The Serpent within the Modern Garden of Eden

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Zitkala-Sa Journal

Author Quote: "Judewin had told me of the great tree where grew red, red apples; and how we could reach out our hands and pick all the red apples we could eat. I had never seen apple trees. I had never tasted more than a dozen red applies in my life; and when I heard of the orchards of the East, I was eager to roam among them. The missionaries smiled into my eyes, and patted my head. i wondered how mother could say such hard words against them. (Zitkala Sa 1112)

Internet Source: Bonnin/Zitkala-Sa was born and raised on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota by her mother, Ellen Simmons, whose Yankton-Nakota name was Taté Iyòhiwin (Every Wind or Reaches for the Wind). Her father was a white man named Felker, about whom little was known. Zitkala-Sa lived a traditional lifestyle until the age of eight when she left her reservation to attend Whites Manual Labor Institute, a Quaker mission school in Wabash, Indiana. She went on to study for a time at Earlham College in Indiana and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. (Wikipedia; Zitkala Sa)

Summary: Zitkala Sa wanted to go with the missionaries to the East in order to study. She wanted to be able to go not only to study but to eat all the apples she wanted. To her, apples were rare, and if anything, a delicacy. By going East, she would not only be able to receive an education, but would be able to indulge in all of the apples she could possibly dream of eating.

Personal Opinion: With how I see it, the red apples serve as the forbidden fruit that was in the Garden of Eden. In a sense Zitkala Sa herself could be seen as Eve, while Judewin and the Missionaries could be seen as the Serpent. The irony in that is the fact that the Missionaries wanted to take Zitkala Sa and "tempt" her with education and all the red apples she possibly wanted. It is as if they themselves were going against the very religion they teach and corrupt "Eve" in her Garden of Eden, the reservation she lived on. However is it truly wrong to become educated, and possibly help one's people in the future? Because knowledge is truly power, but by going to get educated, could that possibly make someone a sell out? Yet if it were not for this education, we would not have known Zitkala Sa's story. So in a sense, as much as her mother opposed the "temptation" of the red apples, if she had not taken the temptation, then her story would be lost in history. In a sense, sometimes temptation can sometimes be a good thing.

Stuck between two worlds

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

W.E.B Du Bois Journal

Author Quote: "With other black boys the strife was not so fiercely sunny: their youth shrunk into tasteless sycophancy, or into silent hatred of the pale world about them and mocking distrust of everything white; or wasted itself in a bitter cry. Why did God make me an outcast and a stranger in mine own house?" (Du Bois 896)

Internet Quote: "During his time in Atlanta, he also saw the overwhelmingly rural agricultural areas of Georgia, where most blacks worked on others' land as laborers andsharecroppers. Reflecting on their lives was part of what he expressed in The Souls of Black Folk, a meditation on the problems of race in American culture, which he defined as the problem of the twentieth century." (Wikipedia; W.E.B DuBois)

Summary: Du Bois grew up in the North and lived a privileged life and was able to receive a fine education. In this passage he said that it was rare for an African American boy to live such a privileged life, yet at the same time he felt cursed. For he was not like the rest of the African American boys at the time. He stated that most African American boys grew up knowing they were less than the white man, and all they could do was cater to the Caucasian individuals by "sucking up" to them or being a sycophant. Even if he did not grow up experiencing that, he felt different and left out from the African Americans in society by not being able to share the same struggle they were going through.

Personal Opinion: Du Bois has the right to say that he did not belong with the rest of African American society. Yet in a sense when he stated that the other African American boys' lives were engulfed with "sycophancy" I think that doesn't just go with them, but with all minority groups as a whole. The worst part is, that the same type of sycophancy is seen around today. Yet it isn't just minority groups but the Caucasian population as a whole. People tend to be sycophants when they are around their superiors, police officers, or when they are outnumbered by another group of people. See, everyone is prone to being stricken by sycophancy at least once in their lives, it is inevitable. But from what Du Bois is saying, the difference is that African American people tend to be more prone to it. It is a possibility that despite growing up privileged, he wanted to be able to belong. Nothing hurts more than being different, and unable to find a niche. Even if he was African American who grew up privileged, he was unable to be fully accepted by white society. If anything, he was not able to be accepted by the African American society as well because they would view him as a "sellout" or an "Uncle Tom". Sadly, even today this is a struggle that many people go through. We see various people of different ethnicities trying to hold on to what ethnic culture they may have, as well as trying to be accepted into American society. When we look around, we see a lot of Asians grasping the "Hip-Hop culture" that is seen as predominantly African American. So despite the fact DuBois was a stranger in his own home, he was not alone; for even today, many people feel like they do not belong with their own culture. That is why before I myself did not even know if I was truly American or Filipino; I was stuck in between the two. Yet I was able to learn more about myself and my culture and finally accepted the fact that I was not Asian or American, but I was the hyphen that brings together the phrase "Asian-American".

