We're On Our Way!

     The 20th Century showed us that the very nature of ‘Separate But Equal’ fosters violent and divisive behavior in the entire spectrum of society.  Some privileged, white Americans felt entitled and joined hate groups, actively seeking out minorities with the intent of causing them misery, injury, poverty, or death.  That racist attitude oppressed an entire group of people for no other reason than the color of their skin, and holding Hatred’s hand was a culture where some felt a large sense of entitlement.  Sadly, this sense of entitlement exists today in a very complicated web of religion, politics, and power.  
     There’s no getting around it.  DOMA is unconstitutional.  Treating an entire group of people as second-class citizens because of who they love (read: sexual relations) is nowhere to be found in the framework of our constitution.  Who knows whether the Supreme Court will continue to leave the decision up to the states?  Some feel that it should be up to the states to decide their own fate.  Others feel that it is up to the Supreme Court to federally lift limitations on same-sex marriages.  Our country is on the right track, ultimately.  Overturning DOMA was a good start.  But in the end, those who cite the bible should never be given the podium because our country was formed for those to flee religious persecution and oppression.   Have we forgotten that?  
     We're heading in the right direction; I can feel that.  It's a good feeling, too.  Let's keep this momentum going. 


To find out how others feel about DOMA, visit https://1worldonline.com/paginas/poll_details.html#!/861/ and VOTE!

An Open Letter To My Sister

You raised me.

You were my mentor.

You taught me right from wrong.

You taught me how to get into trouble.

You showed me how to think for myself through your actions.

You showed me how to stand up for what I believed in, no matter the cost.

You taught me integrity and honesty.

You taught me sarcasm.

You introduced me to Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

You really liked my pretend journalist name, Naida States.

You showed me a world of culture I otherwise would not have experienced.

You were there to comfort me when I felt bullied, sad, angry, confused.

You were right there with me, helping to fight those rough battles at home.

You were always a leader and showed me that it was okay to be different and to question everything.

You didn’t deserve to be hit because of who you are.

You didn’t deserve to be yelled at because of who you are.  

You didn’t deserve to be kicked out at 18 years old because of who you are.

You didn’t deserve to be one year away from graduating college and have the rug pulled out from under you because of who you are.

You didn’t deserve to be beaten by a group of drunken frat boys because of who you are.

Today is a day for you, my dear sister. 

People like you make a difference in this world. Today is a day that shows there are more of you out there who believe in humane ideals. Today I see a light at the end of the tunnel. 

I am proud to know you and proud of everything you stand for. I love you! 

A Little Girl Died That Day

Hey, let's talk about something for a moment. Reality television sensationalizes the worst aspects of human behaviour and, in conjunction with Detroit police, ultimately, a little girl is dead.  The SWAT point man blames the little girl for the accident, citing also a struggle with the aunt.  Why did he have an MP5 submachine gun pointed at a 7-year-old girl's head?

To make matters more complicated for this already tragic case, the videographer refused to release the footage of the incident.  If this girl was white, this case would have received widespread attention, dominating all the networks and there probably wouldn't have been a mistrial.

What do you think?

Sadly, the life of a wonderful little soul was taken unjustly and no one seems to give a damn.  Typical racism.  Typical America.  I'm disgusted and ashamed.

How do we change this cycle of violence?

Aiyana Stanley-Jones

http://www.kirotv.com/ap/ap/crime/trial-resumes-for-officer-charged-in-girls-death/nYGjm/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57589902-504083/aiyana-stanley-jones-update-mistrial-declared-in-manslaughter-trial-of-detroit-cop-in-death-of-7-yr.-old-girl/

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57590514-504083/aiyana-stanley-jones-update-videographer-in-fatal-detroit-police-raid-takes-plea-deal-prosecutors-say/

World Naked Bike Ride Los Angeles 2013

My husband and I had a great time at World Naked Bike Ride Los Angeles 2013!  Check it out!

Battlefield Egypt: Final Conflict

Battlefield Egypt: Final Conflict

William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra was based upon historical events yet Shakespeare deviates from the dreary history lesson and leads his audience down a road that is made of every type of brick, concrete, gold, and mortar imaginable, leading us to embrace his protagonists with open arms.  Antony, the unstoppable Roman soldier, finds love in the arms of his mistress, Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt.  Shakespeare guides us through this historical journey with some accuracy, and an audience finds greater meaning in Shakespeare’s attention to Antony’s character and experiences.  Antony is likely meaningful to Shakespeare in many ways, but Antony’s ultimate importance is drawn from the conflicts he experiences.  By creating several dramatic conflicts in Antony’s life, Shakespeare allows his audience to learn lessons about the balance of life, the power of time, and the complications of desire. 

Antony’s struggle with death leads to some interesting insights about life.  In Jacqueline Vanhoutte’s article, “Antony’s ‘Secret House of Death’: Suicide and Sovereignty in Antony and Cleopatra,” Vanhoutte addresses some important factors that a modern-minded reader should consider, as these factors change the opinion we may hold with respect to Antony.  During Shakespeare’s time, a cultured individual may have considered suicide an acceptable means of death.  Vanhoutte states, “In Tudor England, those who had access to education, and therefore to classical literature, might indeed judge a suicide ‘brave’ and ‘noble’ if done after the high Roman fashion.”  Perhaps Shakespeare was attempting to etch the remnants of those very Roman trademarks into the minds of the wealthy, producing an appreciation of Antony rather than disgust.  Instead of viewing Antony as a Roman Hero, Shakespeare’s less affluent audience – solidly rooted in Christianity – had a firm grasp on Antony’s downfalls rather than his victories.  Vanhoutte mentions, “…for most people living in sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England, suicide was unquestionably a sin.”  However, Shakespeare creates a conflict within the minds of his Christian audience by providing a nearly redeeming scenario to Antony’s sinful suicide: Antony’s dramatic and slow death.  Antony cries, “Peace! / Not Caesar’s valour hath o’erthrown Antony, / But Antony’s hath triumphed on itself” (IV.xv.14-16).  Antony struggles to remain “Roman” here, yet admits defeat against his own sword, and this painful penance paints him as a “faulty” protagonist and hero in the eyes of his devout audience.  Antony’s death is neither Roman nor Christian, and Shakespeare includes another quandary surrounding Antony’s death.  The linguistic application of the word “death” may not be how we semantically view it today.  René Weis’ introduction to Antony and Cleopatra suggests that death may not always mean the end of life: “We know that ‘death’ in Elizabethan English still preserved the meaning of the French la petite mort, that is, sexual climax.  No other Shakespeare play exploits the multiple paradoxes of this in the way that Antony and Cleopatra does” (lviii).  Shakespeare creates a mixed message within the meaning of the word ‘death’ and this causes conflict in its final interpretation.  This confusion is also made more difficult by the unexpected way in which Antony dies.  Vanhoutte identifies the lack of predictability in Antony’s death and how it creates a challenge: “And Antony’s final moments have earned less acclaim than [Cleopatra’s], in part because Antony improvises a death that comprises elements of the ‘High Roman’ and early modern models of suicide, but that cannot satisfactorily explained by reference to either.”  By presenting an unexpected and botched death, perhaps Shakespeare was attempting to offer yet another redeeming moment in the eyes of his less affluent audience, painting Antony as a hero in the end.  Peter Berek’s article “Doing and Undoing: The Value of Action in Antony and Cleopatra” discusses Pompey and his failures that eventually lead the public to adore him.  Berek mentions that, “The ‘ebbed’ man (in this case, Pompey), unloved until he loses the power which truly makes one worthy of love, becomes dear to the populace by his very lack of power,” suggesting that the lack of something creates the desire for it.  The loss of Antony perhaps leads the audience in the very same psychological direction, lauding Antony after his death rather than viewing him as a sinner. 

