Suffering into....

I love it when Ivan Ilyich finally gets to that point, where he simply asks himself, “What do I want?” It is at this moment, the height of his suffering, that Ivan’s perception begins to change for the first time. It is ironic, because throughout his whole life, Ivan was seeking after pleasant things – things that he thought would surely change his world forever. But it wasn’t until all these things were gone, that he actually began to have a real, permanent change within himself. Ivan Ilyich’s whole perception, his entire worldview began to change – “all that had seemed joys now melted before his sight and turned into something trivial and often nasty.” This is the idea of Socrates’ Cave; this is the idea explored through Aeshylus’ Orestes; this is the theme behind Romantic thought – gaining truth through the rawness of human experience; and now, it is the realization reached in Tolstoy’s Death of Ivan Ilyvich. Suffering into truth… this is at the heart of human experience.

I commented on Jamie's "Mild Lunch Time Rant"

Tolstoy

The Death of Ivan Ilyich reminded me of a lot lessons we learn today. "He was hindered from getting into it by his conviction that his life had been a good one. That very justification of his life held him fast and prevented his moving forward, and it caused him most torment of all...it was revealed to him that though his life had not been what it should have been..." Although we focus on material and social possessions, that is not what really matters in life. Instead of striving for more and more, we should be satisfied with what we have. Relationships with family and friends should matter more than gaining a higher job position.

Kierkegaard's Advice

First of all, the readings we've had this week have definitely been my favorite so far! I thoroughly enjoyed The Death of Ivan Ilyich, and like the reading in The Essential Kierkegaard even more! Some of the stuff is hilarious, and then other sections make me want to through the book across my room and scream "What are you thinking!?"

Right away in the first passage the section about poets literally made me laugh out loud! Then, what he says about marriage and friendship left me dumbfounded. I was always told growing up that it's important to have friends, but here comes Kierkegaard to set everyone straight! One of my favorite passages so far is one page 40: "Most people rush after pleasure so fast that they rush right past it." This means a lot to me because I always find myself wishing for the next stage in my life or even the next fun event so that I miss opportunities to enjoy myself that the time I am in. During high school I couldn't wait to get to college, so I didn't try very hard to spend time with friends.

At the end of the first reading I also love the whole section about purity and the importance for women to guard their purity so that they don't become "weak and lose the substance of her being," as Kierkegaard puts it. Kierkegaard believes that a pure woman is something to be desired, but one who is lose is better off being a man.

I can't wait to read the rest of this week's Kierkegaard readings because everything he has to say is so interesting and applicable to my life!

-Susan

p.s. I commented on Sam Oliver's Greed

No Title...

So far I've only read the first grouping of sections in "Either/Or part 1" and a part of the next section, and I simply can't go on reading. I have to stop and write out my thoughts. Of course I will finish my reading, but after this. In this bit, the author is expressing views that are consistent with many of the ideals of realism. Realism focuses on the ordinary day-to-day existence of men and women, and the author bashes these. An example being, "Most people complain that the world is so prosaic that things do not go in life as in the novel, where opportunity is always so favorable. I complain that i life it is not as in the novel, where one has a hardhearted fathers and nisses and trolls to battle, and enchanted princesses to free. What are all such adversaries together compared with the pale, bloodless, tenacious-of-life nocturnal forms with which I battle and to which I myself give life and existence." Life is instead dull and mundane. There are a few people who can see beauty in life, but they are few and far between. And, they are often stifled by the daily existence of others. "We gathered one by one, a few admirers of those melodies--a postman with his mailbag, a little boy, a maidservant, a couple of dock workers. The elegant carriages rolled noisily by; the carts and wagons drowned out the melodies, which emerged fragmentarily for a moment. You two unfortunate artists, do you know that those strains hide in themselves the glories of the world?" There is so much more that I would like to put down, but I will limit myself to one more short quote. "But to work for a living certainly cannot be the meaning of life, since it is indeed a contradiction that the continual production of the conditions is supposed to be the answer to the question of the meaning of that which is conditional upon their production." This sentence is a very complex way of saying that working is not the answer to life. I agree with this. Life often times become such a mundane thing. There is no meaning to it, and it is impossible to draw meaning into it by yourself. This is where God comes in. He gives my life meaning and purpose. When I live for His glory, life is full of colors and emotions, but when I don't then it is dull and gray. Time drags by and I'm bored. I realize now that where this was meant to be a stream of all I wanted to say, it is instead a scattering of a few fragments, but I hoped something came across to those of you who read this. Please feel free to comment! Now, I simply must go to the theatre work call...!

P.S. I posted on "Mild Lunch Time Rant" by Jamie Kilpatrick

Greed

I hate how after finding out Ivan Ilych's died most of the people's first thoughts had something to do with greed. His "friend's" first thoughts were about who would get Ivan's job. His wife's fist thoughts were about how she could milk the government for money. His daughter was upset because his death interfered with her wedding plans. At first I wanna look down on these people and say "What the crap!? How can you feel like that? The guy just died!", but then I remember I am human just like them and I realize that I am capable of doing the same thing. However much I don't want to admit it.

P.S. I commented on Will's post "It Is He who Is dead, not I"

It Is He Who Is Dead, Not I

This sums up much of the pioneering dream. America and Russia both are on the fringes of European society, always carving new ways. This, however, comes at a cost. This complacency Peter Ivanovich discovers in everyone is a disease that dulls the blade of growth. In both capitalism and communism, this complacency can be found. With communism, the citizen is paid the same amount regardless of the amount or quality of work. Complacency is fed when the worker realizes that his work is satisfactory enough to be paid, and ceases to grow for the employer. In a similar fashion, when a capitalist giant reaches near immortality financially, in a case where citizens are dependent upon a service or product, the capitalist can become full of himself and considers himself satisfactory enough in the current state. "It is he who is dead, not I," can clearly be applied in both cases; it reflects the attitude of, "well it's tough for him, but I'm still getting paid." In both cases, growth is ceased because the complacent party is content with his or her current position.

A fun side note, Joseph Stalin, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, and Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin were all co-advocates of Communism in Russia.

I commented on Jamie Kilpatrick's "Mild Lunch Time Rant"

Ad augusta per angusta,

Will Drake

ForEV-ER, forEV-ER, forEV-ER, forEV-ER, etc.

"I believe I can see the future 'cause I repeat the same routine.
I used to think I had a purpose, but then again, that might have been a dream."
-Nine Inch Nails, Every Day is Exactly the Same

Ivan Ilyich's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible. Poor Ivan lived like an empiricist to the extreme, abstaining from true extrememes in happiness, detestment, and the like, instead choosing simply to do what is comfortable, easy, and affordable. The world of Ivan Ilyich is like a bastardized version of the American Dream where everything is exactly the way he wants and feels safe in, and he has enough money and wealth to live securely and splurge as he sees fit. I say bastardized, though, because he eschews real excellence in himself and his relationships for just living comfortably. It's like you hear so many people say, "man, if I just had this or that, and could have this going on, man, I'd just be coastin'" or "if I just lived in the mountains/on an island life would be so simple and so cozy. Yeah, Ivan knows how they feel. He created his own life and lived his own way by his own rules, and by disconnected from life he could say he overcame it. Not really, for he never had one to begin with.

