and understanding of PowerPoint. I wouldn't hesitate to use this activity as a way to introduce students to any of the projects I might have for them that involves the use of PowerPoint.

Another thing I would like to say is that these presentations we have conducted in class are a good way to encourage collaboration. As prospective teachers, I believe that teachers should work together for the benefit of the students. When we presented our lesson plan for mythological studies, we got to hear from other groups' ideas. The same thing happened when we presented our media projects. The classroom served as forum in which ideas could be exhanged. This should be implemented by teachers to help those who are starting in their profession and to help students learn.

The Media Project

One of the things I learned from this project is how hard it can be to brainstorm creative ideas to teach media to students. When it comes to literature, I can imagine various ways in which this can work but the idea of teaching media itself had not ocurred to me. I never thought about how to teach students to create PowerPoint Presentations, or how to make the most of Youtube, or the web. I really didn't think that as an English teacher I would have to deal with any of this except to create presentations or have students do projects in literature. However, the possibility that there might be students that are not literate with this new media is plausible. This pushes me to think that I ned to learn as much as possible about the media and technology that we have in order to exploit it to its maximum potential. By doing this, I would be better prepared, not only to teach literature but Media as well. Having a small presentation on how to upload a video in Youtube or, how to film videos and make creations out of them, would be a nice way to spark some interest in the students and it will also  prepare them to do some of the projects I might have for them. However, most importantly, it will make them literate in the world of media which is the world of today.

Teaching Students with Media

As an English Single-Subject Major, I am always thinking about how I would try to make literature come alive to students. Wether we like it or not, we live in a fast paced world ruled by the constant incoming waves of technological innovation and, literature seems to fade like the words written on sand, eroded bit by bit by this new alternative in entertainment. However, I do believe words are powerful and can take anything that comes its way. Will this new world of technology diminish the influence words have in our lives? I am a firm believer that it wont!
Words have an intrinsic power that is not tied to anything tangible. Words bring our imagination to life and, by doing so, it can transport us anywhere at any time. Words also have the power to destroy, to give birth, and to grow. Something so powerful can't be forgotten. At least, I believe that as teachers, besides the arduous task of molding minds for this new incoming world, we are also responsible to pass on this love of words to students and technology can be an aid in this respect.
Technology can bring words alive in ways we could only imagine some 20 years ago. Students can now use digital cameras, blogs, web sites, and powerpoint to create and so can the teacher. This exchange of technological creations can be exchanged between students and teachers. Teachers will be amazed at student's ingenuity and students will have a greater grasp of what they read. Here is an example:



This is one of the many examples of the potential that lies in using media technology to teach literature.

Media and Education

I am happy that we are covering this topic in class. We live in a completely different world and it's frightening to see how rapidly its changing. The media is reflecting this change and it's important that we learn more about it.
 Interestingly, print changed the world by creating a forum in which people could share ideas. The invention of the printing press revolutionized the world by spreading information. Similarly, technology is changing the world by revolutionizing the media. If we look at our world, it is now not only possible to consume ideas and knowledge; we can also contribute our knowledge to the world. The great of us has access to this. This site is an example of it. We can come here and post our feelings and points of view. We can also share ideas and information. Since this access has been facilitated to us, it is only natural that technology and media is going to play a great role in our live and education. As a prospective teacher, I feel this is knowledge I need to gain in order to connect with students. Being illiterate nowadays does not exclude technology. Being illiterate means not being able to analyze and understand information in all its formats. Teachers need to learn this in order to help prepare their students for a rapidly changing world.

Working on a Lesson!

