I've Got Psychiatry On My Side

Take a look:

http://www.sidran.org/sub.cfm?contentID=74&sectionid=4

(I'll point out the key things ;)

Let me put in my five cents in before I break down the article. First off, I believe that Beloved is the physical manifestation of the ghost of Sethe's dead baby girl. And just like some people believe ghosts feed off of certain emotions or whatever else that living humans give off, I believe Beloved has become what she is due to Sethe talking about her past; technically, the emotions Sethe (probably) gives off when talking about her past. Beloved feeds off of these negative emotions; thats why she always questions Sethe about her past and feels the need to always be around her. Its not just due to her childlike mindset.


Now, to the reason behind this blog:

The article I have found talks about trauma stress (post, mainly) and ways people deal with it. Trauma is a(n) event(s) that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury to that person suffering the trauma or another person. "One of the most effective ways that people cope with overwhelming trauma is called 'dissociation'." Dissociation is when there is a change in a person's consciousness that disturbs their identity, thoughts, feelings, and experiences.  I believe that Sethe and Paul D use dissociation to cope with their past; For Sethe, memories of the past interfere with her waking life(specifically called hypernesia) and for Paul D, he consciously locks away his feelings and memories (a mild form of amnesia).

But Beloved is changing them. She is forcing them to face their pasts, their trauma, unknowingly and unintentionally.

Zombie Attack!

Okay, the world as we know it has ended; zombies walk(run) among(the few of) us. Lets say your uncle . . . Ted, is among the newly risen. You and uncle Ted had great, great times together. When he died you lost your entire world. But now he's back! You think "oh the fun we will have" now. But wait! Uncle Ted can speak clear english; all this uncle Ted does is grunt and moan. And uncle Ted doesn't nibble on peoples necks. It doesn't take you long to see that these are not only clear signs of a zombie, but this isn't your uncle Ted, nor will he ever "come back".

As shown above, the past never dies, since it will always exist in memories. And, sometimes, that past can come back physically, though it will not be the same. In Beloved, Sethe, thinking she has left her past behind somewhat, is actually held back by her past mentally. As if that weren't enough her past concentrates itself into a living being, in the form of her dead daughter(as an adult). Even though the physical Beloved died, memories and her spirit live on.

In the Piano Lesson, Berniece belives she can hold onto the past, long gone, through the possesion of an engraved piano. But this piano, this past, holds her back from moving on. Though having long since passed, her past affects her life very much; how could it possibly be dead?

The past never dies, and can be an active part of yout life depending.bb on how powerful it is. There will always be memories to keep it going. And if amnesia were to claim you, don't fret ---- certain emotions will be there, when triggered.

Why all the failing wnd flailing?

The most missed questions seem to be surface questions; nothing truly hard, and definitely not deep. They ask you basically who is saying what, why are they saying it, and would they agree or disagree to such and such things. They are tricky level one and two questions. So why do most of us miss them? The question may be asked in a way that makes us think the answer is deeper than it actually is. The question may be utilizing terms or concepts we don't know or don't remember. We may be making these questions harder than they are, or we may have never had any real chance of answering it correctly anyway. Either way what we can do to begin solving the problem is by knowing that although these questions are meant to make us think, there is nothing we have to interpret as if we are finding a thesis for an essay; we inly have so much time and too many excerpts to think like we're writing an essay. Know that the questions will never go deeper than what should be seen. And as gor yhe terms a.d concepts dillema, study more literature elements and devices.

Now, my goals for the class are simple: pass, pass, and, lets not forget, pass with an A. For those tricky benchmark questions, i'll do what I stated above. For essays, i'll steal einstein's brain. I know he can think at the speed of light.

Huck Finn Debate

Well, if you only take into account the amount of evidence and how it supported the team's point, then our team won the debate. You were very eloquent in your speech but you only gave examples, and not cold hard facts. The debate, overall, was.....interesting. People had fun, yeah.

Article Posting - Toni Morrison

Though I'm kind of iffy about one thing she was stressing(about the abrupt cutoffs in the chapter alluding to a father/son relationship between Jim and Huck), but not completely ruling out, I do agree whole heartedlt with one thing she was saying: that there would be no book without Jim. Now, I still think there could be a novel, but it wouldn't even be half as interesting without Jim to provide subtle complexities to the plot. Really, I think the novel, just because Jim is such a make-or-break-the-novel character, may be advocating civil rights for blacks; of course, in a subtle way that - if you notice it - leads to conclusions like these. And if that is so then all the usage of the n-word is meant to make readers(of that time) aware of how big a part it is in society and how it degrades it.

That Irony Thing

First, Read this:

"Morning"—means "Milking"—to the Farmer—
Dawn—to the Teneriffe—
Dice—to the Maid—
Morning means just Risk—to the Lover—
Just revelation—to the Beloved—

Epicures—date a Breakfast—by it—
Brides—an Apocalypse—
Worlds—a Flood—
Faint-going Lives—Their Lapse from Sighing—
Faith—The Experiment of Our Lord 

Can you guess who this poem is by? Yes, you guessed it! Emily Dickinson. Now, onto what I wish I get paid for.

This poem is ironic in how certain words mean different things to different people. Take the first line: morning doesn't really mean milking to farmer, its just what it connotes to; its the first thing this man thinks of when he gets up in the morning (*Yawn* Gotta milk Betsy). Let's go on to the second line. Teneriffe is an island in the Canary Islands of Spain; tourists flock to this island because of its rustic beauty. By being such a beautiful and relaxing place, for some people it may be the first thing they think of when they see or think of dawn. Travel on down to the second stanza, second line. First off, Apocalypse means the end of the world, as we know it. Being a bride is being in a transitional state, the end of something and the start of another. For some brides the process of marriage is seen as an apocalyse, an end and a beginning, which is bad. But this is what being a bride connotes, to them. Let's move on to the last line in the second stanza. Faith is considered many things: blind belief, unbending foundation, really its whatever you want it to be. But, mainly to Christians, faith is what Dickinson wrote, an experiment of God. Oh, oh, oh. This is Dramatic irony.

Dear Mr. Twain...

Why didn't you make a guide to Huckleberry Finn? If you hadn't noticed (but I'm sure you have) certain people need certain help. Using myself as an example, I get the jist of Huckleberry Finn so far (I'm on page 209 in my futuristic edition), but I don't think I quite understand everything you've got going on in the novel. And for people like me who wish to understand your genious reasoning and logic, we need a little help, a bit of guidance; something you failed to include.

As to what I do see and (think) I understand, the novel is about a young boy on the journey of life, encountering situations that change his way of thinking and set up his character in adult life through tackling subjects such as child abuse, racism, morality, and religion. The novel shows us different aspects of human nature and how they influence a person's character. The novel is a great psychological study and insight with splashes of humor. What I don't understand is how you are any different from any other "great american author" that I have read from. You all tackle the same issues, and in my eyes, come to the same conclusion and leave us with a choice: change it or leave it. I love psychology and, if I do say so myself, know quite a bit about it, or at least enough to have already known what you're point was in Huck Finn by the tenth chapter.

So, basically, what is so great about Huckleberry Finn?

'Cuz I don't see nuthin'.

Huckleberry Finn

The novel mainly takes place on the mississippi river, where Huck Finn encounters many strange things. A prevalent theme, related to Huck's travels on the river, is finding himself through a great journey. The river, for Huck and maybe even Jim, is the journey of life and all the things that happen to him (them) on the river are the aspects that make up life; the truths.
For example, Huck's encounter with the Grangerfords; they have a senseless feud going on with the Shepardsons, showing that people need to be aware of their traditions and why they follow them.