Journal #31

On Wednesday I went to Memorial Medical Center and job shadowed a physical therapist.  While there I also ended up shadowing an occupational therapist and another doctor.  I watched as the physical therapist helped people who were staying at the hospital as well as people who just come for therapy and then leave.  It was really interesting to see how they help people regain mobility and help them build up their strength.  I liked how with this job you get to work with people and really get to know them.  Although I really liked it, there is a downside to it.  Seeing the patients struggle so much just to do the stuff I do not even think about is really upsetting.  Something as simple as sitting up or moving a leg is a hard task for a lot of the people I saw at the hospital that day.  It was really cool to see how much effort the patients put into helping themselves get stronger, and also the effort the physical therapist put in to help motivate them to do so.  I think that this is a really interesting career and it is a possibility for me in the future, but I want to keep my options open and see what else is out there before I make a decision.  One thing about this that I really liked was that some patients were very appreciative of the work the physical therapists put in to help them, but then again there were also some patients who really did not like the therapy at all.  I think this job has some good things about it as well as some bad things, but I think that will hold true for most jobs.  Another thing that I really liked about shadowing this job was seeing a couple patients who were going through their last day at the hospital.  They were doing their last physical therapy session and were checking out later that day, and it was like a bright side to seeing everyone else struggle so much.  It showed me that all of the hard work really does pay off and it was really cool to watch something like that.

Journal #30

Personally, my favorite Walt Whitman poem probably one of the shortest, simplest poems published in Leaves of Grass.  My favorite Walt Whitman poem is called To You, and like I said it is very short and simple.  Being short and simple are two of the main reasons I like this poem because it is straight to the point and that makes it a lot easier to understand.  What I have found throughout these past few English classes is that a lot of Walt Whitman's poems are kind of hard to understand at first glance.  They only start to become clear after we discuss them in class, but it was different with this poem.  The first time I read through this poem I actually knew what he was talking about, which is a first for me.  The fact that this poem is so short already puts it above longer poems in my mind, but on top of that it was so simple to understand.  With most of the poems we have looked at as a class, I have a hard time analyzing them and figuring out what the author really means, but with this one there really is not much analyzing to do.  It is exactly what it says, which is the main reason I like this poem.  Another reason I like the length of this poem is that when we have to read long poems it is a lot harder to pay attention to it, but with this one its a lot easier to stay focused on what it is.  A lot of Whitman's poems seem to only make sense after we discuss them in class, but with this one I feel like I know what it is about without having it explained to me.  Just feeling like I know what a poem is about makes me like it because that does not happen very often.  With a lot of Whtiman's poems there is some hidden meaning that you have to try and figure out, but this one is so much more simple than those.


http://whitmanarchive.org/published/LG/1891/poems/24

Reflection: Chanting the Square Deific

Walt Whitman wrote Chanting the Square Deific as a piece of his book Leaves of Grass. In this poem, Whitman refers to God as four-sided, which is different from the three-sided way the Christian church views God (Oliver). There are four stanzas in this poem, and each stanza is introducing one of each side of this four-sided God Whitman writes about (Oliver).

 In the first stanza, God is called many different names. First he calls himself Jehovah, then Old Brahm, then Saturnius, and finally as Kronos (Whitman). All of these names he calls himself are the names of Gods from other cultures or religions (Oliver). In this first stanza God describes himself as being "unpersuadable, relentless" which is very different from the way God is usually portrayed (Whitman). God is usually described as being forgiving, loving, and powerful, but in Whitman's poem he is described as relentless, remorseless, and unpersuadable (Whitman).

In the second stanza, it is from the point of view of Christ, which is the second side of this four-sided view. In this stanza, Christ is described as being more kindhearted, gentle, and wise (Whitman). Christ calls himself the "mightier God" and claims he has the "kiss of affection" (Whitman). Christ also says "and my sweet love bequeath'd here and elsewhere never dies" which is more like the God that is usually described in poems and songs.

The third stanza of this poem is from Satan's point of view, and he says he is "plotting revolt" and is "comrade of criminals" (Whitman). In this four-sided view, Whitman has placed Satan and God across from each other, intentionally creating a balance between good and evil which is something Whitman believes is necessary in the lives of human beings (Oliver).

The fourth stanza is from the point of view of the "Santa Spirita", which is similar to the Holy Spirit. The "general soul" is across from Christ in this four-sided square, and is said to be the most solid part of the square.

In conclusion, this poem is about the four-sided square that makes up the self.  The Father, the Son, Satan, and the Holy Spirit are each one side of this square and all of these sides put together make up the Transcendental self.

Bibliography

Oliver, Charles M. "'Chanting the Square Deific'." Critical Companion to Walt Whitman: A Literary Reference to His Life and Work, Critical Companion. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc.

Whitman, Walt. "The Walt Whitman Archive." CHANTING THE SQUARE DEIFIC. (Leaves of Grass [1891-1892]) -. The Walt Whitman Archive. Web. 02 Apr. 2012.

Journal #29

Transcendental self is not what you do, it is who you are.  It is really hard to figure out the difference in these two things because it is not something I have ever thought about  before.  This whole thing is really awkward and weird.  A persons transcendental self is not their job or the sports they play, it is what is under the surface and it is who you are.  I honestly do not know how to figure out what my transcendental self is because its really weird to think about.

