Week 10 Reading Notes B : Higuchi Ichiyō

Higuchi Ichiyō 1872-1896

(905-913)

“The first major Japanese woman writer in six entries, the poverty stricken, barely educated Higuchi Ichiyō seemed to emerge out of nowhere. “(905)

In her work she portrayed The differentiation of class simply and easily understood by common people. She did not use a luxurious style of writing in her language. But rather she created brief stories that were vibrant, luxurious, yet simple.

She was not educated as well as man was. Women in her time we’re not considered academic. It was expected for a woman to marry a man and that man and his family would take care of her.

As far as class she was not particularly well off. However, her father “... was determined to leave his hasn’t reached behind, and he managed to become a bureaucrat in Tokyo.” (905)

When her father died after failing in business, she took care of her mother and sister and Tokyo’s red light district where she was a laundress and seamstress. Her family was very poor and destitute.

And her story Separate Ways, she beautifully portrayed the heartache of a disabled young man who is made fun of for his dwarf size. He was sixteen and his name was Kichizō. He wants a circus performer before he was brought in as an umbrella appearance. He has no hope for his future, or so it seems. He seems to be very comfortable in the station he is in where he oils umbrellas day in and day out. However we see that he does want more. He wants to be with Okyō. A seamstress who comes into town.

Kichizō says to Okyō “ I’d sure be glad if someone like you would come and tell me she was my sister. I’d hug her so tight… After that, I wouldn’t care if I died. “ (909). His pain of loss and depression is so moving. He does not know his parents and says “ I have this funny dream. The few people who’ve been the least bit kind to me all of a sudden turn out to be my mother and father and my brother and sister. And then I think, I want to live a little longer. “ (909). He is always grasping for some life line to cling to. Something to make his life less lonely. He’s quite sensitive and subs for the loss of the people he cares for (910).

Finally when Okyō reveals that she plans on moving to a new home to become a mistress and that she is tired of working so hard to support herself, Kichizō can't stand it. He lashes out verbally and says “‘ All things come to him who waits,’ they say, but I wait and wait, and all like it is more unhappiness. “(913)

Week 10 Reading Notes A : The Polish Loses It's Shine

Realism Across the World

(625 - 630)

During the 19th century we experienced an expenditure in methods of travel. Trains and Steamships were among the leading message of transportation. But telegraph and other forms of communication or also on the rise. Writers could now gain access to books and works published all around the world. The more accessible the works became the more they influenced other writers. In a situation where an individual once had to travel to a far off land to gain access to their literature, no was made far more easy and inexpensive. (625)

Political revolution and industrial revolution in Britain and France influence the rise of realism in literature. (625) symbolism is also a popular literary device.

Higuchi Ichiyō : “… a Japanese woman writer, published fiction at the end of the nineteenth century that departed from Japanese literary conventions, startling and in chanting her readers with a new style and subject matter that felt fresh and lifelike.” (626)  her main focus in her writing for the poor and those who struggled in a marginalized society. Her economic viewpoint what is incorporated with impressive dialogue that sound more natural than the traditional Japanese that was used for characters in literature previously. Unlike many European writers, her style is entirely her own and she was not influenced by European novels.

“In the 19th century many artists felt he knew urgency to tell the unvarnished truth about the world, to observe social life unsentimentally, into convey it as objectively as possible.“ (626).

“The revolutionary overturning of old regimes and hierarchies, the rise of democracy in the middle class, and the industrial revolution – which created smoky, Grammy cities teaming with and impoverished working class – had already inspired writers to throw off old literary forms and conventions. “ - Translated, they were tired of glorifying and polishing their struggles. They wanted to show a life that was true, honest, and relatable. They no longer wanted sell fantasy, but to hold a mirror up to reality. (626)

Week 9 EC Reading Notes - Liu E: Man of Many Talents

Liu E 1857-1909 (602-611) ( or Liu Tieyun) talents Author of - The Travels of Lao Can“… It is sometimes considered one of the last traditional Chinese novels, it represented a compelling new kind of fiction when it first appeared in installments between 1904 in 1907. “ (602)

The tale centers around calling out corruption in government and the abuse of power. The main character and hero is portrayed in a warm and kind manner. He cares for all people he meets genuinely. And the other allows for an intimate look into the psyche of the character.

