Response #1 Impact of Literature in South of America
South of America has always been a distant region with beautiful moving rural sceneries; tones of plantations and candy lands raised the economy constructions vividly with lives through history. However, the lack of literature resources has been an indispensable issue that strongly affected the development of society in Southern areas of America. Low quality and quantity of literature have fundamentally burdened the civilization.
The “Oxford American”, was published as the most influencing literary magazine in Southern areas, by Marc Smirnoff in early 1960s. It was as a means of gathering and processing great literary outputs for the sorting of it has played a major role in reshaping the society it exists in. “It is precisely this arena that Oxford American is determined to excel This magazine is written for the intelligent, and nonacademic, general reader.” (Marc Smirnoff 5-7) Great literary outputs promote the process of civilization in South, and precipitate the industry as replaced agriculture in a short period of time. Agriculture has been a fundamental component of human societies for centuries in South of America. Since the first Triangular Trade was involved, people could only depend on produces of agriculture. In addition, agriculture has affected the society in South, whereas it monopolies economy at the same time. Furthermore, the simple economy structure has been increasing the wealth gap between the rich and poor. However, great literatures as a proper tool that could function in society. Distinguished literatures typically inspire people, accelerate civilization, and motives society. Also, literatures introduced by enlightenment and education, the agriculture society involved into industrial one. Individuals are allowed to dig deeper into the sources and find immense information on what we are learning because of literatures.
Also, great literatures could exert a subtle influence and solve social problems in a variety of fields in South. Racial discrimination is a representative example and one of the major issues in society. The history of South of America has recounted umpteen tales of unfair treatments, discriminations, prejudices, and iniquity. Especially the black race in South who were taken brutally form Africa to America, have been mistreated for centuries. Great literary presses like “Oxford American”, actively spread the idea of equality and harmonious sentiment, which could ensure human rights and interests in our lives. Meanwhile, great literatures potentially affect the government and direct the society make decisions that benefit both their own interests and the interests of individuals as a whole. Great literatures typically criticize the social problems insightful and promote social progress. “Instead the Oxford American expects to be distinguished and popular for its adherence to what is outstanding in contemporary American culture—not for publishing articles about, or for, its richest subscribers.” (Marc Smirnoff, 26-29)
Literature outputs are without a doubt the fundamental tool that shape society in South. People interact with literatures more and more in today’s life, and literary outputs affect every aspect of our lives.
Work Cited
Smirnoof- Oxford American “Declaration of Intent”, Website:https://classes.emory.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_67441_1%26url%3D ww
South of America has always been a distant region with beautiful moving rural sceneries; tones of plantations and candy lands raised the economy constructions vividly with lives through history. However, the lack of literature resources has been an indispensable issue that strongly affected the development of society in Southern areas of America. Low quality and quantity of literature have fundamentally burdened the civilization.
The “Oxford American”, was published as the most influencing literary magazine in Southern areas, by Marc Smirnoff in early 1960s. It was as a means of gathering and processing great literary outputs for the sorting of it has played a major role in reshaping the society it exists in. “It is precisely this arena that Oxford American is determined to excel This magazine is written for the intelligent, and nonacademic, general reader.” (Marc Smirnoff 5-7) Great literary outputs promote the process of civilization in South, and precipitate the industry as replaced agriculture in a short period of time. Agriculture has been a fundamental component of human societies for centuries in South of America. Since the first Triangular Trade was involved, people could only depend on produces of agriculture. In addition, agriculture has affected the society in South, whereas it monopolies economy at the same time. Furthermore, the simple economy structure has been increasing the wealth gap between the rich and poor. However, great literatures as a proper tool that could function in society. Distinguished literatures typically inspire people, accelerate civilization, and motives society. Also, literatures introduced by enlightenment and education, the agriculture society involved into industrial one. Individuals are allowed to dig deeper into the sources and find immense information on what we are learning because of literatures.
