Literature in Existence

Jordan Erekson

Period 6 

Feb. 10

Humanities 1100

Reading Quiz 2

The existence of literature brings about certainty. Education in literature is a key component to the well being of the people today.  The knowledge of literature is a brilliant path way that should be expounded upon.  People all over the world have different views and concepts on different literature examples and stories.  Having Literature in our lives is greatly considered one of the main factors to our knowledge and understanding today.  We would not have the same readings and feelings on topics if it were for our certain knowledge of it.

For example, the industry that brings about musical lyrics. When an artist is composing a new song they will think about things around them in the world today.  Bob Marley was a famous musical artist.  He was not afraid to say what needed to be said in his songs.  Although, many times the lyrics that were said were misinterpreted by us as a people and brought along different readings and understandings to songs.

The great influential promises of poems are one that cannot be recognized to a certain understanding with people.  Poems are great path ways to how we see our lives and how we communicate and live. Today, many are not learned on the topic. There are men and women who have lived their lives without the true knowledge and guidance that poems can bring.  The mentality of our lives can be brought up through poetry.  Expressions, feelings, comforts, and divine nature are few examples of things that poems bring about.  Less and less times do you hear someone go back in thought and use a quote from a poem that they have heard, and expressed it to others in their lives.

In tandem, the examples of Robert Frosts quote “A civilized society is one which tolerates eccentricity to the point of doubtful sanity.” Having the guidance from poetry when young helps to

realize what the main points of things are. In Frosts quote, it delivers the message our society is changing to fit the appearance of others.  Our world today has been mocked and changed due to the insecurity of one’s self image.  There are those who can’t go outside without being mistreated and misunderstood.  Poems are there to help with all of this.  Having knowledge of poems can greatly influence how we act and react to the altering of our lives.

On the other hand, there is the possibility of those whose views will counteract and argue with these thoughts.  The ones who don’t believe in literature and poems have different actions and feelings about the topics.  The point may come out that poetry and literature are not needed in the lives around us today.  They believe it to be a contradiction to the beliefs of the fact that our lives are changing and being predisposed by the literature in the modern lives today.

            Our actions, feelings, thoughts, and comforts are aroused by literature and poetry.  We would not be able to have the same views and understandings we have if it weren’t for them. What we believe is our decision and with the help of the understandings of literature we are able to alter our life’s and begins on new paths. Poetry and Literature go hand in hand with each other and are good keys to success in our day to day lives. 

Jordan Erekson

Period 6

Humanities 1100

Education By Poetry

The general argument/point made by Robert Frost in his work Education By Poetry is that people today and people that are in college are not as educated as they need to be. Mainly in the field of Literature. Today we have people who don't know how to write poems and all that kind of stuff. More specifically, Frost argues/suggests that we need to teach literature as a more demanding course. College graduates are having to take night classes to catch up on the extra learning on that of literature because they are not focuses on their needed classes about it at the time. He writes “They have not been educated enough to find their way around in contemporary literature.” (pg. 48) In this passage Frost is suggesting that we take our required literature courses more serious. In conclusion, it is Frosts belief that if we take more lessons and focus more deep on our literature, that we may become more varied in our writing and looking at poems.

In my view Frost is correct in his thinking patters. He is right in my opinion because I know for a fact today that kids aren't paying as much if any attention to their literature courses as they should be. For example, I was sitting at home and my brother was reading this book and it had a very popular poem in it. My little brother came up to me and asked what it meant? At that time I knew that today we were not as focused on our studies in the literature area as we need and should be. Although, Frost might object and puts out a good point that people are not as educated today due to the fact that we don't put any effort into our teaching of literature. I maintain that we need to have better studies on the topic. Therefore, I conclude that if we are willing to study and put an effort into learning more about poetry and into our literature study that we may become learned and to know and have a greater knowledge of things in our life.

Jordan Erekson

Period 6

Reading and Interpretation Exercise

1.       Q.  What is the “subject” of the first sentence?

A.      They refers to The Old Masters.

2.       Q.  Where do you find the subject?

A.      The second line.

3.       Q.  Are the words in the sentence in the “correct” order?
            A.       No, it is not where you expect it to be.

4.       Q.  What is Auden trying to say?

A.      People turn away from disasters unless it involves them.

5.       Q.   What is his “argument”?

A.      The Old Masters are trying to convey suffering.

6.       Q.  How does he make the argument or convey his message?

A.      He shows it in the actions of the people.

7.       Q.  Does he provide “evidence”?

A.      Yes, he does provide evidence.

8.       Q.  What does the title mean?

A.      The Museum of Beauty.

9.       Q.  Can you figure it out without help?

A.      Yes, the words look similar to English words.

10.   Q.  Who are “The Old Masters”?

A.      The Old Masters are Davinci, Michelangelo, Brueghal and Rembrandt.

 1.   Q.   Why is this capitalized?

A.      It is a list of important people.

12.   Q.  How can you find out more?

A.      Look online and in books as well as other resources.

13.   Q.  How does Auden move through his argument and thus the poem?

A.      He starts out general and moves to specific.

14.   Q.  What is “Brueghal’s Icarus”?

A.      It is a painting.

15.   Q.  Do you agree with that thesis?

A.      Yes, I do agree that people turn away unless it involves them.

16.   Q.  How might Auden’s historical or cultural context have affected what and why he says it?

A.      His writing reflects his own obstacles and what he has gone through in his life.

17.   Q.  Did his living in Europe in the 1930’s affect his views about human suffering and how people respond to it?

A.      Yes, this definitely affects his views, historical events always do.

18.   Q. Why does he say The Old Masters were never wrong when they displayed their understanding or suffering in their art?

