Blog Post 2 Topic 1

In the short story “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, the dynamic of power between Southern Whites and the African American people had and underlined feel of ongoing degradation. During the era of this story, the civil war had ended in 1865 which allowed for the slaves to be freed from slavery. Yet, the people of the South proceeded to act as though they were of superior ranking compared to the African American citizens. Within the story, the main character Miss Emily Grierson was a prime example of this superiority stance. She was portrayed as a White woman that may have been mentally ill yet was stuck in a pre-civil war state of mind. Her helper, a black man who catered to Miss Emily’s needs, was displayed as an unspoken slave for which he served her until she died.

There were also moments within the story that reflected on how the town persisted to degrade African Americans by treating them as a lesser form of slavery. For example, Colonel Sartoris, the mayor during the time, enacted a law where all Black women had to wear an apron when roaming the streets. This displays a clear act for keeping the African American woman powerless despite the overturn of slavery.

In the story “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, there is a struggle of the Englishmen trying to dominate power over the Burmese people. In 1824, the English invaded and took over Burma but later the Burmese people began demanding control back with their actions. Through Orwell’s experience as a police officer in Burma, he begins the story by saying that he was “hated by large numbers of people”. Orwell speaks about how the Burmese had very little respect for the Europeans. Even though he was of the law, they would laugh and taunt him because of his race. Throughout the story, he expressed an overwhelming sense of unimportance for being European but was granted a moment of superiority when making the decision to kill the elephant. He stated, “They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching.” Although he knew that he would rather avoid killing the elephant, he felt the shift in power when executing the murder.

Not only was there racism expressed towards the Europeans, there was also a reciprocation of racist intent towards the Burmese. A passage stated, “it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie.” The younger European police officers felt that due to his race the human life did not matter as much as the elephant’s.

When comparing the two stories, the dynamics in power show opposite spectrums of racism. For Faulkner’s story, it expressed a normalized stigma for hidden racism due to the aftermath of the Civil War. Although people may have realized that keeping an African American as a slave was wrong, they continuously kept a separation between the two groups of people and made one feel just as powerless as a they were during the times of slavery. For Orwell’s story, it expressed a need for some sense of power after being blatantly powerless from both the Burmese and the Europeans. Both stories used the influence of race to dominate in superiority.

Word count: 555

Deven Benitez Blog Post #2 Topic #1

Deven Benitez

Topic #1

 In both “A Rose for Emily” and “Shooting an Elephant” similar characteristics were presented in that a sense of power, superiority, or prejudice toward other races from whites was common. The 1930’s was no easy time for anyone in the Unites states because it was in the midst of the Great Depression. Being a southern white was a lot easier than being an African American at this time though. Even though slavery was abolished racism still remained prominent in the south. Whites just thought they were superior to the African Americans. Whites demanded that African Americans be fired if a white man was looking for a job. Even though slavery was so long ago it seems to have left a lasting mark on how southern whites felt towards African Americans. For example, “By the time economic incentives to coerce black labor subsided with the introduction of machinery to harvest cotton in the 1930s, anti-black sentiment was culturally entrenched among local whites” (Susan Hagen). This is even evident in the writing back in the 1930s. In “A Rose for Emily” the character is centered around a white female who comes from a time where prejudice was considered normal. It is evident in the writing that Faulkner was trying to show how southern whites treated African Americans at the time. For example, “We had long since given up trying to get information from the Negro”.  You can see here that the character has been stripped of his human qualities. He can even be thought of as property in this story as he seems to do everything for Miss Emily. Another example showing the prejudice against African Americans is right in the beginning when Faulkner writes, “Alive Miss Emily had been a tradition…no Negro woman should appear on the street without an apron-remitted her taxes”. It just goes to show that African Americans were seen as people to work (aka property) and whites were celebrated. This was a similar situation in Britain/Burma in the 1930s. British invaded Burma for a desire of the teak, oil, and rubies in Burma. They ultimately justified there action by saying the place was run by a tyrant who was going to help France which was a lie. They were taking over them and civilizing the savages you can say. Even though the economy was growing under British rule almost all the wealth was in the hands of the British. It was obvious that the Burmese did not like the British as there were a series of protest and strikes against the British. It was also evident that the British really had no respect for the Burmese either as in the story, “Shooting an elephant”. It is centered around a man working as a police officer in Burma for the British. He hates his job, but is in a conflict between what he thinks is right. Orwell writes, “In the end the sneering yellow faces or young men that met me everywhere the insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance got badly on my nerves”. This just shows the hatred between the two and the superior attitude the British had toward the Burmese. Saying racist things that are meant to insult them. Also in the end of the story a man says, “An elephant is worth more than a damn Coringhee coolie”. He is saying just because this elephant killed a coolie doesn’t mean it should have been killed, but if it were to have killed a British man it would have been a different story. Both stories share a power dynamic that has a sense that the white man is better than everyone else and represents the other races in a low way that almost makes them seem less human. There is a difference in each case though in that in America the whites didn’t really justify their reasons for acting superior and putting down others. In Britain they made up a reason to feel superior or act like there trying to help others when all the really wanted were the resources that the people they felt superior to had.  

