Whati s transcendentallism?
www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap4/4intro.html
Go to Emerson Self-Reliance website:
www.emersoncentral.com/selfreliance.htm
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The American Scholar
www.emersoncentral.com/amscholar.htm
Books and Man Thinking: Edification or False Idolatry?
A Caution in Emerson's "The American Scholar"
by Nancy Haines
Commencement speeches are customarily routine, pedantic, platitude filled, mildly inspiring lectures. This description, however, was never applied to Ralph Waldo Emerson's oration, "The American Scholar," delivered to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard in 1837. Oliver Wendell Holmes called this speech America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence." In addition to being a call for literary independence from Europe and past traditions, the speech was a blueprint for how humans should live their lives. Emerson believed that the way to reunite with the Over-Soul was to become "The American Scholar." He would do this by observing nature, by studying the past through books, and by taking action. To become a scholar, humans also needed to develop self trust, espouse freedom and bravery, and value the individual over the masses.
Because this speech is so pregnant with discussion topics, an intrinsic part of the blueprint may not catch the reader's attention or receive the analysis it deserves. It delivers a message that contemporary humans still need to receive. The startling, heretical admonition not to worship or make false idols of books and other objects of art, given in Emerson's "The American Scholar," demonstrates his belief in the vital necessity for self-reliance and active, creative reading and writing. When he exhorts us to live as a scholar, as "Man Thinking," rather than "a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking" (1530), he is cautioning us against the false idolatry of book or Bible worship.
When Emerson introduces the second great influence on the spirit of the scholar, he at first praises books. He expounds on "the mind of the Past,--in whatever form, whether of literature, of art, of institutions, that mind is inscribed. Books are the best type of the influence of the past" (1532). Emerson is saying that books are the best vehicle available to the scholar for studying the ideas and accomplishments of past men and ages. But after affirming that "the theory of books is noble" (1532) and presenting an idealized way of reading and reusing books from past ages by which "business" and "dead facts" come out as "poetry" and "quick thought" when read and rewritten in a new age, Emerson
begins to show doubts that reuse is possible and states that "Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather each generation for the next succeeding. The books of an older period will not fit this" (1532).
The preceding quotation could be used in 1837 and still today to attack the teachers and professors in secondary schools and universities who woship the literary canon. Although few, if any, of the Harvard Phi Beta Kappas realized it at the time of hearing, Emerson's "The American Scholar" also delivers a powerful upper-cut to unaware, Bible worshipping idolaters. In addition to the Christian Bible, his caution against idolizing books from other ages would include all the sacred books from the world's religions such as the Jewish Torah, the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, the Islamic Koran and the Veda of India. Emerson delineates how man replaces a real event or action with its image or record which then becomes an object to be worshipped and defended against attacks from heretics:
The sacredness which attaches to the act of creation,--the act of thought,--is transferred to the record. The poet chanting, was felt to be a divine man: henceforth the chant is divine also. The writer was a just and wise spirit: henceforward it is settled, the book is perfect; as love of the hero corrupts into worship of his statue. Instantly, the book becomes noxious: the guide is a tyrant. The sluggish and perverted mind of the multitude, slow to open to the incursions of Reason, having once so opened, having once received this book, stands upon it, and makes an outcry, if it is disparaged. Colleges are built on it. Books are written on it by thinkers, not by Man Thinking; by men of talent, that is, who start wrong, who set out wrong, who set out from accepted dogmas, not from their own sight of principles . . . . (1532)
People in organized religion who blindly accept books from the past as sacred dogma not to be questioned will not entertain the idea that the writers were only men, asking questions and seeking union with the Over-Soul just as "Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries" (1532) when they wrote their books.
Bible worshippers or even modern worshippers of technology are not self-reliant. As Emerson suggests, by making idols of tools, they have become "subdued by their instruments" (1533). They do not think for themselves or read creatively. They are not making "life their dictionary" (1535). They have been "warped by its attraction clean out of their own orbit, and made a satellite instead of a system" (1532-33). By relying on the idol they have stopped searching for their own truth. No new canons are accepted. This is what Emerson was cautioning against when he said, "Books are the best of things, well used; abused among the worst" (1532).