A.      Because they were the first and went through horrible times of suffering in the world.

19.   Q.  What does this say about the esteem in which The Old Masters are held.

A.      They had poor self-esteem about themselves and it showed in their work.

20.   Q. Why might that be the case?

A.      The time period in which they lived in.

21.   Q.  Does Auden’s presence in a museum, which privileges certain painters, affect his views about what he sees?

A.      Yes, it does affect his views on others life.

22.   Q.  How does he use “Brueghal’s Icarus” to support his thesis?

A.      He uses it to show how one only cares about a problem if it involves them.

23.   Q.  Are there similarities between Auden’s “historical context” and that of The Old Masters that might account for their similarity of views as Auden sees it?

A.      Yes, there is similarities between his historical context and The Old Masters and you can see it used in his work.

24.   Q.  What about differences might allow for a different interpretation of The Old Masters?

A.      The point-of-view and previous life experiences.

25.   Q.  How does painting convey a message that can be read?

A.      You have to be able to look at it and say what you believe the painting is telling you in its story.

26.   Q.  What would we expect to see in the title?

A.      A description of the picture.

27.   Q.  What do we see?

A.      We see words that convey a message.

28.   Q.  What do all the components do to make you see what the painter is trying to make you see?

A.      It affects the mood and emotional feeling of the painting.

29.   Q. What about Icarus?

A.      He is the main character.

30.   Q.  Where is he?

A.      He is in the water.

31.   Q. Why is he so small?

A.      In the story of the painting he is supposed to be small and unnoticed.

32.   Q.  How are people in the painting responding to this tragedy?

A.      They are turning away from Icarus and the tragedy.

33.   Q.  How does that compare to what Auden said?

A.      It is the exact same concept.

34.   Q.  Is Auden’s interpretation of the painting a good one?

A.      Yes, his interpretation is right on.

35.   Q.  What about Brueghal’s interpretation of the story correct?

A.      Yes, his interpretation was correct.

36.   Q.  What about Brueghal’s historical and cultural context informed his art?

A.      Yes, both informed his art.

37.   Q.  What would we need to do?

A.      We would need to look deeper into it and previous occasions.

38.   Q.  What do you notice about this scene that is different from the way it is presented by Brueghal?

A.      It is a totally different point-of-view.

39.   Q.  Why is Ovid’s view of what people would do so different?

A.      He has gone through this scenario different and during a different time period.

40.   Q.  What was happening in the first century B.C.E. when Ovid wrote?

A.      The Greeks and Romans were fighting over rule.

41.   Q.  How might that have affected his storytelling?

A.      It is what he was going through, which changes how and why he told the story the way he did.

ARGUMENTATION IN A CULTURE OF DSCORD

Jordan Erekson

Humanities 1100

Period 6

ARGUMENTATION IN A CULTURE OF DSCORD

The general argument/point made by Frank L. Cioffi in his work ARUGUMENTATION IN A CULTURE OF DISCORD is that people when in arguments or even talking to each other can be misunderstood or misunderstand the other person in the conversation. Words have different meanings and its how the other person decodes it is how they will receive it. More specifically, Cioffi argues/suggests that part of the problem of teaching argumentative writing is the “argument” means “heated, contentious verbal dispute”. He writes writes “argument” means “heated, contentious verbal dispute”. (page 63). In this passage, Cioffi is suggesting that people are misread and misunderstood part of the time in conversations. In conclusion, it is Cioffi's belief that we must be clear in what we are saying and what we are trying to say when in a conversation with another person.

In my view, Cioffi is correct because I know for a fact that when I am talking to some other people I get the weird looks from them because they don't fully understand what I am saying when talking to them. They will sometimes misinterpret the words coming out of my mouth. For example, Say I were in an argument and I said “You want to go?” The person could either think that I want to get in a fight with them, or they could possibly think that I am just telling them that they need to leave.

Although Cioffi might object that some people use words in conversations that can not be misunderstood very often, I maintain that there is a way to misread and misunderstand words that people are saying no matter what. Therefore, I conclude that when in an argument be careful to listen to the words that are coming out of the other persons mouth, so that you don't misread them.

Concepts We Live By

Jordan Erekson

Humanities 1100

CONCPTS WE LIVE BY

The general argument/ point made by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their work is that of the concepts that we live by. More specifically, Lakoff and Johnson argue/suggest that the concepts that govern our thoughts are not just matters of the intellect. They write “The concepts that govern our thoughts are not just matters of the intellect. They also govern our everyday functioning, down to the msot mundane details. Our concepts structure what we perceive, how we get around in the world, and how we relate to other people.” (page 61). In this passage, Lakoff and Jonson suggest that our conceptual system is not something we are normally aware of. In conclusion, it is Lakoff and Johnson's belief that communication is based on the same conceptual system that we use in thinking and acting, language is an important source of evidence for what that system is like.

In my view, Lakoff and Johnson are right because the concepts that they talk about are the ones that we truly do live by. We follow them and there patterns in our everyday life. For example, They talked about how argument is war. How we follow the same guidelines when we are in an argument of our own. Although Lakoff and Johnson might object that not everybody uses the same patterns and gidlines when in an argument they are about the same. I maintain that people, when arguing do follow those guidelines and argue all in the same patterns as others. Therefore, I conclude that if we do try to follow these concepts it will make our lives easier and much more simple.