Was Odysseus too harsh on Eurycleia?

Eurycleia is first first excited and happy when she finds out that the beggar is actually Odysseus, but Odysseus gets a little rough. Odysseus threatened to kill her if she didn't stay quiet about it actually being him, “I’ll tell you this and I swear I’ll do it: If, with heaven’s help, I subdue the suitors, I will not spare you-even if you are my nurse-When I kill the other women in the hall.” (Homer 305). Odysseus is worried that if Eurycleia told someone that the beggar was actually him, his whole plan would be ruined. I think Odysseus could have been a bit harsh, considering that she raised him and was his nurse ever since he was born. I understand what he was thinking because he hadn't been there or seen her for 20 years, but I still think he could've had a little more trust in her. He was just trying to keep his plan a secret and was making sure it was clear no one could find out. He is just trying to be careful with his plan, so I think some people could say he was being way too harsh, but other people would think otherwise.

Weaving in "The Odyssey"

I think weaving had a very interesting part in The Odyssey. There were multiple occasions where women were weaving in the book, but one in particular really stood out to me. I thought a really important example was when Telemachus said to his mother, "You should go back upstairs and take care of your work, spinning and weaving, and have the maids do theirs." I think this example really shows how the women really were meant to do household things as a stereotypical woman would. Another example was when Penelope told the suitors she would marry them when she was done weaving a robe. "Everyday she would weave at the great loom, and every night she would unleavened by torchlight." I think this example really conveys again, how one of their main jobs was to do what a typical women would and just wait around the house and let the man do all of the really important powerful things.

Telemachus' role in "The Odyssey"

I think that Telemachus has a very strong, important role in The Odyssey. I think that Telemachus is a super brave, intelligent, and charming character in the story. The way he grew up not knowing his father and having a depressed mother, then went on a crazy journey to try to find Odysseus is just baffling to me and really shows his courage. I see Telemachus going on this journey as kind of following in Odysseus' foot steps. By going on that journey, he is really showing how he is a true leader as prince and one day king. Telemachus is an extremely well thought out character and adds a lot to the story with his way of doing things. He is such an amazing son to Odysseus and Penelope, no matter how hard things were, I think he always knew what to do.

What interested me in the "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was really interesting. I thought it was amazing how it gave an insight into the real life and the real story of a slave during the slavery times. One thing that really stood out to me was how he acted throughout the book. Even though he was being treated completely unfairly and had no rights, he stayed somewhat calm about it. It was all he knew and it was the way he had lived forever. I just can't imagine growing up not knowing who I am feeling like I have no purpose. I really liked this book and really liked the story of Frederick Douglass' very interesting journey.

Why is the ability to read and write a statement about freedom?

October 23, 2016
I think the ability to read and write has a lot to do with someone's freedom. I think it relates directly to freedom of speech, if a person cannot write, I feel it really takes away part of their freedom of speech because they are not always able to speak their mind. Freedom of speech is so important, such an important right to have and it seems that when you can't write, it is somewhat diminished. The ability to read and write could lead to so many opportunities, opportunities people would not be able to have because they are so restricted from knowledge. Another way I see it is that reading and writing could be an escape for some people. It could be an outlet to get away, once again taking away their freedom and sense of independence. The freedom of people really traces back to many things, but I feel that being able to read and write could potentially give someone much more freedom.

How can slave families being separated affect the master and the slaves?

October 16, 2016
In the beginning of "A Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass" he talks a lot about who slaves are separated from their families a a very one age. In the beginning of the book, he talks a lot about how he him being separated from his mom as a young child really affected him. I think that slave masters would do this to try to keep all emotion from their slaves so they could potentially work harder. This could benefit the masters because since the slaves wouldn't have a real emotional connection, they wouldn't be distracted from doing their task. I think this could have really taken a toll on the slaves. It could really make the slaves feel detached or misplaced, almost as if they have no meaning, keeping in mind this is what the slave masters are wanting. In the book, Frederick Douglass talks about how it was hard for him having to grow up like his mother was a stranger to him.

“Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld” by Camille Corot

October 16, 2016

The piece of work I chose to write about was the painting “Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld” by Camille Corot. It was made in 1861 in France, which is in the era I've been studying, Romanticism. This painting was made towards the end of the Romantic Era but it is still extremely easy for me to see many characteristics from the era. The first characteristic is romanticism or emotion, in the painting it seems like a couple and just right when I saw it it reminded me of emotion and romanticism. The other characteristic is nature, this painting seems as it is in the woods, with lots of trees and nature surrounding them. Nature is a big characteristic in Romanticism and many of the poems have some sort of relation to nature. I could really easily see the similarities between the two and I think it’s really interesting how they are from the same time and are so similar.

How can sound devices affect a poem?

Poison Tree by William Blake

I was angry with my friend; 

I told my wrath, my wrath did end. 

I was angry with my foe: 

I told it not, my wrath did grow. 

And I waterd it in fears, 

Night & morning with my tears: 

And I sunned it with smiles, 

And with soft deceitful wiles. 

And it grew both day and night. 

Till it bore an apple bright. 

And my foe beheld it shine, 

And he knew that it was mine. 

And into my garden stole, 

When the night had veild the pole; 

In the morning glad I see; 

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

    

Many poems use forms of rhyming or other sound devices to create meaning or depth in the poem. In Poison tree by William Blake he uses a couplet pattern of rhyming in the poem. For me personally I think this really creates meaning because it makes you stop and think about what's going on because you think about the rhymes. I think it adds to the way that the reader could read and interpret the poem. For instance this poem has a couplet pattern which could make the rhythm you read it different.