Nocturnal

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Journal

Author Quote: "I'm feeling ever so much better! I don't sleep much at night, for it is so interesting to watch developments; but I sleep a good deal in the daytime. In the daytime it is tiresome and perplexing." (Gilman 816)

Internet Quote: "The story is about a woman who suffers from mental illness after three months of being closeted in a room by her husband for the sake of her health. She becomes obsessed with the room's revolting yellow wallpaper. Gilman wrote this story to change people's minds about the role of women in society, illustrating how women's lack of autonomy is detrimental to their mental, emotional, and even physical wellbeing. The narrator in the story must do as her husband, who is also her doctor, demands, although the treatment he prescribes contrasts directly with what she truly needs — mental stimulation and the freedom to escape the monotony of the room to which she is confined. The Yellow Wallpaper was essentially a response to the doctor who had tried to cure her of her depression through a "rest cure", Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, and she sent him a copy of the story." (Wikipedia; Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

Summary: The narrator of the story who is confined in the attic of this summer house seems to be a nocturnal person. She seems to look for more signs of the woman in the wallpaper in the evening as if hoping to find some kind of sign or message that she seems to be trying to get across. However, I think the more time the woman spends in the room the closer she arrives to becoming "hysterical".

Personal Opinion: I think that the longer the woman spends in the room, the more hysterical she becomes. If anything I think that the reason why the woman goes crazy is because of her husband's idea to send her away to this summer house to get better, yet the exact opposite happens. Instead of getting better, she becomes worse, and ultimately becomes crazy. Yet I do not think that the woman herself was hysterical from the beginning, if anything it was as if it were a self fulfilling prophecy where in time she became hysterical thinking that everything would be okay. Yet at the same time, I think the woman that she sees in the wallpaper is a ghost telling her to leave; not because the ghost woman's room is being bothered but she does not want the narrator to end up like her. As we read further into the story we learn that the room in the attic seems to be a kind of room where "hysterical' women were once housed. I think that the woman in the wallpaper does not want the narrator to suffer the same fate, so she is trying to warn her and tell her to leave before it is too late. That is why I think the narrator seems to stay awake at night, not because she is naturally a nocturnal person, but is possibly trying to look for some kind of clue or message the woman in the wallpaper is trying to leave behind.

Seduction within the storm

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Mary Hunter Austin Journal

Author Quote: "'The wind was stopped and all the earth smelled of dust, and Filon understood very well that what I had done with him i could not have done so well with another. And the look--the look in the eyes--" (Austin 891)

Internet Quote: "Austin and her husband were involved in the local California Water Wars, in which the water of Owens Valley was eventually drained to supply Los Angeles. When their battle was lost, he moved to Death Valley, California, and she moved to Carmel, California. There, she was part of a social circle that includedJack London, Ambrose Bierce, and George Sterling and was one of the founders of the Forest Theater." (Wikipedia; Mary Hunter Austin)

Summary: Even as the walking woman wandered the San Joaquin Valley as a recluse, scavenger, and possible desert woman, she was still human. The fact that she was able to last so long without having to satisfy her sexual desires was amazing. But she describes the moment that she had with the sheep herder she was wandering with at the time as a magnificent moment in life; and for that moment in time, it seemed as if they became one.

Personal Opinion: So I somewhat understand what Chris was saying in class about sandstorms being majestic and possibly tranquil. The walking woman was able to find that tranquility with Filon even during the storm. I personally think that even in times of great pressure or stress, one can still find "peace"; in this case satisfy one's desires. Yet I think that there was more than just sexual desire that was satisfied at this moment. If anything, I believe that the original reason why the walking woman wandered was because she wanted to find peace within her soul. And if anything, the moment Filon had that "look" in his eyes, it was as if his soul had connected with hers, and it could be that was what she was looking for. I don't think that sex could have been the only way to satisfy that need, if anything as long as she had a companion or some kind of "soul mate" then that peace could have been satisfied irregardless. If anything everyone has a kind of "walking woman" within them, and each of us has to figure out how to find that balance or peace for our soul.

