ESSAI
The College of DuPage Anthology
of
Academic Writing Across the Curriculum
(Volume II 2003-2004)
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois
The contents of this anthology copyright, 2004
College of DuPage
Acknowledgments
We warmly salute all submitting instructors
for their dedicated and inspired teaching which has contributed to
the successful writing of their students
and made it possible for ESSAI to continue.
We also extend our special thanks to
Jan Geesaman, Associate Dean, Liberal Arts,
Sheryl Mylan, Associate Dean, Liberal Arts,
Wendolyn Tetlow, Dean, Liberal Arts, and
Chris Picard, Vice President for Academic Affairs
for their continuing support and encouragement
of the publication of ESSAI.
Our special heartfelt editorial appreciation and pride also go to
our student-artists, Emily Schroeder and Melissa Smith,
for their graceful cover design.
Thank you all.
Foreword
We are pleased to present Volume II of ESSAI, The College of DuPage Anthology of Academic
Writing Across the Curriculum. Volume II continues to celebrate and acclaim the good writing done
by COD students in eleven disciplines during the 2003-2004 academic year: Literature,
Composition, Biology, Chemistry, History, Criminal Justice, Sociology, Anthropology, Philosophy,
Earth Science, and Humanities. As in the first volume, a variety of genres was chosen to attest to
students’ learning as articulated in writing. They include personal essays, expository writing, literary
criticism, research projects, formal reports, and arguments.
We believe readers will find much to admire in the writing that follows. If you are a student, you will
find models for your own writing because you will know the kind of writing assignments that other
students in other courses are engaged in and because preceding each selection is the instructor’s
description of the assignment. We hope that this volume will also add to our enriching dialogue –
among instructors as well as between instructors and students – about writing as a vital part of the
academic experience at College of DuPage.
It has become our editorial tradition to give a few brief words on the anthology name and the
selection rubric: first, the name ESSAI derives from Michel de Montaigne who is credited to have
created a new literary genre called essays in the sixteenth century and to whom we owe our
tradition of college essay writing. However, reflecting our philosophy of the writing across the
curriculum at all levels of learning, we resonated back to Montaigne’s seminal design in which
“essais” meant trials and attempts, “a weighing” of issues at hand (from the Latin exagium), and all
that accrued from its synonymous mental exercises. Thus, ESSAI was chosen to signify students’
minds hard at work in various academic interests, tasks, and settings, while witnessing the
laudable results of their writerly efforts and integrity.
The following is the rubric we have applied in making the selections. Papers are deemed
exemplary if they:
™ Are completed according to assignments’ purposes.
™ Have mechanics, grammar, and other technical points in place.
™ Are imaginative, creative, logical, and risk-taking with respect to
assignments’ purposes.
™ Exhibit clarity of writing with respect to purposes.
™ Follow the disciplinary format.
™ Include relevant literature reviews where required.
™ Demonstrate analytical abilities.
™ Generate interest.
Join with us in congratulating these student writers. And look forward to the third volume of ESSAI
in 2006.
The ESSAI Editorial Board:
Chikako D. Kumamoto, English
Jim Allen, English
Bob Georgalas, English
Holly M. Hubert, Teacher Preparation
Keith Krasemann, Philosophy
Chris Petersen, Biology
Ben Whisenhunt, History
“In this work, when it shall be found that
much is omitted,
let it not be forgotten that
much likewise is performed.”
Samuel Johnson, the Preface to his Dictionary
Table of Contents
Beth Bednarz
“The Silent Lie”......................................................................................................................... 1
(English 101)
Roger Darringrand
“Remote Controls and Pistols” .................................................................................................. 3
(English 102)
Lynn Dehlinger
“The MRI Inventors: Who Was Responsible?”......................................................................... 5
(Chemistry 105)
Natallia Ervin
“The Extent of Inorganic Pollution in Wetland Areas and its Affect of Aquatic Life on
Campus of College of DuPage”................................................................................................. 11
(Biology 201 and Earth Science 198)
Brittany Gross
“Thomas More: A Case Study of Character” ............................................................................ 19
(Honors English 220 – Honors History 241)
Brandi Halle, Allison Hamad, Jennifer Hixon, and Noorjabeen Naseer
“ExxonMobil: Capital Gains, Contemptible Costs” ................................................................. 23
(Honors Sociology 210 – Biology 110)
Allison Hamad
“Myth & Manipulation” ............................................................................................................ 29
(Anthropology 130)
Chris Harvey
“Gallant Conquerors” ................................................................................................................ 33
(Humanities 101)
Anna Hendrey
“My Grandfather" ...................................................................................................................... 39
(English 101)
Marsella Jorgolli
“Investigating the Factors that Determine the Distribution of the Stem-Galling Tephritid
Fly in an Old Field in Northeastern Illinois” ............................................................................. 43
(Honors Biology 103)
Michael Kundert
“Two Alternatives to the Internal Combustion Engine”............................................................ 49
(English 198)
IV
Sarah Magin
“Lavinia, Kate and Portia: The Progression of Identity”.......................................................... 59
(Honors English 228)
Daniel McCullum
“The Pledge of Allegiance and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment: Why
Vishnu and Jesus Aren't In the Constitution” ........................................................................... 63
(Criminal Justice 151)
Mary Meir
“Shakespearean Names in The Taming of the Shrew”.............................................................. 67
(Honors English 228)
Andy Morris
“A Mummy Mystery: Analysis of a Badlands Cave”.............................................................. 71
(Honors Biology 103)
My Nguyen
“Giving Up Densities of Small Mammal Granivores and Their Foraging Behaviors” ............ 77
(Biology 103)
Kristopher O’Dell
“Tuesday Night” ....................................................................................................................... 83
(English 101)
Aaron Olson
“Stop Being Lost in Translation ©” ......................................................................................... 85
(Honors English 102)
Chris Orlock
“Peckinpah: Violence, Betrayal and the American Auteur”..................................................... 89
(Honors English 154)
Richard Payton
“Usage and Effects of Color in Moulin Rouge!” ...................................................................... 93
(English 135)
Nadia Qazi
“Analysis of “School Prayer: When Constitutional Principles Clash” by Stuart Taylor Jr.
as reptd. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions, pp. 159-162” .......................................... 97
(Honors English 102)
Cara Raimon
“Will Interracial Couples Ever Be Accepted in American Society?”....................................... 101
(Honors English 103)
V
Frank Redmond
“Study of an Artist-Manifest as a Rebel: Sonic Youth” ......................................................... 107
(Honors Philosophy 250)
Jonathan Scherer
“A Comedic Response to the World’s First Artificial Satellite” ............................................. 121
(English 103)
Maya Strahl
“Island Biogeography Theory Applied to Parking Lot Islands”.............................................. 125
(Honors Biology 101)
Jasmine Thorne
“Thirst for Distinction? Abraham Lincoln’s Political Ambition and the Emancipation
Proclamation” .......................................................................................................................... 135
(U.S. History 256)
Bonnie White
“Melding Art Forms: The Future of the Art Community” ...................................................... 141
(English 103)
Michelle Ziehn
“Seed Predation of Mammals Granivory in Different Microhabitats of Tallgrass Prairie”..... 147
(Biology 103)
VI
The Silent Lie
by Beth Bednarz
(English 101)
The Assignment: The students were asked to write a narrative essay defending or refuting
the following quote: “The cruelest lies are often told in silence.”
– Robert Louis Stevenson
T
he lie starts off small. It is really no big deal, I tell myself. So I am fat. So maybe the reason I don’t
fit in with the rest of the world, is because I am fat…. I’m fat? I am 5’5’’, 113 pounds, and
everybody tells me that I am perfect. But I know that isn’t the way it really is. If that’s the way it
was, I would have friends coming out of the woodwork. If that’s the way it was, that guy who I adored so
much would have asked me out by now. And surely, if that’s the way it was, I would be happy. I should
at least be happy, I think. But I am not, so I lie. I tell myself that I am fat and ugly. I tell myself that if I
change, then everything will be okay. I am in control of my life, and I can make it better. I am starting a
diet, I decide.
The lie gets bigger somewhere along the way. I cut back a little bit, you know, with chips and
cookies and stuff like that. Actually, I just don’t eat them. I look at myself in the mirror every morning to
see if I look any fatter. I have to be aware of these things. Fat can creep up on you like a murderer in the
night.
I go down to breakfast. The smell of toast and orange juice is pouring out of the kitchen. It makes
my stomach growl. I guess skipping dinner last night is taking its toll on me. I sit at the table and watch
my mom as she prepares breakfast. She reminds me of a skilled scientist, pouring things here and there,
and randomly stirring the contents inside the pans. She picks up an egg and cracks it over the pan. I watch
its crisp white shell break into tiny pieces, and I can’t help but shudder. I think of the life that was once
inside the egg being sucked out into this cruel world. The yolk sizzles on the surface of the pan. I want to
throw up; I am jealous of that chicken that never made it. I wish I never made it, sometimes. “I’m not
hungry,” I say. “You didn’t eat dinner last night, are you sick?” my mom asks. I get up and leave. “No,
I’m not sick.”
The lie is starting to take over now. I will only eat one meal a day, I decide. Who really needs
more than that? It’s like 550 calories for a full meal. That’s more than enough. I am excited, because I can
see my bones starting to become prominent underneath my skin. When I wake up in the morning, I count
my ribs. I can only see three right now, but it’s a start.
I have to dress in baggy sweaters when I am around my mom. She wonders what is wrong with
me. She keeps saying things to me like: “You are looking too thin. Are you eating?” and “I am worried
about you.” I don’t understand why she can’t be happy for me. I am finally starting to look good, and she
can’t even be encouraging. I bet she is just jealous. I hate her for it.
The lie is my only friend. Really, now that I am happy with myself, I don’t need anybody else. I
only eat a rice cake and a half per day, and sometimes I drink some tea. I keep track of my calories in a
little blue notebook I bought from the store. Everything I write in there is very precise. I have to make
sure that I study my calorie intake. I look for things that I can cut out of my diet all together, there really
isn’t much left.
The lie is hard to hide. I am so scared because I have been feeling very dizzy lately. Yet, I don’t
want to tell anybody. When I was walking through the halls at school today, everything started to go
black. I ran into the bathroom and hid in a stall. I leaned against the yellow tiled wall all third period,
recovering. I wanted to go to the nurse, but I was scared she’d call my mom. My mom is way too nosy,
and she’d probably take me to the doctor because she thought I was sick. That’s all she ever talks about
1
nowadays.
When I get home that afternoon I am very cold. The walk home was only a few blocks from my
bus stop, but it has chilled me to the bone. I never used to get cold this easily. I wonder if the popular girls
at school who are so amazingly beautiful feel like this too. I run upstairs to the bathroom. I want a warm
shower so bad. When I am there I undress. I take off the layers and put them in a crumpled ball next to the
toilet. The feeling of blackness covering my eyes comes back. I sit down on the closed toilet seat lid. I
look in the full length mirror next to me. I can see five of my ribs, I think, right before I pass out.
That day my mom found out about my lie. She came home from work and found me lying there
beside the toilet. She saw the bones that had surfaced against my fragile skin, and she saw all five of my
ribs there on my naked body. She screamed, and called 911. She dressed me, though her hands were
shaking so badly that she could hardly move. The ambulance took me to the hospital. The doctors could
not get me to wake up. They shoved feeding tubes down my throat, they said it was one of the worst cases
of anorexia that they had ever seen. They didn’t think I would make it. My mom cried, and sat there next
to me, holding my fading hand.
