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ENG45C, Bartleby, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Historical Context,…

- - - - *The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
        
        This is a love song laced with fear. The speaker is paralyzed by his constant doubt of what action he should take which ultimately leads to his complete inaction. He grows old, still wondering if he dares do anything. This seems similar to Estragon and Vladimir's inability to change even though they want to. Both the characters in Waiting for Godot and the speaker of the poem seem to believe they have more time to spend without acting than they really do. While Bartleby prefers not to do things, the speaker of the poem's inaction is an obstacle, getting in the way of the actions he does want to take.
        
        *A Few Don'ts by an Imagiste
        
        Ezra Pound's A Few Don's by an Imagiste is directly telling readers what not to do. Don's could be defined as actions not to take, which in some way, is a form of inaction. Limiting what you do and don't do is giving yourself some things that you cannot do. There is not the freedom of taking any action you want. In fact, by writing an essay on what NOT to do, Pound is defining writing by the actions that should not be taken.
        
        Oread
        
        This is a poem that calls upon the sea to come and splash on the rocks. The rocks or "our rocks" as said in the poem can't or won't do anything but wait for the sea to come to them. The speaker describing themself as a rock which is unable to move or do anything shows how the speaker feels unable to take any action themself. Instead, they can only call upon the sea and hope the sea will take action instead.
- - - - *The Negro Arist and the Racial Mountain
        
        This essay Hughes wrote has much to do with the Harlem Renaissance. It's an argument for Black artists and other artists of color to resist the pressure to conform to white ideals about art and in society in general. During this time, there were many debates about how people of color should be expressing themselves. Hughes argued that all parts of Black life should be depicted through their art and that they should fight against peoples' attempts to assimilate them to "white culture." Overall, the essay calls for people of color to embrace their own culture and identities, especially in terms of art
        
        *The Second Coming
        
        Yeats highlights the chaotic aftermath of the First World War in his poem The Second Coming. He talks about the cycles of violence we see in society and the changing of eras. He expresses fear for what's to come now that the war has ended. The war erased a lot of notions that people had about "civilized society," and we can see that in this poem. His use of "The Second Coming," often associated with the Bible, is instead about the birth of a new era in this context, one that could be a lot darker than the previous one.
        
        *Nude Young Dancer
        
        Nude Young Dancer is a poem focused on the objectification of Black people, especially women, throughout history. It details a young Black woman and how she sleeps under a "jungle tree," dehumanizing her to some creature that lives in the jungle. It talks of her swaying hips, and that along with the title, sexualizes her. It alludes to a "star-white moon" being her mother, a commentary perhaps, on how white people have affected her. The poem closes asking what "clean boy" she's offered her lips to, which suggests that she herself is not clean and implies that the boy is likely white. The poem traces back the long history of objectification and dehumanization that Black people have gone through
        
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- - - - This poem uses action in a slightly different way than the previous works mentioned. It's not about actions taken by characters, but instead it is a call to action to everyone who reads it. It talks about the actions taken throughout history that directly contradict the things America was built on. The idea of the American dream and the promise of freedom are things that have never been achieved, despite so many people believing that as long as it's said, the actual actions don't matter. It's a demand that we come together to build the America that was promised while also calling attention to our past actions that led to such suffering.
- - - - *The Lake Isle of Innisfree
        
        The speaker of this poem wishes to go away to the lake and to live in a small cabin near it. He thinks of it as a beautiful escape and somewhere he can go for peace. He only has this wish because he is stuck living in the city. He has such lush thoughts of the lake and the peace he would find there because his senses are so dulled by the city. His true heart's desire is to be by the lake and this realization is born through his time in the city.
- - - - *The Sound and The Fury
        
        The Sound and the Fury is also a gothic story that takes place on a crumbling old estate. The setting is the heart of the story as the Compsons are a formerly wealthy family living in the south after the Civil War. Their once grand home is falling apart; a physical representation of how the family itself is crumbling. The South as a whole is declining during this time and the Compsons along with it. As the old home comes down all around them, the Compsons can't escape it or their past, and they are doomed to live in it until the Compson name is gone from memory. Though both Jason and Quentin try to make it in the new North, neither of them make it far and both of their souls remain trapped in the south.
- - - - *Eurydice
        
        The tale of Orpheus and Eurydice has been told many times in many ways. It's been passed down through generations. HD's Eurydice is a great example of how these stories can change over time and how we can continue to learn from these stories which highlights the importance of continuing to tell them. Eurydice offers a new perspective to an old story; something that would not be possible without the continued oral tradition of telling the story. Eurydice is a poem that gives voice to Eurydice herself. Her feelings on what happened went long ignored, and there is something to be said about allowing her to finally speak for herself. It's something future generations can learn from, especially when viewed from a feminist lens.
        
        *Tradition and the Individual Talent
        
        T.S. Eliot's main argument in Tradition and the Individual Talent is the importance of understanding history when reading and writing. Writers should strive towards originality, yes, but they must not ignore the history that came before them. In a way, he is calling for the continue of oral tradition. The ideas and cultures of the past need to have a place in the present, especially in writing. The individual talent that he speaks of is not truly an individual, but a blend of that person's writing ability and the tradition of all those that came before. There is no true individual, just people standing on the shoulders of the past.
- - - - *Spring and All
        
        Spring and All is representative of a time of renewal. Spring's return is gradual in the poem, much of it is focused on the devastation of winter. Though it is undoubtedly a poem about nature and the seasons, winter and spring also have to do with memory. Winter's long and harmful reign can be compared to the unhealthy entrapment of the past. Focusing on old memories keeps you frozen and unable to progress in life. Spring as a symbol of rebirth and newness represents the turn towards the future and letting old memories melt away.
        
        *Waiting For Godot
        
        Memory plays an interesting role in Waiting for Godot. Estragon in particular seems to struggle with remembering things. However, both him and Vladimir can't remember if they've ever met Godot. Pozzo also struggles with memory as the second time the pair see him, he can't recall ever meeting them before. The young messenger boy, too, though it is left a bit unclear if he is truly the same boy from the first act or not, also does not remember giving Vladimir a message previously. Memory, or the lack of it, almost seems to be the thing that keeps them in their eternal wait for Godot. Each time they forget things, the more likely it is that they will go on waiting by their tree. It almost feels like it paralyzes them, as at the end of each act they say they will move but then remain motionless as they are. Their lack of memory also ends up giving readers a lack of context, which keeps most things about their situation, relationship, and who or what they think Godot is as a mystery. Memory often functions as our context for things, and without it, things are left up to interpretation.
        
        *The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
        
        Part of the speaker's inability to act in this poem has to do with his constant reflections on his past failures. His memories haunt him, causing his present to be one filled with fear and wasted time. He feels that he's never been a prince or any form of someone that could be seen as a hero. The stream of consciousness form of the poem shows how tumultuous memory is and how it is not an accurate portrayal of what really happened. It's his memories and his past that continue to hold him back in the present; he is paralyzed by them, while Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot are paralyzed by their lack of memory.