Friendship over Heaven

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Huckleberry Funn Journal

Author Quote: "I was a trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself: 'All right, then, I'll go to hell' --and tore it up." (Twain 246)

Internet Quote: Twain wrote a novel that embodies the search for freedom. He wrote during the post-Civil War period when there was an intense white reaction against blacks.Twain took aim squarely against racial prejudice, rising segregation, lynchings, and the generally accepted belief that blacks were sub-human. He "made it clear that Jim was good, deeply loving, human, and anxious for freedom" (Wikipedia; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)

Summary: Jim pretty much writes back to Miss Watson that he knows the whereabouts of her slave Jim. Yet even after writing the letter, he knew that what he did was morally wrong, and going against "Christian" beliefs decided to not send the letter, and ultimately rip it up accepting the fate that he could potentially going to Hell and saving Jim.

Personal Opinion: One would have to know where the fine line between the right thing to do and morality. In that time, returning a runaway slave was seen as the right thing to do, but morally it was completely wrong. The irony I see is that these Southern Whites praised the Bible and lived by it. Yet isn't it stated in the Bible that one must love his fellow neighbor/man? So doesn't that go for African-American's as well? I mean the irony is that you go to Heaven as long as you treat your white brother equally and not African-American's because they are less than human. But from how I see it, isn't it that God loves all people equally? It seems as if the Bible at this time was potentially "white washed" allowing it to abide by the Southern culture. Yet what I see beautiful about this passage is that Huck ultimately chooses friendship over the law; and going as far as accepting the possibility of going to "Hell". If anything, I think the closest thing to Hell he would go through would be the consequences he would face for helping an escaped slave. Yet the legitimate Hell he would have faced was knowing that his friend was not free and was being tortured by his old master; and with that I do not think that Huck would choose that Hell. If anything, mental anguish is the worst and it is something even I would not want to go through. Physical pain can only linger for so long, but mental anguish is eternal.

Twain in Tahoe

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Tahoe Twain Journal

Author Quote: "Given his own earlier pro-Confederate service as a Missouri militiaman, it really shouldn't be so surprising to learn that in 1863, with the ultimate success of the Union cause itself still deeply divided politically into Copperheads and Union supporters, a young and confused Clemens might easily find himself drawn back toward sympathy with the Southern cause." (Lankford 130)

Internet Source: "Twain was an adamant supporter of abolition and emancipation, even going so far to say “Lincoln's Proclamation ... not only set the black slaves free, but set the white man free also.”^[67] He argued that non-whites did not receive justice in the United States, once saying “I have seen Chinamen abused and maltreated in all the mean, cowardly ways possible to the invention of a degraded nature....but I never saw a Chinaman righted in a court of justice for wrongs thus done to him.”^[68] He paid for at least one black person to attend Yale University Law School and for another black person to attend a southern university to become a minister. (Wikipedia; Mark Twain)

Summary: During the time that California was stuck in between Union and Confederate ideals, it must have truly been difficult for Twain. What made things more difficult was the fact that most, if not all of his family supported the Union; while he probably had sympathy for the South, making him a Copperhead. It isn't the fact that he did not want to agree with his family, but the fact that he was once a militiaman for the Confederate Army.

Personal Opinion: So with Twain being a supporter of Civil Rights and penning "Huckleberry Finn" is it possible that he was trying to gain points as well as make a good name for himself for future generations to remember him by? I do not think so, I mean just because someone fought for the Confederate Army does not make them a bad person. What about the people who were forced to fight for North Korea who were supporters of the South during the Korean War? Just because they fought for the North, does it make them bad? Remember, some of them were forced to fight, and that goes for soldiers in the Confederate army. If Twain had feelings towards the South, it probably was not because he was a staunch supporter, but it could have been sympathy. Like it was stated in the Tahoe book, Twain was not born an anti-racist, he was made into one. The idea could go before the Civil War, Twain could not have been a racist, but was possibly made into one. It's kind of like going off that idea that John Locke had regarding people being neither good or bad, but shaped into that and taking the environment they grow up in into account.