Two years and a hundred therapists later, I am back to normal. I look at myself in the mirror now,
and I feel okay. I don’t feel great yet, just all right. I guess great will take time. But I now know the
difference between “fat” and “healthy”. I know that looks aren’t everything, and I have become content
inside my own skin. I also know how powerful a lie can be. I often regret the battle I faced with anorexia.
What makes me so mad is knowing that I brought all of that suffering upon myself. Scottish Novelist
Robert Louis Stevenson once said, “The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” And I realize now that no
statement could be more true.
2
Remote Controls and Pistols
by Roger Darrigrand
(English 102)
The Assignment: Write an essay in which you argue for or against the position that we
are creating a society where people no longer take responsibility for their actions. Use
your own experiences as well as outside sources and format the paper in MLA style.
I
am a child of the one-eyed demon that is so lovingly bestowed the title television in our society. My
umbilical cord was a twelve foot black wire plugged into the wall and wrapping my mouth around the
long silver antenna was the closest I came to suckling from the teat of the one who raised me. Like an
angst driven teen though, I now despise the one who brought me into the world. I hate the hours I spend
watching senseless nothingness on television instead of doing the countless number of more productive
things there are to do in life. I cringe when I think of how many books I have not read, my ability to only
speak one language, and the lack of time I spend with loved ones and then look at the amount of time I
have invested in sitting mindlessly in front of the boob-tube.
Despite all this inner anger, I still find myself constantly coming to television’s defense. When
people like John Grisham try to single out the media as the one to blame for the actions of individuals, I
cannot agree. I do see most media today to be full of nothingness and/or poor values. Forms of media are
tools, and if in the wrong hands can do horrible things. Yet, although television and other media forms in
today’s society play a major role, to single handedly blame them for the violent actions of individuals is
preposterous.
To begin, there is no denying that television and movies are two very powerful examples of
today’s media. No one can argue that the influence of having access to nearly every home in the Western
world and the power of cinema to display anything from advertising to art is something to be taken
lightly. According to Susan B. Neuman’s book, Literacy in the Television Age, even in 1987 an estimate
of seven hours and seven minutes a day was spent with the television on in the average household (11).
This has had the power to bring a homogeneous view to the media watching world in a way that has never
been witnessed before. The impact of film and television with their mixture of sight and sound has
mesmerized several generations and brought together what Marshall McLuhan called the “global village”
(31).
So what sort of messages are being conveyed by this powerful media? A look at films in today’s
theaters and a stroll through the daily television channels will show that there is not much being shown
that will educate the viewer, but more what will sell. Advertising dollars are the key to making the media
world go round and sensationalism is what keeps the audiences’ attention and wallets captivated.
Watching the summer blockbusters released into the theaters with advertisements promising action and
death, or Brit Hume of Fox News’ “Special Report” yelling out the daily news into the camera in a tone to
scare the viewer into continuing to watch will show that the media has learned to captivate their audience
with loud noises and violence. According to the video documentary Brother of Mine: Youth Violence
and Society, studies show that by the time most children reach the age of eighteen, they have seen nearly
28,000 murders just on television.
These impacting media forms of film and television have found a way into the daily lives of most
every individual in the Western world by way of selling sensationalism and captivating violence. They
have become the power which Neil Postman outlined in his book, Amusing Ourselves to Death: “People
will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think” (vii). But
for society to throw up its arm or shake its fists at television and film as the reason to blame for the ills in
today’s world is outlandish. To take the blame and shift it off the shoulders of individuals and onto the
3
makers of film and television programming is nothing more than a lack of responsibility of media
consumers to take into account their own actions.
Those looking to blame the media instead of the consumer tend to be searching for the scapegoat
with the most money. Seldom do we see the people who committed horrible acts of crime blaming
media, but the lawyers who want to blame the makers of media for allegedly brainwashing their clients.
Lawyers have found that instead of looking at the blatant facts showing that their clients have chosen to
pull a trigger and kill, they would rather point the finger at other indirect possible influences on their
clients who have committed the crimes. Rarely is there seen a case of lawyers wanting to sue the parents
of their client or others who might have influenced the guilty party who do not have a large enough bank
account. Even if influences other than media were being singled out, it would still be an absurd view not
to hold the guilty party accountable for his or her actions. This is yet another example of how people
have let the law take away from the accountability of individuals or parental duties. As Christopher Daly
writes in his essay “How the lawyers Stole Winter,” “[b]y focusing on liability and not teaching our kids
[…] we are making their world more dangerous’ (404).
No matter how strong film, television, and all other forms of media may be in society, people
cannot let the idea that they no longer have control over their lives take control over them. The decision
to pick up the remote control or a pistol is not a decision made by those who make media. No matter how
deplorable or sensationalistic media may become, to use it as the excuse for the actions of individual
people is unacceptable. As Oliver Stone wrote, “[o]nce grown and gone horribly wrong, those children
must answer for their actions—not Hollywood directors” (609).
So, I could sit and complain how the media of today has devalued my life by robbing me of my
best years. Scholars can wax poetically over how the inanimate object shining brightly for seven hours
and seven minutes every day in nearly every home is to blame for the loss of the fundamental values in
the American family. But until consumers choose to become responsible for what they take in, no one
can blame the horridness of their own actions on anyone but themselves. If better values and a better
society are what people want, then let us rise up and take responsibility for what we say and do. Let us
fight as individuals to foster what we plant in our minds and the minds of our children. But please be
civil. Let’s wait and do it during a commercial break.
Works Cited
Brother of Mine: Youth Violence and Society. Dir. Karen Wookey. 1999. Videocassette. Films for the
Humanities and Sciences. C 1999.
Daly, Christopher B. “How the Lawyers Stole Winter”. Patterns for CollegeWriting. 9th ed. Eds. Laurie
G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004 402-405.
McLuhan, Marshall. The Gutenberg Galaxy: the Making of Typographic Man. Toronto: University of
Toronto Press. 1965 c 1962.
Neuman, Susan B. Literacy in the Television Age. Norwood NJ: Ablex c. 1991.
Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death. New York: Viking 1985.
Stone, Oliver. “Memo to John Grisham: What’s Next – ‘A Movie Made Me Do It’?” Patterns for
CollegeWriting. 9th ed. Eds. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2004. 607-609.
4
The MRI Inventors: Who Was Responsible?
by Lynn Dehlinger
(Chemistry 105)
The Assignment: Write a research paper by choosing a contemporary topic directly or
indirectly related to chemistry: food, medicine, drugs, environment, scientific research,
industry, manufacturing, etc. Emphasize those aspects of the topic that impact chemistry.
Your article can be polemical, making an argument for a particular policy or strategy; it
can also be expository, giving an account of a chemical development.
O
n October 6, 2003 Paul Lauterbur, a University of Illinois professor, and Peter Mansfield from the
University of Nottingham, were awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for
their part in developing the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). However, there is controversy
over who was first to demonstrate this concept. A scientist named Raymond Damadian also had a claim
in inventing the idea with his patented model in 1974 of the first human body scanner.
In order to determine why professors Lauterbur and Mansfield were credited for their discoveries
as opposed to Damadian, it is important to trace the MRI’s roots and how these three men contributed to
its evolution.
The MRI scanner came into being because of work of scientists dating back to the 1930s.
Nuclear magnetic resonance or NMR is a technique in which magnetic fields and radio waves cause
atoms to give off tiny radio signals. For years scientists used this technology for important analytic
methods in studying chemical compounds.
Paul Lauterbur was such a scientist who, in the early 1970s, was experimenting with NMR
technology, but was often frustrated when his data were ruined by what seemed to be meaningless signals.
However, during an experiment he had a flash of insight and realized that the signals he was observing
were precise locations of the atoms in a mixture he was studying in a test-tube. He further concluded that
with variations of signals he could provide imaging information about locations of different atoms and
their densities.
Upon further successful experimentation, Lauterbur produced the very first magnetic images by
using a back projection method, which moved from a single dimension image to a spatial dimension
image. In 1973 he published a short paper in Nature describing a technique, which he termed
zeugmatography, (which comes from the Greek word zeugmo meaning yoke or joining together). The
first images published were two tubes of water. A year later, Lauterbur published images of a clam, and
in 1974 he provided an image of thoracic cavity of a mouse.
5
Lauterbur’s first images and ideas published in Nature.
Lauterbur’s ideas opened up the field of imaging, and many scientists tried to develop this theory.
Peter Mansfield headed up a group in Nottingham, which experimented a great deal with NMR. He
developed a technique referred to “echo planar,” which enhanced NMR images by utilizing gradients in
the magnetic field. Through mathematically analyzing signals, he increased the speed of imaging, thus
allowing for larger images to be constructed in “real time” from consecutive slices across a human body.
His first images were a cross section through a finger in 1977, and an image through a human abdomen in
1978.
During the early 1970s, another scientist named Raymond Damadian had a different perspective
on NMR. He earned a medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and pursued a medical
research career. Upon working with NMR technology, he experimented with electrically-charged
particles in the body. He devised an idea that using an antenna wrapped around a human body, one can
look from atom to atom, and tissue to tissue without ever invading the body. He felt this would be useful
for detecting abnormalities such as cancerous tissues. He tested his hypothesis on cancerous liver
samples from rats using NMR equipment, basing his research on the fact that cancerous tissue has higher
water content than healthy tissue. His experiments proved to be successful and in 1971 published his
findings in the journal Science. He concluded in his writings that cancerous tissues could be detected in
humans if a large-scale scanner could be built. In 1974 he filed for a patent of such a machine.
He and his colleagues built such a machine in 1977, which Damadian named the “Indomitable.”
This same machine produced a crude image revealing through computer data points, which were filled in
with colored pencils, a two-dimensional view of a human chest including the heart and lungs.
6
Damadian’s model patented in 1974.
The modern MRI scanner of today uses all of the techniques and ideas these three men worked on
so diligently. Images are produced using powerful magnets to enclose around portions of a body noninvasively. This in turn causes the nuclei of the hydrogen atoms in body tissues to act as microscopic
needles. When exposed to a strong magnetic field, the hydrogen atoms stand “at attention.” When small
radio signals submit pulses to their nuclei, the energy content of the nuclei changes. After the pulse, a
resonance wave is emitted and the nuclei return to their original state. This allows the location of the
atoms to be mapped and an image is created.
Reprinted from Chicago Tribune, October 7, 2003
The human body is comprised of about two-thirds water, and this is highly useful in producing
MRI images for medicinal applications. Each year more than 60 million MRI scans are conducted
worldwide. The MRI has been instrumental in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. It has also been
extremely useful in determining abnormalities of the brain and spinal cord, and for diagnosing
inflammation due to multiple sclerosis.
The controversy remains after both Lauterbur and Mansfield were awarded the Nobel Prize.
Given the dates of the early thoughts and inventions it is difficult to distinguish which scientist was the
true inventor of the MRI.
7
Damadian in 1971 accomplished an enormous benefit to the medical world by exposing his ideas
of using magnetic resonance technology to show that cancer cells differ in their resonance signals to that
of normal cells. He also is responsible for coining the acronym MRI. Lauterbur claims that Damadian’s
work had no influence on his, when also in 1971 he wrote in a notebook his use of NMR images and had
a friend sign it, which is a common practice when a scientist believes he has made a patentable discovery.
