Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Place That Would Change Me

If I could go somewhere and have it significantly change me, it would probably be London. The history of the city and all the unique architecture would absolutely stun me. I have always wanted to visit Big Ben the clock tower and see the Queen's guard with their big black hats. It would definetly be a place to remember and change my outlook.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Harlem Renaissance: Contributers

Claude McKay

Image from: http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/m_r/mckay/mckay_a.jpg

  • Claude was born 1890 in Jamaica, then considered a colony of Britain.
  • He became an American author, writing poetry and novels.
  • His first novel was Home to Harlem, published in 1928.
  • Most of his works published in America were lyrical and spoke out against injustice.
  • Claude died in 1948, after becoming a Roman Catholic and renouncing his former left wing ideals.
Information from:
"Claude McKay." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 
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Zora Neale Hurston

Image from: http://www.literaryhistory.com/20thC/Public_Domain_Photos/Zora_Neale_Hurston.jpg

  • Zora Neale Hurston was born in 1891, in Notasulga, Alabama.
  • She was an American writer and was interested in folklore.
  • Hurston was educated at Howard University, Barnard College, and also at Columbia University.
  • She gathered information on folklore at Jamaica, Haiti, Bermuda, and Honduras.
  • Zora developed health problems in later life and died in 1960.
Information from:
"Zora Neale Hurston." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
 
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Marcus Garvey

Image from: http://www.africawithin.com/garvey/Mgarvey%5B1%5D.jpg 
 
  • Marcus Garvey was born in 1887, at Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica.
  • He became a black nationalist leader who started the "Back to Africa" movement in the US.
  • Marcus traveled to several different places in his life including South America, Central America, England, and New York.
  • He founded the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in 1914.
  • Garvey was arrested for mail fraud in 1922 and when he was released from jail, he was deported to Jamaica, where he died in 1940.
Information from:
"Marcus Garvey." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

African American History: The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance
·        This was an African American cultural movement that was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.
·        It started right after WWI in 1918 and ended in the mid-1930’s.
·        This was the first time mainstream publishers and critics took African American literature seriously.
·        It was primarily a literary movement but it also was closely related to developments in African American music, theater, art, and politics.
·        During WWI, African Americans moved north for jobs and Harlem was the area where a large number of the most well educated and socially conscious blacks centered at.
·        What the movement pushed for was political and social equality and a sense of strong racial pride.
·        The thing that made the Harlem Renaissance unique was the many different and diverse ways it was expressed.
·        Audiences for the movement were of mixed racial groups, appealing to both whites and blacks.
·        African Americans wanted to freely express themselves at this time, no matter what the mixed public thought.
·        One of the major reasons the movement declined was because of the Great Depression.

Information from:
Wintz, Cary DeCordova. "Harlem Renaissance." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Christopher McCandless Final Assessment

In the Author's note of Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer presents an argument that has ensued from the release of McCandless's adventures into print. He states: "Some readers admired the boy immensely for his courage and noble ideals; others fulminated that he was a reckless idiot, a wacko, a narcissist who perished out of arrogance and stupidity – and was undeserving of the considerable media attention he received."

After reading about Chris McCandless in Into the Wild, I have come to my own conclusions on the subject. My general attitude towards McCandless contains elements of both sides of the argument.

I admire him for his ability to dream and being able to follow his dream. He is one of the few who will stand up for what he believes, despite adversity and critisim.

But, I also believe McCandless was reckless and irresponsible. He thought alot about his journey and how it would affect him, yet he never seemed to ponder on how much it would affect the people around him, should he fail. He also had a slight arrogance problem and did not want to admit he was wrong.

Overall, I believe that McCandless was wrong in his actions. His motives were pure, but the consequences and real life effects were not worth the journey. He may have gaind special insight, but at what cost? The ends did not justify the means.

This is a side note, but I do not believe McCandless was undeserving of the media attention he recieved. I think Chris was wrong, but telling his story can help us all learn from it. I believe everyone has a story and that their story should be told (if they wish), if just to have it out there for someone to learn or be affected by.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

A Favorite Quote Of Mine

"It is easier to find a score of men wise enough to discover the truth than to find one intrepid enough, in the face of opposition, to stand up for it." - A. Hodge

I chose this as one of my favorite quotes because of the truth behind it. People are smart enough to know what is right most of the time, but less and less people are willing to stand up for it today. I think Chris McCandless would have understood this, seeing as he was one of the few who would stand up for what he believes.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Into the Wild Author References

Writer’s Name
Books Mentioned By Writer
Favorite Lines in Into the Wild and Pg. #
How they relate to Chris McCandless
Wallace Stegner

