...4/17/2016 Eurocentrism; It’s all a Matter of Perspective When it boils down to it, everything in literature is a matter of perspective. If you were to read a book implying a conspiracy about the crises in Palestine and pinning all the blame on Canada, would you believe it? It’s quite likely - because when you read a book, you begin to see things from the perspective of the author, or, the perspective the author wants you to see things through. The author’s passages and vivid imagery would figuratively allow you to see, hear, and feel things from a perspective that ultimately influences your views, beliefs, and values. Eurocentrism is the practice of viewing things from a European perspective and it’s effects are usually subconscious in a way that those affected don’t realize they’re affected. So to what extent exactly does literature force us to consider the long term effects of eurocentrism? Now, as they have taught the next generations, which compose themselves of their own children and immigrated families, these traditions get passed on to them, and so on. However, the key point here is that they aren’t passed on as ‘eurocentric beliefs’, rather, they are passed on as ‘normal’ beliefs and traditions. Literature certainly allows us to consider the long-term effects of eurocentrism to a great extent, and it does this by modelling everyday examples where eurocentrism takes place in a way that allows us to see where and when eurocentrism takes it’s effects. Through the deconstruction...
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...Eddie Langston ENG 125 Introduction to Literature Instructor: Demeterius Meyers Assignment 1 10/04/2013 Why I hate literature. Well the other day I was busy exploring the depths of literature, appreciating it's glory and ability to spread around thoughts and ideas. But out of nowhere, I stumbled upon a most disturbing piece of information. Apparently, there are places where you can go and read books. That's right. Some depraved lunatics had the idea to go and create buildings where anybody can check out books, read them, and then return them. Only for the cycle to refresh itself. And the worst thing, it's absolutely free. That's right, whoever wants to can just waltz in there and borrow any book they like. It's ridiculous! Now, some of you might be wondering, " Man why are you so against the library? It's a good place...isn't it?" And I can proudly and correctly respond to you ignorant buffoon,"NOT AT ALL!" The library's primary function is and has always been to check out books. Books, and a lot of them literature. Now, some of these books are alright. But the majority of them are so dangerous, that every single book should be banned altogether. Books, especially literature, are filled with dangerous ideas. They are filled with radical thoughts that corrupt our innocent youth, experimental adults, and senile elderly. If it's non-fiction and stated to be true, with various credible sources, people can take the facts and reject them outright. It may surprise you, but...
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...Everyman lecture – 10:00 (23.0.50) The Origins of the English Language and Its Literature English literature almost precedes the english language. Modern english starts to show up around the 1600’s. Shakespeare writes in modern english. What we see today as modern english is a very new revival. There is no systematized spelling, it’s not until Gutenbergs printer that it’s shaped as a whole. It gets systematized with the printer. Campion wrote in the ”golden age” in english. The theme of love is very common in this period. He wrote before Shakespeare. Campion ”stole” it from Catullus. Rebirth of classical learning. The right place to go is to the source, the roman poets. During the renessance. English had to find itself, therefore it had to go look for inspiration abroad. The first time English could say this is ”our” invention. Homer – The Odyssey. James Joyce – Ulysses. They’re ”borrowing” a lot from the greeks and the romans. Milton is desperate to make english latin. We have got to be latin, if it’s not latin it’s not literature. The language comes really late into the game. English always tries to catch up. Languages comes from a conquerer taking a country and forcing his language onto the native language. English is a mishmash language. Grammar is also merged. The vikings/barbarians invaded England, and beat down all culture/cities/religion. They wiped out the latin culture. And settled. Anglo-saxon 450-550 AD. Britain becomes a series of tribal bands. Britain...
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...RESEARCH A research problem is a statement about an area of concern, a condition to be improved, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or in practice that points to the need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation. The characteristics of a good research problem. SMART S-Specific M-Measurable A-Attainable/Achievable R-Realistic T-Time Bomb/Time Conscious The characteristics of a good research problem. 1. The topic should be of good interest to you. 2. Useful for the concerned people in a particular field 3. Progress Novelty 4. Invites more complex designs / more variables 5. Time-bounded 6. Does not carry ethical or moral impediments Review Related Literature Literature means writings and a body of literature refers to all the published writings in a particular style on a particular subject. In research, a body of literature is a collection of published information and data relevant to a research question. The research question. Often referred to as the research problem, the research question provides the context for the research study and reveals what the researcher is trying to answer. The paper must answer clearly, "What is the problem?" and "Why do I care?" At the same time, stating the problem precisely limits the scope of the research project by focusing on certain elements. It lets you show why those variables are important. The statement of the...