Many accredited scientists and members of the Nobel Prize nominating committee feel that Lauterbur and
Mansfield were well deserved of receiving their Nobel Prize awards.
Mike Smith, a specialist in MRI research at the University of Leeds, UK, feels that Lauterbur was
the first to obtain crude images using NMR. He states, “Before that, NMR was only used for analyzing
chemical compounds.”
Other supporters of Lauterbur include Dr. Alexander Margulis, chairman of the department of
radiology at UC San Francisco, and he states “Damadian made words. But Lauterbur made an image, and
that is the true difference.”
Andy Coghlin, writer for NewScientist.com news service, writes that Mansfield is considered to
be responsible for innovative techniques that made MRI widely available. Mr. Coghlin also writes that his
“echo-planar” technique is the bedrock of 22,000 MRI scanners worldwide.
Damadian was overlooked for the Nobel Prize for various reasons according to some experts. His
patent that he filed for in 1972 included the idea but no description of a method or technique of using
NMR to scan the human body. The EMRF Foundation feels that using his techniques for diagnosing
cancer or characterizing malignancies would be impossible using his apparatus. In a report published this
year by this same foundation, it states that his apparatus was not an imaging device and could not be used
for imaging.
It is my opinion that both Professors Lauterbur and Mansfield were the proper recipients to be
awarded the Nobel Prize. It was Lauterbur’s findings that led to the creations of imaging using variations
in magnetic fields. Mansfield’s mathematical analysis work took the images even further, thus enabling
the world today to use modern MRI scans for incredible purposes.
I feel that Damadian’s inventions and contributions were also important, but were not the true
forerunners of the MRI scanners used today. The company FONAR, which Damadian himself started, is
a seller of MRI scanners. This same company adopted the techniques of Lauterbur’s imaging for its own
machines.
The decision that had to be made for who would be nominated for the recent Nobel Prize had to
be difficult. All three men were enormous contributors to the evolution of the MRI scanners used today.
FONAR, Damadian’s company is currently working on new scanners and filing patents related to
MRI. On September 16, 2003 he filed a patent, along with other inventors for an open-entry MRI scanner
to provide easier access to the patient.
Small scanners are being developed which would be simply placed on parts of the human body
such as an arm, knee or foot. MRI research is being done on brain mapping, which refers to scanning a
person’s brain while performing tasks such as squeezing a ball, to better understand how the brain works.
Researchers are also developing new ways to image strokes in their earliest stages using MRI.
MRI has only been used for medical purposes for the last 20 years, and the future is incredibly
exciting. It is a limitless field and many new developments will surely come about in the years to come.
Works Cited
Bellis, Mary. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). What You Need to Know About. Retrieved
October 19, 2003, from <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bldamadian.htm. >
Coghlin, Andy Scientist.com news service. Retrieved October 22, 2003 from
<http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994235>.
8
Dalton Jr., Richard J. Prize Eludes MRI Developer. Newsday.com. Retrieved October 19, 2003
from <http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-bzmri1007,0,1539531,prin…>.
EMRF Foundation. A Short History of Magnetic Resonance. A European Point of View. EMRF,
Information and Education on the Web. Retrieved October 22, 2003 from
<http://www.emrf.org/FAQs%20MRI%20History.html>.
Gould. Todd A. How MRI Works. How Stuff Works.com. Retrieved October 19, 2003 from
<http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/mri8.htm>.
Kotulak, Ronald, and Janega, James. (2003, October 7). Professor at U. of I. gets Nobel For
MRI. Chicago Tribune, p. 1.
Lane, Earl. Nobel to EX-Ller: Shares prize for MRI innovation. Newsday.com. Retrieved
October 19, 2003 from <http://newday.com/news/health/nyhsnob074348467oct07,0,6…>.
The University of Manchester. History of MRI. Retrieved October 19, 2003 from
<http://www.isbe.man.ac.uk/personal/dellard/dje/history-mri/history…>.
Wakefield, Julie. (2003, June) The “Indomitable” MRI: Raymond Damadian’s Medical Imaging
Machine Set Off a Revolution—But Not Without Controversy. Smithsonian. Full-text
retrieved October 19, 2003 from Expanded Academic ASAP. College of DuPage Library,
Glen Ellyn, Il. 19, October 2003.
9
10
The Extent of Inorganic Pollution in Wetland Areas and its Affect of Aquatic Life on Campus of College
of DuPage
by Natalia I. Ervin
(Biology 201 and Earth Science 198)
The Assignment: Conduct original research and write a paper about the research that
follows a format in a particular scientific journal.
T
he purpose of the study was to examine the extent of inorganic pollution and its affect on the
species diversity in the nine wetland areas on the campus of College of DuPage, IL. Selective
chemical tests of water indicated excessive chloride level in seven of the wetlands, with only two
natural marshes having low levels. The assemblages of macroinvertebrates found among the sites as
summarized using correspondence analysis, were correlated to chloride level possibly indicating that
chloride is affecting the macroinvertebrate communities. High level of chloride is believed the result of
inputs of de-icing materials used on parking lots and sidewalks. Nitrate levels were generally lower (< 0.5
ppm), but were negatively correlated to Shannon diversity index of the macroinvertebrates. Sources of
nitrate were the surface runoff and agricultural use (excessive amount of fertilizers) in the past.
Introduction
Human activities along wetlands often adversely affect these ecosystems by reducing habitat
complexity (Whitter et al. 2002). Wetlands located in human-dominated landscapes receive sediments,
nutrients, and other non-point source pollutants in excess of natural inputs, and studies have shown
negative effects on wetland species and ecosystem functioning with such impacts (Poiani and Bedford
1995). Throughout much of North America, many wetlands have been modified from their original state
due to pollution (Reid 1961).
Marked changes occur in the species abundance and composition of all types of aquatic
communities, including benthic macroinvertebrates (Committee on Inland Aquatic Ecosystems 1996).
Biomonitors offer scientists a way of evaluating the biological effects instead of trying to infer these
effects through chemical analysis (Root 1990). Whitter et al. (2002) conclude that invertebrates more
accurately reflect water quality and tend to have more direct habitat impacts on the invertebrate
community than on that of the fish. The Biodiversity Recovery Plan reports that insect communities in the
Chicagoland area, and the location of the present study, have been negatively effected by pollution
(Chicago Region Biodiversity Council1999).
In the following study, biomonitoring of the wetlands located on the campus of College of
DuPage, IL was conducted. The major sources of pollution of these wetlands were predicted to be salts
from de-icing parking areas during winter, fertilizers inputs from lawn care, and atmospheric deposition.
One of the predictions of the study was that higher concentration of pollutants would cause a decline in
the species diversity and a change in the assemblage structure of the macroinvertebrate communities.
Ponds and marshes located closer to the roads and buildings were predicted to have higher salt
contamination from roads and parking lots. Finally, the artificially made reservoirs were predicted to be
more polluted than natural formed marshes due to their function as store-water retention basins and lack
of naturalized borders.
11
Study Area
The nine wetlands were located on the campus of College of DuPage, IL. The area was farmed up
until 1965 when it was sold for building of the college. Hoddinott Marsh, Lambert Marsh, and the SRC
Marsh were originally wetlands, although they have been modified by habitat recreation of the
surrounding land to include tallgrass prairie. These marshes function as preserves with a purpose to
maintain diversity of life forms. The West Retention Pond (RP), IC RP, and South RP date approximately
30 years, while the SRC RP and AC date approximately 20 years. All retention ponds were created for
collection of snowmelt and storm water. The North Marsh was created by obstruction of ground water
during campus construction. The marsh, which is 30 years in age, has since naturalized.
Methods
The study was performed in April, 2004 between 10 A.M. and noon. Selected chemical
measurements were taken using LaMotte chemical kits (LaMotte Chemical Co., Chestertown, Maryland).
Sampling of macroinvertebrates was done using dip nets (Mason 1996). Macroinvertebrate diversity was
computed using the Shannon diversity index (Zar 1999). The ordination technique of correspondence
analysis (CA) was used to summarize the community structure of macroinvertebrates along a two–
dimensional plane. The first coordinate from CA and Shannon diversity biotic index were tested for
relationship to chemical measurements using linear correlation as to infer causal relationships.
Results
The biotic measurements and concentrations of the tested chemicals are given in Table 1.
According to water quality standards of IEPA (2000), concentration of chloride was exceeded for three
areas: West pond, AC Pond and South Pond. Overall, chloride concentration was ranged from 72 to 1132
ppm, and were elevated in seven of the nine sites. Inventories of macroinvertebrate communities for nine
wetland areas are given in Table 2.
The first axis of CA was correlated to chloride and also cyanide concentrations while Shannon
diversity was negatively correlated to nitrate concentration (Table 3, Figure 1).
Discussion
resence of nitrates suggests some anthropogenic inputs on the given area. Fertilizers applied in
lawn care are potential source of nitrate pollution (Hudak 2000). Although low in concentration, nitratenitrogen was still negatively correlated to Shannon diversity. Possibly, this could be evidence of a shift in
community structure to this change in nitrate-nitrogen. A hazard of nitrates on the aquatic life is the
process of eutrophication that leads to dominance of the certain species of the phytoplankton and
extinction of some macroinvertebrate species.
Although, correlation between cyanide and the first axis was found, this result was not considered
important due to too low concentration and one suspect higher reading. Moreover, even high
concentration of cyanide at pH 8 is innocuous (Turkman 1996). In this study, six out of nine water
reservoirs had pH 8.
oncentration of chloride in ponds located closer to the roads, sidewalks, and buildings was higher
than for other wetland areas as predicted due to contamination of those with potassium and sodium
chlorides that were used on pavement during winter time. High chloride levels were not artifacts of only
the artificial wetlands as Hoddinott Marsh was found to have concentrations exceeding 500 ppm. This
indicates mobility of chloride despite the naturalized terrestrial borders to the marsh. The correlation to
the first axis of CA suggests chloride is impacting the assemblages of macroinvertebrates inhabiting the
wetlands.
Although low in concentration, nitrate-nitrogen was still negatively correlated to Shannon
12
diversity. Possibly, this could be evidence of a shift in community structure in response to nitratenitrogen. Even low levels of nitrate may alter the community of phytoplankton in which many other
organisms ultimately depend, thereby affecting food webs to which macroinvertebrates belong.
Further study of the relationships between living organisms and their surrounding environment is
necessary to establish causal links. Based on high levels of chloride measured form the wetlands, efforts
to reduce chloride inputs are waranted to avoid faunal collapse within the wetland communities.
Works Cited
Chicago Region Biodiversity Council 1999. Biodiversity Recovery Plan. Chicago Wilderness, Chicago,
IL.
Committee on Inland Aquatic Ecosystems. 1996. Freshwater Ecosystems: Revitalizing Educational
Programs in Limnology. National Academy Press. Washington D.C.
Hudak, P.F. 2000. Nitrate and chloride concentrations in the High Plains Aquifer, Texas. International
Journal of Environmental Studies 57:563-577.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). 2000. Illinois Water Quality Report 2000. Illinois
Environmental Protection Agency Bureau of Water. Springfield, IL.
Mason, C.F. 1996. Biology of Fresh Water Pollution, 3rd ed. Longman Group, UK.