Muir in Tahoe

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Muir Tahoe Journal

Author Quote: "Then in 1888, Muir's wife, Louie, deeply concerned for her husband's health, finally forced him out of the house for a long-overdue mountain vacation. Soon he found himself traveling in the company of a handful of other naturalists, painters, and literary men, camping and tramping along the shores of Lake Tahoe. More than two decades had elapsed since his first arrival in California, back in 1867. What a difference two decades make." (Lankford 147)

Internet Quote: "Muir threw himself into the preservationist role with great vigor. He envisioned the Yosemite area and the Sierra as pristine lands.^[28] He saw the greatest threat to the Yosemite area and the Sierra to be livestock, especially domestic sheep, calling them "hoofed locusts." In June 1889, the influential associate editor of Century magazine, Robert Underwood Johnson, camped with Muir in Tuolumne Meadows and saw firsthand the damage a large flock of sheep had done to the grassland. Johnson agreed to publish any article Muir wrote on the subject of excluding livestock from the Sierra high country. He also agreed to use his influence to introduce a bill to Congress to make the Yosemite area into a national park, modeled after Yellowstone National Park." (Wikipedia; John Muir)

Summary: Muir began to get sick and tired of living out the same routines day by day. This is why his wife told him to go and take a break from his work and home life, and pursue his dreams out in the wilderness. Had this not happened, then his influences to have national parks created might not have been possible.

Personal Opinion: What I find ironic is that Muir's wife told him to go out into the world in order to get better. Yet isn't it that in order to get better, one must stay inside; since disease, natural disasters, and dangerous individuals lurk out in the free world? Yet despite the irony, I do believe that had Muir not gone outside into the world, not only would he have gotten sick, but the future would have become sick; and the world we live in today might have been drastically different. For one, the national parks we have today such as Yosemite probably would not seem as majestic as it is. Yet even if Muir had not come along, is it possible that there could have been another person just like him who could have influenced Congress into passing legislation to ensure the beauty of national parks for the future? I mean, Theodore Roosevelt lived his life out in the wilderness, and the group of men he took up San Juan Hill in Cuba were called the "Rough Riders" which could seem to be a comparison of his love of roughing it in the wilderness. Yet even with Roosevelt's love of the wilderness, isn't it that Muir's passion influenced him? In the end, I think that even with the irony in Muir getting better by going out and exploring the world, it is truth. It is possible that if we go out and explore not only the world, we will be able to explore ourselves and live outside of the norm and ignore the routines of our quotidian lives. We may not become the next John Muir, but there is inspiration out in the world; and I think that Muir's greatest gift and lasting legacy was not the National parks left behind, but the message of being able to find one's self in the wild. If we can live a little like Muir, the things we could possibly accomplish could be phenomenal.

Assimilating to the standard

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Sui Sin Far Journal

Author Quote: "She withdrew for a moment--it seemed like an hour to the mother--then she reappeared leading by the hand a little boy dressed in blue cotton overalls and white -soled shoes. The little boy's face was round and dimpled and his eyes were very bright.

'Little one, ah, my Little One!' cried Lae Choo.

She fell on her knees and stretched her hungry arms toward her son.

But the Little One shrunk from her and tried to hide himself in the folds of the white woman's skirt.

'Go'way, go'way!' he bade his mother. (Sui Sin Far 886)

Internet Quote: "While working as a legal secretary she continued to write and although her appearance and manners would have allowed her to easily pass as an Englishwoman, she asserted her Chinese heritage and wrote articles that told what life was like for a Chinese woman in white America. First published in 1896, her fictional stories about Chinese Americans were a reasoned appeal for her society's acceptance of working-class Chinese at a time when the United States Congress maintained the Chinese Exclusion Act, which banned Chinese immigration to the United States." (Wikipedia; Sui Sin Far)

Summary: As Lae Choo picked up her son from the place her son was being detained, she did not stop to think that the possibility that her son wouldn't recognize her never crossed her mind. In the end, her own son did not want to be part of her life, and told her to just leave him where he was staying.