Also, great literatures could exert a subtle influence and solve social problems in a variety of fields in South. Racial discrimination is a representative example and one of the major issues in society. The history of South of America has recounted umpteen tales of unfair treatments, discriminations, prejudices, and iniquity. Especially the black race in South who were taken brutally form Africa to America, have been mistreated for centuries. Great literary presses like “Oxford American”, actively spread the idea of equality and harmonious sentiment, which could ensure human rights and interests in our lives. Meanwhile, great literatures potentially affect the government and direct the society make decisions that benefit both their own interests and the interests of individuals as a whole. Great literatures typically criticize the social problems insightful and promote social progress. “Instead the Oxford American expects to be distinguished and popular for its adherence to what is outstanding in contemporary American culture—not for publishing articles about, or for, its richest subscribers.” (Marc Smirnoff, 26-29)
Literature outputs are without a doubt the fundamental tool that shape society in South. People interact with literatures more and more in today’s life, and literary outputs affect every aspect of our lives.
Work Cited
Smirnoof- Oxford American “Declaration of Intent”, Website:https://classes.emory.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_67441_1%26url%3D ww
Response #2 Changes to South America through Gone with the Wind
Revolution, discrepancies in ideology, shift of power, and even wars—these words carry a denotation that people’s life is going to undergo some kind of change. In this term, I think, the American Civil War may explain how the American South was reshaped. The movie Gone with the Wind, clearly demonstrates how the war changed the South, its people, its traditional culture, and its old social system.
The impact the civil war imposed on the south is prominent in several means. Via the obvious comparison between the way Scarlett O’Hara lives nobly in her family cotton plantation, as shown at the beginning of the movie, and how she endeavors, struggles and even pledges to “never be hungry again”, after she returns and sees the Tara plantation’s burn-down, I sensed through vivid depiction that the war has eradicated her superiority and rebuilt her inner confidence. Having been widowed twice and witnessed the loss of her beloved after falling in love and breaking apart, Scarlett eventually realized how cruel it is, that the life of pleasure before has now been wiped out by the war, that the game between man and woman has come to an end of reality in which the war gives her a lesson to see clearly that Rhett Butler is her destiny. But as she hesitates over for the last time, Rhett leaves too. A dramatic change of life flipped completely over in a few days to Scarlett O’Hara from the master of the plantation to a common one that has to live on her own hands. This is what I see about the war that changes the life of the noble over that time. The agricultural system through plantation was ended, with which the slavery system was abolished.
Such a huge social change would bring over much more issues, in which the one about black people is in arm’s fetch to discuss. Historically the south was first ruled by British as a colony of agricultural use for cotton, grain and more in order to export for profits. This required black people smuggled from Africa as labor in form of slaves, whose social status could be totally ignored. In this movie, I read from several scenes about this issue and compare it before and after the war. Scarlett’s father Gerald, upon serious request of his black servant Pork, bought Prissy and another house servant from the Wilkeses; even servants could be treated as gamble stakes. The slaves were even deprived of political rights, even the right to attend army upon the war. Through the camera shot of Sam, Scarlett’s house servant, walking excitedly upon being recruited to dig the tunnel, I can figure out how crucial it is for them to be emphasized as a member of the society. The post-civil war period, the black people in the south start to enjoy protection from the law: they cannot be punished at random, and they could report to the government for any mistreatment, as is illustrated when Scarlett commented as the boss of the wood factory that if anyone whipped to drive the black to work faster, it is quite possible to be imprisoned.
Besides the changes that happened to the Old South aristocrats and slaves, still more revolutionary shifts occurred in many other walks of southern life. Gone with the Wind is one of the typical works alongside with its peers like North and South, the description through stream of conscious in William Faulkner’s novel. In a word, the war ended slavery, which could be said to cause other social changes alongside.
Revolution, discrepancies in ideology, shift of power, and even wars—these words carry a denotation that people’s life is going to undergo some kind of change. In this term, I think, the American Civil War may explain how the American South was reshaped. The movie Gone with the Wind, clearly demonstrates how the war changed the South, its people, its traditional culture, and its old social system.
