Online learning and technology

Online learning is much different than in person learning because there is less one-on-one interaction.  Even when utilizing blogs or discussion boards, there are less students reading or hearing your work than if it were presented in class.  One suggestion that I would have is for the work to be due two or so days prior to the comment due dates, that way everyone has a chance to submit the work prior to the comments.  I’ve been in classes that functioned both ways – with work being due before comments are due, and with work & comments due at the same time – and the comments seemed more complete and spread out when the dates are staggered. 

The main benefit with online learning is that there is less wasted time, mainly in class, but also in driving to class, prepping for class, etc.  I take mainly online classes, but have found when I take in person classes there is a lot of talking prior to class beginning, interruptions, questions that could be answered elsewhere and just a lot of wasted time.  I have a fairly tight schedule right now, so for me online classes are much more efficient.

            The technology that was the most beneficial for me this semester was the blog.  I certainly didn’t love using it; in fact the majority of the time I had to close my office door when I was trying to upload something so my high schooler didn’t pick up any new inventive swear word combinations that she may not hear at school J.  This from someone who, prior to this point, considered myself to be familiar and comfortable with computers and technology.  I will use it beginning this summer as lead up to the completion of my book.  Oh, that crash you hear?  That’s my laptop, sailing through the window. 

photo courtesy of http://www.pc-physicians.com/services/virus-removal/woman-yelling-at-computer/ 

And here are the directions for how to get your blog photo to show up on search engines if you're using WordPress.

Final Presentation = PIE Paragraphs

This is my presentation on creating  PIE Paragraphs

Course Reflection

This class has been really beneficial for both reading writing skill development.  Learning to analyze writing has added a depth to my reading as I now think in terms of the writer’s motivation and the meaning behind the work.  At first this was excessively irritating when reading for pleasure (which I have very little time for anyway), because I couldn’t turn it off, but now it has assimilated and is just another one of the things running through my mind as I read.  I find that my dreams are addressing things that I read and helping me develop deeper insight, especially when I read without attempting to analyze.  My writing skill has improved as I’ve learned to write PIE paragraphs and have worked to develop cohesiveness within each essay.  As a bonus, the volume of my personal writing has increased as I now work in assignment form when I feel stuck.  I have taken an abundance of writing courses and am not certain why the idea to use an assignment has not taken hold prior to this, possibly the connection between the analysis and the writing spurned it.  The skills I’ve learned have helped make me a more thoughtful reader and a more prolific and precise writer.

I am applying the writing skills on a daily basis in several areas, it helps that I feel I’ve incorporated them rather than just learned a lot of rules that I could eventually forget.  In my current job I am required to write numerous letters and emails to owners, tenants and contractors each day.  In addition I am enjoying using the skills, as well as analysis of my own writing, as I work on completing my book.  As I continue pursuing my degree I will certainly utilize much of what I’ve learned in this class.  I expect to continue using the writing skills on a regular basis so this has been extremely valuable to me. 

My challenges in the class have been mainly in creating a user-friendly blog, and time management.  This was the first blog I’ve created and it was difficult to figure out how to make it work.  For example, I created a white background to write on, but in my first assignment didn’t know to change the font color, which was defaulted to white as the original background was the photo.  As a result, I had white font on white background, so basically no writing appeared on the page, and it only took me a week to discover what the problem was.  I have ideas for a much better blog, now that I know how they work, but until classes conclude for the semester I won’t have time to implement the changes.  This brings me to time management; I am simply overscheduled, which is completely my doing so I am unable to point the finger elsewhere.  I recognize it and will make adjustments to my future class schedules.  A recent promotion at work and a medical issue have added to the regular family/work/school stuff, and now I know to plan for other eventualities when doing my schedule. 

In all, I’ve enjoyed the class, have been able to apply what I’ve learned, and it has been really beneficial.

Up In The Air - Draft

Cindy Crain

ENG 102

Laura Cline

20 April 2012

Time, Balance, Fulfillment (and Cardboard Cutouts)

The horrific events of 9-11 and the economic downturn that followed in the United States have created a return to a more holistic lifestyle.  As people lose their high paying jobs, they turn to other things for evidence of their self worth.  The book Up in the Air, published in 2001 during positive economic times, illustrated the lack of humanity and the disconnection between Ryan Bingham and other characters; whereas the movie, released in 2009 amidst a punishing economic climate, emphasized the connections.    The heart of the movie was about family and intimate relationships.  The interviews at the end of the movie that showed people talking about how their family or friends got them through the crisis of job loss reflect the change in our society.  When they lost their jobs, their focus shifted from their professional life to their life in its entirety.  What people focus on is what their lives become; so hyper focusing on a specific financial or numeric goal, as Ryan Bingham did with his million miles in the book, creates a status-based outlook, whereas having the spotlight on personal development creates a more holistic outlook with finances being a part of the balance but not the focal point.

