Month: August 2023
O’Hara 2QSQ #1 – 9:7:23
SOURCE IDEAS:
“In its function as dialectical Other or third-term supplement, the monster is an incorporation of the Outside, the Beyond — of all those loci that are rhetorically placed as distant and distinct but originates Within.” (Cohen 7).
“The narratives of the West perform the strangest dance around that fire in which miscegenation and its practitioners have been condemned to burn. Amoung the flames we see the old women of Salem hanging, accused of sexual relations with the black devil; we suspect they died because they crossed a different border, one that prohibits women from managing property and living solitary, unmanaged lives” (Cohen 16).
SYNTHESIZING COMMENT/ANALYSIS:
This first source comes from the fourth thesis on “The Monster Dwells at the Gates of Difference,” and to me, this idea of reflecting on the monster’s ability to take the literary embodiment of the Other while in many cases having been created by someone or something within is very interesting. The subtle fears or well-known societal/cultural discriminations of the unknown, whether unfamiliar traditions, values, different races, politics, gender, etc., can be hoisted upon a monster. Connecting with Cohen’s later point under the fifth thesis, “The Monster Polices the Borders of the Possible,” I found the section regarding political fears within a given society to be a place where we so often see real damage outside of the literary realm. The example of the Salem witch trials, for instance, showed a much deeper set of fears within that community manifested into monstrous and demonic characteristics and accusations — absolutely utilizing this idea of the monster as the Other, living outside their pure, rigid, and idealized norms. It reminded me of Frances Hill’s book “A Delusion of Satan,” where we can identify the root of many deeper societal anxieties and fears surrounding their reality, such as dieases, Indigenous conflict, and living in such a
repressive culture — especially for women and girls. Thus, identifying a monster, the Other( the witches), they now have a common, unifying enemy that feels as though they can have some say over the true unknowns that plagued their lives.
QUESTION:
From these two excerpts and thinking about how monsters are depicted in contemporary works, I wonder where we might explore the idea of the other/social and political fears today. Are we perhaps moving away from the othering of monsters to condemn real-life people/values and into more of what Cohen also stated is the perspective we gain when monsters approach our world as outsiders looking in? I am thinking about a recent adaptation of Camille DeAngelis’ novel ‘Bones & All’ where the idea of cannibalism and monstrous ac<vi<es are humanized and drive much deeper points about the need for identity and human connec< in society. Rather than try and pin all the errors of other people and other cultures into monsters, we can try and recognize the shortcomings that brought about the monster.
PART 2: IN-CLASS WRITING RESPONSE (NAME:__________________)
Poetry (Writing Minor)
Contemporary Feminist Theories (ADV, ADV Political Theory)
Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex
Thoughts:
- Existentialist Feminism resonates with me … the absurdity of the requirements society places on women to PROVE our existence, our worth, and our rights whilst living in an entirely constructed reality in which we have no say in entering. Yes. Fitting.
- The 832 pages spare no detail, and that in and of itself harkens to the sheer enormity of the issues presented. You want to define the problem of ‘woman’ …here. It is not a simple problem, and there are no simple answers.
- There are some modalities of analysis we might have progressed upon today such as the mere definitions of gender BUT remembering this book was written in 1949 is INSANE. The questions and meditations are so radical even today and the insights that she made that seemed to be dismissed during second-wave feminism I feel resonate with some new insights today.
- I am thinking about the pull away from femininity during the period (and following) in which she writes; things like burning the ole bra, pushing aside love and child-rearing for the betterment of a career or respect among male peers. It feels like a jarring jump away from that suffocating confinement of the 50s. Then to third-wave feminism in the 90s, we really see a push for sexual equality and redefining gender roles, etc. However, Simone wrote in 1949, ‘American women are haunted by their own femininity, and that resonates with me today as we start to reflect back on what it means to be a woman, and how we do not have to choose love or career, submission or empowerment, babies or career. The embracement of being feminine and redefining the terms of success that have for EVER been entrenched in masculine stereotypes and attitudes feels more and more recognized.
Global Money & Power (ADV & SGA)
Victorian Monsters British Lit II
Writing, Revolution & Resistance in US Literature Before 1865
What stories do Americans tell about their origins? How have they used the power of the word to define their communities, justify or contest colonization, resist oppressive regimes, raise their voices, and imagine a new nation? What did it mean to claim the right to write? This course considers questions such as these in exploring a rich variety of texts, including Indigenous oral narrative, oratory, captivity and slave narratives, political tracts, short stories, and myriad forms of poetry; we will also come to understand why these stories still matter today. Readings will include work by Elias Boudinot, Anne Bradstreet, Emily Dickinson, Frederick Douglass, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Thomas Paine, Henry David Thoreau, Sojourner Truth, Phillis Wheatley, and Walt Whitman. Covering the pre-colonial period through the mid-19th century, this course satisfies the US Literature I requirement for the English major and concentration; an elective for the English minor and Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities major; and an Exploration requirement for the Core Curriculum.
