| Janine Harouni “Umm, hello” I muttered awkwardly, “My name is Janine and I drew a picture of food because I am hungry and haven’t eaten dinner yet.” I am convinced that the person who invented the icebreaker only did it knowing that one day someone like me would mumble a comment like that. And, right now he is looking down on me from heaven, or up from hell, which is a much more likely resting place, and laughing. I took a look around the circle and saw that we were divided into two distinct groups. There were those wearing a bright cheery smile. This was my group of people; the tutors. We were made up of a handful of Loyola students eager to begin the activities. The second group seemed nervous, unhappy, and genuinely disinterested in what any of us had to say. These were our tutees. After we were divided up, two tutors per tutee, I found myself listening to a 14-year old girl recount the list of activities she would much rather be doing than sitting and talking with me. This was how my first day in the Choice Program began. The Choice Program works to tutor juvenile offenders and other troubled youth. It assists approximately 500 youth each year and is located throughout Baltimore and its surrounding counties. Each Thursday we spend three hours eating, talking, tutoring, and playing sports at the FAC all in the hopes of acting as a positive influence on youth. On my first day, however, this goal seemed well beyond my reach. When I felt distressed I turned to Kolvenbach’s “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education.” Kolvenbach believes that service is not meant to be easy. It is meant to be a challenge. And, day one of the Choice program was one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced. Service itself is hard enough, but trying to serve others who do not want your help is something entirely different. After speaking with my youth for about an hour she began to open up. I learned that she came from a broken home and was two years behind in school. She also had a history of aggressive behavior and had been expelled more than once for fighting on school property. But these paled in comparison to how she viewed herself. She battled with terrible self-esteem and was constantly putting herself down. Following the meet and greet portion of the evening we moved to the FAC to play some one-on-one basketball and soccer for about an hour. After a while I discovered that not only was my youth good at sports, she was an athlete in the truest sense of the word. We were all able to build up her confidence by cheering her on. By the end of the night, she really seemed to be enjoying herself and once she let her guard down she was all smiles. In Kolvenbach’s essay he states that justice is “the church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” Unfortunately, the program only meets for three hours each week so it is impossible to rescue these youths from their broken homes and troubled backgrounds. But Choice is able to offer an escape from the stressors of their everyday life. It gives them a judgment free environment for them to learn at their own pace. And it offers tangible role models that they can come to for advice or just to have someone listen. My service experience this week has taught me that service will not always be easy, but it will always be necessary. Although I will not be able to help the Choice youths as much as I want, each week I will be able to spend a few hours getting to know them and providing a safe environment for them to discover who they are and what their true potential is. Service, it seems, often gives you the questions and your actions are the way to find the solutions. |
Saturday, September 29, 2007
EA 2
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Service: a part of life.
Katie Strusiak
Event Analysis #2
As I swim in the pool teaching the children of St. Ambrose Outreach Program, I realize that the service I put forward with these kids is more then just community service, but a way to pass on the Jesuit tradition.
As Kolvenbach states in his “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education”, service plays a major role of the Jesuit life. By putting others before yourself and working for the great good, the Jesuit lifestyle should follow you everywhere. So when I return home for the summer, my Jesuit ways are there with me, guiding me to become a better person.
Kolvenbach states: “Jesuit education has sought to educate ‘the whole person’ intellectually and professionally, morally and spiritually.” I find this point is highly represented at Loyola, from the start to my freshmen year, till now, I’ve learned to become more active in community service. I thank my teachers and fellow students for passing on the inspiration. I feel that this inspiration is a key aspect of the Jesuit tradition. Without their inspiration, Loyola’s campus would be like any other private college in the United States.
When I was teaching the first and second graders of the St. Ambrose Community, I found that the children were very eager to learn. They all told me stories of their brothers, sisters and friends who have taken swim lessons, and how they always wanted to be like them. I also taught the swim lessons last year to those brothers, sisters, and friends. So knowing that the children are passing on the skills they learned, reflects the Jesuit tradition by spreading the way of service, weather or not they believe in the Jesuit believes doesn’t matter, just that they pass on the justice and humility that people share towards them.
The Jesuit lifestyle is like a line of domino’s, and when the first domino falls and knocks the rest down, is like when one person does service and then the person they helped out goes out and does service. This chain of humility allows the Jesuit system to keep increasing in numbers. Not only at Jesuit institutions, but everywhere.
Event Analysis #2
As I swim in the pool teaching the children of St. Ambrose Outreach Program, I realize that the service I put forward with these kids is more then just community service, but a way to pass on the Jesuit tradition.
As Kolvenbach states in his “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education”, service plays a major role of the Jesuit life. By putting others before yourself and working for the great good, the Jesuit lifestyle should follow you everywhere. So when I return home for the summer, my Jesuit ways are there with me, guiding me to become a better person.
Kolvenbach states: “Jesuit education has sought to educate ‘the whole person’ intellectually and professionally, morally and spiritually.” I find this point is highly represented at Loyola, from the start to my freshmen year, till now, I’ve learned to become more active in community service. I thank my teachers and fellow students for passing on the inspiration. I feel that this inspiration is a key aspect of the Jesuit tradition. Without their inspiration, Loyola’s campus would be like any other private college in the United States.
When I was teaching the first and second graders of the St. Ambrose Community, I found that the children were very eager to learn. They all told me stories of their brothers, sisters and friends who have taken swim lessons, and how they always wanted to be like them. I also taught the swim lessons last year to those brothers, sisters, and friends. So knowing that the children are passing on the skills they learned, reflects the Jesuit tradition by spreading the way of service, weather or not they believe in the Jesuit believes doesn’t matter, just that they pass on the justice and humility that people share towards them.
The Jesuit lifestyle is like a line of domino’s, and when the first domino falls and knocks the rest down, is like when one person does service and then the person they helped out goes out and does service. This chain of humility allows the Jesuit system to keep increasing in numbers. Not only at Jesuit institutions, but everywhere.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Challenge Ourselves
Hillary Schrum
Dr. Ellis
September 26, 2007
I cannot imagine what my life will be like after I attend Loyola for four years. Having been here for only one month, I can already see a change in my life, specifically because of the Jesuit education. Listening to Dr. Rodrigue Mortel speak tonight helped me realize that part of the Jesuit education is challenging yourself in order to serve others.
Dr. Rodrigue Mortel was born in Saint Mark, Haiti, to two illiterate parents. At age eleven, him and his poor family were evicted from their house. Despite having no money or food, Dr. Mortel continued to stay in school and decided to also further his education beyond what most Haitian students do. In Haiti, it is a common mission to make something great of yourself, and come back to provide for your parents. For this reason, Dr. Mortel decided to attend college in Haiti, and then went on to study in medical school in Port Au Prince. In Haitian medical schools, they have no exposure to research, which is why Dr. Mortel soon decided he wanted a medical degree elsewhere. This reason also drove him even more to become a doctor, so that he could provide research someday to other Haitian medical students.
Dr. Mortel first went to Canada because he could not speak English, but soon learned the language quickly and moved to America. In 1972, he finished his medical school career as an OBGYN Penn State Medical School graduate. After practicing medicine for many years, Dr. Mortel decided he wanted to give back more than what he already had to his country, and help the less fortunate who are in Haiti. But rather than most doctors giving back medically (although he does this too), he decided to build a school called The Good Samaritan. Eighty percent of the people in Haiti are illiterate and do not attend school. Dr. Mortel wanted to create a place where children could come not just to learn, but be able to live a healthy life. At The Good Samaritan, children are fed, educated and cleaned, along with also having their parents educated at the same time. Dr. Mortel believes that education is the key to fixing Haiti, and that no matter what you try to do won’t help if no one is educated.
In 2000, Dr. Mortel was ordained a Deacon of the Catholic Church. He has established a program called “The Baltimore-Haiti Project”, which parishes in Baltimore are paired with other parishes in Haiti. A bond is created with the people at the churches in Haiti and the churches in America. Dr. Mortel hopes that he can give children opportunities with the various organizations and projects he has established not only Haiti, but all over the world.
While listening to Dr. Rodrigue Mortel speak, I noticed that his view of service is similar to what the Jesuit Education teaches us. Dr. Mortel challenged himself by coming to a country where he could not speak the language, and earn a degree in order to give back to those at home. I feel that part of the Jesuit Education stresses the fact that we must challenge ourselves and go outside of our comfort zone. When we do this, we gain experience, which we must use in the future to help others who are not as fortunate. We are given opportunities at Loyola which help us focus on the whole being, and through these activities and services, we learn more about how we can serve others. With what we gain from the Jesuit Education, we must give back to others. I feel that what you put into the Loyola Jesuit education is what you get out of it, and we must make an effort to challenge ourselves, just as Dr. Mortel did.
Dr. Ellis
September 26, 2007
I cannot imagine what my life will be like after I attend Loyola for four years. Having been here for only one month, I can already see a change in my life, specifically because of the Jesuit education. Listening to Dr. Rodrigue Mortel speak tonight helped me realize that part of the Jesuit education is challenging yourself in order to serve others.
Dr. Rodrigue Mortel was born in Saint Mark, Haiti, to two illiterate parents. At age eleven, him and his poor family were evicted from their house. Despite having no money or food, Dr. Mortel continued to stay in school and decided to also further his education beyond what most Haitian students do. In Haiti, it is a common mission to make something great of yourself, and come back to provide for your parents. For this reason, Dr. Mortel decided to attend college in Haiti, and then went on to study in medical school in Port Au Prince. In Haitian medical schools, they have no exposure to research, which is why Dr. Mortel soon decided he wanted a medical degree elsewhere. This reason also drove him even more to become a doctor, so that he could provide research someday to other Haitian medical students.
Dr. Mortel first went to Canada because he could not speak English, but soon learned the language quickly and moved to America. In 1972, he finished his medical school career as an OBGYN Penn State Medical School graduate. After practicing medicine for many years, Dr. Mortel decided he wanted to give back more than what he already had to his country, and help the less fortunate who are in Haiti. But rather than most doctors giving back medically (although he does this too), he decided to build a school called The Good Samaritan. Eighty percent of the people in Haiti are illiterate and do not attend school. Dr. Mortel wanted to create a place where children could come not just to learn, but be able to live a healthy life. At The Good Samaritan, children are fed, educated and cleaned, along with also having their parents educated at the same time. Dr. Mortel believes that education is the key to fixing Haiti, and that no matter what you try to do won’t help if no one is educated.
In 2000, Dr. Mortel was ordained a Deacon of the Catholic Church. He has established a program called “The Baltimore-Haiti Project”, which parishes in Baltimore are paired with other parishes in Haiti. A bond is created with the people at the churches in Haiti and the churches in America. Dr. Mortel hopes that he can give children opportunities with the various organizations and projects he has established not only Haiti, but all over the world.
While listening to Dr. Rodrigue Mortel speak, I noticed that his view of service is similar to what the Jesuit Education teaches us. Dr. Mortel challenged himself by coming to a country where he could not speak the language, and earn a degree in order to give back to those at home. I feel that part of the Jesuit Education stresses the fact that we must challenge ourselves and go outside of our comfort zone. When we do this, we gain experience, which we must use in the future to help others who are not as fortunate. We are given opportunities at Loyola which help us focus on the whole being, and through these activities and services, we learn more about how we can serve others. With what we gain from the Jesuit Education, we must give back to others. I feel that what you put into the Loyola Jesuit education is what you get out of it, and we must make an effort to challenge ourselves, just as Dr. Mortel did.
Dr. Mortel - Haiti
Olivia Silvestri
Tonight I attended a lecture given by Dr. Rodrigue Mortel, about the poverty and devastation of present day Haiti. Mortel was born and raised in St. Marc, Haiti, where he strongly believed and practiced education. With the support of his mother he was able to graduate from Penn State Medical School, and in 1985 he was named the assistant director of the Penn State Cancer Center. To add to his accomplishments he became a Roman Catholic Deacon, and created the Mortel Family Foundation. As a child of Haiti, Mortel understands the importance of education; therefore, he opened a school called Les Bon Samaritains. The students who attend Les Bon Samaritains are hand selected from the poorest and economically deprived areas of Haiti. Mortel focused on the aspect that the school provides two meals a day. This is key because without food in schools, students fall asleep and do not learn. Dr. Mortel hopes that the children from his school can grow up and make Haiti a better place.
Although Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean, Haitians are filled with love and joy. Dr. Mortel’s lecture definitely taught me not to take things for granted. We watched two videos and this particular story stuck out in my mind. A girl who volunteered at a school distributed crayons to a class, and the kids were afraid to color with them. This was because they value their education so much, that they were afraid to not follow what the teacher was doing and be creative. After hearing this story, I was in awe because I certainly do not think of my education like these young Haitian children do. Instead like many American teens, I think of going to school as something we have to do. However, seeing education through other eyes makes me realize the importance of it and not to take it for granted.
Along with this, last summer I vacationed in the Dominican Republic. I learned the same lesson from my experience there because instead of staying at a hotel, my parents and I stayed with friends at their house. The house was in Cabrera, which was not a touristy town, so I went to the same beaches and ate at the same restaurants as the locals. Seeing first hand how they were so happy, yet had so little really made me think about all I take for granted.
Along with valuing their education, Haitians value their faith too. Mortel made the comparison of the number of Christian priests in Haiti versus Baltimore. Haiti has roughly around forty-five priests to Baltimore’s five hundred priests. This means that for every fifty thousand Haitians there is only one priest. This is shocking when we think of all the other priests around the world.
It was not until 1974, when Dr. Mortel realized he had to go back to Haiti and make a change. Since then he has come along way and relayed his mission over to us. His mission is comprised of education, evangelization, service, and partnership. Mortel’s mission definitely parallels the Jesuits mission here at Loyola. As Loyola believes its students and faculty will benefit by living out its mission statement, Dr. Mortel also believes that his mission will continue to benefit Haiti.
