Monster Mittens

Revealing of Concealment

It is important to try and understand the demons that existed through slavery by reading the stories of former slaves who survived the hardships and torture, yet we hardly come close. While there are many of these tales written by former male slaves, Harriet A. Jacobs presents a different side of the story in her novel Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. Matriarchy and womanhood has everything to do with her novel, especially since the female house slave is often overlooked to focus on the severity of slave field laborers although Jacobs can attest to a similar severity of treatment which was less physical and more psychological. Historically, women have always been forced to conceal themselves in many ways. After a life of concealment, Jacobs reveals her hardships and agonies of slavery defying this ridiculous assumption society creates of the veiling of women. 

The master/slave relationship is the main source of all concealment in Jacobs' book. From the foundational elements of slavery, the master makes the slaves believe that he is good and fair to them, to prevent them from thinking otherwise which may potentially lead to slave rebellion which lies at the base of all fear within the master. The master, Dr. Flint, accepts Linda as his own secret love slave to rid his life and marriage of dullness and to maintain his control and ego. Linda's private home Dr. Flint had built for her is a direct metaphor for concealment from his vindictive wife. Although Linda utilizes it as her own safe haven from encounters with Mrs. Flint, Dr. Flint still demonstrates superiority, barging in whenever he pleases.

Despite all of her concealment, Linda makes one attempt of revealing in hopes it would benefit her own position. Instead when she reveals to Dr. Flint that she is pregnant from another man, it only makes things worse. Flint becomes furious and feels betrayed by someone he held in high respect supposedly. This is the only truthful revealing in the entire story, and proves to be the most mentally destructive event in her life, at least up to this point. In all other tribulations, Linda chooses to conceal the truth which produces less complicated results. 

Jacobs major transition from slavery to freedom demonstrates determination, depravation, ad desperation. Jacobs must hide within the belly of the beast to destroy the beast. In the small loft space above the back room of her grandmother's house, Linda conceals herself there for seven years. From a small peep hole Linda could observe and listen but remained speechless and motionless for her own protection. Imagine the heart wrenching image of a mother forced to watch her only children grow without the love of their mother who remains with them without their knowing. To me, that mental torture would be more to bear than the confines of the space. After seven years with the inability to freely move and exercise one's limbs, Linda's body suffered numerable damages and pain, almost even crippling her. This idea of inflicting physical pain on oneself by confinement conveniently alludes to the age old traditions of woman obtaining physical beauty. These opposing opinions of a similar action mark a dividing line of the upper or middle class whites and the oppressed blacks. 

Jacobs' cautiousness in her concealment was an essential element to her freedom. Even in the letters she had carefully written to Dr. Flint, she created confusion in her concealment, postmarking them from random addresses in New York although she remained very close to him. Flint replies to her letters with a similar level of falsehood, referring to her family members he never even talked to and his family's forgiveness of her actions and hope of her return. So desperately inconceivable are his letters that it is humorous to imagine him actually imagining them working, and Linda returning home expecting a warm welcome. 

Concealment is such a reoccurring theme in Jacobs' novel that it leads us to believe it was the only guarantee of attaining freedom. Surely a huge burden was lifted from Jacobs' spirit when she was able to reveal her history and release her bottled emotions that darkened her childhood and early womanhood. This notion of concealment in relation to slavery may take even a modern standpoint. Society attempts to conceal this infamous treatment of African Americans which impacted history so immensely. With the tension of discrimination the modern white man's consciousness avoids references to historic human oppression, with a feeling of guilt from these irrational acts of his ancestors from a different time. 

