The Road: Ashen Dismay and Survival

The dystopian setting of The Road is quite alluring. How did the country fall? What gives father and son the will to continue on? The Road entices the reader to question their very being. The cause of the deteriorating world is never formally addressed although the decay is ever present. It makes one question their own reality. Could this happen to me? I’ve always found dystopian novels a little unsettling because many questions arise. If this happened to me, would I survive? The strength of the the father and son astound me. The father’s will to survive seems contingent on his son. His father does seem to understand that their may be no hope. After finding a soda in an abandoned gas station the father gives it to his son and says “ you drink it”(McCarthy23). The boy responds with “it’s because I won’t ever get to drink another one, isn’t it”(McCarthy24). The father’s response is simply “ever is a long time”(McCarthy24). The father knows of darkness to come. The ashen gray is all to expect. Even in his dreams, the father refuses to think of happiness as he knows it will never be. His goal is simply survival for his son. Without his son, I do believe he would succumb to the grayness of the fallen world. To give his son life is his only desire. The question is not how it happened, but how will one respond. Is the father doing the right thing for his son? Is it better to live through the seemingly endless travesties of the world or succumb to the eventuality of fate? 

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Prewriting

For my second Essay, I am choosing to write about Lorde’s poem “Power.” I feel her work is extremely profound especially with today’s current events. I am going to discuss the racial tensions occurring throughout the poem as well as society during the era in which it was written. I will also discuss the carelessness of the death of a young child still holding on to innocence and the relevance within Lorde’s era as well as our own. 

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Free Yourself: Conventionalism and Oppression

War. Terror. Anger. Conventional Belief. 

Societal views may improve or destroy the lives of innocent civilians. After nine eleven, Muslims were brought under great scrutiny. As terrorism was a huge fear of Americans, the blame was quickly placed as a means to have some “control
 over the situation. Once loved members of the community were ostracized. In reminiscing the past, it is said where is “the cinnamon-skinned woman for whose roti people lined up halfway down church, the falafel cousins who remembered how much hot pepper you preferred?”(Andrea Carter Brown). Innocent men and woman who were once a respected part of the community are rendered dangerous because of an irrational fear of all Middle-Eastern people. I saw the fear and hatred first hand. My best friend growing up was Israeli. She had the “cinnamon-skin” and long dark hair. I remember the day she came home crying. She was suppose to fly home to Israel to see her family for the first time in three years. Within minutes of waiting in line at Security, her family was asked to step out of line and follow two different, frightening men. Her family was then taken into a back room and questioned for hours. Her younger sister was a newborn and her mother was not allowed to leave the room to breastfeed. After hours of questions because of her father’s Moroccan background and arabic speaking mother, the family was asked to leave the airport. She was denied a seat on the plane because of her appearance and ethnic background at the age of eleven. I remember seeing the pain in her eyes. She mourned not only the loss of her family visit, but also the prejudice she faced. Andrea Carter Brown’s poem brought up many old memories I had suppressed. It is amazing the lessons we, as humans, learn at such a young age. We must learn from past mistakes in order to flourish in the future. Teach your children tolerance. Teacher your children love. Set the conventional beliefs free and rid yourself of the ability to oppress others. 

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"Does reality actually outstrip fiction?" -Baudrillard

“Does reality actually outstrip fiction?”(Baudrillard4027). Reality is the basis of our world. Factuality defines us. When does the idolization of violence trump the dissidence of verity?  The human mind feasts upon the the travesties amid our world. It is in a sense, our own personal cinema. Although mostly unconscious thought, the globalization and detriment of it’s failures brings forth a sense of excitement. The collapse of the Twin Towers for the world represented the fall from power. “Whereas we were dealing before with an uninterrupted profusion of banal images and a seamless flow of sham events, the terrorist act in New York has resuscitated both images and events”(Baudrillard4026).   The event of terrorism brought a sense of realism into the minds of many Americans, which quickly transcended into “the act of violence.” September eleventh become a spoken date throughout all American households. It ascended beyond a historical event into a symbol of Patriotism and disparagement against United States soil. The glorification created a sense of mysticism encompassing the event. It was no longer history, but yet a cinematic production. “This is our theatre of cruelty, the only one we have left-extraordinary in that it unites the most extreme degree of the spectacular and the highest level of challenge... It is at one and the same dazzling micromodel of a kernel of real violence with the maximum possible echo”(Baudrillard4027). The dramatization of the Twin Towers will forever embody the fall of American. The greatest power was brought down. The collapse will be continually exalted as the day America felt true violence; the day terrorism ceased American power. 