Antony’s frolic with Father Time also draws attention to similar struggles within us.  Antony’s passionate life and death struggle suggests that he understands his limitations as well as the pleasures in life.  Berek states, “Embracing paradox as [Antony, Cleopatra, and Caesar] embrace one another, they choose life and die, though the realm in which they will forever play their parts is knowable only in the imagination.”  This fluctuating state of existence between life and death, particularly for Antony, creates a tear in the temporal balance perceived by Shakespeare’s audience because this flux induces a sense of instability.   Shakespeare employed time strategically throughout Antony and Cleopatra.  Arthur H. Bell, author of “Time and Convention in Antony and Cleopatra,” suggests that time is used as a tool rather than simply a reference for presenting events, a “resource to be managed wisely.”  Shakespeare’s use of time and its effect on his characters allowed him to empower the Elizabethan audience, providing them with an almost god-like perspective of the events and simultaneously skewing that very perspective.  Bell believes that this paradox or confusion is particularly important to Shakespeare in that it presents “a universal dilemma: the willful man caught in a heedless and rigid mode of being.”  Antony struggles in this awkward temporal existence while Caesar thrives in his ability to adapt to the ever-changing world around him.  Bell concludes that Antony and his Roman counterparts are clearly divided: “No time-honored role seems to work well for [Antony].  Our suspicions are confirmed as we see, by contrast, the successful adjustments of Pompey and Caesar, exemplifications of the hero and the man of policy.”  Time is certainly not on Antony’s side, leading him to eventually escape to a timeless existence in death. 

Not only does an audience learn by observing Antony’s conflicts with suicide and his struggles with the concept of time; Antony’s balancing act with respect to his needs and wants creates a larger message for the audience to ponder.  His heroic Roman desire to maintain a positive reputation is in active conflict with the vitality of Egypt.  In Robert J. Baker’s article “Absence and Subversion: The ‘O’erflow of Gender in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra,” Baker identifies Antony’s conflict: “Early in the play, however, it is Antony who disrupts the hierarchy, leaving the world of honor and the scenes of triumph represented by Rome and entering the smaller, political space of Egypt and the heightened, personal space of love embodied by Cleopatra.”  Antony risks his Roman world and status to love a woman in Egypt who Baker suggests carries an “alien vitality.”  Antony’s Egyptian desires create concern among his fellow Romans, and Antony recognizes the shift in his priorities from the masculine and stoic Rome to the more feminine and desirable Egypt.  Baker notes, “[Antony] is a radical, a charged particle, oscillating mercurially between Rome and Egypt, self and Cleopatra, always likely to set off a reaction of fission that would destroy the empire and its values.”  Antony’s unstable nucleus eventually shatters and it seems that his Egyptian passions consume his surroundings.  Baker suggests that this liminal attitude between Rome and Egypt is the main reason that “Caesar, Macaenas, Enobarbus, Candidius, Philo – indeed all the Romans – have reason to fear Antony’s change.”  Antony’s betwixt existence leaves him at a crossroads, and his “legs bestrid the ocean” (V.ii.82), as William D. Wolf suggests in his article “‘New Heaven, New Earth’: The Escape from Mutability in Antony and Cleopatra.”  The removal of Rome and the straddling of his two worlds allow Antony to explore his feminine side.  Weis indicates that the pageantry of gender play, as seen from the eyes of a Roman, is not necessarily taboo, but, rather, that it is “exotic and decadent” (xxiii).  Perhaps Shakespeare employed this specific type of confusion in order to stir thoughts of confusion in his audience, demonstrating what happens when desire and duty metaphorically intertwine. 

William Shakespeare takes his audience on a journey of history, and his audience likely reacted in a way that he predicted.  Shakespeare’s use of conflict within the storyline of Antony and Cleopatra creates a world in which an audience experiences the challenges that the characters face.  Shakespeare addresses the conflict between life and death, time and its challenges, and the battle between desire versus duty.  Shakespeare was able to linguistically manipulate his audience into supporting the conflicted hero, Antony, instead of shunning him.  Perhaps the greater lesson is seen through the extreme circumstances that, when diluted, appear as highly average inner wars that we struggle with every single day.  

Works Cited

Baker, J. Robert. "Absence and Subversion: The 'O'erflow' of Gender in Shakespeare's       _____Antony and Cleopatra." Upstart Crow 12 (1992): 105-115. Rpt. in Shakespearean _____Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource _____Center. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.

Bell, Arthur H. "Time and Convention in Antony and Cleopatra."Shakespeare _____Quarterly 24.3 (Summer 1973): 253-264. Rpt. inShakespearean Criticism. Ed. _____Michelle Lee. Vol. 137. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 _____Dec. 2011.