Death came to Ivan so quickly and so efficiently, he didn't know what to think. He had never tried to be anything better than normal and never tried to reach better heights, and when he did, it was decorating his own home or advancing in his position at work to please other people. It's like he was afraid to fall or be hurt, so he just numbed himself to everything and thought it was the good life. In this way he achieved his own personal heaven, where everyday was exactly the same. Essentially, he went to work, treated his wife and children nicely, and played cards with his friends because he knew he would win. He could say he was living well, but everything he did was without love. It's only natural that when death came knocking at his door he turned from apathy to hatred because he knew nothing else.

But back to the idea I mentioned of a bastardized heaven, I say that because we all kind of want the idea of Heaven in our lives. By heaven, of course, I mean endless peace, comfort, and joy. What a lot of people fail to remember, however, is that heaven is more than just a place of peace. It is the dwelling place of Holy God, whose power and majesty exceed the kingdom itself and makes that peace that we all so desperately cherish. Without Love, Heaven is just another pretty place. Likewise, Ivan did not have any love in his life or anything truly happy-he just had system and structure. He thought his life was a perfect heaven, but as he soon discovered, it was all just a hellish lie and his final moments were nothing but torment, reflecting the emptiness and meaninglessness of his self-sustained life. In conclusion and to sum things up, he created his dream, he lived his dream, but because he did not invest his love in something other than himself, he ultimately was just as meaningless as a dream.

So, now that I've cheered you up, please feel free to comment as you please. Thanks for reading! BTW, I commented on Sam Oliver's post Greed.

You're right about greed, it's a point that a lot of people miss out on. We all know that we can become as complacent as Ivan but we often forget about the greed of his coworkers. It all just comes down to selfishness and looking out for number one-there is no love in this poem. If there was, Ivan might've lived better and his friends might have actually cared about him, but no.

Mild Lunch Time Rant

Obviously, I know this thought probably only comes because I’m a girl, but I couldn’t help but notice that the way Ivan’s wife is described in the second chapter is almost ridiculous. It seems as if everything negative in their relationship is her fault, when in reality, relationship problems are rarely, if ever, the fault of just one individual. “His wife, without any reason... began to be jealous without any cause, expected him to devote his whole attention to her, and found fault with everything and made coarse and ill- mannered scenes.” Without any reason? She was pregnant! And what does he do to attempt to restore the problems? He invites his friends over to play cards! Of course she’s angry. Poor man, having to stay home with his wife instead of getting to go have fun. How dare that woman insist her husband to spend time with her!

P.S. The title comes from the fact that I skipped lunch to write this blog so I wouldn't have to do it later.

I Commented on Joy's "True no matter what God or gods one serves".

Life

"Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible."

Ivan's life was so normal that it lacked the excitement of being spontaneous. He simply did what he thought would look good to other people and didn't pay much attention to what he really wanted or believed. He does say that his marriage gave him personal satisfaction, but he also says that " it was considered the right thing by the most highly placed of his associates." He bases his decisions on what other people think when he should decide for himself who he wants to be in life.

I think this can also relate to the Christian life. Sure, we can live a "good," comfortable life, but when we get to the end and look back on our time here, what have we really done with the time we have been given? We aren't here to please other people and to fit into what they want us to be. We are here to stand out and to be what God has made us to be, which is the salt and light of the world.

PS- commented on "time swings on"

True no matter what God or gods one serves

“Every man has within his own reminiscences certain things he doesn’t reveal to anyone, except, perhaps, to his friends. There are also some that he won’t reveal even to his friends, only to himself perhaps, and even then, in secret. Finally, there are some which a man is afraid to reveal even to himself.”
You know, this is a section from the reading that kind of really grabbed my attention. How many times have we felt just like this, that we can not reveal something even to our closest friends? What causes us to feel this way. There are a number of things - guilt, shame, humiliation, etc. The devil feeds lies to us that make us uncomfortable to expose things from our past or even our present for fear that others, especially our friends, will no longer accept us. Dostoevsky is all over the place and concise all at once… But this section is a very true one, no matter what God or gods one serves. It is a struggle for both believers and none believers alike. I believe in Jesus Christ. He desires to set us free from all things past and present and to wash over it with His blood.

A piece of my heart

Just a REMINDER: Make sure you include a quote in your blog!

Also from last week, I don't "hate" Poe. I don't understand him AND I was sick. Further, even if I did understand his motivation better I would not prefer his writing. However, I still recognize him as an important literary figure and am glad we all participated in a nice study of a selection of his work. ALSO, I ONLY like sappy comedies....just in case anyone was wondering ;)

I have decided I really like Russians. (:

I throughly enjoyed this weeks reading of Dostoevsky and "Notes from the Underground". In fact I was so entertained I read the whole packet and got to the end wishing I had a little more to read. I don't know if any of you read the beginning notes on Dostoevsky, but I definitely recommend them for your understanding of this reading.

The Underground Man is angry, mad, cynical, and any other descriptive word to describe a grumpy old guy. He is the antithesis to the "beautiful and sublime" (which he quotes at least 7 times) we learned about from Kant. He stands in direct opposition to the socialist idea that man can be taught to work for his greater good, which is the good of all. Specifically, the audience can see his rant in section VII on this topic, "If his eyes were opened to his true, normal interests, he would stop doing nasty things at once and immediately become good and noble, because, being so enlightened and understanding his real advantage, he would realize that his own advantage really did lie in the good". He continues onward to satirically poke fun at this notion of a man attaining this better knowledge. The Underground man believes that a normal man is stupid, and will make choices based on what he wants whether or not it benefits himself.

This philosophy was a hard pill to swallow. I always believe the best about people often to my detriment. (sometime ask me about Silk ;) I wave and smile when I see people on the street, forgetting my small, white, female stature...Further, I am confused when my baggy shorts and tshirt do not hide the fact that I am a woman. (It really is always a surprise to me). The point not being that I will stop advocating for the poor, neglected, homeless, and fatherless; but rather, recognizing the nature of mankind. Just because the deeper I look into my soul I find a want to help more and more people does not mean that everyone else feels the same exact way. This does not hinder nor terminate my love for the broken, instead in a weird way it enhances this love.

My comment on Katinas!

The Fall of the House of Usher is my favorite too! I totally agree with the bubble thing, but I always thought of this kind of unstable mental condition as like ok hang with me here haha you know how on Tvs now a days they have this nifty thing where they can put a smaller screen of a different channel up in the corner so you can watch two channels at once? well I see it as Ushers fading reality as the bigger screen and his mind as the smaller one, but no matter how much you turn up the volume on the bigger screen, you can always hear the smaller one, nagging nagging nagging until finally it takes over and you just turn both off. Which would be Ushers death-destruction of his mind and reality.

Oh and I love your coffin description!!

Poe and Aliens?

While I do enjoy mostly Poe's Poems, my favorite of his short stories has always been The Fall of the House of Usher...except for the end, but I will get to that.

When the narrator considered what it was that so unnerved him about the Usher house, he thought, " It was a mystery all insoluble; nor could I grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as I pondered. I was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth."

I love this quote because one, it really shows waht Poe's writings are basically all about: not the natural, real, tangile things that scare us, but really its our own minds. The last sentence, "considerations beyond our depth" is great because it kind of hints at the insanity of Usher. I feel like "depth" most likely means into our very being, the unknown within us. It is interesting to think about what are unhinged thoughts are capable of producing. In Usher's case, it was capable of producing images and visions that in the end killed him.