The impact the civil war imposed on the south is prominent in several means. Via the obvious comparison between the way Scarlett O’Hara lives nobly in her family cotton plantation, as shown at the beginning of the movie, and how she endeavors, struggles and even pledges to “never be hungry again”, after she returns and sees the Tara plantation’s burn-down, I sensed through vivid depiction that the war has eradicated her superiority and rebuilt her inner confidence. Having been widowed twice and witnessed the loss of her beloved after falling in love and breaking apart, Scarlett eventually realized how cruel it is, that the life of pleasure before has now been wiped out by the war, that the game between man and woman has come to an end of reality in which the war gives her a lesson to see clearly that Rhett Butler is her destiny. But as she hesitates over for the last time, Rhett leaves too. A dramatic change of life flipped completely over in a few days to Scarlett O’Hara from the master of the plantation to a common one that has to live on her own hands. This is what I see about the war that changes the life of the noble over that time. The agricultural system through plantation was ended, with which the slavery system was abolished.
Such a huge social change would bring over much more issues, in which the one about black people is in arm’s fetch to discuss. Historically the south was first ruled by British as a colony of agricultural use for cotton, grain and more in order to export for profits. This required black people smuggled from Africa as labor in form of slaves, whose social status could be totally ignored. In this movie, I read from several scenes about this issue and compare it before and after the war. Scarlett’s father Gerald, upon serious request of his black servant Pork, bought Prissy and another house servant from the Wilkeses; even servants could be treated as gamble stakes. The slaves were even deprived of political rights, even the right to attend army upon the war. Through the camera shot of Sam, Scarlett’s house servant, walking excitedly upon being recruited to dig the tunnel, I can figure out how crucial it is for them to be emphasized as a member of the society. The post-civil war period, the black people in the south start to enjoy protection from the law: they cannot be punished at random, and they could report to the government for any mistreatment, as is illustrated when Scarlett commented as the boss of the wood factory that if anyone whipped to drive the black to work faster, it is quite possible to be imprisoned.
Besides the changes that happened to the Old South aristocrats and slaves, still more revolutionary shifts occurred in many other walks of southern life. Gone with the Wind is one of the typical works alongside with its peers like North and South, the description through stream of conscious in William Faulkner’s novel. In a word, the war ended slavery, which could be said to cause other social changes alongside.
Response #3 See a Philosophical Concept: Alienation, through As I Lay Dying
Written in 1930s, As I lay Dying is one of William Faulkner’s most influential novels. It tells a story about the Bundren family following Addie Bundren’s death wish to bury her in Jefferson, her homeland. William Faulkner delineated through such a story people’s loss of faith, a separation of hope from morality, and a mental world that lost control.
About the concept alienation, it describes is the separation of things that were used to naturally belong together. In literature, it means that the subject of a story will cause an antagonistic object or idea to intensify the conflict, so that the story could be pushed to peak. On the one hand,the opposing side is generated by the subject, on the other hand it turns out to highlight the subject. Alienation usually takes the relationship as target to discuss between human and nature, history and ethics, sentiment and rationality, or reality and idealism. This “dichotomy style” greatly helped William Faulkner’s characters jump out of paper, and As I lay Dying indeed mentioned almost all the topics that alienation talks about.
The first conflict was between people and God, connotatively people and their religious faith. A pious believer should pray to the god for power upon dilemmas, frustrations and difficult situations. But in Faulkner’s eyes, American people like those in As I lay Dying at that time put little concentration on religious doctrines. Easy for them to live different lives, people like those in the novel are likely to go to extremes. 1) Addie has no belief in god, not even a single time confessing herself about not satisfying with the life. She thought Jewel who once saved her from fire was sacred. 2) Dewey Dell, Addie’s kid, is also an example. Church service is on her daily to-do list, but at the end of the story she, unfortunately, was humiliated upon a failed abortion. 3) The priest whitefield is afraid of his affair with a woman being revealed. He plans to confess to Addie when hearing her about to die. But the priest cancelled upon her death. These three examples all prove that there is something wrong with people. They behave differently from people’s conventional behavior to religion, that they reversed it.
The second conflict, i.e. alienation, in this novel is about human and nature. On the way back to Jefferson, the Bundrens have suffered from the nature’s wrath: flood. After nine days’ walk of only forty miles, they arrive at Jefferson finally, but with a huge cost of Cash’s leg, Darl’s freedom, and Jewel’s horse. It is natural for people to work in field, which I think the natural way to get to know the nature. However, Anse Bundren considers both Labor and sweat as threatening his life. “If he ever sweats, he will die” this is what he says. The only one perceptive to know the nature is imprisoned in mental institution, which contrasts to satire this conflict that people walk against nature.