Tonight’s event relates back to the summer reading requirement, Mountains Beyond Mountains. Tracy Kidder told the amazing story of Paul Farmer, a doctor specializing in Tuberculosis who helped try cure the world. Farmer mainly practiced in Haiti overcoming many obstacles to help the sick. Even though he could not save everyone, his generous devotion made a difference for Haitians who had nothing but hope. Like Farmer, Dr. Mortel dedicates his time to helping those in need. The two refuse to give up and that is what makes them so special. Paul Farmer never cured the whole world or even Haiti, but for the lives he did save it mattered. Everyone should look up to these two caring and unselfish men.
Dr. Mortel is so thankful for where he is today. He speaks up about the hardships of Haiti because he once faced them. Ways in which we can help those who are suffering in Haiti are through pray, spreading Haiti’s message, volunteering there, and sponsoring a child for a small donation. He knows tackling Haiti is a difficult challenge, yet he will not give up.
It will take years before Haiti can limit the amount of poverty and economical troubles it faces today. A country with no sewage system, no electric, an unemployment rate of eighty-five percent, and where one of five children will die before the age of five cannot change over night. Dr. Mortel has made progress in Haiti, but knows there are endless amounts still to be made.
Tonight I attended a lecture given by Dr. Rodrigue Mortel, about the poverty and devastation of present day Haiti. Mortel was born and raised in St. Marc, Haiti, where he strongly believed and practiced education. With the support of his mother he was able to graduate from Penn State Medical School, and in 1985 he was named the assistant director of the Penn State Cancer Center. To add to his accomplishments he became a Roman Catholic Deacon, and created the Mortel Family Foundation. As a child of Haiti, Mortel understands the importance of education; therefore, he opened a school called Les Bon Samaritains. The students who attend Les Bon Samaritains are hand selected from the poorest and economically deprived areas of Haiti. Mortel focused on the aspect that the school provides two meals a day. This is key because without food in schools, students fall asleep and do not learn. Dr. Mortel hopes that the children from his school can grow up and make Haiti a better place.
Although Haiti is the poorest country in the Caribbean, Haitians are filled with love and joy. Dr. Mortel’s lecture definitely taught me not to take things for granted. We watched two videos and this particular story stuck out in my mind. A girl who volunteered at a school distributed crayons to a class, and the kids were afraid to color with them. This was because they value their education so much, that they were afraid to not follow what the teacher was doing and be creative. After hearing this story, I was in awe because I certainly do not think of my education like these young Haitian children do. Instead like many American teens, I think of going to school as something we have to do. However, seeing education through other eyes makes me realize the importance of it and not to take it for granted.
Along with this, last summer I vacationed in the Dominican Republic. I learned the same lesson from my experience there because instead of staying at a hotel, my parents and I stayed with friends at their house. The house was in Cabrera, which was not a touristy town, so I went to the same beaches and ate at the same restaurants as the locals. Seeing first hand how they were so happy, yet had so little really made me think about all I take for granted.
Along with valuing their education, Haitians value their faith too. Mortel made the comparison of the number of Christian priests in Haiti versus Baltimore. Haiti has roughly around forty-five priests to Baltimore’s five hundred priests. This means that for every fifty thousand Haitians there is only one priest. This is shocking when we think of all the other priests around the world.
It was not until 1974, when Dr. Mortel realized he had to go back to Haiti and make a change. Since then he has come along way and relayed his mission over to us. His mission is comprised of education, evangelization, service, and partnership. Mortel’s mission definitely parallels the Jesuits mission here at Loyola. As Loyola believes its students and faculty will benefit by living out its mission statement, Dr. Mortel also believes that his mission will continue to benefit Haiti.
Tonight’s event relates back to the summer reading requirement, Mountains Beyond Mountains. Tracy Kidder told the amazing story of Paul Farmer, a doctor specializing in Tuberculosis who helped try cure the world. Farmer mainly practiced in Haiti overcoming many obstacles to help the sick. Even though he could not save everyone, his generous devotion made a difference for Haitians who had nothing but hope. Like Farmer, Dr. Mortel dedicates his time to helping those in need. The two refuse to give up and that is what makes them so special. Paul Farmer never cured the whole world or even Haiti, but for the lives he did save it mattered. Everyone should look up to these two caring and unselfish men.
Dr. Mortel is so thankful for where he is today. He speaks up about the hardships of Haiti because he once faced them. Ways in which we can help those who are suffering in Haiti are through pray, spreading Haiti’s message, volunteering there, and sponsoring a child for a small donation. He knows tackling Haiti is a difficult challenge, yet he will not give up.
It will take years before Haiti can limit the amount of poverty and economical troubles it faces today. A country with no sewage system, no electric, an unemployment rate of eighty-five percent, and where one of five children will die before the age of five cannot change over night. Dr. Mortel has made progress in Haiti, but knows there are endless amounts still to be made.
Gateway School
Emily Hauze
Over the last two weeks, I began my service learning at Gateway School, a hearing and speech agency for children of ages 3-12 who struggle with a variety of different disabilities. The school is located in Baltimore City and its sole purpose is to serve the child’s needs and enhance the child’s individual strengths throughout their education process. The disabilities range, including hearing impairment, deafness, autism, developmental delays, multiple disabilities, and other health impairments. Although I am helping out as an assistant teacher for two hours during the day, I feel like I am making a difference in the progress of the children I work with. Being in the classroom with the students puts the world in a whole different perspective. It is a joy to put time, planning, and effort into making someone else’s life more successful. When I see a child triumph over a problem, such being able to sound out a word on their own, it gives me a sense of pride and achievement just to watch their accomplishment. Helping others, as expressed in Jesuit vales, can be a path to a better understanding of who we are internally.
Justice is defined in many ways but based around the spreading of love not only with words but with deeds. The path and goals of the Jesuits are described through the promotion of justice in “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education”, which we discussed in class. The speech explains that students “must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering and engage it constructively.” My involvement in the Gateway School is important to me because it introduces me to a side of life that not too many experience at first hand.
Internal acceptance takes evaluation and persistence in order to achieve. Because the Jesuits believe in educating the “whole” person, having an understanding of oneself is powerful and can only be accomplished by serving others. Learning about yourself is a process which is heavily influenced by the world around you. For example, in John Milton’s “When I consider how my light is spent”, Milton is overcoming a barrier in his life: coming to terms with his disability of being blind and accepting himself for who he is. Milton realizes that he was put on Earth to serve God and his blindness helped him clearly see his path in life.
Although Milton and the many kids at the Gateway School struggle with disabilities, it is imperative to know that service and justice can benefit both the giver and the receiver. By putting your whole heart into every task you do, the reward will result in a greater appreciation towards life.
Over the last two weeks, I began my service learning at Gateway School, a hearing and speech agency for children of ages 3-12 who struggle with a variety of different disabilities. The school is located in Baltimore City and its sole purpose is to serve the child’s needs and enhance the child’s individual strengths throughout their education process. The disabilities range, including hearing impairment, deafness, autism, developmental delays, multiple disabilities, and other health impairments. Although I am helping out as an assistant teacher for two hours during the day, I feel like I am making a difference in the progress of the children I work with. Being in the classroom with the students puts the world in a whole different perspective. It is a joy to put time, planning, and effort into making someone else’s life more successful. When I see a child triumph over a problem, such being able to sound out a word on their own, it gives me a sense of pride and achievement just to watch their accomplishment. Helping others, as expressed in Jesuit vales, can be a path to a better understanding of who we are internally.
Justice is defined in many ways but based around the spreading of love not only with words but with deeds. The path and goals of the Jesuits are described through the promotion of justice in “The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice in American Jesuit Higher Education”, which we discussed in class. The speech explains that students “must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering and engage it constructively.” My involvement in the Gateway School is important to me because it introduces me to a side of life that not too many experience at first hand.
Internal acceptance takes evaluation and persistence in order to achieve. Because the Jesuits believe in educating the “whole” person, having an understanding of oneself is powerful and can only be accomplished by serving others. Learning about yourself is a process which is heavily influenced by the world around you. For example, in John Milton’s “When I consider how my light is spent”, Milton is overcoming a barrier in his life: coming to terms with his disability of being blind and accepting himself for who he is. Milton realizes that he was put on Earth to serve God and his blindness helped him clearly see his path in life.
Although Milton and the many kids at the Gateway School struggle with disabilities, it is imperative to know that service and justice can benefit both the giver and the receiver. By putting your whole heart into every task you do, the reward will result in a greater appreciation towards life.
Our Daily Bread
ODB is a hot meal program that serves anywhere from 500-1,000 people every day. ODB is less personal meal program in which since it serves so many people in a two hour block the turn over of people moves very quickly. The men and women who come for a meal eat their food fairly quickly and then give their seat to the next in line. I know this is the most efficient way to feed a great number of people but it does take away from the personal interaction and the individuality of a person.
The stereotype of people hanging around on the corners in
In our more recent reading I have been able to connect the Shakespeare poem, “My Mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun” about how the imperfections of beauty coincide perfectly with the relocation of ODB. Shakespeare reveals through the poem that beauty is in all things even in imperfections because real beauty lies in the truth of reality not fantasy. Many people found the homeless men and women lining up around the block at ODB to be an eye sore on the city. This shows how the people of
In analyzing my service experience at Our Daily Bread I have taken the time to question my recent service sites and to reflect on my personal feelings and how my life has been affected. Most of my service recently has created a feeling of confusion in my life and what I am doing in my life so I can help make other peoples lives better. Its always hard too because when I am serving I am happy and hopeful for the decrease of the number of people who are hungry in Baltimore, but I also realize there is more I could be dong. We are taking strides to feed those who are at risk but after I leave ODB I realize all things I am blocking ignoring. I begin asking myself why these people are homeless? What can I do to help those who are homeless? Why are they not getting any help from the government? My attitude towards the social concerns, the injustices of our society and my feelings of the city have change drastically.
The Kolvenback speech really urges us as student of a Jesuit education to open ourselves up to learning new things in unfamiliar situation. It is true that we must take initiative and be courageous in our future endeavors. It is important to appreciate things around you. Service is a lifestyle. It develops into a habit such as the small things like knowing the name of one person on the
Haitian Celebration
In Haiti, children are lucky if they have the opportunity to eat a daily meal, the ability to read or write, or the luxury to wash with clean water. At the time of Christopher Columbus, Haiti was referred to as “The Pearl of the Caribbean Islands,” because it had vast natural resources. Haiti, located only 500 miles from the coast of Florida, is modernly referred to as “the poorest country in the western hemisphere,” and has an unemployment rate of over eighty-five percent.
Tonight I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Rodrique Mortel speak about his childhood experience living in Haiti, and his present lifestyle in the United States. Dr. Mortel grew up in a town called St. Mark, his mother could not read nor write, and his father was very ill throughout the majority of his life. The family was evicted from their home when he was only eleven-years-old, leaving them homeless and hungry. The only thing that Dr. Mortel had was education, in which he excelled greatly. Today, Dr. Mortel is both a deacon and OBGYN Penn State graduate. He referred back to his initial degree from a local college in Port Au Prince and said, “It was education alone that took me from where I was, to where I am now.”
As a child of Haiti, Dr. Mortel felt the need to give back to his country, and so he founded “The Martel Foundation.” The Mortel Foundation is a program in which the common goal is simply to provide a civilized lifestyle for people of all ages in Haiti. Dr. Mortel founded “The Good Samaritans School” in 2001 in St. Mark, the school’s mission is to educate and feed the poorest of the poor in the region. The children enrolled in the school are hand-picked at the age of five by Dr. Mortel and his colleagues; the school contains twelve classrooms and a large cafeteria space, and presently has 390 enrolled students. In addition to having these children attend school daily, their parents are also provided with classes to learn how to read and write, so that they too can become educated and further help their children succeed.
For me, the most horrifying fact that I heard was that one of every five Haitian children will die before the age of five due to disease and malnutrition, and of the survivors, only twenty percent attend school because many of them do not have shoes nor clothes to wear. One speaker described her personal experience in Haiti and said, “I wanted to give these children the world, because they expected nothing.” In the DVDs I observed this evening these children appeared to be filled with immense amounts of joy and laughter, and were proud that there are people out there who simply care enough to go to Haiti and see the poverty and sorrow present. Tonight I was horrified when I saw pictures of mothers frying clay with charcoal as means to feed their families, and pictures of eight by eight homes in which people are required to sleep in shifts because their houses are too overcrowded. The sights that many of the interviewed volunteers witnessed had such profound impacts on their lives that they claimed, “we gained more from our experiences in Haiti than we were able to give to its people.”
The vision of Dr. Mortel and The Good Samaritans School is simply to teach the citizens of tomorrow, because there is a responsibility owed to the future to make a change. The aim is that these children will take their educational experiences and share them with the rest of Haiti, one teacher said, “these kids will make a difference, they will change the country, I just know they will.” The school is the only one in Haiti with computer access, and it also requires teaching of the English language. The Good Samaritan School provides a solid base for the future responsible leaders of Haiti, and teaches these students values such as honesty, integrity and determination.
It is said that one simply can not walk away from what they have seen in Haiti without wanting to change it, or at least provide it with some help. The level of poverty in Haiti is different than that of the United States or anywhere else in the world, however, the people of Haiti are so incredibly rich in faith. These people are sometimes required to walk for over three hours just to observe a mass, and in most cases there is no Eucharist present, because in Haiti, there is only one priest for every 50,000 people. The Mortel Foundation has also developed a program called “The Baltimore-Haiti Project,” in which seventeen participating parishes in Baltimore are paired with parishes in Haiti. This “Parish Twinning Program” bands together Catholics in the United States with those of its sister parishes in Haiti. This bonding of people of a common faith is very similar to that of the Jesuit mission for justice.