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...out books, and speaking with a librarian for help on research rarely happens anymore. That’s why studying literature, and researching topics is essential for us students. Literature can be described as a language. It has been expressed for centuries and throughout different countries and cultures. Literature is a work of art, which has been spoken in different structures and also for many diverse reasons. I believe that literature is another way to view our historical past as well. Throughout history, society has been grateful exposed to different styles of literature; non-fiction, fiction, poems, plays, etc. Literature has a variety of styles; American literature, Irish literature, African American literature, and also Women’s literature are only a few examples. I am charmed by Women’s literature, everything from Annie Bradstreet to Judy Blume. My focus is to show how women portray a major role in the making of great literature, and also their existence in the works of art themselves. Distressingly, for years we women didn’t have a voice and our ideas were pushed aside. An American Editor Joan Goulianos wrote, “There exists a rich and complex literature by women that goes back to the Middle Ages, a literature that consists of diaries, of autobiographies…of stories- a literature in which women wrote about their lives and from which women and men today can draw insight about theirs.” I want to examine literary works and extract examples of the role of the women; revealing empowering...
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...How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster Chapter Reflections Introduction: How’d He Do That? * How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern. * When reading literature: memory, symbol, and pattern help you understand the text better. If you don’t comprehend literature, then you won’t know the real meaning behind that passage. But that’s why memory, symbol, and pattern come in to help. I think the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature because then we can analyze what exactly it is that we are reading. It gets readers to look more in depth of the literature itself. I think memory helps the readers connect emotionally and/or physically to that literature. Also, symbols analyze a deeper thought to something. When I read something, I picture it in my head and I would create a scene in my mind. Then by using memory, symbol, and pattern, I’ll try to sort everything out to make it clearer for my understanding. Chapter 1 – Every Trip is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) * List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5. * The quest has five aspects, which includes: (a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d)...
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...Can literature help us remember the past? Night, Perils of Indifference, and Acceptance Speech all have things in common. They can connect to different themes and they connect to one another. Literature has a big part in this world and it helps us remember past events, just like the Holocaust. In Elie Wiesel’s Acceptance Speech he says, “Who would allow such crime to be committed? How could the world remain silent?” This kinda ties back to theme 3 - breaking the silence on cruel acts is a way to break the cycle of repetition. He’s asking why would the world remain silent? He wanted people to break the silence when the crime was being committed. In this speech it also says “one person of integrity, can make a difference, a difference of life and death.” And this kinda connects to the prompt because it’s saying that you,...
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...Laboratory but Affettuoso Naturalism in literature, still popular and widely appreciated nowadays, is a crucial part of the evolution of American literature. In this essay, I’ll explain naturalism from my point of view by referring to some information I found and analyze a few clips of The Age of Innocence in depth to seek the naturalistic technique in it. Naturalism, a prominent literary movement in the mid-19th-century France, spread all its way to many countries’ literature circle and exerted profound effect on the development of the later literature. It is a completely different tune from literally realism while it provided warm-bed for the emergence of the later literal category, temporary literature in America. Though it didn’t last for a long time, plus no systematic formula for it was created, its influence and how popular it was with the readers and critics can be easily seen nowadays. As one of the most well-known naturalists, Zola, once said, “Naturalism, in literature…is the return to nature and to man, direct observation, correct anatomy, the acceptance and the depiction of that which is. The task is the same for the scientist as for the writer. Both have to abandon abstractions for realities, ready-made formulas for rigorous analysis. Hence no more abstract characters in our words, no more history of everyone, the web and woof of the daily life…” We could clearly see that naturalists tend to depict the society and people in the most objective way, trying to...
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...Zombie Outbreak in Literature Looking at literature, there are so many different genres and subgenres. When writing is involved, there are hundreds of possibilities and potentials to make an amazing piece that’ll be loved, hated, and talked about for years to come. There is a certain genre that has come into higher and higher power, that’s almost as well renowned as romance or adventure would be the horror genre. In horror there are so many amazing authors, capable of causing the reader to feel such intense emotions through just their writing. But unlike romance or adventure, these emotions are more so fear, anxiety, or paranoia. They write books or poems that leave people checking their closets, plugging in a nightlight, and hiding underneath their blankets to go to sleep at night. Some of the most amazing authors include H.P. Lovecraft, Stephen King, Edgar Allen Poe, Dean Koontz, and Peter Straub. All of them having different writing styles and stories, yet their pieces all yield the same results. Just like all the other genres, horror can also be broken down into different subgenres. This includes types like psychological horror, which leaves the reader questioning everyone’s sanity, even their own. There’s gothic, involving a mixture of psychological terror in romantic settings, including mysteries, ghosts, castles, decay, madness, hereditary curses, and death. Also on this list of subgenres is supernatural, the main cause of people seeing things out of the corner of their...
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...American Realism The Civil War tore the country apart. Once America was reunited in 1865, there was a lot of healing that needed to take place to correct the wounds Americans had suffered at the hands of their kin. In these years there were still a lot of questions to answer and still a lot of truth to be found out about the nation itself. The questions of the place of African-Americans, white Americans, political Americans and every other kind of American out there was a source for constant frustration and violence. This is the background and the huge dust storm that American Realism rose out of. Prior to the Civil War, America was knee deep in the Romantic Movement which included writers such as Hawthorne, Thoreau, Melville, Poe and Whitman. Their writings focused on the puritan aspects of their ancestors or of the dark romance and psychological perspectives writers such as Poe and Melville used. However, after the war, this movement began to fade and Realism increased as the choice reading of the people. This was due to multiple events and changes in culture that led to Americans looking for something better to relate to. The first event was the end of the Civil War. The Civil War showed the violent intentions men had towards each other and also showed the vulnerability of men and the nation and how ungodly man actually was. However, Realism did not begin immediately after the Civil War but rather took off in the 1880’s. So what happened in the 1880’s then? The 1880’s...