Poiani, K. A. and B. L. Bedford. 1995. GIS-based nonpoint source of pollution modeling: Consideration
for wetlands. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 50:6-13.
Reid, G.K. 1961. Ecology of Inland Waters and Estuaries. Reinhold Publishing Corporation, New York,
NY.
Root, M. 1990. Biological monitors of pollution. BioScience 40:83-86.
Turkman, A. 1998. Cyanide behaviour in soil and groundwater and its control. International Journal of
Environmental Studies 54:37-45.
Whitter, T. R., S.G. Paulsen, D.P. Larsen, S.A. Peterson, and A.T. Herlihy. 2002. Indicators of ecological
stress and their extent in the population of northeastern lakes : A regional-scale assessment.
BioScience 52:235- 247.
Zar, J. H. 1999. Biostatistical Analysis, Fourth Edition. Simon &Shuster, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
13
Figure 1. Negative correlation between nitrates concentration and Shannon species diversity index.
Shannon Diversity = 1.4633 - .4975 * Nitrate-N
Correlation: r = -.6976
1.7
1.6
Shannon Diversity
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
1.1
1.0
-0.1
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
Nitrate-N
14
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
95% confidence
Table 1. Concentration of chemicals statistical data from nine different areas in parts per million.
RP=retention pond; NH3-N=ammonia/ammonium-nitrogen; NO3-N= nitrate-nitrogen; Cl-=chloride; CN=cyanide; DO=dissolved oxygen; CO2=dissolved carbon dioixide; Dim 1=first coordinates from the first
dimension of correspondence analysis; PO4=phosphate; Sh. Div= Shannon diversity.
Sample site
Hoddinott
Marsch
West
Pond
IC
RP
AC
RP
NH3-N
1
0
0.5
0
0
0.5
0.5
1
0.5
NO3-N
0.2
0
0.1
0
0
0.44
0
0
0
Ortho-PO4
0.2
0
0.1
0.2
0.2
0.2
0
0
0
354
560
260
100
300
200
1132
72
508
pH
8
8
8
7
7
8
7.9
8
8
Alkalinity
0
0
190
0
0
0
0
0
0
Hardness
260
295
320
240
320
300
460
500
340
CN-
0
0.2
0
0
0
0.1
0.25
0
0
DO
5
14
23
3.6
6
4
10.6
7
12.8
CO2
0
0
14
0
0
10
5
0
0
Sulfide
0.2
2
0.1
0.2
0
0.2
0.1
0.1
0
Dim 1
-0.7487
-0.7717
1.14
1.497
Cl
-
Sh. Div.
Lambert SRC SRC
Marsh Marsh RP
North South
Marsh Pond
-0.6932 -0.4856 -0.134 -0.634 -1.3544 -0.6933 -0.7276
1.667
1.535 1.408 1.051
15
1.467
1.499
1.239
Table 2. Total number of macroinvertebrates collected from nine wetland areas on the campus of the
College of DuPage, Illinois.
Group of
Hoddinott
Macroinvertebrates Marsh
West
Pond
Lambert
Marsh
SRC SRC
Marsh Pond
IC
North South
Pond Marsh Pond
AC
Pond
Physa
15
1
1
26
4
0
0
2
7
Lymnaea
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
3
7
Unionidae
0
0
0
1
6
1
5
0
1
Oligochaeta
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
Hirudinea
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Crayfish
0
1
3
0
0
4
0
0
0
Hyallela azteca
12
14
0
8
0
13
0
25
15
Pisauridae
0
0
1
3
0
0
1
0
0
Red Acari
0
0
0
5
0
1
0
0
0
Poduridae
0
0
0
0
0
0
100
0
0
Caenia
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
Tramea
1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
Argia tibialis
9
4
0
0
0
0
0
4
23
Trichocorixa
2
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
Notonecta
8
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Gerris
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
16
Table 2 (continued)
Group of
Hoddinott
Macroinvertebrates Marsh
West
Pond
Lambert
Marsh
SRC SRC
Marsh Pond
IC
North South
Pond Marsh Pond
AC
Pond
Deronectes
14
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
Peltodytes
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
Aedes
0
0
0
2
0
0
13
0
0
Cricotopus
0
0
0
2
0
0
8
1
1
Blood Midge
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
3
0
Prionocera
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Stratiomys
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
17
Table 3. Correlation coefficients testing relationships of physical factors to ordinate assemblage structure
of macroinvertebrates and Shannon diversity. * denotes significance (p<0.05).
Variable
Coordinate Dimension 1
Shannon Diversity
Ammonia-N
-0.10
-0.41
Nitrate-N
-0.29
*-0.78
Ortho-Phosphate
-0.21
-0.41
Chloride
*0.78
0.13
pH
-0.11
-0.41
Alkalinity
0
0
Hardness
0.47
0.33
Cyanide
*0.87
0.01
Dissolved Oxygen
0.14
0.27
Carbon Dioxide
0.31
-0.51
Sulfide
-0.25
0.28
18
“Thomas More: A Case Study of Character”
by Brittany Gross
(Honors English 220 – Honors History 241)
The Assignment: Write a formal paper that examines the following question: Why was
Thomas More executed? Have an argument (a contestable point), and consider and
develop it from literary and historic perspectives.
C
enturies before debates raged among politicians concerning the justification for capital
punishment, one of the most common means for disposing of nuisances to the royal head of state
was execution. Whether the kings of antiquity through the 17th century actually bellowed, “Off
with his head!” that classic interpretation nonetheless paints a rather colorful and fairly accurate portrait
of the handling of such dissenters who simply refused to keep their unpopular ideas to themselves. With
these things in mind, why would the isolated case of one such political rebel make a dent in the plane of
history worthy of contemporary scrutiny? For one thing, the execution of Sir Thomas More in 1535
sprang not from an inability to stifle his own tongue, as it had for so many of those early, unfortunate
advocates of free speech, but rather from an inability to activate it. More died at the hands of a king so
frustrated with his subject’s deafening silence as to find no other means but execution to force him to
speak his mind.
This reasoning on the part of England’s King Henry VIII, the same ruler so notorious throughout
books and common memory for his laziness, multiple wives, and general plundering of the English
treasury, stems from the larger concept of martyrdom. Martyrdom is a willingness to die for one’s beliefs
and is the ultimate test of the sanctity of those beliefs in one’s own mind. Thomas More, as the Catholic
Church argues by their designation of his sainthood, could easily be construed as a martyr, or, for that
matter, even as a type of Christ, perishing unjustly at the hands of a royal Pontius Pilate. The posthumous
glorification of More’s integrity even extended to the 1588 sailing of the Spanish Armada, whose men
“were promised the aid of the saints and martyrs of England, including Thomas More” (Guy 204).
In the midst of such glowing saintly fame, the true image of the man may be easily obscured, and
imperative questions of motive may be left unanswered. For what was More actually martyred? To what
consuming allegiance did he surrender his life: to his own individual conscience, to some mystical,
fatalistic destiny, or to his unbending sense of conciliaristic religious duty? In reality, it was a
combination of these divisive internal forces, and More’s tragic failure to sufficiently reconcile them, that
would eventually cost him his life.
Human nature’s desire for simplicity, however, leads many to dangerously minimize the
cumulative effect of the above motives in favor of accentuating each force separately. Viewing the first
factor, his personal conscience, as the main culprit in his death encapsulates the standpoint professed by
historical playwright Richard Bolt, who includes in the preface of A Man For All Seasons his
“explanation and apology for treating Thomas More, a Christian saint, as a hero of selfhood” (Bolt xiv).
Yet in the text of the play itself, during More’s trial, the Duke of Norfolk pleads with More, “(Leaning
forward urgently) Your life lies in your own hand, Thomas, as it always has” (Bolt 151). This clearly
indicates a penchant for the second theory of an inevitable martyrdom, further supported by More’s
nonchalant declaration that “[d]eath...comes for us all, my lords” and by his melancholic rhetorical
question of how any Christian could refuse a passing less horrible than that of “Our Lord Himself,”
should God so appoint him to suffer such an end (Bolt 150-151). Bolt’s handling of the causes behind
Thomas More’s death thus indicates an insightful understanding of them individually but fails to integrate
and fully explain the complex interplay of these forces within More’s heart and mind.
To examine the final potential key issue in More’s death, the playwright must be exchanged for
19
the true historian. John Guy proposes that More’s devotion to his religious conciliarism ultimately
destroyed him, as he believed not in the merit of individual Scriptural interpretation but in that of a
counsel of mature believers (Guy 199-200). Though he was a “papal minimalist” at heart, “More’s
rejection of the Act of Supremacy must have pushed him closer towards Rome” (201, 203). According to
Guy, the concept of letting one’s conscience act as the internal governing authority actually aligns more
with King Henry VIII’s ideals than with those of his Lord Chancellor (204), in which case Bolt is guilty
of thoroughly misconstruing the historical evidence (Guy “Tudor Age” 186).
Therefore, it becomes clear that these several traditional theories regarding the underlying cause
of Thomas More’s execution are incompatible with one another, at least when considered independently.
This would seem to necessitate the existence of one true perspective, but in reality, things are simply
never as clear-cut as one might prefer them to be. “Reality is inevitably more complex, less glamorous,
and more interesting than myth” (Guy “Tudor Age” 223). Ambiguity and paradox obscure the past,
leaving those who attempt to examine and decipher it with the daunting task of filling in the gaps. From
this perspective, the death of Thomas More provides a wonderful case study for interpretive history. Of
the half dozen staple theories often given for his execution, single account offers a complete explanation,
because they each focus too narrowly on specifics. To understand the entirety of More’s life and death,
one must instead dwell upon that expansive, enduring legacy that permeated them both: his character.
At first glance this might seem hardly distinct from that popular proposition of conscience, but
with careful inspection, the delicate contrast becomes visible. Conscience consists of the ideal self, that
zenith to which every human being aspires as his personal definition of perfection in thought, word, and
deed. Character consists of the actual self, that collage of achievements and failures, as judged by the
conscience, which compose the continually evolving moral tapestry of every person’s lifetime. It was
More’s character, not his conscience or any other personal beliefs, that ultimately led to his death, for it is
one’s lifelong self-portrait that necessarily prescribes and portrays its final state.
If indeed character killed Sir Thomas More, then where does that leave his king and
(traditionally) his murderer? As one of the “victims of the [Treasons] act, who were in reality martyrs to
Henry’s royal vindictive egoism, [and] were cruelly executed in the summer of 1535,” More appears as an
almost passive figure when contrasted with Henry VIII’s fiery disposition (Guy “Tudor Age” 247). The
fact was that the king needed this gentle Chancellor’s approval of his proposed marriage to Anne Boleyn,
to replace the barren Queen Catherine. Recognizing the value of character such as More’s and the
international respect it would garner for the proposed solution to his precarious predicament, Henry
naturally wanted to capitalize on his friend’s impeccable integrity, thereby gaining the necessary public
support for his daring wife exchange (Bolt 98). “The King’s a man of conscience and he wants either Sir
Thomas More to bless his marriage or Sir Thomas More destroyed” (Bolt 119). With the virtuous More as
his moral alibi, Henry would feel invincible (as he did not subscribe to conciliaristic views); without him,
the king would face the messy task of reconstructive surgery on his national religion and worldwide
reputation.