In spite of his doubts and foreboding about The American Scholar's misuses of books, Emerson loved books and considered them to be a great resource. He said, "It is remarkable the pleasure we derive from the best books" (1533) and admitted that "there is a portion of reading quite indispensable to a wise man. History and exact science he must learn by laborious reading" (1534). But he still thought that "books are for the scholar's idle time" and "when the intervals of darkness come" (1533). Emerson demonstrates his belief that when he can, the scholar should be seeking action and studying nature, thus making "life his dictionary": "When he can read God directly, the hour is too precious to be wasted in other men's transcripts of their readings" (1533).
Transcendentalists asked the questions "What is authority?" and "What defines truth?" In "The American Scholar," Emerson cautions Man Thinking to be careful, to not let any book be the authority but to read, think and decide for himself. There is a fine line between study, appreciation and assimilation of books and ideas from the past and idolizing these books and ideas. We must examine, rewrite, create, learn from the old but write our own books from our own time and experience.
Work Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The American Scholar." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd. ed. Vol I. Lexington: Heath, 1994. 1529-1541.
www.emersoncentral.com/amscholar.htm
Books and Man Thinking: Edification or False Idolatry?
A Caution in Emerson's "The American Scholar"
by Nancy Haines
Commencement speeches are customarily routine, pedantic, platitude filled, mildly inspiring lectures. This description, however, was never applied to Ralph Waldo Emerson's oration, "The American Scholar," delivered to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Harvard in 1837. Oliver Wendell Holmes called this speech America's "Intellectual Declaration of Independence." In addition to being a call for literary independence from Europe and past traditions, the speech was a blueprint for how humans should live their lives. Emerson believed that the way to reunite with the Over-Soul was to become "The American Scholar." He would do this by observing nature, by studying the past through books, and by taking action. To become a scholar, humans also needed to develop self trust, espouse freedom and bravery, and value the individual over the masses.
Because this speech is so pregnant with discussion topics, an intrinsic part of the blueprint may not catch the reader's attention or receive the analysis it deserves. It delivers a message that contemporary humans still need to receive. The startling, heretical admonition not to worship or make false idols of books and other objects of art, given in Emerson's "The American Scholar," demonstrates his belief in the vital necessity for self-reliance and active, creative reading and writing. When he exhorts us to live as a scholar, as "Man Thinking," rather than "a mere thinker, or, still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking" (1530), he is cautioning us against the false idolatry of book or Bible worship.
When Emerson introduces the second great influence on the spirit of the scholar, he at first praises books. He expounds on "the mind of the Past,--in whatever form, whether of literature, of art, of institutions, that mind is inscribed. Books are the best type of the influence of the past" (1532). Emerson is saying that books are the best vehicle available to the scholar for studying the ideas and accomplishments of past men and ages. But after affirming that "the theory of books is noble" (1532) and presenting an idealized way of reading and reusing books from past ages by which "business" and "dead facts" come out as "poetry" and "quick thought" when read and rewritten in a new age, Emerson
begins to show doubts that reuse is possible and states that "Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather each generation for the next succeeding. The books of an older period will not fit this" (1532).
The preceding quotation could be used in 1837 and still today to attack the teachers and professors in secondary schools and universities who woship the literary canon. Although few, if any, of the Harvard Phi Beta Kappas realized it at the time of hearing, Emerson's "The American Scholar" also delivers a powerful upper-cut to unaware, Bible worshipping idolaters. In addition to the Christian Bible, his caution against idolizing books from other ages would include all the sacred books from the world's religions such as the Jewish Torah, the Hindu Bhagavad Gita, the Islamic Koran and the Veda of India. Emerson delineates how man replaces a real event or action with its image or record which then becomes an object to be worshipped and defended against attacks from heretics:
The sacredness which attaches to the act of creation,--the act of thought,--is transferred to the record. The poet chanting, was felt to be a divine man: henceforth the chant is divine also. The writer was a just and wise spirit: henceforward it is settled, the book is perfect; as love of the hero corrupts into worship of his statue. Instantly, the book becomes noxious: the guide is a tyrant. The sluggish and perverted mind of the multitude, slow to open to the incursions of Reason, having once so opened, having once received this book, stands upon it, and makes an outcry, if it is disparaged. Colleges are built on it. Books are written on it by thinkers, not by Man Thinking; by men of talent, that is, who start wrong, who set out wrong, who set out from accepted dogmas, not from their own sight of principles . . . . (1532)
People in organized religion who blindly accept books from the past as sacred dogma not to be questioned will not entertain the idea that the writers were only men, asking questions and seeking union with the Over-Soul just as "Cicero, Locke, and Bacon were only young men in libraries" (1532) when they wrote their books.