Personal Opinion: The sad thing about this story isn't the fact that the child doesn't recognize his mother, but the fact that by being away from his parents and with the Americans, he loses himself and his culture daily. I think that this is a struggle that many Asian-American children go through each day. Being able to distinguish the difference between being Asian and American. If anything, the thing that defines them is the hyphen between Asian and American. The pro in all this is that The Little One would not have a problem in knowing what exactly he would be if he did not go back with Lae choo. The only struggle would be knowing that his skin tone and face are different from his white counterparts. I mean in just a short amount of time he was able to identify who his mother was and tell her to "go'way". This shows that the mother had already lost her son to American culture. If anything, I think it is a tragedy that the children of immigrants lose their culture, even today. It is hard being able to live by the American Standard and Asian Standard. That is why I think that Asian-American children are unique in the sense that they have to battle between two cultures, as opposed to European-American children in which their cultures are somewhat similar to American culture, so assimilation would not be as difficult. So in a sense, would these European-American children be "hyphenated"? Or is it only Asian-American children? That hyphen is unique, once Asian-American individuals can find the balance, they do not have to associate themselves as being Asian, American, or Asian-American, but find the beauty in saying that they are the hyphen that brings Asian and American together into one.

The Chinese Influence on Lake Tahoe

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Maxine Hong Kingston Tahoe Journal

Author Quote: "The men were first carefully lowered down the sheer faces of the cliffs in woven wicker baskets, something like human Spidermen suspended at the ends of long ropes. Dangling wildly out over empty space, they would light long fuses to set off the explosive charges they had carried down the cliff face with them, thereby blasting out a thin shelf across the vertical walls of granite for the iron rails to cling to. As soon as the fuses were lit, the basketmen would signal those waiting to haul them back up the cliff to safety. At least that was the plan. (Lankford 228-229)

Internet Quote: "Chinese labor was suggested, as they had already helped build the California Central Railroad, the railroad from Sacramento to Marysville and the San Jose Railway. Originally thought to be too small to complete such a momentous task, Charles Crocker of Central Pacific pointed out, "the Chinese made the Great Wall, didn't they?" (http://cprr.org/Museum/Chinese.html; Chinese-American contribution to transcontinental railroad)

Summary: The passage shows the type of hardships the Chinese laborers endured as they built the transcontinental railroad, especially in the Sierras. They would put their lives on the line daily by doing such tasks as dangling over a cliff and loading dynamite into the side of the mountain, and only hoping that they would be pulled up in time before the explosion. It goes to show how much a Caucasian at the time valued the life of someone who was not white, and if anything, less than human.

Personal Opinion: With the views of a Chinese person's life at the time, I honestly believe that these hardships have influenced Chinese society today. As Charles Crocker pointed out saying that the Chinese had made The Great Wall, that itself did not come without a massive loss of life. With the loss of so many Chinese lives, I personally think that this could be one of the reasons of why China today has such a big population. Overtime, with the loss of so many Chinese men, the idea of being able to carry on one's name is something of great importance. Yet with such determination, I think it is feats like this that makes China a world power today. If anything, you could say that it is irony in the sense that with the debt that the United States has accumulated with China, that in the near future, that it could be possible that the people of our country could become the "railroad" workers in which debt to China would be repaid.

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Ambrose Bierce Journal

Author Quote: "Peyton Farquhar was dead; his body, with a broken neck, swung gently from side to side beneath the timbers of the Owl Creek Bridge." (Bierce 366)

Internet Quote: "Set during the American Civil War, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is the story of Peyton Farquhar, a Confederate sympathizer condemned to death by hanging upon the Owl Creek Bridge of the title. The main character finds himself already bound at the bridge's edge at the beginning of the story. It is later revealed that a disguised Union scout enlisted him to attempt to demolish the bridge, and subsequently he was caught in the act." (Wikipedia; An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge)

Summary: When Farquhar was caught at the bridge he was supposed to demolish; it was set up that he was going to die by hanging. Although right before he died, his life apparently flashed before his eyes; and the fantasy of escaping from the hanging and ultimately seeing his family once again appeared. Although it seems he successfully escaped, it was only a fantasy that happened right before his neck snapped. In the end he died, and was unable to escape his fate; death by hanging.

Personal Opinion: I think that the final sentence of the story summarizes the overall effect that Bierce wanted to get across towards the audience. I personally believe that Farquhar's body swinging along the bridge represents time, as if it were some kind of pendulum. In a sense, the swinging body could serve as symbolism of Bierce letting time drag on, giving the reader hope that Farquhar would survive, yet in the end it's as if the plank was pulled from under the reader's feet and we were along with Farquhar all along and we fell victim to the truth. Yet with how Bierce portrays Farquhar's body "swinging gently from side to side" it's as if he was trying to say that before Farquhar died, he was able to get peace by being able to see his wife one last time before he ultimately died.