“The church’s mission is the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation,” said Father Kolvenbach in the Conference on Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education. The Jesuit mission calls students to go beyond the universities’ walls of safety, and to reach out and share knowledge with others, especially those who are unfortunate. In the worlds of Dr. Mortel, “real success is marked by what we give in return for what we have been given,” this view of equal right to knowledge is very similar to that of the Jesuit’s. This shared mission was also prevalent in Tracy Kidder’s novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains, where the main character Dr. Paul Farmer’s goal was to further better the immense poverty in Haiti. Dr. Farmer devoted most of his life to helping the people of Haiti, and providing modern medical technologies to its society. His mission was to make a change and leave an impact on Haiti, he simply wanted to show it’s people that life has advances and that people can be saved.
Dr. Mortel’s advice to those who wish to get involved was simply to pray, share the message of Haiti, volunteer in a service program, or sponsor one of Haiti’s children. Haiti needs the brother ship of other stronger and wealthier nations, and I feel that there should be some sort of responsibility to the United States to get involved and help alleviate some of its suffering. Although we all can not commit to that of which Dr. Paul Farmer supplied to Haiti, we can contribute simply by applying the same mission that the Jesuits strive for. In doing so, we could therefore provide Haiti with the knowledge that we as Americans, take for granted every day.
Tonight I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Rodrique Mortel speak about his childhood experience living in Haiti, and his present lifestyle in the United States. Dr. Mortel grew up in a town called St. Mark, his mother could not read nor write, and his father was very ill throughout the majority of his life. The family was evicted from their home when he was only eleven-years-old, leaving them homeless and hungry. The only thing that Dr. Mortel had was education, in which he excelled greatly. Today, Dr. Mortel is both a deacon and OBGYN Penn State graduate. He referred back to his initial degree from a local college in Port Au Prince and said, “It was education alone that took me from where I was, to where I am now.”
As a child of Haiti, Dr. Mortel felt the need to give back to his country, and so he founded “The Martel Foundation.” The Mortel Foundation is a program in which the common goal is simply to provide a civilized lifestyle for people of all ages in Haiti. Dr. Mortel founded “The Good Samaritans School” in 2001 in St. Mark, the school’s mission is to educate and feed the poorest of the poor in the region. The children enrolled in the school are hand-picked at the age of five by Dr. Mortel and his colleagues; the school contains twelve classrooms and a large cafeteria space, and presently has 390 enrolled students. In addition to having these children attend school daily, their parents are also provided with classes to learn how to read and write, so that they too can become educated and further help their children succeed.
For me, the most horrifying fact that I heard was that one of every five Haitian children will die before the age of five due to disease and malnutrition, and of the survivors, only twenty percent attend school because many of them do not have shoes nor clothes to wear. One speaker described her personal experience in Haiti and said, “I wanted to give these children the world, because they expected nothing.” In the DVDs I observed this evening these children appeared to be filled with immense amounts of joy and laughter, and were proud that there are people out there who simply care enough to go to Haiti and see the poverty and sorrow present. Tonight I was horrified when I saw pictures of mothers frying clay with charcoal as means to feed their families, and pictures of eight by eight homes in which people are required to sleep in shifts because their houses are too overcrowded. The sights that many of the interviewed volunteers witnessed had such profound impacts on their lives that they claimed, “we gained more from our experiences in Haiti than we were able to give to its people.”
The vision of Dr. Mortel and The Good Samaritans School is simply to teach the citizens of tomorrow, because there is a responsibility owed to the future to make a change. The aim is that these children will take their educational experiences and share them with the rest of Haiti, one teacher said, “these kids will make a difference, they will change the country, I just know they will.” The school is the only one in Haiti with computer access, and it also requires teaching of the English language. The Good Samaritan School provides a solid base for the future responsible leaders of Haiti, and teaches these students values such as honesty, integrity and determination.
It is said that one simply can not walk away from what they have seen in Haiti without wanting to change it, or at least provide it with some help. The level of poverty in Haiti is different than that of the United States or anywhere else in the world, however, the people of Haiti are so incredibly rich in faith. These people are sometimes required to walk for over three hours just to observe a mass, and in most cases there is no Eucharist present, because in Haiti, there is only one priest for every 50,000 people. The Mortel Foundation has also developed a program called “The Baltimore-Haiti Project,” in which seventeen participating parishes in Baltimore are paired with parishes in Haiti. This “Parish Twinning Program” bands together Catholics in the United States with those of its sister parishes in Haiti. This bonding of people of a common faith is very similar to that of the Jesuit mission for justice.
“The church’s mission is the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation,” said Father Kolvenbach in the Conference on Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education. The Jesuit mission calls students to go beyond the universities’ walls of safety, and to reach out and share knowledge with others, especially those who are unfortunate. In the worlds of Dr. Mortel, “real success is marked by what we give in return for what we have been given,” this view of equal right to knowledge is very similar to that of the Jesuit’s. This shared mission was also prevalent in Tracy Kidder’s novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains, where the main character Dr. Paul Farmer’s goal was to further better the immense poverty in Haiti. Dr. Farmer devoted most of his life to helping the people of Haiti, and providing modern medical technologies to its society. His mission was to make a change and leave an impact on Haiti, he simply wanted to show it’s people that life has advances and that people can be saved.
Dr. Mortel’s advice to those who wish to get involved was simply to pray, share the message of Haiti, volunteer in a service program, or sponsor one of Haiti’s children. Haiti needs the brother ship of other stronger and wealthier nations, and I feel that there should be some sort of responsibility to the United States to get involved and help alleviate some of its suffering. Although we all can not commit to that of which Dr. Paul Farmer supplied to Haiti, we can contribute simply by applying the same mission that the Jesuits strive for. In doing so, we could therefore provide Haiti with the knowledge that we as Americans, take for granted every day.
The never ending poverty in Haiti
Peter Leuthold Leuthold 1
En 101.31
Dr. Ellis
Event Analysis
The never ending poverty in Haiti
Dr. Rodrigue Mortel and Dr. Paul Farmer both share many of the same desires to help the “economically, socially, and deprived children and adults of Haiti”. Dr. Rodrigue Mortel has overcome the poverty in Haiti and has become one of the most prominent gynecologists at Penn State University. Dr. Paul Farmer from the novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate a strong quest to help out the poverty occurring in Haiti while also incorporating Jesuit values that every Christian acquires.
By watching the movies which Dr. Mortel displayed at his formal presentation tonight, the blindness of poverty that still occurs today in Haiti was overcome. Mortel shows how no matter how much is read or heard about the poorest country in the western hemisphere; it must be experienced to really believe what occurs. Like Dr. Paul Farmer, Mortel wishes to help out these deprived children in every manner possible. These movies revealed how happy the children and adults living in Haiti are when they barely can eat one meal per day. “Real success is marked by what we give in return for what we have been given”. Mortel stresses how important an education is and also how the many tourists who visit the island are given more from the locals than what they give in return. Prayer is so important to Haitians and so Christianity plays a major role in their lives and is practiced daily. Along with building a house for his mother, Dr. Mortel, funded enough money to have a school built located in one of the most deprived areas in the city. The Jesuit values which Mortel incorporates in his school have brought many Christians here in Baltimore to help out in many different ways. The “Baltimore-Haiti project” is another way in which Christians living in Baltimore can volunteer and work with other Christians in Haiti.
Leuthold 2
“Nothing is more rewarding to me than helping others to reach their goals and fulfilling their dreams”. This is another important quote from Dr. Mortel which shows how Dr. Paul Farmer and he had the same goals in Haiti. Dr. Paul Farmer who went to Duke University and then to Harvard University for medical school could have simply ignored the poverty of Haiti, but grew close to his patients and tried to seek out the best way to cure the poor. Dr. Mortel, who was one of very few to gain an education and succeed, left Haiti and came to the United States for a better life. On the other hand, he did not forget about his childhood and where he came from and therefore knew he had to help the country prosper in some way.
“Les Bons Samaritans” is the name of the school which Dr. Mortel started which still to this day consists of “hand-picked children” from the poorest parts of the country. This school is run by a Jesuit community where prayer is a regular part of the children’s and adults lives. Dr. Mortel shows his profound love for his country by giving back more than he would have ever imagined. When Dr. Paul Farmer says, “the only real nation is humanity”, he shows how his dedication to his work in Haiti could be compared with that of Dr. Mortel. I am from Haiti, which is Dr. Mortel’s account of his life is very similar to Mountains Beyond Mountains in the sense that both show the horrors of poverty in Haiti and describe how Jesuit values can help the poor be grateful for the little possessions which they own.
“I know what it is like to be poor and hungry, to be lonely, and to have little hope”. Dr. Mortel has given me the insight to be so grateful for what I have, to take every opportunity out of my education, and truly use the Jesuit values incorporated in my life to help out others. The fact that one out of every five Haitian children die before they reach the age of five has given me motivation to participate as a volunteer to help out in any way. Since the living conditions in Haiti are very bad, my relationship with God could be improved if I could helped to build some houses. Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate Jesuit values in their quest to help out the economically and socially deprived
Leuthold 3
children and adults of Haiti. Also they feel a need to build a civilized life style and influence all Haitians into becoming educated people. By attending Dr. Mortel’s formal presentation speech today, much knowledge about the culture of poorest country in the world was demonstrated to me. Ways to help out the poor in Haiti include reciting an extra prayer daily for all Haitians, spreading the word about the poverty existing in Haiti, sponsoring a child for less than a dollar per day, and volunteering as a carpenter.
En 101.31
Dr. Ellis
Event Analysis
The never ending poverty in Haiti
Dr. Rodrigue Mortel and Dr. Paul Farmer both share many of the same desires to help the “economically, socially, and deprived children and adults of Haiti”. Dr. Rodrigue Mortel has overcome the poverty in Haiti and has become one of the most prominent gynecologists at Penn State University. Dr. Paul Farmer from the novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate a strong quest to help out the poverty occurring in Haiti while also incorporating Jesuit values that every Christian acquires.
By watching the movies which Dr. Mortel displayed at his formal presentation tonight, the blindness of poverty that still occurs today in Haiti was overcome. Mortel shows how no matter how much is read or heard about the poorest country in the western hemisphere; it must be experienced to really believe what occurs. Like Dr. Paul Farmer, Mortel wishes to help out these deprived children in every manner possible. These movies revealed how happy the children and adults living in Haiti are when they barely can eat one meal per day. “Real success is marked by what we give in return for what we have been given”. Mortel stresses how important an education is and also how the many tourists who visit the island are given more from the locals than what they give in return. Prayer is so important to Haitians and so Christianity plays a major role in their lives and is practiced daily. Along with building a house for his mother, Dr. Mortel, funded enough money to have a school built located in one of the most deprived areas in the city. The Jesuit values which Mortel incorporates in his school have brought many Christians here in Baltimore to help out in many different ways. The “Baltimore-Haiti project” is another way in which Christians living in Baltimore can volunteer and work with other Christians in Haiti.
Leuthold 2
“Nothing is more rewarding to me than helping others to reach their goals and fulfilling their dreams”. This is another important quote from Dr. Mortel which shows how Dr. Paul Farmer and he had the same goals in Haiti. Dr. Paul Farmer who went to Duke University and then to Harvard University for medical school could have simply ignored the poverty of Haiti, but grew close to his patients and tried to seek out the best way to cure the poor. Dr. Mortel, who was one of very few to gain an education and succeed, left Haiti and came to the United States for a better life. On the other hand, he did not forget about his childhood and where he came from and therefore knew he had to help the country prosper in some way.
“Les Bons Samaritans” is the name of the school which Dr. Mortel started which still to this day consists of “hand-picked children” from the poorest parts of the country. This school is run by a Jesuit community where prayer is a regular part of the children’s and adults lives. Dr. Mortel shows his profound love for his country by giving back more than he would have ever imagined. When Dr. Paul Farmer says, “the only real nation is humanity”, he shows how his dedication to his work in Haiti could be compared with that of Dr. Mortel. I am from Haiti, which is Dr. Mortel’s account of his life is very similar to Mountains Beyond Mountains in the sense that both show the horrors of poverty in Haiti and describe how Jesuit values can help the poor be grateful for the little possessions which they own.
“I know what it is like to be poor and hungry, to be lonely, and to have little hope”. Dr. Mortel has given me the insight to be so grateful for what I have, to take every opportunity out of my education, and truly use the Jesuit values incorporated in my life to help out others. The fact that one out of every five Haitian children die before they reach the age of five has given me motivation to participate as a volunteer to help out in any way. Since the living conditions in Haiti are very bad, my relationship with God could be improved if I could helped to build some houses. Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate Jesuit values in their quest to help out the economically and socially deprived
Leuthold 3
children and adults of Haiti. Also they feel a need to build a civilized life style and influence all Haitians into becoming educated people. By attending Dr. Mortel’s formal presentation speech today, much knowledge about the culture of poorest country in the world was demonstrated to me. Ways to help out the poor in Haiti include reciting an extra prayer daily for all Haitians, spreading the word about the poverty existing in Haiti, sponsoring a child for less than a dollar per day, and volunteering as a carpenter.
The Never ending poverty in Haiti
Peter Leuthold 1
En 101.31
Dr. Ellis
Event Analysis
The never ending poverty in Haiti
Dr. Rodrigue Mortel and Dr. Paul Farmer both share many of the same desires to help the “economically, socially, and deprived children and adults of Haiti”. Dr. Rodrigue Mortel has overcome the poverty in Haiti and has become one of the most prominent gynecologists at Penn State University. Dr. Paul Farmer from the novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate a strong quest to help out the poverty occurring in Haiti while also incorporating Jesuit values that every Christian acquires.
By watching the movies which Dr. Mortel displayed at his formal presentation tonight, the blindness of poverty that still occurs today in Haiti was overcome. Mortel shows how no matter how much is read or heard about the poorest country in the western hemisphere; it must be experienced to really believe what occurs. Like Dr. Paul Farmer, Mortel wishes to help out these deprived children in every manner possible. These movies revealed how happy the children and adults living in Haiti are when they barely can eat one meal per day. “Real success is marked by what we give in return for what we have been given”. Mortel stresses how important an education is and also how the many tourists who visit the island are given more from the locals than what they give in return. Prayer is so important to Haitians and so Christianity plays a major role in their lives and is practiced daily. Along with building a house for his mother, Dr. Mortel, funded enough money to have a school built located in one of the most deprived areas in the city. The Jesuit values which Mortel incorporates in his school have brought many Christians here in Baltimore to help out in many different ways. The “Baltimore-Haiti project” is another way in which Christians living in Baltimore can volunteer and work with other Christians in Haiti.