These concerns boiling up in Henry’s mind, he tells More, “Your conscience is your own affair;
but you are my Chancellor!” (Bolt 56). Thomas More, as much as any person before or since, was a
product of his society; he did not live in a vacuum but was obviously under a great deal of pressure to
reconcile his personal beliefs with the demands of his sovereign and both of those with the duties of his
conciliaristic perspective. In addition, he struggled with the concern for his family’s well-being. More had
made himself an individualist by choosing for himself which institutions he would follow but a
conformist by, having once chosen, becoming a prisoner of his own convictions, refusing to change his
stance for anyone.
Lost in this labyrinth of conflicting interests, More took refuge in the safe haven of silence (Bolt
945-95). Whether he was unable to make up his mind or simply unwilling to accept the world’s reaction
to his declaration of loyalties, More chose to hold his tongue. This unconventional “solution,” which
hardly seems fitting for the author of Utopia’s societal emphasis on persuasion (More 1), eventually
destroyed him. Ironically it was his refusal to express his position that led to a premature silencing of all
that his revolutionary mind conceived. “Hiding in the thickets of the law,” More underestimated himself,
20
reassuring his wife that, “I’m less important than you think, Alice” (Bolt 67, 59). He thus drastically
misjudged the impact of his suppressed opinions. “This ‘silence’ of his is bellowing up and down
Europe!” exclaims Thomas Cromwell, the vicegerent of spirituals to King Henry (Bolt 98).
In attempting to satisfy each of his diverse interests, from conscience and royal loyalty (Bolt 68)
to religion and family (90), More gradually lost his footing in the slippery political arena that was Henry
VIII’s English court. As L.B. Smith writes in her examination of Henry’s motives, “[t]he man of
conscience, if he is also a ritualist set upon convincing himself of his innocence, can be far more ruthless
than the lover blinded by passion or the statesman absolved of his crimes by state necessity” (111). The
king attributed the deaths of his young children by Catherine to their biblically immoral union, believing
divorce to be the only way to redeem his soul and his posterity wrathful curse of the Lord (Smith 109,
113). This the Pope refused, and in frantic rebellion, Henry refused the papal authority of the Church and
“finally threw off England’s allegiance to Rome in an unsurpassed burst of revolutionary statute-making”
(Guy “Tudor Age” 246).
As Chancellor, after Thomas More refused to sign the king’s Act of Succession presumably
because of its denial of papal power, the issue became one of navigating the murky waters of legalese. As
it turned out, More’s character, when put to the test, would not allow him to sign, but in not disclosing
any opinion at all, his “silence was not silence at all but most eloquent denial” (Bolt 152). Revealing his
impressive intellect and legal knowledge, More countered with the ancient dictum “he who keeps silence
seems to consent,” (Guy 190). “If, therefore, you wish to construe what my silence ‘betokened,’ you must
construe that I consented, not that I denied” (Bolt 152). Of course, this reasoning rests on one’s
definitions of consent, assent, and dissent/denial, for which the legal terms themselves appear to have
been rather blurred.
This heady jargon and More’s desperate declarations of his defensive logic are all nothing more
than last-ditch attempts to shield himself with the shadowy cloaks of noncommittal silence. “Obscurity’s
what I have need of now” (Bolt 91), he says. When this failed to protect him, More’s only recourse lay in
accepting his fate. As he “never missed an opportunity to speak” (Guy 198), it seems highly likely that the
courtroom finale described by Bolt would have been an impressive scene indeed. “I am a dead man...”
More says with resolution, “What you have hunted me for is not my actions, but the thoughts of my
heart” (Bolt 157). In that swirling broth of his character, seasoned with sharp conscience and the sweet
and sour duties of family, church, and state, a toxic concoction had formed; yet its poison may never have
claimed More’s life, if the will of King Henry had not forced it to his silent lips.
To conclude, the tragic death of Sir Thomas More may be attributed to everything from King
Henry VIII’s irrational rage to More’s unyielding integrity and devotion to his own conscience. But to so
narrowly focus one’s intellectual gaze on only one of the many factors involved in More’s execution
serves only to present a distorted and deceptively simplistic representation of an extraordinary human
being, whose complexity was matched by the treacherous times in which he lived. His indecision and lack
of integration of these opposing values ultimately found More trapped, backed into a lonely corner of his
mind where silence was safety and isolation was imperative (Bolt 120-121). Only a holistic approach,
giving due attention to each of the violent forces at work in the maelstrom of More’s character and “the
tangle of his mind” (Bolt 126), will yield a true answer to his intriguing life and enigmatic end.
Works Cited
Bolt, Robert. A Man for All Seasons. New York: Vintage International, 1990.
Bolt, Robert. Preface. A Man for All Seasons. By Bolt. New York: Vintage International, 1990. vii-xx.
Guy, John. Thomas More. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Guy, John. “The Tudor Age: 1485-1603.” The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. Ed. Kenneth O.
Morgan. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. 223-285.
21
More, Thomas. Utopia. 1516. Ideal Commonwealths. New York: P.F. Collier & Son, 1901. Internet
Modern History Sourcebook. Ed. Paul Halsall. 22 Sept. 2001. Internet History Sourcebooks
Project. 19 October 2003. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/thomasmore-utopia.html>.
Smith, L.B. Henry VIII: The Mask of Royalty. London: Cape, 1971.
22
ExxonMobil: Capital Gains, Contemptible Costs
by Brandi Halle, Allison Hamad, Jennifer Hixon, and Noorjabeen Naseer
(Honors Sociology 210 – Biology 110)
The Assignment: This paper was part of a broader assignment concerning oil issues.
These students did an excellent analytical work on the economical, political, and
ecological impacts of Exxon-Mobil.
“W
ill corporations rule the world” (Robbins 122)? Such was the question posed by
anthropologist Richard H. Robbins in his analysis of various threats to the nation-state.
However, a better question might be: do corporations rule the world already?
ExxonMobil is one of the most powerful corporations in the world. Its operations span close to 200
countries and territories on six continents (Rouse 1). Though it operates far and wide, the corporate
headquarters are in Irving, Texas.
ExxonMobil Corporation began as John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company. Rockefeller
formed Standard Oil in 1870, but, after realizing that the creation of each new oil company resulted in a
drop in oil prices, he decided to monopolize the oil market (Hampton). This led to the creation of the
Standard Oil Trust in 1882, which enabled Rockefeller to open other independent companies, such as
Jersey Standard, Standard Oil of New York (nicknamed Socony), and Vacuum Oil (Hampton).
After controlling 90% of the petroleum industry for 20 years, the Supreme Court broke up the
Standard Oil Trust in 1911 and created 34 separate companies (Hampton). Jersey Standard was the largest
remaining piece of the fractured company. With the purchase of 30% of the Arabian American Oil
Company in 1948 and a 7% share in Iran’s oil production in 1954, Jersey Standard was the world’s
number one oil company in its time (Hampton).
Other mergers followed: Vacuum and Socony in 1931 became Socony Mobil in 1955 and Mobil
in 1976. Jersey Standard became Exxon; Exxon married Mobil (Hampton). Rockefeller’s children had
come home, but ExxonMobil is far more than a reunion. ExxonMobil has over 30 subsidiaries, with
operations including the exploration, production, refining, and marketing of hydrocarbons, as well as
chemicals, coal, and minerals (Hampton). Rockefeller would be proud--or would he?
In 1863, Rockefeller (1839-1937) held his first position in the oil industry when he and a partner
started an oil refinery; however, in 1865, due to disagreement among partners, Rockefeller purchased the
company for $72, 500. Over the next few years The Standard Oil Company continued to grow with the
purchase of many refining firms, and, in 1882, “all its properties were merged in the Standard Oil Trust,
which was in effect one great company” (John D. Rockefeller). By this time the company’s capital had
risen from 1 million in 1870 to 70 million in 1882.
Rockefeller was more than just an oil tycoon. Over his lifetime he made numerous charitable
contributions. He took philanthropy very seriously, investing time, effort, and most of his wealth into
such endeavors as the founding of the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, the General Education
Board, the Rockefeller Sanitary Commission, The Rockefeller Foundation, and The University of
Chicago, to which he donated 35 million dollars (John D. Rockefeller). He made other personal
contributions to universities, parks, church organizations, and YMCAs. Rockefeller died at age 97, but he
lives on through both his corporate and philanthropic contributions.
A very different man from Rockefeller now heads ExxonMobil. Lee R. Raymond has been
chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil since 1994. He received a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in chemical
engineering by 1963; later that year, he obtained a position at Exxon as a production research engineer
(ExxonMobil Corporate). Currently, Raymond is preparing his successor, as he will be retiring from his
23
position. He recently turned 65, the age at which ExxonMobil typically expects its executives to retire
(Schwartz 116). The environmentally conscious population will not miss Lee Raymond, who is known
for ducking responsibility regarding environmental issues; however, the company’s shareholders may
differ in opinion, as profits have risen considerably since the beginning of his reign.
Lee Raymond, as both chairman and CEO, sits at the top of ExxonMobil’s corporate structure.
This structure consists of a Board of Directors and various committees. The Board is made up of the
Chairman and the Directors, who may be shareholders or individuals independent of the company
(ExxonMobil Corporate). The Board’s role is to manage business and affairs of ExxonMobil. In order to
do this they hold regular meetings eight times a year. The Board of Directors formulates the various
committees to manage specific business aspects and appoints the members of the committees. These
committees include the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, and Finance Committee
(ExxonMobil Corporate).
Whether it is as a result of their structure, their acquisitions, or their CEO, ExxonMobil is a
highly profitable corporation. Since the merger in 1999, ExxonMobil has become the largest publicly
held petroleum company in the world. Its international hydrocarbon holdings are remarkable and include
reserves of 55.7 trillion cu. ft. of natural gas, 11.8 billion barrels of oil, refineries that can process 5.5
million barrels of oil per day, and 40,000 service stations (Hampton). These holdings, however, are not
enough to produce the extraordinary profits that ExxonMobil has achieved. The worldview by which
ExxonMobil operates can be summed up in a statement made by Lee Raymond in an interview with Dan
Yergin in February 2003. He said, “everybody agrees that the world has to have sustained economic
growth…there isn’t anybody who says, well the world just should really stop growing”.
ExxonMobil has continued to grow. Its second quarter profits for 2003 were up 58 percent from
the year before and earnings were better than anticipated (ExxonMobil Corporate). Given their size,
holdings, and profitability, ExxonMobil appears in almost all branches of the media. Though favored in
the business sector, environmental and human rights news is seldom in the corporation’s favor. One of
the most infamous news events in its history is that connected to the 1989 catastrophe when the drunken
captain of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker hit a reef near the Alaskan coast, dumping nearly 11 millions
gallons of crude oil and contaminating more than 1,300 miles of coastline (BBC News).
Consequences were severe, as a lot of land was damaged and thousands of animals killed, some
of whom were endangered species. For the last 14 years, the company has heard complaints from
environmentalists and fisherman who have found the costs of the spill to be crippling. Executives at
ExxonMobil, however, have failed to recognize the immensity of the damage, claiming that "The
environment in Prince William Sound is healthy, robust and thriving” (BBC News). Although the
corporation has agreed to pay a whopping 3.5 billion for compensation to fishermen and other Alaskans,
federal and state settlements, and for the cleaning of Prince William Sound, oil analyst Gene Gillespie
says they got off easy, “It’s expensive and unfortunate, but they can financially deal with it” (Reuters).