Bible worshippers or even modern worshippers of technology are not self-reliant. As Emerson suggests, by making idols of tools, they have become "subdued by their instruments" (1533). They do not think for themselves or read creatively. They are not making "life their dictionary" (1535). They have been "warped by its attraction clean out of their own orbit, and made a satellite instead of a system" (1532-33). By relying on the idol they have stopped searching for their own truth. No new canons are accepted. This is what Emerson was cautioning against when he said, "Books are the best of things, well used; abused among the worst" (1532).
In spite of his doubts and foreboding about The American Scholar's misuses of books, Emerson loved books and considered them to be a great resource. He said, "It is remarkable the pleasure we derive from the best books" (1533) and admitted that "there is a portion of reading quite indispensable to a wise man. History and exact science he must learn by laborious reading" (1534). But he still thought that "books are for the scholar's idle time" and "when the intervals of darkness come" (1533). Emerson demonstrates his belief that when he can, the scholar should be seeking action and studying nature, thus making "life his dictionary": "When he can read God directly, the hour is too precious to be wasted in other men's transcripts of their readings" (1533).
Transcendentalists asked the questions "What is authority?" and "What defines truth?" In "The American Scholar," Emerson cautions Man Thinking to be careful, to not let any book be the authority but to read, think and decide for himself. There is a fine line between study, appreciation and assimilation of books and ideas from the past and idolizing these books and ideas. We must examine, rewrite, create, learn from the old but write our own books from our own time and experience.
Work Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. "The American Scholar." The Heath Anthology of American Literature. Ed. Paul Lauter, et al. 2nd. ed. Vol I. Lexington: Heath, 1994. 1529-1541.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Discussion Questions Song of Myself
Post a response to these questions here:
Questions on "Song of Myself"
1. Who is this poet and what happens to him? Also consider in stanza #5, what is happening to the poet's body and soul. What wisdom comes from this transformation?
2. His subject matter: what does it include? What seems most important.
3. The form: grass as symbol. What other characteristics of the form of the poem do you see as unusual (and romantic?)?
4. The reader: promises and projection. Also consider what relationship the poet establishes initially with "you," his reader? What sort of person does he seem to be? What does he reject and what does he embrace? What promises does he make?
Consider the stylistic characteristics of the poem: the catalogues (such as #15); the repetitions of syntactic structures; the frequent participial verbs (-ing endings); any others that strike you. Perhaps more than any other writer, Whitman subscribed to the organic theory of writing: that the style must be organically part of the meaning (not imposed mechanically in any way). Think about how any of these stylistic characteristics are essential to his meaning.
By the end of the poem, where is Whitman in regard to the reader? How has the "I" changed in the poem through its experiences? How is the reader supposed to finally understand the "I"?
Questions on "Song of Myself"
1. Who is this poet and what happens to him? Also consider in stanza #5, what is happening to the poet's body and soul. What wisdom comes from this transformation?
2. His subject matter: what does it include? What seems most important.
3. The form: grass as symbol. What other characteristics of the form of the poem do you see as unusual (and romantic?)?
4. The reader: promises and projection. Also consider what relationship the poet establishes initially with "you," his reader? What sort of person does he seem to be? What does he reject and what does he embrace? What promises does he make?
Consider the stylistic characteristics of the poem: the catalogues (such as #15); the repetitions of syntactic structures; the frequent participial verbs (-ing endings); any others that strike you. Perhaps more than any other writer, Whitman subscribed to the organic theory of writing: that the style must be organically part of the meaning (not imposed mechanically in any way). Think about how any of these stylistic characteristics are essential to his meaning.