Leuthold 2
“Nothing is more rewarding to me than helping others to reach their goals and fulfilling their dreams”. This is another important quote from Dr. Mortel which shows how Dr. Paul Farmer and he had the same goals in Haiti. Dr. Paul Farmer who went to Duke University and then to Harvard University for medical school could have simply ignored the poverty of Haiti, but grew close to his patients and tried to seek out the best way to cure the poor. Dr. Mortel, who was one of very few to gain an education and succeed, left Haiti and came to the United States for a better life. On the other hand, he did not forget about his childhood and where he came from and therefore knew he had to help the country prosper in some way.
“Les Bons Samaritans” is the name of the school which Dr. Mortel started which still to this day consists of “hand-picked children” from the poorest parts of the country. This school is run by a Jesuit community where prayer is a regular part of the children’s and adults lives. Dr. Mortel shows his profound love for his country by giving back more than he would have ever imagined. When Dr. Paul Farmer says, “the only real nation is humanity”, he shows how his dedication to his work in Haiti could be compared with that of Dr. Mortel. I am from Haiti, which is Dr. Mortel’s account of his life is very similar to Mountains Beyond Mountains in the sense that both show the horrors of poverty in Haiti and describe how Jesuit values can help the poor be grateful for the little possessions which they own.
“I know what it is like to be poor and hungry, to be lonely, and to have little hope”. Dr. Mortel has given me the insight to be so grateful for what I have, to take every opportunity out of my education, and truly use the Jesuit values incorporated in my life to help out others. The fact that one out of every five Haitian children die before they reach the age of five has given me motivation to participate as a volunteer to help out in any way. Since the living conditions in Haiti are very bad, my relationship with God could be improved if I could helped to build some houses. Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate Jesuit values in their quest to help out the economically and socially deprived
Leuthold 3
children and adults of Haiti. Also they feel a need to build a civilized life style and influence all Haitians into becoming educated people. By attending Dr. Mortel’s formal presentation speech today, much knowledge about the culture of poorest country in the world was demonstrated to me. Ways to help out the poor in Haiti include reciting an extra prayer daily for all Haitians, spreading the word about the poverty existing in Haiti, sponsoring a child for less than a dollar per day, and volunteering as a carpenter.
En 101.31
Dr. Ellis
Event Analysis
The never ending poverty in Haiti
Dr. Rodrigue Mortel and Dr. Paul Farmer both share many of the same desires to help the “economically, socially, and deprived children and adults of Haiti”. Dr. Rodrigue Mortel has overcome the poverty in Haiti and has become one of the most prominent gynecologists at Penn State University. Dr. Paul Farmer from the novel, Mountains Beyond Mountains, and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate a strong quest to help out the poverty occurring in Haiti while also incorporating Jesuit values that every Christian acquires.
By watching the movies which Dr. Mortel displayed at his formal presentation tonight, the blindness of poverty that still occurs today in Haiti was overcome. Mortel shows how no matter how much is read or heard about the poorest country in the western hemisphere; it must be experienced to really believe what occurs. Like Dr. Paul Farmer, Mortel wishes to help out these deprived children in every manner possible. These movies revealed how happy the children and adults living in Haiti are when they barely can eat one meal per day. “Real success is marked by what we give in return for what we have been given”. Mortel stresses how important an education is and also how the many tourists who visit the island are given more from the locals than what they give in return. Prayer is so important to Haitians and so Christianity plays a major role in their lives and is practiced daily. Along with building a house for his mother, Dr. Mortel, funded enough money to have a school built located in one of the most deprived areas in the city. The Jesuit values which Mortel incorporates in his school have brought many Christians here in Baltimore to help out in many different ways. The “Baltimore-Haiti project” is another way in which Christians living in Baltimore can volunteer and work with other Christians in Haiti.
Leuthold 2
“Nothing is more rewarding to me than helping others to reach their goals and fulfilling their dreams”. This is another important quote from Dr. Mortel which shows how Dr. Paul Farmer and he had the same goals in Haiti. Dr. Paul Farmer who went to Duke University and then to Harvard University for medical school could have simply ignored the poverty of Haiti, but grew close to his patients and tried to seek out the best way to cure the poor. Dr. Mortel, who was one of very few to gain an education and succeed, left Haiti and came to the United States for a better life. On the other hand, he did not forget about his childhood and where he came from and therefore knew he had to help the country prosper in some way.
“Les Bons Samaritans” is the name of the school which Dr. Mortel started which still to this day consists of “hand-picked children” from the poorest parts of the country. This school is run by a Jesuit community where prayer is a regular part of the children’s and adults lives. Dr. Mortel shows his profound love for his country by giving back more than he would have ever imagined. When Dr. Paul Farmer says, “the only real nation is humanity”, he shows how his dedication to his work in Haiti could be compared with that of Dr. Mortel. I am from Haiti, which is Dr. Mortel’s account of his life is very similar to Mountains Beyond Mountains in the sense that both show the horrors of poverty in Haiti and describe how Jesuit values can help the poor be grateful for the little possessions which they own.
“I know what it is like to be poor and hungry, to be lonely, and to have little hope”. Dr. Mortel has given me the insight to be so grateful for what I have, to take every opportunity out of my education, and truly use the Jesuit values incorporated in my life to help out others. The fact that one out of every five Haitian children die before they reach the age of five has given me motivation to participate as a volunteer to help out in any way. Since the living conditions in Haiti are very bad, my relationship with God could be improved if I could helped to build some houses. Dr. Paul Farmer and Dr. Mortel both demonstrate Jesuit values in their quest to help out the economically and socially deprived
Leuthold 3
children and adults of Haiti. Also they feel a need to build a civilized life style and influence all Haitians into becoming educated people. By attending Dr. Mortel’s formal presentation speech today, much knowledge about the culture of poorest country in the world was demonstrated to me. Ways to help out the poor in Haiti include reciting an extra prayer daily for all Haitians, spreading the word about the poverty existing in Haiti, sponsoring a child for less than a dollar per day, and volunteering as a carpenter.
The Merchant of Venice
Liz O’Marra
Blog #3
Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”
To be perfectly honest, I typically find Shakespeare especially difficult to understand, and in turn, boring. However, I do tend to enjoy viewing his plays, which is the main reason why I decided to attend “The Merchant of Venice” for my event. This particular production was purposely performed the way the plays were in Shakespeare’s day; the performers played multiple roles, were on stage at all times, and the entire theater stayed lit throughout the performance. This greatly added to the authenticity of the play as well as giving the feeling of living in Shakespeare’s time.
The play opened with the actors singing U2’s song, “One.” I thought this was kind of odd because immediately after explaining that the play was going to be similar to Shakespeare’s day, they sang a modern day song. However, with lyrics like, “we’re one, but we’re not the same,” I later came to realize its significance to the story of “The Merchant of Venice.” In one scene Shylock even speaks about how just because he is a Jew and the others are Christians, they are all people. Opening with this particular song was an effective way to relate the story to the viewers, as it describes two different kinds of people, in both aspects of religion and social status.
A prominent reason as to why I enjoyed the play so much was because of the consistent humor throughout the performance. Shakespeare again revealed his humorous side, just like in the poem, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” A particular scene that I personally found quite amusing was when confidants Portia and Nerissa were talking about the various guys who want to wed Portia and she continually makes fun of them all. This scene was so relatable to how my girlfriends and I talk to each other. I never thought I would relate that strongly to Shakespeare as he was writing so many years ago.
The story line between Jessica, a Jew, and Lorenzo, a Christian, strikingly resembled that of Romeo and Juliet. It was here that I noticed Shakespeare’s subtle repetition of themes. I do believe, however, that this repetition says a lot about Shakespeare’s character in that he was trying to teach a lesson; this lesson being that we cannot, and should not, judge or hate one another simply because of our religion, background, social status, or any other attributes not in our control. It reinstates the fact that you must love people for who they are, not for where they come from or what they believe in.
These lessons that Shakespeare teaches us greatly relate to those of the Jesuit education, which we receive here at Loyola College. As a part of a Jesuit college were are taught values and morals to instill in our lives. Shakespeare’s lesson to not unfairly judge others is just one example of the lessons we are taught at Loyola. Had I not decided to go attend a Jesuit college, these values and morals may not have been communicated and taught to me in and outside of the classroom. This is one aspect of my college that I greatly admire and am very thankful for.
Blog #3
Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”
To be perfectly honest, I typically find Shakespeare especially difficult to understand, and in turn, boring. However, I do tend to enjoy viewing his plays, which is the main reason why I decided to attend “The Merchant of Venice” for my event. This particular production was purposely performed the way the plays were in Shakespeare’s day; the performers played multiple roles, were on stage at all times, and the entire theater stayed lit throughout the performance. This greatly added to the authenticity of the play as well as giving the feeling of living in Shakespeare’s time.
The play opened with the actors singing U2’s song, “One.” I thought this was kind of odd because immediately after explaining that the play was going to be similar to Shakespeare’s day, they sang a modern day song. However, with lyrics like, “we’re one, but we’re not the same,” I later came to realize its significance to the story of “The Merchant of Venice.” In one scene Shylock even speaks about how just because he is a Jew and the others are Christians, they are all people. Opening with this particular song was an effective way to relate the story to the viewers, as it describes two different kinds of people, in both aspects of religion and social status.
A prominent reason as to why I enjoyed the play so much was because of the consistent humor throughout the performance. Shakespeare again revealed his humorous side, just like in the poem, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun.” A particular scene that I personally found quite amusing was when confidants Portia and Nerissa were talking about the various guys who want to wed Portia and she continually makes fun of them all. This scene was so relatable to how my girlfriends and I talk to each other. I never thought I would relate that strongly to Shakespeare as he was writing so many years ago.
The story line between Jessica, a Jew, and Lorenzo, a Christian, strikingly resembled that of Romeo and Juliet. It was here that I noticed Shakespeare’s subtle repetition of themes. I do believe, however, that this repetition says a lot about Shakespeare’s character in that he was trying to teach a lesson; this lesson being that we cannot, and should not, judge or hate one another simply because of our religion, background, social status, or any other attributes not in our control. It reinstates the fact that you must love people for who they are, not for where they come from or what they believe in.
These lessons that Shakespeare teaches us greatly relate to those of the Jesuit education, which we receive here at Loyola College. As a part of a Jesuit college were are taught values and morals to instill in our lives. Shakespeare’s lesson to not unfairly judge others is just one example of the lessons we are taught at Loyola. Had I not decided to go attend a Jesuit college, these values and morals may not have been communicated and taught to me in and outside of the classroom. This is one aspect of my college that I greatly admire and am very thankful for.
Justice in Relationships
"To give to each his or her own due," was what Margret Farley, R.S.M., Ph.D. defined as justice at last week's lecture on Catholicism and Sexuality. Human nature has an unwritten law intertwined with the soul, intuition, and guilt that works to determine what exactly other people are 'due'. Usually this is set specifically within our basic needs; sustainance of varying forms, both material and immaterial are what breathes life into human beings. One of the most important forms of sustainance is the need for human beings to be in interaction with one another.
There are severe implications in not giving a person this 'due' of positive human relationships. Children are not able to develop basic functions in isolation, and even past childhood, isolated people grow mad and weak, as was the case of the main character in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. There is no denying that the need for relationships is one that is crucial to the all-over health of a person, yet much of the time, this basic need is not realized. It is overlooked by the essential physical needs of food and shelter, and while these needs are important, relationships are just as important to one's health as these physical needs, and with relationships usually comes the moral obligation to look after one another, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Ideally, relationships are meant to have the moral obligation to look after one another's well-being, however, most relationships are not truly ideal due to overpowering egos. The problem comes when relationships are manipulated from being something created between people to an entity simply about individual gains. 'To give to each his or her own due' is, therefore, an act that is entirely selfless. Justice is selfless, but required in a positively functioning relationship.
This is why relationships are created in the act of being just through service. The paradox of service is that through being selfless in a relationship, by acting not in one's own best interest, but in the interest of the other people and the relationship that is created, the individual self does gain and improve. Being just towards others sanctifies a positive relationship and improves the well-being of all people involved. As a result, more is accomplished through 'giving to each his or her due', since all participants within a relationship benefit, than what would be accomplished by acting on selfish motivations. There is more that justice yields than simply the betterment of person or group of people which is what makes it so significant within one's life.
There are severe implications in not giving a person this 'due' of positive human relationships. Children are not able to develop basic functions in isolation, and even past childhood, isolated people grow mad and weak, as was the case of the main character in "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. There is no denying that the need for relationships is one that is crucial to the all-over health of a person, yet much of the time, this basic need is not realized. It is overlooked by the essential physical needs of food and shelter, and while these needs are important, relationships are just as important to one's health as these physical needs, and with relationships usually comes the moral obligation to look after one another, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Ideally, relationships are meant to have the moral obligation to look after one another's well-being, however, most relationships are not truly ideal due to overpowering egos. The problem comes when relationships are manipulated from being something created between people to an entity simply about individual gains. 'To give to each his or her own due' is, therefore, an act that is entirely selfless. Justice is selfless, but required in a positively functioning relationship.