The Author’s father was a government official whose nickname was “that mad fellow “(602). Seems like he was a really cheery guy. It is interesting how many authors come from influential families or families in higher classes. It is interesting how they are able to look beyond their privilege, and see the faults in their society. Even when that may damage their social standing and reputation. It may even hinder their ability to make a living if they criticize their government. Or the hand that feeds them if you will.

Liu E joined a combination of religion in his 20s, it was a combination of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. (602)

“During the Boxer Uprising, Liu E  Learned that Russian troops in Beijing or burning huge stores of rice well many Chinese people were literally dying of hunger in the streets. He had made many friends among foreigners, and he persuaded the Russians to sell the rice at a low price instead of destroying it. This rent him great respect as humanitarian, but it also prompted his enemies to accuse him of betraying the nation and supporting the foreign invaders. “(604). Very much so a no good deed goes unpunished moment. He helped to save his fellow man with little negative effects. Yet it is still not enough.

Week 9 Progress

I feel that I am progressing in this class in a sense that I am more aware of the reading and the habit of getting everything i need to done on time. I can gauge what I need to plan time for and how much better than I could initially. The beginning of the semester was difficult due to the trouble I had finding everything that I needed to find. I think that the information is much better organized at this point and I feel much less stress about finding things now. 

I also feel that I am taking better notes in relation to connecting them when reading. I pick out themes I find in common and note those so my projects will be easier to form. I find commonalities in the authors lives, writing choices, era's, and religions. I think that keeping these ideas in mind also help me retain the literature. 

With so much reading (page wise and option wise) I feel a little sad that I cant read everything that everyone else is. I think that The option to choose your reading is such a huge advantage and blessing but at the same time I wish I was able to read everything that my classmates do so I am on the same page as they are (pun intended). However, on the other side I like that we are able to not have all of the same information, because this makes reading the projects even more interesting. 

When someone writes and essay with the assumption everyone has read it, it loses a little something for the readers who are not informed of the plot. This exercises the writer to catch the reader up on what they may not know. I feel this is a good skill to have. Long summaries are where papers and essays go to die, but a paper with no explanation loses the focus of the reader as they try to gather what the story is about or what someone is referencing to. It is almost like coming into a conversation in the middle and trying to piece together what you missed. I think that knowing that not everyone is reading the same material helps to keep this in prospective for me.

Week 9 Project Action Plan: Remember my Death

 - Pick a theme, love, freedom etc. Then Choose two sections and discuss how the subject is discussed in those selections. Use literary devices to help frame your discussion. 

* I have chosen to look at the theme of death in the literature.

* Thesis (in progress, not sure how to say what I really mean) : Death has often been seen as an end, a horrible thing to be avoided. However, These authors challenge these notions by making death beautiful or transformative. Even taking it as far as to link people as a universal bond that holds us all together. We are all human, we are all born, and we will all die. 

*Thesis 2 : Death is a universal eventuality, rather than fearing it and avoiding it one should see it as a beautiful part of life. It is a conclusion, not an ending. Nothing ever truly ends, things are simply transformed into something new. 

* Some of the literary devices used are Amplification, Analogy, Connotation, and Euphemism.  

* Authors and Ideas I feel that I can use to talk about 1) The sorrow of loss 2) The bargaining when faced with the inevitability of loss, the beauty of death, the inavoidability of death (acceptance), and the morbid yet trasformative power of death. 


John Keats (403-407, 410-415)

Ode to a nightingale (411)

“My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense, As though of hemlock I had drunk, or

emptied some dull opiate to the drains”- I think he is talking about suicide in the face of a broken heart.

Ghalib (587-601)

He bargains and accepts that death will come.

