Home Through the Ages

When darkness clouds my mind and anxiety grips me, my thoughts torn to the one constant comfort in my life: home. Home, however abstract the term, provides unsurpassable solidarity for each individual. Though many may illustrate their home differently, I have found such definitions to be inherently similar, save for specifics. Similarities between my definition and those of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s all echo true, even as I contrast my thoughts. This important aspect of life retains significant meaning and influence.

My definition of home is as versatile as all others. Simple and uncomplicated, my home comprises itself from a genteel space and loving relationships. This plain space where I live, eat, and rest creates a perfect haven of comfort. As an introvert, I enjoy the solitude brought on by the walls surrounding me, as it provides an escape from harsh thoughts and demanding voices. Though I hold this seclusion dear, my home comprises more than a space. In order to fully thrive, I require my loved ones to always welcome me with warmth and acceptance. Embraced by these welcoming arms my fears and insecurities burn into nothingness, filling me with an unbreakable solace. Here with my loved ones I can welcome new thoughts and perspectives without bias and fear, always looking toward the future. Home seems to follow me, forming wherever I reside, this versatile idea of a simple space and loving relationships applicable everywhere.

For the 1950s, home was more set in its physical form as security in the shape of suburban domesticity. During this early Cold War era, fear began its course in the United States, insecurities growing as Russia broke America’s dearly held monopoly on the atomic bomb. Amidst growing anxiety and terror Americans clung to the traditional values of home and domestic lifestyle. The nuclear family was the resulting pinnacle placing emphasis on the perfect family and home, such “…reflected to some extent the desire for security amid anxieties about the cold war and nuclear menace” (Roark et. al p. 1004) Popular culture celebrated traditional family life where the man made the money and woman makes the home, practically clinging to an outdated ideology in hopes it would provide long standing security in the face of the nuclear threat. Security, however misplaced was the single idea of the fifties.

Home tends to be the place people feel the safest. This is especially true for the 1950s, where home security provided an escape from frightening possibilities through the clinging of traditional values. These ideals could not protect families from nuclear attack, even though such a false sense of security did prevent mass hysteria when facing fears of mutually assured destruction. Strangely enough, I used to have the same belief that my home could protect me from any threat, physical or mental. However I was disillusioned when, home alone, a loud crash shocked me from my room. Seeing the two teens who had kicked my door in brought me to a state of frozen shock. Luckily, the duo fled once they realized the house wasn’t exactly unoccupied at the moment. My home quickly became corrupted, leaving me to grow hateful and distrusting of any stranger who crossed my path. Soon enough, my anger cooled as I realized how necessary such a disillusionment was for me to continue on in life, knowing that my home was not impregnable to all the forces of hate and that it was simply just another factor of the world. The illusion of security through domesticity and conformity of the ‘50s suffered a disillusionment that led to the ‘60s.

With the birth of the 1960s, home molded to a different form, one that was a far cry from security capitulated from domesticity. With this era the concepts of relationships in home became more important to its definition than its actual physical embodiment. Relationships such as these endowed unto individuals the support necessary to thrive. Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle illustrated the early ‘60s standards of home. At the time of publication, the Civil Rights Movement was in full bloom where civil disobedience was used to prove important disparities. At the time, it was a truly chilling tale where majority of population conformed to the status quo, especially with the village poised against the Blackwood family. The Blackwood sisters and their Uncle Julian were outcasts of the village, shunned and mocked. One day, cousin Charles came looking for the wealth hidden in the Blackwood mansion, and with little care he accidentally sets the Blackwood house aflame. As the Blackwood mansion burned down, remnants marking the history of the Blackwood family line became but ashes in the smoke. Soon after, the sisters returned to the remains of what once constituted as their home. There, Constance worries and frets as she dresses her younger sister, Mary, quietly blaming herself for their newfound poverty. It was then that she assumed their former, comfortable way of life resided as an exceptionally important factor of their lives. Though in some cases it was, living in the shell of their manor was not as horrible as it first appeared. Mary Katherine realizes this, consoling her sister with the simple phrase “We are going to be very happy, Constance… we are going to be very happy.” (Jackson p. 136) For Mary, no one in the world was as important as Constance, not even what remained of the duo’s family. As long as the two were together, they could always be on the ‘moon,’ Mary’s perfect haven far away from the anger of reality. With the Blackwood mansion destroyed, the sisters were given a new start, free from the constraints of the village and society as they knew it. No longer was it necessary to interact with those who hated them for so long and attacked with harsh words. They lived happily, watching from inside their new home, always and forever on the moon. While Oedipas Mass didn’t exactly have a new start on the moon, she had a sight into her life through one man. Here, this mid-60s book reaches out to the branch of protest movements at the time, clinging to a single ideology and desire. The protest movements regarding the Vietnam war fueled a sense of identity crisis throughout the world, much as Oedipas endures through the book. Pierce Inverarity left a legacy that was far more important than his investments. Her deceased lover left her his estate, granting his mistress all his belongings that inevitably guided her to the start of strange expedition. This loveless character’s journey in executing Pierce’s will led Mrs. Mass on a chase after the underground mail conspiracy known as The Tristero. Quickly addicted to this mystery, Oedipas practically clings to the idea of it as merely a conspiracy set up by Pierce, almost as if he were still alive and mocking her. Contemplating this, she muses that “she had dedicated herself, weeks ago, to making sense of what Inverarity had left behind, never expecting that the legacy was America.” (Pynchon p. 147) All of his estate was foreign to her, and she sought answers in what he left behind. She clung to Pierce, as it was crucial to herself. She knew that, when alive, he could have whisked her away from suffering, rescuing her from reality like Repunzel’s prince in her highest tower. Inverarity was always her supporting force. These single individual people were the most important factors comprising home in the ‘60s.