The company was especially fortunate since in late August of this year, the appellate court repealed a $4
billion punitive damages charge against them (Reuters).
ExxonMobil’s environmental record is among the worst in the petroleum industry, though its
stated policies indicate otherwise. ExxonMobil developed the Operations Integrity Management System,
which was designed to ensure safe environmental and health practices by the company. The primary goal
of this system is to meet “safety, health, and environmental commitment to …employees, contractors,
neighbors, customers and all others affected by…operations” (ExxonMobil Chemical). Exxon Mobil also
states in its Standards of Business Conduct that they “comply with all applicable environmental laws and
regulations and apply responsible standards where laws and regulations do not exist” (ExxonMobil
Corporate).
While ExxonMobil’s environmental policy sounds effective, the company’s record indicates the
contrary. The 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill released 250,000 barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Alaska
when the tanker struck the Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound. According to Jean Blashfield and
Wallace Black, “Captain Joseph Hazelwood, master of the Exxon Valdez tanker, came on board after
sharing drinks with a friend in the port” (Black et al.16). He then ordered that the tank be turned toward
24
the Bligh Reef to avoid calving ice from the glacier in the sea-lanes; then he planned to turn the 987-foot
long ship away from the reef in time. Following this, Captain Hazelwood ordered that the speed to be
accelerated to a speed only safe in open water, turned on automatic pilot, and retired to his cabin with a
junior officer left in charge (Black et al 17). The resulting spill, when the ship hit the reef, covered 6,000
square miles and killed 580,000 sea birds, 144 bald eagles, 22 whales, and 5,500 sea otters. 1,244 miles
of shore was polluted.
In addition to this spill, portions of the Mississippi River frequently have to be closed in response
to spills caused by ExxonMobil. Groundwater, which is drinking water, has been contaminated several
times, which has resulted in the closure of wells, and to this day Chairman Lee Raymond denies “that
there’s any link between fossil-fuel consumption and global warming” (Schwartz 116).
Clearly, ExxonMobil’s actions do not reflect the values of their health and environmental
policies; however, there are some actions that could improve their performance. The first is that all
tankers should be required to have double-hulls, which would add further protection in the event of a
collision. For the protection of the environment this should be implemented whether or not it is cost
effective for the company. A committee other than the Operations Integrity Management System should
also be formed to enforce the standards that the OIMS provides, as this would result in a system of checks
and balances to assure safer practices. Mandatory drug and alcohol tests should also be given to captains
immediately before boarding ships, rather than the periodic tests that are currently given. Also, placing
two captains per barge or tanker, as planes require two pilots, would also result in fewer accidents. Of
course, these suggestions will not solve all of the environmental consequences that the oil industry causes,
nor will they prevent all accidents in the future, but they could be an effective start for a move toward the
right direction.
If there are so many problems with ExxonMobil’s environmental record, why is the U.S.
government not doing anything about it? ExxonMobil’s political impact in the United States is
enormous. Its campaign contributions during the 2000 elections exceeded 1.3 million dollars, nearly 90
percent of which went to the Republican Party (Center for Responsive Politics). Contributions during
2002 topped 1.1 million, most of the money going once again to the Republicans.
These political contributions are dwarfed by the benefits that ExxonMobil reaps in return. It has
been granted commercial access to federal lands, has successfully lobbied to have EPA regulations
relaxed, has petitioned for policies that encourage a stronger U.S. dependence on oil, and has effected the
decision for the U.S. to abandon the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty requiring countries to lower their
greenhouse gas emissions (ExxonMobil: Cashing In).
Though ExxonMobil is an American company, its political influence reaches far beyond U.S.
borders. The Chad-Cameroon pipeline opened early in October 2003 with ExxonMobil as both the
primary investor and the sole operator. The pipeline is backed by the World Bank and it is hoped that the
oil revenues will bring stability to one of the world’s poorest nations. However, Chad has been plagued
with civil strife and its government has a terrible record of human rights abuses (Just Earth). Already,
funds that were meant to have been used for healthcare and education have been used for military
purchases (Just Earth). This pipeline also runs through Cameroon’s Atlantic Littoral Forest. The
environmental impact of this pipeline is not yet fully understood, but the forest and its inhabitants are
certain to suffer as a result (Just Earth).
Another region in which ExxonMobil has dealt with unsavory political forces is Indonesia.
ExxonMobil controls a natural gas pipeline in Aceh, an area that has been seeking independence from
Indonesia (Weismann). It has been alleged that the Indonesian military provided “security services” for
ExxonMobil from 1999 to 2001. During this time, the military committed gross human rights violations,
including murder, torture, and kidnapping (Burman). ExxonMobil ceased operations in Aceh in March
2001, but has been charged with responsibility in the abuses by the International Labor Rights Fund in
Washington D.C. (Weismann). The State Department, however, has urged the court to dismiss the
lawsuit because of claims that it would somehow interfere with the U.S. “War on Terrorism” (Burman).
In more current news, Qatar signed a $12.5 million deal with ExxonMobil to provide for gas
demands in the United States, which will be the “largest investment ever in Qatar’s growing energy
25
industry” (Al-Jazeera). Qatar’s Oil Minister Abd Allah Al-Attiyah says about the deal, “It makes Qatar
Petroleum (QP) and ExxonMobil leaders in supplying the important US natural gas market”. Qatar is not
the only country making deals with ExxonMobil. ExxonMobil has submitted deals to Iran, Indonesia, and
Nigeria as well (Yahoo! Finance).
With dealings all over the world, ExxonMobil has a large, diversified workforce.
ExxonMobil currently employs 123,000 workers worldwide, 38 percent of whom work in the United
States. When Exxon merged with Mobil in1999, it agreed to maintain the current employment structure
for both companies. This was important because many lower level employees were concerned for their
job security. However, though jobs were retained, ExxonMobil became the first employer in the U.S.
ever to rescind a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy (Stop ExxonMobil). The Human Rights
Campaign, a political group supporting gay and lesbian issues, was up in arms after ExxonMobil
immediately cancelled benefits for gay and lesbian partners of its employees (Maxon 28).
ExxonMobil’s employee safety record in the U.S. has been commendable. It reports 2002 as their
safest year on record. One of ExxonMobil’s company standards is “Nobody Gets Hurt”. Anything short
of this, it says, is unacceptable (Mobular Technologies 20). ExxonMobil recently received awards from
OSHA for outstanding health and safety practices in nine of its U.S. facilities (ExxonMobil Chemical).
Though workplace safety is an essential right of workers, ExxonMobil’s employment policies
worldwide have fallen far short of acceptable. In 2001, Amnesty International USA filed its first ever
“corporate shareholder resolution” with ExxonMobil’s shareholders (Amnesty International USA). This
resolution asked that ExxonMobil institute a human rights policy modeled after the “UN Declaration of
Human Rights”. The resolution obtained many favorable votes at the 2002 shareholder meeting in Dallas,
Texas, but not enough to pass. ExxonMobil’s operations in Chad, Cameroon, Indonesia, and Columbia
have been particularly problematic (ExxonMobil: Cashing In).
With all of the problems that ExxonMobil seems to have, it still manages to do some good. It has
sponsored “Masterpiece Theatre” on PBS since 1971. It has developed programs to build schools and
healthcare facilities in developing nations where it operates, such as Chad and Cameroon. In cooperation
with the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, ExxonMobil began a campaign in 1995 to save the
tigers of the world (ExxonMobil Corporate). Though ExxonMobil participates in all of these programs
and more, these actions are simply not enough.
As the saying goes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” ExxonMobil is one of the
greatest corporate powers today. This makes its responsibility immense. It claims to be a good corporate
citizen, but the facts indicate otherwise. In order for ExxonMobil to become a reasonably moral entity, it
might look back to its founder, John D. Rockefeller, who said, “Every right implies a responsibility; every
opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty” (Rockefeller). Given these tenets, ExxonMobil has
a long way to go.
Works Cited
BBC News. “World: Americas Exxon Valdez: Ten Years On.” 18 Mar. 1999 BBC Online Network. 20
Oct. 2003 <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/298608.stm>.
Burman, Jeff. “ExxonMobil Charged with Complicity in Indonesian Human Rights Violations.” The
Editors Guild Magazine: Labor Matters Newsletter. 23.6 (Nov/Dec 2002). 13 Oct. 2003
<http://www.editorsguild.com/newsletter/NovDec02/labor_novdec.html>
Center for Responsive Politics. “Donor Profile: Exxon Mobil.” 11 Aug. 2003 Opensecrets. 13 Oct. 2003
< http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.asp?ID=D000000129&Name = Exxon+Mobil>
"Economy News: Exxon Mobile, Qatar Seal Gas Deal." Aljazeera.Net. 16 Oct. 2003. Al-Jazeera. 20 Oct.
2003 <http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E7D0C1D9-6D8E-4910-945666F65E26576D.htm>.
26
“ExxonMobil: Cashing in on Democracy.” Stop ExxonMobil Campaign. 15 Oct 2003 <
http://www.pacificenvironment.org/stopexxonmobil/cashing_in_on_democracy.html>
ExxonMobil Chemical News Media Desk. “ExxonMobil Recieves Nine Prestigious Industry awards for
Health and Safety Performance.” 14 Apr. 2003 ExxonMobil Chemical. 13 Oct 2003 <
http://www.exxonmobilchemical.com/Public_PA/WorldwideEnglish /Newsroom
/Newsreleases/chem_nr_140503.asp>
ExxonMobil Corporate Website. 14 Oct. 2003 <http://www.exxonmobil.com/corporate/> “Finance.”
Yahoo!Finance. 28 July 2003. Associated Press. Yahoo! Inc. 22 Oct. 2003
<http://www.yahoo.com/finance/news>.
Hampton, Stuart. “Exxon Mobil Corporation: Full Overview.” Hoover’s Online. College of DuPage,
Glen Ellyn, Ill. 14 Oct. 2003.
Just Earth. “Chad & Cameroon: Oil Pipeline Project Threatens Local Communities and Fragile
Ecosystems.” Amnesty International USA. 17 Oct. 2003 <http://www.amnestyusa.org/
justearth/chad-cameroon.html>
John D. Rockefeller, 1839-1937. 5 May 1967. Rockefeller Archive Center. Sep. 1997
<http://www.rockefeller.edu/archive.ctr/jdrsrbio.html>
“Lee Raymond’s Interview with Dan Yergin at CERAWeek 2003.” 10 Feb. 2003 Understanding Energy.
17 Oct. 2003 <http://www.understanding-energy.com/Interviews/CERA /wmintlow.html
Maxon, Terry. “Exxon Mobil Meets Criticism for Not Extending Partner’s Benefits.” Tribune Business
News 6 Dec 1999: 28.
Mobular Technologies, Inc. “ExxonMobil Corporate Citizenship Report.” 17 Oct. 2003 <
http://ccbn27.mobular.net/ccbn/7/269/280/>
Reuters News Agency. “ExxonMobil Convinces Wall Street Valdez No Big Deal.” Planet Ark. 2 Sept.
2003. Reuters Limited. 20 Oct. 2003 <http://www.planetark.org/dailynewsstory.cfm /newsid
/22077/story.htm>.
Robbins, Richard H. Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2002.