This is why relationships are created in the act of being just through service. The paradox of service is that through being selfless in a relationship, by acting not in one's own best interest, but in the interest of the other people and the relationship that is created, the individual self does gain and improve. Being just towards others sanctifies a positive relationship and improves the well-being of all people involved. As a result, more is accomplished through 'giving to each his or her due', since all participants within a relationship benefit, than what would be accomplished by acting on selfish motivations. There is more that justice yields than simply the betterment of person or group of people which is what makes it so significant within one's life.
event analysis
Nina Marchetto
Understanding Literature
Event Analysis
September 24, 2007
As I opened the brochure given to me as I walked into McGuire Hall I was surprised to see that almost every seat was filled up. I thought that although this lecture does have a very controversial topic, gender and sexuality and how they are accepted in the world, I would never have thought this many people, old and young, would take time to listen to some woman. Who by reading the inside page of the brochure says, “ One of the world’s most influential progressive ethicists, Margaret Farley, R.S.M., Ph.D., has long been a powerful voice for human rights, social justice, compassion and innovative approaches to education.” She started the lecture telling us specifically what she was going to talk about, which I thought was a very good strategy in keeping people’s interest.
Her topics were very controversial in the sense that she was talking about how sexuality, homosexuals, straight, and other sexual orientation are accepted in the world. She gave her view of these topics and how they should be viewed in the world in order for us as a whole to function properly as a united society, instead of a divided society. She talked about eliminating the destructive parts of sexuality, for examples sexual abuse.
The elimination of the destructive part of sexuality could lead to so many new opportunities for people who are in those situations. She gave out a tone of desperation for the world, mainly the young people of society to come to terms with the realization that our world is changing. With the changing of our world come many new and different things, which we are scared of. Fear is no reason to put out negative attitudes towards something foreign as sexual orientation.
In the few weeks of my Jesuit education I have heard over and over from the countless speeches at orientation of how we are “men and women for others”. When I hear that saying, I take into heart the interpretation of how we are all men and women, and we must be here for others, for support, and education. Those who receive our help are not looked down upon by their sexual orientation, or what they believe to be a proper form of love. Love is love, between two human beings.
Understanding Literature
Event Analysis
September 24, 2007
As I opened the brochure given to me as I walked into McGuire Hall I was surprised to see that almost every seat was filled up. I thought that although this lecture does have a very controversial topic, gender and sexuality and how they are accepted in the world, I would never have thought this many people, old and young, would take time to listen to some woman. Who by reading the inside page of the brochure says, “ One of the world’s most influential progressive ethicists, Margaret Farley, R.S.M., Ph.D., has long been a powerful voice for human rights, social justice, compassion and innovative approaches to education.” She started the lecture telling us specifically what she was going to talk about, which I thought was a very good strategy in keeping people’s interest.
Her topics were very controversial in the sense that she was talking about how sexuality, homosexuals, straight, and other sexual orientation are accepted in the world. She gave her view of these topics and how they should be viewed in the world in order for us as a whole to function properly as a united society, instead of a divided society. She talked about eliminating the destructive parts of sexuality, for examples sexual abuse.
The elimination of the destructive part of sexuality could lead to so many new opportunities for people who are in those situations. She gave out a tone of desperation for the world, mainly the young people of society to come to terms with the realization that our world is changing. With the changing of our world come many new and different things, which we are scared of. Fear is no reason to put out negative attitudes towards something foreign as sexual orientation.
In the few weeks of my Jesuit education I have heard over and over from the countless speeches at orientation of how we are “men and women for others”. When I hear that saying, I take into heart the interpretation of how we are all men and women, and we must be here for others, for support, and education. Those who receive our help are not looked down upon by their sexual orientation, or what they believe to be a proper form of love. Love is love, between two human beings.
Dr. Rod Martel's speech on Haiti; Michael Waskiewicz
Michael Waskiewicz
September 26, 2007
Dr. Ellis
Understanding Literature
Tonight I went to a talk by Dr. Rod Martel about the culture and poverty that is going on right now in Haiti. This talk had a lot to do with the common text book "Mountains Beyond Mountains" as well as with the Jesuit idea of how we should give of ourselves to others. Going to this talk showed me how lucky I am to have everything that I have and how much more I should give to others who have less.
Dr. Martel grew up in Haiti. He lived a very tough life. His mother passed away when she was 36, and his dad had a hard time raising the rest of the family. Dr. Martel was evicted from his house when he was eleven because they did not have enough money to pay the rent. He went to the elementary schools in Haiti, and went to college in Port a Prince. He then went on to work at Penn State University, holding a very high position. Dr. Martel's goal in life was to be able to build his mother a house, and he was very successful in doing so.
Dr. Martel spoke of how poor Haiti is, and even showed a few videos about the same topic. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and it is only 500 miles away from Florida, and United States is the richest country in the world. The roads are all dirt roads, and they are in terrible condition. They are not paved at all, and cars will go on any side of the street to get to where they are trying to go. Everyone lives in small huts, sometimes only eight feet by eight feet. Some family members take turns sleeping because there is not enough room for everyone to lay down, so they sleep in shifts. Sometimes when there is no food to eat Haitians will cook little pieces of clay and put seasoning on it, just so that they have something in their stomachs. No matter how much poverty there is in Haiti the people are still very joyful. They are extremely happy when they see volunteers who come from different places have come to help them. Many people every summer go to volunteer their time in Haiti. Some people go to help teach carpentry, while others just go to spend time with the children in their summer camps.
After being in the United States for a while, Dr. Martel decided it was time to give back. He created a school, The Good Samaritan school. This school serves the most socially and economically deprived children from the poorest parts of Haiti. The children who attend this school are handpicked. Every child who attends the school says that their favorite part is that they are fed. The parents agreed, because that is one less child that they have to worry about. The school provides two square meals a day and books to all of the students at no cost. Dr. Martel stressed how important it is to educate the children of Haiti. He believes that having a good education is one of the things that can help the country the most, because once the children grow up they will be able to help the poverty that is going on. The school also has very dedicated teachers. Some of the teachers have a long walk up a mountain to get to school, so long of a walk that some of them sleep in the school building until Friday when they go home for the weekend. They have also started a literacy school for the adults of the children in Dr. Martel's school. This is so the parents will be able to help their children with their schoolwork. Dr. Martel is also opening a trade school, so people will learn skills necessary to help them live, such as carpentry, and plumbing. There is no plumbing system at all in Haiti. The sewage runs through the streets, and children will sometimes run right into the raw sewage like it was nothing, just to get a soccer ball.
Dr. Martel's life is very similar to the life of Dr. Paul Farmer from "Mountains Beyond Mountains." Dr. Farmer was a man who went to Harvard and then traveled to Haiti to try and help cure as many people as he could. He brought as many tools with him from Boston as he could to help cure those who need it most. Although Dr. Farmer was not able to make a difference in the overall situation in Haiti, he was able to make a difference in a lot of individual lives. This is similar to what Dr. Martel has done. Building The Good Samaritan school he has provided an education for those who need it most. Although his efforts do not make a huge difference in all of Haiti, he has made a difference in the lives of very many individuals.
Dr. Martel has many similarities with Dr. Paul Farmer from Tracy Kidder's "Mountains Beyond Mountains." His life also follows one of the most important Jesuit ideals of giving back to others. Everyone can learn a lesson from Dr. Martel, and that is that even though it is never possible to make a change throughout an entire culture, it is possible and worth the effort to do it for the individuals who you will help.
Service Learning-Olivia Bell
Olivia Bell
Understanding Literature
Dr. Ellis9/25/07
Service Learning
This past Tuesday I participated in my first service learning for elementary education. We left Loyola College at around noon and walked down the street to Guilford Elementary. On the walk down, there was a sense that everyone was extremely nervous. We were all going to a new environment full of new students and staff. No one was really sure what to expect. However, when we got there, the warmth of the building was unbelievable. Everything about the school was inviting and I could not wait to get started.
My experience started from the moment I set foot in the school parking lot. Coming from a school like Loyola, many people never take the time to realize just how lucky we are. Walking up to the school it became apparent that the children within its walls did not have many luxuries. For example, the students do not have a playground so their fun consists of running around a parking lot. With this in mind, I wanted to be able to do something extra special when I got into the classroom.
All of the Loyola students were split up and assigned to different classrooms with different teachers in need of help. I was assigned to a first grade class of about 15 students along with a few other Loyola students. When I walked into the classroom and met the teacher she asked if I could assist her with math. She had given a lecture to the students about how to add and subtract. Because this was such a new concept to many of them, the room was filled with very confused looks. I was asked to go and sit at a table with two boys and help them with their worksheets.
As I tried to work with the two first graders, I found that it was very hard for them to concentrate. However, that was very understandable. They were in a classroom full of new people and potentially full of new teachers. When it came time to sit down and do work, the two boys still wanted to play. They were very fussy and began to get aggravated with each other so I needed to think of something quick. They both loved sports so I took them to the carpet and we gathered all different types of sports toys. Soon, the originally fussy boys were extremely eager to learn. Together, we sat on the carpet and using the toys, I was able to better explain to them the concepts behind adding and subtracting. They were able to understand that when they have two footballs and they give one to a friend, they will only have one left.
While at Guilford, I spent some time thinking about what I would write for this weeks Event Analysis and how I could relate it to our class discussions. It was then that I remembered reading the essay about Jesuit education. One factor that stood out in my mind was how important it is for Jesuit universities to not just educate their students, but to make sure they become something great. In most cases, I would be the student that they would be trying to educate. Although this did happen, I too was also able to take from the Jesuit education and pass it on to “my students.” Not only was I helping both of these boys to learn, but I was helping to show them how to work together. They had trouble in the beginning sharing toys and were not using their words. Instead they would hit each other until they got what they wanted. By the end of the day they were sharing their toys and helping one another out with questions on their math sheet. It was an amazing experience to be a part of and it was a lot of fun to watch myself be able to bring the Jesuit education alive.
Sister Margaret Lecture
Will Appelt
Event Analysis
September 26, 2007
Margaret A. Farley Lecture
Sister Margaret Farley is one of the most well-known ethicists of our time. She has been fight for human rights, social justice. She has also help in creating new ways to help promote education with these issues. Her views have been published in many books and articles. She has established herself as a true Christian and a person of equality.
Sister Margaret’s lecture that was held Thursday 20, 2007 was mostly on sexual ethics and how it is shown in society and in Christianity. She emphasized the educating of children on certain issues that will help them understand in a religious aspect of love and hate. This view of educating has been a huge part of the Jesuit teachings which was shown in the Conference on Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education. She talked about relationships through marriage the how divorce has been seen as a scapegoat to relief all problems. Sister Margaret talked about how marriage is a religious duty and the world today doesn’t see it that way. There are 3 words that define sex and religion when both compared. Defilement: irrational taboo, or rap, against one’s will to have relations. Sin: moral evil breakdown between human and God. Guilt: choice of divorce. She talked about how love and sex are different. Love is compassion between two people and there connection through God. Sex is usually mistaken as passion, but is really a way of satisfying ones urge. She said that the purpose of pro-creation is through sex and when we are not pro-creating then it should be considered love.
Justice was a main part of her lecture. She discussed how men dominated the writing of the Bible and how women were of very little important in some books. The main discussion of injustice was same sex marriage. She talked about how people and religious figure have frown on same sex marriages. Sister Margaret emphasized that we don’t except relations of the same sex because they are not doing God’s will of procreation. We see husband and wife as the only way of engagement. We as people of faith and just should not judge and say it is morally wrong for two people of the same sex to have the same feelings as a man and a woman do. Sister Margaret put it in a better way then I am explaining it, but the Jesuit way of justice to all people seems to play a role in what she was talking about. Are belief may be different then those of same sex couples, but we must respect those decisions that they make.
Sister Margaret is a person who takes action in what she believes. In Jesuit teaching and in the article we read last week, a true Jesuit is some who doesn’t just have faith but acts on it either through the community or any other way that helps one another become a better Christian.
Event Analysis
September 26, 2007
Margaret A. Farley Lecture
Sister Margaret Farley is one of the most well-known ethicists of our time. She has been fight for human rights, social justice. She has also help in creating new ways to help promote education with these issues. Her views have been published in many books and articles. She has established herself as a true Christian and a person of equality.
Sister Margaret’s lecture that was held Thursday 20, 2007 was mostly on sexual ethics and how it is shown in society and in Christianity. She emphasized the educating of children on certain issues that will help them understand in a religious aspect of love and hate. This view of educating has been a huge part of the Jesuit teachings which was shown in the Conference on Commitment to Justice in Jesuit Higher Education. She talked about relationships through marriage the how divorce has been seen as a scapegoat to relief all problems. Sister Margaret talked about how marriage is a religious duty and the world today doesn’t see it that way. There are 3 words that define sex and religion when both compared. Defilement: irrational taboo, or rap, against one’s will to have relations. Sin: moral evil breakdown between human and God. Guilt: choice of divorce. She talked about how love and sex are different. Love is compassion between two people and there connection through God. Sex is usually mistaken as passion, but is really a way of satisfying ones urge. She said that the purpose of pro-creation is through sex and when we are not pro-creating then it should be considered love.
Justice was a main part of her lecture. She discussed how men dominated the writing of the Bible and how women were of very little important in some books. The main discussion of injustice was same sex marriage. She talked about how people and religious figure have frown on same sex marriages. Sister Margaret emphasized that we don’t except relations of the same sex because they are not doing God’s will of procreation. We see husband and wife as the only way of engagement. We as people of faith and just should not judge and say it is morally wrong for two people of the same sex to have the same feelings as a man and a woman do. Sister Margaret put it in a better way then I am explaining it, but the Jesuit way of justice to all people seems to play a role in what she was talking about. Are belief may be different then those of same sex couples, but we must respect those decisions that they make.
Sister Margaret is a person who takes action in what she believes. In Jesuit teaching and in the article we read last week, a true Jesuit is some who doesn’t just have faith but acts on it either through the community or any other way that helps one another become a better Christian.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
This week I volunteered for the first time at Casa de Maryland, an organization to serve the needs of the ever growing immigrant population within the DC/Baltimore area. Although my previous service experience with the Latin American community is minimal, a few days of volunteering at the Hispanic Apostolate, I find that I am nonetheless drawn to working with the Hispanic population. This pull comes in part from the fact that my father was born in
Unfortunately, I did not deal directly with the people the Casa serves. At first I was frustrated by the seemingly trivial office tasks I was assigned: mapping out an area for people to canvas, organizing papers, stapling rubber bands to papers. As I sat in that immensely quiet office, my mind was free to reflect upon my task at hand and its purpose. Apparently the people that would be canvassing of the area I mapped out are day laborers whose cases on which the Casa is working. I needed to highlight the routes clearly, because they may not read English. The papers I organized and stapled to rubber bands were for those same workers to give out while canvassing. The office work was not insignificant, it was necessary.