Rather idyllically these single people had great sway over one’s dictation of home. For Mary, Constance comprised the entirety of her home. Through thick and thin, her big sister’s constant presence brought Mary the greatest happiness. Together, they were always on the moon, far from the cruel reality. Oedipas focused on Pierce and his legacy, so much so that it bordered on obsession. All of her hopes and desires were invested in his memory. While my home does center on those around me, I do not venerate one person as my entire supporting system. Once I believed I could and was quickly led into a suicidal state, clinging to them desperately. Through this I realized my home needed to encumber more than one individual to welcome and love me. Home cannot simply be the self and one other.

People of the times also began to realize this, stretching the definition to include the love of freedom and family. In the seventies family and loved one’s provided closeness and security while individuals were allowed to seek their own lives. This era was not exactly a time of upheaval but a wave of feminism washed over the nation quite strongly. In the book The Stepford Wives one can see the impact of the decade though Joanna and her husband, Walter, in its first few pages. When Joanna offers a short autobiography to Stepford’s Welcome Wagon lady, she proclaims that she is not only a sem-professional photographer, but also “… interested in politics and in the Women’s Liberation Movement. Very much so in that. And so is my husband.” (Levin p. 2) the Welcome Wagon lady responds with a simple “He is?” This quote shows how Walter not only gave her the independence to take an active role in politics, but supported her in gaining more freedoms despite those who still remained biased in the face of feminism. The two stood side by side as equals for the same cause as they moved to Stepford. Encouragement from family provides a great deal of support in the advancement of one’s life.

This independence tastes wonderful. Much as Joanna, I enjoy the freedom to explore and find my passions and rights. I do as much with the support of my loved ones in all of my escapades. However, where Joanna knows exactly what she wants to accomplish, I have become lost. I used to have a pushing influence that inspired me to certain goals, however I found that when the insistence from outside forces became a quiet murmur I found myself lost without a guide. I enjoy the ability to do as I wish, but I do not know where I am headed in life with only the welcoming support to guide me.

The wives of Stepford were unknowingly guided to their doom. Soon Joanna realizes the suburbs to be counteractive to her ideals of home. One by one, the photographer’s few friends transform into mere status quo accessories. In reaction to feminist reform, the Men’s Association hoped to return the male dominance of society through patriarchical Stepford, via the recreation of their wives. Home was domesticity, and they sought the security of retaining their power. Joanna, however, does not know this and makes few friends with the Stepford wives, save for those who have yet to be turned. On her first meeting with Bobbie, Mrs. Markowe begins the encounter with the exclamation, “What a pleasure to see a messy kitchen! … it doesn’t quite come up to mine – you don’t have the little peanut-butter handprints on the cabinets – but it’s good, it’s very good. Congratulations.” (Levin p. 18) This little freedom of imperfection brought the duo happiness and soon they found time to spend with each other away from the perfect little hausfrau’s of Stepford. However, after a get away with her husband, Bobbie has been replaced with a robot, and Joanna notes the drastic change. When the photographer goes to visit Bobbie in the woman’s “immaculate kitchen,” Mrs. Markowe states “Yes, I have changed. I realized I was being awfully sloppy and self-indulgent. It’s no disgrace to be a good homemaker. I’ve decided to do my job conscientiously, the way Dave does his, and to be more careful about my appearance.” (pg. 82) Bobbie turned into the hausfrau they had both avidly avoided. Such a transformation to a conformity of male commercial standards appalled and confused Joanna. The Men’s Association, however, found it all in their plan to return to the standards of ‘50s domesticity with little hassle.

Change – or conformity – happens quickest and most strongly in the house and home. In this case, with the robot wives of Stepford. These women were replaced and the standards of their home radically changed. Often, I resist any conformity to a startling degree, rejecting society’s standards and norms set in place for one such as myself. Much like the original Stepford wives, I do not buy into male commercial ideals of womanhood. However, when I find a cause worth fighting for, I will push for change in every aspect of my life and the world. I strive more to make a difference than to accept the status quo, and I always start at home. The biggest changes usually start at home.

