Infinite Green Hope
Hmmm... I found another essay I wrote on The Great Gatsby. I think this is the "second edition" of the previous one that I wrote.
Jay Gatsby, of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, epitomizes one of the central themes of the novel; the prospect of infinite hope and its death. Hope is the cornerstone of the American Dream, and it has become corrupted by foul, immoral deeds. Men who made a fortune in industries, bootlegging, and in the stock market, during the 20s jazz era quickly turned to live the flamboyant, decadent lifestyle they so desired. Fitzgerald describes the downfall of hope and the American Dream by emphasizing the immoral nature of Gatsby and the rich so that future generations might be warned of the dreadful end that arises from corrupted dreams.
It is not merely the dream itself that is tainted, but also the process in which the goal was attained, as can be seen through Gatsby’s rise to wealth. He cared not for the path he took, for his goal was merely to be rich, so that Daisy would marry him. Because of this, Gatsby took to bootlegging and other criminal affairs, “his previously varied aspirations…are sacrificed for…single-minded obsession with Daisy's green light at the end of her dock” (Theme Analysis). The green light represented to Gatsby, the “orgastic future” (Fitzgerald 180), where everything was good. In his search for the past in the future, Gatsby corrupted his dream and his hopes with subtle crimes and bootlegging, and the green light became merely a light as he died.
The Dream of Gatsby
I figure since I'm going through my old stuff, I might as well post some of old essays from high school. So here's another essay, on The Great Gatsby, with "works cited" at the end. (And yes, this is one is also pretty bad, as essays go.)
You can find my second and final draft (read: better draft) here.
One of the major themes of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby, is the death of honest, hard work. Certainly, this theme could be described as the death of the American Dream, but Fitzgerald's novel has now extended far beyond the borders of America to encompass the majority of the world, and it would be better to refer to the motif in a more worldly manner. The theme is seen more clearly through the carefree lifestyle of Tom and Daisy Buchanan and the extravagant mannerisms of Jay Gatsby, who are deeply contrasted by the frugal lifestyles of Nick Carraway and George Wilson. Through his characterization of the Buchanans, Nick, Gatsby, and Wilson, Fitzgerald attempts to display the manner in which humanity has come to value the possession of money rather then the process of obtaining it, so that future generations might gain a reprise from the despondent lifestyle similar to the one Fitzgerald lived.
Sparknotes mentions in "Themes, Motifs & Symbols," that "the unrestrained desire for money and pleasure surpassed more noble goals" during the decadent 1920s. Jay Gatsby sought only the pleasure that he could obtain through money, so he ignored the nobility of honest work, and instead turned to a far more profitable line of employment: bootlegging. Gatsby describes Daisy Buchanan's voice as being "full of money" (Fitzgerald 120), which allows us to see more fully into the nature of Gatsby, for Gatsby does not love Daisy for her wit and charm, but rather for the wealth that she epitomizes. His goal is to simply be on top with a mound of money and the “golden girl” alongside him. Whether he attains this goal through wooing her, or by buying her attention with his ill gained money, makes no difference to Gatsby. Novel Analysis says in "Character Profiles," that Gatsby has created his own "personal version of the American Dream." Gatsby's dream is a world where his money can bring the world to bow at his feet, and make the "golden girl" become his bride. In his perverted dream, there are no noble pathways to a happy ending; there is only a lonely beginning, and a glorious end.
A Poor Villanelle
This is a rather poorly Villanelle which I wrote sometime in high school. I have no idea what I was writing about, but anyhoo, here it is for the world to ridicule.
Good Friend
Good friend, how does your mother fare of late?
They say you tend to her every day, yet
How does your honor of her currently rate?
Today you show her deference, yet hate
Was once the only thing that she would get.
Good friend, how does your mother fare of late?
Methinks you wish that she were dead, a fate
So good, your daily chores all well and met.
How does your honor of her currently rate?
Your livestock lives quite a similar fate,
No love in life, but fulfillment in death.
Good friend, how does your mother fare of late?
Your heart and actions are in great debate,
No love for her I see you have to whet.
How does your honor of her currently rate?
Too late you’ve shown her far too much hate,
She’s past gone loving you, and you of her .
Good friend, how does your mother fare of late?
How does your honor of her currently rate?
The Morning
I remember when I was first introduced to C.S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia. It was on one of those hot lazy Saturdays, where you want to do nothing but lay down and stare at the ceiling. I would have been seven years old at the time, I remember because of the house we were living in. My sister had a box set of the Chronicles of Narnia, and they still sit in her room to this day. I pulled out The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (it was labeled as "Book 1" in our box set) and settled down to read it. It was so entrancing that after I finished I reached for book 2, Prince Caspian. I finished the entire Chronicles of Narnia in one day when I was seven years old. Truth to tell, I doubt I understood all of it at the time, but the prose and the way the words wove together seemed so lovely and mystical at the time that I couldn't stop until there was nothing left to read. Yet after that day, the Chronicles left my mind and I thought nothing of them for many years.
I remember in fifth grade, a classmate brought up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and that I had boasted of how I had read through the entire Chronicles in one day, and then proceeded to rattle off a brief description of each book. I used to be quite the arrogant child (still am in many ways, although now I have so much less to boast about). Not much later, my sister began reading Lewis's The Screwtape Letters. Yet still after that, I thought nothing of Lewis and the Chronicles for many years.
To Be or Not to Be
Unlike many of my article titles, this one actually pertains directly to my article. Once again, this is from a high school English class (seems like I wrote a lot when I was in high school).