Working on this lesson was a lot of fun! I enjoyed coming up with ideas and, I liked the fact that I was pushed to get a little creative with this. However, I also learned some things I hadn't considered. I never stopped to consider the labor and time it takes to come up with a good lesson for a class. I also never thought that it would mean confronting some obstacles along the way. Another thing I learned about giving a lesson is the importance of time.
First of all, working on a presentation and making a powerpoint was fun. However, it also became a travail. I encountered some many problems in trying to create a unique powerpoint presentation. I was having trouble inserting a clip, inserting sound, and saving it to my computer. Technology was a big headache during this process. Yet, I can see how helpful it can be to have a firm knowledge of technology becasue we are definately in the 21st century and, technology is playing an important role in classrooms today. Therefore, as I was complaining with my computer, I also wished I could take a good class that would sharpen my skills in technology. I can see how limiting it can be for a teacher not to have a firm grasp of this.
Time is something else we didnt consider. We only have 30 minutes to present and it doesnt seem like enough. Consequently, I found myself trying to think of ways to get creative in such a short time period. This is something teachers have to confront on a daily basis. This whole exercise has ben enlightening in certain respects. I am learning from it.

Poetry Reading

I must say that listening to all those poems some of my fellow classmates wrote was a good experience. The poems were great and a lot of them were deeply meaningful and inspiring. Poetry is a hard thing to work with. The process of choosing the write words that can express feelings and thoughts and that can trigger in a cathartic feeling in the listener/reader is not easy. Because poetry is more restrictive, the creative process is pushed to the limit. However, reading the poems of many of my classmates makes me appreciate the talent they have.
I wasn't one of the people who volunteered to read poetry. I am not going to lie. Standing up in front of an audience and reading something that carries so much of your feelings and thoughts can be intimidating. Poetry, to a certain extent, is a pesonal experience and, I guess this is what made me hesitate in sharing it with the rest of the class. Somehow, I didn't want my feelings and creativity judged in front of everyone. Yet, although poetry is something personal, when shared with the world, it transforms itself into something vast and harder to grasp because it becomes whatever the reader sees. I guess it would have been interesting to see that transformation with one of my poems.

The Evolution of the Word Mythology as We Know it

As I was reading the first chapter of Myth and Knowing, I was struck by something new. I never actually took the time to think about what mythology means to me. Mythology always brings to mind those stories from ancient Greece and, we always remember those gods and godesses of ancient Rome. However, I didn't know that, both the word and the idea behind it, went through a long process of development and evolution. I didn't know myth used to be considered divine-inspired truth or lie. Indeed, our notion of what myth is has changed.
Another thing that I hadn't considered before is how myth can influence a culture and a people's perspective of themselves. Myth can be a reflection of a people's values and principles. Myths hold the identity of a people and this is something I hadn't considered before. If we look at mythology from this perspective, we can see it, not only as fictitional stories with some values embedded in them but, we can also see them as a valuable piece of history. Mythology can let us into the world of our ancestors and, in studying them, we can learn more about them and about ourselves. We can look at our surrounding and get a better understanding of its origins.
Mythology also provides us with a new set of lenses from which to look at our present and future. By learning the process and development of myth, we can foresee where the values and beliefs of a people can go and what the results of these changes can be. Thus studying mythology can be an interesting path towards studying humanity with all its complexities and all its values. Who we are and what we value can all be explored through these readings of ancient stories and divine drama.

The Poetry of Life

The Train Ride

Out in the distance, there it lies
A dark spot in the horizon almost hidden from the eyes.
Clothed in robes of steel and wrapped in foggy clouds,
Its feet march forward, sending sparks of its presence throughout.
And although far away it may seem -

Like a stubborn speck on a well designed gown,
Its arrival will come, to change the plans that we keep
And usher forth a new beginning - a new sound.
Listen carefully! The train is coming!
Look carefully! The train will be here!
Get your ticket ready for the ride.

The ticket has no coding in verbs, or nouns, or words
The only markings on it are some wrinkles due to folds.
It has no numbers on its margin.
Nor some time indicating its coming.
Instead, stamped on it
are the love, the pain, and the fears.
And marked also
 the joy, the laughs, and the tears.
The hands of the clock can be merciless
So, says the smudge, the tare, and the wear.
There is not enough time
So, says the smooth, the new, unaware
That the train ride is for everyone because it is fair.