By the end of the poem, where is Whitman in regard to the reader? How has the "I" changed in the poem through its experiences? How is the reader supposed to finally understand the "I"?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Walt Whitman
Visit poets.org for more about Whitman:
Whitman's greatest legacy is his invention of a truly American free verse. His groundbreaking, open, inclusive, and optimistic poems are written in long, sprawling lines and span an astonishing variety of subject matter and points of view--embodying the democratic spirit of his new America. He uses a number of literary devices to accomplish his work. Although written in free verse, meaning that it is not strictly metered or rhymed, sections of Leaves of Grass approach iambic meter, which is the same meter as in a traditional sonnet (as in, "Come live with me and be my love"). Since iambics closely mimic the patterns of natural speech and are pleasing to the ear, Whitman used them for sections of his poems, without exclusively writing metered verse. Whitman's "catalogs," or lists, are used in many of his poems to indicate the breadth of types of people, situation, or objects in a particular poem. Whitman's mastery of the catalog has caused critics to praise his endless generative powers, his seeming ability to cycle through hundreds of images while avoiding repetition and producing astounding variety and newness. Anaphora is a literary device used by Whitman which employs the repetition of a first word in each phrase; for example, each line will begin with "and." Whitman uses anaphora to mimic biblical syntax and give his work a weighty, epic feeling, but also to create the hypnotic rhythms that take the place of more formal verse. Whitman's poetics also rely on careful control of the indicative and imperative moods (described in a recommended essay by Galway Kinnell; see the Suggested Reading).
The critical and popular response to Leaves of Grass was mixed and bewildered. Leaves of Grass was most harshly criticized because Whitman's free verse didn't fit into the existing British model of poetry, which was a tradition of rhyme, meter and structure. One critic noted, in an 1855 review in Life Illustrated, "It is like no other book that ever was written, and therefore, the language usually employed in notices of new publications is unavailable in describing it." Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Since I have seen him, I find that I am not disturbed by any brag or egoism in his book. He may turn out the least of a braggart of all, having a better right to be confident." Matthew Arnold wrote, "...while you think it is his highest merit that he is so unlike everyone else, to me this seems to be his demerit." In the early 20th century, Ezra Pound expressed his admiration in mixed terms: "[Whitman] is America. His crudity is an exceeding great stench, but it is America. He is the hollow place in the rock that echoes with the time. He does 'chant the crucial stage' and he is the 'voice triumphant.' He is disgusting. He is an exceedingly nauseating pill, but he accomplishes his mission." Since then, reactions to Whitman have been at both extremes: his book has been banned for sensuality one decade, and then praised as the cornerstone of American poetics the next. With the upcoming 150th anniversary, America's poets and critics have found unmediated love for our most American poet, the man who came to shape our ideas of nationhood, democracy, and freedom.
Whitman's greatest legacy is his invention of a truly American free verse. His groundbreaking, open, inclusive, and optimistic poems are written in long, sprawling lines and span an astonishing variety of subject matter and points of view--embodying the democratic spirit of his new America. He uses a number of literary devices to accomplish his work. Although written in free verse, meaning that it is not strictly metered or rhymed, sections of Leaves of Grass approach iambic meter, which is the same meter as in a traditional sonnet (as in, "Come live with me and be my love"). Since iambics closely mimic the patterns of natural speech and are pleasing to the ear, Whitman used them for sections of his poems, without exclusively writing metered verse. Whitman's "catalogs," or lists, are used in many of his poems to indicate the breadth of types of people, situation, or objects in a particular poem. Whitman's mastery of the catalog has caused critics to praise his endless generative powers, his seeming ability to cycle through hundreds of images while avoiding repetition and producing astounding variety and newness. Anaphora is a literary device used by Whitman which employs the repetition of a first word in each phrase; for example, each line will begin with "and." Whitman uses anaphora to mimic biblical syntax and give his work a weighty, epic feeling, but also to create the hypnotic rhythms that take the place of more formal verse. Whitman's poetics also rely on careful control of the indicative and imperative moods (described in a recommended essay by Galway Kinnell; see the Suggested Reading).
