Light of Thy Countenance

On the first day of class we were asked to define literature. The first thing that popped into my mind was Shakespeare, Emily Dickenson, and the hard to read novel Great Expectations. Never would I have believed that a comic book could even remotely be considered as a literary text. All comics seem to be about imaginary superheroes fighting off the villains. However, this is not what the reader finds when they read Alan Moore’s comic book.

Alan Moore’s Light of Thy Countenance is a literary text. Although this form of literature is fairly new and is not considered as literature by many critics, it is timeless. Moore goes through decades of history and incorporates them with today’s issues: the television. This comic book will be classic for the now, a new generation of literature. It is timeless. One hundred years from now, this comic book will still have relevance in a class room. Perhaps more relevance than it has today. I think this is the biggest characteristic of literature. Any text that can be read years down the line, with a new generation living on this world and it still has meaning to it. It sheds light as to what the worries were when he wrote it. This comic is not like the Batman comics that are all about fighting crime against people that do not exist. Moore’s comic fights technology and its “evil” effects on society since the first one was turned on.

Many of the literary texts we read this quarter had the same effect. Mary Shelly shows us in Frankenstein the issues with the advancement in technology. Even Allan Ginsberg’s poem, “A Supermarket in California”, advises the reader of the issues in America and the capitalism of the entire American life. Thus, Light of Thy Countenance does fit in with the other literary texts. I can see why some people would have an issue with accepting it as such. A comic is seen as something adolescent boys read instead of doing their homework. It is not something that should be placed on a reading list. But eventually people will notice the difference and will jump onto the boat to accept it.

Connecting all 3

The movie Blade Runner is a lot like Capek’s drama Rossum’s Universal Robots. We see that the robots in Blade Runner wanted to learn the secret of their life, just like the robots wanted the manual on how they were made. Both creatures had the intention of attempting to expand their life span. The movie also shows the fear of technology, after the technology had already been introduced to the world. We notice this when the head of police tells Deckard that no one was going to find out that three “Replicants” had killed twenty-three people, taken over a ship and returned to earth. It is just like Victor Frankenstein had created a monster and kept it a secret. Although Victor was kept his secret because everyone would think he was a lunatic, there was still a danger roaming around and citizens were unable to prepare to defend themselves if they did come in contact with them. There is also the feeling of calmness from the people that created these creatures. The reader does not feel a sense of urgency in R.U.R. until close to the end when the robots final go through the gates and into the factory. It is the same way in the movie, there is no sense of urgency until the final fight scene. The police officers and Deckard himself seem to have a nonchalant attitude towards the fact that there are dangerous creatures running the streets.

I think that Roy Baty decides to spare Deckard at the end because he wanted to show that he had developed feelings. Although he was able to kill his creator and others that had had a part in creating him, Deckard had spent his life to destroying “Replicants”. Maybe with this gesture, Deckard would learn to live with the robots and help others to live with them as well. The dialog, or monologue since Deckard was not doing much talking, had to do with the fear of living life as a slave. The possibility that Deckard was over powered by Roy alone showed him that if the robots really wanted to, they could take over and make people their slaves very easily.

Evidence

I will be focusing on sex/ gender roles and how they relate to the progress of the story.

The first piece of evidence I chose is that the men and women are place in traditional roles. Both Caroline and Elizabeth were described with motherly feature more than once through out the story. During the creature’s story, Agatha is only seen taking care of the women’s work at the house, while Felix took care of the heavy work, like bringing in firewood. Also, Victor is given the opportunity to leave his family to go study, while Elizabeth is not allowed the chance.

My second piece of evidence is the male ego and selfishness in the story. Walton’s first letter starts by mocking his sister for being afraid of his adventures as he stated, “You will rejoice to hear that no disaster has accompanied the commencement if an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings” (5). While Victor is constructing the creature, he submits himself completely into his work and all but forgets about his family that awaits his return

The third piece of evidence is the need for women to complete the male happiness. Felix is sad until Safie comes to him in the creature’s story. Victor also expresses great happiness when he is finally married to Elizabeth. Even before they are married, he expresses that he loves and would not be able to live with anyone else. The creature also asks for a woman or companion so that he could live happily and not bother Victor any longer.

These three pieces of evidence show that Mary Shelley created her characters to fit the society that she lived in. But if one is to dig in deeper, these characterizations are the reason that Victor’s whole life is destroyed. Were it not for the ego of the men and the submissive behavior of the women, perhaps none of this would have happened. Although Victor only sees himself as the culprit, society in general and their “ideal” life of the family life contributed greatly. Yes, he created the creature, but if it were fine for the men to have motherly affection, perhaps Victor would not have left the creature on his own. Maybe if was not so selfish and superficial, he would have

What the narrative does... Assignment#4

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce is split into three different sections, each subsequent section becoming more personal than the first. The first section sets up to the scene for the reader in a third person narrative. It is impersonal and gives it a sort of historical context to it. Making it seem as if the story was an actual even in history. The fact that the story begins so formally and without much detail as to how the scene came to be keeps the reader interested. It made me want to know what this man had done to be killed, being that he was a “gentleman”.