Now for the dreaded ending...but not dreaded in the way you think. It is scary in a way, yes, but for some reason I am always left unsatisfied and a bit disppointed at the ending no matter how many times I read it. FOR SOME REASON IT ALWAYS MAKES ME THINK OF ALIENS!!!...I have no idea why but I always get the feeling of a kind of cowboys vs. alien thing going on.

I cant explain it so please dont ask me to.

Our Deepest Fear

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us."

I know everyone's talking about fear of the unknown in their blogs, but this is one of my favorite quotes of all time and relates to Poe in that way very well. In Poe's writing, he plays on the readers innate human fear of the unknown, the fear of that which cannot be seen or predicted. If we think about it, I think its pretty safe to say that we all share that fear. If we think of it from a Christian mindset, then that very fear is what keeps us from doing what we are called to do most of the time. When we begin to see the potential and power that God has, it is intimidating to say the least. When we realize the literally infinite potential that God has and the implications that has in our lives, it's a pretty terrifying thought. However, I also believe that in that fear, in that realization of the unknown that we face is where we can truly allow God to work in a big way in our lives.

Reading Poe

I love Edgar Allen Poe, and reading his stories came at the perfect time! Now, growing up and learning about him in elementary and middle school a lot of my teachers would say the Poe was just crazy and dark, and that is why his stories are so horrific. I however, disagree. I think that the reason his poems and tales are so suspenseful is because of horror, yes, but also because of Poe's understanding of the human mind and the internal struggles characters have in his tales.

Everyone can relate to the issues his characters have in some small way. We all obviously are not tortured and thrown in pits and held in captivity; however everyone has experienced getting over an enormous amount of homework and tests, finally finishing, only to be assigned more homework and tests. Readers can also relate to character's feelings of fear, guilt, or doom like how the characters feel in "The Fall of the House of Usher."

I don't think Poe was crazy or satanic at all. I believe he knew exactly how to extract emotions from readers and did so perfectly. I love how Poe describes people's mental state in his stories and just love his writing in general!

That's all for now; back to studying for the honors test!

-Susan

I commented on Tori's post, "At least, for a moment, I was free!"

Time Swings On...

Having read "The Pit and the Pendulum" before in high school it was nice to read it again and see how differently I read it now. From beginning to end of the story time seems to drag. It keeps the readers on the edges of their chair. Poe takes a good bit to describe the swooning of the character and the judgement. Then, suddenly the character is awake and in the cell with the pendulum swinging closer. I thought that the idea of the pendulum was really cool. As a clock pendulum swings marking off the seconds and taking each person closer still to his impending demise, so the pendulum, with it's seemingly unavoidable sentence, swings ever closer. It is intriguing how fascinated by death people are when they look it straight in the face. Some, like this character, take an uncanny pleasure in watching it loom ever closer and closer. This story definitely makes one stop and think about how time is ever moving and we don't know how much longer each of us has. On a side note, I remember being very relieved and glad that the story ends happily with the character escaping.

Yes, Poe, FINALLY!

Poe, because I love him!

Poe was one creepy son of a gun, and I would LOVE to listen to him speak about himself, just to see what he says. 

The Fall of the House of Usher is my personal favorite. The character’s own senses turn against him and make him go insane! I imagine that he was in his own kind of bubble in his last days, that no matter what the narrator said or did would really help in the long run (as we obviously find out). Kind of like his mind was in its own coffin, breathing, yet unable to get out, and eventually the darkness just over comes and wins over sanity. His own mind makes him go nuts! Would I like more imagination? No thank you!  

He just creates this fear that you can't run away from because the cause of the fear is within you... It's so dark and dreary, that it is perfect for this time of year, Halloween!

Insert creepy laugh here.

For the Moment, at least, I was free!

      This was my first introduction to Poe's writing.  I can honestly say the only thing I knew about poe is that his writings would be dark, and I was anxious about reading them, but I strapped my Honors Lit. boots on and trudged on ahead.  I loved the Pit and Pendulum, and it was my first work of Poe to read.

      My favorite line in this story was, "For the moment, at least, I was free". Through everything this victim of the the Spanish Inquistion has suffered through he was finally free! Then it gets worse for him, something more terrible awaits him.

     This is something everyone can relate to in life, even though not everyone has had such torturous events happen, they've experienced that feeling. I know I have. The moment when you think you've won the battle, and then the real war is just about to start.

     Poe seemed to capture this struggle all humans face and he presents it in a way that frightens us. He plays on emotions through humans worst fears, the unknown that will bring death. Poe knows what similar experiences, thoughts, and fears humans share, and he uses that. I think that's what I enjoyed the most when reading his writing, the fact that he knows what scares us. He knows how to relate to the readers darkest fears and desperations.

     On a side note, my friends enjoyed watching me read this. They took many opportunities to scare me when they could tell(by my facial expressions) that I was getting into the story. Several times I jumped either because of maniacal, malicious laughter broke out from behind me, or someone banged on the table. (Also listening to love songs while reading Edgar Allen Poe, is a very strange mix)

P.S. Commented on Tori Burger's post

I hate reading Poe...

 
I don't understand how a person can get so much joy from taking his audience into the deep dark crevices of the worst nightmares they have yet to dream and then abandoning them to let them die a slow, gothic-lit death. It's morbid and cruel! Ok, I'm done ranting...

Poe knew all too well how to give a good scare. The best way to freak someone out and keep them paranoid beyond belief is to let their own imagination take control. Their own personal worst fears are put in place of what we don't know because we HAVE to provide an answer for everything. And then, like with most horror movies, the real thing doesn't do justice to what our imaginations came up with. Some of us do the same thing in everyday life, such as when preparing for an honors test and we are convinced the test will look nothing like what we expected when in reality we arrive to class to find we were prepared for the test all along :) at least, that's what I'm hoeing for... 

Poe has never been a favorite of mine as far as poets go but I am grateful that Miller discussed him in non-stereotypical light. So many people write Poe off as a creepy recluse with a tendency

to focus on fear of the unknown. In reality Poe is much more than that, he is the genius who fathered detective fiction, Holmes and Watson would never have existed without his guidance. I have never studied Poe at depth but I enjoyed the opportunity to work it out with peers. My favorite of his works was not discussed unfortunately, but the concept behind this piece is how guilt drives us to the brink of insanity, which I can't wait to discuss in more detail with Crime and Punishment.

p.s. posted on Cameron White's

Afraid of the Dark

Ah, this one takes me back to the tenth grade, where I was under the teaching of the great Mrs. Watson. Her take of The Pit and the Pendulum, as well as Edgar Allen Poe influenced us to believe that his works were creepy, and that because of that, he was a creepy man. To call this man a creep just because he wrote nightmarish pieces of work would be to make a false accusation. It is eye-opening to try and see Poe as the philosophical type. He put this kind of fear in me when I read this piece. It is not that i am necessarily afraid of the dark as much as that I am afraid of what is in the dark that I cannot see. It is a fear of uncertainty, and Poe makes this come alive the the concept of the ‘unknown’.

p.s I posted on Nick Hamptons blog

The importance and necessity of fear

As I read Poe and other stories from the "thriller" genre, I came to a self-realization kind of thing: that being afraid isn't a bad thing at all. And really, we should look forward to fear.

Don't call me crazy yet. Somehow my rational mind found a way to rationalize the irrational concept of fear. What is really frightening about fear? It's the fact that we don't know what's going to happen; and it's also deeper than that......it's seeing what is coming, and knowing you have no power at all to stop it or control it at all.