And so comes the train with echoing blast in the air.
At first it was far and now it is there.
Where it will go? The destination is unknown.
But climb aboard, all must do, for its known
That the choice in most times is not yours.

The Memory Well

Those concrete streets stretch for miles

Sometimes leading you through paths without smiles.

Its paved ground seems to holler

Through the cacophony

Of the artificial wild.

Its red, yellow, and green lights don’t give sight

Its towers seem to offer not delight.

Its light posts only guide

The moving rubber of the night.

Like an assembly line without will,

Us humans take our steps

Moving hesitantly forward to a future that’s unclear.

And so its not enough, sometimes

For the mind and the heart

To venture down pitiless roads

Of empty desires and logic gone wild.

Thus, we step

On the golden foliage of time.

We look up at the sturdiness of wooden arms extending high

- at green leafs sustained by light.

At the river for its refreshing old age

And feel the breeze gently giving us wings.

Amidst all this life, there it is,

The well which we like

To visit sometimes

When we want to escape,

When we want to cry,

When we want to laugh,

Or when we want to just sigh.

And from that deep and dark bottom

We reach for a time that has gone by.

We let down the buckets down that well

And fill it to the rim with memories

And Love.

Oh, that I may take a glass from that well.

That it may quench some of my thirst.

That’s its water can cool my mind

And bring feeling to a numb heart.

　



　
　
　
　

Our Thrush of Hope: Essay on Hardy's "The Darkling Thrush"

We have all experienced disappointment and the feeling that our times have failed to live up to the past and all it stood for. The feeling that mankind has lost its way is something that persists today as we face a world that is increasingly more violent and indifferent to suffering. However, something that hasn’t changed is human kind’s thirst for self-expression. Our ability  to put into words those feelings bursting with longing, joy, disappointment, or hope is a unique human trait which is brought forth through many venues by talented writers such as Thomas Hardy and his ‘thrush of hope‘’. Hardy’s talented use of verse, now more than ever, is able to bridge the gap of time to make the reader feel this longing for the redemption and restoration of a fallen world because his was also a feeling of loss but with light at the end of the tunnel. This is very apparent in Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush” in which we see a cry of lament for an era gone by and, Hardy pays homage to this golden age of literature through the use of imagery, metaphor, and an iambic verse that lends hope to a future still unknown. These stanzas, although filled with pessimism for the fate of human kind, leaves the reader with a glimmer of light in a world full of darkness.

            Thomas Hardy’s poetic works are notorious for their allusions to death and their cry for something lost and dead: “In brief, Hardy‘s poetic distinction is in the blending of two qualities that can easily be contraries - hard etching and spectral atmosphere“(Elliot 1186). “The Darkling Thrush” is one of several poems in which Hardy’s longing for the past is evidenced through his masterful use of imagery and metaphor heavily influenced by Romanticism. We see this deathlike imagery in the very first stanza. ‘Frost’ and ‘Winter’ are capitalized because they represent death. In fact, Hardy describes the frost as being “spectre-gray”. Indeed, this image evokes a ghostly picture of what once used to exist. Winter seems to absorb all life, leaving behind only “dregs” and remains of what used to be there. The next verse also speaks of death when he describes the “weakening eye of day” (4). The eye is symbolic for the sun which gives light to everything and sees everything. Now, that light has been darkened and it has been “weakened by Winter’s merciless force. Music too has succumbed to this death as evidenced when “the tangled bine-stems scored the skies like strings from broken lyres” (5-6). The lyres represent music and the power it has to enliven the spirit. However, the lyre is broken and its strings can no longer animate the soul. The broken strings symbolize that which has changed - that which no longer exists and they don’t’ caress the sky but “score” it as if trying to rebel against their condition. Thus, we have a vivid picture of decay and death.

            Yet, Hardy’s imagery of death doesn’t stop with the first stanza. The first stanza gives us an image of death but, the second stanza identifies what is dead and presents the reader with what can be compared to a funeral. The first identification of this dead body is seen when Hardy describes

 “the land’s sharp features seemed to be The Century’s corpse outleant, His crypt the cloudy canopy, The wind his death-lament” (9-12).