Endless Possibilities

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

Dickinson Journal Number 2

March 17 2011

Author Quote: "The brain is deeper than the sea-For - hold them - Blue to Blue - The one the other will absorb - As Sponges - Buckets - do -" (Dickinson 88; Poem 598)

Internet Source: "Dickinson spent seven years at the Academy, taking classes in English and classical literature, Latin, botany, geology, history, "mental philosophy," andarithmetic.^[19] Daniel Taggart Fiske, the school's principal at the time, would later recall that Dickinson was "very bright" and "an excellent scholar, of exemplary deportment, faithful in all school duties".^[20] Although she had a few terms off due to illness—the longest of which was in 1845–1846, when she was only enrolled for eleven weeks^[21]—she enjoyed her strenuous studies, writing to a friend that the Academy was "a very fine school"." (Wikipedia; Emily Dickinson)

Summary: Dickinson pretty much states that the brain is a very unique organ in the sense that despite it's size, it is able to store and absorb information that could possibly fill a sky-scraper. What she means by "buckets" is that information can easily leave an individuals brain or be forgotten if not used for a while, or when the "bucket is full".

Personal Opinion: What I find fascinating, is just like Dickinson, I find the brain to be a fascinating organ as well. The mere fact that it can store so much information is just amazing. However the question I want to ask is, "Can information or memories really be forgotten?" Or does it take a lot to just remember that "forgotten" information? Is the brain truly like a bucket that can only hold so much information; and eventually has to "toss" the excess water or memories in order to store new ones? I personally do not think that is possible. If anything, I think that the brain becomes a bucket when an individual becomes older when such illnesses as Alzheimers disease settles in. If anything, the brain will always remain to be like an endless sponge, and only can become a bucket when illness settles in.

Contradiction: Science and Christianty

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B
Emily Dickinson Journal

March 15, 2011

Author Quote: " 'Faith' is a fine invention, For Gentlemen who see! But microscopes are prudent, In an Emergency!" (Dickinson 80)

Internet Quote: "In 1845, a religious revival took place in Amherst, resulting in 46 confessions of faith among Dickinson's peers.^[26] Dickinson wrote to a friend the following year: "I never enjoyed such perfect peace and happiness as the short time in which I felt I had found my savior."^[27] She went on to say that it was her "greatest pleasure to commune alone with the great God & to feel that he would listen to my prayers."^[27] The experience did not last: Dickinson never made a formal declaration of faith and attended services regularly for only a few years.^[28] After her church-going ended, about 1852, she wrote a poem opening: "Some keep the Sabbath going to Church – / I keep it, staying at Home"." (Wikipedia; Emily Dickinson)

Summary: Dickinson states that religion and faith is an invention of man. If anything, religion is used more for guidance as opposed to allowing it to actually fully consume your life. Yet despite the contradictions the two views of religion and science may have towards each other; even for the most religious individual, when it actually boils down it, science is what saves their life in the long run. So even if someone is very religious, in the long run they have to turn to science to ultimately save their lives.

Personal opinion: I do not think that science and religion have to butt heads. If anything, I believe that the two can actually go together. As seen in the Da Vinci code novels by Dan Brown, many of the ideas of science and religion are proven to coincide with each other; and despite the stories being works of fiction, the ideas logically come together and are possible. What makes religion amazing is that faith is more of a guidance and could be a way of life. Yet it is those who live on the extreme ends of faith who make people doubt their own religions; like the people who denounce Christmas stating that "If you believe in Christmas, you will go to Hell!" It is people who live to those extreme measures and do not believe in science, are the ones who ultimately die due to sickness, not being allowed to accept science. Science is a great thing, it has allowed people to live longer, as well as advanced modern society. So two great things that contradict, is it possible to allow them to coincide together? The answer is yes, you just have to know how to balance the two ideas.

An amalgam of religions

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B
March 10 2011

Whitman Journal (Song of myself)

Author quote: "I do not despise you priests, all time, the world over,
My faith is the greatest of faiths and the least of faiths,

Enclosing worship ancient and modern and all between ancient and modern," (Whitman 66. Section 43)

Internet Quote: "To Whitman, the self is both individual and universal. Man has an individual self, whereas the world, or cosmos, has a universal or cosmic self." (Analysis of Song of Myself. Cliffsnotes.com)

Summary: Whitman pretty much states that he does not hate Catholicism, Buddhism, or Islam. For that matter, he accepts all religions, and eventually the religion he founds hopes to be an amalgamation of all religions, ranging from the beginning of time up until modern times.