In the book, Ryan is so focused on the million mile mark that he neglects other things in his life such as family, friends and health.  His family takes the backseat to his quest, such as when he is so wrapped up in a phone conversation regarding his miles that his sister finally leaves the car and starts walking down the highway in the other direction and he doesn’t hang up right away, but continues talking to Linda about his possible lost miles:  “Julie is tiny now.  Is that her thumb out?  We’re past the speck point, into the unknown.  This will go down as the time I cast her off in northern Colorado or southern Wyoming and will pass to Kara as part of her moral arsenal” (Kirn 239).  This is in contrast with the movie, when Ryan takes the cutout of his sister and her fiancé to different places as he travels and takes photos of it.  In the book this would have been out of character.  Not only would he have considered himself too busy for the project, but with the drug activity he engaged in plus the memory difficulties he was having, he would not have been able to keep track of the cardboard cutout.  In the book everything but his goal was simply considered unnecessary distraction.  This is indicative of the times; in 2001 the pursuit of personal status was a socially acceptable pastime, in 2009 focusing solely on a status-driven goal had come to be viewed as slightly pathetic.

The movie included more personal interaction between Ryan and other characters, and he got involved in a close relationship with Alex.  Because he was living in the post 9-11 world, he was able to show a higher level of sensitivity.  This close interaction was neglected in the book, and in fact Ryan didn’t express any real desire to have interpersonal relationships or create connections.  The closest he gets is with Alex, when he notes, “The rest was all a bonus.  And I may just have met my soul mate tonight, though I’m still not sure which one she was” (Kirn 324).  In the movie Ryan mentored a young, green coworker – true, not by choice – but he stepped up and did it, and displayed compassion and some tenderness toward her.  As many men who have lost their jobs have been thrust into the position of caretaker while their wives are in some cases still employed, men are gaining empathy.  The social definition of what it means to be a man has shifted as men’s roles have become more ambiguous.  Men are freer to express understanding and are in fact encouraged to do so as they are caring for their young children or dealing with teenage angst.

In contrast, in the book Ryan was completely goal-oriented to the exclusion of all else.  The quest for miles became his life, so much so that when Linda, one of the women he sees, calls it a symbol, he thinks, “I’m disappointed to hear her put it this way.  It’s insensitive and inaccurate.  She demeans me.  The Nike ‘swoosh’ is a symbol.  This isn’t that.  This is life, this thing, and this is me, and this woman who claims to care for me should understand” (Kirn 235).  Ryan was able to focus solely on his mileage goal because no more was expected of him; it was accepted as the norm during that time period, but men being portrayed in 2009 needed to have a broader focus in their lives in order to be believable characters.  Those without families were not exempt from this emerging social distinction; they had different options, but the societal mandate was clear: You are not your job.  Become more. 

This is not to say that women did not bump up against this same mandate, but the majority of women were already juggling more and for them a shift was required, but not a complete overhaul.  In addition, more men than women were influenced by the recession.  The New York Times defined one of the buzzwords of 2009 as, “mancession – a recession that affects men more than women.  Also hecession” (Leibovich/Barrett 3).  When a man’s identity is tied up in his job, and he loses that job and has difficulty finding another, his life requires restructuring.  Some of the words being tossed around in the years leading up to 2009 were life balance and personal fulfillment, as men who were accustomed to working each day began to find other ways to enrich their lives.  Men’s magazines contained advice on how to achieve balance and women’s magazines overflowed with articles on how women could help the men in their lives retain their dignity and create new ways of looking at themselves.  Suddenly, due to social pressure, even men who hadn’t lost their jobs were thrust into this other way of being. 