RWE

Kassey Pass
F09_DS03- Discussion (S_002)

Introduction

1. The distinction and particular value of anything, or any person, inevitably must alter according to the time and place from which we take our view.
- This very first line of Oliver's introduction specifically reminds me something we recently discussed in my public art class. Given ethnographic field studies, we are sent to different location to simply "observe" what we see. This "act of observing' became a major topic of discussion amongst our class, creating much controversy of what it means to observe. The modernist approach is to consider all aspects of a situation which in many cases, objectifies everything. Yet to an anthropologist of an older observing technique, the goal is to be completely subjective and consider only what is at hand. The fact that Mary Oliver brings up this same idea leads me to believe that it is completely true. Times change and mindsets seem to alter with the seasons, therefore making it sometimes difficult to understand ideas from other times, yet very insightful and revealing.

2. The best use of literature bends not toward the narrow and the absolute but to the extravagant and the possible. Answers are no part of it; rather it is the opinions, the rhapsodic persuasions, the ingrafted logics...
-This statement really makes me ponder my opinions of literature. Over the summer, I wanted to read as many books as I could, yet I could not decide what my reading preference was. I started , without finishing, many fiction stories trying to find what interested me. Giving up hope to find a novel that resonated with me, I considered reading non-fiction, so that I would become more knowledgeable on a certain subject matter. I finally found a popular book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, that really enjoyed. After I had finished the book, I tried to analyze why I had liked it so much, so that I may have some direction for the next time, and I realized that I think it was because so much of the book provided access to the main characters thoughts. Instead of a series of events composing the plot, the author presented an passage for the reader to enter the thoughts and emotions of this vulnerable character. The title itself, alluding to a wallflower suggests a lot of activity going on in this person's mind. Therefore, from my experience, I can definitely attest to great literature coming from one's thoughts, as long as the opinions and ideas are intriguing and relative.

3. ...a young boy, remembers him [Emerson] sitting in the parlor, "legs crossed and-- such was their flexibility-- with one foot hitched behind the other ankle. Leaning forward, elbow on one knee, he faced his guests and held converse..."
- This detail made me laugh. This mention of Emerson's position seems kind of silly, yet it produced a very detailed image in my mind, which I think is really important because it makes me think of Emerson completely differently than what I had presupposed. Seeing someone twisting their legs around each other in such a manner is very uncommon. The only time I can maybe remember seeing this position, it was demonstrated by someone much younger. Though this is hard to explain, in my opinion, someone demonstrating this awkward position makes me believe that they are friendly, humorous, and easy going. It seems that if someone of such high philosophies feels no need to present themselves as proper, they are probably very understanding and eager to share thoughts with you.

4. [on transcendentalism] All the world is taken in through the eye, to reach the soul, where it becomes more, representative of a realm deeper than appearances; a realm ideal and sublime, the deep stillness that is, whose whole proclamation is the silence and the lack of material instance in which, patiently and radiantly, the universe exists.
This idea seems very reoccurring in philosophical texts. I completely understand this theory and even believe I had similar ideas even before I was able to read these classic texts. Yet despite all these historic writings, it remains yet a theory. So why therefore do famous philosophers put so much emphasis and superiority on comprehending the transcendental point of view when really, the most superior of all intellects is that which adopts and considers all theories, knowing that these things may never be proved?

5. The light is always identical in its composition, but it falls on a great variety of objects, and by so falling is first revealed to us, not in its own form, for it is formless, but in theirs; in like manner, thought only appears in the objects it classifies.
- I thought this analogy was really excellent and made a lot of sense to me. Yet the only word I find a problem with is identical. For the sake of the basic analogy, the "identical" or unchanging light refers to the consistency of our thoughts. Yet as an artist, I know that the light is not always identical; that you can change its angle, intensity, distance, etc. Considering this new perspective, our thoughts are NOT always the same. They may actually be ever-changing.

6. Every materialist will be an idealist; but an idealist can never go backward to be a materialist.
-I understand what Emerson means, but I feel as though he's taking this labeling thing too seriously. I may accept and understand these Idealist ways of seeing, yet how can I be classified as one or the other? Even if one considered themselves a true Idealist, what would that mean? that the person blindly stumbles around ignoring all human relations and behaviors, trying to find some portal to escape a materialist's world made up of illusions? Even an Idealist can not escape interacting with this "reality" that materialists focus so heavily on. So what then does an Idealist do that makes them an Idealist or are there any Idealists?