Berek, Peter. "Doing and Undoing: The Value of Action in Antony and _____Cleopatra." Shakespeare Quarterly 32.3 (Autumn 1981): 295-304. Rpt. _____in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 119. Detroit: Gale, _____2009. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.

Shakespeare, William. Antony and Cleopatra. Ed. Emrys Jones and René Weis. _____London: Penguin, 2005. Print.

Vanhoutte, Jacqueline. "Antony's 'secret house of death': suicide and sovereignty in _____Antony and Cleopatra." Philological Quarterly 79.2 (2000): 153+. Literature _____Resource Center. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.

Wolf, William D. "'New Heaven, New Earth': The Escape from Mutability in Antony and _____Cleopatra." Shakespeare Quarterly 33.3 (Autumn 1982): 328-335. Rpt. _____in Shakespearean Criticism. Ed. Michelle Lee. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, _____2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Dec. 2011.

Sophia's Choice

Sophia’s Choice

Alice Munro’s short story “Too Much Happiness” takes place in the 1800s and Munro sets a tone within this short story about the strength of a woman’s intelligence during a time of female inequality.  The title story “Too Much Happiness” is set in a different era but this short story provides the same subservient, observant inner monologue from its protagonist that can be found throughout the other short stories in Munro’s latest collection.  Protagonist Sophia, a mathematician, struggles with romantic love, womanhood, and finds her greatest joy in mathematics and she discovers these elements are in conflict; the nineteenth century was certainly no place for a female mathematician, and Sophia’s passion ultimately causes her demise. 

Sophia finds herself in the throes of a lustful, physical love affair yet almost loathes the idea of womanhood and finds her truest passion in writing mathematics.  In her early years, Sophia finds herself in a practically loveless union to Vladimir, a sort of cold, terse man, when tragedy occurs and Sophia is left widowed, still searching for her place in life.  She eventually finds herself in the arms of Maksim Maksimovich Kovalesky, whom she describes as, “joyful, and at the same time very gloomy – [a] disagreeable neighbor, excellent comrade…terribly sincere, and at the same time very sly” (249).  Sophia sincerely appreciates Maksim and his husky presence, but Maksim seems to distance himself from Sophia’s mathematical endeavors: “While [Sophia] was basking Maksim decamped.  Never a word about the real reason, of course – just the papers he had to write, his need for the peace and quiet of Beaulieu” (250).  Does Maksim, perhaps, distance himself from Sophia because of his masculine Russian ideals that keep him from truly loving Sophia appropriately, threatened by Sophia’s intelligence?  Maksim makes his feelings clear in a letter he writes to Sophia while staying in Beaulieu: “If I loved you I would have written differently” (251).  Overall, Sophia’s relationship with Maksim, although very lustful and physical, seems born out of a physical necessity and a paternal dynamic seems to present itself:

“That marvelous assurance [Maksim] has, that [Sophia’s] father had, you can feel it when you are a little girl snuggled up in their arms and you want it all your life.  More delightful of course if they love you, but comforting even if it is only a kind of ancient noble pact that they have made, a bond that has been signed, necessarily even if not enthusiastically, for your protection” (295). 

Better this than loneliness, right?  Sophia, holding the Russian culture tight inside her heart, likely views the role of women in much the same way as a Russian man may view women.  For example, while Sophia rides the train, she sees a woman and her injured son.  The child’s need for a nurturing lap is reciprocated in a mechanical, almost obligatory response by the mother.  Sophia begins an internal dialogue, thinking, “How terrible is the lot of women.  And what might this woman say if Sophia told her about the new struggles, women’s battle for votes and places at universities?  She might say, But that is not as God wills” (294).  It is possible that Sophia’s extreme intelligence causes her to look beyond the nearly facile explanation that a god controls her mostly scientific, numerical world.  Sophia’s passion for mathematics transcends her appreciation of Maksim and her perspective about the role of the traditional woman.  Weierstrass, an elite mathematician and professor, takes Sophia under his wing and finds that, “he must soothe her, hold her carefully, letting her learn how to manage the fireworks in her own brain” (271).  Sophia’s gender does not matter to Weierstrass, as he feels he has met his challenge, his competition, but in a healthy way.  There is no competition of male versus female in the Weierstrass house.  Weierstrass’ encouragement of Sophia’s skills allows Sophia to find comfort in mathematics during times of great distress.  During a social function, Sophia became “Too full of glowing and exceptional ideas to speak to people and longer” (300).  Basically, Sophia finds herself needing to escape from the boredom of social gatherings, and her easiest escape is through mathematics. 

            Munro cleverly presents the situations that Sophia experiences and it seems that Sophia is her own greatest conflict.  Sophia sees the physical aspects of women, in the context of her society, as a subservient role that she refuses to adhere to.  When Sophia unpacks her travel bag, she packs it in an untidy manner: “In the morning Sophia took a clean though crumpled frock out her bag – she had never learned how to pack tidily…” (278).  The 1800s, typically viewed this type of woman as an anti-woman, unorthodox and out of control.  Sophia remains in conflict with physical, natural feelings when she finds herself courting Maksim in the early days of their lustful dance.  She mentions having another suitor, a German who paid her to allow him to court her (252); Maksim insists that Sophia should marry him, provided that Sophia is “comfortable with what he had to offer” (253), and Sophia responds to this lukewarm proposal, stating, “To be comfortable with a tepid, courteous offering of feeling, ruling out the disappointments and scenes which had mostly originated with her – that was another matter altogether” (253).  Sophia’s physical need for companionship is fulfilled in Maksim, even if it is not a storybook romance. 

Sophia’s disgust of the mechanics of womanhood in addition to societal expectations makes a successful love affair impossible because it would keep Sophia from her true passion, and this unhealthy cocktail eventually kills her.  The Swedish culture that Sophia finds herself in accepts intelligent women and they “had been the only people in Europe willing to hire a female mathematician for their new university” (253), yet Sophia frequently finds herself in the middle of a big, ironic joke – she is a highly celebrated mathematician in Europe, and when Sophia reaches the punchline,  she realizes that she lives in a place where, “[Europe, in general] would never grant her a job worthy of her gift, that she would be lucky indeed to find herself teaching in a provincial girls’ high school” (250).  Sophia’s passion for math eventually leads to her death.  After sneaking out from a party one snowy evening, Sophia accidentally boards the wrong bus and walks the mile or two back to her residence (300).  Wet feet and the sheer outdoor chill lead Sophia into almost immediate illness.  In her fevered delirium, Sophia describes her idea for a new mathematical novel, but quickly becomes flustered with fatigue and confusion: “[Sophia] said she could do something much better now and started to describe her idea for a new story. She became confused and laughed because she was not doing this more clearly” (302)  Sophia’s drive for mathematical truth to explain life is simply too overwhelming.  Sophia dies with a brilliant and profound idea, an idea to discover the “pulse in life” (302), and her mind is on mathematics up until her very last breath. 