‘Century’ is capitalized because its symbolic of an age gone by. This is the body that is being mourned for. This is the body that is buried beneath the ‘Frost’ of ‘Winter’ and, similar to a funeral, “the wind his death-lament” is a cry of mourning. Thus, we can picture an age being buried and around its grave, we can hear the mourning of those attached to it. Unfortunately, there seems to be no hope for restoration since,

“The ancient pulse of germ and birth was shrunken hard and dry, and every spirit upon earth seemed fervourless as I.” (13- an16)

The ‘germ’ is a seed that, together with the ‘pulse’, symbolize life. There is no sign of life. There is no birth. Consequently, there is no purpose to live in a world that is so desolate and dark. Thus, there is no warmth, no passion and no fervor when everything that was once cherished is dead. There is no longing to live in a world that seems hopeless and purposeless and this is seen in the landscape depicted in these verses emptied of light with only a dim cloth of darkness covering around everything with doom. This is also seen in the last stanza where “all mankind that haunted nigh had sought their household fires” (7-8). Man are living dead and, Hardy cries for the past and mourns “the passing of one age and anxiously  anticipate(s) the arrival of another” (Ramanzi 133) He mourns for a lifestyle that marked an age. He suffers for those beliefs, values, and principles that have been lost. As readers, we are witnessing the burial of the past. As Ramanzi states: “It inters the aesthetic in allusions to poems like ‘ode to the West Wind’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale,’ and ‘Dover Beach’, incorporating words that the very language of  the elegy becomes a crypt for Romanticism” (Ramanzi 134). This is the age that has dissipated.

            Although, these two stanzas have presented us with a ghastly view of the world, the next two stanzas give us something different. The protagonist of the third stanza is not nature buried beneath snow and cold. Instead, we have a bird as the carrier of hope.  The bird is presented as an “aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small, in blast-beruffled plume” (21-22). We can say this bird is symbolic of what is left of that Century gone by. Although, the past is gone, there still remains something left behind and, this bird is an echo of a golden age of human kind. We can see it has suffered the ravages of change and time but, it is still fighting to exist and he does so by choosing to “fling his soul upon the growing gloom” (23-24). The choice “fling” as a word to describe the way the bird casts his soul upon the world, is a violent one which means that, although ‘frail’ and ‘gaunt’, the soul of that past is fighting back. Again, we see Hardy’s brilliant use of metaphor to describe the struggle that exists between Hope and Hopelessness. Hope that something good that was left behind can still provide for a better future.

            This hope is much more concrete in the verses of the last stanza where:

So little cause for carollings of such ecstatic sound was written on terrestrial things afar or night around, that I could think there trembled through his happy good-night air some blessed Hope, whereof he knew and I was unaware. (25-32)

This stanza doesn’t carry as much imagery and symbolism as the first three but, it mentions what the whole poem is about - hope. Ted R. Spivey, in one of his book reviews, noted that “Hardy, at least after he turned to poetry, developed a reassuring view of the future” (Spivey 17). This is evident in the last stanza of “The Darkling Thrush”. He doesn’t end the poem with pessimism and helplessness. Instead, after filling the reader’s imagination with images of death and decay, Hardy leaves the reader with a small dose of hope; a hope for the future that he harbored himself because “he believed that consciousness and the ideals it creates will lead man toward a better future,” (Spivey 18). Thus, he implants this hope at the end of the poem in the form of a thrush. Our world might seem dark because of the injustice, cruelty, and frivolity that surrounds us and, the future is down a dark tunnel where discerning its tidings is difficult. The future is the unknown and, therefore dark; a darkness that is exacerbated by what we witness in the present. Yet, he believed that hope is still alive even when we are battered by ‘Frost’ and ‘Winter’ and, this poem is both a lament for something lost but, it is also a statement of belief that something better will come.