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The Death of Henry Junior

The light begins to dim. The crimson convertible is at a halt beyond the gray flowing waters of the Pembina and Red Rivers. The air is silent. The mood is overcome with disparagement. The two men encircle the warmth of a fire created by hand. The river is almost still although ever flowing none the same. It is as if the river itself derives from the source of Acheron(www.theoi.com). The darkness of the landscape as the sun sets entails death; the death of men. Can the soul of man die as the body lives on? Henry Junior died long before he ever came home. Only his body survived the trip from the treacherous forest of the Vietcong. “When he came home... Henry was very different, and I’ll say this: the change was no good”(Erdrich3390). Henry had become mindless. Only his central nervous system controlled him now. The thoughts within his head were hollow; nothing more than that dark forest in Vietnam. As the two stood on that river bank, the bank of the dead, Henry dove head first. He liberated himself from his given body. He was now completely freed from this Earth. Nothing was left to tie him to the soil. Within moments he was gone. The current carried the unmoving body into the underworld of Hades. 

Endrich entails such a dramatic conclusion as to depict an other worldly ambiance. One can die in many ways. The metaphysical nature of the scene brings forth the eventuality of death as well as the ways in which a human may die. Death is not always what it appears. Many die far before their physical selves leave the Earth. Endrich’s abounding illustration illuminates the uncertainty of life and the human soul. 

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Penance: Reconstructing of Youth

As the doors open, children race to be first into the church hall. A building seemingly encompassed with peace and forgiveness is simply a fallacy, a game. Antonio and his friends are taught in a means of fear. For every sin, there is a punishment. The children delight in their sins as they desire to see who will receive the largest penance. After Florence depicted his view the children bellowed “make his penance hard... make him kneel and we’ll beat him... yeah, beat him.. stone him!... beat him!... kill him”(Anaya3319). In all the chaos of sin, the children lose the true meaning of eternal salvation. As they desire a penance for the sins of another, they overlook their own. Within the confinements of the dark box the children forgot the purpose of the penance. It is to assure that one reconnects with the Lord after entailing their sins. Penance should never become a punishment, yet it has become more than that. Penance for the children as turned into a game. Who has the worst sin? Who receives the highest punishment? Religion must not only be taught within the church, but lived. The children merely hear the age old stories of an ancient book. They do not feel the words beat into their own souls. The Bible is nothing more than a literal tool of punishment and exactitude for the children. They do not understand that to become a true Catholic, one must live the words of the Lord not fear them. Show compassion. Help a fellow man. Are Catholic practices learned effectively by youth or are they merely a means of fear to intimidate children to act appropriately? Do strict religions have the opposite effect on children? Do they cause them to act out? 

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Power: Rhetoric and Poetry

To express oneself is the greatest form of freedom. To question oneself is the worst. Poetry depicts our rawest emotions buried deep within the bosom of the soul. It frees the mind as the lead of the steady hand releases the anguish intertwined within the beating heart; swirling through the ever flowing veins of crimson. Audre Lorde depicts the foreshadow of events to come. The twelfth jury member, a woman of African descent, “lined her own womb with cement to make a graveyard for our children”(Lorde3373). Lorde also makes reference to “being ready to kill yourself instead of your children”(Lorde3372). The single African American woman gave up her voice and smothered herself within the burning coals of oppression. When a mother dies, whether metaphorically or physically, she cannot protect her kin. In giving up her voice, the woman allowed the murderer of a young boy to be set free on the streets with a gun in hand and the power to subjugate the the minority. Her only question was the rhetoric of was he guilty? It’s one thing to succumb to the persecutor, but yet another to give one’s self up in such a way that delivery of an innocent child to enemy is the outcome. 