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... To understand myth or religion people need to have the knowledge and need to belief in what has become part of their faith and values as individuals. First knowledge is needed in order to understand the message and belief of that religion. Myth and religion go together because most of the religions are stories or writings that have been passing thru the years by others. It is only up to the person to decide how myth and religion are interpreted by knowledge and beliefs. This is why knowledge, belief, myth and religion are related to one another. Myths Directions: Choose two examples for each type of myth and identify the pieces of literature, such as a Shakespeare play, in which the examples are found. Greek Myths |Myth 1: |Literature it’s found in: | |“In my opinion mortals have created their gods with the dress and|XENOPHANES, fragment 21 B 14-16 (Diels-Kranz) | |voice and appearance of mortals. If cattle and horses had hands | | |and wanted to draw or carve as men do, the cattle would show | | |their gods in the form of cattle and horses would show them as | | |horses, with the...
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...so many countries, it's ranked among the top 6th languages; it's the official languages of twenty-two countries, 1.1 million Americans speak Arabic, and 200 million people speak Arabic overall. The language is widely used throughout Muslims. Arabic is a Semitic language coming from the Arabian peninsula. As the Muslim world starts increasing, Arabic went into North Africa and Western Asia. Everyone would like to know where a language began especially if it’s a language we all really want to speak or learn about. Well, let’s start it began in the eighteenth century as a religious language it even became a literature; it also went through Spain, and it influences European language. “It is believed to have originated in the Arabian Peninsula.’ (Arab Academy) Although Arabic is well known...
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...We live in a world where so many different types of literature. If we look at the three branches of literature, poetry, prose and drama, those branches also have sub-branches, and on and on. Sometimes, from being presented all these different types of literature, we tend to forget that each type differs stylistically from other types, hence their classification as different types of literature, and among all these types of literature stands out one: the novel. One of the most common and widespread of all types of literature, novels can be found anywhere. It’s become so common that people just read it to, well, read it. As interesting a read as a particular novel may be, what’s more interesting than that (and what adds complexity to the novel) is the form which novels take, and, in particular, characteristics that it possesses that are in plain sight within the text, yet ignored in favour of just enjoying the story. According to Mikhail Bakhtin in his work “The Dialogic Imagination”, one of the main characteristics of a novel is what we call “heteroglossia”. Mikhail Bakhtin describes it as the “multiplicity of social voices and a wide variety of their links and interrelationships”. Simply put, it is the multiplicity of forms within the text that allow the text to be more far-reaching, and convey its message better. But why would, for example, Milan Kundera use it in “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”? Because this multiplicity in form allows the text’s author, Kundera in this...
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...assigned reading within the first two weeks of the school year. AP English IV (11th grade students entering AP IV in 2016-2017) Seniors should create a synopsis card for each novel read of literary merit. Your teacher will explain how this will prepare you for the open questions for the AP Literature exam. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C, Foster Complete writing assignments from the chapter sheet that accompanies Foster. See Assignments on the back of this sheet. Access this link for tips on dialectical journal entries: https:www.YouTube.com/watch?v=CBsJTqfB1Ws AP English IV Writing Assignments Directions: Complete assignments for chapters 1-10 as you read Foster’s work. Writing Assignments for How to Read Literature like a Professor By Thomas C. Foster (Adapted from Donna Anglin by Sandra Effinger) Introduction: How’d He Do That? How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern. (200 words) Chapter 1 – Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It’s Not) List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5. Chapter 2 – Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion Choose a meal...
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...Ali Wally Professor Perez Literature 221 25 September 2013 Connection’s Throughout this eight-week Literature class we have read many short stories and poems. When I started the class I didn’t know what to expect and as the class went on I continuously learned more about different types of writing and most importantly myself. Even the pieces of writing that I didn’t like I could connect with, there was always an underlining symbolism or metaphor that made it possible. But like any person I had favorites and least favorites. Walt Whitman’s ‘I saw in Louisiana a Live Oak Growing’ all the way from week one was one of my favorite pieces of writing we have read all semester. The writing speaks, telling the reader to reach out for friendship and companionship. The last two lines ‘uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend a lover near, I know very well I could not,’ (Whitman pg. 7). Whitman is telling the reader that life would mean very little without the company we keep. I can relate to what he is saying because it couldn’t be more true. There is not a single person in this world, no matter how strong or independent that would make it without at least one other person in their life. This piece makes me think of my family, which is so important to me. Another of my favorite reads was one of the shortest of the semester in week three, Carl Sandburg’s ‘A Fence’. There was a big emotional pull in this story for me. The emotional fence is...
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