This sounds horrible I know. But I actually see it as something good. We should view fear as a tool, not as an obstacle. You see, fear when utilized properly can compel us to our greatest triumphs. The hottest fires produce the purest ores, the darkest rooms showcase the brightest light. Fear is an opportunity; a chance to propel oneself to do great deeds. To accomplish things we couldn't under normal circumstances. The threat of losing your very life if you cannot accomplish a goal. The possibility of losing your loved ones. Nothing can spur a person on to great deeds more. Had the man in Pendulem and the Pit had tried so dilligently to escape if there wasn't something threatening his life? Most likely not. Without fear where would we be? How many soldiers on the battle field were able to act valiantly because of what defeat would bring? The fear of losing all they love? Fear when weilded correctly is just as important as ambition, because with every fear comes an opportunity to tame that fear and use it to your advantage. Fear is important and we need it. Perhaps Poe agreed?

Fearing What is Unseen...

So, it has been made clear that the fear of the unknown is the hot topic for the week. I’m not bashing that, because it is a great topic.

I think that we can all relate to the readings, not necessarily being trapped in a pit watching as a pendulum which is our ultimate demise swings lower and lower, but the fear of what is before us. We all have had moments where we don’t know either a)what will happen next, or b)how we will deal with what actually does happen next. In saying this, we must recognize that the fear does not come from what happens next, it spawns from the fact that we don’t already know what will happen next.

Sure, our unknowns may not be nearly as intense as what we read about, but they still bring about a feeling of fear. This is why many Christians are afraid to do things that are unfamiliar or that we don’t have an idea of how they will turn out. I have been reading a book called The Trellis and the Vine lately, and in it, Tony Marshall states that we get caught up in doing the “stuff” at church so that we don’t have to do the difficult, or scary, things that we need to do. He asked something along the lines of, which is easier: to go work for the church and rake up some leaves, or share the gospel with your neighbor over the back fence?

Even though Christians are commanded to preach the word, we find it uncomfortable not knowing how the person will react to what we say. I know it seems weird to compare Poe with the Christian walk, but a fear of the unknown can be applied pretty much anywhere in life.

P.S. I commented on fear and faith by Amanda.

Poe, Halloween, and the Irrational Fear Behind Both!

I first read The Pit and the Pendulum in the 9^th grade, and I absolutely hated it. I have a very overactive imagination that made everything I read or watched, 10 times more intense than they actually were. My imagination is still just as overactive, but I am now better able to control it. When I first read The Pit and the Pendulum, I remember shaking as I read each and every word, my imagination conjuring up images I had no want to see. I remember reading about the pendulum getting closer with each pass, I was so afraid and my heart was in my throat as I read.

As I reread the story this week, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the detail Poe put into his works. I guess that’s why he’s considered to be such a great author. As the beginning of this story was read out loud in class, I couldn’t help but think how ironic it is that we read these Poe stories right before Halloween. The suspense fits perfectly with the season of fear. The fear of the unknown, which is what Halloween really is, in the most simple of definitions. All Hallows Eve, the night when people left gifts for those unhappy spirits they knew nothing about, for fear that something evil could happen.

Perhaps the reason I hated The Pit and the Pendulum when I was younger was because I had no idea what I should imagine. I was afraid of the unknown elements I was being introduced to. My mind had to make something new up and as I had no starting point to go from, I had to pull from the most extreme recesses of my thoughts.

When I first heard we were going to be reading Poe this week, I thought I wouldn’t enjoy anything we went over. But the discussion we had in class, left me on the edge of my seat, wishing the class could continue indefinitely. Poe no longer scares me as much as he did when I was younger, because I can now understand and comprehend more. I now know more information and there is less of the unknown element to his works.

Now, I must return to writing my Sociology paper and studying for the midterms I have tomorrow. Good luck to all my fellow classmates, I know everyone will do well.

Until next week,

~Meghan

P.S. I commented on Jamie Kilpatrick’s Buried in Thought

Usher

This one really freaked me out. It also reminded me of The Vampire Diaries. Elena's doppelganger wanted to hurt her. The doppelganger in the story can either confine you or help you expand. Sometimes we need to go out of our comfort zone instead of rely on the normal.

What You Don't See Is Scarier Then What You Do See

So reading Poe really got me into the Halloween spirit. I read Poe in high school and I was immediately hooked. I liked when we were talking about how the dark can play tricks on your mind. When we're engulfed in darkness, our depths of perception become confused. The man in The Pit And The Pendulem wakes up in complete darkness. Poe plays well on our fear of the unknown and how it can take over our minds. The loss of perception can really let the imagination run wild. Who could say that the cold, stone wall that the man was feeling was not the body of a fierce dragon or that the slime was not blood and guts? Anything could have been in the pit with him and it is that fear that Poe uses to make this story so terrifyiing and suspenseful. A lot of people say that it is not the dark that scares them, but what could be in the dark with them. This also reminded me of something that a movie critic once said about scary movies. He claimed that "what you don't see is scarier then what you do see." A lot of horror movies play on that concept and it seems to be very effective. A lot of times, the evil creature in the scary movie does not even hold a candle to what I was picturing in my mind so I really enjoy when you never actually see the monster at all. I have an incredibly active imagination which is what makes horror movies so fun to watch for me. I know that if I was in the dark, I would prefer to not know what else in it with me. Sorry for all the ramblings. I just really love the horror elements that Poe used to make his stories so terrifying.

P.S. I commented on Samuel Oliver's blog, "The Unknown......AHH!"

Fate

Edgar Allan Poe is an unmistakable name, not because of the name itself but because of the author to whom it is attached. Edgar Allan Poe wrote in a logical manner about the dark side of the human mind, and despite not being a big fan of horror, I love reading Poe's works. What I took from "The Pit And The Pendulum" seems to be different from most other people. Everyone else is talking about the dark side and horror, but I wish to bring something else to the table. With darkness there is also light. We wouldn't know what one is without the other. Man is imperfect and his nature isn't pure, but yet we can rise above those base natures. In "The Pit And The Pendulum", there are definitely moments where the narrator gives in to despair, but there are moments where he definitely rises above that and exhibits more "noble" emotions. He feels despair and yet he doesn't give up hope, and even at the very end he is about to throw himself in the pit instead of being literally pushed into the pit by the blazing walls. Even though his life was going to be taken, he made the choice to go out on his own terms. The way that a man or woman faces what is thrown at them in life shows his or her character. Anyone who wants to comment, please do!

P.S. I commented on "Buried In Thought" by Jamie Kilpatrick

Fear

I have to say, I ABSOLUTELY loved the Pit and the Pendulum. I saw this play in high school. I am not a fan of horror movies or scary movies at all. In fact, I hate them :p there is something about them however that draws you into them to where you can not help but be curious and not turn off the t.v. The pit and the pendulum was like this for me. The way the mind works under this kind of experience makes it seem like it was going insane, the body was not there. Our biggest fears would be what we call the "unknown." In this story, the unknown was exactly what was being portrayed. Darkness, the unknown, and fear, it all shows how the mind reacts within the body.

ps. I commented on Jamie K.

Buried in Thought

I’ve never liked horror movies or most scary stories, but I actually really enjoy Poe. His works have been my favorite so far this semester. I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s because the narrators are more precise and scientifically minded.