Home’s importance can never be downplayed. My versatile definition of home exchanges itself with the definitions from the fifties, sixties, and seventies. However, I do not believe in the absolute security of home as did the 1950s, nor the reliance on solely one individual as in the 1960s. Freedom of exploration has been kind to me, but I need more guidance than those of the 1970s and still yet dislike popular conformity. All of home is similar, as is humanity. Home is omnipresent and forever.


Bibliography

Ira., Levin,. Stepford wives. New York: Perennial, 2002.

Roark, James L., et. al. The American Promise: A History of the United States, Volume C From 1900. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.

Shirley, Jackson. We Have Always Lived in the Castle. New York: Penguin Group, 2006.

Thomas., Pynchon,. Crying of Lot 49. New York: Perennial Library, 1999.

Women Through Movies in the 'Fifties

‘Fifties society had been comprised of a sheer desire for security. The resulting fortification regarding traditional gender roles and family values brought about facades of protection for those who felt themselves defenseless against the threat of nuclear war. Soon, domesticity became key in the prosperity of suburbia throughout the United States, wherein movies were able to represent the conformity of sanctified domestic standards. In the movies watched in class, the three characters Deani, Nancy, and Lisa all represent the gender norms of the 1950s, all while battling various aspects brought on by the countercurrents of youth and sexual relations. America was able to further glorify domestic standards of the fifties.

As a teenager, Deanie’s character suffered through rapid, turnabout changes. Amiable and well liked, Wilma Dean from “Splendor in the Grass” first devotes herself to Bud Stamper’s happiness. At the beginning of the movie, Deanie decrees that she would do whatever he wished of her, simply because she loved him so much, and no matter what he asked she promised to obey. Due to her “love” for him, she promised to wait four years while Bud made the decision to attend Yale. Before she challenged the standards of society to become a flapper, she was ultimately wary of what the neighborhood thought of her, as she always had been. Sexual frustration soon led to her attempts at suicide, even though she had obeyed the oppressive societal standards of being pure until marriage. After all, Deanie’s mother had lectured her that nice girls don’t touch until they were married, and even then didn’t enjoy sex as its only purpose was procreation. From these niceties of meeting domestic standards to becoming a flapper, Deanie suffers through a change in her personality.

While Nancy’s personality doesn’t exactly change, her physical appearance surely does. At first glance, Nancy from “Attack of the 50-foot Woman” appears to be a crazy alcoholic. With her material needs far beyond met, Nancy never had to work or struggle to gain anything – which could arguably be a part of her mental issues to begin with. Although she lived in the lap of luxury, Harry was not meeting her emotional needs, even though she devoted herself to him. She soon came to realize that he did not love her, perhaps had never loved her, and was driven down into a severe state of depression. This misery caused by clinging and staying with the man after her money led to her alcoholism. Between the alcohol and her crumbling relationship, she lost credibility in the town she lived. When the sheriff and townspeople do not believe her, the only one she wanted to show the truth to had been Harry, trying to make him see she was not crazy. However, after her radiation poisoning, Nancy was driven mad from the coldness Harry showed her. As a giant, Nancy took her revenge upon the town, Honey, and Harry. Her transformation from a loved-confused woman to a fifty-foot “monster” marked the growing frustrations she had about her relationship.

Frustration continued to be a factor in the relationships of these women. Lisa Fremont from “Rear Window” resides as a wealthy woman in the high tides of fashion. No matter what the cost, she has the talent to attain whatever object she desires nearly instantaneously, such as a new outfit everyday. Having this capacity of wealth makes the stagnation of Lisa and Jeff’s relationship all the more frustrating for her, especially when the viewer realizes Jeff is as stubborn about his opinion as Lisa is about hers. When Jeffrey remains condemned in his apartment with a broken leg, Ms. Fremont first attempted to make his life the most comfortable and romantic as it could be before his cast was removed. Unfortunately, to please Jeff she would need to head out of her bailiwick, especially when he started to ignore her advances. By the end of the movie, Lisa has learned how to please Jeff through subjugating her own happiness. Though some actions seemed small compared to breaking into Mr. Tulford’s apartment, putting down Beyond the High Himalayas to pick up her Bazaar magazine actively shows the little changes she starts making for her lover. Suppressing one’s happiness for their man was common for women of the era.

Each of these women represents the common conformist themes regarding gender roles in the fifties. Most prominent of these themes was women staying home and taking care of the children, wherein they were supposed to deal with the issues of home life with a smile and undying love to the only man in her life: her husband. Each of the women showed also their devotion to only one man in their lives. Deanie loved Bud before she was pushed too far over the edge, Nancy needed Harry to continue surviving, and Lisa wanted to marry Jeff not matter what he argued. At the time, nice girls can only love one man and one man alone, even if he cheats on them. This obsessive love that these women felt sometimes made them irrational, to the point of double homicide and suicide. Love such as this echoed the ideal that a woman should devote herself to one man for eternity, and shouldn’t lust after him. No character questioned her roles as a lover or housewife, the woman simply conformed to the ideals of her society.