Rockefeller, John D. “Quotes to Inspire.” Cyber Nation International. 20 Oct. 2003 <http://www.cybernation.com/victory/quotations/authors /quotes_ rockefeller_johnd.html>
Rouse, Jim. “ExxonMobil Corporation Oral Testimony for the Committee on Veteran’s Affairs,
Subcommittee on Benefits 24 Jul. 2003” 17 Oct 2003 <http://www.house.gov/
va/hearings/schedule108/jul03/7-24-03/jrouse.pdf >
Schwartz, Nelson D. “Goodbye, Mr. Exxon; Lee Raymond is preparing to leave the
world’s biggest
energy company. Who will replace the ultimate oil guy.” Fortune 15 Sept. 2003:116.
Weismann, Robert. “Deadly Drilling in Aceh.” Multinational Monitor. (Jul./Aug. 2001) 13 Oct. 2003
<http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2001/01july-august/julyaug01 front.html#dea>
“What’s Wrong With Esso?” Stop Esso Campaign by Greenpeace. 13 Oct. 2003
<http://www.stopesso.com/why/php>
*All in-text citations that do not include page numbers are from sources without pagination.
27
28
Myth & Manipulation
by Allison Hamad
(Anthropology 130)
The Assignment: Make two to three cogent and significant generalizations about trauma
and transcendence, focusing on 1.) the context (geography, history, culture, etc.), 2.) the
trauma itself, and 3.) the recovery process, using data from Cambodia, Bosnia, and Africa
(Sudan and/or Rwanda). Be sure to use specific supportive data from readings and films,
including information from Annhilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide.
C
ultures and cultural practices around the world are wonderfully diverse, but while religion is
different in various parts of the world, and while menus vary widely and ideas about family differ,
genocides look strikingly similar wherever they occur. Genocide occurs around the globe to
people of all colors, faiths, and economic backgrounds. Many similarities can be seen in the genocides
perpetrated in Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Sudan. Two factors that are of particular
significance are that each of the genocides was fueled by official myths that contradicted the realities on
the ground, and that each of the tragedies required the separation of families in order to destabilize the
groups against which the genocide was being perpetrated.
Behind most genocide is the other-creating myth: ideas that separate one group from another,
demonizing the “other” and inciting violence. These myths are not based on reality; on the contrary,
these myths often present a picture so different from the reality that the people know and experience that
they do not readily accept them. Such was the case in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Underlying the Balkan
conflict was the Serbian claim that Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslims could not live together. Radovan
Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb nationalist leader, proclaimed, “We cannot live with the Muslims and the
Croats, for there is too much hatred, centuries old hatred” (Bringa 197). Yet while Karadzic insisted on
the impossibility of living together, Bosnian Muslims, Serbs, and Croats were living together peacefully
as neighbors and as friends.
This is well illustrated in the film We Are All Neighbors. The film follows families in a Bosnian
village just outside of Sarajevo near Kiseljak; a village that is both Croat and Muslim. The relationships
between the families in the film are amiable and pleasant. Before the violence reached their village, there
was no emphasis on ethnic or religious differences. The people of the village viewed themselves as
Bosnian rather than Croat or Muslim. The neighbors visited each other, exchanged gossip, and lived their
lives in relative harmony. This was the reality prior to the violence. Even when the talk of nationalism
and ethnic division reached the village, the residents found it ridiculous, insisting that division would not
be realized in their village. “We will always have coffee,” one Muslim woman said of her lifelong Croat
friend.
The people who lived together as neighbors in Bosnia would not accept the idea of separation
until violence touched their village. It was then that they retreated to the ethnic boundary lines that had
previously been no more than propaganda. Friendships dissolved and trust disappeared, not because of
“centuries old hatred” but because of an official myth and the violence that accompanied.
A similar situation of co-existence was present in Rwanda. Though the Hutu and Tutsi are from
different tribes, prior to the genocide in Rwanda, the people lived together and intermarried. In order to
bring about the right climate for violence against the Tutsi, Hutu extremists circulated what Liisa Malkki
called “mythico-histories”: tales of the foreignness, the laziness, and the deceptiveness of the Tutsi
(Taylor 140). As in Bosnia, these myths contradicted what most people experienced in their daily lives,
but the persistence of the extremists, along with the circumstances surrounding the death of Rwandan
President Habyarimana, led to the acceptance of the myths and the horrible brutality that ensued.
29
The official myth took a more direct approach in the Darfur region of Sudan. In order to avoid
direct conflict, ruling parties have often followed the mantra “divide and conquer”. The government of
Khartoum did precisely this when the Sudanese Minister of the Interior, Abdel Rahim Muhammed
Hussein, announced to the media that the Massaliet, a non-Arab tribe in the region, had slaughtered all of
the Arab Omdas of Darfur (Yahiya). This official myth was all that was necessary to incite Arab tribes in
the region to attempt to obliterate the Masseliet.
In Democratic Kampuchea, the myths did not attempt to create divisions between ethnic groups
so much as they sought to cloak the horror of the reality of life under the Khmer Rouge with a
frighteningly delusional idealism. In her article “Dance, Music, and the Nature of Terror in Democratic
Kampuchea”, Toni Shapiro-Phim refers to the Khmer Rouge and their use of song as a means of instilling
beliefs in their utopian ideals. She cites, “the official voice can so strikingly contradict reality and by
means of such contradiction create fear” (183). Songs of the freedom and independence that the Angkar
brought to the Cambodian people were sung to those people that the Angkar had turned from free men
and women to slaves. Songs praising the ingenuity and luck of the Angkar in farming, touting the
abundance of the rice crop, were sung to those enslaved people who gave their blood to the ground in
order to harvest an insufficient crop. These blatant contradictions were a form of torture in themselves.
One might ask, however, even if these myths are accepted by the perpetrators, why the victims of
such atrocities do not rise up or protest? This is where the second factor that is common to these
genocides comes into play; the breaking up of the family unit weakens a group in such a devastating way
that it becomes intensely difficult to maintain a cohesive societal unit.
Because family is at the core of so many cultures, it is not difficult to assess the reason that the
break up of the family unit is detrimental. It is, however, helpful to consider the specific effects of
familial fracturing in each case. What is common to each case is that families were separated: husbands
from wives, children from parents. Whatever was the support network that functioned in the area to
maintain personal well-being and culture, it was disturbed.
In both Bosnia and Rwanda, for example, the prevalence of intermarriage between ethnic groups
became particularly problematic as the ethnic boundaries became more defined. If you could not identify
yourself wholly with one side or another, you were in dangerous territory. Even if someone of mixed
kinship were to choose one part of his or her ethnicity with which to identify, he or she might still be
viewed as “other”.
While the dilemma of families who spanned ethnic boundaries was significant, other problems
associated with family separation were much more widespread. In Bosnia-Herzegovina, men were taken
from the towns and villages and rounded up to be killed. The same thing happened in the Sudan. The
title of Loung Ung’s book, First They Killed My Father, reflects the fact that the Khmer Rouge also found
this tactic effective.
The removal of men from each society had devastating effects. The Nuba of central Sudan were
left with no one to tend their herds, which was traditionally the duty of the men. Cambodia suffered
tremendous difficulty because there were so many widows and so few adult men surviving after the fall of
the Pol Pot regime. According to the film Samsara, even now, nearly twenty-five years after the end of
the rule of the Khmer Rouge, it is difficult for Cambodian women to find husbands. There are still not
enough men.
As though it were not destructive enough to attempt to rid entire groups of their male populations,
the exploitation of children in these genocidal situations was also common. In Cambodia, the Khmer
Rouge sought to redefine the order of society by turning children into soldiers and giving them authority
over their elders. This reversal of roles began with the extermination of honorifics and proper names.
Everyone was to be referred to as “Met” (Ung 60). If there were no “sirs” or “madams” or “mas” or
“pas”, the Angkar believed that they could redefine roles in whatever way they saw fit. This had an
intensely detrimental effect on both the younger and older generations of Cambodians that lived through
that period.
The Khmer Rouge were not the only perpetrators of violence to exploit child labor; the “peace
camps” of Sudan were created, in part, to make pro-Arab Muslim soldiers of non-Arab, non-Muslim
30
Sudanese children. If a family was fortunate enough to stay together before arrival, the first thing to
happen upon entering a peace camp would be separation. Once the families were separated, children
were shipped to other locations where they would be trained as soldiers (Burr). Not only is this type of
separation devastating for the individuals during the violence, but it also has long lasting destructive
effects on the cultures that it touches.
When families are separated, men are lost, and children are taken away, the struggle for the
survival of a culture becomes intensely difficult. There is always a chance that the culture will be lost, if
not completely, at least in spirit. The culture that existed, before the genocide might not ever be fully
recovered. The same difficulty arises from the power of the official myths. Though they did not reflect
an initial reality, overcoming them can prove difficult if they are widespread.
While both reality-challenging myths and family separations are common to the traumas of
Cambodia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, and Sudan, these themes can be the common points of
transcendence among them as well. Rebuilding families can be healing. Learning to trust is important to
recovery and starts with the family. Though official myths were used as weapons of mass devastation,
official truths could heal not only the victims of the violence, but the relationships that are necessary for
healthy coexistence. It remains to be seen whether post-genocide transcendence will prove itself as
universal as the trauma, but the possibilities are real.
Works Cited
Burr, Millard. “Quantifying Genocide in Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains, 1983-1998.”
<http://home.wxs.nl/~ende0098/pages/information/Working_DocumentII.htm>
Hinton, Alexander Laban, ed. Annihilating Difference: The Anthropology of Genocide. Berkeley:
University of California Press, 2002.
Bringa, Tone. “Averted Gaze: Genocide in Bosnia-Herzegovina, 1992-1995.” Hinton 194-225.
Shapiro-Phim, Toni. “Dance, Music, and the Nature of Terror in Democratic Kampuchea.” Hinton 179193
Taylor, Christopher C. “The Cultural Face of Terror in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.” Hinton 137178.
Ung, Loung. First They Killed My Father. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
Yahiya, Mohammed Adam. “More Masseliet Civilians Die in Arab Militia Attacks in Western Sudan.”
25 Apr. 2000. Sudan Update. <http://www.sudanupdate.org/ REPORTS
/PEOPLES/Darfur2.htm>
31
32
Gallant Conquerors
by Chris Harvey
(Humanities 101)
The Assignment: A brief examination of the cultural themes intrinsic to the epics Beowulf
and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
W
riting is second only to the spoken word for conveying ideas. Yet the spoken word has but a
finite amount of time to reach others, while the written word can last for multiple generations
and can even give infinite rise to countless more spoken words. It is writing that serves to
remind us all of values and ideals that are common through all times.
Among the many tales and themes recorded in writing over the long course of humanity, few are
as moving and consistently important as those of courage, loyalty and valor. These themes combined can
be seen commonly as one attribute, heroism and the associated concept of ‘Hero’. It is to this concept that
many have turned to for guidance and inspiration, stretching from ancient times to modern days.
Beowulf and the Epic of Gilgamesh, two of the greatest epic poems ever written, are prime
examples of such themes and their importance to human civilization. In both epics the concept of ‘Hero’
and the attributes analogous to it are brought up time and again. Although described in varying manners
and to different degrees, the two heroes, Beowulf and Gilgamesh become perfect testaments to the
concept of ‘Hero’. Through brief analysis of the works themselves and the tales within them, it can be
proven that the same heroic themes resound in both works and that those same themes were relevant to,
and made no distinction between, the two cultures from which they hailed.
