Réven Smalls

Pretty much. (xkcd.com)

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:25:00 -0400

Pretty much.

(xkcd.com)

I wish I wasn’t in class when I saw this- I almost burst...

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 12:19:07 -0400

I wish I wasn’t in class when I saw this- I almost burst out laughing.

(xkcd.com)

Photo

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:58:43 -0500

Photo

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:01:40 -0500

lololololololol nice…

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:33:20 -0500

lololololololol nice…

The Harlem Renaissance and Its Literary Public Sphere

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:00:00 -0500

Réven Smalls

Dr. Field

ENGL 300

12 December 2011

During the Harlem Renaissance that took place from the early 1920s to about the 1930s, the African American population of Harlem began to utilize the arts and humanities in order present its transformation from an enslaved race to a more independent race. Langston Hughes, a renowned poet during the time, wrote several poems that provided a means of proud self-awareness for the black reader. His poem, “I, Too, Sing America” (link to poem), is one of the many poems from the Harlem Renaissance that embraces the expression of African-American culture through the arts. This poem- along with many other works of literature- also acknowledges the oppression of the black community during the early twentieth century. By reading and assessing the poem, one can see that the literature produced during the Harlem Renaissance was meant to be, by some extent, a quiet yet public way to express the politically related ideas from the African American perspective. Thus, by using Dr. Morrissey’s “Re-reading Reading in Eighteenth Century Literary Criticism”, one can transpose his argument in the named article and propose that if the public sphere did not direct the literary criticism of the works from the Harlem Renaissance, it is clear that the public sphere of racial relations affected the literature just as much as the public sphere of politics of that time.

Morrissey says in his article generally that the public sphere did not shape literary criticism in the eighteenth century, i.e. Jurgen Habermas’ had an incorrect notion that literary criticism during that time was a public sphere itself anchored in politics. Dr. Morrissey proceeds to follow through with this argument, coming to the conclusion that the arrival of the aforementioned kind of criticism coincidentally became associated with the rise of politics when instead literary criticism is a useful method of participating in politics (Morrissey 173). Taking into account this deduction and applying it to the literary works of the Harlem Renaissance rather than the criticism of those works, it is plausible for one to link the literature as being closer to the social- rather than political- realm than the criticism of that literature and thus allowing the Harlem Renaissance literature to be able to support itself in its own public sphere.

To see why this link is reasonable, one must have a brief portion of knowledge regarding the history the Harlem Renaissance as well as the creative and intellectual material and subject matter that became popular during this period of African American expression of the arts and humanities. As a result, from around 1920 until about 1935, the black residents of Harlem, NY engaged in a heightened interest toward “various forms of literature, art, music, drama, painting, sculpture, movies, and protests” (Harlem Renaissance). Through each of these approaches towards the social relations of the American society overall, black entertainers, politicians, writers, and artists conveyed their sense of self-awareness and self-importance as a reaction to their subjugation in America due to their race, as slavery had just been abolished towards the end of the previous century. Still, of all these approaches, some of the strongest ones in regards to this repression were those that came about as a part of literature. Literature was one of the most prominent and influential forms of expression for the participants of the Harlem Renaissance. Writers included novelists and poets such as James Weldon Johnson, Alain Locke, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Arna Bontemps, W.E.B. Du Bois, Claude McKay, and many others. Their literary works were manifested in order to give the black community a sense of metamorphosis from being an inferior race to becoming people who were “self-assertive, racially conscious, articulate” (“Literature”), which meant that these authors were obviously aware of their political situation within the American society.