In the period between 2001 and 2009 a wealth of books about health and wellness flew off the shelves, and books on men’s health were suddenly more prolific.  Women have been notoriously interested in wellness, weight loss and the total body, but now books were popping up with titles like The Men’s Health Longevity Program: A 12-week Plan to Bolster Your Health, Get Lean, Boost Your Brainpower, Power Up, Feel Great Now and Later, Keep the Sex Hot, with chapters titled: “Eat to AgeProof Your Body” (Goldberg 285), and, “Acknowledge a Higher Force” (Goldberg 374).  The self-help genre was certainly available to men prior to this time in history, but focused more on management style and work habits.  Suddenly authors had a whole new target market, men – many without jobs – who were becoming more interested in their personal development and overall wellness.  The screenwriters of Up in the Air had to acknowledge these societal shifts in order for the movie to be successful.  

Releasing the movie in 2009 as the book was written in 2001 would have meant that Ryan, as the main character, was not authentic at the time of release.  The events of 9-11, as well as the significant financial slump between 2001 and 2009, changed the United States as an entity and each individual living within its borders, so much so that something written months before was out of date, let alone eight years prior.  Adjustments had to be made in order to compensate for the social shifts that occur when major events transpire.  In order for Ryan to be a believable character he had to lose a bit of his focus on the status of mileage and take on more sensitivity and empathy; otherwise he would have appeared no more realistic than the cardboard cutouts of his sister and her fiancé, simply posing as someone having a life. 

Works Cited

Kirn, Walter. Up in the Air: A Novel. Anchor Books, 2009. Print.

Leibovich, Mark and Barrett, Grant. "Buzzwords: Coining a Not Great Year." The New York         Times 20 Dec 2009: late ed.: WK03. Print.

Goldgerg, Kenneth A. The Men’s Health Longevity Program: A 12-week Plan to Bolster Your      Health, Get Lean, Boost Your Brainpower, Power Up, Feel Great Now and Later, Keep         the Sex Hot. St. Martins Press, 2005. Print.

Up in the Air thesis statement

The draft of my thesis paragraph is below, with my thesis statement underlined.

The economic downturn has created a return to family values.  As people lose their high paying jobs, they turn to other things for evidence of their self worth.  The book Up in the Air, published in 2001 during positive economic times, illustrated the lack of humanity and the disconnection between people; whereas the movie, released in 2009 amidst a punishing economic climate, emphasized the connections.  The heart of the movie was about family and intimate relationships.  The interviews at the end of the movie that showed people talking about how their family or friends got them through the crisis reflect the change in our society.  What people focus on is what their lives become; so focusing on work – as in the book – creates a status-based outlook, whereas having the spotlight on personal development creates a more holistic outlook with work being a part of the balance but not the focal point.

Read Fired exec: 'Starbucks saved my life': "When I lost my job I thought my life was over," he says. "I didn't realize it was just the beginning." He smiles contentedly and declares, "I may have a part-time job, but I have a full-time life" (Ogunnaike, np).

Ogunnaike, Lola. CNN American Morning. February 05, 2009. Online.

Up in the Air

While reading Up in the Air I was often baffled and bored.  The story just never quite captured my attention, and while generally I will read anything and find redeeming moments, I couldn't find many here.  This isn't meant as a criticism of the book choice, because I'm sure some people enjoyed it, it was just difficult for me to follow, in part because Ryan, the main character, was often incoherent due to his drug use and the medical problem he disclosed at the end. 

Ryan's profession does seem to sum up the sad state of affairs that has come about due to our world's current obsession with business and what one does for a living.  When so much emphasis is placed on what one does rather than who one is, it creates an invalidation of personality and the unique aspects contained within each person.  We are all more than our job description.  

The inability Ryan had to recall details, including the fact that in the past he had worked with the woman he was currently hooked up with, illustrates what happens when adrenal overload begins.  Adrenal overload has a variety of causes including not getting enough sleep, extreme stress, drug use, and anything else that causes the body to dip into its adrenal glands for fuel on a regular basis.  The balance between cortisol and adrenalin, once thrown off, is difficult to re-stabilize.  Adrenal overload causes a variety of symptoms including fatigue, brain fog, inability to focus, and forgetfulness. 

Again, the book was difficult for me to stay focused on.  In order to engage my attention I began to make a running list of his symptoms that pointed to adrenal fatigue as well as things that are listed as contributing to it, a few of which are listed above. This is what the endocrine system looks like, courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrenal_glands

 A great book that discusses adrenal fatigue is Tired of Being Tired by Jessie Lynn Hanley and John Lee.  The book is discussed on Oprah.com here:  5 Ways to Bring Yourself Back from Burnout

Mid-Semester Check In

Hello Professor Cline,

The semester so far has been interesting and I have enjoyed the wide variety of writing styles that have been covered.  The two biggest challenges for me so far have been figuring out how to make a blog work correctly, and working with MLA style – especially citing in correct form.  My biggest success has been, on a personal level, learning that writers’ block can be overcome by turning what I’m writing into short assignments similar to what we’ve done in class.  I found this out when I was having difficulty with the book I’m writing, but was perfectly able to write what was assigned.  So I turned writing a chapter into assignment form and built on what I created from the “assignment” to complete a chapter. 