The critical and popular response to Leaves of Grass was mixed and bewildered. Leaves of Grass was most harshly criticized because Whitman's free verse didn't fit into the existing British model of poetry, which was a tradition of rhyme, meter and structure. One critic noted, in an 1855 review in Life Illustrated, "It is like no other book that ever was written, and therefore, the language usually employed in notices of new publications is unavailable in describing it." Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Since I have seen him, I find that I am not disturbed by any brag or egoism in his book. He may turn out the least of a braggart of all, having a better right to be confident." Matthew Arnold wrote, "...while you think it is his highest merit that he is so unlike everyone else, to me this seems to be his demerit." In the early 20th century, Ezra Pound expressed his admiration in mixed terms: "[Whitman] is America. His crudity is an exceeding great stench, but it is America. He is the hollow place in the rock that echoes with the time. He does 'chant the crucial stage' and he is the 'voice triumphant.' He is disgusting. He is an exceedingly nauseating pill, but he accomplishes his mission." Since then, reactions to Whitman have been at both extremes: his book has been banned for sensuality one decade, and then praised as the cornerstone of American poetics the next. With the upcoming 150th anniversary, America's poets and critics have found unmediated love for our most American poet, the man who came to shape our ideas of nationhood, democracy, and freedom.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Walt Whitman Song of Myself
We begin reading Walt Whitman in class.
Walt Whitman links:
www.whitmanarchive.org/
www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126
Walt Whitman links:
www.whitmanarchive.org/
www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/126
Friday, March 19, 2010
Week of 3/15-3/19 Poet Presentations
Please be sure your presentations have an audio and visual component. Make sure we can read a poem by your poet.
Handouts are due on Monday. We will go in reverse alphabetical order for the presentations.
Handouts are due on Monday. We will go in reverse alphabetical order for the presentations.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Links for Poet project
Poets.org
www.poets.org/poets
Modern American Poetry
www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets.htm
Poetry Society of America:
www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/crossroads/qa_american_poetry/
Geraldine dodge readings:
www.dodgepoetry.org/past-festivals/
www.pbs.org/wnet/foolingwithwords/main_festival.html
CHECK WITH Ms. Gamzon for recordings of poets reading their poems
www.poets.org/poets
Modern American Poetry
www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets.htm
Poetry Society of America:
www.poetrysociety.org/psa/poetry/crossroads/qa_american_poetry/
Geraldine dodge readings:
www.dodgepoetry.org/past-festivals/
www.pbs.org/wnet/foolingwithwords/main_festival.html
CHECK WITH Ms. Gamzon for recordings of poets reading their poems
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Diary of Adam and Eve
Discuss "Diary of Adam and Eve"
HWK: BEDFORD READER
Read Armin Brott's "Not all Men are Sly Foxes" pg. 293
Read Stephanie Ericsson's "The Ways We Lie" pg. 337 or 335
Read Mark Twain's "My First Lie..."
Work on Poet Project
View more Ken Burns?
HWK: BEDFORD READER
Read Armin Brott's "Not all Men are Sly Foxes" pg. 293
Read Stephanie Ericsson's "The Ways We Lie" pg. 337 or 335
Read Mark Twain's "My First Lie..."
Work on Poet Project
View more Ken Burns?
Monday, March 8, 2010
Poet Presentation Handout for Class Presentation
*Information needed in your poet presentation:
Due Date: Mon, 3/15 Begin presentations in class
* Birth Date and Birthplace
* Death Date/Place of Death
* Early Influences:
* You must include at least three events or people that influenced your poet.
* Education:
You must include the role or significance that this education had in later life for your poet.
* Major Accomplishments your poet has made:
Awards, etc. This must include the dates.
*Significance to the field of Poetry:
You must explain why this poet is worthy of note in his field of expertise.
*Contemporaries:
You must include the names of at least three other poets who wrote at the same time as your poet. Please include their roles.
*Famous Poems:
Diary of Adam and Eve
Read the extracts from the Diary of Adam and Eve
classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/mtwain/bl-mtwain-exadam-1.htm
Go over "Roughing It" handout
Adam and Eve video link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMIzhxcXnxA&feature=related
classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/mtwain/bl-mtwain-exadam-1.htm
Go over "Roughing It" handout
Adam and Eve video link:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMIzhxcXnxA&feature=related
Friday, March 5, 2010
Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses/Roughing It
Link to Fenimore Cooper information:
www.online-literature.com/cooperj/
Discuss yesterday's reading and "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses"
"Roughing It" with multiple choice exercise for AP.
www.online-literature.com/cooperj/
Discuss yesterday's reading and "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses"
"Roughing It" with multiple choice exercise for AP.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Mark Twain "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Students should go to the blog for today’s agenda. They should click on the link to the Mark Twain PBS website from the previous post.
