The Daodejing

The Way. It is so mysterious sounding and philosophical. I for one do not fully understand the way but I do believe in the way. The Daodejing was by far my favorite book we have read all year. It is so different from anything we have read and I find it completely fascinating. Especially at this point in my life I am so stressed out daily and I am just focused on the most stupid miniscule things and with the help of this book I’m trying to become a more chill person. I am trying to take some of the teachings from the Daodejing into my own personal life. There was so much that I agreed with from the opinions of how government should not play a huge role in people’s lives,that those who search for beauty are far from it and so many other examples.

                I think more people should read the Daodejing especially in today’s society. So many people get caught up in technology and trying to be things that they lose their whole sense of self. So many people are out striving to be beautiful, when the beauty is already inside of them. So many people are striving for virtue, but if they just stopped looking they would be filled with virtue. Now I do not believe in nonaction, because you must work in life or I believe you are not living a life, but what I got out of the Daodejing is you shouldn’t want to be anyone but yourself. Every other person is already taken so you should just be yourself.

                The hardest thing for me to accept with the Daodejing is the contentment. My family has been struggling financially for the past 5 years so being in college is a blessing but the Daodejing isn’t too crazy about learning. It’s hard for me to know what the definition of contentment is because it’s sometimes impossible in today’s world to ever be content and just stop because constantly you have to work and learn to work so that you can live. I want to take the idea of contentment not to the extremes but to be content not to want crazy riches.

                Chapter 79 has some of the best advice it talks about how even after resolution, resentment remains, and this has always been true in my life. I have been horrible at letting things go and not letting things affect me. The chapter says that those with virtue oversee the tally. I am all about this tally, I’m always thinking if I do this for someone they should be doing this for me and I cannot be like that in my life. It is way too stressful and makes me more susceptible to being hurt by others nonaction. I’m really going to try to start taking the lessons of chillness from the book and I really thank Temple for making it mandatory for me to read this reality check. I needed this book and it came at the perfect time. Everyone should try and find the way, or at least your way.

The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk

               

                I just finished the Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first half. My favorite part of the book was that every chapter started out with a song. These were all separate essays and Du Bois placed songs at the beginning of each to unite it and I loved this in a very symbolic way. Being a guy extremely into music I believe music is the one thing that can instantly unite strangers. Through song you can display your inner most agonies or your happiest thoughts. Music is a feeling and is a worldwide way to communicate. I wish this was written in more modern day times so you could hear each song before the beginning of each chapter. That would really set the mood and display a feeling.

                My favorite passage is on page 102 which talks about how learning and higher knowledge is color blind. “I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm in arm with Balzac and Dumas, I summon Aristotle and Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come graciously with no scorn nor condescension.” I love this paragraph because it shows how stupid it is to deny anyone education. The people who write the books want to be read, they want the world to know what they know, hence the reason to write anything down. To think that certain knowledge belongs to certain people is ridiculous. Knowledge should belong to anyone who seeks it. Du Bois in this book really argues how education was essential to get blacks into American society and he was right! Now education is given to every American citizen.

Too much is determined by a past and actions that we can’t control. Du Bois talks of how his son is born into this world with the veil. “Within the Veil was he born…and there within shall he live, a negro and a negro’s son. Holding in that little head the unbowed pride of a hunted race, clinging to a hope not hopeless but unhopeful…” I am so embarrassed by the world’s history, where people were cruel based on appearances. I’m embarrassed that we live in a world where we hold on to prejudices that were developed hundreds of years ago. As we talk about blacks being brought in this world living under harsh realities even to this day I feel guilty. I, as a white male, like Du Bois’ son, am brought into this world living with repercussions of actions that are not my own. I myself have never done anything racist or said anything racist but I am a part of this white culture which has been racist towards not only blacks but Hispanics and Indians as well. Reading these readings of suffering and hard times because of the white man makes me feel guilty and bad about myself but I have to constantly remind myself that we should not be judged by the actions of others who look like us. I believe, like Du Bois that everyone should be born into this world their own person, unattached to the past of their race. I hope one day the world is color blind to race that we acknowledge that we are all one HUMAN race.

The Trials of Socrates!