I think that my transcendental self is similar to the person everyone else sees, but maybe slightly different in some ways.  For example, when I am around people I never really volunteer to do stuff or attempt new things and I think that is because I do not want to embarrass myself or do something stupid.  I think that part of me is the same on the inside and can be seen from the outside because it is just something that I have always done.  I think the way I act changes a little depending on the people I am around because there are certain people I am comfortable around and others that I am not, and I think that this would be the same for most other people because no one is comfortable around everyone.  I think that these are two things that are probably a little bit obvious to people, and I think a lot of other people may even feel the same about themselves.  On the other hand, there are probably so parts of me that people can not see as easily from the outside, but that is the way I want it to be.

This concept is still really hard to think about and hard to understand, let alone write a blog about, but I think I now have at least a little bit of a better understanding of what a transcendental self is.  I now understand why it took Whitman so long to write Leaves of Grass and why he revised it so many times because defining your transcendental self is no easy task.

Emily Dickinson Reflection Blog- By Abby & Gabby

Nature, the gentlest mother, is written by the author Emily Dickinson. Emily Dickinson has been known for writing about her love of nature and how even in its simplicity, it is the most beautiful thing that we have ever known. Many authors wrote about their love for nature during this time. For example, Walt Whitman was a big fan, and even before him, Ralph Waldo Emerson and David Henry Thoreau.  Her poem starts out like this, “Nature, the gentlest mother, Impatient of no child, The feeblest or the waywardest,- Her admonition mild.” (Dickinson). To Emily Dickinson, Mother Nature was “the gentlest mother” and is also very patient with her children. In the second stanza it then goes on to say that she hears everything; whether it is in the forest or the hill, and that she is always “restraining rampant squirrel or too impetuous bird.” (Dickinson). Finally, in the third stanza, she goes on to say,“How fair her conversation, A summer afternoon, her household, her assembly; and when the sun goes down (Dickinson). I think that this is saying that no matter what time of day it is, or what season, or what year, Mother Nature is always beautiful. Not only is nature beautiful in the day, but even when the sun goes down, she still offers something wonderful, like the stars or the moon. I like how in her poem Emily Dickinson talks about Mother Nature as if she were an actual human. I think that it makes it more interesting for the reader and is very creative.  In the fourth stanza, Emily Dickinson says how the voice of Mother Nature encourages the "timid prayer of the minutest cricket, the most unworthy flower" (Dickinson).  In this stanza, I think what Emily Dickinson is trying to say is that everything in nature has some sort of purpose, like crickets and flowers.  Even though they are not the best part of nature, they still have a purpose.  In the fifth stanza, Emily Dickinson talks about how when the children are sleeping, Mother Nature lights the sky with her lamps (Dickinson).  I think that when she says lamps she really means stars and the moon because they come out at night when everyone is sleeping.  In the final stanza of this poem, Emily Dickinson says "With infinite affection, and infiniter care, her golden finger on her lip, wills silence everywhere" (Dickinson).  In this stanza, Emily Dickinson is saying that with a lot of care Mother Nature wills silence at night.  I think that this stanza was pretty much self explanatory because I think it means exactly what she is saying.  I think that in this stanza Emily Dickinson uses imagery because she says "her golden finger on her lip" which I think is a form of imagery.  Overall, this poem was really interesting to read because it was about Mother Nature and how she is the gentlest mother.  This poem is really cool because Emily Dickinson refers to Mother Nature as if she is a real person, not just a figure of speech. 


Bibliography

Dickinson, Emily. "1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 1. “Nature, the Gentlest Mother.” Part Two: Nature. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Web. 28 Mar. 2012.

Journal #28

Emily Dickinson wrote "I heard a fly buzz when I died", which is about a fly that interrupts the speaker as they are passing away.  In the first stanza, it says "I heard a fly buzz when I died; The stillness round my form was like the stillness in the air between the heaves of storm."  I think that in this stanza Emily Dickinson is saying how everything finally became peaceful right before her death, after being sick and heaving for long periods of time.  I think this poem sounds pretty interesting just by the first stanza because the first line is so weird it made me interested in seeing how the rest of the poem will go.  I thought the second stanza was a lot harder to analyze, so this might be wrong.  The first line of the second stanza says "The eyes beside had wrung them dry," which makes me think of people crying because this poem is about someone dying so it would  make sense that people would be crying.  The second line of the second stanza reads "And breaths were gathering sure" which I do not really understand what this means at all.  Maybe it means people were gathering or visiting this person because they are dying.  The third and fourth lines of the second stanza go "For that last onset, when the king be witnessed in his power."  I think that these last two lines mean that death is finally because when you die you are supposed to see God, who is the king, and all his power.  I think this stanza brings all the other stanzas together and helps them make more sense.  In the third stanza, Emily Dickinson talks about how she gave away all her possessions and was finally ready to die when a fly came and kind of ruined the moment.  In the first, second, third, and fourth lines of the third stanza, she wrote "I willed my keepsakes, signed away what portion of me I could make assignable,- and then there interposed a fly,"  She is saying that this character gave away everything she could and was ready for death when  a pesky fly came along and kind of ruined the peaceful moment.  The last stanza of this poem  is about how the fly interrupted death.

Bibliography

Dickinson, Emily. "128. “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.” Part Four: Time and Eternity. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems." 128. “I Heard a Fly Buzz When I Died.” Part Four: Time and Eternity. Dickinson, Emily. 1924. Complete Poems. Web. 27 Mar. 2012.