Women reveal the merciless gender standards of ‘fifties society. The anxiety of the era was exemplified in movies regarding women. Deanie suffered from sexual frustration that led to eventual insanity. Nancy was an alcoholic who wanted love. Lisa simply wanted marriage. All three devoted themselves to one man, sometimes pushing him away and sometimes bringing him closer. In the end, they all loved, no matter how twisted it became.

Essay 3 (2 hour Draft)

The ‘fifties were comprised of anxiety and a desire for security. Strengthening traditional gender roles and family values brought about these facades of security. In this manner, domesticity became key to the growing suburbia that had begun springing up throughout the United States. Movies represented this conformity of glorified domestic standards while also revealing the countercurrents of youth culture. But, all of the women show the standards of their generation.
“Splendor in the Grass” is the love story between teenage girl Deanie and high school basketball star Bud. While Deanie’s mom doesn’t support the desires that her daughter feels toward the boy, she is eager for the wealth in oil his father owned. Despite the sexual frustrations between both Deanie and Bud, the girl remained amiable. She promises to love Bud dearly, and is willing to give anything and everything to him if he asked. When it comes to sexual relations, however, she is somewhat hesitant. Even though she wants, and later craves, sexual release she is torn between her love for Bud and societal standards at that time. After Bud sleeps with the flapper, Wilma Dean has fallen into depression, it takes months for her to be willing to step out of the house and let society see her again. Attempting to become a woman that Bud would offer sexual release to, when denied Deanie attempted suicide before she was sent to a mental institution. After her insanity, she realizes she can’t lust after Bud and finds a new love, knowing she can’t accept her young love.
Nancy, from “Attack of the 50-foot Woman,” wanted the security of love. Far from the need for bodily desires, the high society woman was in love with her husband, Harry, even after he had cheated on her. When Harry can’t give her the love and support she needs, she turns to drinking. When she finds the landed satellite with the resident knight of an alien, no one believes her because of a past trip to a mental institution, due to Harry’s intrusion in her life. Desperately, she needs Harry’s support in proving that she really saw the alien, needing no one’s acceptance but his. Whenever she cried it out was for Harry, but in the end she screamed at him in rage. Realizing her husband no longer loved her, Nancy set out to kill Honey and Harry, sick of not being loved.
Lack of love for Lisa Fremont was more a lack of attention that anything. In the movie “Rear Window,” Lisa was a high society woman who never wore the same clothes twice. Desperately in love with Jeff, the near broke journalist photographer with a broken leg, she wanted to marry him. However, he wasn’t ready to accept her, even while Nancy was willing to do anything for him. When Jeff tells her about the salesman, Lisa suddenly becomes interested. More than a relationship saved from the grave, the spying allowed Lisa to show her willingness to go above and beyond for him. As far as going into Mr. Thorwald’s apartment and getting captured by him, Lisa shows her love for Jeff. At the end scene, after Jeff has fallen asleep, she puts down the book Beyond the High Himalayas to pick up her Bazaar magazine.
All of these women reflect the gender norms of the fifties. With greater domesticity, women’s obedience to one man and one man alone is the greatest form of love. Sometimes, they can be driven to insanity because of their ‘unstable’ emotions and desires. It was unacceptable for women to desire sex; instead such was a job for the men and whores. Due to these societal standards, men can’t always attain sexual satisfaction they need. As thus, affairs often transpired. Only married couples could have sex, good girls don’t want premarital affairs.
Women show the standards of the society in the fifties. There was much anxiety, and it was exemplified in women. Deanie suffered from sexual frustration that led to eventual insanity. Nancy was an alcoholic who wanted love. Lisa simply wanted marriage. All three devoted themselves to one man, sometimes pushing him away and sometimes bringing him closer. In the end, the all loved, no matter how twisted it became.

Weekly Synthesis No. 6

This weeks classes had a theme of security. After World War II, America became a superpower, economically secure from Europe’s devastation and with a monopoly on nuclear arms, creating an added insurance bonus. However, as the Cold War started and Soviets laid claim to nuclear weaponry, the United States began to feel increasingly insecure, thus forcibly interjecting a war economy into the peaceful society. It was around this time that Ann Warren Griffith wrote “Can’t get a man with a plane,” where she challenged the security provided by glorified gender roles. At the same time, people were struggling to create security where it wasn’t with these domesticated gender roles. The Truman Doctrine and Marshall plan reinforced America’s stand in the containment of communism, spreading the ideals of a growing security. The Lottery showed how a small village continues to make security, much like the preparations for nuclear assault in the fifties. All of the lessons emphasized the security and needs of security in the fifties.

Weekly Synthesis No. 5

Compare and Contrast: The Children's Hour Play and Movie

Both of the Children's Hour version had the same general plot. Martha loves Karen, but didn't realize it until Mary's lie, and Mary just lies to get what she wants, which, at the time was to get out of school. And, in the end, Ms. Tilford comes to apologize after finding out the truth. Near the end, Martha commits suicide.