Read aloud and discuss “Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog” (otherwise known as "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" or "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Structure
The frame tale structure of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is one of its most important parts. In a frame tale, one story appears in—that is, it is framed by—another story. In "Jumping Frog" the outer tale focuses on Mark Twain and his meeting with the talkative old storyteller, Simon Wheeler. This meeting occurs at the request of a friend of Twain's, identified in some versions of the tale as A. Ward, who supposedly wants to find out about an old acquaintance named Leonidas Smiley. Twain reveals, however, that he suspects his friend's request was merely a practical joke designed to waste his time. Twain's suspicions about the meeting and his descriptions of Wheeler appear in the few paragraphs that open and close the entire story. Twain speaks in the first-person in these passages. Because this portion of the tale first appeared in the form of a letter, the entire story also can be considered an epistolary tale.
The inner tale is the one Wheeler tells about Jim Smiley, his betting ways, and his run-in with the Stranger. Wheeler's stories seem largely exaggerated, and can be viewed as examples of a tall tale. Wheeler tells his tale in a third-person narrative voice.
Setting
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" takes place in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, shortly after the California Gold Rush of 1849. Mark Twain's experience with Simon Wheeler and Wheeler's stories about Jim Smiley both occur in Angel's Camp, a mining camp located in Calaveras County, California. Wheeler tells Twain his stories in a local bar, the type of place where stories are often shared.
Satire
Satire is an essential component of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Satire is a technique that involves the manipulation of stereotypes and the use of exaggeration to point out the folly of a person or situation. In "Jumping Frog" Twain pokes fun at several things, including the tall tale genre, the American West, and the American East. Instead of merely using the tall tale for humorous effect, Twain also uses it to challenge various stereotypes held by many Americans at the time. According to these stereotypes, individuals living in the western United States were often uneducated, gullible fools. By contrast, Americans living in the eastern part of the United States were supposed to be well-educated, sophisticated, and cultured. In a satirical twist, Twain's sophisticated Easterner actually comes across as an impatient and self-absorbed snob who gets fooled by both his friend and the garrulous Wheeler. Likewise, Wheeler is ultimately revealed to be not a rube, but a good-natured and experienced storyteller whose deadpan delivery is merely a front used to fool his supposedly sophisticated listener.
Tall Tale
A tall tale features exaggerated, fabulous events. Characters in tall tales are often considered "larger than life," meaning they exhibit extraordinary qualities. Simon Wheeler's stories about Jim Smiley and his pets feature many such exaggerations, and thus fall into the tall tale category. For example, Wheeler describes Smiley as a man who will make a bet on anything, even something as mundane as which of two birds will fly off a fence first. Smiley's frog, Dan'l Webster, practically flies through the air when jumping and uses his legs like a cat to scratch himself. Finally, Andrew Jackson, Smiley's dog, will hold on to another dog—his preferred technique for fighting—for as long as a year to win a fight.
Anthropomorphism
Twain gives the animals in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County'' human traits, a technique called anthropomorphism. Andrew Jackson, Jim Smiley's dog, is described as proud, ornery, and determined. He likes to fight and likes to win his battles. When he fights a dog that he can't beat, he eventually dies from the humiliation. Both Andrew Jackson and the frog named Dan'l Webster are described as gifted. Dan'l Webster is additionally described as being modest and straightforward.
Diction
Authors frequently use dialect and vernacular language to establish the setting of their tales, as well as their characters' identities. In "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," Twain uses language to highlight the differences between his characters. For example, when Twain speaks, he uses grammatically proper English. Simon Wheeler, however, tells his tale in the vernacular, or common-day language, of the American West. Wheeler ignores many grammatical rules, and speaks with an "accent'' of sorts. He says "feller'' instead of "fellow," "reg'lar" instead of "regular," and even "Dan'l" for "Daniel."