When I was younger, I had a strange irrational fear that I was going to be buried alive even though I had never heard of anyone being buried alive, and I had never seen it in a movie. I refused to stay in the dark, and I refused to go to sleep in a room alone. This lasted for a few years. I am no phycologist. I don’t really understand the human mind, so I can’t explain the source of my fear, but I think it says something about the dark side of the mind. Even as a seven year old, I understood that there were people who found pleasure in the pain of others, and I was afraid that I would be the victim. This may be the reason so many people dislike Poe. His writings make us look at part of the human mind that has the ability to not only do wrong, but to take pleasure in evil. But... taking pleasure in evil... isn’t that what we all do when we sin? Maybe we’re all crazy. But instead of putting a man in a dungeon like in “The Pit and the Pendulum,” or a woman in a coffin like in “Fall of the House of Usher,” our flesh is constantly trying to torture and bury ourselves alive.

Posted on Lane's "That Guy"

the unknown............AHH!

I had never thought before about what it is people are most afraid of, but when, in class, we talked about it being the unknown I felt like I had just gotten slapped in the face. I thought to myself, "Duh! You idiot." It was so obvious. I have seen tons of horror/scary/sci-fi movies. I should know this. Then I started to think of all of the scary movies that were my favorite and I realized that all of them have the element of an unknown creature/thing.

Yesterday I watched the movie Don't be Afraid of the Dark. In the beginning of the movie you hear these creepy voices telling this little girl to come play with them. It was pretty scary and I was freaking out until about halfway through the movie I finally saw what these voices looked like and I was not impressed. They looked like six inch tall golem creatures that could easily be curb-stomped. It would have been much better if i had never seen them at all so my imagination could just run wild.

P.S. I am a licensed movie critic.

P.S. P.S. I commented on Kelsey Moore's "Just One of those Things"

As many people have been saying, I would have to agree--I don't care all that much for Poe. That being said, I must say that there are certain things I cannot deny the validity of. Concerning the horror of the unlimited self--I'd have to say that is true. We've got to realize there is truth in that; we have to see the darkness in ourselves before we can go anywhere. We can't dwell in that darkness as Poe does. For some reason I tend to prefer Emerson, I find his writing more interesting by far. I can't handle Poe's scientific, precise narrator bit, it doesn't even seem real. Come on, who thinks like that? It's absurd.

But then again, so is Emerson with his giant transparent eyeballs. These people are crazy.

And they're making me crazy, too.

Isn't that how it's supposed to go in this class though? If it's a search for truth--we're going to run into a lot of false before we get there. I also think that we're going to find broken bits of truth mixed up with a heap of false, though. I try to look for those bits in everything I read.

(Commented on Lane's)

Just one of those things

I’m not going to lie, I actually really like Poe probably for all the reasons that everyone else hates him. I like things that people usually think are creepy or haunting – Tim Burton, music composed in minor keys, and Edgar Allen Poe. It's just personal opinion. That being said, I enjoyed this.

One thing that really stood out to me was when we were talking in class about the Pit and the Pendulum and Dr. Mitchell talked about the mind of this person. He said “It doesn’t matter how many bones they break, if they haven’t broken your will, they haven’t won.” It was this idea of immortality being defined by your will. This made sense because to me this is the same thing that we talk about as Christians. We say that it doesn’t matter what happens to us here on earth, but we all want to leave a legacy, or a lasting impact on our society, which in turn, gives us a sort of immortality.

Thoughts?

I commented on Lane's post "That Guy"

Distortion

With Poe we see that fear comes not only from the unknown, but also from the distortion of things like time, space and location. An example is in The Pit and the Pendulum "In groping my way around the prison, I could not fail to encounter this rag upon completing the circuit. So, at least, I thought; but I had not counted upon the extent of the dungeon or upon my own weakness."When things are distorted we become confused and without having been in the situation before, don't know what to do. It is different from what we are used to and that takes away the comfort. For example if you were a football player and after playing for years, the rules suddenly change or become "distorted," you may no longer be confident in your skill. We trust too much in the world around us to stay constant. Once it turned around, we are swept up in it if we don't have something steady to hold onto. Instead of counting on the things in our lives to stay stable, we should give our lives to God to take care of because He is the only rock in this chaotic world.

That Guy

There always has to be that one guy that has to support what no one else is. I suppose that that guy tonight is me. Everyone talks about how but they hate or dislike Poe but I thoroughly enjoy reading him as much if not more than the other authors we've read this semester. Let's look at Poe for a second. He was found face down in a gutter in need of medical assistance and he later died in a hospital in Baltimore. There is no clear answer to how he died or why. He married his 13 year old cousin, Virginia Clemm. She later died at a young age. Edgar Allan Poe wrote about what he knew. What he knew was pain, suffering, battles with insanity, and depression. This may be strange to us after reading Wordsworth and his description of the area around Tintern Abbey. The area around Tintern Abbey is what Wordsworth knew. We need to take these things into account when we read Poe. Would a biologist write a dissertation on History? The obvious answer is no and Poe writing about happy things would be the same as the aforementioned biologist. I think that we all have a little Poe in us, Poe being dark, demented, slightly insane as a result of things that happened to us in the past and is currently molding our future. So next time you have a bad day, think it would be a good day in the life of one Mr. Edgar Allan Poe.

P.S. I commented on Rachel's blog

Control and the Lack

Today in class we were discussing the fear of the unknown and why we fear it. For me, it is not so much the unknown that I fear, but rather the inability to control even myself in the unknown. I fear not the lack of knowing what is ahead, for that is something I have grown to embrace. However, not being able to control myself in my travels through the unknown.

"We waited in vain for the arrival of the sixth day--that day to me has not arrived--to the Swede, never did arrive. Thenceforward, we were enshrouded in pitchy darkness, so that we could not have seen an object tat twenty paces from the ship."

My fear is to be the Swede, to have lost control of my circumstances, to be caught off guard and unprepared for change, unprepared for chance. Often times, this is my approach with trusting Christ and what He is doing. It is interesting that someone announced this behavior of mine last night to me, and it left me in awe. "Samantha, you hope too much and never trust at all." It caught me off guard and I had no idea what my friend was trying to say: "Hoping is like closing your eyes and wishing for a pony to be there when you open them. Trusting is knowing that when you do, the pony will be there."

With Christ, there is not a dark abyss, but rather it is a blinding light, hindering your ability to function--a total loss of control. "What she is not, I can easily perceive; what she is, I fear it is impossible to say." I can easily say what my God is not, but what He is...I cannot comprehend.

...I completely lost where I was going to go with this, and I am afraid I have run out of time. After all, I have rehearsal.

COMMENTED ON WILL'S

fear and faith

"It was not that I feared to look upon things horrible, but that I grew aghast lest there be nothing to see. At length, with a wild desperation at heart, I quickly unclosed my eyes. My worst thoughts, then, were confirmed. The blackness of eternal night encompassed me."

For the narrator, his worst fear wasn't what he could see; rather, it was that he wouldn't be able to see. When he opened his eyes, he realized that he was surrounded by darkness and couldn't see anything. This was the freakiest part to me. He couldn't see if anything was near him or if something was about to attack him, so he wouldn't be able to protect himself in any way. At least with the pendulum he could see what was going on, and come up with an escape- even if it was torture to watch the pendulum slowly descend. To live in constant fear of what could be approaching in the darkness would be enough to drive anyone mad.