            Winter’s Bone was difficult for me to finish on a couple of levels.  First, I have teenage daughters and the thought of any of them having to overcome the situations that Ree found herself immersed in was distressing.  In addition, the book was filled with the mean, terrible things humans do to each other and the ways in which we discriminate, and I generally read more positive work unless it’s a true story that I think is historically beneficial.  This book just made me feel angry, although I loved the descriptive writing and the style Woodrell utilized.  The other two writings were old fashioned, but interesting to analyze. 

            Literary analysis is profoundly different from the other styles of writing I’ve done as I generally focus on poetry and creative writing.  That said, I would rather write a 10-page paper than do a single math assignment.  Writing is always interesting and fun; the words generally flow without much difficulty and I’m learning how to use MLA style slowly but surely.

            My goals for the second half of the semester include getting my work posted to my blog earlier, making my blog more user friendly, and becoming more proficient with MLA style.  I have made concessions in my schedule to attempt to get work done prior to Sundays, but am rarely successful.  I am working 40 hours plus taking 15 credits, have three daughters and a husband, so there always seem to be obstacles, but I am aware that everyone has their own personal challenges.  Also I tend to be a perfectionist, so getting the work just right will often take precedence over getting it in early, and I work at perfecting it until my time is up.  Not an attractive trait, but there it is.  My blog is a mess, I wanted to make it something I would like to look at if I was visiting it, but I need to completely revamp it.  Figuring out how to do that will be beneficial to me in the future as I hope to publish my book and having a blog will be a good way to get my writing out there.  You are aware of how much I’ve struggled with submitting my work in MLA format, so I don’t need to go into any additional detail.

            On a side note, I appreciate the comments and suggestions you insert when correcting my drafts, it makes the concepts we’re working on seem less abstract.  Although I know it must take an extraordinary amount of time to go into that much detail for so many students, it is very helpful.

Thank you!

Cindy Crain

A Lyrical Meth Lab

Cindy Crain

ENG 102

Laura Cline

24 March 2012

A Lyrical Meth Lab

            Winter’s Bone is a depiction of the harsh, violent lifestyle of the families who run methamphetamine labs in the Ozark Mountains.  The novel focuses on Ree, a sixteen year old girl who is contemplating going into the Army to escape her hellish life when suddenly her dad disappears and she is left with the responsibility of taking care of her mom and brothers.  She must prove her dad is dead, rather than missing, in order to keep their home from being seized by the bail bondsmen. The story contains an abundance of aesthetic, descriptive language which Woodrell specifically utilized to underscore and emphasize the ugliness of this brutal lifestyle that Ree is trapped in.  The poetic expression also serves as a respite throughout the story, and a way for the reader to visualize the beauty and hope that Ree calls upon to continue to exist through the hardships in her life.

            The harshest illustration of Woodrell’s usage of poetic language as a contrasting device is when Ree is being beaten by Mrs. Thump and the other two women: “Ree felt her joints unglue, become loose, and she was draining somehow, draining to the dirt, while black wings flying angles crossed her mind, and there were the mutters of beasts uncaged from women and she was sunk to a moaning place, kicked into silence” (Woodrell 130).   This sentence could easily be put into poetic form and performed aloud at a dramatic reading.  The combination of the descriptive phrasing with the repetition of the word “draining” creates a rhythmical beat that highlights the cruelty of the beating that Ree is receiving. 

            The Seattle Times book review references the writing style as well, stating that, “‘Winter's Bone’ is compact, atmospheric and deeply felt, drenched in the sights, sounds and smells of the author's native Ozarks. Woodrell's novels (this is the eighth) tap a ferocious, ancient manner of storytelling, shrewdly combining a poet's vocabulary with the vivid, old-fashioned vernacular of the backwoods.  They’re forces of nature” (Woog).  Throughout the novel, this lyrical language creates this ferocity; the indescribable is expressed and becomes believable largely due to the depths of the phrasing.   