The branch of the Casa that I volunteered at just opened within the past year. Currently they help the immigrants with legal work, by providing a case worker. This November, a day laborer work center will be opening as part of the building. On a tour of the Casa, they showed me the newly painted cement floors and the bare walls. Similar to the CIT “we see what you see” advertisements for small business loans, anyone standing in the barren garage could sense the anticipation of a dream soon to be achieved.
Though my weekly tasks remain unclear, I can’t help but feel part of a bigger movement. A movement to include those who are at present disregarded, discredited, and ignored. The work center will join workers with employers; employers who are held accountable for paying their workers fairly and on time. The work center will seek justice for those who would be unable to achieve it as individuals.
Jimmy Wales founded Wikipedia with the intention that the encyclopedia would “not favor the Ph.D. over the well-read fifteen-year-old”. American society has a tendency to write off immigrants, specifically Hispanic immigrants, because they have not necessarily been educated at American universities nor do they necessarily pursue typically ‘intellectual’ fields. That is not to say, however, that these people are not extremely knowledgeable about their own field, and much more. In the same way that Wikipedia grants equality to those who wish to submit or edit an entry, Casa de Maryland is working to grant equality to those who are at present written off by society at large.
The sonnet, “I, Being Born a Woman and Distressed”, satirically deals with the idea of how women should act, feel, and think. Throughout the piece Edna Millay makes the woman out to be thoughtless due to the repeated idea of the mind being distorted by the physical. The “treason of [her]… blood against [her]… brain”, and the “cloud[ing] of the mind” are all shown to be facetious in the revealing phrase “insufficient reason”. Society assumes the immigrants and Hispanics are meant to play a menial role in society, thereby disregarding their rationality as humans, just as Millay points out that women have been treated.
I am now not as apprehensive, but just as eager to continue volunteering at the Casa and in doing so experience first hand what I have previously learned about only theoretically.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Blog#2 Beauty
After reading the two short stories, “The Birthmark” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” along with the poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” a specific theme of the importance and aspect of beauty was apparent throughout. Beauty is a powerful concept that can be portrayed and defined in infinite ways, three of which were exemplified in the readings.
First, with “The Birthmark” physical beauty and perfection are compared. Because Alymer had such an overwhelming distaste for the birthmark on his wife, Georgiana’s face, it greatly effected their lives. Alymer’s hatred for her birthmark caused she herself to in turn posses such hatred for the birthmark and for herself. Georgiana could not even look at her husband because of the embarrassment of her one physical flaw. I found this situation almost pathetic that two people can be so shallow that they cannot truly love each other because of just one physical imperfection. Although I do not doubt the love they had for one another, Georgiana’s birthmark should have been her uniqueness and thus cause Alymer to love her for who she was instead of this perfect being he so longed for her to be. Irony comes into play at the conclusion of the story when Alymer ends up killing his wife in attempt to save their marriage. I believe that this ending describes a deep meaning behind beauty in that it goes beyond just the physical aspect. The couple’s obsession over the birthmark prevented them from seeing the beautiful person Georgiana truly was on the inside.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” takes a completely different take on beauty with the journal of a woman struggling with post pardon depression. She becomes absolutely infatuated with the yellow wallpaper in the room she restricts herself to. At first, the woman obsesses over the hideousness and wretchedness of the wallpaper and vividly describes her distaste for the eye sore. This growing fascination with the wallpaper eventually and ironically is what gives her a reason to live day by day as she handles her feelings of depression. The horrible and ugly wallpaper eventually becomes the beauty and light in her life and strongly aids in her recovery.
Lastly, in Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” a vivid description of daffodils is portrayed. The writer uses words such as shine, twinkle, bliss, and pleasure to paint an image of beauty in the reader’s mind. Imagery of starry nights and sparkling waves on a beach reveal the beauty of the poem. Such scenes as these are universally known for their natural beauty.
Whether it is physical beauty, mental beauty, or natural beauty, beauty is a concept that continues to be analyzed, described, and written about. Beauty will always be something that mesmerizes readers time and time again.
First, with “The Birthmark” physical beauty and perfection are compared. Because Alymer had such an overwhelming distaste for the birthmark on his wife, Georgiana’s face, it greatly effected their lives. Alymer’s hatred for her birthmark caused she herself to in turn posses such hatred for the birthmark and for herself. Georgiana could not even look at her husband because of the embarrassment of her one physical flaw. I found this situation almost pathetic that two people can be so shallow that they cannot truly love each other because of just one physical imperfection. Although I do not doubt the love they had for one another, Georgiana’s birthmark should have been her uniqueness and thus cause Alymer to love her for who she was instead of this perfect being he so longed for her to be. Irony comes into play at the conclusion of the story when Alymer ends up killing his wife in attempt to save their marriage. I believe that this ending describes a deep meaning behind beauty in that it goes beyond just the physical aspect. The couple’s obsession over the birthmark prevented them from seeing the beautiful person Georgiana truly was on the inside.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” takes a completely different take on beauty with the journal of a woman struggling with post pardon depression. She becomes absolutely infatuated with the yellow wallpaper in the room she restricts herself to. At first, the woman obsesses over the hideousness and wretchedness of the wallpaper and vividly describes her distaste for the eye sore. This growing fascination with the wallpaper eventually and ironically is what gives her a reason to live day by day as she handles her feelings of depression. The horrible and ugly wallpaper eventually becomes the beauty and light in her life and strongly aids in her recovery.
Lastly, in Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” a vivid description of daffodils is portrayed. The writer uses words such as shine, twinkle, bliss, and pleasure to paint an image of beauty in the reader’s mind. Imagery of starry nights and sparkling waves on a beach reveal the beauty of the poem. Such scenes as these are universally known for their natural beauty.
Whether it is physical beauty, mental beauty, or natural beauty, beauty is a concept that continues to be analyzed, described, and written about. Beauty will always be something that mesmerizes readers time and time again.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Birthmark, Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper and William Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud all have women’s inferiority to men as a central theme.
In The Birthmark the wife, Georgiana was fine with her appearance until her husband said something about the tiny birthmark on her cheek. Without his comment she would have gone through life thinking herself to be beautiful and the birthmark as unique. Too often women take what men say as ultimate truth, and because of male dominance in society for so long women turn submissive and lose themselves. Men are insecure and in this story the husband took his imperfections and insecurities as a doctor out on his wife which ultimately caused her death. If he could have seen the beauty in her imperfections as well as in his work, his life could be whole and with love in it.
In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper the husband dominated the wife again. If the husband would have listened to the wife, she may have gotten out of the room that ultimately drove her insane. The creeping woman in the wallpaper symbolizes women in general who have to creep around to be themselves because they allow men to dominate them. The wife constantly crept around at night because in the daylight hours her husband dominated. This is reflective of life for some women even today. Women must go around and find different alternatives to become successful because men dictate what happens and in order to still be looked at as a woman, ladies must conform to the male society as well find different ways to have power over themselves and possess self worth.
In William Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud the daffodils represent women and if they would stand together would be powerful and beautiful to the point where they can move men as they flowers moved the speaker in the poem.
In The Birthmark the wife, Georgiana was fine with her appearance until her husband said something about the tiny birthmark on her cheek. Without his comment she would have gone through life thinking herself to be beautiful and the birthmark as unique. Too often women take what men say as ultimate truth, and because of male dominance in society for so long women turn submissive and lose themselves. Men are insecure and in this story the husband took his imperfections and insecurities as a doctor out on his wife which ultimately caused her death. If he could have seen the beauty in her imperfections as well as in his work, his life could be whole and with love in it.
In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper the husband dominated the wife again. If the husband would have listened to the wife, she may have gotten out of the room that ultimately drove her insane. The creeping woman in the wallpaper symbolizes women in general who have to creep around to be themselves because they allow men to dominate them. The wife constantly crept around at night because in the daylight hours her husband dominated. This is reflective of life for some women even today. Women must go around and find different alternatives to become successful because men dictate what happens and in order to still be looked at as a woman, ladies must conform to the male society as well find different ways to have power over themselves and possess self worth.
In William Wordsworth’s I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud the daffodils represent women and if they would stand together would be powerful and beautiful to the point where they can move men as they flowers moved the speaker in the poem.
William Wordsworth’s, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, presents an appreciation for the beauty of the world around us. The speaker in this piece is a person who is wandering, although through the use of multiple conceits Wordsworth creates the image of a cloud looking over a field of daffodils. By comparing the speaker to a cloud Wordsworth gives him the ability to see things from a great distance, without having any effect on that which is being observed. Another conceit used in the piece is the comparison of the people, and the sights of the speaker to daffodils. Daffodils are distinct flowers that are most widely known as being yellow, and in that way they are seen as uniform. However, Wordsworth gives the flowers individuality in their motions. That is to that though the flowers are visually similar they nonetheless were “fluttering and dancing in the breeze”. A poem is an effective literary form for Wordsworth to have used because it allows great freedom in ways such as the use of metaphors and sentence structure. The rhyming pattern adds to the tone of the piece through the way that it goes back and forth between rhyming sound, similar to the way in which the daffodils are dancing.
The conceit of the cloud ends before the poem does, allowing the reader to understand better the true speaker. While the cloud travels and watches over the daffodils, the speaker lays on his couch and thinks of these things. This can be related to the ideas of cities and their inhabitants because so often despite the beauty of cities their inhabitants remain inside. This reminds me directly of Loyola because so many of the students remain disconnected from the city. While every student has physically been through the city, like the cloud wandering above, not as many actually got off their couches and internalize all that the city has to offer.
In my previous Event Analysis, I discussed “the oneness” of people despite their backgrounds. Wordsworth, too, demonstrates “the oneness” through the idea that everyone is a daffodil. However, the image he creates has an effect more of superficial similarities than they idea that beneath everything we are humans. Also because in the conceit the speaker is a cloud, high above and separate from the flowers, it differs from my own experiences in
Beauty
| In each of the three readings the authors all touch upon the idea of beauty and the different and sometimes unique forms it may take on. Each author implores their readers to find beauty everywhere because it exists wherever you look for it. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark,” beauty is examined skin deep, literally. The central character, Aylmer, finds that his wife, Georgina, would be perfect if not for a small birthmark on her cheek. He becomes obsessed with the idea that its presence somehow mars her otherwise flawless beauty. After much debate, he finally convinces her to have it removed. Aylmer realizes too late that his wife’s “imperfection” was actually the essence of her beauty. It was what made her, her. Hawthorne is encouraging readers to not only look past imperfections, but to see that true beauty that lies within them. In Charlotte Perkins Gilman “The Yellow Wallpaper,” this idea is also carried through. Gilman suffers from a condition that forces her to remain indoors. While inside the room where she spends most of her time, she writes about her surroundings, vividly describing the yellow wallpaper which seems to cover every inch of the space. At first Gilman resents the wallpaper and feels like she is trapped within its grasp. By the end, however, her opinion drastically changes. She is able to look beyond its unsightly exterior and see what others can not see; beauty. In William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” the speaker is able to see the simple things in life and recognize its beauty. This text differs from the previous two in that the speaker chooses to see beauty. Unlike the fiction pieces, the speaker does not need to be taught that beauty can be found everywhere, he is already aware of this. He is telling us that although there is ugliness in the world, we must take a moment to appreciate the beauty that is all around us; nature. I believe that what each of these texts describes can easily be applied to service within our community. We must not be as foolish as Gilman was in “The Yellow Wallpaper.” So often we judge others based on appearances, but if we give our subject enough time we will be able to see it’s true beauty and unique qualities. We must also not feel like these unique qualities are flaws the way Aylmer found his wife’s birthmark unattractive in “The Birthmark.” We must see these things as characteristics that make each person who they are. Lastly, we must also appreciate the beauty that already exists that way the speaker in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” did. He took the time to appreciate the beauty that others take for granted. In the same way we must appreciate the beauty in those around us and take the time to tell them what it is that makes them beautiful. In each of these texts the central character understands that they should never miss the forest for the trees; beauty exists everywhere, if we just take the time to look for it. |
Beauty
In today’s judgmental world, everyone’s definition of beauty is different. Some see beauty as something that is within, while some see it as merely what is on the outside. Sadly, many opinions are persuaded and created by someone else other than ones self. In the three works, “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, it is evident how someone can or cannot distract your definition of beauty.
In “The Birthmark”, beauty is judged by outward appearance. When a doctor, Aylmer, becomes obsessed with a tiny birthmark on his wife’s, Georgiana’s, cheek, he slowly persuades her to remove the barely there mark. Her whole life, Georgiana has seen the birthmark as a blessing from a fairy, which she received at birth. Day by day, Aylmer convinces her that she will be perfect once he removes this “flaw”, and together, they become obsessed with the removal. In this story by Hawthorne, we can see how one’s opinion of beauty can change because of the persuasion or distraction of someone else’s view.
Like in “The Birthmark”, the true definition of physical beauty is discussed. Just as Aylmer was focused on the physical appearance of his wife, the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was automatically convinced that the wall was ugly because of the smelly, discolored, imperfect wallpaper. Her feelings were so strong because of the way society has convinced us that the physical appearance is what’s important. As she spends days and days in the secluded room, she begins to feel a connection with the wall. Soon, it becomes beautiful to her, not because of how it looks, but because of the way it begins to make her feel. Even though the lady is psychotic, she lets herself form her own opinion of what is beautiful and dismisses the judgment of its physical appearance.