In the same way, many of us fear not being able to see. The loss of control when you can't see is frightening. But isn't that what God asks us to do? Step out in faith and obedience, even if we can't see where He's taking us? "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 ...I have such little faith sometimes. The darkness of the unknown, the loss of control, the surrender required... it scares me. Just being honest with all of you. I might be the only one like that. However, I know that the One who my faith is in will never forsake me, so I follow. "Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never farsaken those who seek you." Psalm 9:10

Commented on Sam's "Control and the Lack"

Dislike/Dislike Relationship

Not going to lie, I do not like Poe... He is a strange, creepy, morbid, crazy (I could keep going) man. I feel like he picks out the most disturbing topics he can find and writes on them. If I had it my way, I would not read his works... His writings do not interest me at all... He would not like me at all because I do not like his writings... That is just the way it is, and I am not going to apologize for it!!! Rachel and I have already been talking about it.

PS - Posted on Rachel's

for better or worse.

Poe is creepy. The end.

He seems to have a couple of either thematic reoccurring fears or obsessions.

1. (obviously) death

2. insanity "a sickly smile quivered about his lips; and I saw that he spoke in a low, hurried, and gibbering murmur, as if unconscious of my presence" (House of Usher)

3. a person who is buried alive

4. a person who is unaware of his surroundings

5. a person speaking gibberish

Throughout all of his work the reader can easily notice his building descriptions. He reveals the ending of the story within his constant descriptive foreshadowing. His verbal illustrations are so powerful that I would NEVER want to read Poe by myself in an empty mansion. I may never go in another mansion again. I am really wondering if Poe has a bigger goal, other than scaring the pants off his audience....Entertainment? Joy and I don't understand Poe or scary movies....oh well. guess we will just watch sappy ones (:

**ps i posted this on the UM Epic

This is Halloween

Edgar Allen Poe has a very evident connection to the darker side of humanity. "The Fall of the House of Usher" references entrapment many times. This could be an allusion to the sinful condition of man, whether or not Poe consciously realizes it is sin that is entrapping humans.

In reference to the house, "No outlet was observed in any portion of its vast extent, and no torch, or other artificial source of light was discernible."

In reference to Usher, "To an anomalous species of terror I found him a bounden slave."

In reference to Madeline, "The disease which had thus entombed the lady in the maturity of youth."

Poe of course shows that Madeline was also trapped in her coffin.

The whole story seems to represent an entrapment of the human mind or soul in darkness. With each of these instances a character is bound to something that was not physically removable. This could signify a malady within the narrator that distorted his perception of the people he was with, or it could be a reality Poe suffered himself, if only in his mind.

Ad augusta per angusta,

Will Drake

Stupid titles...

And all who heard should see them there, and all should cry, Beware! Beware!

His flashing eyes, his floating hair, weave a circle round him thrice,

And close your eyes with holy dread,

For he on honey-dew hath fed, and drunk the milk of paradise.

My question of the day is: why would people close their eyes and be scared if they could tell he drunk the milk of paradise? Does that mean he has come back from the dead and he is a ghost? I unfortunately, missed the Kubla Khan enlightenment class apparently. :(

Is the “phantom-world” the after world?

personally, i prefer sweeter

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter."

When I think about life and what happens and things that give us happiness, this statement seems to hold a profound amount of truth. If I were to paraphrase it, I would say that its not what's typical or on the surface thats really important but rather what is rare and meaningful. In this way I think we can, in a sense, classify certain experiences in life as either simply "sweet" or on the contrary "sweeter." With some exceptions, common tourist attractions are very interesting to see and usually make good memories with family and friends. These things that are obvious and well known are "sweet," but if you take some of your closest family and friends and hike for three days to find a massive, beautiful waterfall in the absolute middle of nowhere, miles from any civilization, then I would venture to say that that is the kind of experience we would value far above any simple tourist attraction and that we could easily classify as "sweeter."

I know that seems like a pretty far fetched example, so I'm going to try and put it in more understandable terms. Think of the quote "go not where the path leads, but go where there is no path and leave a trail." I see where the path leads as the heard melody, as a dream or experience that has already been experienced by someone else. On the contrary, where there is no path seems to me like an unheard melody, a journey not taken, or a dream not yet realized. With that, I think its fair to say that the path may very well lead to good things, that it may be "sweet," but also that where there is no path holds far more potential to be amazing and thus, "sweeter."

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY LOVE (Blog about self reliance.)

"To believe your own thought, to believe what is true for you is true for all men- That is genius!"

I found myself reading this quote over and over again for comprehension and i've just been struck dumbfounded. From what i've learned throughout my life is that if you believe that your beliefs are the same as everyone's beliefs than you are foolish. Not vice versa. I've never been convinced that what I believe is true to everyone. Everyone has their different thought processes. I can't grasp why Emerson would say that thinking what you believe is what everyone believes is genius. every time I read it, it sounds foolish.

Anyone care to explain?

Josh
p.s. have a good fall break. :)

Love and Other Drugs

I too see the connection between drug usage and the ecstatic union that we spoke about in class. But the way I see it, instead of there being this high point and then having it peter out into a bottomless, hopeless pit of dispair in which all there is left to do is die.........I see it more as the high point being this drug/love induced memory, sort of hazy and faded. What makes it so sad is that one who is in love "happy, happy love!" or one who is on drugs, is so intoxicated and inebriated at this point of ecstasy that they cant seem to remember what the high point was. This is the downfall, not the knowledge that they cant ever reach that high point again, but that they cant exactly remember what all it was. This is what makes them want to die, for only then does it become truely unattainable and unachievable. Also, there is a lot of talk of depression coming after the high point of love or the first high off of drugs. But how do you know what depression really is? How do you know you werent depressed before? You did have to reach a high point after all, so whats to say you werent already at a low point?

still wont let me comment so here is my comment on Jamie Kilpatricks post:

I have always loved the fact that some things are left "unfinished". When I was younger it always seemed to leave the rest up to my imagination. I agree comletely when you said : When the work is incomplete, there is no limit to what a person’s mind can make it and to what it can become. It is limitless, boundless not confined to societys ideas or even really our own...it is all kind of up in the air.Although, sometimes it is interesting to think about it from the artists point of view. Maybe they were just too lazy to finish and thought it would be a bit tongue in cheek to leave it that way and let us make up this fantastical reason why they would do it so they dont look bad. Hmmm, I guess we will never really know!

Mrah hah.

It’s interesting to think that after working your way up to this high point of ecstasy or happiness the only thing left is a decline. If I think about it in relation to relationships, like the lovers in Ode on a Grecian Urn, I feel like this concept messes with my idea of what romance is. If it’s inevitable that the relationship will fade into something completely lackluster then why even try? I really wonder what it is that we’re searching for if all we can do is await the breaking point; all we can do is try to convince ourselves the love is still there. I really loved the explanation of that annoying line of “oh happy, happy love” cause reading it was truly annoying, and I like to think it did serve some importance to the poem. But even beyond relationships what’s the point of working your way up to this ecstatic union, or this moment of ecstasy, if all that’s left is to fall (As I typed that The Climb by Miley Cyrus played in my mind.) It seems awfully pessimistic to think that once you reach your happiest point you’ll only lose that happiness, It’s reminds me of the board game Sorry when you make it into safety but get the ‘go back 4’ card and have to move back out onto the board where you’re instantly “Sorry’d” by the player who’s been in home the entire game. And that’s how I feel about it.