The American West as Living Space

Mormon Country
“It should not be denied…that being footloose has always exhilarated us. It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom, and the road has always led west.” – Pg.15
Chris would definitely have agreed with Stegner and in fact that is why Chris took to the road. He wanted to escape the strict world of his parents and live his own life.
Anthony Storr
Solitude: A Return To The Self
“If we transfer this concept to adult life, we can see that an avoidant infant might very well develop into a person whose principal need was to find some kind of meaning and order in life which was not entirely, or even chiefly, dependent upon personal relationships.”- Pg.61
This description of adult life of Chris seems to match exactly. Could this be a contributing, or even controlling, factor in his attitude? It’s not entirely impossible.
Theodore Roszak
 
Image from:
In Search of The Miraculous
“It may, after all, be the bad habit of creative talents to invest themselves in pathological extremes that yield remarkable insights but no durable way of life for those who cannot translate their psychic wounds into significant art or thought.”
Chris lived a life on the edge, gaining great insight, yet it was not a possible long-term living style for him. If he had not died in Alaska it is highly probable he would have died in the wild in another location.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Christopher McCandless Characterization Part I

Chapter and page #
Description/quote from novel
What impression you get about Chris with this character trait or description?

Chapter 1, page 4



“Five feet seven or eight with a wiry build, he claimed to be 24 years old and said he was from South Dakota.  He explained that he wanted a ride as far as the edge of Denali National Park, where he intended to walk deep into the bush and ‘live off the land for a few month.’”
Chris is not physically fit for walking into such a dangerous environment.  He seems a little crazy.

Chapter 2, Pg. 12



“S.O.S I need your help.”
If Chris was asking for help, then he was close to death because he never asked for help. Ever. It seems almost that he caved at the end.

Chapter 3, Pg. 18



“…he never quit in the middle of something. If he started a job, he’d finish…”
Chris was either very determined or very stubborn or both.

Chapter 4, Pg. 28
“…and thus considered it his moral responsibility to flout the laws of the state.”
Chris considered himself above the law and only questionable to himself. There are many obvious reasons why this is bad.

Chapter 5, Pg. 39



“…Bullhead City doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would appeal to an adherent of Thoreau and Tolstoy…McCandless, nevertheless, took a strong liking to Bullhead.”
Chris was heavily influenced by certain writers, but he was able to decide on different conclusions for himself on certain topics.

Chapter 6, Pg. 60

“I asked God to keep his finger on the shoulder of that one…But he let Alex die…I renounced the Lord…Hoped it’d kill me…”
Chris unknowingly ripped one of the few things Ron had left away from him. Maybe he isn’t as good as he thinks he is.

Chapter 7, Pg. 62


“Nor was McCandless endowed with a surfeit of common sense.”
He thought too much with some things and not enough with others.

Chapter 8, Pg. 72


“McCandless had already gone over the edge and just happened to hit bottom in Alaska.”
Very crude but true. He was already on that path and he could have died anytime.

Chapter 9, Pg. 96


“But him and McCandless, at least they tried to follow their dream…They tried. Not many do.”
Chris’s best achievement was he followed his heart. It’s why everyone praised him. BUT THIS ALONE DOES NOT MAKE HIM A HERO. He followed his dream but ask yourself two things: Was he correct in all his dreams and views? Was it responsible for him to abandon everything for that dream? It all depends on your personal view.

Chapter 10, Pg. 101


“I was pretty sure it was Chris. The fact that he’d gone to Alaska, that he’d gone all by himself – it all added up.”
Chris seems to have developed a bit of a reputation as an eccentric and having different views.

Chapter 11, Pg. 104



“How is it…that a kid with so much compassion could cause so much pain?”
It seems Chris did not distribute his thought evenly. The pain he inflicted when he left seems to not have crossed his mind yet he was obviously a very smart individual.

Chapter 12, Pg. 121
“He didn’t seem interested in the money so much as the fact that he was good at making it. It was like a game, and the money was a way of keeping score.”
Chris treated modern society and economy like a game that he treated with little respect and considered them something of a joke. These sorts of things are not at all simple or easy, and as such should be treated with respect and patience. Chris seems to evaluate things from a very high standard and, in this instance, is basically “playing with fire”.

Chapter 13, Pg. 128
“There’s no way he would have taken the same kind of chances if Buck had been with him.”
Chris feels a responsibility for the wild and animals, yet not for human actions.

Chapter 14, Pg. 134
“…this melodramatic declaration fueled considerable speculation that the boy had been bent on suicide from the beginning…”
Like Krakauer, I disagree. He was merely addressing a feasible option that could have occurred. However, it is interesting to note Chris did make references to his trip to Alaska being special in a way.