The film version is slightly different from the original, however. Because the movie was not constricted by the stage, a cinematic effect occured. There was more foreshadowing instead of retraced steps, scenes added (such as Ms. Tilford taking Mary back to school, the kids being taken out of school by their parents, Ms. Tilford finding out the truth about Mary's lie, and the funeral), and more flesh to the story to keep viewers interested and emotionally moved. The scene after Ms. Tilford hears Mary's lie, she goes in the school with the intention of talking with Martha and Karen, instead, she comes across Aunt Lily, whose callous comments only serve to reinforce Mary's lie, save for the play where Ms. Tilford automatically assumes it as true. Moreover, after the grandmother finds out the truth of Mary's lie, she goes to reconcile, but it occurs differently: in the movie, there are no phone calls or incessant knocking on the door, only one visit and she was turned away, only appearing at the funeral after Martha's death. In the play, Martha's suicide was be gun, before Ms. Tilford came to apologize. But, in the movie, it occurred after Ms. Tilford apologized, and they had a brief meeting before she ran upstairs, moreover, it happened after Karen let her be in her room and walked down the driveway; but, in the play, Martha simply walked away to death. For the movie, the ending wa played out more for emotional effect, rather than just ending.

Hist 123: Great Depression Video

Song: U.N. Owen Was Her
Artist: ZUN
Appears: Embodiment of the Scarlet Devil (Touhuo 6); extra stage boss: Flandre

Many Americans thought badly of Hoover, especially when he didn't show much care for the unemployed, prompting that the government would fix itself from the depression. It was a hard time for the common man. To appease America's desire in the want of change, Franklin D. Roosevelt was easily adopted as president. However, his New Deal campaign didn't fix all of the problems. The political cartoon of Uncle Sam and his multiple pill bottles (the NRA the largest) shows that Roosevelt tried to fix things as president; but like he's says, they'd have to try something else if the pills didn't work: after all, the slogan of the New Deal was action, experiment, and improvise. Some of Roosevelt's plans worked once implemented, and others not so much, such as the NRA. The resulting strikes from workers demanding the rights that the NRA supposedly provided cast Roosevelt in a darker light, bearing criticism and opposition to the New Deal. However, many people loved Roosevelt in comparison to Hoover. The Bonus Marchers were chased from their protest by the army and tanks, and when Roosevelt took office, people were sure he could fix the situation, especially with the way he handled the Bonus Army. There were still soup lines, and high unemployment, despite the many programs Roosevelt used to combat the depression it lingered. But, the people had faith that Roosevelt would save them.

Weekly Synthesis No. 3

The theme of this week three’s classes was of an excitement that spiraled down into desperation. During the 1920s, there was a wave of capitalistic thrills, accompanying the backlash of progressive advancements that were removed in a desperation to return to normalcy. Some consider that a sexual revolution occurred in the 20s, with all their excitement with women’s rights, the young women of the time became flappers. One of which was Zelda Fitzgerald, who was all-too happy to have sex, but desperate to be faithful; while F. Scott Fitzgerald loved her so desperately that he worried he wasn’t good enough for her. Mrs. Fitzgerald enjoyed being a flapper, pining its loss of meaning with the coming flapper women. Dorothy Parker, however, was excited to lose the flappers, desperate to return to the way things were. Characters like Jake in Earnest Hemmingway’s The Sun Also Rises also feel this bipolar attitude, he becomes excited by the presence of his friends, but desperate for the true love of Brett and quietude of his thoughts. The highs and excitement of the 20s faded into the agony of the depression, where people striked to gain food and textile workers to have rights. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office easily after the cold and business-like tone that Hoover showed the peope, Roosevelt, showed the people that their needs could be filled with his presence and the New Deal Campaign. Unfortunately, the desires that riled up the New Deal slowly sputtered to a stop by the late 1930s, ending nearly 10 years of reform. This past week has shown that all events have a rise and fall, some more gentle than others.

Memorialization

Death will come to all. Such is humanity’s greatest threat and unyielding equalizer. The memory of death served as the identity of Great Britain, the supporter of peace for Woodrow Wilson, a scar on Earnest Hemingway's characters, and an obvious addition to mourning in popular culture today. No matter how used, these memories of death remain pertinent to all of humanity, serving to right the wrongs life created.

The remembrance of World War I was crucial to the identity of Great Britain. After the Great War, national unity was key in maintaining England’s status quo. Especially as citizens were beginning to question the validity of such a costly war when the ideals the Allies' soldiers had fought and died for were being challenged throughout Europe. Communist revolutions, strikes, and influenza epidemics were sweeping the continent even as World War I reached its imperfect end. Seeing this, the government strove to have England remember the war as a salvation of the world from autocracy. Soon enough, sacrifice became the key word. The millions of British soldiers who died did not so in vain, the government proclaimed, but to protect one of the many ideals and beliefs that all Englishmen held dear: freedom. In turn, this sacrifice became sacred. To emblazon the soldiers loyalty, monuments were erected in their honor. These were essential in remembering the war as a unifying victory against evil. The monument of the Cenotaph was erected, encompassing the ideal of ascension to a higher plane, mimicking the tomb of Jesus where the physical body was unneeded in the continuing journey. Another national monument, the tomb of the unknown warrior connected to the hearts of all whose sons, husbands, and fathers were unknown soldiers whose bodies were beyond identification. Meanwhile, the War Grave Commission planned and created cemeteries. Gravestones were arranged symmetrically and all were crafted from the same mold, representing the common death of the soldiers for the good of all that was British. This equalized the class disparities of the time, hiding the problems in their own society by using remembrance to lessen the chance of revolt. By assuming victory as salvation, the problems caused by the European secret treaties that incurred millions of deaths, sacrifice became holy in the eyes of British citizens and the war effort a protection of birth rights. Other countries beyond Great Britain used this tactic to maintain order as well.