The introduction sets the pace of the poetic stand. Lorde purposefully brings forth the idea of death instantaneously as she wants the reader to distinguish the difference between “murder” and the real death of a child. Murder is heard in all eras throughout history, yet death, finality, makes it real. It allows the reader to feel. Do you feel Lorde’s depiction is appropriate for the message of “Power?” Does the difference between poetry and rhetoric hold relevance in “Power?”

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Humanity: People First

The story of Twyla and Roberta is simply profound. As recent events within our home town shows, race is still, unfortunately, a large issue in our society. The powerful nature of Morrison’s short story derives from the fact that she does not entail the race of either girl, yet race is subtly mentioned throughout the story. From the introductions of Twyla, I pictured her as a caucasian in my head. As Roberta talks to Twyla she says, “Maybe I’m different now, Twyla. But you’re not. You’re the same little state kid who kicked the poor old black lady when she was down on the ground. You kicked a black lady and you have the nerve to call me a bigot”(Morrison3552). I felt Roberta’s condescending tone as well as the emphasis of Maggie being a “black lady” made my perception of Twyla more concrete. It was almost as if Roberta was saying Twyla was twice as guilty for kicking a black lady because she is white. It felt as though a crime against another race was doubly as bad. I believe that Roberta was African American. Several times within the short story, Roberta mentions “blacks and whites,” but the word black is always put before the word white in her dialect. Often times, we put self first in our own dialect out of natural habit. When talking to Twyla, Roberta says, “you know how it was in those days: black-white”(Morrison3550). Roberta’s repetition of the the sequence in which she stated “black and white” made me believe she was African American. 

I find that class issues are equally as divisive as racial issues. Unfortunately, there is still a separation amongst differing people of our country and the world. There are many stereotypes that follow the many races as well. Racism and as well as the convinced superiority of oneself will not dissipate until we teach our children tolerance and understanding. We need to become a people first society. Bring forth humanity and we will have peace. 

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Death: "The Gashlycrumb Tinies"

Gorey reflects upon a childish delusion entwined with morbidity and despair in his rhyming didactic couplets found amongst the pages of the “Gashleycrumb Tinies.” The children within the story can be found encompassed by the likelihood of Death, himself. The tribulations and demise of the children entrance the reader creating movement amidst the ever-flowing ode. Gorey begins in saying “A is for Amy who fell down the stairs”(Gorey). With each letter of the Alphabet a depiction of death is made. Never is death directly stated though. The cessation of life is eminent in the circumstances, but only ever alluded. Gorey does so to bring forth a sense of light heartedness. It is less horrific if verification is not made of the child’s death. The alphabetic nature also brings forth a sense of childlike creativity. How else to depict death, than to bring it to the simplest state of being, deriving from the basic function of language. The rhyming didactic couplets also create an easy dialect to comprehend. The work, itself, reads very smoothly. “Gashleycrumb Tinies” is a necessity for the elemental depiction of intrinsic morbidity.

In the year of 1963 many great men succumbed to the inevitability of the darkness surrounding death. Gorey released his work in a relevant manner, as death was a commonality of the year. Robert Frost as well as the President, Jonh F. Kennedy sparked a fear of the eventuality of death. It was a topic of much discussion. The social and historical content of the year 1963 defines Gorey’s work

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Entropy: Arbitrarily Random Nature of the World

Is transition requisite to perpetrate the change of velocity per unit of time(dictionary.com)? Does one have to necessitate the rudiment drumming to forebode the introduction of the ensemble? Life does not require a prelude. Pynchon renders life in its rawest form: ever flowing. Humans do not stop beat by beat to interpret every moment of continuous manifestation of growth. Entropy is bluntly named to entail the arbitrarily random nature of the world. “‘Never the less,’ continued Callisto, “he found in entropy or the measure of disorganization for a closed system an adequate metaphor to apply to certain phenomena in his own world”(Pynchon3026). Chaos defines the reality of human nature. Phenomena is not simply a nonpareil happening, but rather a casualty within an unconfined, rhythmic journey. Pynchon’s lack of transition defines the distinction between reality and fallacy in which all is an existence of regularity. 