Alice Munro paints an ornate and detailed inner monologue in “Too Much Happiness”, all while the reality of outer life continues.  Maksim’s distant - almost paternal – emotions, Sophia’s view of her place in the world as a woman, and her role as a mathematician are juggled very carefully yet Sophia cannot overcome the physical strain of reality, so she escapes into a world of infinite mathematics.  Perhaps when Sophia says her dying words, “Too much happiness” (302), what she really means is that she finally has entered a dimension where she can be truly happy, having nothing but mathematical delusions until the very end. 

Works Cited

Munro, Alice. Too Much Happiness: Stories. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print.

Artistic Response - Haiku

Artistic Response to Jules Renard’s Nature Stories

The Koala Bear

Koala bears do

What other bears dream about –

Tearing your face off! 

A Tumbleweed Seed

Tumb-diddly-dee – 

Watch a tiny chance of life

Roly-poly ‘round!

Pollen

Spring, Mother Nature

Pulls up the upholstery,

Gives it a good whack!

Jules Renard: An Artistic Examination

Grave Expectations

Jules Renard’s Nature Stories is an artistic examination of the perceptions of our world.  In  Renard’s short story Autumn Leaves, Renard presents a scene of various aspects of Nature preparing for what appears to be some kind of slumber.  The leaves change colour; nests are abandoned.  From a tiny plant to the direction of the wind, the author shows us how Nature reacts to the arrival of winter, death.  Renard artfully paints a picture that, I believe, ultimately shows us our own awareness of death.  In order to provide a holistic analysis of Autumn Leaves and its relationship to death, I will look into three prominent aspects of Renard’s text: impatience, metamorphosis, and acceptance. 

To begin, Renard’s artistic endeavor in Autumn Leaves is dependent upon impatience, the anxious anticipation of things to come.  For example, in the opening line of this story, Renard states, “What a surprise!  This evening there’s not enough natural light, it won’t last as long as yesterday.  We’ll need a lamp.”  Here, Renard shows us the inadequacies of nature and our hasty solution to its shortcomings.  The need to extend daylight hours to yield more productivity shows the spirit of man placed against the cosmic order.  However, the focus on work is clearly contrasted in Renard’s opening story Lying in Wait, in which a hunter sets aside his responsibilities in order to enjoy the beauty and bounty of nature.  Interestingly, the story about patience takes place at the beginning of the collection while its closing is about impatience, or highlights impatience rather than fulfillment.  This idea is highlighted when Renard writes,

“Everything has come to a halt: the last leaves are still hanging on, just as people at the bedside of a man who’s taking a long time to die think they’ve given up hope too soon.  You’re still sad but you start thinking, a bit, about other things…and you keep on waiting.

Is everything going to be wiped out?” (163)

The anxious impatience of a man on his deathbed leads the narrator to contemplate the annihilation of all things and ultimately, the next stages of existence. 

            Indeed, Renard continues his narrative, invoking the “mysterious metamorphosis” of nature.  (163)  The metamorphosis that Renard refers to is not only the actual metamorphosis of life’s biological processes but also the metaphorical anthropomorphic treatment of plants and animals.  For example, Renard writes, “A last rose is getting undressed, in order to die.”  (164)  Clearly, roses do not undress and Renard’s prose engages the reader with the transient nature of all things.  Even the title of this story Autumn Leaves is a clear descriptor of the tone of the story and the collection.  Autumn is a time of change.  The grass no longer grows, the leaves turn red, and winter is at the doorstep.  When pondering death, once we get past the feelings of futility, we no longer experience the fear of death. 

            The acceptance of death as part of the natural progression allows an individual to experience the world as organically as possible.  “Who’d be selfish enough to pick an autumn strawberry for himself?  You only dare pick it to put it into the mouth of a beloved innocent little girl.”  (164)  Here, Renard shows us that the last sweet moments of life should not be tainted by the pessimistic cynicism which envelops our world.  Rather, these delicate and innocent moments should be shared with others.  Similarly, the man with the gun in Lying in Wait may be the agent of death, but he, too, in a moment of acceptance, steps aside to appreciate the world that is presented to him.  “He’s smiling at the moon and the moon is smiling back.  Soon, he puts down his gun beside him and, drumming with his fingers and gently nodding his head as if beating time to their movements, this friendly hunter has no regrets as he sits watching the rabbits dance their minuet.” (3)  Acceptance of death can also be seen in other author’s works.  In Hayden Carruth’s anthology The Voice That Is Great Within Us – a collection of poetry throughout history – a poem by Robert Frost quite clearly states this acceptance of the natural order of things in his poem Nothing Gold Can Stay.  “Then leaf subsides to leaf, so Eden sank to grief, so dawn goes down to day, nothing gold can stay.”  Clearly, the theme of death and its acceptance of it are present in the last line, succinctly stated, “Nothing gold can stay.”  (16)

            In conclusion, Renard portrays the relationship between nature and death in three separate aspects.  The subject, whether human, animal, or plant, experiences the impatience of existence.  These feeling on their own seem selfish and powerless but when viewed in context with the overall life cycle, they can be mitigated.  Renard’s narration in Autumn Leaves avoids the first person narrative, allowing the objective viewpoint of change and metamorphosis to be revealed.  Finally, when the realization occurs that everything is interconnected, an acceptance and wonder is introduced.  Renards viewpoints are succinctly phrased by Douglas Parmée in his introduction, “…there is a message for the reader of today: ‘A poor life this, if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare.’” (xiii)

Works Cited

Carruth, Hayden, ed. The Voice That Is Great within Us: American Poetry of the Twentieth Century. New York: Bantam, 1970. Print.