Ghalib bargains with “I agree that staying forever isn’t good – but stay with us for a few more days. “ (597). What he fails to realize (or maybe he does and just will not say), is that no amount of time ever be enough when you know the end is coming. He takes some minor comfort in the fact that his family will meet him again one day on Doomsday. However he says that “How great- that doom will have its day on one more day.” (597). I interpret this as him saying that the end of his days is when his happiness is gone from this world. And thus knowing that his wife and the only child he ever really knew would be gone, so would his happiness, and so would his life even if he survived to an old age. He concludes his poem with “It’s my destiny to continue to wish for death for a few more days. “ (598). With his life now empty and void of the lives he held so dear, he felt that there was nothing more to live for, knowing that death was not going to wait a few more days for anyone but him.

Emily Dickinson (480-490)

Seemingly obsessed/ interested with the complexity and beauty of death.

In poem 449 One person died for beauty while the other died for truth. Yet they are both “Brethren”. No matter the reason for their end, all are equal in death. And we are also not alone even in death. “We talked between the Rooms – Until the Moss had reached our lips – and covered up – our names -“ (485)

Her writing themes seems to correspond with Edgar Allan Poe a bit. I also find it refreshing for a woman poet to not shy away from the morbid for something more “ladylike”.

Charles Baudelaire (466-480)

Baudelaire found ideas in common with author Edgar Allan Poe (like Dickinson), “… Who shared his dedication to beauty, his fascination with death, and his found ideas in common with author Edgar Allan Poe, “… who shared his dedication to beauty, his fascination with death, and his passion for perfectly crafted writing.” (466). In Baudelaire’s poem

A Carcass,

he fully encompasses the passions he finds in common with Poe.

He makes death seem noble and appreciated in his wonderful way of colorfully

and morbidly depicting things that would be a true horror to behold.

Week 9 Analysis - A Closed Reading of Ghalib: The Bargaining Game

Ghalib faced a very troubling time in his life with the loss of his wife and adopted son (588). Much of

his life with steeped in tragedy, and through that tragedy came a beauty in the form of poetry. His

deep feeling allowed for exceptional expression in his artistic form. In his poem It was a essential,

we feel his grief, and the bargaining he struggled with for the lives he wish he could have kept and

bargaining for his own life to end.

He wrote this poem as a eulogy, and in it we see a tribute to his loves, and the sorrow to see them

go to their final rest where they would be embraced no more. He wished to keep his family, as

anyone would. In this eulogy he is in the middle of the stages of grieving. Throughout the poem he

does not have acceptance for the deaths of his family. Instead he relays a message of bargaining.

He does not see beauty in death, nor does he take comfort that they are with their god. He is

Bargaining with God, bargaining with Death, and bargaining most heartbreakingly for just “a few

more days” (597).

Ghalib bargains with “I agree that staying forever isn’t good – but stay with us for a few more days. “

(597). What he fails to realize (or maybe he does and just will not say), is that no amount of time

ever be enough when you know the end is coming. He takes some minor comfort in the fact that his

family will meet him again one day on Doomsday. However he says that “How great- that doom will

have its day on one more day.” (597). I interpret this as him saying that the end of his days is when

his happiness is gone from this world. And thus knowing that his wife and the only child he ever

really knew would be gone, so would his happiness, and so would his life even if he survived to an

old age. He concludes his poem with “It’s my destiny to continue to wish for death for a few more

days. “ (598). With his life now empty and void of the lives he held so dear, he felt that there was

nothing more to live for, knowing that death was not going to wait a few more days for anyone but

him.

Week 9 Reading Notes B: Ghalib 1797-1869

Ghalib 1797-1869

587-601

Ghalib in In Persian and Urdu means “Conquer” (587) since he descended from Turkish military

Settlers who became “ minor nobles in the Muslim ruling class of the nineteenth century”

Popular in in India and Pakistan in the 19th and 20th century and is now quoted through the world.

(587)

“He wrote hunting love poems and a style that still seems contemporary, and his words and

emotions are on the lips of young and old lovers everywhere on the subcontinent. “ (587)

When he was thirteen he was set in an arranged marriage with an eleven-year-old girl from a

wealthy family he then moved to Delhi in 1810. They lived with support from her family financially

and this dependence continued all their lives. (587) this perhaps this would enable him to be able to

write his poetry and not have to worry about making a living to support his young wife.