The Trials of Socrates

 

                The Trials of Socrates has to be one of the most interesting books we have read so far because of its tactics to try and persuade the reader. Socrates is shown in different lights by Plato and Aristophanes (Xenophon as well but I’m going to focus on these two). C.D.C. Reeve places the account by Plato first before Aristophanes’ play titled Clouds. Plato paints a picture as an inquisitive clever wise and intelligent Socrates who is wrongly being condemned to death despite his defense that puts holes in all the evidence. Reeves wants the reader to start out with a specific image of Socrates, as this wise man who was wrongly put to death. In Clouds by Aristophanes, Socrates is portrayed as a man who has his head in the clouds. As this loony guy who is filling everyone’s head with nonsense. One might then infer that Reeves wants the reader to be a Socrates lover and be against the negative view created by Aristophanes. However I believe that Reeves is among the thinkers of Socrates being an arrogant man. Obviously a lot of Socrates views are very valid and correct in questioning things but I think being anti-Socrates in this sense is more of him as a person. I personally am not too fond of Socrates not because of what he stands for but he seems to be an asshole. I think Reeves believes Socrates is an asshole too. When I first saw the cover of the book I noticed the fly. After reading Plato’s account I believed it to be put there as like a fly on the wall but I think it was put there in reference to Clouds. On page 97 the student tells Strepsiades that Socrates was just trying to measure how many feel a flea could jump by putting melted wax on the flea’s foot. This is something that has no importance unless you give it importance. I think Reeves may have looked at Socrates as a useless man as just a fly or a flea but what he brought about was questioning which is much bigger than just him. Socrates is just the fly of a much bigger picture.

                Now I want to look more into Clouds by Aristophanes. I loved this play and I enjoyed it so much partly to do with the fact that I’m a theatre major who has a love for literature. Aristophanes portrays Socrates as this man who worships the clouds rather than the Gods. This is very relevant today because science often contradicts religion and there is a constant moral battle. I think Aristophanes believed in a lot of the things he claimed Socrates believed in. Aristophanes’ theories on the clouds and the inferior and superior argument were too knowledgeable for him to pull them out of thin air but I believe, like most people of this time, Aristophanes feared these ideas and that’s why he satirized Socrates. It is often said in the playwriting world, write what you know, but most importantly write what you fear. I find it so remarkable how much the world has changed. I am a strong believer in my Catholic faith but I find it so fascinating to question it and see other aspects of religion. It’s incredible to think that these Gods of ancient Greece that were so worshiped and adored are now lost and told of only in stories. So much can change in 2000 years and it’s amazing to have these glimpses into the past.

David Goodis' Adventure

Black Friday by David Goodis

Literary Philadelphia Project

 

In David Goodis’ novel Black Friday he tells the story of Hart who is on the run from the police for a murder case and hops on trains going North and finds himself on the streets of Philadelphia with no money, no coat and just the thin clothes on his back. Hart tells about the bitter cold of Philadelphia in January and living in the city has shown me how bitter and cold these winters can be. David Goodis was a Temple student and lived in Philadelphia very similar to me right now! So as the first part of my research I went step by step through Hart’s journey through Philly in the beginning of his novel and took pictures and saw what was around the areas Hart went while running from the police.

Hart Started looking up and down Callowhill street to see if the police were coming and he was hating Philadelphia. The area around here is pretty secluded and there is not much foot traffic going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hart then moved on up to Broad and Callowhill street. This way he would be able to be surrounded by more people cause Broad street has a lot more foot traffic. Hart complains about the cold and luckily on the night I went on my adventure the weather was really nice. I can't imagine walking that long without a heavy coat. Oh yeah I forgot to mention I walked from Temple all the way to these locations and back so that is what I call dedication!

 Hart then looks up to city hall to see that it was 6 20. I waited there at city hall till 6 20 to take a picture just to find out that you can't even see it in the picture. Hart tells of how its starting to get dark and this was accurate because around 6 30 it started getting darker and darker. You can tell Goodis knows thea area well and knows what the city is like in the winter months.

 Hart then walks to a clothing store but he did not give enough information so I couldn't find which clothing store it might have been. At this clothing store Hart steals a warm jacket to fend from the Philadelphia chill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hart then goes to 12th and Race and finds a local bar there. He has a drink until a police officer comes in and asks him about the jacket. Hart throws a beer in the officers face and runs out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black Friday was written between 1950 and 1954. I found it so interesting that on 12th and Race here in 2013 there is still a bar. The bar is called the Cherry Lounge. Now I asked how long this bar has been here and they said the Cherry Lounge itself is fairly new but that there has always been a bar in this exact spot. David Goodis wrote this book with complete accuracy, making an easy way for people like me to follow in the steps of Hart.