To further elaborate on that point, I will take Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too, Sing America” and use it as an example of the African American awareness of their role and importance in the United States. First, the title of the poem itself suggests that the speaker knows that he is a part of America and at the same time, he seems to make an assertion that he demands to be noticed in the United States of America and claims that he is also American like the rest of those living in the same country as himself. In line 2 of the poem, the narrator claims that he is the “darker brother” (Hughes). Obviously, the use of the word “darker” alludes to the racial aspect of the person- which in this case would be black- but it could also stand for a man that isn’t regarded as important or famous (for example, a person who could be considered a “dark horse candidate”, a candidate who would be the least expected person to show up in a political debate or in the running for a political position) or a man who is viewed as being evil, dirty or inferior. Of course, this would be an over exaggerated opinion according to the white society in regards to the black society- not just because African Americans did not see themselves in this way, but because there was so much hatred toward the race. Also, it is ironic that Hughes chooses to use “brother” in this poem, as brothers are deemed to be close to one another either due to genetics or common interest(s). If the speaker were to be speaking of being a brother in the sense that he and others reside in the same country, he would be correct; otherwise, the speaker has no close connection to the “they” that Hughes uses in lines 3 and 16. Lines 3 through 4 undoubtedly and directly express the white versus black society in America- the speaker talks of being included and excluded at the same time. The “they” (the white population) in line 3 refuses to be seen with the speaker (representative of the black population) and sends him to eat elsewhere out of the eyes of the company. Regardless, the narrator rejoices in this separation, laughing (line 4), eating well (line 5) and growing strong (line 6). In the remaining eleven lines of Hughes’ poem, the speaker declares that “tomorrow”- literally meaning the next day, but metaphorically the future- he will be equal to the “they”- he will be able to sit in the presence of the others without being told to leave. In other words, the narrator will not have to be oppressed anymore by others, just because of his race. He also believes that the “they” will be remorseful because they have put him down and put him out of their sight, demeaning his person and his character. In the very last line, the speaker finally asserts that he “too is America” (Hughes), meaning that although others may perceive him as being inferior or being a representative of an inferior race, he is still an American- regardless of their perception of him.

The analysis of this poem proves to be an accurate account- in more ways than one- of how the African American race approached and evaluated their roles with the dominantly white society in which they lived. This poem, along with others and other works of literature produced from the Harlem Renaissance, shows how closely the literature of that time period was related to the racial relations, a very touchy public sphere whenever addressed by either race. As a matter of fact, the Renaissance actually started as “a series of literary discussions” in Manhattan- more specifically in Greenwich Village and Harlem- according to a website created by professors and web developers and designers of John Carroll University and other institutions (“Literature”), which can virtually be seen as a public sphere. So in this case, the literature created by the African American authors of the Harlem Renaissance in part influenced the public sphere of the racial relations between black and whites. In other words, because the blacks in Harlem came together as a private community- private meaning overlooked in this situation- to communicate their self-awareness through the varying types of arts and humanities, they were able to “discuss” their importance to their race and compare that importance to how important they really were in the eyes of the rest of the white-dominated society of the United States in which they lived.

As one can see, with close analysis of one poem from the Harlem Renaissance, the reader is provided with both racial relations at the time through one of the movement’s authors. Langston Hughes’ use and portrayal of the narrator in “I, Too, Sing America” demonstrate the characteristics that the Harlem Renaissance writers wanted to convey to their own racial audience, as well as toward their conflicting audience. With that being said, Dr. Morrissey’s original argument regarding seems to only work for that concerning literary criticism. It appears that when the literature of the Harlem Renaissance is called into question, that literature manifested its own public sphere grounded in early twentieth century racial relations, contrary to Morrissey’s argument that literary criticism of the eighteenth century was not grounded in politics as its own public sphere.

WORKS CITED

Harlem Renaissance. John Carroll University. Web. 12 December 2011.

Hughes, Langston. “I, Too, Sing America.” The Academy of American Poets. Web. 9 December 2011.

“Literature.” Harlem Renaissance. John Carroll University. Web. 12 December 2011.

Morrissey, Lee. “Re-reading Reading in Eighteenth-Century Literary Criticism.” College Literature 31.3 (2004): 157-178. Print.

abbyjean: notemily: (via Know Your Meme) YES, AMAZING, MORE

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 12:19:20 -0500

abbyjean:

notemily:

(via Know Your Meme)

YES, AMAZING, MORE

Relevant video is relevant.

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:57:17 -0500

Relevant video is relevant.

awesomepeoplehangingouttogether: Dave Chappelle and Maya...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:47:15 -0500

awesomepeoplehangingouttogether:

Dave Chappelle and Maya Angelou

I would love to meet Maya Angelou…but I love it when younger and older generations have fun together, so I especially think this younger comedian and this older author definitely enjoyed one another’s company. (:

“The Tragic Mulatta Plays the Tragic Muse”

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:11:00 -0500

The named article composed by Dr. Kimberly S. Manganelli focuses on two literary works, Two Years Ago by Charles Kingsley and A Romance of the Republic by Lydia Maria Child, written during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Both novels contain a mulatta protagonist who finds herself participating in the realm of the arts, thus becoming, in a way, a muse.