The speaker in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is able to judge nature’s beauty because of the combination of how it makes him feel and on what he sees. Unlike the characters in the other pieces, he does not let anything divert him from what he feels is beautiful. Although the speaker is lonely and depressed, he does not let his emotions distract him while looking for beauty, and tries not to speak of the negativity in the world. He focuses on the magnificence of nature and rules out anything ugly for the time being.
In all three works, it is apparent that people base their judgments of beauty on different things, whether it is appearance or feelings, and that people’s opinions can be easily influenced by others. We must realize that if we feel strongly about something, we cannot let someone else change our feelings and passion about it. We have to stay focused on how we feel, what we want, and let no one distract us.
In “The Birthmark”, beauty is judged by outward appearance. When a doctor, Aylmer, becomes obsessed with a tiny birthmark on his wife’s, Georgiana’s, cheek, he slowly persuades her to remove the barely there mark. Her whole life, Georgiana has seen the birthmark as a blessing from a fairy, which she received at birth. Day by day, Aylmer convinces her that she will be perfect once he removes this “flaw”, and together, they become obsessed with the removal. In this story by Hawthorne, we can see how one’s opinion of beauty can change because of the persuasion or distraction of someone else’s view.
Like in “The Birthmark”, the true definition of physical beauty is discussed. Just as Aylmer was focused on the physical appearance of his wife, the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” was automatically convinced that the wall was ugly because of the smelly, discolored, imperfect wallpaper. Her feelings were so strong because of the way society has convinced us that the physical appearance is what’s important. As she spends days and days in the secluded room, she begins to feel a connection with the wall. Soon, it becomes beautiful to her, not because of how it looks, but because of the way it begins to make her feel. Even though the lady is psychotic, she lets herself form her own opinion of what is beautiful and dismisses the judgment of its physical appearance.
The speaker in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is able to judge nature’s beauty because of the combination of how it makes him feel and on what he sees. Unlike the characters in the other pieces, he does not let anything divert him from what he feels is beautiful. Although the speaker is lonely and depressed, he does not let his emotions distract him while looking for beauty, and tries not to speak of the negativity in the world. He focuses on the magnificence of nature and rules out anything ugly for the time being.
In all three works, it is apparent that people base their judgments of beauty on different things, whether it is appearance or feelings, and that people’s opinions can be easily influenced by others. We must realize that if we feel strongly about something, we cannot let someone else change our feelings and passion about it. We have to stay focused on how we feel, what we want, and let no one distract us.
Reading Analysis
Olivia Silvestri
Within the three assigned readings, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” “The Birthmark,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the idea of beauty is apparent. Even though beauty is the central topic of the readings, the authors approach it in different ways. In William Wordsworth poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” he shares with the readers the attraction of golden daffodils. Where in “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story is told of a man who cannot get passed his hatred for his wife’s birthmark. The third story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells of the transition from disgust to love of this old, yellow wallpaper.
The narrator from “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” helps us realize the beauty of simple things, such as the daffodils. Also, he says that in times of reflection he remembers the lovely daffodils and his heart fills with joy.
“The Birthmark,” uses beauty in a different way then Wordsworth’s poem. Hawthorne tells the story of Aylmer and his beautiful wife Georgiana. To Aylmer she is almost perfect, except for a birthmark on her face, which she sees as a charm. He hates the birthmark so much, that he becomes obsessed with wanting it removed from her face. The beauty that he once saw in her dwindles away because of the ugliness he sees in her birthmark.
The transition that the narrator goes through in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is seeing hate for this wallpaper to seeing the true beauty of it. John, her husband, believes that by her being in this room it will help her mentally. However, the longer she is in this room with the yellow wallpaper she believes that a woman lives in the walls. She tries to help the woman get out of the wall by pulling off the paper. By the end of the story, she seems to be more mentally unstable then she was at the beginning. In addition, her feelings for the wallpaper change.
Through the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” and the two short stories “The Birthmark” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” we are given a sense of how one term can be altered into meaning different things. Respectively, beauty represents joy, it is overlooked because of the desire for perfection, and overtime it can be scene in unattractive things.
Within the three assigned readings, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” “The Birthmark,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” the idea of beauty is apparent. Even though beauty is the central topic of the readings, the authors approach it in different ways. In William Wordsworth poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” he shares with the readers the attraction of golden daffodils. Where in “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story is told of a man who cannot get passed his hatred for his wife’s birthmark. The third story, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman tells of the transition from disgust to love of this old, yellow wallpaper.
The narrator from “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” helps us realize the beauty of simple things, such as the daffodils. Also, he says that in times of reflection he remembers the lovely daffodils and his heart fills with joy.
“The Birthmark,” uses beauty in a different way then Wordsworth’s poem. Hawthorne tells the story of Aylmer and his beautiful wife Georgiana. To Aylmer she is almost perfect, except for a birthmark on her face, which she sees as a charm. He hates the birthmark so much, that he becomes obsessed with wanting it removed from her face. The beauty that he once saw in her dwindles away because of the ugliness he sees in her birthmark.
The transition that the narrator goes through in “The Yellow Wallpaper,” is seeing hate for this wallpaper to seeing the true beauty of it. John, her husband, believes that by her being in this room it will help her mentally. However, the longer she is in this room with the yellow wallpaper she believes that a woman lives in the walls. She tries to help the woman get out of the wall by pulling off the paper. By the end of the story, she seems to be more mentally unstable then she was at the beginning. In addition, her feelings for the wallpaper change.
Through the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,” and the two short stories “The Birthmark” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” we are given a sense of how one term can be altered into meaning different things. Respectively, beauty represents joy, it is overlooked because of the desire for perfection, and overtime it can be scene in unattractive things.
Analysis Michael Waskiewicz
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Birthmark" and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper," all have a similar theme, which we have discussed in class. Both of these works have the same theme of boundaries, or walls, that the speaker tries to overcome, from trying to remove a simple birthmark, or to dealing with one's sickness.
In "The Birthmark" Alymer has a big problem with his wife's birthmark. He still loves her, but is so shallow that he leads to her death by trying to remove her birthmark. Instead of loving her for who she is, he instead tries to remove the one imperfection that he sees in her to try and make her perfect. Alymer's wife would not look the same without her birthmark, which is shaped as a small hand. Alymer's shallowness in not seeing the beauty of God in his wife's birthmark leads to her death. Alymer tries so many different things to remove his wife's birthmark, instead of just accepting her one defect and loving her for how beautiful she is. They mention that the birthmark represents her soul, by saying that her soul faded away as her birthmark did. Alymer was trying to overcome the wall of how he could not view his wife as perfect, although he wanted to. When he gave Georgiana a kiss on her birthmark, he quivered. Hawthorne's lesson in this piece is to accept something or someone for what they are, because it is usually not possible to change them, and in effect, you could ruin what you already have.
Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" is another piece that shows the main character trying to overcome a wall. The first wall that the protagonist is trying to overcome is her illness. She speaks of her husband, John, and says that he is a physician and does not believe that she is sick. She knows that she is sick, but cannot get her husband to believe the same thing. John brings her on vacation to help her try to recover from her illness. While they are on vacation her sickness becomes worse. She constantly complains that she wishes that she had more strength so that she could write, because she gets too tired too quickly. Then the yellow wallpaper is another wall that the narrator tries to overcome. She grew very fond of the wallpaper, and said that she could see things in it that other people could not see. The walls took human forms later in the story, and eventually made her go really crazy, lock herself in the room, and try to creep around the room. This was one of the many walls that the narrator had to overcome in Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper."
In both writings, the protagonists of the story had problems that could not be fixed. In "The Birthmark," the attempt of trying to get rid of Georgiana's birthmark eventually led to her death, and in "The Yellow Wallpaper," the narrator's attempts to get past her own problems eventually led her to go crazier than she already was. Both pieces of work were examples of boundaries, or walls, that the protagonist has to overcome, which we have previously discussed in class.
Analysis/Will Appelt
Will Appelt
English 101
Dr. Ellis
In the works of Nathanial Hawthorne, William Wordsworth and Charlotte Gilman, the key theme throughout there work is the nature of oneself. Each of these characters in these works learns about themselves toward the end of the story or poem. Nathanial Hawthorne and Charlotte Gilman also seem to emphasis the hardships of marriageand how there husbands are there demise.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Birthmark, the emphasis of science is corrupting the natural beauty of Georgiana’s birthmark on her face. Her husband seems to have insecurity about the imperfection and it shows by his actions in the story and this in turn gives her insecurity. The symbol used in this story to represent pure creation is the birthmark. Science is shown as a way to play God which is through man. The nature of God and the naturalized way of birth can not be altered to perfection. Imperfections of a person are what make the person more unique and separates them from everyone else. Science is later shown as a way to kill God’s creation in the dieing of Georgiana.
In Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, her husband is also a doctor as in The Birthmark. The husband is a symbol of her illness as well as the marriage they are in. The room with the wall paper symbolizes the prison she has been put into after the marriage. The only way to cure herself is through her old natural way of writing and doing what she used to do. The restraint her husband has on her and his way of cure seems to be more of a burden on her illness.
William Wordsworth’s poem I wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the poet seems to find a himself in a place of nature. The hills and flowers of God’s creation seem to make him happy. The poets show metaphor when he compares himself as a cloud where he flows away in this place of euphoria. He imagines that any poet who doesn’t find himself in a place of nature will never be happy.
All three of these works seem to come back to the creation of God and how we should let things be what they are. Nature place a key part in all these works to help the characters cope with there problems.
English 101
Dr. Ellis
In the works of Nathanial Hawthorne, William Wordsworth and Charlotte Gilman, the key theme throughout there work is the nature of oneself. Each of these characters in these works learns about themselves toward the end of the story or poem. Nathanial Hawthorne and Charlotte Gilman also seem to emphasis the hardships of marriageand how there husbands are there demise.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Birthmark, the emphasis of science is corrupting the natural beauty of Georgiana’s birthmark on her face. Her husband seems to have insecurity about the imperfection and it shows by his actions in the story and this in turn gives her insecurity. The symbol used in this story to represent pure creation is the birthmark. Science is shown as a way to play God which is through man. The nature of God and the naturalized way of birth can not be altered to perfection. Imperfections of a person are what make the person more unique and separates them from everyone else. Science is later shown as a way to kill God’s creation in the dieing of Georgiana.
In Charlotte Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper, her husband is also a doctor as in The Birthmark. The husband is a symbol of her illness as well as the marriage they are in. The room with the wall paper symbolizes the prison she has been put into after the marriage. The only way to cure herself is through her old natural way of writing and doing what she used to do. The restraint her husband has on her and his way of cure seems to be more of a burden on her illness.
William Wordsworth’s poem I wandered Lonely as a Cloud, the poet seems to find a himself in a place of nature. The hills and flowers of God’s creation seem to make him happy. The poets show metaphor when he compares himself as a cloud where he flows away in this place of euphoria. He imagines that any poet who doesn’t find himself in a place of nature will never be happy.
All three of these works seem to come back to the creation of God and how we should let things be what they are. Nature place a key part in all these works to help the characters cope with there problems.
Reading Analysis: Beauty
As we discussed in class, John Donne’s “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” introduces a kind of love is not based upon physical attraction, but rather a mental and emotional connection between the lovers. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Birthmark” presents the opposite perspective. Aylmer, a driven scientist, looks at his wife and rather than appreciating her for the person she is internally, he only focuses on the imperfection located on her face. He becomes obsessed with discovering how to remove the birthmark, because he can only see beauty as perfection. The difference between the poem and the short story is that one speaker is able to look deeper into his lover’s soul and see her inner beauty while the other speaker becomes obsessed with exterior looks with the inability to see past his wife’s scar.
Although Aylmer sees the birthmark as a disgusting, horrible blemish, Hawthorne seems to describe the imperfection using beautiful images rather than ugly ones. He describes it as a “crimson stain upon the snow” and “a bass-relief of ruby on the whitest marble”. In the latter example, the scar is portrayed as a ruby, which is one of the most precious and stunning stones on earth. The scar is illustrated with words that would usually represent beauty in any other context, but in this case they are representing something unattractive and flawed.
Today, media portrays beauty in a particular way, focusing and judging a person based upon their external appearance. The way someone looks should not represent who they truly are as an individual. I believe beauty is not physical attribute but is represented by the greatness of a person’s heart.
In William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the speaker sees nature’s beauties that most people do not stop and appreciate more often. He admires the beauty of the daffodils and he is overcome with joy and satisfaction when he thinks back to their image. He uses the beauty of the daffodils as an escape when he feels sad or depressed.
Beauty is a powerful thing, whether in a person or in nature. The poems and short stories we’ve examined have cast a light upon how different people may perceive beauty in their lives. I believe beauty has the ability to change forms, which allows its presence to exist everywhere and provides us with the chance to view it in whatever way we please.
Although Aylmer sees the birthmark as a disgusting, horrible blemish, Hawthorne seems to describe the imperfection using beautiful images rather than ugly ones. He describes it as a “crimson stain upon the snow” and “a bass-relief of ruby on the whitest marble”. In the latter example, the scar is portrayed as a ruby, which is one of the most precious and stunning stones on earth. The scar is illustrated with words that would usually represent beauty in any other context, but in this case they are representing something unattractive and flawed.
Today, media portrays beauty in a particular way, focusing and judging a person based upon their external appearance. The way someone looks should not represent who they truly are as an individual. I believe beauty is not physical attribute but is represented by the greatness of a person’s heart.
In William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the speaker sees nature’s beauties that most people do not stop and appreciate more often. He admires the beauty of the daffodils and he is overcome with joy and satisfaction when he thinks back to their image. He uses the beauty of the daffodils as an escape when he feels sad or depressed.
Beauty is a powerful thing, whether in a person or in nature. The poems and short stories we’ve examined have cast a light upon how different people may perceive beauty in their lives. I believe beauty has the ability to change forms, which allows its presence to exist everywhere and provides us with the chance to view it in whatever way we please.
Reading Blog
Nathaniel Hawthorne touches on many key points in his work, The Birthmark, the relationship of Georgiana and Aylmer, how a single birthmark taints their love; and the symbolism of the birthmark all add many layers to this story.