HW: Read “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses”
Read aloud and discuss “Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog” (otherwise known as "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" or "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"
Structure
The frame tale structure of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is one of its most important parts. In a frame tale, one story appears in—that is, it is framed by—another story. In "Jumping Frog" the outer tale focuses on Mark Twain and his meeting with the talkative old storyteller, Simon Wheeler. This meeting occurs at the request of a friend of Twain's, identified in some versions of the tale as A. Ward, who supposedly wants to find out about an old acquaintance named Leonidas Smiley. Twain reveals, however, that he suspects his friend's request was merely a practical joke designed to waste his time. Twain's suspicions about the meeting and his descriptions of Wheeler appear in the few paragraphs that open and close the entire story. Twain speaks in the first-person in these passages. Because this portion of the tale first appeared in the form of a letter, the entire story also can be considered an epistolary tale.
The inner tale is the one Wheeler tells about Jim Smiley, his betting ways, and his run-in with the Stranger. Wheeler's stories seem largely exaggerated, and can be viewed as examples of a tall tale. Wheeler tells his tale in a third-person narrative voice.
Setting
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" takes place in the mid-to-late nineteenth century, shortly after the California Gold Rush of 1849. Mark Twain's experience with Simon Wheeler and Wheeler's stories about Jim Smiley both occur in Angel's Camp, a mining camp located in Calaveras County, California. Wheeler tells Twain his stories in a local bar, the type of place where stories are often shared.
Satire
Satire is an essential component of "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Satire is a technique that involves the manipulation of stereotypes and the use of exaggeration to point out the folly of a person or situation. In "Jumping Frog" Twain pokes fun at several things, including the tall tale genre, the American West, and the American East. Instead of merely using the tall tale for humorous effect, Twain also uses it to challenge various stereotypes held by many Americans at the time. According to these stereotypes, individuals living in the western United States were often uneducated, gullible fools. By contrast, Americans living in the eastern part of the United States were supposed to be well-educated, sophisticated, and cultured. In a satirical twist, Twain's sophisticated Easterner actually comes across as an impatient and self-absorbed snob who gets fooled by both his friend and the garrulous Wheeler. Likewise, Wheeler is ultimately revealed to be not a rube, but a good-natured and experienced storyteller whose deadpan delivery is merely a front used to fool his supposedly sophisticated listener.
Tall Tale
A tall tale features exaggerated, fabulous events. Characters in tall tales are often considered "larger than life," meaning they exhibit extraordinary qualities. Simon Wheeler's stories about Jim Smiley and his pets feature many such exaggerations, and thus fall into the tall tale category. For example, Wheeler describes Smiley as a man who will make a bet on anything, even something as mundane as which of two birds will fly off a fence first. Smiley's frog, Dan'l Webster, practically flies through the air when jumping and uses his legs like a cat to scratch himself. Finally, Andrew Jackson, Smiley's dog, will hold on to another dog—his preferred technique for fighting—for as long as a year to win a fight.
Anthropomorphism
Twain gives the animals in "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County'' human traits, a technique called anthropomorphism. Andrew Jackson, Jim Smiley's dog, is described as proud, ornery, and determined. He likes to fight and likes to win his battles. When he fights a dog that he can't beat, he eventually dies from the humiliation. Both Andrew Jackson and the frog named Dan'l Webster are described as gifted. Dan'l Webster is additionally described as being modest and straightforward.
Diction
Authors frequently use dialect and vernacular language to establish the setting of their tales, as well as their characters' identities. In "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," Twain uses language to highlight the differences between his characters. For example, when Twain speaks, he uses grammatically proper English. Simon Wheeler, however, tells his tale in the vernacular, or common-day language, of the American West. Wheeler ignores many grammatical rules, and speaks with an "accent'' of sorts. He says "feller'' instead of "fellow," "reg'lar" instead of "regular," and even "Dan'l" for "Daniel."
HW: Read “Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses”
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Week of Feb. 22/March 1
Present papers to your group. Comment on individual papers.
Handouts today:
Poetry Project--start thinking about which poet you want to sign up for
Mark Twain---read for class tomorrow
www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/
Handouts today:
Poetry Project--start thinking about which poet you want to sign up for
Mark Twain---read for class tomorrow
www.cmgww.com/historic/twain/
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