He began writing versus at seven years old in language of Urdu and began writing in Persian by nine

years old.(587)

“By the late 1840's Ghalib hi produced a large body of poetry and prose in Persian, and he had

become a prominent Indian authority on the language and it’s literature.” (587)

His life has many minor and major disappointments. From being arrested for gambling to being

refused positions in college. “He and his wife had seven children, but none survived beyond the age

of 15 months, cycle of tragedies that contributed to their emotional alienation from each other. In the

1840's Ghalib adopted his wife’s adult nephew ‘Arif as his son, but the untimely death of both ‘Arif

and his wife from tuberculosis and 1852 only added to the poets sorrows. “ (588)- so terrible that he

saw and felt so much loss and death.

His true love may have been a low caste Hindu courtesan who died and he more and publicly for her

at the funeral. He even wrote letters and poetry about her death. (588)

Urdu is a mixed language “combining Hindi syntax and Persian vocabulary.“ (588)

He helped the younger generations of poets by corresponding with them even in his deteriorating

health. (588)

“Looking back from our own times, Ghalib’s Life and poetry seem to represent the Indian

subcontinent’s transition from tradition to modernity and all its many-sides complexity.” (588)

His poetry is very sad and beautiful. In the poem now go and live in a place, he writes “if you fall ill,

no one to nurse you there – and if you die, no went to mourn you there. “ (591) in the beginning of

the poem it sounds very nice, to live alone where there are no gates. Would be nice to live

somewhere where there’s open space and fresh air. But yet there is something deeper because he

is alone, he is alone because everyone he loved has died. There is no one left to mourn him even if

he isn’t alone in the wilderness.

In the poem I’ve made my home next-door to you

He writes “… Though no one in the world can even speak her name without the word “tormentor“

having to be said.” She torments him? His heart? His patients?

“ There’s nothing in my heart, or else, even if my life were on the line, I wouldn’t hold my tongue, I

wouldn’t leave a thing unsaid.”  (593) - there is nothing is his heart, but if he were in love and his life

was on the line he would not deny this, he would openly admit to his desires. Also noted is that this

translation may be about god tormenting the humans. Interesting.

Couplets:

2- “I have hoops, I have hopes of faithfulness from her – she who doesn’t have a clue what

faithfulness might be. “ his love for the courtesan who would undoubtedly lay with others. Smile at

others. Love others. As per expected for her own survival as a woman in that profession. (594)

8- “Tonight, somewhere, you’re sleeping by the side of another lover, a stranger: otherwise, what

reason what do you have for visiting my dreams and smiling your half -smile? “ so sad and beautiful.

I love the longing and the desire for his love.

Week 9 Reading Notes A: At the crossroads of empire: Vietnam, India, China

Pages 537-546

Authors

Nguyen Du- (538) Vietnamese writer who enjoyed “ intellectual traditions of imperial China” wrote in

Vietnamese.

Poet= Ghalib (539) wrote in two languages, Persian and Urdu. He was Muslim.

Missionary = Pandita Ramabai (539). Was “... from an orthodox Hindu family, she converted to

Christianity- the religion of the British- and became a missionary, traveling to the United States and

Britain and devoting herself to reforming the lives of Indian women, who, she argued, were essential

to the wellbeing of her beloved homeland.” (539). Wrote in two languages also, English and her

native Marathi. She seemed to be a feminist. She followed her own path and did what she thought

was right. Very beautiful and inspirational.

Liu E - (539) during this time the advancement of the European technology and expansion caused

violent push back from those who believed in the

traditional Chinese way of life.

He “... supported industrialization and was willing to borrow ideas from the West, but he opposed

foreign power over China.”