Personal Opinion: I think that Whitman truly wanted to not necessarily have a religion where all religions are fused together into one following. For that matter, I think that he just wanted people of different faiths to get along. Throughout time Jews were persecuted, Christians, and Muslims. As great as it sounds to be unified under one religion, I think that what Whitman wanted for people was to be able to practice their own religion without having the fear of being persecuted or attacked. It's possible that he painted this perfect world where everyone could get a long and possibly live together without war. If anything, Whitman's words could serve as a foundation for the future of world peace? The idea of world peace today seems like a "child's dream" but if we can just understand what Whitman was possibly thinking when he wrote this, then just maybe the idea of World Peace is not impossible? A unified religion could be nice, but for people of different races, religions, and creeds to be able to live together peacefully is truly amazing.

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

March 8 2011

Whitman Journal

Author Quote: : "I too many and many a time cross'd the river of old, Watched the Twelfth-month sea-gulls, saw them high in the air floating with motionless wings, oscillating their bodies, Saw how the glistening yellow lit up parts of their bodies and left the rest in strong shadow." (Whitman 22)

Internet Quote: It describes the ferry trip across the East River from Manhattan to Brooklyn. The poem specifically addresses future readers who will look back on it, and the ferry ride, years hence. (Wikipedia Search Crossing Brooklyn Ferry)

Summary: Whitman pretty much reminisces on the days he would ride the Brooklyn Ferry and would see many things. One thing he describes is the seagulls and how majestic they seemed to be; even in the cold.

Personal Opinion: I think that when Whitman reminisces and discusses the birds that he sees, I think that it serves as more than a description of what one could witness when riding on the Brooklyn Ferry even today. I think that the birds he reminisces on serves as his youth and how he once was. As children we tend to be more free and do not have a care in the world of our surroundings; the only thing that really matters to us is that we live our lives without any worry. I think that Whitman is expressing the longing for his youth in which he possibly sees himself as being the seagull, free. As stated in the internet quote, Whitman wrote the poem for future generations, and it is possibly a message saying that we should always enjoy our youth and very lives; and never take it for granted.

The fall of masculinity

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B

March 3rd 2011

Journal for writings on Chopin

Author Quote: "As a girl, Kate was surrounded by the voices of women--from her grandmother to the Sacred Heart Nuns, to her best friend Kitty Garesche. Many of the voices spoke French, some of them exclusively. The deep, blustering voices dominated most nineteenth-century households were absent from the O'Flaherty/Faris/Charleville home. It was the world of a woman" (Toth 10)

Author Quote: A case can be made then - in writing "Her Letters" Chopin undoubtedly borrowed a great deal from the French 'master', engaging herself in a degree of imitation. Even the opening of the story, which centres not on the male protagonist but on his wife, is reminiscent of Maupassant's frequent use of the technique of narrative framing, beginning his stories as he does, Edward Sullivan explains, with preliminary discussions or scenes which serve to introduce the main action (p.12). Further to this, the wife is established as providing motivation for his madness. Her actions drive him into the state of insanity which ends, ultimately, in self-annihilation, and nothing could be more Maupassantian in terms of treatment of women than such portrayal of the feminine threat to man. Donaldson-Evans further elaborates this point, exposing the way in which Maupassant continually constructs his heroes' involvement with sensual women as terrifying experiences, resulting even in death; in Maupassant's androcentric world women become the cause of male demise (p.16). (Paragraph 12 Subverting)

Internet Quote: Not many writers during the mid to late 19th century were bold enough to address subjects that Chopin willingly took on. Although David Chopin, her grandson, claims "Kate was neither a feminist nor a suffragist, she said so. She was nonetheless a woman who took women extremely seriously. She never doubted women's ability to be strong".^[8] Despite this fact, there is no question regarding where Kate Chopin's sympathies lay: with the individual in the context of his and her personal life and society. (Kate Chopin, Wikipedia)

Summary: In the first chapter of Unveiling Kate Chopin, we learn of Chopin's life growing up in St. Louis. We learn that from a young age, Chopin did not know her father since he died while she was away at boarding school when she was only five years old. From that point, we learn that she was raised by many women, from her nanny (Mammy), great grandmother, mother, etc. From the "Subverting" reading, we learn that Kate was a feminist, yet the fact is contradicted by her grandson who states that she was not. But from what we've seen from her various writings, the truth is that Chopin was a feminist.