Woodrow Wilson used death in the war while attempting to convince the United States to join the League of Nations. In his speech, Defense of the League of Nations, Wilson calls fallen American soldiers “crusaders” of democracy; these soldiers had been a necessary sacrifice to make the world safe for democracy and freedom. Wilson knew that no one who wanted a repeat of the Great War. As thus, he proposed the League of Nations as a pathway to peace. Wilson urged America that the slaughters of warfare could be stopped through the use of an organization that acted as a council to all the world's nations, able to peacefully settle international disputes. From the sacrifice of soldiers, the president had promised America that if they simply believed in the League of Nations, war would never happen again. The massive death toll was used as a promise to the next generation, saying that they would never have to fight such a costly war. The words of the president showed the people that it was right to die for democracy, using their deaths as justification for the League of Nations. Soldiers’ deaths meant much to the people of America and her crusade in protecting democracy, but often their needs were forgotten.

Hemingway exemplifies veterans suffering in his works. Soldiers are scarred from warfare; and after World War I, veterans’ mentality wasn’t the highest priority of the people. The Sun Also Rises meets the issue head on. Jake, the narrator, suffers from romantic issues due to a war injury, straining the relationship with the woman he loves. While attempting gaiety through drunkenness, the veteran watches from the sidelines as a man is gouged to death when running with the bulls. Later, with drama billowing around him, Jake tries to disseminate growing tension by turning casually to his war buddy Bill and taking about the day’s bull run. From the injuries, shouting, and chaos that accompanied the fiesta, Jake mentioned with a slight change of topic that a man had died in the bull run, Bill merely replied with an excited interest. In this instance, Vicente Givones’s death was used as a distraction from Jake’s personal problems. Hemingway, a wounded veteran expropriate like Jake, was hardened against death from his role in the war as an ambulance driver. For him, death was a sidetrack and unavoidable conclusion. Here, the deaths of others were used to put off the problems of one’s own life, much as with entertainment in modern times.

Popular culture has easily absorbed myspace, and now mydeadspace has begun the adoption process as well. This site was formed to recognize the members of myspace who had passed on. These abandoned myspaces are left to float in cyberspace, like virtual gravestones. On the site, death is respected and discussed where the faces of the living can be emblazoned on their last creation. This site shows how people tend to view death in contemporary times. Death and people’s opinions of it have become a forum of public debate with use of the internet, despite the countless views regarding it. When viewing the various ways people have died, many can look at their myspace and see if their death justified their life or their life justified their death. As mydeadspace shows, this forum shall continue to grow.

There are many ways to memorialize death. As a nation struggling after World War I, Great Britain maintained their status quo through use of remembering soldier’s as sacrifice. Taking a different approach, Woodrow Wilson claimed the American fallen soldiers were the crusaders of democracy, and their deaths would bring an era of peace with the creation of the League of Nations. Earnest Hemingway, as a veteran American soldier, used death as an inevitable truth that he had learned to deal with, showing with his stories how hardened and twisted soldiers became after war was over. Popular culture has shown with mydeadspace that death is less of remembering and more of debating the end. Through the years many things have changed. But, people have learned to come to terms in their unique ways what will one day happen to each and every us.

Weekly Synthesis No. 2

The entirety of week two has been dedicated to the theme of conflict. It started with the innocent titled of “The Yellow Wallpaper,” but ideas of cheery housewives and smiley rooms faded as the story revealed the struggle of the post-partum mother against her husband’s almost sadistic order of rest and the insanity caused by the yellow wallpaper.  The same author, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, wrote Herland, the piece showing three distinct male character who stumbled into the land of women, the ideals of womanhood clashing upon their entrance. After these stories were in circulation, World War I began shortly after. To make of WWI’s sheer brutality, Americans used the ideals of democracy destroying autocracy to justify the worldwide conflict, especially when America itself became involved in the meaningless war. Woodrow Wilson’s crusade to make the world safe for democracy was in full flight during the war and it included his brainchild, the League of Nations, which would ensure peaceful diplomacy to end international conflict. After the belligerence of the war fizzled to a drained stop, peace settled unsteadily over Europe, the Versailles Peace Treaty forcing unhappy compromises, such as the reparation statement for Germany; though Germany was alienated, Wilson consented to most compromises in return that the European powers joined the League of Nations. However, Congress did not allow the U.S.A. to join the League of Nations, effectively killing the international peace group before it even started. In the USA, affairs seemed to progress similarly, there were nationwide strikes regarding low wages and high prices and many returning veterans found only massive unemployment waiting for them. Some veterans, like Earnest Hemmingway, stayed in Europe, distancing themselves from the USA; they became writers and their works, such as Hemmingway’s The Sun Also Rises and his short story collections, exemplified the hardships of veterans that coped with trauma, physical injuries, and the emotional drama accompanying their daily lives. Back in the U.S.A., life progressed without the expropriates, and soon Harding was elected to office, prompting America to return to normalcy by shedding the burden of conflict, societal change, and international affairs in exchange for prosperity with business. Conflict reigned, tying these thoughts together succinctly and completely. 