7. His experience inclines him to behold the procession of facts you call the world, as flowing perpetually outward from an invisible, unsounded centre in himself...
-How then, does this idea relate to our attention to relations with one another? It seems that so much of our lives involve our interactions and relations with others. Imagine all people as being empty nothings with imaginary strings attached to our imaginary experiences, which includes connecting strings to other peoples strings. Although all these facts are flowing from each of us, the invisibles, an intricate web of relation would seem to form. So maybe this web allows and reinforces our reality proving that material things may exist even through Idealistic views.

8. Society is good when it does not violate me, but best when it is likest to solitude.
- I simply liked this line, finding it even poetic, particularly by the word choices of "good" and "violate." I agree with Emerson's portrayal of society presented in this quote. It seems as though society serves as that annoying friend that won't stop following you and suggesting your next move. To me, it seems as though society as a whole fears being alone. As a rebel of oppression, I feel as though I try to disprove these misconceptions. When others frantically call friends to accompany them in little errands such as grocery shopping, I am disgusted. Sometimes, I even try to make it known that I am independent and unfearful to be alone. Even when individuals bring attention to an awkward moment of silence in group conversation, I refuse to search for meaningless words, choosing rather to demonstrate how perfectly normal it could be if society wasn't so uncomfortable with themselves.

9. The Buddhist, who thanks no man, who says, "Do not flatter your benefactors," but who, in his conviction that every good deed can by no possibility excape its reward, will not deceive the benefactor by pretending that he has done more than he should, is a Transcendentalist.
-How does this peculiar characteristic of gratitude relate to the other attributes associated with a Transcendentalist?

10. [on the person of solitude] Whoso goes to walk alone, accuses the whole world; he declares all to be unfit to be his companions; it is very uncivil, nay, insulting; Society will retaliate.
- I think the comment of Society (capitalized) retaliating is very humorous in its portrayal of the society's opinion of the individual preferring to be alone. I think it is very upsetting that the herding of sheep has become such an accepted treatment of mankind. How when one sheep gets separated, they freak out and run around in confusion until they are eventually eaten alive by the coyote. This frantic removal from the heard seems much more unbearable than a sheep sneaking away to wonder off into the woods where he discovers new objects of interest that only he can enjoy. Considering this portrayal, it is probably a good thing all the sheep don't wander into the woods because then it would no longer be a secret place of personal pleasure.

Bus Ride

First Memphis Bus Ride

Riding the Mata bus has less to do with the actual bus riding part, and more to do with "catching" it. After one attempt, I had almost given up. I had walked down my street and waited for over an hour. In my notes, I had commented on how I couldn't believe the bus drivers still had to work on labor day. I guess many of them didn't. I had seen buses traveling down my street earlier in the day but I suppose right when I decided to wait for one, they all went on break. There I stood with one pocket full of a dollar sixty exactly in one pocket and a handful of Starbursts in the other. As I waited for the bus, the sounds I heard were the most noticeable to me: small conversations of neighbors, thumping rap and Motown music of cars passing by, the silly tune of the ice cream truck, a helicopter, the vibrating sounds of insects, a distant dog bark, and even a cough, hock, and ptew. A man with a bag full of groceries asked how I was doing, and as he walked away, asked if I had any spare change. At this point, almost an hour later, I'm itchy, thirsty, still hungover, and my right armpit is excessively sweating. I have enough time to walk home for a glass of water only to return to find the bus has still not come.

Now as I ponder over what I've written in my notebook, I realize I was just using up wasted time waiting for the bus by overly absorbing everything around me. Watching people, listening to sounds, and anxiously tormenting my last nerve in hopes of that big, loud Mata bus driving around that corner at the end of my block. Then I got a text message. Presented with a grand opportunity, I was forced to decide whether I would wait on this bus or go swimming in the pool of some mansion.