The second section gives a change in chronology. It takes the reader back to where and how this whole incident began. Although it also gives the reader more contexts on the situation, like stating that Peyton Farquhar is a slave owner and that he was a secessionist. This tells us that we are in the civil war times. But it also becomes more personal. We find out about who the man being hung is. We learn about his family, where he lives and his beliefs. The author still keeps a third person narrative and personal. For example, Peyton Farquhar is referred to as Farquhar as if referencing someone that is not a friend.

The final section was the most exciting. It returns to the original scene, beginning where the first section had left off. Even though it returns to the original spot, the feeling of this section is more personal. The reader can feel the panic of the main character to try to escape after the rope broke and he fell into the water. It is more personal since it is written in the first person. His thought process, the unexplainable miracles of Farquhar survival keeps the reader holding on to dear life as well. At the end, Bierce makes an abrupt return to the formal, third person narrative, making it the bearer of bad news.

Machinima and "Suicide's Note" by Langston Hughes

“Suicide’s Note” by Langston Hughes, in itself is a very powerful poem. The three verses it is written it give the feeling of solitude and sadness. However, the Machinima does add to the poem for me. This is hard for me to admit, being that I detest video games and I love Langston Hughes. It is a very literal translation of the poem which still leaves the reader (or viewer) to make out their personal interpretation of the poem itself. The first time I watched the video, I did not pay any attention to the lyrics of the song. The music itself would have sufficed to give the video that miserable touch to the video. The lyrics did not add anything to the video for me. But the slight movements of the soldier are what gave the poem the most personality. You feel the aloneness of the soldier. I can feel his pain as he looks down to the river or up to the sky. Makes me want to go console this video game character.

Poetry is integrated into every aspect of pop culture: from movies, to commercials to music. For example, “Maud: A Monodrama” by Tennysons is quoted in the movie A Cinderella Story. Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” is presented in the television show The West Wing. The episode in which it is recited is called “The U.S. Poet Laureate”. The poet laureate holds the position as the consultant in the Library of Congress to help raise consciousness of poetry to America. I’ve never really paid attention to how much poetry is a part of the popular culture until this assignment. Between my own research and the research done by my fellow classmates, there are many great poems, that maybe are seen as a little antiquated, can be seen in a new light with the help of popular culture.

Assignment 1

Images
-the boy
-ship burning
-child yelling
-father laying dead
-flag on fire
-thunder sounds
-pieces of the boat floating in the sea

The poem, "Casabianca" by Felicia Dorothea Hemans speaks about a child boy that is on a burning ship, which he will not abandon because his father has not given him permission to leave. However, the father of the child is already dead and would not be giving the child any such orders. At the end of the poem, although not explicitly stated, the child dies on the ship.

Hemans uses very vivid imagery throughout the entire poem. The reader can immerse themselves completely into the poem and feel like they are there on the ship with the child. I find the theme of respect in many of the images in this poem. The fact that the child will not abandon the burning ship until his father has given him permission is the biggest image of all. It is one that is repeated a couple of times throughout the poem. For example, in the third stanza the poet says, “The flames rolled on—he would not go/ Without his father’s word”. Then we see this image of the child asking and waiting for permission from his father in stanzas four, five and seven. A child is very easily frightened and for this boy to stay on a ship that was burning shows how much respect he has for his father and for the word that he had given his father to remain on the ship. You also see the image of the flag burning, “They caught the flag on high (stanza 8, verse 2)”. When a flag is to be disposed of, the only respectable way of doing it is to burn it. This shows that the ship and its captain (the child’s father) went down respectfully. The poet could have given us the image of the flag floating in the water along with the other pieces of the ship but it does not. One assumes that the flag is burned completely before the final explosion of the ship.

Assignment 2

In the poem, "All Watched Over By Machines" by Richard Brautigan can be seen as anti-technology. He seems to be writing with a lot of sarcasm, especially in the verses that are in parenthesis. For example, the first stanza states "I like to think/ (right now, please!)”. This statement feels like a forced request. Not something that the poet would actually like to happen. The poem also produces pictures in the reader’s mind that seem to be impossible in existing. For example, in the second stanza, verses five and six, it says, “where deer stroll peacefully/ past computers”. This created more of an image of a devastation of civilization and technology. Sort of how it is pictured in the movie “I am Legend” where it is seen that antelope and deer roam around New York City. It is not something that you would expect.

At the same time, this poem can be seen as pro- technology. The poem can be seen to have a tranquil tone to it. The poet speaks, in the first stanza, of nature and technology living harmoniously together. The simile the Brautigan uses at the end of the stanza, “like pure water/ touching clear sky” gives the reader a greater sense of the calmness between the two worlds. Usually a reading will have at least clouds in the sky if there is an issue underlying but you do not see this in the poem at all.

I think that the poem, although on the surface very pro technology, is really anti-technology. I think Brautigan is predicting or foreshadowing what is going to happen with the technology in the future. The fact that technology will be filling land fills and that nature and animals will have to adapt to live around it harmoniously and that there is nothing that can be done by the animals. That is why he does not state that humans will have to live with it but the trees, the forests, and the animals, which have no say as to where these items go.