As Aubade “tore away the drapes and smashed out the glass with two exquisite hands which came away bleeding and glistening with splinters; and turned to face the man on the bed and wait with him until the moment of equilibrium was reached when 37 degrees Fahrenheit should prevail both outside and inside, and forever, and the hovering curious dominant of their separate lives should resolve into a tonic of darkness and the final absence of all motion”(Pynchon3032). The fate of the universe unfolds. All matter becomes homogeneous; temperature defines the fate of humanity(dictionary.com). Parallel worlds collide resulting in a doomed fate of darkness. Pynchon concludes “Entropy” in depicting the providence of mankind’s assured collapse. The congruency of the nature world simply defines the end of free thought. Are we doomed if humanity continues to fight the entropies within our own lives? Are transitions necessary to define our thought and existence?        

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Step Three: Questions and Analytical Reading

In Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy,” how does Plath depict her father the within the confines of feminism as she says "if I've killed one man I've killed two- the vampire who said he was you and drank my blood for a year, seven years, if you want to know, Daddy, you can lie back now"(Plath) on page 3055?  

In Allen Ginsberg’s “America,” why does he justify his conformity yet unwaveringly fight for civil liberties in such a harsh manner as on page 2972 when he states "you should have seen my reading Marx. My psychoanalyst thinks I'm perfectly right"(Ginsberg).  

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Equivocation of Sexual Freedom

Nineteen Sixty Eight. Sexuality is at its peak. The fight for physical freedoms rage as a nation rallies for free love and peace. In the height of sexual oppression, a tantalizing binding of barren women entrance even the most conservative of men. “Welcome to the Monkey House” was first published in the titillating pages of “Playboy.” How fitting to present a short story of sexual freedoms in such a liberal magazine of sexual desires. The profound, archaic desires of humanity entrance the nation as they forgo the expectations of society and explore a forbidden world and pleasure and lust.  

 “Billy put a small bottle on top of the book. ‘I am also leaving you these pills. If you take one a month, you will never have children. And still you’ll be a nothinghead.’ And he left. And they all left but Nancy. When Nancy raised her eyes at last to the book and bottle, she saw that there was a label on the bottle. What he label said was this: Welcome to the Monkey House”(Vonnegut). The government is seen as an enemy to personal freedoms. Vonnegut depicts the the harshest reality possible to bring to light the control he feels the government is capable to implementing. His message encourages the opposition of central forces. The message is profound. We, as a nation, do not have to conform to create a better society. No one can delineate the way one should live their life. The sinful nature to one is not equivalent to the sinful nature of another. Judgement should be a thing of the past. Freedom should empower the nation. The fight for liberties is necessary to hide the equivocation of the government. Know what you stand for and fight. Does Vonnegut accurately depict the controlling nature of the government? Was sexual freedom a good means of exploring the constraint inflicted by the government?  

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Epitome of the Average Teen

 “Where are you going? Where have you been?” is an incredibly powerful post modernism story entailing narcissism, inhibition, self growth and demise. Connie, a young teen, is vulnerable to the pressures of the typical high school woes, although she is far more susceptible as she is still coming into her own. She desperately searches through the attention of others in hopes to find her true being. The introduction to “It’s all over now, Baby Blue” delineates the challenges faced by Connie throughout the short story. Unbeknownst to Connie, self loathing is her greatest downfall. How horrible a life to rely on the attention of others to define oneself.  

“You must leave now, take what you need you think will last but whatever you wish to keep, you better grab fast. Yonder stands your orphan with his gun crying like a fire in the sun. Look at the saints are comin’ through and it’s all over now, Baby Blue”(Bob Dylan). It was the song “It’s all over now, Baby Blue” by Bob Dylan that inspired Oates. Connie is faced with a choice. She can run away with a stranger to attain the attention she so desires or stay in a seemingly mediocre home consumed with loathing by her mother. Connie so desperately desires to be wanted and now is her chance as Arnold waits outside her home. Nearing the end of the story “she cried out, she cried for her mother, she felt her breath start jerking back and forth in her lungs as if it were something Arnold Friend was stabbing her with again and again with no tenderness”(Oates). Whether physically or emotionally, Connie was attacked by Arnold Friend. As Bob Dylan so beautifully sang “whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast”(Bob Dylan). The one thing Connie could not bring with her was her innocence. We are left to wonder what happened to Connie. How does Oates post modernism work relate to young teens today? Is Connie the epitome of the average teenager?  