I eventually did make it on the bus. I took a spot in the middle, choosing not to sit on the stained seats. I saw many black women who looked tired and rested their heads. This bus was extremely noisy; every time we hit a bump, the bus's pieces jiggle with a loud clashing noise. Of course I'm confused when we get to the station and as I look around, I realize I'm the only one. I stand around writing, when a man in all black starts talking to me. We talk about all kinds of things as I stand by him waiting on my next bus. To my surprise, I see many of the people outside the bus depot with beer in some form. One man has a case in each hand and I think the man in all black is drinking beer out of his water canteen.

The ride back was much calmer and more quiet. There were less people on this one and most of them were much younger. You notice a lot more when you ride the bus because the windows are so big and the driving is so slow. I look at the bus passengers' faces, noticing where they stare to, and I wonder what they're thinking. And there's my stop.

The Romantic Narrative of Edgar Allen Poe on Race

Written in a time of political turmoil and racial unrest, Poe explores many of the psychological opinions and feelings concerning race through a romantic narrative. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym envelopes Romance in entirety. Pym plays the heroic boy thrown into a historical setting where he encounters many trials and tribulations, in some cases to a supernatural extreme, that alludes to the larger topic of Race, in this case a simple discrepancy of white or black. Edgar Allen Poe uses Arthur Gordon Pym as a device, a provider for deeper meanings, noticing the similarity of Pym's name to Poe. Poe places a curious teen boy seeking wayward adventure in broader denotative contexts as to relate issues concurrent to the time of Poe writing the novel around the Civil War, to symbolic allegory presented in the novel, a key characteristic to Romantic stories. Poe provides the primary narrative which encompasses Arthur Gordon Pym's narrative. Pym illustrates his memories of events on the verge of reality, alluding to exaggerated and mystical events and accounts. Poe thus utilizes this to slip in deeper meanings through symbolic allegory. My impression of the mental character expressed by the author and therefore his reasoning defending the entire novel is similar to what I would label the mind-set of most anglo-saxons towards the "darker" race throughout the 19th century. 

Throughout the novel, characters, objects, and events declare a spot on the racial color spectrum. Characters such as the black cook who parades through the ship hurling hammers into men's foreheads, or the final christ-like figure with skin of "perfect whiteness of snow," the psychological implications are obvious. Most all the aspects from the story either fall into the savage, mysterious, and wicked black category or the magnificent, safe, and pure white category. Further yet, Poe includes elements that break the white/black barrier to instigate a slightly skewed perception on the topic. For example, Tiger, man's best friend and Pym's loyal dog comforts Pym through his fearful stowage and even aids in an attack of the mutineers. Yet in Pym's first account of starvation, the dog who ironically is black turns viciously upon Pym's throat. Similarly, Dirk Peters, a "hybrid" of Indian descent, can be neither classified white nor black therefore falling in the middle of Pym's favor. Who had once attacked and threatened Augustus and Pym, Dirk Peters becomes of of Pym's closest surviving friends. Peters had rescued Pym on two occasions and was present through most of Pym's incidents he speaks of. 

Using unusual metaphorical imagery, Poe presents religion with his major theme of race. The black islands and their barbaric black inhabitants illustrated with black teeth even, sync with preconception of hell. Pym's travel through the center of the Earth adverts an epic passage through the self on the question of black and white which ultimately results in the assurance of a brilliant after-life white. This momentous transcendental figure of white carries so much influential weight on religion, humanity, politics, and human mindsets to this very day. Poe seems to mock Pym in the closing scene ending him in death and leaving the reader unsettled and searching. Poe provides this answer, gloriously revealed leaving the reader to ponder on the matter presented from the tale of Pym's adventures. 

As Poe's only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket was received with many questions and criticisms, most of which were not good. Race plays the leading role in the novel and romance simply provides a means for Poe to pursue and present it. Despite opposing opinions, Poe's novel arouses and provokes concerns and discussion, which stimulates inward thinking concerning the world around us and those among us, which makes the story of success in itself.