"Alas! Why does man boast of sensibilities superior to those apparent in the brute? --it only renders them more necessary beings. If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us." -Frankenstein, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Hello folks! Well, this is me finishing a post I started several days ago. I'm also doing it at a time when I am slightly sleep deprived. Usually, I'd put this off 'til later. However, I feel like that if I don't produce something of effort and worth before midnight then my weekend has been a total waste of, well, everything. That being said, let us discuss the above quote from whom many the Grandmother of Science Fiction.
Why would beasts be considered free? It seems more natural to think that they are the ones chained. They are the ones unable rise above basic instincts and desires. It is homo sapiens, not any other creature, that decided to begin stocking up on food and build the complex civilizations that we have. Are we not free to perform higher level thinking? To create and compare and analyze and argue?
Or has our freedom simply wrought newer chains?
As with many things, perhaps the answer lies in that grey category of Yes&No. Yes, we are free of our basic instinct, but it seems that by having a broader horizon we open ourselves to be influenced more. We become subject to such a thing as sentimentality. We begin to show emotion and to interact with our emotions, but is it correct to say we are "necessary beings" because of it?
What are your thoughts?
As for me, I believe that it is all in how look at it. A simple man or woman may consider himself or herself the intellectual's/artist's/whatever-other-synonyms's better because his or her life is, well, simple. They aren't necessarily moved by an essay or poem or any other piece of art. They just may have no interest in it. Vice-versa, the intellectual/artist/whatever-other-synonyms might consider his or herself the better of the simple person because they have 'risen above' the basic necessities of existence and are free to have such experiences. It seems as if it is all in perspective.
(Finished before 12:00! [Actually, I didn't. I forgot to give it a proper title.])
You should probably keep this post at hand. I have a feeling it will be spurring other posts, even if only to comment on the actual post and not the content.
Thanks for reading! Once again, I implore you to leave a comment! Start a discussion!
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literature. Show all posts
03 March 2013
28 November 2012
On "A Wagner Matinee" by Willa Cather
Hmm... two posts in one day? (don't get used to such spoiling)
My sixth period class consists of an Adv. English course that includes but is not limited to American Literature. We've currently reached the end of the first part of unit four (Realism & Regionalism)*, and today we read what I dare say is a most memorable tale. I highly recommend reading it because my skills at summarizing are not yet adequate enough to showcased in public. The link is below.
==PAUSE FOR LITERATURE==
Assuming you've read this, is it not one of the most moving and memorable stories you have ever read? Cather does a supreme job at conveying the bittersweet beauty of the moment. Oh, we are lifted to the highest triumphant when our protagonist is reintroduced to that universal Beauty, that angelic entity which truly transcends the mundane. And after rising so far, we fall even deeper with the realization that it is a fleeting moment. The show soon ends, and everyone leaves. In a short while, Georgiana's business in Boston, and soon she will leave Boston. Again, she will be forced to say good-bye that sweet Substance.
For most, especially teenagers, I'm not sure they could fully understand Georgiana's loss. If we wish to listen to music or experience most things, we can get it via the Internet (also/formerly CDs and radio and television). I'm no expert of economics, but it seems to usually be true that the more there is of something, the value attributed to it goes down. With the gargantuan amount of information we find online, too many loose sight of the trees for the forest.
How do combat this? How do we fight this epidemic. Simple: Learn to appreciate. Stop and listen to that music, examine that painting, etc. Who say's it even has to be within the realm of the arts? Whatever your "in to," whatever stirs your soul, grasp it. Run with it.
Until next time (however short or long),
Jesse Byron,
a fellow human
*NOTE: My school uses the text American Literature which is published by McGraw-Hill Glencoe. Personally, I think the curriculum is absolutely brilliant.
My sixth period class consists of an Adv. English course that includes but is not limited to American Literature. We've currently reached the end of the first part of unit four (Realism & Regionalism)*, and today we read what I dare say is a most memorable tale. I highly recommend reading it because my skills at summarizing are not yet adequate enough to showcased in public. The link is below.
==PAUSE FOR LITERATURE==
Assuming you've read this, is it not one of the most moving and memorable stories you have ever read? Cather does a supreme job at conveying the bittersweet beauty of the moment. Oh, we are lifted to the highest triumphant when our protagonist is reintroduced to that universal Beauty, that angelic entity which truly transcends the mundane. And after rising so far, we fall even deeper with the realization that it is a fleeting moment. The show soon ends, and everyone leaves. In a short while, Georgiana's business in Boston, and soon she will leave Boston. Again, she will be forced to say good-bye that sweet Substance.
For most, especially teenagers, I'm not sure they could fully understand Georgiana's loss. If we wish to listen to music or experience most things, we can get it via the Internet (also/formerly CDs and radio and television). I'm no expert of economics, but it seems to usually be true that the more there is of something, the value attributed to it goes down. With the gargantuan amount of information we find online, too many loose sight of the trees for the forest.
How do combat this? How do we fight this epidemic. Simple: Learn to appreciate. Stop and listen to that music, examine that painting, etc. Who say's it even has to be within the realm of the arts? Whatever your "in to," whatever stirs your soul, grasp it. Run with it.
Until next time (however short or long),
Jesse Byron,
a fellow human
Story found on: http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/1945/
*NOTE: My school uses the text American Literature which is published by McGraw-Hill Glencoe. Personally, I think the curriculum is absolutely brilliant.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)