            The drugging and subsequent molestation of Ree becomes more horrific with the poetic form it takes: “…then he’d hugged her to the ground and she’d felt a tremendous melting of herself, a leaking from one shape into some other form, and she’d been turned about by his hugs to kneel, and her skirt flipped up and Little Arthur knelt to join in her puddling embrace of gods and wonder” (Woodrell 55).  No mention is made of Ree being only sixteen years old and this adult not only giving drugs to a minor, but using the mushrooms as a means to rape her.  The fact that Ree brings it to mind as just another memory in her heart wrenching life indicates that this is probably not an isolated incident, but a normal part of life in her neck of the woods.  It’s as if Woodrell chose the most appalling moments in the novel and put them to song so the words will continue to play like a catchy tune through the reader’s head long after the book is closed. 

            This lyricism has not escaped the notice of readers.  As reviewed in The San Diego Union-Tribune, “‘Winter's Bone’ is poetry and horror. Beauty and vileness.  I don't know when last I read a writer who does so well what Daniel Woodrell does: Combine the lyrical beauty of a region's language with the nightmare quality of cruel, abased lives. You could sing most any line in his story of 16-year-old Ree Dolly, but it would hurt” (Brinson).  The tune underscores the hurt, pointing it out with brilliance and magnifying it to the nth degree.  Just as hearing a song with heartbreaking lyrics will often bring a tear to the eye, so does reading the poetic lines that illustrate and accentuate the sheer dreadfulness of Ree’s life.

Woodrell utilizes onomatopoeia, alliteration and repetition – and other poetic tools – to create the disparity between the lyrical phrasing and the devastation of the moment when the bail bondsman came by to notify Ree that she and her brothers and mother will have to move out of their home: “There was a sound in Ree’s head like a world of zippers zipping shut, and a sudden tilt factor engaged every place she looked.  The creek shifted heights in her eyes and swayed overhead floppy as snapped string, the houses beyond warped skinny as ribs and knotted together in bows, the sky spun upright like a blue plate set on edge to dry.  She had a feeling of tipping over, tipping over somehow to dribble down and away, down and away bleakly to a place beyond reach” (126).    Woodrell also represented several senses as Ree heard the zipping, saw things shift, and felt herself tipping. This vivid expression of her grief and hopelessness explodes on the page with the usage of these tools. 

By opening up the poetic toolbox, Woodrell brings intensity and disquiet to the story, yet amazingly soothes the mind of the reader during the in-between times. The Guardian review reads, “But whereas the plot of Winter's Bone breathlessly forces the reader on, the poetry and drama of each crafted phrase and sentence draws us back, setting up a tension in the reading that belongs to the highest order of narrative” (Davies).  Often the reader must wade through anxious moments to reach the flashes of hope buried in the story.  Woodrell sustains the reader through these moments with the promise of the poetry.  The reader, feeling the tension, may be inclined to set the book aside, yet at the same time pulled onward by the lyricism present in each page. 

            There are times within the story that the vivid language seems to pull the reader through Ree’s hard times, such as when she is waiting for Thump Milton: “The curtain closed so subtly Ree questioned whether it had truly been open or had she wished it open and sold the wish to her eyes.  Rime of frost thickened where breath fell onto her chest.  Sleet crackled down, laid a cold sheen across everything.  The afternoon sky dimmed and lights from the house carried into the yard as gleamings stretched by skiddings across the ice.  Tree limbs fattened with gathered silver and drooped” (Woodrell 60).  The descriptions not only bring reality to the story, but also starkness within the verbosity that makes the reader want to sit with Ree while she waits; in part to read more of the poetry, and to some extent simply to comfort her.  Without the lyricism the wait would be too painful and the many wounds too raw. 

Woodrell uses the hope Ree continues to feel, as well as the beauty she sees in the world around her to amplify the sympathetic nature of the reader.  As a teenager basically raising her young brothers plus taking care of her mother, she took on all of the responsibility, including feeding and keeping them all warm.  Even as she chopped wood in the snow, “As the frosty bits dwindled the wind slowed and big snowflakes began falling as serenely as anything could fall the distance from the sky.  Ree listed to lapping waves of far shores while snowflakes gathered on her.   She sat unmoving and let the snow etch her outline in deepening clean whiteness” (Woodrell 10).  All of humanity has noted the beauty of freshly fallen snow and the hope garnered by the impression of its fresh cleanness.  Each one could have been in Ree’s position, yet – in most cases – are more fortunate.  It is in these small moments that the empathy and compassion are built.   