Renard, Jules. Nature Stories. Trans. Douglas Parmée. New York, NY: New York Review of, 2011. Print. 

Opposites Attract

“’New Heaven, New Earth’: The Escape from Mutability in Antony and Cleopatra” by William D. Wolf states that this play is different in that, although it carries similar characteristics to the other tragedies, it is not as extreme and does not hold as much depth.  Most critics and commentators agree that Egypt and Rome represent polar opposites.  The scenes jump from one location to another and the language and inflection of each character is complemented by the local timbre.  Egypt – and Cleopatra – embodies feminine sexuality.  Cleopatra has a deeper emotional attachment to Antony than simply a sexual escapade and she can control Antony using the power of her emotions.  On the other hand, Rome – and Caesar – represents reason in that every action has a logical purpose and there is an absolute goal in mind.  Antony is betwixt and between, finding himself in a whirlwind between the ideals of Rome and the passion of Egypt. 

It is interesting that, the further I read Wolf’s text, the more I realized that Shakespeare did have a purpose for almost every line he wrote.  The word “sword” and its blatant yet ambiguous symbolism and visual imagery toward the beginning, are intentionally transformed into more earthly items such as a worm.  I had hoped that Wolf would have discussed in greater detail the use of symbolism; instead, he incorporates these major shifts of particular symbols and ideas and condenses the topic down to a small snippet.  Wolf interestingly points out how the imminent deaths of Antony and Cleopatra present glimpses of what their expected roles are in terms of each character’s demeanor: The Queen and The Mighty Soldier.  

Really old movie review

In 2004, Morgan Spurlock disgusted movie-goers everywhere, merely by making a simple documentary, Super Size Me, about Americans and our love of fast food.  Spurlock, an independent filmmaker whose wife is a vegan chef, was inspired to show America how our love of fast food is taking us straight into the toilet in terms of our physical health.  Spurlock’s idea of eating nothing but McDonald’s for thirty days led him, first, to see a few doctors for a battery of tests.  The test results were within the healthy range for a male in his early thirties. 

Knowing what we know now about pink slime, it is no surprise that Spurlock ended up in such a sorry state throughout the film.  Spurlock, in an attempt to shine a light on obesity in this country, committed to breakfast, lunch, and dinner…all from McDonald’s.  His other rules were various, but an important rule was that he order his meals supersized, but only when the cashier asked.  Another very important rule was that Spurlock exercise how an ‘average’ American exercises – very little!

Within just a few days, Spurlock is seen retching out his driver-side car window, just minutes after ordering a McGriddle type of sandwich.  Spurlock also gained about ten pounds in just the first week of his commitment.  Spurlock’s health diminished rapidly during his thirty day excursion, especially his healthy heart.  Our class chapter about heart disease is the perfect chapter to parallel this film.  Spurlock’s heart palpitations halfway through the month are quite disturbing. 

My husband and I have committed to NO McDONALD’S whenever possible.  Sure, McDonald’s offers a great and classic all-American burger, but it also serves with it a bellyful of health risks.  No, thank you – I do not want my stomach supersized.  

Modern Pow-wows

(After viewing the segment from the Pow-wow video “Into the Circle: An Introduction to Native American Pow-wow,” write a short essay summarizing the historical information given on the beginnings of Pow-wows in Oklahoma.)

Prior to the European settlers, Native Americans danced in drum circles, and each tribe had its own unique sound and drum circle tradition.  Modern Pow-wows are significant in several ways, resulting from an accelerated fusion of the Old and the New traditions due to forced migration into reservations – many forced into Oklahoma.  Oklahoma was home to many Native American tribes before these mass migrations of Great Plains Indians, and became an even richer cultural center afterward.  The Kiowa tribe, for example, created its own new form of ceremony and dance in the late 1800s, featuring young boys in a “Boy Dance” Pow-wow.  The Comanche tribe also formed a “Picnic”, a new celebration and dance tradition.  The 19^th Century brought about many changes, and mass migrations of non-Native American settlers toward the West of the country caused tribes to create “War Dances” – based on earlier drum dance traditions – a dance whose purpose was to entertain tourists who were traveling west.  The shows were known as “Wild West Shows”, featuring ‘Cowboys & Indians’ battles.  New dances were also created for other reasons.  WWI and WWII was truly an accelerated evolution for a large number of the Plains Indians.  Dances were performed in a veteran’s honour in order to help raise money for his or her safe return, or to welcome the veteran (now known as a Warrior) home after a long journey away from the tribe.  Ultimately, a Homecoming Dance was refined, and a day of celebration, July 5^th, was designated as Homecoming Day.  The mass influx of returning war veterans caused a major intertribal cultural fusion.  By the 1940s, the Tulsa Pow-wow made its start.  Each year it grew to include more and more tribes, resulting in what is now the modern day Pow-wow, one that welcomes the new yet remembers the old.  

The Importance of being Heitor Villa-Lobos

04-23-2012

     Heitor Villa-Lobos is widely popular Brazilian composer.  Villa-Lobos’ life experiences influenced him and his compositions, in turn, ring unique for many listeners in Latin America and beyond.  
     Villa-Lobos learned much about the classical music world, having been introduced to the cello at a young age.  His mother’s influence led him to enroll in medical school, but his passion for music led him to explore the terrains of areas within Brazil with which he was less familiar.  Villa-Lobos studied the native Brazilian melodies and eventually composed Danças Caracteristicas Africanas, three short pieces for solo piano.  Danças was a success at the 1922 Brazilian Week of Modern Art, and Villa-Lobos eventually moved to Paris.  
     Villa-Lobos found inspiration in many places, and his short Bach-inspired compositions, Bachianas brasileiras, show the fusion between the traditional and vernacular.  The operatic sound of the female vocalist is European in its style.  The strings provide the traditional European flavor.  The depth of singer Anna Maria Bondi’s tone is made even more agonizingly beautiful by the Brazilian “sound” which I can hear in the choice of percussion – a more dance-like plucking from the string section.  
     Villa-Lobos was important in the world of Latin Music as well as around the world because of his retention of the indigenous Brazilian sounds within his compositions.  He is internationally recognized because of his innovations in working with Brazilian sounds and fusing them with the less vernacular, more traditional European classical styles.   