Hamlet’s “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy from the play Hamlet by Shakespeare, describes Hamlet’s morbid and tempestuous feelings. Prior to the soliloquy, Hamlet’s emotions have been in turmoil due to the appearance of his father’s ghost and his mother’s marriage to his uncle. Shakespeare’s use of literary techniques such as diction, imagery and syntax give the reader insight into Hamlet’s thoughts and feelings as he contemplates death and the afterlife, and the problems of life.
Throughout the soliloquy, Shakespeare’s use of punctuation reveals where Hamlet begins to grow particularly emotional. The phrase “... and by a sleep to we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to...” is much longer then the short, terse phrases surrounding it, drawing the reader’s attention. This long phrase shows the swelling of Hamlet’s emotions, and allows the reader to deduce that Hamlet greatly dislikes his earthly pains and finds the bliss of death to be a “consummation devoutly to be wish’d.” This quick terse phrase helps to emphasize Hamlet’s opinion of death. At line 66, Hamlet says, “for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.” Hamlet’s fears of the afterlife, are emphasized by his outpouring of emotion, which he then pulls quickly to a stop.
A Sonnet for Me
I wrote a rather poor sonnet for an English class in high school, and found it again while I was paging through some of old files stashed away in the recesses of my once beastly huge (lets face it, 250gigs just doesn't cut it anymore) external hard drive.
As I have grown older, I have continued to lament my inability to convey my thoughts clearly. My deficiency is especially clear in the sonnet that follows.
I dreamt today of times long gone and dead,
when land and sea, were yet still great jewels
untainted not by man’s great lust. I fled
to lands still raw, where verdant growth and pools,
yet blue, filléd the earth. When men might live
and quest for love, desiring only true delight
and God. A rawness in the world might give,
a freshness to the life I lead. With might
and not intelligence this world was ruled,
be it by man or beast. Such dreams beyond
the hopes of man have played my mind, and fooled
me with their seemingly glorious sights and sounds.
For only ghosts still know the beauty of the past,
and know if my dreams hold some truth.
My History Paper
Here it is, the history that I mentioned earlier, here. I should point out, that yes, there are grammatical errors that I am aware of. This is the exact same paper that I turned in, completely unchanged. Have fun reading it, non-existent readers of my site.
During the period of Eastern Zhou, when the power of the Zhou kings was in decline, various philosophies and methods of governing were created. Amongst these beliefs, were those of Zichan whose views can be seen in The Chronicles of Zuo, Confucius in The Analects of Confucius, and Mo Zi in The Basic Writings of Mo Tzu. Each of these three men had a different set of criteria for determining whether or not a man was worthy of appointment to a government job, with Mo Zi judging on worthiness, Zichan off of capabilities, and Confucius off of moral character. Although at first glance it would seem that all three men have entirely different criteria in appointing an official, they share, amongst other lesser similarities, a belief that social status should have little, if any, importance in selecting an official.
Of all the three, Mo Zi outlines the simplest methodology for selecting men for government positions. Under Mo Zi's system a man must simply be capable of performing the task required for the position, with social status and relations to the ruler having no importance at all, and a ruler “must honor the worthy, for honoring the worthy is the foundation of good government.” (Mo Zi, P. 22) Under Mo Zi's system of appointing officials, the ruler would pick indiscriminately between a nephew and a complete stranger, selecting whoever is most appropriate for the position. In defining how the righteous should be promoted, Mo Zi states that “the lord promotes the righteous without caring how far removed they may have been from him,” (Mo Zi, P. 19) that is to say, the ruler should not take into consideration whether or not the candidate is of any relation to the ruler. This is much like the beliefs of Confucius and Zichan, that social status should be of little or no consequence in promoting and selecting an official.
Categories
- Computers (27)
- Daily Log (18)
- Gadgets (5)
- Linux (34)
- Literature (20)
- Out Doors (23)
- Polyphasic Sleep (6)
- Programming (31)
- Random Stuff (47)
- School (43)
- Site News (26)
- Software (16)
- Stocks (6)
- Uncategorized (3)
- work (4)
Archives
- February 2016 (1)
- August 2014 (3)
- October 2013 (1)
- June 2013 (1)
- May 2013 (4)
- May 2012 (1)
- March 2012 (3)
- August 2011 (1)
- June 2011 (1)
- January 2011 (2)
- December 2010 (2)
- October 2010 (1)
- September 2010 (2)
- May 2010 (2)
- April 2010 (3)
- January 2010 (4)
- December 2009 (1)
- November 2009 (4)
- October 2009 (2)
- September 2009 (5)
- August 2009 (6)
- June 2009 (1)
- May 2009 (5)
- April 2009 (4)
- March 2009 (9)
- February 2009 (7)
- January 2009 (6)
- December 2008 (6)
- November 2008 (3)
- October 2008 (7)
- September 2008 (6)
- August 2008 (11)
- July 2008 (25)
- June 2008 (12)
- May 2008 (7)
- April 2008 (12)
- March 2008 (5)
- February 2008 (5)
- January 2008 (7)
- December 2007 (2)
- November 2007 (6)
- October 2007 (4)
- August 2007 (3)
- July 2007 (6)
- June 2007 (2)
- May 2007 (10)
- April 2007 (7)
Comments
- on Miyata Alumicross
- on Miyata Alumicross
- on Miyata Alumicross
- on Why I Hate Remote Working
- on My Old Trek 820
Social Commentary, Physics Style
I was reading my physics book today, and came across this rather interesting sentance.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Had my physics book just made a social commentary or som sort of weird joke?
Perhaps the authors were sick of the almost-nude style of clothing that is so popular these days (especially amongst females). Or perhaps they were disgusted by the moral decripitude that Americans had sunk to.
Irregardless, the fact remains that the authors of a college physics textbook expressed their views about something that didn't invovle physics. And not just any opinions, moral opinions.
Insanity!