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Sexism: The Archaic 50's

Repression. Pain. Anguish. The screams of the forgotten bellow amidst the lines’s of Syliva Plath’s poem “Daddy.” Plath depicts the totalitarian conformity of femininity throughout her work. Her father figure was simply that; a figure. A statue of manhood in command of his home. She recalls “so I never could tell where you put your foot, your root, I never could talk to you. The tongue stuck in my jaw”(Plath). Plath feared her loathsome father. He did not respect her as a person. She was controlled by the pressures of societal expectations. Her depiction of the dominance over femininity is quite accurate and enlightening. In no way is her portrayal offensive in regard to her mention of the Nazi Regime. It was simply a metaphor of epic proportions. She so desired to depict the fallacy of the prominence of man. All must be equal. All must be free. 

Syliva Plath not only depicts the injustice of the American man, but also his sinful nature. After being married and separated, Plath writes “the vampire who said he was you and drank my blood for a year, seven years, if you want to know. Daddy, you can lie back now. There’s a stake in your fat black heart”(Plath). Men not only desired unparalleled control, but also indulged in gluttony. Man held the reign guiding the government into the bowels of sexism and subjugation. He desired to “feed” off the woman. Take all she could give for his own. Plath’s illusion of the vampiric, parasitic nature of man simply evokes a necessity for change in regiment. Was Plath just in her metaphor of the Nazi Regime? Does she accurately depict the nature of society during her exploration into the fallacy of the male role?  

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A Vibrant Stream of Exploration

How does one begin to expand consciousness? The mind is the apex of a physical being; blood rushing, pumping into the all mighty power source. Many think the heart is in regulation of emotion, while in fact it is not. The heart does not break in times of despair, the mind does. The mind breaks down into its rawest state. The mind holds the answers. “No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride... and if it occasionally gets a little heavier than what you had in mind, well... maybe chalk it off to forced conscious expansion: Tune in, freak out, get beaten”(Thompson). In times  of exploration, the culmination is the point in which the mind frees itself from the norms of reality. The two men were not sure as to what they were getting into, but knew it would be a wild ride. The goal was not destroy the body, but yet free the mind. It is simply about the ride. Let it take you. Glide into a real where conformity is obliterated into fragments of delusion and chaos. 

Piece by piece we entwine the enigmatic pieces of the puzzle which define our lives. Some refuse to adhere to a world of such normality. “But our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country-but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that”(Thompson). To escape from the bounds of reality is to surge into a world of sustenance. In an era of newfound freedom, drugs released the true being into a world of colors and emotions. The world was no longer black and what, but a vibrant stream of stirring pigments. To jump into the water was the first step to becoming a new, enlightened being. Is exploration necessary for the human experience? How did the drug use of the 60's and 70's change an era?  

Also, I apologize for the lateness of my posts. I had strep throat all last week and was exhausted. I guess better late than never! 

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The Beat Goes On: Joyce Johnson

The beat goes on. Enchanting harmony flows through pen to paper as the locution of Joyce Johnson comes forth bringing to light the strength of womanhood. The preacher  of empowerment delivers divine dreams of possibility into a world of misogynistic notion. Johnson brings to light a writing style never before seen. In a world where man is “blind to the truth he can’t foresee the end”(Johnson). Johnson’s “cool” style of writing renders the the fallacy of the American Dream in terms of the nuclear family and stay at home wife. Woman are strong. Woman are capable. Johnson capitalizes on her self-possessed style to omit the delusion of the superiority complex in the male figure. 