Works Cited
Hess, Dr. Carol. "The Many Voices of Latin American Concert Music."Connect4Education.com. Web.

The Erhu

The Erhu and its Beginnings

·       “Ji qin” appeared during the Tang dynasty, around 618 – 907 A.D.  Ji qin is the early beginnings of the more specific music of the “huqin” (bostonerhu.com).

·        “Huqin” is first mentioned during the Song dynasty, around 960 – 1279 A.D (bostonerhu.com). 

·       Evolution from solely plucking to bowing, using pieces of bamboo during the Yuan dynasty closely resembles today’s erhu (wesleyan.edu). 

·       Composer and artist Liu Tianhua popularizes the term erhu and reinvents pipa music in the 1920s (wesleyan.edu).

The erhu has an interesting past that leads us to an interesting present, one in which the violin plays a role in reminding us of its horsehair-strung beginnings.  The erhu of China began as a “barbaric” musical instrument from the northern regions (Dabczynski).  The erhu’s strings are made of horsehair, and is looped into two strings that are typically tuned to D and A (philmultic.com).  On the other hand, the violin has four strings and is typically tuned to perfect fifths (wikipedia.org).  An erhu’s soundbox is covered by stretched snakeskin (Dabczynski) whereas the violin in its entirety is made of wood (stradivarius.org).   

Works Cited

Dabczynski, Andrew, Richard Meyer, and Bob Phillips. "String Explorer, Bk 1:." Google Books. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://books.google.com/books?id=Ur_WOYO6Dx4C>.

"Erhu - Chinese Violin / Fiddle with Two Strings." Erhu - Chinese Violin / Fiddle with Two Strings - and Erhu Music (audio & Video Demo). Web. 2012. <http://www.philmultic.com/home/instruments/erhu.html>.  

"History of Ehru, Chinese Violin, Fiddle, Huqin, Xiqin, Gaohu, Zhantao Lin." History of Ehru, Chinese Violin, Fiddle, Huqin, Xiqin, Gaohu, Zhantao Lin. Boston Erhu Ensemble. Web. 2012. <http://www.bostonerhu.com/history.htm>.  

"Stradivarius." History of the Violin. Web. 2012. <http://www.stradivarius.org/violin>.  

"Violin." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 May 2012. Web. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violin>.  

Zheng, Su. "Erhu." Wesleyan.edu. 2003. Web. 2012. <http://www.wesleyan.edu/vim/cgi-bin/print.cgi?&id=19>.

A Simple Concert Report

June 6, 2012

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Department of Ethnomusicology

presents

“The Spring Festival of World Music and Jazz”

Sunday, June 3, 2012 at 7:00 PM

Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble | Kobla Ladzekpo, Director