            When reading the Winter’s Bone it is impossible to miss the sharp contrast between the violence of Ree’s everyday life and the aesthetic, descriptive language that is used to express this devastating reality.  This dissonance is a tool utilized by Woodrell to emphasize the horror much more effectively than if he inserted bloody accounts or graphic wording.  The story is not brutality encased in explicit language, rather it is brutality enveloped in poetry.  It’s the slap of a velvet glove.

           

           

Works Cited

Woodrell, Daniel. Winter’s Bone: A Novel. Little, Brown and Company, 2006. Print.

Woog, Adam. "’winter’s bone’:A tough Ozark teen’s rough journey”.  The Seattle Times. 25         August, 2006. Web. 22 March 2012.

Smith Brinson, Claudia. “A walk on the gritty side”. The San Diego Union Tribune. 10 Sept.        2006. Web. 24 March 2012.

Davies, Stevie. “Ozark odyssey”. The Guardian. 14 July, 2006.  Web. 22 March 2012.

Ree at Sixteen - Poem Blog Post #6

Ree at Sixteen

Mama, please awaken

from the coma of indifference,

the shelter of incomprehension

Fear presses in

Bravado links fingers with panic

Cold lips meet

seeking solace while bellies grumble

 and screams sound but do not echo

Frozen rain

falls

on frozen souls

no tears permitted or endured

The coyote howls my anguish

as my hopes shatter like icicles

the slight tinkling disguising their deadly point

Walk nearer, come closer

Dream, believe… and suffer

Hopes don’t kill quickly,

sharply piercing the flesh

No. 

No, they slide in gently,

just a pinch miss, 
and as they withdraw

darkness seeps in like poison

Killing the color, dulling the senses

I lie battered and bleeding

my hideous reality

finally transcribed on my face

by artists who pound with passion on the canvas

No solace, no madness to escape behind

Rescued by a Teardrop

Not mine,

never mine.

For mine linger

frozen

in my soul

CLCrain 3/1/12

The Many Identities of Bartleby

Cindy Crain

ENG 102

Laura Cline

24 February 2012

The Many Identities of Bartleby

Bartleby is a double for the narrator in Melville’s story, showing the dark ineffectiveness of the lawyer’s sense of Christian charity, and the absurdity of his work. 

Bartleby represents the side of the narrator who wants to continue coasting through life and say that he prefers not to work so hard.  Bartleby arrived after the narrator was awarded the office of Master in Chancery and his work load suddenly increased; he is the shadow that dogs the narrator, the part of him that wants to reject this busier lifestyle.  The narrator’s ambitious side desires the perks that accompany the position and resents Bartleby, as his alter ego, forcing him to slow down.  In response he hides Bartleby away in a corner of his office, “I procured a high green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, though not remove him from my voice.” (Melville, loc: 118).  In this manner he is hiding away the part of himself that he dislikes and creating a barrier to separate the two distinct parts of his personality.  Note that the narrator does not say that he can hear Bartleby, but that Bartleby can hear him.

At first Melville allows the narrator, as the dominant side, a measure of control over Bartleby, “He ran a day and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light.  I should have been quite delighted with his application, had he been cheerfully industrious.  But he wrote on silently, palely, mechanically.” (Melville, loc: 120).  As time went on the power began to shift.  Often when an authoritarian presses his will on another, the more passive person acquiesces in some areas yet attempts to defy the will of their tormenter in other ways, and then may completely break down.  In this case Bartleby will copy as much work as the narrator will give him, yet refuse to do other work.  And while his actions are firm he is unable to completely verbalize a denial, instead repeating that he prefers not to undertake other tasks. 

Here Melville shifts the power to Bartleby, and when the narrator continues to press him, Bartleby implies that his eyes will not allow him to copy and completely quits doing any work.  At this point the transition is complete; Bartleby takes the reins in this protracted struggle and try as he might the narrator cannot eradicate him.  Because Bartleby has figuratively paralyzed the narrator, in order to preserve his view of how the world should operate the narrator must kill off this unproductive, inefficient part of himself.  He leaves Bartleby behind and alone, and then denies him, “I am very sorry, sir…but really, the man you allude to is nothing to me,” (Melville, loc: 454).