What is the Beatnik methodology? Johnson conforms her works not only to that of femininity, but on a level of human acceptance. The Beatdom was an era of heightened psychological hallucinogens, alcohol abuse and casual intercourse. Freedom was a sensory exploration(www.drugabuse.org). The elixir to knowledge simulated an odyssey of discovery. Johnson, too, desired to attain the cognizance of mysticism. A formal proclamation by Johnson expounds prejudices in saying “tolerance is learned and intolerance the same. Parents of impressionables, don’t be the ones to blame for making racism and others, a means to spread your hate”(Johnson). Just as Ginsberg and Kerouac, Johnson yearns to bring forth the abhorrence found entangled amongst the cross-grain of Civil liberty.  As temperance ensues through her writings, it is at times difficult to deduce that she too exudes a Beatnik style. Johnson’s design is simply to promote a sense of justice and emotional ratification for the female psyche. Is Johnson effective in her presentation of Beatnik opposition? Does Johnson hold validity in the Beat Generation? 

Michael Bowen 

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America the Great?...

To what is owed to the vast lands of red, white and blue? Is conformity consensual? Do the angsts of societal pressures eventuate in uniformity? Decamp from under the restraint of America while her head is turned. Break free of injustice. 

The Beat Generation “advocated personal release, purification, and illumination through the heightened sensory awareness that might be induced by drugs, jazz, sex, or the disciplines of Zen Buddhism”(Britannica.com). The beatniks, as they were referred, offered a differing view from that of conservative America. “America” by Allen Ginsberg catechized the straight-laced beliefs of the “average” American. Deference to conformity was commonplace behind the regimented white picket fences lining the barren streets of homogeneity. In advancing toward the fallacy of the American Ideal, Ginsberg affirms “you should have seen me reading Marx. My psychoanalyst thinks I’m perfectly right”(Ginsberg2972). Not only does Ginsberg critic the illusive lifestyle of fellow neighbors and friends, but that of his own life. There are times in which he, too, succumbs to the paradox of normality. Societal expectations allude to the conventionality of the American People. Were the lands of freedom not once a melting pot? A messy concoction of eccentricity coming aboard overcrowded boats from daunting lands. To differentiate from normality is the first step to freedom. 

In conclusion “America is this correct? I’d better get right down to the job. It’s true I don’t want to join the Army or turn lathes in precision parts factories, I’m nearsighted and psychopathic anyway. America I’m putting my queer shoulder to the wheel”(Ginsberg2974). To be heard, the voices of the dreamers, the thinkers, the quite screaming inside for justice, must rise above the static of the so called congruity streaming through the broadcasts of the nightly news. Fight the oppressors with individualistic thought. 

Is there a sense of “normality” in today’s society? Does the Beat Generation appear to be permeating into issues of the present day? 

"In this modern jazz, they heard something rebel and nameless that spoke for them, and their lives knew a gospel for the first time. It was more than a music; it became an attitude toward life, a way of walking, a language and a costume; and these introverted kids... now felt somewhere at last."  ~John Clellon Holmes 

www.litkicks.com

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Rebellion of an Era

Day after Day, the youth trample past the monotonous ivory. A dreary pathway of apathy; hierarchy reticulated like the ever-growing vines entangled on an aged oak. The school holds no enticement to the youth of an inverse era. For African Americans in the 1960’s there was only half the chance of completing high school(digitalhistory.com). Education was of lesser importance, which is of veritable notability when reviewing the writing of Gwendolyn Brooks.

To begin, “we real cool. We left school”(Brooks). The sixties was an era of “flower power.” School was a “drag” (grammar.yourdictionary.com). “Cats” and “chicks” were constantly “bookin” from the insipid corridor(pbs.org). Societal popularity was contingent on opposition from the Man. Brooks describes the connection between defiance of the accepted norm simply the in first statement.

As the adolescents descend into the pool room the deafening chant divides the inundating smog “we lurk late. We strike straight”(Brooks). Billiard was reestablished by two varying events, the first being “the release of the movie, The Hustler, based on the novel by Walter Tevis. The black and white film depicted the dark life of a pool hustler with Paul Newman in the title role”(bca-pool.com). The Pool Room was a place where the conscience of the Man could not be infringed upon by another being. The ideals of the era were simply compacted into a single building, the Billiard. It is only logical that rebellion is centered at the end of a cue soaring across the green oasis. 