A lot of poems written in the Romanticism Era have reference to nature, as well as this one in the end. Romanticism originated during the end of the 18th century, I think that this really showed through the poem and the way it’s written. 

"Phenomenal Woman" by Maya Angelou

September 22, 2016
Choose one of the poems that we have studied in your reader, and analyze the title. How does this title relate to the rest of the poem, and how does it create meaning?
“Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou is about standards of women and what she thinks about them in relation to herself and other women. The title of the poem has to do with the message she is trying to convey through the piece, that every woman is phenomenal no matter what they look like. I think one of the reasons why this is the title of the poem is because it is repeated and stressed so much throughout the work while it also has so much meaning behind it. Throughout the poem and the different stanzas, she makes references to how phenomenal any type of woman can be, not only the ones that fit into society’s beauty standards. Then at the end of each stanza, she says “I am a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me.” I feel that her saying this at the end of every stanza really puts power into it. It really makes you think and really gets you emotional about what she’s trying to say and puts a lot of meaning into what she is saying. I overall think this is a wonderful and inspirational poem and the title really fits the poem and the message.

How can enjambment affect a poem?

September 18, 2016
In "We Real Cool," Gwendolyn Brooks uses the poetic element of enjambment. Why do you think she does this, and how does it affect the meaning of the poem?

Enjambment plays a very big part in this poem. It changes the whole flow of the reader, it makes the way you read it much different from a “normal” poem because of it’s layout. This poem’s layout makes you read it much more fast and abrupt way, which could have great effect on it’s meaning. The enjambment in the poem makes you think the story is going much faster and also makes me think more about what is going on. This also makes me think much more about the difference in things that are happening and different things they are doing. Since the tempo I was reading the poem was very fast, I thought about the meaning as once you leave school in the beginning of the poem, everything in your life moves very fast after that until you die in the end of the poem. The enjambment in this poem makes it seem much more powerful and appealing because it is something you don’t see as often. This poem makes you really think about what the writer is trying to say because of the way it is written.

What is the difference between the speaker of the poem and the poet?

September 14, 2016
What is the difference between the speaker of the poem and the poet, and why is it important to understand this distinction?
    Something that many people can get mixed up in poetry is the speaker of the poem and the poet, yet they are two very different things. People usually think about the poet when they think of who is speaking the poem, where in some cases they could be right, but not all the time. Part of poetry is the way that the poem is being conveyed, reading between the lines. Many times, poets could be writing a poem from a person’s perspective that is not their own. Even though the poet will always know the true real meaning of the poem, usually there are ways the poem is written to be able to find out what kind of person the speaker is, although sometimes much more vague than others. This is a very important thing to understand in poetry because in certain situations, if you’re reading a poem assuming it’s being spoken by the poet, you could completely miss the true meaning of the poem. Poetry is all about emotion and if you read a poem assuming or not knowing who the speaker is, you won’t be able to feel the intended emotion being conveyed by the poet.

IHSS HMNS Amazon Exhibit

September 14, 2016

    We saw the Amazonian exhibit at the HMNS for IHSS on Monday. The Amazonian exhibit is about different tribes that live in the Amazon. THere was a lot of different information on the tribes and their way of life, but one thing that interested me the most were their rituals. There are so many different tribes with so many generations of rituals and traditions having to do with so many different things.

    One of the rituals that stood out most to me was the Wayana Apalai’s coming of age ceremony (Marake). This ceremony is where kunana (grasses weaved together with wasps and bullet ants) are made to use to sting young children. These strips will be pressed against the children’s skin, stinging them multiple times. They hold this ceremony multiple times throughout their childhood where at the last one they are expected to get through it without any sign of pain. Once they can do that, they are considered adults, and are able to go into their adult roles with adult responsibilities.

When I first heard this I was completely shocked and thought it was totally crazy, but this is their culture and their way of life which just shows how different it is from what we think as “normal”. All of these cultures have things that people from different countries would think are the most outrageous traditions and customs but they have such a rich and in depth culture that it's just totally normal for them.

Another ritual I found very interesting was the Yanomamö people's way of dealing with the dead. They bury the people that have died with leaves, then wait for bugs and animals to eat all of their flesh so they decompose to the point where it’s just bones. Once they have the bones, they burn the bones into ashes. Once a year, on the anniversary of the person’s death, they make a banana soup and sprinkle the ashes on the top. They do this every year until the ashes run out, so they are literally eating the dead person’s bones. This is another good example of the total difference in culture that we have. 

There are many other rituals, such as head shrinking which is a very well known one for its craziness. A few different tribes would practice this but the last one known to was the Shuar tribe. How this worked was they would decapitate someone that they considered “an enemy”, so pretty much everyone. Once they decapitated them they would take their heads. While running away from the people of the person’s head they took, they had this big process to shrink their head. First, they would cut it open and get everything out till there's just skin. Then they would fill it with hot water and big rocks, soon after refilling with smaller rocks, again and again, till they eventually get to sand. They would do this because they considered it good luck when fighting because they have the heads and the souls of people they have defeated around their waist. 

I really enjoyed this exhibit and found it very interesting. I was amazed at the difference of our cultures and how theirs is so secluded in a way. In the past few years they have modernized a bit, with things like watches, more modern clothes, etc. Yet they still have their original culture in them which I find fascinating.