Commented on "too bust to title this"

Alien Corn!

This is unrelated to my blog, but related to the title. I literally spent five minutes after Dr. Mitchell said 'Alien Corn' drawing alien corn. Not corn possessed by aliens, but aliens that are ALSO corn. Their leader is known as the A-corn and they have been known to stalk people.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about Kubla Khan. The situation regarding Coleman's aversion to the man reminds me that history always repeats itself. With everything we discussed on the hillside yesterday about how he was against the man and for freeing the mind, it's nearly impossible to miss that the 60's-70's are almost an exact parallel. My question is, if you're using an outside substance to alter your mind, how free are you? You're under the control of whatever hallucinogen you have consumed, as opposed to 'the man'. That doesn't sound like freedom to me. It sounds like the person in question is being oppressed by another outside source that they have willingly chosen to go against the masses. Which, since the masses all chose to follow 'the man', and the other person's decisions are anti-societal, they have no other choice but to delve into some outside source for control. Which means that in a roundabout way, going against the crowd is technically allowing the crowd to make decisions for you. That sounds about right.

So what did we learn today? That drugs are awesome? That hipsters' decisions are actually made by the general masses? History repeats itself? Ben loves wibbley-wobbley-timey-wimey-stuff? All good answers. Tune in next week to read this post again due to fall break.

PS. I commented on: Katelyn Osbourne's "Ecstatic Union and Drugs"

Why Can't I Leave My Paper Half Finished?

Yesterday in class (or technically outside) when Dr. Mitchell was talking about the state of completion of Kubla Khan, I was instantly taken back to middle school. When I was in the 6th grade, my gifted class was doing a study on art, and my teacher was showing the class a painting by some famous artist. (Picasso, maybe? I really don’t remember) This painting was of a young boy, but it was obviously unfinished, and an entire corner of the painting was still a sketch drawing. I immediately asked my teacher why the painting was incomplete, but she only looked at me, smiled, and said that it WAS finished in the artist’s eyes.

I didn’t understand then, and part of my brain still doesn’t understand, why someone would purposely leave something unfinished. At some point today, though, something it hit me. Maybe the purpose in leaving the painting, and Kubla Khan, unfinished was simply to make us wonder. Sure, the painting of the little boy may have been finished the way a person would assume it should be... but on the other hand, the missing leg in the painting COULD have been a mermaid’s tail. When the work is incomplete, there is no limit to what a person’s mind can make it and to what it can become. Or, maybe Coleridge, in an egotistical mindset, just wanted you to be left with the image of himself as the one who "drunk the milk of paridise."

A Happy Place

So this week we talked about poetry by Keats. Ode to a Nightingale stuck out to me the most. In this poem the speaker is in a state of utter numbness. He refers to this numbness as if he has taken some sort of drug. Much like us today, we get lost in our own suffering. Now I can be totally off, but I believe that the nightingale represents our "coming out of the cave". It is like we live in a world where we know nothing of its reality. As we learn about the truth of reality, we begin to wish we could dwell in the state of nothingness due to our own pain. Things that once made us happy then become of no value to us. The nightingale sings a beautiful song. As the speaker hears this song, it sparks a desire of our before happiness! The speaker is somewhat jealous of the happiness of the nightingale. The nightingale is too happy. Just as the speaker envies the nightingale's happiness, he then seeks to leave the world unseen. I believe we have all or will all reach this point of the truth about reality and therefore we are similar to the speaker and desire to leave this place.

ps. i commented on Meghan's post

light bulb...

I think that I finally understand what we've been talking about in class for the past forever. I am curious, however, about what the next enlightenment will be about. If the last one was a transition from Law and Order to a Chaotic order, then where are we headed next? Maybe it will go back to the way it was before. Just like trends cycle throughout the years and things become popular again, maybe the way we think and how we work socially will do the same. Scary.

P.S. I commented on Katelyn Osborne's "Ecstatic Union and Drugs"

Ecstatic Union and Drugs

I keep thinking about ecstatic union and how much it relates to drugs. The first time you take a drug you reach a high, then once it hits its peak, you start to get depressed. The next time you take it, you try desperately to reach the top again, except this time you have to take even more. With experiences in life such as love or excitement, the journey of reaching the peak is the fun part. It just keeps getting better. It's like always imagining how perfect it will be once you reach the top or when fairy tales end with happily ever after. But once you actually get there, it is completely different. Yes, being at the top is amazing, but it doesn't last long. Soon after, is the decent. You start to feel "withdrawal symptoms" and do whatever it takes to once again reach that high.That could mean replaying exactly what you did to get it the first time or pretending that you never left. Everyone does it. Maybe we should just accept that the "mountaintop experience" is over for that period of time and patiently wait for another to come along.

Words

"See to it, friend, that you have not lighted upon those who merely follow, and collect, and rest satisfied with what another has furnished: with them you will never find the spirit of the art: to the discoverers you must go, on whom it surely rests."
This quote by Schleiermacher seems to me to fit perfectly with Honors. I am no longer content to hear something from someone else- I want the source, the "discoverer." We are on a journey to find truth, as the title of this blog conveys, and the only way we can do that is to go to the literature itself and work through what it means. This week that meant picking apart a peice of a poem line by line, word by word. Through this process I learned the importance of words. That sounds silly, but words have so many different meanings when you examine them, and simply the context and time period in which they are said can change the meaning. I had several lightbulb moments when writing my paper, because I would read the word in the poem, then look it up in the dictionary, and see a whole new meaning that tied in a previous idea to the current movement. I know I'm a nerd for getting excited about something like that, but I was just happy it made sense to me and I could expound on it! However, my roommate probably thought I was crazy when I started jumping up and down said "It's the Eye!!!!" Fun times. But thinking back to the importance of words makes me think of the importance of the Word. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1 NIV) How cool is that? Words are what we use to communicate, to understand each other, and to shed light on what is not understood. John 1:4 says, "In him was life, and that life was the light of man." So, the Word (which is God) brings life and light. On a much smaller scale, our language brings life- think how boring and lifeless we would be if we didn't communicate because words are what relationships are built on. When we finally understand something we didn't get before we say the "lightbulb" came on, because we saw what was previously hidden. Anyway, this was just something I had been thinking about...
P.S. commented on Danielle's "too busy to title this"

Too busy to title this.

One thing I’ve definitely agreed with as far as Romantic philosophy goes is the idea of negative capability. When I first read Schleiermacher, I agreed with him perhaps a little too much--only later did I see the downfall in taking his theology as completely correct. Schleiermacher walks a fine line when he criticizes religion for becoming a mere list of doctrines; this is true, but if taken too far it may cause people to throw out the importance of doctrine and biblical interpretation. It becomes easy to ignore things that we don’t like about religion by claiming that it is too restrictive in its doctrines. There’s a delicate balance we have to maintain between order and mystery. We should not attempt to analyze everything until we exhaust it, but should acknowledge the fact that there will still be questions unanswered at the end of the day. It’s ok to remain in that doubt, that uncertainty, as Keats would say. Schleiermacher would agree, and perhaps add that this feeling aids us to realize our complete dependency on God, which leads us to experience redemption. I couldn’t agree more. When it comes to understanding why things happen in this life, or waiting for answers on what will happen, we are asked to live in this ambiguity that could either separate us or draw us nearer to God. It’s a beautiful thing--something I’m trying to appreciate more than dread.

Danielle

Commented on Cameron's 'It's a long way down'

It's a Long Way Down

--------------------------Ecstatic Union----------------------------
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__________-----------------------------______________
In the last two classes we spent a good bit of time talking about this point of excitement.
Today we spent a little more time on the other side of the hill; the descent. We talked about this side being a gradual event. First with denial, then desparation to try and climb back to that moment. I believe that as soon as you hit that high point, the first knock down is sudden, and probably the worst blow. To me, the realization of never being able to reach that high point again is what sparks this desparation. It comes to the point that we see it's going to be a long way down, that it does not get any better, and that there is no light creeping through the hole in the cave we fell back into.

p.s meghan j

Keats and Coleridge in Narnia!

I love how it seemed everything we discussed today seemed to lead right to Narnia. First there was the description in Ode to a Nightingale:

“Charmed magic casements, opening on the foam
Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.”

The first thing that popped to mind was the picture in Voyage of the Dawn Treader through which Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace enter the Narnian Sea. And to Edmund and Lucy, Narnia was a land they wished to be in, but one that they despaired seeing for a long time. To Eustace, it was a silly fairy tale his childish cousins had made up. Once he had visited and seen for himself the wonders of Narnia though, he too began long for the beautiful, fantastical land.

Kubla Khan seemed to me a Narnia in and of itself. It was a fantastical land, with fantastical inanimate objects, that weren’t so inanimate. Standing on the sidelines today, waiting to call “Beware” to Kubla Khan, I was able to appreciate the fantastical elements of the poem, the magic that was penned. And the fact that every inanimate object, and animate objects, were cast today, made it that much more intriguing.

These two poems make me wonder how much influence the poets had on C.S. Lewis when the Narnia series was penned. Perhaps the line in Ode to a Nightingale was the inspiration behind the picture of a ship that swallows three children whole. Perhaps the landscape in Narnia has its roots in the fantastical land penned by Coleridge. Perhaps they are all completely unrelated and the fact they are so similar is a complete coincidence. I don’t think we’ll ever really know, but it’s a fun thing to mull over.

Now, back to my regularly scheduled programming, procrastinating when I should be writing my paper…

I hope everyone enjoys their Fall Break and come back refreshed and ready to get back to work! Until next time,

~Meghan

P.S. Commented on Danielle's Too Busy to Title This

Blog 6

“Beauty is the mark God sets upon virtue.” “Prophet and priest, David, Isaiah, Jesus, have drawn deeply from this source.” “God never jests with us,” “Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us.” “The aspect of nature is devout. Like the figure of Jesus, she stands with bended head, and hands folded upon the breast. The happiest man is he who leans from nature the lesson of worship.” “The problem of restoring to the world original and eternal beauty, is solved by the redemption of the soul.”

These are just some of the passages that stood out to me while I was reading. I want to be careful not to make too blanket a statement, but I also want to express some things that ran through my head when I read Emerson’s works. First off, there are things that he expresses very well, you have to give him that. However, while he may express things very well he seems a bit contradictory. What I mean by that, is he seems to mix truths of scripture with things he “believes”. So in essence he is changing the meaning of things. Does that make any sense? I do not agree with some of the things he has said, one being, Jesus as a prophet and priest… I believe Jesus is Christ, Lord, Savior, Son of God etc. This mans theology does not seem to be accurate. It was just an interesting reading this week…

PS - Will D.

Tempus Fugit

My title has absolutely nothing to do with the following. I was merely stating so in light of midterms and the reality of the words in my life at the moment.

"My friends, in these two errors, I think, I find the causes of a decaying church and a wasting unbelief. And what greater calamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship? Then all things go to decay. Genius leaves the temple to haunt the senate or the market. Literature becomes frivolous. Science is cold. The eye of youth is not lighted by the hope of other worlds, and age is without honor. Society lives to trifles, and when men die we do not mention them."

As far as I can tell, this is the world as we Christians know it. Worship is dead. Genius leaves the church to join the ranks of her opposers. Literature turns to Stephenie Meyer and her band of vampiric conspirators. Science is confined to itself, no longer allowing question to lead it to further greatness. We youth in general have lost our hope for the nations, contented to watch them fall apart on our TV screen and mock them for it. And who honors their elders; who seeks to know the past?

"Now man is ashamed of himself; he skulks and sneaks through the world, to be tolerated, to be pitied, and scarcely in a thousand years does any man dare to be wise and good, and so draw after him the tears and blessings of his kind. [...] They cannot see in secret; they love to be blind in public. They think society wiser than their soul, and know not that one soul, and their soul, is wiser than the whole world."

My problem with any of this is that the masses do not even know they have a problem; we don't realize we have a problem, until we are introduced to our problem appropriately. I did not realize I was lacking until something I thought I was passionate about was attacked with something foreign--upon the attack I realized I had placed my trust in the secondaries rather than the primary, which according to Emerson is dangerous territory. But how can we introduce this problem to the masses? Am I making sense?

I knew a few people in high school whose daily mantra is: "God is in yourself." Perhaps they adopted this from Emerson; I would not put it past them. I disagree, of course, to an extent. The Holy Spirit is with us because of Christ's intervention. But this does not make us God. Emerson seems to neglect the rest of the story. I think he attacks Christians for taking Christ's words out of context, but I believe he is equally as guilty. I do not see in Christ an estimate for the greatness of man, for Christ while He dwelled on earth was wholly man and wholly God.

COMMENTED ON WILL'S

P.S. Feel free to destroy everything I just said. I am mindlessly ranting; welcome to midterms.

Kant

Thursday's class was rather intriguing to say the least. Covering Kant, Descartes, Locke, and Schleiermacher all in one day can be quite a roller coaster.

Now, in dealing with Kant, and how he merged empiricists' and rationalists' views, I've noticed it very necessary to try to understand the intentions of the author. There are a few times I've admired Kant for his apologetics. I am afraid, however, that he holds the human logic too highly. I noticed this especially with his Categorical Imperative philosophy. In summary, this philosophy is that morality and all moral choices should be based on the thought that, "If this action I am about to take were performed on a universal level, would it maintain order?" or, "If everyone performed this, what would happen to society." As Dr. Olsen stated, "I want to cut in line, but what if it were made a rule that everyone could cut in line? What would happen after that rule?"

I have problems with this philosophy because of two ideas:

1) The idea Mashburn wrestles with is true: the gods love something because it is good (as opposed to the idea that something is good because the gods love it)

2) The survival of society is the most important thing

In rebuttal to idea 1: Kant's philosophy reinforces the theory that God acts a certain way because there is an intrinsically good set of laws in the universe that are not established by God. This, therefore, means that God is controlled by something other than Himself, which in turn makes Him limited, destroying His sovereignty.

In rebuttal to idea 2: If society were the most important thing, Swift's ideas and plans regarding the avoidance of economy collapse by killing babies and using them as supplies and food is a perfectly acceptable. This, of course, would save the society as a whole. But who is willing to step up and say that the murder of babies is acceptable, other than the hit men who work in abortion clinics.

I agree with Kant that there is an existence of morality, but to say that this morality can be found with this philosophy sounds more like an oversimplified way of keeping children who have grown up in line. It is a good way to conserve order, but not to define morality. Loving God and loving people should be the first two criteria in finding morality. Because God is the author of morality, moral obedience falls into place after these two issues are addressed.

Ad augusta per angusta,

Will Drake