The relationship of Georgiana and Aylmer all revolves around Georgiana’s birthmark: a tiny handprint small enough to be covered by two fingers on Georgiana’s check. Aylmer is a man of science and yet he is a man of love. It is not hard to combine the two into a harmonious relationship, but Aylmer is having difficulty finding balance. The story has a certain attitude that science and love cannot be combined, almost like science and faith often contradict one another. One can even go as far to say that Aylmer is somewhat of a devil figure, or one that is influenced by the devil and perfection, and Georgiana is an angel. Aylmer, playing the part of an individual influenced by the devil, sees Georgiana how perfect she is, similar to the perfection of his work in his laboratory, and then is disgusted by her birthmark, which in the end of the story symbolizes Georgiana’s life and love for Aylmer. The adversities seen in this relationship is much like the constant battle of faith that we ourselves go through. The battle of perfection throughout college, to strive and never be satisfied with meritocracy; but we never realize that what we are given is just enough. What we are given in life will get us through our troubles, there is no need to change, like Georgiana there is no need to change her appearance, she is beautiful with the birthmark.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story The Yellow Wallpaper has a more deranged message than Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story. There are some similarities within the two stories, for one the relationship of husband and wife is not following the norm of society. In The Birthmark there is the issue of imperfections, and in The Yellow Wallpaper there is a lack of love between the wife and husband. The wife and husband’s relationship is not a loving relationship; it is more a patient to doctor connection. The status of the wife is not aiding in the closeness of their relationship, there is something mentally wrong with her. She is being driven crazy by the yellow wallpaper in the house. She says there is a woman trapped in the walls, that woman symbolizes her, she is feeling trapped in her own environment and cannot escape; until the last night of her stay when the woman finally comes out of the wall and joins the wife. The end of the story now reunites body and mind, when the woman in the walls comes out and joins the wife.
William Wordsworth’s I wandered Lonely as a Cloud has many literary devices used throughout the poem. For instance there is a rhyme scheme of a b a b c c. The rhyme scheme adds a sense of feeling of uniform throughout the poem. The constant rhyme scheme creates a beat to which the words are formed on. The tone of the poem does feel somewhat airy, as clouds, and the use of similes add airy, like clouds, comparisons.
The relationship of Georgiana and Aylmer all revolves around Georgiana’s birthmark: a tiny handprint small enough to be covered by two fingers on Georgiana’s check. Aylmer is a man of science and yet he is a man of love. It is not hard to combine the two into a harmonious relationship, but Aylmer is having difficulty finding balance. The story has a certain attitude that science and love cannot be combined, almost like science and faith often contradict one another. One can even go as far to say that Aylmer is somewhat of a devil figure, or one that is influenced by the devil and perfection, and Georgiana is an angel. Aylmer, playing the part of an individual influenced by the devil, sees Georgiana how perfect she is, similar to the perfection of his work in his laboratory, and then is disgusted by her birthmark, which in the end of the story symbolizes Georgiana’s life and love for Aylmer. The adversities seen in this relationship is much like the constant battle of faith that we ourselves go through. The battle of perfection throughout college, to strive and never be satisfied with meritocracy; but we never realize that what we are given is just enough. What we are given in life will get us through our troubles, there is no need to change, like Georgiana there is no need to change her appearance, she is beautiful with the birthmark.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story The Yellow Wallpaper has a more deranged message than Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story. There are some similarities within the two stories, for one the relationship of husband and wife is not following the norm of society. In The Birthmark there is the issue of imperfections, and in The Yellow Wallpaper there is a lack of love between the wife and husband. The wife and husband’s relationship is not a loving relationship; it is more a patient to doctor connection. The status of the wife is not aiding in the closeness of their relationship, there is something mentally wrong with her. She is being driven crazy by the yellow wallpaper in the house. She says there is a woman trapped in the walls, that woman symbolizes her, she is feeling trapped in her own environment and cannot escape; until the last night of her stay when the woman finally comes out of the wall and joins the wife. The end of the story now reunites body and mind, when the woman in the walls comes out and joins the wife.
William Wordsworth’s I wandered Lonely as a Cloud has many literary devices used throughout the poem. For instance there is a rhyme scheme of a b a b c c. The rhyme scheme adds a sense of feeling of uniform throughout the poem. The constant rhyme scheme creates a beat to which the words are formed on. The tone of the poem does feel somewhat airy, as clouds, and the use of similes add airy, like clouds, comparisons.
Reading Analysis 1
Katie Strusiak
During the three assigned pieces: “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the constant theme of beauty was apparent. Beauty is questioned throughout the three pieces, from taking the simple things in life for granted to looking deeper and beyond the surface.
In “The Birthmark” beauty is taken for granted. Aylmer cannot see past the surface, and his shallow acts lead to the ‘death’ of his wife. Just like in “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, “The Birthmark” is meant to show the unappreciated beauty. Aylmer cannot look past the imperfect to see that the one unique characteristic of his wife has, and its aspect of beauty in its own sense. Without that unique ‘birthmark’ she wouldn’t be who she is, his lack of appreciation for her true beauty represents the his shallow personality. In “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the speaker is the only ‘lonely’ person to see the simple things in life and not take them for granted. In both pieces of literature, the author wants to make the audience appreciate what they have, and find the little bit of beauty in what they see. Like in society today, the authors of both pieces want the audience to see the positive things in life, and take them for what they are, judgments aside.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator starts of with a negative view of the wall paper, but as the story develops she evaluates the paper she begins to see its true beauty. Just like in society today, people prejudge and see the negative and imperfections first. The end allows the audience to see what the appreciation for the beauty in the little things in life.
Overall these three pieces: “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, are meant to teach the audience about beauty. Don’t look past the ‘daffodils’ of life and allow yourself to see the true beauty in everything in around you.
During the three assigned pieces: “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the constant theme of beauty was apparent. Beauty is questioned throughout the three pieces, from taking the simple things in life for granted to looking deeper and beyond the surface.
In “The Birthmark” beauty is taken for granted. Aylmer cannot see past the surface, and his shallow acts lead to the ‘death’ of his wife. Just like in “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, “The Birthmark” is meant to show the unappreciated beauty. Aylmer cannot look past the imperfect to see that the one unique characteristic of his wife has, and its aspect of beauty in its own sense. Without that unique ‘birthmark’ she wouldn’t be who she is, his lack of appreciation for her true beauty represents the his shallow personality. In “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the speaker is the only ‘lonely’ person to see the simple things in life and not take them for granted. In both pieces of literature, the author wants to make the audience appreciate what they have, and find the little bit of beauty in what they see. Like in society today, the authors of both pieces want the audience to see the positive things in life, and take them for what they are, judgments aside.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the narrator starts of with a negative view of the wall paper, but as the story develops she evaluates the paper she begins to see its true beauty. Just like in society today, people prejudge and see the negative and imperfections first. The end allows the audience to see what the appreciation for the beauty in the little things in life.
Overall these three pieces: “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, are meant to teach the audience about beauty. Don’t look past the ‘daffodils’ of life and allow yourself to see the true beauty in everything in around you.
Olivia Bell
Reading Analysis #1
What is beauty? Do all people have to see the same beauty in things? Is outer beauty always the only aspect to see in things? In both short stories “The Birthmark” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” and in the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, a different sense of beauty is seen by all of the characters.
In the short story “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Georgiana had a mark on her face that her husband, Aylmer, thought ruined her beauty. She was a stunning woman and Aylmer found everything about her to be perfect except a slight red blemish on her left cheek. After much discussion about this mark, Aylmer finally convinced Georgiana that he could remove the blemish and her beauty would be pure. At first, Georgiana did not want her husband to remove the mark for fear of a cureless deformity. Soon after this decision however, she told Aylmer that he had her permission to remove the only thing that kept her husband from seeing her total beauty. Much to Aylmer’s surprise, Georgiana soon died. Because Aylmer was not able to look past a simple mark on his wife’s cheek and was not able to understand that he would never truly be able to reach perfection, he ultimately led to her death. Aylmer was not able to realize that it was his wife’s imperfections that made her so special. Had the mark not been removed would Georgiana still be alive?
Unlike Aylmer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman was in fact able to find love in something that was very unpleasant from the outside. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Gilman was suffering from a nervous condition and spent much of her life in a single room of her house. Because she was never suppose to go out, she would use her time to sit and write. In this short story, Gilman wrote about the room and put great detail into describing the wallpaper. She began by explaining how rundown the paper was and talked about how it would “get the best of her.” Over time however, the wallpaper began to grow on her and she became extremely fond of it. She found beauty in it not because of the way it looked, but because of what she could see in it. She began to see things that other people did not notice and she began to feel as though she was getting better because of the wallpaper. Although she was still “crazy”, this wallpaper was bringing something into her life.
Finally, in the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the narrator was able to see the beauty of the world. He described the beautiful flowers and the many people that passed by. He also talked about all of the gorgeous trees and the lakes that he could see. Never once did the narrator talk about the ugly things in the world. Although there was bad in the world, he was able to look past it and enjoy the beauty of nature.
In all three writings, the characters saw very different types of beauty. In “The Birthmark”, Georgiana’s husband focused strictly on her outer beauty and wanted nothing more than to make her surface look attractive. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” however, Gilman was able to look beyond the surface and find beauty and amazement in what the wallpaper had to offer. Although it was hideous from the outside, she was able to see much past that. Also, the narrator in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” was able to view the world simply and focus on its beauty. He did not get caught up on the ugly things but rather saw the world in a way that made him happy.
Reading Analysis #1
What is beauty? Do all people have to see the same beauty in things? Is outer beauty always the only aspect to see in things? In both short stories “The Birthmark” and “The Yellow Wallpaper” and in the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, a different sense of beauty is seen by all of the characters.
In the short story “The Birthmark”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Georgiana had a mark on her face that her husband, Aylmer, thought ruined her beauty. She was a stunning woman and Aylmer found everything about her to be perfect except a slight red blemish on her left cheek. After much discussion about this mark, Aylmer finally convinced Georgiana that he could remove the blemish and her beauty would be pure. At first, Georgiana did not want her husband to remove the mark for fear of a cureless deformity. Soon after this decision however, she told Aylmer that he had her permission to remove the only thing that kept her husband from seeing her total beauty. Much to Aylmer’s surprise, Georgiana soon died. Because Aylmer was not able to look past a simple mark on his wife’s cheek and was not able to understand that he would never truly be able to reach perfection, he ultimately led to her death. Aylmer was not able to realize that it was his wife’s imperfections that made her so special. Had the mark not been removed would Georgiana still be alive?
Unlike Aylmer, Charlotte Perkins Gilman was in fact able to find love in something that was very unpleasant from the outside. In the short story “The Yellow Wallpaper”, Gilman was suffering from a nervous condition and spent much of her life in a single room of her house. Because she was never suppose to go out, she would use her time to sit and write. In this short story, Gilman wrote about the room and put great detail into describing the wallpaper. She began by explaining how rundown the paper was and talked about how it would “get the best of her.” Over time however, the wallpaper began to grow on her and she became extremely fond of it. She found beauty in it not because of the way it looked, but because of what she could see in it. She began to see things that other people did not notice and she began to feel as though she was getting better because of the wallpaper. Although she was still “crazy”, this wallpaper was bringing something into her life.
Finally, in the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the narrator was able to see the beauty of the world. He described the beautiful flowers and the many people that passed by. He also talked about all of the gorgeous trees and the lakes that he could see. Never once did the narrator talk about the ugly things in the world. Although there was bad in the world, he was able to look past it and enjoy the beauty of nature.
In all three writings, the characters saw very different types of beauty. In “The Birthmark”, Georgiana’s husband focused strictly on her outer beauty and wanted nothing more than to make her surface look attractive. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” however, Gilman was able to look beyond the surface and find beauty and amazement in what the wallpaper had to offer. Although it was hideous from the outside, she was able to see much past that. Also, the narrator in “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” was able to view the world simply and focus on its beauty. He did not get caught up on the ugly things but rather saw the world in a way that made him happy.
Poetry Written Analysis
Peter Leuthold
Dr. Ellis
9/17/07
Reading Analysis
“The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud” are three pieces of work which are similar and different in many ways. In the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the love that the poet has for a daffodil is immensely similar to the love found between the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper” and the wallpaper itself. “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” both demonstrate cases of feeling lonely and depressed while at the same time, “The Birthmark”, shows how the obsession of a simple birthmark can lead to ones death.
In “The Yellow Wallpaper”, the author uses the wallpaper as an imagery to show the suffering which the woman is going through. All the narrator cares about is her husband John, and the beautiful, smelly wallpaper. When the narrator says, “I’m getting really fond of the room in spite of the wallpaper. Perhaps because of the wallpaper”, this portrays that even though the narrator has been stuck in her room because of her illness, she still loves its yellow view.
In, “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud”, the narrator thinks of a daffodil, like the narrator in “The Yellow Wallpaper”, to cheer himself up. This poem uses a special narrative structure in order to present the reader with the joy, pleasure, and excitement that fills his mind, while thinking of a daffodil.
In, “The Birthmark”, the main theme of human perfection is displayed between Georgiana, and her husband, Aylmer, who is a scientist. The primary perspective in this literary work is the obsession to change a flaw of Georgiana. “Whether to term a defect or a beauty shocks me, as being the visible mark of imperfection”. This statement made by Aylmer eventually results in the removal of Georgiana’s birthmark which ends her life. The language which Aylmer uses kills his wife, but also makes his dream come true.
Thus, “The Birthmark”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered as a Lonely Cloud” present their readers with a sense of suffering, loneliness, and the beauty of nature. “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “I wandered Lonely as a Cloud” use the imagery of a yellow wallpaper and a daffodil in order to show their importance to the narrator. “The Birthmark” also presents its reader with an implication that nature is very important and should not be altered. All three pieces of work demonstrate the importance of different trends in society, and although these all old pieces of work, they still occur today.
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