Weekly Synthesis No. 1

            It seems like America has always been obsessed with its systems of trade. Whether capitalistic or free, there was always some point that made the United States reel up and take action.

            For the presidents, it was somewhat cyclic. Theodore Roosevelt embodied the progressive movement. From the beginning, the people loved Roosevelt, and his campaigns against big business and trust busting only helped his popularity. Condemning the monopolies of businessmen, the president began the process of reopening business to the common people, small businessmen, and farmers. Apart from his domestic policies, with regards to foreign diplomacy, Roosevelt fostered open borders and trade with Europe. However, when it came to Europe’s involvement with the lesser developed portions of the western hemisphere, the president jealously guarded American interests from his competitors with the Monroe Doctrine. All in all, Roosevelt proved the progression of allowing the United States free trade.

            Taft, however, seemed somewhat daft. Once Roosevelt was out of the white house, the representatives of big business were greatly relieved to finally have a pawn in their hands once again. William Howard Taft had the belief that courts could rule everything. And with courts somehow flowed money. Contracts were made under the idea that money could buy anything, and the president attempted to buy diplomacy and alienated Roosevelt with his cowardly agreements. These ideals didn’t suite well with the progressives, and the party fell apart, big business against free trade. Republicans were split, half becoming the Bull Moose party, making the democratic victory little challenge.

            With that Woodrow Wilson settled into the White House, with strong southern ideals. After ignoring the parade for women suffrage on the eve of his inauguration, of which he completely ignored, calling the campaigns of the United States’ women “obnoxious.” Moreover, he led America straight into war. Honestly, if Wilson, being the teetotaler idealist he was, he would have honestly believed in trading openly with both Germany and Great Britain. Certainly he would have made a pretty penny. Instead of challenging the British blockade of Germany, however, he challenged the U-Boats of Germany. Admittedly, the submarine was far too deadly a weapon against trading ship’s arsenals; however, Germany did have just cause. After slowly starving, Germany realized that allowing the United States to trade with Great Britain (while lending them billions) was a foolish idea, so the country fired up their U-boats and essentially declared war on the USA. Wilson, like most others, was outraged. Treading the careful waters of biased neutrality led him to this, he had no reason to be outraged. To Wilson, money was not truly as much of an object as his ideals. Although he believed in spreading democracy, the fact that he longed for free trade with Europe was also painstakingly obvious as they continued to lend money to the Allies. Ideals could only do so much without financial support.

            Unlike President Wilson, Jane Addams was against the war. She had been from the start. Although her progressivism movement was riddled with ideas that she never quite grew out of, such as inequality, she still knew something had to be done. As thus, when she addressed New York City, she noted that the war was using the youth to fight battles that only made sense in the eyes of those who could only fiddle with its meaning instead of fight within it. However, she never mentioned the impacts trade had on their economy when the European wartime hit. With her ideas of putting young women to work at Hull House contrasting much with the ideals of the war, Addams stood her ground. This speech was made to early for her to realize what leaps the bloody war would do for the status of women, putting them in jobs that would have ostracized them had it not been for the sudden labor shortage that occurred when the soldiers went to war. But, then again, she probably wasn’t thinking about the money, as most men were. Rather, she was worried about the human compassion, apparently it was something men only felt when they saw women despairing over the war.

            All in all, America has a strange notion of holding tightly to its ideals of money. It funds the way we think (quite literally, when it comes to college) and has done so for a long while. With little doubt, the United States’ will still follow the green; though, one can only hope its to more prosperous places. 

The Humanistic Art of Writing and American Literature

Life is incomplete without the study of humanities. Humanities offer individuals various views regarding the often-ubiquitous perceptions wrought by the human mind, offering understanding of how the individuals’ mind works. American literature is a certain type of humanity that gives insight to the ideals of our culture throughout history, though often, few think of its definition or the reasons why it is studied. By pausing to give the world surrounding us a more in-depth look, individuals can define American literature, the reasons why it should be studied, and the various ways it can be studied.

By its nature, American literature does not always have a clear definition. In the Highline Course Descriptions, literature 223 is “The study of American literature from 1945 to the present” (1). Much as we in Craig’s class have learned, this leaves the span of American literature’s study open to likes of both instructor and student. As such, it is better for students to define individual assumptions about what American literature means to them.