            Although the imagery and metaphors contribute to the overall meaning of the poem and its tone, the meter in this poem also plays a role. As we could see, this poem has two sides to it: death and hope. The imagery conveyed makes this clear. However, although the imagery contributes to a tone of disappointment, the meter does the opposite and, it is in these two things that we also see this struggled aforementioned.  Hardy uses iambic meter throughout most of the verses in the poem. However, the verses tend to alternate between tetrameter and trimeter and, this continuing alternation coupled with the iambic foot is what lends a melodious beat to every stanza.

I leant/upon/a co/ppice gate

When Frost/ was spec/tre gray

The words in bold indicate the syllables that are stressed while the rest of the syllables indicate that they are unstressed. If you count the feet in each line, there will be four in the first verse, which is a tetrameter and three on the second - a trimeter. If the beat of the feet is followed, it will be noticed that is iambic in nature because an iambic foot consists of two syllables: an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The beat does not give us a tone of darkness or, disappointment instead “‘The Darkling Thrush’ is a lyric of rugged strength, that peculiar strength that comes from understatement and the sense of something in reserve” (Noyes 96). Consequently, while the stanzas give an image of decay, the meter dabs them with a beat of reassurance.

            In conclusion, “The Darkling Thrush” still speaks to our times because, as time passes and as long as we are plagued by cruelty, all of us will turn to the past for a moment of comfort just as Thomas Hardy did. We will look for those memories and lament some of the changes that have taken place. We will mourn a lost age but, within us we will carry a glimmer of hope that maybe everything will be for good. Of course, the difference between Hardy and us lies in the fact that he stamped those feelings of loss on the pages of history and on the memory of many. He was able to evoke these feelings through his good use of imagery and symbolism. He was able to conflate a meter of hope with images of decay. This poem is a testament to creativity and the ability of the human mind to recreate through a poetic form of expression and, it is proof that words can bridge the gaps that exist amongst individuals; individuals as far apart as Thomas Hardy and the reader of the 21^st century.

Works Cited

Elliot, G.R.L "Spectral Etching in the Poetry of Thomas Hardy." PMLA Vol. 43, no.4 (1928) 15 Sept. 2010 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/457610>

Hardy, Thomas. "The Darkling Thrush." 100 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. 72-73.

Noyes, Alfred. "The Poetry of Thomas Hardy." The North American Review (1911). 15 Sept. 2010 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25106974

Ramanzi, Johan. "Hardy's Elegies for an Era: 'By the Century's Deathbead." Victorian Poetry Vol. 29 (1991) 15 Sept. 2010<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40002078>

Spivey, Ted. "Gloom to Hope." Rev. of Thomas Hardy and the Cosmic Mind, by J.O. Bailey. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press May 1957. 15 Sept. 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3198186

Works Cited

Elliot, G.R.L "Spectral Etching in the Poetry of Thomas Hardy." PMLA Vol. 43, no.4 (1928) 15 Sept. 2010 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/457610>

Hardy, Thomas. "The Darkling Thrush." 100 Best-Loved Poems. Ed. Philip Smith. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. 72-73.

Noyes, Alfred. "The Poetry of Thomas Hardy." The North American Review (1911). 15 Sept. 2010 <http://www.jstor.org/stable/25106974

Ramanzi, Johan. "Hardy's Elegies for an Era: 'By the Century's Deathbead." Victorian Poetry Vol. 29 (1991) 15 Sept. 2010<http://www.jstor.org/stable/40002078>

Spivey, Ted. "Gloom to Hope." Rev. of Thomas Hardy and the Cosmic Mind, by J.O. Bailey. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press May 1957. 15 Sept. 2010. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3198186

           

             