Blog Post #2 Topic # 3 Mira Daya

Angst is defined as a feeling of deep anxiety or dread. Whether it is written, filmed or even drawn, individuals have various creative outlets that allow them to express their thoughts and feelings caused by angst. This short analysis will focus on the difference in representation of SAD in T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock compared to Aaron Burstein’s Social Anxiety at 130 BPM which is performed as a slam poetry reading. 

Both T.S. Eliot and Burstein are describing a thought process that is being developed as the narrator of their poem is attending a social gathering. Eliot writes in the perspective of Prufrock while Burstein speaks for himself. Burstein’s piece presents us with a very rushed, and quick but also humorous paced tone as he is met with racing thoughts caused by his social anxiety. Since this is his presentation style, it is easy for his listeners to imagine and feel his anxiety while he is anxiously describing his night at this party. Eliot’s piece is written in a more bitter but hopeful tone as Prufrock experiences a lot of internal conflicts due to his social anxiety. The reader of Eliot’s piece may feel  ore frustration as to why Prufrock is not fulfilling his desires at his gathering

An example of angst that we are presented with is Burstein expressing paranoia and fear of judgement when he says very worriedly and in very quickly, “Am I- am I smiling too much? I don’t want to look like a creep-- FIRST IMPRESSIONS, FIRST IMPRESSIONS! I can’t let these people think I’m a creep!” In this moment, Burstein is trying to “play it smooth” in front of woman he is interested in but he is met with the fear of what people that are around him are thinking of him. Similarly, Prufrock is attempting to approach a woman when his insecurities begin to come out. Lines 37-44 show that Prufrock is paranoid that his appearance will be judged by the woman at the party which hinders his chances of connecting with one. Both Burstein and Eliot express the fear of judgement caused by deep anxiety through overanalyzing the simple act of approaching a woman. They fear that they are being watched and judged by everyone else.

To relate to a modern audience, Burstein’s way of expression is more explicit and emotional. His way of presenting is potentially more effective in keeping the interest of the audience since they get to hear him express his thoughts exactly in the perspective of when they first occurred. He says his words with a lot of animation to keep the interest of his listeners and uses language familiar to his modern audience such as slang and profanity. Burstein does not use symbols or allusions which could be because it is a live performance, he wants to make sure people can follow and relate to his poem in the moment that he performs it. Eliot’s poem is more suitable for fanatics who are looking to uncover the true meaning of experiences by analyzing sophisticated uses of imagery, symbols, and allusion. Eliot’s poem may be preferable to those who like to sit down and read poetry on their own in a slow-paced environment. Of course, it is possible both audiences can converge and that they are equally  likely to enjoy both pieces the same amount.

Word Count: 559

Blog Post #2 Topic #1

             In the text “A Rose for Emily,” Faulkner utilizes the supremacist thoughts of white men to show the evident racism of the post-Civil War era. Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” contributes to the reality of power struggle between white and colored men in the 19^th and 20^th century. While Faulkner portrays white supremacy in the South, Orwell shows how this mindset can lead to countries to asserting their dominance over another based on the color of their skin as justification.

            The brutal clash of the North and South over the conflict of slavery led to a Civil War in the United States in the 1860s. The Southerners believed they had the right to assert authority over black people because having colored skin somehow made you less of a human. Faulkner writes in a time period after the war that shows that many Southern men still believed this, resulting in their refusal to consider blacks as equal. When Emily Grierson died, the whole town went to her funeral as she was considered a monument from the past. She exuded “good” Southern ideals- she was white and she was from a wealthy family that had a name in the town of Jefferson.  Emily was exempt from paying taxes and was allowed to buy a very lethal poison with the obvious intention of using it to kill someone, without question from the townspeople. While Emily was excused from her duty as a citizen, black women had to wear aprons on the street to adhere to the appearance of a slave. Black people were called “the Negro,” instead of being called by their name. Faulkner uses the protagonist to show that whites were free from the burden of their skin color as well as from their duty to the town.

            Throughout the 16^th to 19^th century, Britain began their voyages to the New World. They established the East India Trading Company to obtain the valuable resources and riches that India had to offer.  The British put up a façade that they were helping the Burmese people become a stronger nation when in reality they just wanted the resources. Orwell was unlike the other men; he was “all for the Burmese and all against the oppressors, the British.” His motives for shooting the elephant show that he wanted the affection of the Burmese people more than the affection of the British. He put his life in danger to shoot the elephant because of the “watchful yellow faces behind.” While Orwell does this to impress the Burmese, he still enforces imperialism and asserts the power of Britain over them. He believes imperialism isn’t right but an officer must uphold the appearance that their actions are justified. Ultimately, Orwell is in an obvious confliction between supporting his nations conquests and his own morality.

            The power dynamic is these two stories show that white supremacy was not limited to one country or one race. The Civil War and the quest for the New World led to whites asserting their power over others due to stubborn conceptions from the past and the lust for power.

WC: 514