 

Well the Blog wont let me upload anymore pictures so I'm going to have to leave my Philadelphia adeventure here! I'm really enjoying following the footsteps of this story and walking where Hart walked and realize that Goodis has made this trek himself. David Goodis wrote a story that relates to his perception of Philadelphia. I can really relate to Goodis because like him I consider this my city and its a place that was always connected to him, and likewise it is a place that will always be connected to me.

Borderlands Crossing Bridges or Creating More?

Borderland La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua

 

            We just finished reading Borderlands by Gloria Anzaldua and in the book she talks about the struggles of being Chicano. In a broader sense she is talking about being stuck between two worlds, or two beings. Anzaldua is stuck between Mexico and Texas because of her heritage and where she is physically in regards to the border. Having the Mexican, the Native American, Anglo and Texas in her she feels like she does not fully belong to any group so she puts herself in a new group of Chicanos, the new Mestizas. Now Anzaldua I believe is so lucky that she has access to so many different cultures and is structured by so many different ways of life but I don’t think she has the feeling of being lucky.

            Anzaldua talks a lot about serpents. Serpents/snakes seem to be a continuous theme in a lot of our texts. In Gilgamesh the serpent has eternal life, and that’s why it sheds its skin. In Borderlands Anzaldua brings up how mothers would warn their daughters of walking to the outhouse at night in fear of serpents, but the serpents represented penises. Yet later she compares the serpent’s mouth to the vagina of a woman. I find this highly interesting because Anzaldua says since she was bitten by a snake she has been forever snake-like. Since the snake has been compared to both male and female genitalia it goes back to reinforce her point of duality. Anzaldua herself is continuously stuck between Woman and man. She contemplates the conscious versus unconscious. Anzaldua also is Chicana and Mestiza as well.

            The issue brought up in class that really interested me was Anzaldua’s  topic on pg. 89-90 of the Native American mask being brought into western museums to be put on display and how the piece out of context dies. I was shocked by this argument because the argument Anzaldua makes is a complete argument against the writing of her book. Anzaldua talks about her culture to share with the world for people to read, but with her preceding argument that means her book dies when read by someone other than a Chicana. I think the beauty of art is the taking out of context. Taking something out of its context is a way to learn and no more about the world we live. Some argue that humans shouldn’t have the right to know everything. There was a discussion in class that really got me worked up saying that some things belong to a specific culture and the use of those things is offensive to its people. The argument was made that the world has many bridges and it’s ok to walk to the middle and look but just admire what you see. This argument is why racism exists today. Cultures try too hard to be exclusive. Certain things that belong to one culture are looked at as offensive if another culture borrows it.

I think Anzaldua with all her groupings of people creates more bridges and is a main reason why racism exists today. I think Mosaics is meant to show us varying cultures and show us similarities in the mind and thoughts of varying peoples to show how similar we all are. Anzaldua has the best intentions of shedding light on stigmas and mind-sets that must be changed and I was a huge fan by the end of this book. I love learning about new cultures and Anzaldua stretches out her hand to let us learn about hers.

Freud and Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud

Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis

            I just finished reading Freud’s lectures and this was not the first time I heard about him. I took Advanced Placement Psychology in high school and I remember learning all about the Oedipus complex and the stages of sexual development in school and having to memorize the Freudian style of thought. My previous education on the topic made reading so much more interesting because I didn’t have to worry so much about the context of what Freud was saying but I could critic as an observer on how he said things and how he set himself up. I believe Freud has some very valid material and I don’t disagree with much of it, in fact I think Freud has made huge leaps in the field of psychoanalysis but I do believe Freud has set up a no-lose scenario.

            Freud challenges the unconscious mind and travels inside to reveal dark, deep secrets that aren’t even present to our conscious mind. Freud has set up a situation where you cannot prove him wrong. Everything that is questionable happens in the unconscious so therefore you cannot deny it. Also if you try to deny it Freud talks about repression and resistance how they’re keeping it in the unconscious. Freud basically sets up a situation where he cannot be proven wrong. The only argument one could make is “I have never had sexual feelings for my daughter’s husband!!!” and Freud just comes back with the feelings are in your unconscious.