Manganelli begins her argument of these protagonists annulling their roles as Tragic Mulattas by stating that both literary works introduce a female main character that is characterized as having a “new female body” (501). Both authors’ emphases are that Child concentrates on the weakness and easy domesticity of the mulatta while Kingsley concentrates on the desirability of the mulatta’s body. The reader is given a brief history of when the phrase “Tragic Muse” was coined (eighteenth century) and to whom the name was attributed (Sarah Siddons, then Rachel Félix). The Tragic Muse becomes connected to the Tragic Mulatta through the formation of the nineteenth century mixed-race woman concerning her body and self-governance. By both protagonists being of mixed-race, they are already set up to take two steps back when they move one step forward towards higher society, self-governance, and domesticity as wives and mothers. At the same time, the fact that both women are manifested due to the basic treatment of mulattas in two separate cultures (British from Kingsley and American from Child) emphasizes their connected struggles concerning “racial identity and the trafficking of female sexuality in the nineteenth-century marketplace” (502).

Manganelli begins to distinguish between the Muse and Mulatta, saying that while the Muse has the ability to revert to a previous lifestyle of male dominance, the Mulatta fights to stay in the domestic realm while at the same time struggling to keep the African American line of her race hidden. The Tragic Mulatta has essentially one option in life: she will be seen and possibly sold due to the sexual appeal that she inadvertently gives off as a mixed-race slave. The Mulatta does have the ability to pursue a “relationship” with a white male, through plaçage- a means of white men achieving their sexual gratification with mixed-race women. However, she still is not allowed to have the opportunity to marry anyone. Also, while the Tragic Muse functions as being one who is the only one with control over herself, the Tragic Mulatta has to labor in order to gain access to her voice, since she is under the suppression of slavery.

Dr. Manganelli goes on to compare the two characters- Kingsley’s Marie Lavington and Child’s Rosa Royal- and their lives between both narratives. She starts with Marie, Kingsley’s protagonist. Marie starts as a slave whom is relieved by a white surgeon of her suppression. She is grateful for him doing so, as she detests her great-grandmother and does not care for her mother’s lifestyle of plaçage. Still, Marie ends up being sold back into slavery, but she escapes to Canada to live in a Quaker community and yearns to convey her desirability. Marie then goes on to become an actress, the Italian diva La Cordifiamma. Through this role, Marie undermines and abandons her connection to slavery and plaçage and gains a voice from being on stage. At the same time, through self-discipline, Marie must keep her racial identity hidden so that it does not show through her eroticism. Yet, she still remains under captivity while she takes the stage. It is not until she gets married and has children that she is “freed” from the labels of Tragic Muse and Tragic Mulatta, but as a result, she has to give up the right to rule over herself.

Dr. Manganelli continues by discussing Child’s Tragic Mulatta, Rosa. Like Marie, Rosa has to get away from slavery and plaçage- she wants to marry her suitor, but she learns that she has been his slave the entire time and that he has married another woman. In a fit of “temporary insanity” (513), after Rosa gives birth to her son, she switches her baby with the baby of her owner’s wife and thus wants to get away from slavery “due to…maternal rage” (513). Unlike Marie, Rosa becomes La Senorita Rosita Campaneo with the help of others and because she needs to find a way to survive. She is successful in her role as an actress whenever she finds a true connection the part she plays, i.e. when the songs she sings are a direct reflection of her life. However, she is never really able to escape her mulatta past, especially when she confesses to having switched her baby with her ex-owner’s wife’s baby. Rosa gets married to her deceased father’s friend and through her confessions of her past life, her marriage enables her wrongs to be righted while at the same time revoking the titles of Tragic Muse and Tragic Mulatta.

Manganelli concludes her article by saying that by playing Tragic Muses, both Marie and Rosa are able to escape their lives as a Tragic Mulatta. This results in their “domestication” as wives and mothers, but they still do not have access to “the realm of true womanhood” (517).

I believe that we should read Dr. Manganelli’s article in ENGL 300 because it bridges the gap between two different ideas (in this case, the mulatta and the muse) in order to show how effortless it is to find a cohesion between both ideas for the purpose of elaborating on a subject of which we are familiar or that we find to have a personal, cultural or society connection to ourselves (gender, race, sexuality or a combination of two or three of those concepts). With that being said, this particular article would probably only appeal to the female students and maybe the minority students of the class. Still, it is possible for students who are male or non-minority to formulate opinions and thoughts about how things such as gender sexuality or racial individuality can affect them and how they view the world because many of our discussions in class have been based around this type of thought creation and processing.

I see what you did here, Marguerite Duras...

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 16:17:52 -0500

“Lol was funny.”