The text illustrates the ineffectiveness of Christian charity as well as the insincerity that often goes hand in hand with the false benevolence.  On multiple occasions the narrator attempts to give money to Bartleby instead of working on finding a solution, even after he finds Bartleby’s savings in his desk drawer and it is apparent that money is not the issue, he attempts five times in three separate instances to give him funds.  The narrator does the same thing with Turkey when giving him a coat instead of addressing his alcoholism.  Too many times throwing money at a problem appeases our consciences when all would be better served by spending time collectively creating real solutions; this is the main distinction between Christian charity and those who head into the trenches to produce positive change in the world.  The narrator spends time within his head trying to figure out what is wrong with Bartleby and comes up with several ideas but doesn’t appear to notice how supercilious this is.  Instead of taking time to sit with Bartleby within his comfort zone (which at that time was his office) and work through solutions, the narrator leaves daily and tries to figure them out by himself.  This is another example of the unproductiveness of Christian charity.

Melville sheds light on the hypocrisy and insincerity more clearly than ever when – because the narrator is unable to get Bartleby to leave – he decides it is divine providence, and then when his friends and colleagues begin to make snide comments he reverses this decision and moves his office, threatening Bartleby not to follow.  Finally he has tried every means known to him except for calling the police, which he tells himself he can’t dishonor himself by doing, so his decision to let Bartleby remain serves his interest at the time, “At last I see it, I feel it; I penetrate to the predestinated purpose of my life.  I am content.  Others may have loftier parts to enact; but my mission in this world, Bartleby, if to furnish you with office-room for such period as you may see fit to remain.”(Melville, loc: 407).  So due to the narrator’s inability to convince Bartleby to leave, and his unwillingness to tarnish his name by either physically forcing Bartleby to or having the police remove him, Melville has the narrator jump on this idea that God – though he doesn’t say God, he says Providence – has put him on the earth in order to give Bartleby an office to make his home. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incubus   

Then the whispers begin.  His colleagues quickly begin to comment on the strangeness of the situation, both in the narrator’s presence and behind his back.  Melville shows us that the facade of being a charitable Christian is more important to the narrator than actually being charitable, which reflects back to Bartleby being the shadow side as well, as many will not only deny others but also will deny their true character in order to keep up appearances.  In order to be able to retract the original statement that Providence led him to take care of Bartleby, the narrator must show that Providence is now leading him away from this divine duty in order to fit with his identity as a charitable Christian.  In order to achieve this, Melville chooses descriptions that are inflammatory or derogatory within the church, having the narrator refer to Bartleby as, “the apparition in my room,” (loc: 427) and further said, “I resolved to gather all my faculties together , and for ever rid me of this this intolerable incubus.” (loc: 428).  An apparition is a spirit or supernatural appearance, which can either be positive or negative, but the connotation in the story leads towards negative.  Incubus is most definitely a negative, inflammatory term, and is technically a male demon who sexually assaults women in their sleep.  Although the narrator is not using the term in that way, it’s specifically chosen by Melville to show how the narrator needs to use this to justify his retreat from his divine duty.  The narrator can then tell himself that Providence led him, but Bartleby is evil and has been deceiving both the narrator and God, so he has no choice but to remove Bartleby from his life.  In this part of the story Melville shines the harshest light on Christian charity.

A scrivener is the prelude to the copy machine in human form.  When law documents needed to be sent to more than one recipient the scrivener would copy the document by hand multiple times and then review the copies with another scrivener for correctness.  This is a job that even the narrator referred to as a “dry, husky sort of business,” (Melville, loc: 100) and the comparison between the work and Bartleby as a dry, boring personality type is obvious.  Melville creates the characters of Turkey and Nippers as obvious contrasts of both the job and Bartleby, and through this dissimilarity Turkey and Nippers are utilized as vivid illustrations of the absurdity of the job.

Works Cited

Melville, Herman. Bartleby, the Scrivener A Story of Wall Street. Public Domain Books, 1853. Digital.