Personal Opinion: I myself believe that Chopin was a feminist. There is no wrong in standing up for what you believe in. Yet I think it is a little too much to say that women are the cause of a man's demise. I honestly think that what can cause a man to fall is their ego. I mean, I myself have fallen victim to my ego, and lost a great girlfriend because of that, yet I was too prideful to state the obvious. I think that with the time of when Chopin was alive, was when women were not allowed to vote, or even work a decent job such as being a lawyer or doctor. If anything I believe that feminism back then was something that was justified, as opposed to modern feminism today where it seems that bashing the male gender is what is the right thing to do. I honestly do not think that Chopin tried to make the male gender the victim in her writings, I just think that she tried to show the world through a French/Southern/Creole woman's point of view and the possible struggles that woman could have faced at the time. Women are not the cause of man's demise, it's their ego.

Kate Chopin: Part 2

Francis Espiritu

ENGL 48B
March 2, 2011

Chopin Journal

Author Quote: "'Good by, because, I love you.' He did not know; he did not understand. He would never understand. Perhaps Doctor Mandeler would have understood if she had seen him, bit it was too late; the shore was far behind her, and her strength was gone" (Chopin 625).

Internet Quote: "Edna is devastated. She goes immediately back to Grand Isle, where she first met Robert Lebrun. It is also where she learned to swim earlier in the novel, an episode that was both exhilarating and terrifying, and an episode that perfectly encapsulated the conflicting emotions she wrestled with during the course of the novel. The novel ends with Edna allowing herself to be overtaken by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico" (Wikipedia; The Awakening)

Summary: Edna swims out into the ocean thinking about everything from her marriage to Leonce Pontellier and her children, to her father. Yet ultimately the final thing she thinks of is Robert and the note he left her inside the Pigeon House. She pretty much feels that Robert would never understand her, and with that she eventually grows tired and is washed away by the ocean tides.

Personal Opinion: I believe that Edna shouldn't have gone into the water. If she could have seen Robert's view on their relationship, then hopefully she would have understood what he was trying to do. I don't think that he was being selfish or playing hard to get with her. If anything, I think that he was showing her that he loved her to the point that he was doing what was best for the both of them. I was once told that "True love is being able to let go of that person" and with that I think that he was showing her true love. Yet I believe that with their "cultural differences", Edna being a "Conservative" Southern Belle, and Robert being a Creole, I think that they tried to act the way the other assumed they would act. Robert tried to be the Conservative, and Edna tried to be like other Creole women, yet ultimately it was that misunderstanding that brought Edna to her death.

Secret Lovers...how can something so wrong, seem so right?

Francis Espiritu

3.1.2011

ENGL-48B
Journal For Chopin

Author Quote: "No multitude of words could have been more significant than those moments of silence, or more pregnant with the first-felt throbbings of desire." (Chopin 558)

Internet Source: The novel's protagonist. The wife of Leonce and the mother of two boys, she is presented as a complex and emotionally dynamic character (a rarity for female characters of the period).^[1] Her "awakening" forms the core of the plot. (Wikipedia.com, "The Awakening)

Summary: It is up to this point in the story where it seems that the climax of Robert and Edna's relationship has come. However, rather than engaging in some kind of beastly love making ritual, and confessing their feelings for each other; something else is shown. The mood is engulfed in Edna's Southern Conservatism and Robert's portrayal of what a true Southern Gentleman is supposed to be like, respectful.

Personal Opinion: I'll be blunt, I personally think that the two should just confess their feelings for one another and just do what they think is right. But overall, I think that the tension between the two is what makes the story in itself dynamic. You have the classic story of the young man who falls in love with the married woman and vice-versa, and even to this day as taboo as the subject may be, it is still a central theme for many love stories and movies that we may see. Yet is it really wrong to fall in love with someone else while you apparently "love" another? Overall, it isn't since feelings do tend to change, but ethically it is wrong since Rachel is married. What is even more ironic is the fact that being from the South, where Christianity is a big part of life, they seem to disregard two of the ten commandments, "Thou shall not commit adultery" and "Though shall not covet thy neighbor's wife".