“All of them had to negotiate between two or more languages and power structures. But their

responses were strikingly varied. And so together they give a rich sense of the multiple ways that

bitterness, inspiration, and responsibility combine to create the complex experience of writing at the

crossroads of powerful empires.” (541)

Historically-

1850’s- the French invaded Vietnam, Laos, and Columbia with the hope and intention of creating an

established empire that was able to compete with the British in Asia. (542) These native people were

combined into a colony called Indochina.

In India the first emperor of The Mughal Empire was Babur 1483-1530 “… Had brought with him

reach traditions of Persian art and literature as well as his Islam faith to create a new dynasty that

would rule over the Hindu majority in India for three centuries. “ (542). His grandson’s name was

Akbar the Great 1542–1605. He was known for “… Established a well organized bureaucracy and

permitted multiple religions to flourish, allowing Hindus to serve as generals and administrators. “

(542).- I find this very impressive and important to note due to many world leaders even today not

respecting other religions.

Taj Mahal was “built in 1640 as the mausoleum for the favorite wife of Mughal emperor Shah Javan,

captures the sumptuousness and grantor of this period in Indian history. “ (543)

Emperor Aurangzeb 1618-1707 was Muslim. (543)

In “... 1804, the British East India Company officially took control” of India after emperor Aurangzeb

stretched his resources to thin.

Religion –

“Buddhism and Confucianism remained the dominant religious traditions, along with Daoism, and

these merged to become a distinctively Vietnamese religion.” (541)

“French missionaries had been in Vietnam since the 16th century, and the French, especially eager

for new markets for their own products, had long been interested in opening up trade with Vietnam. “

(541). - why do missionaries care about market and trade for their country? Should t the focus on

preaching their message? Conflicting interests and motives.

Week 8 Extra Credit Reading Notes : The Life and Death of John Keats

John Keats 1795–1821 (403-407, 410-415)

John Keats “...one of the greatest of all English poets in a career that lasted less than five years. “

(403)

He suffered many tragedies in his life such as when his mother and brother died of tuberculosis.

(403 and 404).

His mother was miserable in her second marriage (after her husband died) and left her children. But

returned when she began to die. He nursed her as well as he could but she did die when he was 14

years old. (404)

Quote at the end of 1818 Keats’s Younger brother Tom died of tuberculosis, and the public threw

himself into writing, producing all of his greatest work in just one remarkable year: “ (404) - he took

his pain and transformed it into beautiful expressions of love and loss. The humanity and mortality of

all that is life is encompassed in the stories he tells.

“Keats’s Guardian decided to apprentice him to a surgeon. These were the days before anesthesia,

which meant patience with gripe and pain under the surgeons knife. Kids found this horrifying, and

he stayed with his medical training only long enough to become an apothecary – lowest wrong

medical letter – before dedicating himself to writing poetry.” (404)

“Cockneys are working-class Londoners from the heart of the city, and this name conveyed

contempt for what critics saw as the poets’ low social class, lack of education, and vulgarity.”

“Even more shockingly, they delighted in erotic imagery and sensuous language, which invited

readers to linger on bodily pleasures: “ delicious quote was a particular favorite.” (404)

“Written in a full awareness of a terrifying mortality, Keats’s poetry exults in the intensity of bodily,

sensual experience. “ (403) - such interesting ideas to mix but yet he is hailed for it.

He was quite passionate and fell in love with his neighbor named Fanny Brawne. But unfortunately

his terrible health and growing poverty stopped him from every proposing marriage. Their love is

doomed from the start. (404)

In the poem When I have fears that I make cease to be he writes a line that says “Huge cloudy

symbols of high romance, and think that I may never live to trace their shadows, with the magic hand

of chance; and when I feel, fair creature of an hour, that I shall never look upon thee more, never

have relish in the ferry power of unreflecting love; -“ (407) - I feel this is about his

Doomed love with Fanny and how he longed for a life with her but knew he could not have it. He

concluded the poem with “Of The wide world I stand alone, and think to love and fame to

nothingness do sink. “

Ode to a nightingale (411)

“My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains my sense, As though of hemlock I had drunk, or

emptied some dull opiate to the drains”- I think he is talking about suicide in the face of a broken

heart.