Through describing these figures in such a twisted situation, Faulkner worried about people. He thought this was owed to the decaying of the religion, disappearance of humanity and indifference due to modernization. Post-war period caused many social issues like unemployment, poverty, and broken marriage. He also projected that people have to experience such an alienation period, so as to examine and then move forward. I agree with him that life should be better with our development of more freedom, value and happiness. But reality drives people on a reversed track. This is the point that we should avoid today.
Written in 1930s, As I lay Dying is one of William Faulkner’s most influential novels. It tells a story about the Bundren family following Addie Bundren’s death wish to bury her in Jefferson, her homeland. William Faulkner delineated through such a story people’s loss of faith, a separation of hope from morality, and a mental world that lost control.
About the concept alienation, it describes is the separation of things that were used to naturally belong together. In literature, it means that the subject of a story will cause an antagonistic object or idea to intensify the conflict, so that the story could be pushed to peak. On the one hand,the opposing side is generated by the subject, on the other hand it turns out to highlight the subject. Alienation usually takes the relationship as target to discuss between human and nature, history and ethics, sentiment and rationality, or reality and idealism. This “dichotomy style” greatly helped William Faulkner’s characters jump out of paper, and As I lay Dying indeed mentioned almost all the topics that alienation talks about.
The first conflict was between people and God, connotatively people and their religious faith. A pious believer should pray to the god for power upon dilemmas, frustrations and difficult situations. But in Faulkner’s eyes, American people like those in As I lay Dying at that time put little concentration on religious doctrines. Easy for them to live different lives, people like those in the novel are likely to go to extremes. 1) Addie has no belief in god, not even a single time confessing herself about not satisfying with the life. She thought Jewel who once saved her from fire was sacred. 2) Dewey Dell, Addie’s kid, is also an example. Church service is on her daily to-do list, but at the end of the story she, unfortunately, was humiliated upon a failed abortion. 3) The priest whitefield is afraid of his affair with a woman being revealed. He plans to confess to Addie when hearing her about to die. But the priest cancelled upon her death. These three examples all prove that there is something wrong with people. They behave differently from people’s conventional behavior to religion, that they reversed it.
The second conflict, i.e. alienation, in this novel is about human and nature. On the way back to Jefferson, the Bundrens have suffered from the nature’s wrath: flood. After nine days’ walk of only forty miles, they arrive at Jefferson finally, but with a huge cost of Cash’s leg, Darl’s freedom, and Jewel’s horse. It is natural for people to work in field, which I think the natural way to get to know the nature. However, Anse Bundren considers both Labor and sweat as threatening his life. “If he ever sweats, he will die” this is what he says. The only one perceptive to know the nature is imprisoned in mental institution, which contrasts to satire this conflict that people walk against nature.
Through describing these figures in such a twisted situation, Faulkner worried about people. He thought this was owed to the decaying of the religion, disappearance of humanity and indifference due to modernization. Post-war period caused many social issues like unemployment, poverty, and broken marriage. He also projected that people have to experience such an alienation period, so as to examine and then move forward. I agree with him that life should be better with our development of more freedom, value and happiness. But reality drives people on a reversed track. This is the point that we should avoid today.
Response #4 Reflections on English Learning in a Different Context
For me, a Chinese student, learning English has been a long-haul issue since the moment as early as in primary school. It had been years for me to learn it before I came here to America, and it is just nearly one year for me to go on with it in a totally different teaching atmosphere. I could feel the difference between how Chinese English teacher gives it and how American teacher inspires me to acquire it.
By “Different Context” I first mean the way I get to know English language. I used to follow instructions in English textbooks to intensively read every passage, to extensively memorize the glossary, and to analyze every mistake I made in grammatical section. But here I realized that language could not be itself if separated from the corresponding cultural background. So I was given masterpieces of those American writers, the writers whose works could best display the cultural features of their regions represented, like William Faulkner the concentration of this semester. There are few flowery expressions and sentence patterns in his work like my old English textbooks do in Chinese schools. All I got was the natural language we could make use of in daily life.