Program

Adzogbo / Adzohu

Gadzo

Tora

Tokoe

~~~~~~~~~~

“Ooh, look!  A zombie squirrel!” I yelled to Christopher as he sat eating Cheetos while we waited for the World Music performance to begin.  An overly friendly squirrel was about to make our acquaintance in front of the Herb Alpert building at UCLA, having heard the crumpling of the bag.  He quickly disappeared up a tree once he got his hands on a dropped Cheeto.  I eventually made my way inside of the Herb Alpert building and was struck by the most amazing view of the UCLA Music Library.  This was my first visit to UCLA, and I was excited to see that its music library looks almost as big as (if not bigger) the Glendale College main library!  Sadly, it was closed for the evening, so I couldn’t check it out. I waltzed into the auditorium and found a seat toward the middle-right, sitting next to Christopher and my father-in-law, Mike.  I noticed that the performance hall itself was pretty basic in its appearance and structure.  Nothing too ornate.  An empty area in the back housed several tripods and cameras that were ready to record.  Red curtains were richly and lazily draped onstage, awaiting the performers. 

The house lights went dim, and someone’s voice cried out from behind the curtain.  I heard the drums begin to play, and the curtains began to divide as the stage lights were brought up.  The first dance was Adzogbo/Adzohu.  The program stated that this type of dance was “originally associated with the war deities of Benin.”  The Adzohu portion is usually performed in two sections.  The first section, Kadobo, is performed by women and the second section, Atsia, is performed by men.  At this festival, however, they performed only the Atsia section, including the women.  The drum ensemble sat or stood in a semi-circle behind the dancers.  The larger lead drum, an Atsimewu, was placed toward the center and was secured by a wooden frame base.  The percussionists on stage right played Axatsi, a type of rattle played between the hand and the top of the leg.  Next to the Axatsi instruments were various other drums, either struck with sticks or with hands.  One instrumentalist played an Atoke, a boat-shaped bell, and the director played the Gankogui, a double bell.   The dancers wore colourful leggings and pleated, striped skirts and wore yellow tops.  Their dance appeared to simulate the throwing of spears and battling one another. 

Next, Gadzo was visually appealing in that swords were used.  There were certain districts in the Ewe regions that prohibited the use of swords for fear that dancers may injure one another or themselves (http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00726/index_files/Page951.htm).  The dancers, in this case, included both male and female, and all ages were present.  However, this dance is a traditional dance for young men.  The dancers each carried a short sword.  The instrumentalists in the background performed a call and response between the lead drum in the center and a sung response.  In terms of the percussive instrumentation, it was the same lineup as Adzogbo/Adzohu, showcasing the entire ensemble. 

Tora, from the Dagomba people of Northern Ghana was lighthearted in that the social aspect of the music and dance is fun and not about war.  The percussionists, instead of sitting, became a part of the semi-circle dance.  They played a Donno (pressure drum), Lunga (pressure drum), Brekete (bass drum), and a Gungon (bass drum).  Originally a woman’s dance, the Tora has become socially acceptable for any gender (http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=african_diaspora_isp).  The dancers jump toward each other and bump hips in the air.  The dancing almost becomes a contest between two friends.  The drums continue playing and signify different transitions within the dance. 

Ending the performance is the adolescent dance for girls, Tokoe.  This is a dance from the Southern Ghana/Republic of Togo people known as the Ga-adangme.  Young girls are secluded and are taught how to “become a woman” during this training (http://www.alokli.com/site/dances/dances.html).  When the training is done, the celebration and dance begin.  The dance was both erotic and nurturing, showing the dual livelihoods of women expected to be lovers and mothers.  The lead drum calls out a beat and the secondary percussionists respond on their own instruments. Here, the Atsimewu takes the lead spatially and musically.  The instruments beckon the dancers to begin their rare processional.  The male singer calls out, and the women sing a response. 

As I watched this dance, I imagined that the gestures performed had deep meanings - in terms of a girl’s passage into womanhood, as well as her relationship to the community.  I imagined in my mind’s eye how this event might have unfolded historically.  The newly formed women were performing this dance for the entire village to see her abilities as a woman.  Depending on the quality of her performance, her status within the village is at stake and even further, the prospects of a powerful husband or the fear of a husband at all drives through their minds during their performance.  Meanwhile, the men and boys of the village all imagine having their way with the best of dancers and the realization that, for the young men, they don’t have the legitimacy or the prestige to marry yet.  For the old men, the knowledge that their young wives would be consorting with the young warriors, regardless of marriage vows, also linger in their mind from a lifetime of experience.

The experience of visiting UCLA for the first time, seeing West African dances, and letting my mind go free was just what I needed on a Sunday night.  I learned by watching that the instruments, voices, and dance are all integral components of what create the overall feel of West African music.  If one element of this balanced musical cocktail were missing, it would certainly change the feel of this uniquely holistic art form.  The vibrancy of a pure percussion orchestra was much more powerful than the balanced scales of a symphonic European composer.  Perhaps I can learn from the energy levels of these West African traditional performances and implement that dynamic in my vocal performance. 

Works Cited

"Alokli Dance Repertoire." Alokli. Web. June 2012. <http://www.alokli.com/site/dances/dances.html>.

Behrens, Electa. "Dances of Northern Ghana." Web. June 2012. <http://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=african_diaspora_isp>.

"Dances." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 06 June 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00726/index_files/Page951.htm>.

Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble. Dir. Kobla Ladzekpo. UCLA, Westwood. 03 June 2012. Performance.

Music and Dance of West Africa Ensemble. "Tokoe." Rec. 03 June 2012. Tokoe. UCLA Ethnomusicology Department, 2012. YouTube. Jessica Wawra (Kesselring), 2012. Web. <http://youtu.be/_jpe61A7ABY>.

Repatriated: Violence against non-violent offenders?

     The Long Beach Daily Breeze reports that twenty-five illegal immigrants were detained after having been intercepted by federal officers just off the coast of California near Abalone Cove.  The official report states that the panga boat was intercepted for a possible smuggling operation.  The statements made by officials allude that it was a drug smuggling operation.  The article is unclear, to me, whether the boat was known to carry human passengers before the raid occurred.  The individuals were questioned by federal authorities before either being deported – or as the official report says: “processed and repatriated” – or held for further questioning in regards to the smuggling of drugs.  The article indicates that smuggling activity off the coast of California, whether drugs or humans, has increased in recent years.  The article makes mention of another panga-related incident where a Coast Guard Officer died due to a head wound caused by a collision of the illegal vessel into his inflatable boat. 

            As I look at the photos, read and re-read this article, my thoughts go back to ten years ago, a time when I didn’t really have a strong stance on illegal immigration.  Now, my opinions about the treatment and processing of illegal immigrants certainly have a liberal tone, reaching really far to the left.  Didn’t our country basically begin as an influx, eventually overrunning the native populations, sending them into marginal regions of the country?  What gives our government the authority to treat another human being the way it did that day?  Or any other day?  My opinion is that everyone should be welcomed with open arms to this country, not “repatriated” as they are now.  It sickens me to think that the foreign populations living within our borders, the ones who secretly keep this country going because they are exploited for their services (living in servitude and modern-day slavery in order to survive), are treated so inhumanely by our government for the non-violent “crime” of looking for a better life.  

http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_22158851

Maryland & the DREAM Act

     In a surprising turn from what was once one of American history’s slave states, Maryland adopted the Dream Act, offering in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants.  Opponents of the Dream Act believed that it would never pass, citing that “native-born and legal residents would never give undocumented students the same leg up as their classmates enjoy.”  Further, Maryland voters approved a measure, allowing same-sex marriage within its borders.  Maryland voters also approved a proposal that lifted certain bans on gambling.  The article states that, although all the ballot measures are significant, Maryland’s Gov. Martin O’Malley believes the Dream Act and same-sex marriage are the most significant: “[O’Malley] argued that they were both about the value of inclusion.”  