The Human Spirit and its Mysterious Tides

After reading several of the poems assigned this week, I couldn't help but notice the contrasting feelings that exist among many of these poets' great works. Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" is a celebration of the human spirit and its solid ties to the foundation of this country. However, we look at Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach" and we see the hopelessness that pervades in humanity. These contrasting feelings are brought to life by the magic of poetry and the powerful effect it has on the reader's imagination with its ability  to produce a catharsis from where we emerge with a little more enlightnement about a world that is still eveloped by a shroud of mystery.
In the case of Matthew Arnold's "Dover Beach", we can see the utter hopelessness that lies beneath the seemingly calm surface of the beach.  At first, the voice in the poem describes a tranquil night; a calm sea where "the cliffs of England stand, glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay" (4-5). However, when the we look closer at this beautiful calm night, we notice the "grating roar of pebbles which the waves suck back, and fling, at their return, up the high strand" (9-11). This is clearly a violent description of the ebb and flow of the waves. We also see the Sea of Faith retreating like the waves of the ocean with a foreboding of a coming disaster. "Dover Beach" is a representation of humanity's state in this world. Basing ourselves on the time this poem was writen, we can see a renewed world where industrialism is leading the way towards human progress. However, beneath this "progress" and optimism lies darkness and hopelessness. Everything we believe stands for prosperity and happiness is only a dream - an illusion that will quickly dissipate and ebb away like the waves of those waves in Dover Beach. There is no longer faith in humanity. The world is devoid of hope and love. Consequently, the only thing that awaits humanity is destruction. The same can be applied to our times. If there is one thing that Arnold makes clear in this poem is that this hopelessness and despondency has occured before and, we see this when "Sophocles long ago heard it on the Aegaean, and it brought into his mind the turbid ebb and flow of human misery" (15-18). Thus, we will again experience this like those waves of the ocean that come and go; "begin, and cease, and then again begin" (12).
Similarly, when we look at Yeats' "When You Are Old", we see hopelessness that emerges from youth and love gone by. Only the fading memories of youth exist in the mind as some sort of escape from the 'agray' reality decay that now hang over that old man.
Yet, Whitman gives us the uplifting side of humanity. In Whitman's "I Hear America Singing" and "A Noiseless Patient Spider", we see the human dignity and joy as well as human mystery and frailty. In "I Hear America Singing", Whitman portrays the spirit of America in the working class. What Whitman tells us in this poem is that America is founded on the hard work of many. From the mechanic to the woman taking care of her family. In addition to this, we can also say it is a celebration of work and how it can edify the human spirit. Work does not equate misery and hopelessness in this poem but, it is giving purpose to everyone in this purpose - a purpose that contributes to the whole of the nation. In a "Noiseless Patient Spider", Whitman portrays the human soul as a small spider engulfed by the immensity and mystery of its surroundings. However, as small as that spider is, it still "mark'd  how to explore the vacant vast surrounding, it launch'd forth, filament, filament, filament, out of itself, ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them" (3-5). This is human frailty but, at the same time, it is also the strength and thirst of the spirit to explore its universe and build in it a place for itself just like each of us struggle to attain the same thing.
In this poems we have despondency and joy; hopelessness and hope and, we also have the frailty and strength that exists in us. These poets have demonstrated the power words have to enthrall us and make us meditate on our own exstnce. They have the power to stamp with words emotions such as sadnesss and joy.

A Little Bit About Me

Well, like many of you, I'm taking this class because I am seriously considering becoming a teacher. Literature is one of the things I really enjoy and because I enjoy it, I want to share my joy for literature with students. I also believe in the power of literature to educate our minds and its ability to open us up to other experiences and points of view. Thus, I expect to enjoy this class and, I am eager to learn more about literature and literacies that I have not yet learned.

Another thing I can add to this simple introduction is that I am Mexican and bilingual. I am currently trying to acquire another language - French - but due to time limitations, I have not been very successful at becoming fluent. I enjoy translating books, hiking, jogging, music and of course, literature. I am a little shy so it takes a little bit for me to open up which is funny because I'm supposed to be a good public speaker.

Well, for now that is all I can think of. Hopefull, I get to meet you all and I am sure this class will be lots of fun!