The party rages. “We sing sin. We thin gin”(Brooks). During the era of the blues, sin was “celebrated”(lit.genius.com). The youth reveled in the sinful nature of the blues. Rebellion during this era is considerably deemed the most imperative means of acceptance. Drugs and alcohol were integers of prominence for adolescents as well. As money was not a relevant eventuality of the free spirited era, adaptations were necessary. Diluting gin with water was a common practice as a means of payment was scarce. The youth had to do what was necessary to find their own version of happiness.

The poem concludes in saying “we jazz june. We die soon”(brooks). Simply, jazzing in June portrayed the importance of the jazz in the African American culture of the sixties. In following, “we die soon.” The blight lifestyle is affirmed. Death is imminent when running with the big “cats.” Do you feel the youth of the sixties lived a fast life? How have adolescents evolved today? Is it a positive change? 

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Celestial State of the Human Soul

The bleakness of gray constricts the hushed air; the mind’s inclination being a hazy mixture of ashen dismay. Desolation veils the on sight of creation. Is there transcendence beyond the bleakness of physical reality? As the fisherman sails, the resplendent helm of “Elohim” imparts the bleak eclipse(www.agapebiblestudy.com). With the dispersion of the metaphysical twilight breaking, “one seal particularly I have seen here evening after evening [appears]. He was curious about me” (At The Fishhouses Bishop). The fisherman captivates the being with a hymn of consequential importance. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” lingers over the desolate waters..... “That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth; The spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth: The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever”(nethymnal.org). The soul goes beyond the life of the human body. Although it at times appears humanity is the thin “tendril” in the boundless hands of a maleficent world, there is hope(Roethke). The seal sanctions the theory of life after death. With each emergence from the deadening waters, his presence heartens existence of Heaven. 

Just as Bishop deliberates the theory of life after death, Roethke, too, mulls over ambiguous meaning of the soul’s transcendence beyond the human body. In construing the death of an aunt, Roethke relates “who sat with the dead when the relatives left, who fed and tended the infirm, the mad, the epileptic, and, with a harsh rasp of a laugh at herself, faced up to the worst”(Elegy). A reoccurring query of post existence consumes the minds of humanity. Is this the only chance to live or do we simply experience liberation at the end of the physical body’s life? 

Unlike Bishop, Roethke conceptualizes the afterlife as a similar desolate state of being. From one entrapment we emerge into another. In the final narrative of “Elegy” Roethke states “I see you in some celestial supermarket, Moving serenely among the leeks and cabbages, probing the squash, bearing down, with two steady eyes, on the quaking butcher”(Elegy). Do beings simple move from from one monotonous state to another? Does Bishop portray veracity with her depiction of God’s all mighty arms securing humanity? Is Roethke merited in his findings of a mundane afterlife? 

"A Mighty Fortress is Our God" really stuck out to me in the reading of "At the Fishhouses". Here is a version of the Protestant hymn. 

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Finality of Eternal Rest: Morality

Is morality a derivative of death? It is human nature to amass a virtuous state after encountering the finality of eternal rest. The unknown is daunting to even the most cerebral being. To deviate from the permanence of death, a sense of rectitude procures within a being as a means of vindication for the imminence of the soul’s departing. Flannery O’Connor depicts the hypocrisy of the multitude in the short story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” The Grandmother delineates the lack of discernment within the human race. She continuously slanders the name of humanity in saying, “it isn’t a soul in this green world of God’s that you can trust”(O’Connor 2779). The grandmother brings forth little positivity into this world. With her assertion she conforms the human race into a single, fallacious being. Simply stated, no man nor woman can be of good nature in this world under the reign of the “all sufficient”(2 Cor. 9:8) one. As the story progresses, the family encounters a man enthralled within a “transgression of divine law”(dictionary.com). The misfit, as he is known, displays to the grandmother the palpability of death. Out of desperation, the grandmother says to the Misfit “I just know you are a good man”(O’Connor 2783). She contorts her sentiment of the world to attain a sense of control over the situation. With a sense of morality, it is felt that one can overcome a seemingly insurmountable travesty. In the end, death is imminent for the grandmother. The Misfit closes in saying “she would have been a good woman...if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life”(O’Connor 2786). Does the reality of death conform human nature? Why do we, as humans, reflect upon our lives only in the hour of death and then choose to conform? 

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