            Freud talks in his lectures about perversion and that the definition of perversion is basically the seeking of sexual acts without the intention of reproduction. Freud after his definition than proceeds to explain that most humans seek sex as a pleasure source which makes them perverted. In other words Freud is calling everyone perverted in the status quo of society, but tries to show that maybe perversion is ok because it is our natural instinct since birth.

            I want to talk for a quick second about the Oedipus complex because I agree with the sexual object of the mother’s breasts and the oral fixation of sensual sucking but what about girls. If this theory were true than wouldn’t males and females be attracted to women and their breasts? If boys make a connection of pleasure to a woman’s breast than shouldn’t the same be said for girls? Freud says quickly that there’s an Electra complex in women for their fathers but how can this be? Wouldn’t boys and girls alike be attracted to female breasts? Freud’s Oedipus complex may be a little too out there to go as far as boys want to love their mother and kill their father. In society we usually have momma’s boy and daddy’s little girl but is this related at all?

            I think throughout the lectures we can see a huge theme on the absence of women. Not only do most of Freud’s theories exclude women (except usually as neurotic patients) as the lectures proceed he refers to the crowd as strictly Gentlemen. Before Freud would open every lecture with ladies and gentlemen but as the topics got heavier he referred to only the gentlemen. Were there any ladies there to begin with?

            I thoroughly enjoyed Freud’s lectures because I have expanded my knowledge on a very hard to grasp subject. The development of the human mind fascinates me and I know I may sound skeptic but I find it so intriguing that the human mind automatically questions everything. It’s as if we are programmed to. Why? Hmmmmmm….

Destruction of the Indies

Barolome De Las Casas, An Account, much abreviated of the Destruction of the Indies

Now that is what I call a title! I have never read a book that has desensitized me to brutal murder until I read this account by Las Casas. Don’t judge me for that comment but if you have read this book you know what I mean. One part will talk about the killing of pregnant women, another part the drowning of babies and then another will talk of the burning of 13 people alive in details that will send goose bumps across your body and chills down your spine. When you get to a part however that tells of the act of cutting off Indian’s hands you think, well I guess that’s not that bad. These accounts by Las Casas are very telling of what his goal was. Las Casas wanted the Spanish government to do something about these brutalities so he did whatever he could to get their attention.

In one of the footnotes on page 17 it even shows Las Casas exaggerated the amount of weight the Indian slaves had to carry. There is no way of crediting Las Casas’ accuracy when it comes to number of people killed. Las Casas throws out huge numbers and talks of how lands were completely swept from all previous life. We know however that Las Casas was not physically at all these murder sites, some he just heard through word of mouth. Yet despite the whisper down the lane effects Las Casas throws out extremely specific and rather gigantic numbers to tell of the massacres. Now it is proven fact that there were vicious murders to crazy large proportions but Las Casas is trying to get sympathy from Spain. Las Casas wants the brutality of the so called “Christians” to come to an end. Does Las Casas gets what he wants? Well he certainly got the attention of the people because his accounts are still being read to this day.

It completely boggles my mind that these murderers were performed by “Christians.” The fact they thought they could perform these actions and think they are doing a service to man-kind is barbaric. The Christians who performed these murders despite their beliefs are not going to a place called heaven, and if they do I agree with the one Indian who refused to accept God because he did not want to spend eternity surrounded by evil and I'd rather go to hell.

The one thing about these accounts is there are two very wide ranges on the spectrum. Las Casas says the Indians were pure, innocent, humble creatures while Sepulveda says they were barbarians and inhuman.  From these accounts that were both trying to achieve something one must believe that there was a gray area. The Indians did have barbaric rituals and while some were inviting to the Christians something tells me they all weren’t. These accounts are very hard to read because it’s an opinion of one man on actual events. From the way Las Casas describes the Indians it seems as if they speak fluent Spanish and he always knows what they’re talking about and this is obviously not the case. I am very intrigued to learn more on this topic and I’m very glad it was one of our readings for Mosaics because this is the second book already this semester where from just reading it I feel like a much more knowledgeable person.