This article interested me because, having just read Frederick Douglass’ narrative, it seems as if Maryland has an evil twin sister locked in the closet – and someone finally threw away the key.  Maryland was adamant about its slave-state status back in the day, and the fact that it is now one of the most progressive states in the union should send a message to other states about the idea of tolerance.  Further, Maryland has it spot on with respect to the Dream Act.  I feel that our country is so opposed to the idea of letting in “brown people” that we forget how we got here.  What happened to land of the free – ‘watch-your-step-getting-off-the-boat-what-is-your-name-and-welcome-to-America’?  Maryland, thank you for showing us that the popular vote – the will of a state’s citizens – can prevail in positive ways instead of leading to oppression.  

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-11-07/opinions/35503266_1_ballot-measure-popular-vote-illegal-immigrants

Shoot the Skunk!

     In the article “Thomas Grant Helped By Mom Janet Grant in Shooting Girl Mistaken For Skunk” by Hilary Hanson, we find the Second Amendment hard at work.  A Pennsylvania mother and son duo find themselves outside late one night while hosting a Halloween party.  Janet Grant received word that there was a skunk lurking about her property and promptly instructed her 24-year-old son to shoot it.  Janet Grant and her son Thomas ventured toward a hillside and, while Janet aimed the flashlight into the hilly woods, Thomas fired at what they both thought was the skunk in question.  Promptly after, they heard a girl scream from that direction.  They discovered an 8-year-old girl, a cousin of the family’s, shot in the “shoulder, arm, back, and neck.”  The young girl was wearing a black Halloween costume that had a white tassel.   After I read this horrifying story of our country’s Second Amendment applied to a real-life current American situation, I instinctually thought why are people like this allowed to own guns??  After some thought, however, I realize that, as much as it makes me cringe, these folks have just as much of a right as I do to carry a gun.  This article caused me to consider this idea of “Natural Rights” as it applies to American freedoms and liberties.  As much as I would wish to employ an IQ test in order for a person to own firearms, the idea that one’s IQ should be in relation to one’s natural right to protect him or herself leaves more unsettling loopholes that could be heavily manipulated by power-hungry, militant-minded individuals or groups.  The original intent of the Second Amendment was to provide citizens with a means to protect themselves against corrupt government forces.  I don’t think that the Second Amendment mentions anything about skunks. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/23/thomas-grant-skunk-shooting_n_2004860.html

The Roots of Slavery

     Slavery is a common theme among men as far back into history as the eye can see. Many people often wonder why there was not a greater, more raucous, uproar of slaves in the United States rebelling against their slaveholders, or why more people in the “free North” did not openly assist in liberating slaves in the South. In The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass paints a portrait – a complicated weaving, rather – of the complex beast that is slavery, vividly depicting its gnarly and mangled atrocities through the eyes of a slave. It is hard to believe that people have ever been treated like this and that it could be so casually justified. As hard as it is to believe, in order to really understand a situation, you have to look at it from both sides. First, I will look at slavery from the side of the slaveholder. Next, I will examine the methods of keeping slaves subservient. Finally, I will look at the issue of modern day slavery.

     Nelson Mandela once said, “No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” This quotation gives me a lot of insight as to how to think about what slaveholders were thinking. The justification of racial superiority through the Hamitic legacy was such a powerful narrative in colonial life that it naturalized the idea of inequality: “If the lineal descendants of Ham are alone to be scripturally enslaved, it is certain that slavery at the south must soon become unscriptural; for thousands are ushered into the world, annually, who, like myself, owe their existence to white fathers, and those fathers most frequently their own masters” (22). Once this inequality occurs the commodification of human beings is inevitable. Treating people as property became a sort of prestige item, identifying how powerful and successful one was within the community. Colonel Lloyd’s obsession with status can be clearly seen in his pride of “his” garden. The garden became a spectator affair, one whose vista was trimmed, ploughed, and perfected by slaves. People would travel great distances to see the great Colonel’s garden: “This garden was probably the greatest attraction of the place. During the summer months, people came from far and near—from Baltimore, Easton, and Annapolis—to see it. It abounded in fruits of almost every description, from the hardy apple of the north to the delicate orange of the south” (13).

     Further, the investment one put toward a slave was a fairly steep cost that not all could afford. On the plantations, food, clothing, and shelter were provided (usually at a bare minimum) with the promise that there would be a return in revenue. At one point, Douglass managed to be “hired out” and brought home approximately nine dollars per week, but he was not able to cherish his earnings for long: “I was now of some importance to my master. I was bringing him from six to seven dollars per week. I sometimes brought him nine dollars per week: my wages were a dollar and a half a day” (84). I believe that this inequity between slaveholders and slaves leads to different levels of compassion. Douglass keenly observes: “I had very strangely supposed, while in slavery, that few of the comforts, and scarcely any of the luxuries, of life were enjoyed at the north, compared with what were enjoyed by the slaveholders of the south. I probably came to this conclusion from the fact that northern people owned no slaves. I supposed that they were about upon a level with the non-slaveholding population of the south. I knew they were exceedingly poor, and I had been accustomed to regard their poverty as the necessary consequence of their being non-slaveholders. I had somehow imbibed the opinion that, in the absence of slaves, there could be no wealth, and very little refinement” (96). I think it is likely that slaveholders with relatively few slaves or even a single slave would afford more care to their wards than plantation owners who housed their chattel in longhouses and treated them more like expendable property.

     Douglass’ account of the inhumane treatment of slaves is recounted with such candor that it makes it somewhat hard for me and for many to believe. Being born into a life of bondage and having that experience as the only point of reference leaves one no choice but to talk about it so casually. Douglass recalls horrific events that began at an early age: “Her arms were stretched up at their full length, so that she stood upon the ends of her toes. He then said to her, “Now, you d——d b——h, I’ll learn you how to disobey my orders!” (6). Slaveholders managed to maintain order amongst many through mostly violent means. Henny, a slave with whom Douglass became acquainted, was made an example for the rest of the slaves on the Auld plantation. Her torment and torture lasted for hours and days on end: “The secret of master’s cruelty toward “Henny” is found in the fact of her being almost helpless” (49). There was always the constant threat of a slave being separated from his or her loved ones. Punishments were inconsistent so as to leave slaves in fear: “My awkwardness was almost always his excuse for whipping me” (52). These ideas became so ingrained in a slave’s mind that, even communication amongst other slaves from other houses became violent and full of conflict. The fear they felt was so powerful that it changed their use of the English language, so much that these linguistic traits still exist today in African American Vernacular. In order to express themselves, the slaves needed to invert their speech. Compliments were scathing criticisms: “Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others” (16).

     While we feel good about the success of our Underground Railroad movement and our Abolitionist history, slavery has not been extinguished from our world. It is an appalling fact that slavery still exists worldwide today, despite it being illegal in every country in the world. Over 27 million people are enslaved, some for owing inherited debts as little as $18 dollars. This number of people is twice the amount of slaves brought over during the entire transatlantic slave trade (TED). What strikes me about this fact is that, between Frederick Douglass and modern day slaves, they all carry a hope of someday being free. Douglass had a passion to read and write: “Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read” (29), and was able to teach others literacy. Even though slaves endured such cruelty, it did not affect their ability to believe in those which could truly help them. They were not blinded by hatred and they were still able to love.

     The narrative of Frederick Douglass is unique in that it provides insight into a life that I will probably never know. Douglass delivers an experience and allows us to understand the mentality of the slaveholders and their firm grip on millions. The existence of slavery in history throughout modern day is sickening, but the compassion, humanity, and hope in the eyes of those still enslaved is like a beacon in the heart of darkness. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “We will only truly be free when those in bondage are finally free.” There is still so much to do.
 

Works Cited

Douglass, Frederick. NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS. N.p.: n.p., 1845. Http://www.ibiblio.org/ebooks/Douglass/Narrative/Douglass_Narrative.pdf. Web.
Kristine, Lisa. "TED." Lecture. TED Talk. 05 Nov. 2012. www.ted.com. 11 Aug. 2012. Web. 05 Nov. 2012.
Mandela, Nelson. Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela. Boston: Little, Brown, 1994. Print.