Through defining both American and literature separately, it can be better understood what American literature can actually mean. To be American, according to Princeton’s wordnet, is to be a native or inhabitant of the United States (2). If using such a definition, the door of American writing is opened to anyone inhabiting the United States for an extended period of time. This explanation could even title temporary tenants in the borders of North or South America to be considered American. However, the 1970 edition of Webster’s New World Dictionary of the American Language defines American as “of, in, or characteristic of the U.S., it’s people, etc.” (3). The doorway that was previously opened by Princeton’s definition closes the slightest. Instead of using the term American to define the Americas, it rather defines inhabitants of the United States. However, this poses another problem in itself. Because the United States is a melting pot, it remains hard to define what is characteristic of its people beyond the majority of those who preside there. The United States was founded on immigration and the mixture of cultures, thus allowing the title of American to be bestowed upon anyone with a desire to live in America. Personally, I believe American to be something that negates cast, race, gender, and age: it surpasses the pedagogical ideals of learning and grants opportunity to all who may come. There is no true ‘American’ in the United States, per say, rather than the subtexts of endlessly mingling cultures. Essentially, to be American in my eyes is to be a person of any culture placed within the borders of the United States.

Half of this subtly complicated term has been defined; however, order to accurately define American literature, literature must also have a clear meaning. Literature can be described as creative writing of recognized artistic value as well as the humanistic study of a body of literatures (2). From this, it can be believed that any written work an individual or group feels strongly about can be considered literature. Essentially, literature exists as any written work any individual cares about.

Combining the definition of literature with American provides the term we have been given. American Literature would thus be the study of any distinguished written work by an author who lived and wrote that work while staying any extended amount of time in the United States of America. Such a definition can open the eyes of those who study American literature to the backgrounds of the literature itself, as well as the authors. In such a manner, students may become slightly more fascinated with the pieces they study. 

However, people may wonder why they should study literature. Literature, in itself, provides an escape from reality. Azar Nafisi has said that “the most important thing about literature [is] the way it takes you away from where you are in order to have a look at the world differently” (4). Through studying written works, people can better see the world from multiple perspectives and attitudes, as Earnest Hemmingway and his vague but blunt phrases or Shirley Jackson varying overtones of a darker reality with a descriptive bluntness. These works provide insights on the writer’s perception of reality and the ideals of their time. Through their work, they often offer views differing from that of the reader regarding cultures and the world as it is today. Moreover, written works provide readers with the context of politics as well as the mindset of the who individuals inhabiting the beside them (4). By removing oneself from the reality of various situations, new perspectives can be provided. Various different matters can be shone in a multitudinous of lights and shadows, painting new and everchanging pictures for all readers. In itself, literature provides readers with a grasp on a meaning of what it is to be human. David Lick, a senior at Gustavus Adolphus College, wrote that “my goal is to learn as much as I can about the human condition and what it really means to be human in all aspects” (5). Each person is unique in his or her ideas and perspectives. Reading literature allows any individual to experience these other perspectives with an undue closeness. With the different views of others, one can grow to understand the uniqueness of the human personality and its individual components. By escaping reality to observe the diverse ideas relating to any single subject, the context of thought and politics can be made rational by humanity.

Through various ways the important subject of literature can be studied. Literature should be studied by comparing the author’s intended messages with the inferences students gather regarding the piece. This goes beyond simple symbolism of specific events, though such can clue in the innuendos of the characters thoughts and the author’s perceptions of reality, to the feeling of the overall piece. Adjectives and verbs describe the attitudes felt toward subjects and serve to create an overall sensation in the reader’s mind. Deriving the correct sensation and thus comparing it with what the author’s original intention was can prove to be an enlightening experience. Some students, like David Lick, may attempt at first to perceive literature as a science, with rigid complexities rather than looking to it as an art (5). Really, literature is open to interpretation, such as all pieces of art are. There’s no real right or wrong, even when knowing the author’s intentions. Truly, it is all a matter of feeling. By studying literature as interpretations of sensation and each work as multitudinous pieces of a singular art, students can better grasp the complexity that is literature. Students should perceive it with an open and welcoming mind.

American literature is any renowned work writing by someone considered American, studied because it provides a different perspective on life, context of politics, and the meaning of humanity, and learned as an inference and art form. Studying this subject will help students grasp the history of American culture as well as an understanding of literature. Perchance after the class ends, students will recognize how much of a gift literature truly is.

 1. "223 American Literature: 1945-Present." Highline Catalog. 18 Aug. 2008. Highline Community College. 22 Mar. 2009 .

2. "American." Wordnet. Princeton University. 22 Mar. 2009 .

3. Guralnik, David B. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language. World Company, 1972.

4. Pennington, Miranda. "Author examines the importance of literature in students' lives." The Ithican 7 Sept. 2007. Ithica College. 22 Mar. 2009 .

5. "Why Our Students Study Literature." Department of English. Gustavus Adolphis College. 22 Mar. 2009 .