Bartleby the Scrivener

“Imprimis:  I am a man who, from his youth upwards, has been filled with a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best.  Hence, though I belong to a profession proverbially energetic and nervous, even to turbulence, at times, yet nothing of that sort have I ever suffered to invade my peace.  I am one of those unambitious lawyers who never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men’s bonds and mortgages and title-deeds.  All who know me consider me an eminently safe man.  The late John Jacob Aster, a personage little given to poetic enthusiasm, had no hesitation in pronouncing my first grand point to be prudence; my next, method.  I do not speak it in vanity, but simply record the fact, that I was not unemployed in my profession by the late John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and rings like unto bullion.  I will freely add, that I was not insensible to the late John Jacob Astor’s good opinion.” (Loc. 11)

Herman Melville’s short story Bartleby, the Scrivener A Story of Wall-Street could have been alternately titled Wall Street Lawyers: Lacking Self Awareness (in Addition to Being Weak and Smug).  Melville created the narrator a character who believed he was simply choosing the easiest way which, as Melville illustrated, would be enough to skewer him with; but as it turned out he was tremendously afraid of confrontation.  The narrator claimed he was valued John Jacob Astor’s opinion, noted that Astor was not given to “poetic enthusiasm” (Loc. 11) and yet waxed poetic about Astor. This single passage contains an abundance of contradictory information and proves the narrator to be both imperceptive and foolish.

The narrator professed to be one who had “a profound conviction that the easiest way of life is the best” (Loc. 11), yet it is evident that what he should have said was that he was profoundly afraid to be the bad guy.  The easiest thing to do when faced with someone who refused to leave would have been to contact the police and have them removed; instead the narrator went to the trouble of renting a new office space and moving his office and employees.  If the narrator’s clients and business associates hadn’t commented and began gossiping about Bartleby the move would not have happened, the narrator would have allowed the situation to continue.  It was only the discomfort of others that caused him to move his office.  This is an example of the extreme exaggeration that Melville utilized to make the point of the story, for no man who has a modicum of self awareness can say he takes the easy way and then move his office rather than confront the situation head on.  

 Melville further illustrated the narrator’s foolishness with his claim to value Astor’s opinion, which would lead to living up to Astor’s description of him being prudent and methodical, was then contradicted with the gushy “…John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded and orbicular sound to it, and it rings like unto bullion” (Loc.11).   Another prime example of poetic speech is earlier in the section “in the cool tranquility of a snug retreat” (Loc.11), which serves as example of the narrator’s imprudence, the opposite of Astor’s description of him.

            This lack of self-awareness continued – and in fact grew – throughout the story as the narrator projected this same way of viewing himself onto the world around him.  It’s as if he intentionally wore fogged glasses that obscured and softened the external.  Nippers’ morning hangovers became indigestion, Turkey’s inkblots and explosive nature in the afternoons was allowed to be explained away as age related rather than a product of his affinity for “red ink” (whiskey) at lunch, and Bartleby’s strange and insubordinate behavior was disregarded as the narrator conjured up multiple sob stories to excuse his behavior.  It is clear from Melville’s description that the narrator knew what was going on but chose to obscure his own vision as to be able to continue fooling himself.  He was lacking internal integrity; that understanding of who he truly was vs. the image he projected.  

This link on gaining self awareness contains information that could have assisted the narrator.

Politicians have the difficult role of trying to please the majority of the people all of the time and often appear to have a lack of self-awareness.  Please note that whether they truly lack awareness isn’t my point, it’s the perception of such that I’m pointing out.  

Cartoon courtesy of Dana Summers-Tribune Media Services. http://www.usnews.com/cartoons/gop-2012-hopefuls-cartoons

Summary vs. Analysis

A summary tells what a piece of writing is about, what happens, and generally follows the order of events as written in the book.  In an analysis the evidence is presented in the order necessary to defend the argument the writer (analyzer?) is making.  The job of a summary is to inform, whereas the job of an analysis is to pick apart the reading and make inferences as to why certain elements were utilized or what makes them work.  It’s the difference between looking at a watch to see the time and taking the watch apart to see what makes it tick. 

            Two things from the lecture that assisted me in defining the differences were the T-table or T-chart, and the question “Could I be wrong?”  The T-table was described as having observations on one side and inferences on the other, with the observations acting as the evidence for the inferences.  I used the question about whether I could be wrong and looked at an old analysis I had done.  It helped me understand why the professor marked in several places “this is summary” in a way that hadn’t truly resonated with me prior to this point. 

            One additional note about the lecture, the usage of PIE paragraphs makes a lot of sense and I am probably revealing my age by saying I have never heard of using them.  I took English 101 about 20 years ago and honestly do not remember it ever being explained that way.  For anyone else who has not worked with PIE paragraphs, this site explains it in more detail

http://www.laspositascollege.edu/raw/bodyparagraphs.php.

        I utilized the T-Chart on part of a prior analysis I did on The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman.