Modernism Project

Dugan, Brenna. "What Is Modernism?" Utoledo.edu. The University of Toledo, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. .

Grimke, Angela White. "The Black Finger." Old Poetry. 2009. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995. Print.

Lorcher, Trent. "Modernism in Literature: What Is Modernism?" Find Health, Education, Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub - Apply To Be A Writer Today! 26 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. .

O'Connor, Flannery. "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Southern Methodist University. Feb. 2007. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .

Werlock, Abby H. P. "modernism." The Facts On File Companion to the American Short Story, Second Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 19 Apr. 2011. .

Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Journal # 43 Jazz Song

When i listen to this song, i feel like i am going through a very long maze. For example, the start of the song would be perfect for one who is starting off a maze. At first, the song is very nice and sweet as well. So, it is almost like saying that when you start the maze, you are doing pretty well because you have not really hit any obstacles yet. After that though, the tone of the song changes almost as if you have hit your first obstacle. The tempo of the song tends to change as well. This kind of represents the tone of the song because when someone runs into a corner, they truly do tend to panic. I think that when this happens, the music is perfect because it really describes the tone of how someone is feeling when someone does not know what to do next. After this, the music is calm again almost as if the person has found out what they are supposed to do in this maze. So, this is the point of the song when the saxophone takes over. I like to compare this part of the song to a song that was made back in the day called "Freebird." This song reminds me of that one because at the end of the song there is a huge guitar solo that takes about ten minutes. If you have not heard this song, then i suggest you to listen to it because it may possibly be the most awesome guitar solo one has ever heard. But anyway it reminds me of that song because of the way the saxophone solo tales over the entire song. So, yeah. Once this happens, i feel that the person who is in the maze is now on his his way to being almost done with the maze. So, yeah, i feel that that is what this song represents. a maze.

Modernism vs. Realism

Realism and Modernism are two very different categories of literature. Realism was written in an earlier time period than Modernism, and therefore, the two subcategories of American Literature are very different from each other. For example, one of the events that inspired Modernism was World War I. When World War I began, it kind of changed the point of view of the the world and the point of view that Americans even on their own nation. Before this specific event, many Americans self very safe at home and also felt like Americas was going through a very good time. After the war started though, the point of view of the World and a lot of Americans changed. For example, when the war started, people in the United States became scared. This war overall showed the mankind still had many flaws to overcome. For this reason, the style of writing from authors and also poets changed after the War. Things became much more sad because there were millions of people that died every day all due to human error and dying in war and other places. Also, this was one of the first times that Americans felt helpless. Citizens knew that the war was not going to end very soon and that the country would just have to continue sacrificing lives when it came to the war. For this reason, the mood of writing changed during the war. Happy stories soon became sad and also people started to lose hope in things that they once believed in. it was almost like the country was losing lots of moral. This was not the only reason why the tone in writing had changed over the years though. there were actually other events that had made the country and even the world change its point of view. For example, in the United States the 1920's were great for Americans. Economic times were good and also people were happy. Suddenly, at the end of the decade, one of the worst times in American history began-The Great Depression. In this era, times were obviously not good at all. The stock market had crashed, and many people who had become rich form the stock market had become poor, and also deflation had taken place. After, this happened, the tone of writing definitely changed. Writers changed their tone, from kind of stating what was true and how things really seemed, they started writing about the more sad things in life because things did not feel like they were ever going to look up for people in the world. Very common, in modernism writing, endings seemed to be very sad. For example, in the book "The Grapes of Wrath" it seems that at the end of the story, all is lost for the Joads after the storm. They really do not have a home anymore, and the baby has died. Fortunately, also common in modernist writing, there is a glimpse of hope at the end of the story where Sharon nurses a man to health, which is a main difference between modernism and realism.

Job Shadowing Experience

My job shadowing experience was pretty fun. I went with Tucker to the Prairie Capital Convention Center to job shadow a guy named om from Audio Techni Services. Even though there was not much going on at the center, it was still a pretty fun experience. For example, Tucker and i got to go onto the catwalk at the top of the center and we got special access to places i have never seen in that building before what we learned from that tour was that most of the audio equipment in the center is extremely outdated to the point where no one uses three quarters of it. I was amazed to hear that. After the tour, Tom took us back to the warehouse where the company stores most of its stuff. First, we got a tour of that, and then Tom just talked to us for about an hour or so. He told us that in the warehouse, they had well over one million dollars of equipment. What i learned is that while you make a lot of money in the business of setting up concerts, you have to spend tons of money on the equipment you need.

After that, Tucker and i went to Blue Stream Records in Petersburg. While this was pretty fun, it was kind of boring because there was a lot of sitting around involved. We got to meet the two in charge of the studio, which is not complete yet, and they kind of told us what they were all about. After that, they recorded us for a little while just talking, and we got to mess around with some studio effects. After that, we talked and hung out some more and then Tucker and i went home. What i learned from this was that recording takes a lot of practice and time and money actually as well. I don't know if i would ever want to go into this profession, but it was a good experience anyway.

Journal #42 Whitman vs. Dickinson

If i lived in the time of Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson, and i had to choose which poet i enjoyed to read more, i would probably chose to read Whitman more than i would like to read Dickinson. This is true because of many reasons. First, i would much rather read the works of Walt Whitman than Emily Dickinson because i usually tend to enjoy the things that Walt Whitman writes about much more than Emily Dickinson and also Whitman tends to have a much more interesting point of view on his poetry than Emily Dickinson does. For example, within his poetry, especially the works on nature, Whitman tends to describe what thew setting, or what he is writing about means to him almost. Within his poetry, he creates something special for the reader by making very interesting comparisons that he finds in nature to real life. To me, this leaves a better impression on me, and it also creates a type of personalized tone that only he is able to establish. On the other hand, when I read Dickinson's poetry. It tends to be wrapped around her own small, isolated, world which is a place that i cannot comprehend to be. For example, even though when Dickinson writes, she tends to relate things to other things in the world, i cannot really comprehend what she is trying to say in a lot of poetry simply because when i read her writing, it seems like she is in a world of her own, which she nearly is. This i cannot really relate to in her poetry, and therefore, i really do not like the writing of Emily Dickinson. The other reason why i tend to like Whitman's writing more than the writing of Dickinson is because is because i tend to like the type of language that is used within the works of Whitman. When i read the poetry of Whitman, i tend to feel more in tune with him because of the clear words that he uses to describe his emotions and what he is writing about.

Analysis of "Nature, the gentlest mother"

After reading the poem, "Nature,the gentlest mother," by Emily Dickinson, it is very clear for the reader, that Dickinson was in love with nature. In fact from this poem, it can almost be inferred that Dickinson was fascinated with nature. In this poem, Dickinson compares nature to a mother, by using personification("Emily"). When beginning to read this poem, the reader or audience would wonder why Dickinson was comparing nature with a mother. Well judging from the tone of the poem, Dickinson tends to believe that nature is very soothing and also very relaxing. For example, within the poem, the author states, "NATURE, the gentlest mother,
Impatient of no child,
The feeblest or the waywardest,—
Her admonition mild(Dickinson)"
From this quote, it is very easy to see the point of view that Dickinson has on nature. From this quote, it is also very clear why Dickinson tends to compare nature to a mother or the instincts and tendencies of a mother. For the rest of the poem, really all that Dickinson is doing is she is making comparisons of how nature relates to beauty by using personification for the reader to give the reader many clear ideas of how beauty relates to nature. For example, in the poem, the author is quotes, "How fair her conversation,
A summer afternoon,-
Her household, her assembly;
And when the sun goes down(Dickinson)."
From this quote, it is very easy for the reader to see some example of hoe the author of this poem, Dickinson, relates simple and other divine things to the concept of nature. For example, when the author compares the idea of the summer afternoon being nature's home, this shows that the author wants to point out that the main thought of nature comes when one thinks of a summer afternoon, or as another example, the heart of nature is seen in a summer afternoon because summer afternoons are so peaceful, beautiful, and divine as well("Emily"). Another quote from this poem that reflects Dickinson's point of view within this poem is as follows, "When all the children sleep
She turns as long away
As will suffice to light her lamps(Dickinson);" From this quote, it is once again very easy for the reader to see the special comparisons that Dickinson makes between nature and the characteristics of a mother. In this quote, the author is referring to stars when she uses the word lamps, because she has said that the children have gone to sleep meaning that it is now night, and that will itself will be enough to bring out these lamps or light them. Finally, Dickinson end the poem by quoting, "Then, bending from the sky,
With infinite affection
And infiniter care,
Her golden finger on her lip,
Wills silence everywhere." In this quote, the author is once referring to the transition in nature from day to night. This quote ends the poem very well because it reflects maternal instincts as well as well as referring to beauty in nature. When the author says "with infinite affection and infiniter care," This is referring to tucking a child into bed("Emily").

Dickinson, Emily. "1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and Hundreds More. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. .

"Emily Dickinson Nature Poems for Analysis: Let's Explain Emily Dickinson's Poems." Find Health, Education, Science & Technology Articles, Reviews, How-To and Tech Tips At Bright Hub - Apply To Be A Writer Today! Web. 24 Mar. 2011. . (Dickinson)

Journal 41, Analysis of "A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest"

For my poem analysis, i chose to do the poem "A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest" by Emily Dickinson. Within this poem, Dickinson describes how she met a hunter who describes how the wounded deer leaps the highest. At first, the reader tend to wonder how this makes sense. One would think that since the deer is wounded, that it would not have the energy to leap high, or even have the will or the power to leap at all. Well, this theory is explained in the rest of the poem when the hunter to whom Emily Dickinson is talking to makes comparison to how this effect tends to be true in life. For example, the author states, "The smitten rock that gushes,
The trampled steel that springs:
A cheek is always redder
Just where the hectic stings!" From this quote, it is very easy to see how this interesting comparison comes to be true in life. For example, it tends to be very true that the sting on one's cheek tends to be the most red where it hurts the most. I found this very interesting because this is the point within the poem, where the comparison that a wounded deer jumps the highest begins or finally makes sense to me. To me, this comparison that the hunter makes, makes the most sense to me out of all of the comparisons that the hunter makes throughout this poem. When the author wrote this poem, she could have wanted a reader to look between the words or she may have wanted to make her work stand for something rather than this encounter that she had with the hunter, but i do not think that she actually meant to do this no matter how many other critics may think so. Because the man that she claims to have met was a hunter, it would make perfect sense if this is what literally happened to Dickinson because she seemed to exile herself from society, so if she literally had this experience, then i would not be surprised.