“Lol left it vague.”

“Lol burst out laughing.”

- The Ravishing of Lol Stein

bogcess: Information is powerful, but it is how we use it that...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:27:00 -0400

bogcess:

Information is powerful, but it is how we use it that will define us. :)

I was on YouTube a few weeks ago and I saw one of the commercials of which this video is comprised. I’m glad I found this video because I like the advertisement which ends with the powerful statement quoted above. That statement is so powerful because it can be applied to just about anything in any subject- it proves to be a universal saying that each one of us can take to heart and use to our advantage in life.

Kirk Franklin Music Video Analysis

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:23:00 -0400

Well…This Is It: “Declaration (This Is It!)” Analysis

Kirk Franklin is one of gospel’s most renowned artists. On his eleventh album, The Fight of My Life, he released a single “Declaration (This Is It!)” in 2007, which samples the beat and some of the lyrics from Kenny Loggins’s song “This Is It”.

In the video for “Declaration (This Is It!)”, Franklin plays the role of a boxer, some of the members that make up his singing group play audience members during the fight, and Franklin’s wife makes an appearance as the boxer’s wife. One thing that makes this video interesting is the fact that it was shot in black and white. Also, it appears to be set in the early twentieth century, based on the attire of the people in the audience and the boxers in the ring. The reason for the video being created in this way is not quite clear. One could infer that the video is in some way made more powerful by being set in a different time period and with no color because it makes the viewer pay more attention to the message that Mr. Franklin is attempting to convey with his song.

As aforementioned, Franklin is the focal point of the video due to the fact that he is the one boxing. He is in the first couple of scenes of the video while the song starts. We are also “introduced” briefly to the person Franklin is supposed to be fighting: himself. The video continues and you notice that Franklin is wearing white and the title of his album has been ironed on to the back of his robe. Also, the doppelganger Kirk Franklin is wearing black in contrast to what the real Kirk Franklin is wearing. The choice of these two colors reiterates the fact that the two boxers are fighting against one another- Kirk in black (bad) v. Kirk in white (good).

Also, the video focuses in on some of the spectators while the fight is going on. The singing spectators are actually some of the singers with whom Franklin works. They are spread throughout the crowd singing the lyrics of the song that happen to be words of encouragement for him as a boxer in the ring and for anyone who hears the song. Also, when Franklin is knocked down once or twice in the ring, the camera goes to a woman running up the stairs. This woman is Franklin’s real wife, but she comes to the ring to encourage the good Kirk and give him strength to fight on. In the end, the good Kirk knocks out the bad Kirk (who is a symbol of the negative aspects of the good Kirk) and wins the fight, thus winning both the literal and metaphorical “fight of his life”.

In my opinion, the video works for the song because the literal and metaphorical meanings behind Kirk fighting himself in the ring. At the same time, the only thing that doesn’t seem to match up the video and the song is the amount of dancing that goes on since this a religiously oriented song. However, since it is more so an inspirational song, one could take the dancing and interpret it as demonstrating the energy from the song. Overall, the message of the song is basically this: I’ve had it with my problems and I’m not giving up on myself, so “This Is It!”.

This concept has me laughing every time I hear about it. (hahaha but seriously)

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 18:46:00 -0400

This concept has me laughing every time I hear about it. (hahaha but seriously)

fyeahapcrocodile: THANK YOU. This has nothing to do with...

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:12:00 -0400

fyeahapcrocodile:

THANK YOU.

This has nothing to do with college and I didn’t learn this in AP Literature, but thank you, IB English, for teaching me this. Hopefully, everyone has come to this realization by now though…HOPEFULLY.

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:41:04 -0400

but by the moments that take our breath away.”
― Maya Angelou

For me, the reaction is slightly different: “So what are...

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 14:05:08 -0400

For me, the reaction is slightly different: “So what are you wanting to do with that? Be an English teacher?” (Because all English majors want to be or will be teachers, right?)

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?" - Mark Twain

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:22:47 -0400

Favorite insult by an author, hands down.

Think on Thought

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:01:32 -0400

I was working on a philosophy assignment the other day and this thought occurred to me: how are we able to think? I don’t mean as in the actual process of thinking that could be explained by biology, but more so as in where thoughts come from…kind of a deep question to me, if I do say so myself. (:

They told me I could be anything, so I became a tumblr-er for ENGL 300.

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:07:14 -0400

They told me I could be anything, so I became a tumblr-er for ENGL 300.