Secondly, by this context, I notice it a must for second language acquisition in a historical perspective. For instance, William Faulkner contributes a lot about American Civil War into his fictions. Those words created in and evolved are indispensible from their own historical periods. To reach to the core meaning, sheer memorization is far not enough but to trace back to the etymological origin.
Let us get back to the issue of language itself. To better understand what language is, I went to search for its linguistic meaning. The first feature I got from the explanation is that language is a set of sounds. So when I turned back to our mission this semester, I sensed very strong vernacular color in William Faulkner. Off from what he described in the book, I also extended my attention to local people around me and noticed their accent and dialect expressions. This would not be possible for me to percept in English class offered in home country.
The South American literature I read this semester, when influenced by its history period, also turned back to affect the society. William Faulkner with his fictions and writing styles in those fictions attracted world’s attention to South America. His exaggerated description of those absurdities revealed the problems like racial discrimination, changes to social traditions and people’s conventions to more and more readers. His work later became mentoring more famous writers, most of which were Nobel Prize winners. This is not just about language learning in English class but more advanced about literature analysis, which is another aspect of the Context.
Taking concretely about personal gains, I think what influenced me most during English class is teacher’s method to inspire, but not just a matter of remembering grammatical rules, vocabulary and correct oral expressions. In-class interaction with games to strengthen the use of a word, logic training to help me find structures and supportive evidences in writing, and even teachers’ explicit feedbacks—all these aspects told me language cannot be learned but acquired in context of use. The language skills could extend to help with my study of other disciplines, and some other soft skills like searching for a topic, thinking in logic, and summarizing in order could be of life use.
For me, a Chinese student, learning English has been a long-haul issue since the moment as early as in primary school. It had been years for me to learn it before I came here to America, and it is just nearly one year for me to go on with it in a totally different teaching atmosphere. I could feel the difference between how Chinese English teacher gives it and how American teacher inspires me to acquire it.
By “Different Context” I first mean the way I get to know English language. I used to follow instructions in English textbooks to intensively read every passage, to extensively memorize the glossary, and to analyze every mistake I made in grammatical section. But here I realized that language could not be itself if separated from the corresponding cultural background. So I was given masterpieces of those American writers, the writers whose works could best display the cultural features of their regions represented, like William Faulkner the concentration of this semester. There are few flowery expressions and sentence patterns in his work like my old English textbooks do in Chinese schools. All I got was the natural language we could make use of in daily life.
Secondly, by this context, I notice it a must for second language acquisition in a historical perspective. For instance, William Faulkner contributes a lot about American Civil War into his fictions. Those words created in and evolved are indispensible from their own historical periods. To reach to the core meaning, sheer memorization is far not enough but to trace back to the etymological origin.
Let us get back to the issue of language itself. To better understand what language is, I went to search for its linguistic meaning. The first feature I got from the explanation is that language is a set of sounds. So when I turned back to our mission this semester, I sensed very strong vernacular color in William Faulkner. Off from what he described in the book, I also extended my attention to local people around me and noticed their accent and dialect expressions. This would not be possible for me to percept in English class offered in home country.
The South American literature I read this semester, when influenced by its history period, also turned back to affect the society. William Faulkner with his fictions and writing styles in those fictions attracted world’s attention to South America. His exaggerated description of those absurdities revealed the problems like racial discrimination, changes to social traditions and people’s conventions to more and more readers. His work later became mentoring more famous writers, most of which were Nobel Prize winners. This is not just about language learning in English class but more advanced about literature analysis, which is another aspect of the Context.
Taking concretely about personal gains, I think what influenced me most during English class is teacher’s method to inspire, but not just a matter of remembering grammatical rules, vocabulary and correct oral expressions. In-class interaction with games to strengthen the use of a word, logic training to help me find structures and supportive evidences in writing, and even teachers’ explicit feedbacks—all these aspects told me language cannot be learned but acquired in context of use. The language skills could extend to help with my study of other disciplines, and some other soft skills like searching for a topic, thinking in logic, and summarizing in order could be of life use.