Many hold the common belief that Beowulf was first composed sometime between the middle of
the seventh and the end of the tenth century (Heaney, ix) of the first millennium, in what is commonly
know as Anglo-Saxon or ‘Old English’. Beowulf is a heroic epic poem over three thousand lines long that
entails the deeds of the Scandinavian prince for whom the tale is named. Although written in England, the
tale is set in Denmark and touts an aura of historical credence while at the same time crossing into in the
realm of fantasy.
The epic is known solely through a single manuscript that now rests in the archives of the British
Library. Although almost destroyed in a fire during the eighteenth century the epic went on to be
transcribed, interpreted and translated several times in later years. Over the past several decades the work
has found its place in many a syllabi of academic institutions the world over.
The epic begins within the land of the Geats, currently situated in what is now southern Sweden.
Beowulf is the most profound presence among the local warriors and as such is requested by his king to
cross the ocean to the land of the Danes in order to clear their country of a man-eating monster called
Grendel. After mortally wounding Grendel in unarmed combat by tearing the monster’s arm off, Beowulf
follows it back to its swampy abode, which leads the hero into a conflict with Grendel’s mother, whom he
also manages to slay in combat. Having defeated both monsters, Beowulf returns from the expedition
triumphant and eventually proceeds to rule his homeland for fifty years as king. Unfortunately for
Beowulf, a dragon begins to terrorize his kingdom. Being not only a great king, but also the hero who
conquered the monster Grendel, Beowulf is obliged to confront the menace. During the encounter he
manages to slay the dragon, yet meets his own death while doing so and thus enters the legends of his
people as a warrior-king of great renown.
Throughout the epic, the character of Beowulf is highlighted again and again, often times shown
in sharp positive contrast to other characters. This is made most evident in the comparison between
Beowulf and the monster Grendel.
33
“So times were pleasant for the people there until finally one, a fiend of hell, began to
work his evil in the world. Grendel was the name of this grim demon haunting the
marches, marauding round the health and the desolate fens; he had dwelt for a time in
misery among the banished monsters, Cain’s clan, whom the creator had outlawed and
condemned as outcasts.” (Heaney, 9)
“When he heard about Grendel, Hygelac’s thane [Beowulf] was on home ground, over in
Geatland. There was no one else like him alive. In his day, he was the mightiest man on
earth, high-born and powerful… (Heaney, 15)
…Now Holy God has, in His goodness, guided him here to the West-Danes, to defend us
from Grendel.” (Heaney, 27)
Although the above passages comparing the two characters can often be seen as metaphors, if not
outright implications, of early Christian ideology (light vs. dark and/or heaven vs. hell) they serve to
purposefully identify with the characters certain attributes. Mainly, as with the case of Beowulf, such
descriptions support ideal or heroic traits such as power, nobility, loyalty and divine association among
others.
Beowulf not only uses such heroic ideals to describe its characters, but as themes in and of
themselves. Focus is given, in particular to the ideas of loyalty, courage and goodness, three attributes that
all heroes possess. Perhaps the most often presented theme in Beowulf is that of loyalty and duty to one’s
superiors, be they God or man. Frequently cited as an example of loyalty, is the passage of Beowulf in
which the young warrior Wiglaf alone, after seeing the rest of his comrades flee, turns to help his king
(Beowulf) during his final desperate battle.
“Next thing, they say, the noble son of Weohstan saw the king in danger at his side and
displayed his inborn bravery and strength. He left the head alone, but his fighting hand
was burned when he came to his kinsman’s aid.” (Heaney, 183)
This passage, among others similar, relates to the reader the dire extent that one’s loyalty may be
pushed to. It was, in fact, due to Wiglaf’s loyalty that Beowulf was able to defeat his final adversary, and
so it can be seen that loyalty allows one to accomplish great feats.
Along with loyalty, courage and goodness are also two themes addressed in Beowulf. Beowulf is
almost constantly involved in feats of great courage throughout the tale. Beowulf displays his courage
with unrelenting tenacity: from his steadfast commitment to dispatch the terrifying Gendel, to his descent
into the monster’s swamp to combat its mother, even until his final battle with the great wyrm. This trait,
combined with goodness that radiates from Beowulf’s very character and his just deeds, serves to cement
his place as a hero.
The epic poem Beowulf not only possesses a great hero, but also relies on the attributes of its
hero to advance the tale itself. These same attributes serve as themes that are presented time and again in
the poem itself as a testament to their importance. Even today these themes, as they were for centuries,
are used as inspiration to many as an example to emulate so that they to may become what Beowulf was,
and what every generation desires, the pinnacle of all that is good: a hero.
Although not as well known to modern audiences as its later cousin Beowulf, the Epic of
Gilgamesh still resounds with heroic countenance and ideals. The account of Gilgamesh’s grand
adventures is the oldest recorded work of such magnitude. The epic was recorded in Sumerian some time
around 2000 BCE (Kovacs, xxiii) on twelve large clay tablets in cuneiform script. The first eleven tablets
are commonly recognized as the actual tale, while the twelfth tablet is usually seen as a ‘sequel’ or
follow-up story to the initial tale. The poem recounts the grand adventures of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk
(the capitol city of what was then Babylon, present-day Iraq), and his loyal companion and friend Enkidu.
Beginning around 2000 BCE, the myriad stories and myths that compose the Gilgamesh epic
were initially recorded in Sumerian, a language that bears no relation to any other. The Sumerian accounts
of Gilgamesh were eventually combined into a larger version of the tale, of which versions in the
34
Akkadian (a Semitic Babylonian language with close ties to Hebrew), Hittite and Hurrian languages
survive. The Akkadian version is the fullest account of Gilgamesh’s narrative and is what composes the
twelve clay tablets mentioned above. These tablets were found in the ruins of the library of Ashurbanipal
at Nineveh (Kovacs, xxi). The library was destroyed in 612 BCE by Persian forces, an act that caused all
of the tablets to be damaged in some way. Yet perhaps the most intriguing piece of the work was not
destroyed. Although it is exceedingly rare for ancient literature to indicate an author, the Akkadian tablets
actually name one (Kovacs, xxi): Shin-eqiunninni. Not only is the Epic of Gilgamesh the oldest surviving
literary work, it is also written by the oldest named author.
The Epic of Gilgamesh begins in Uruk, the capital city of Babylon. The young king Gilgamesh,
not knowing the precepts to ruling a kingdom, is harsh towards his people. Due to this the god Anu
creates man to act as Gilgamesh’s zikrtt (this word can be translated into English as ‘foil’ or
‘counterpart’), Enkidu. Although made to be adversaries, Gilgamesh and Enkidu quickly become friends
and live at length in Uruk. Yet as time passes the two grow restless until Gilgamesh proposes a grand
adventure. Their first goal is to clear the Great Cedar Forrest of all its trees, a task made all the harder due
to the forest’s guardian, the demon-giant Humbaba. After slaying Humbaba, Gilgamesh and Enkidu clear
the forest and use the timber to construct a grand gate for the city of Uruk. This action gains Gilgamesh
great renown, especially with the goddess Ishtar who offers to become Gilgamesh’s lover. When
Gilgamesh declines her offer, Ishtar becomes infuriated and begs her father, the god Anu, to release the
Bull of Heaven to destroy Uruk in retribution. Anu agrees and the Bull of the Heaven descends to Uruk.
Yet Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the divine animal before the city can be destroyed. Against his better
judgement, Enkidu taunts the goddess Ishtar with their victory over her, an action that causes Enkidu to
become singled out as the target of the goddess’s vengeance for both this transgression and that of slaying
Humbaba. Enkidu, suffering through months of hellish nightmares, slowly dies. Enkidu’s death greatly
upsets Gilgamesh who realizes that he too is mortal and also close to death. In a desperate attempt to
prolong his life, Gilgamesh sets out on a final journey. Gilgamesh wishes to travel to the Far-Away, a
place where he may find the secret to immortality. After a long a perilous journey Gilgamesh finally
reaches the Far-Away. There he meets the immortal Utnapishtim, who tells Gilgamesh that is he can stay
awake for six days and seven nights he will teach him the secret to immortality. Gilgamesh lays down
determined to stay awake but soon falls asleep. When he wakes Utnapishtim informs him that he failed
his task and will not receive the secret to immortality, but takes pity on Gilgamesh and gives him a
magical plant that will restore youth to the great king. Gilgamesh does not trust Utnapishtim so he decides
to travel back to the city and test the plant on an old man first. However, on his return to Uruk a snake
slithers inside Gilgamesh’s pack and eats the plant. Gilgamesh is distraught by this turn of events and
realizes that he no longer has a chance at life. The tale ends with Gilgamesh’s return to Uruk at which
point he commands his life be recorded on tablets of lapis lazuli.
This lengthy epic poem supports the same heroic values as Beowulf. Although written almost
three thousand years earlier, the same ideals of courage, loyalty, goodness and a divine association are
still prevalent in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In Gilgamesh the reader can identify a more god-like character
than Beowulf, but at the same time a being equally heroic.
The theme of loyalty is played upon heavily in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Specifically the loyalty
between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, as well as Gilgamesh and the Gods, is examined quite often. As Wiglaf
did in Beowulf, Enkidu plays the part of a secondary, somewhat lesser hero who follows the main hero
and supports him fervently yet plays no less significant role. While Enkidu is debatably the lesser of the
two heroes, Gilgamesh remains just as loyal to Enkidu, as Enkidu is to Gilgamesh. Many passages outline
this respect and loyalty between the two heroes.
“As for human beings, their days are numbered, and whatever they keep trying to achieve
is but wind!
Now you are afraid of death—what has become of your bold strength!
I will go in front of you, and your mouth can call out: ‘Go on closer, do not be afraid!”
(Kovacs, 43)
35
The breadth of Enkidu and Gilgamesh’s loyalty to each other is proven multiple times throughout
the epic. In fact it is their loyalty that often leads them to victory against high odds or unspeakable beasts.
Unlike its later counterpart, the Epic of Gilgamesh involves a greater degree of divine association
with its heroes. Gilgamesh is a prime example of this given his godly heritage.
“Whose name, from the day of his birth, was called ‘Gilgamesh’?
Two-thirds of him is god, one-third of him is human.
The Great Goddess Aruru designed the model for his body, she prepared his form…
beautiful, handsomest of men, … perfect” (Kovacs, 4)
The same qualities of godly progeny can also be seen in Enkidu.
“Let him be equal to his (Gilgamesh’s) stormy heart, let them be a match for each other
so that Uruk may find peace!”
When Aruru heard this she created within herself the zikrtt of Anu.
Aruru washed her hands, she pinched off some clay, and threw it into the wilderness.
In the wildness she created valiant Enkidu,” (Kovacs, 6)
Such divine qualities are usually associated with heroes of all types, yet it seems a hallmark of
solely ancient literature that heroic figures are either descendants or direct products of the gods
themselves. Yet the device of a divine connection, be it paternal or not, serves only to enforce the
goodness and validity of a hero.
Finally, the Epic of Gilgamesh exudes descriptions of the courageous feats that both Enkidu and
Gilgamesh perform. From the lengthy wrestling match in which Gilgamesh and Enkidu first meet to the
slaying of the Bull of Heaven, the bravery and valor of the two heroes is constantly tested, and it is found
most assuredly in sufficient quantities.
“At his second snort a huge pit opened up, and 200 Young Men of Uruk fell in. At his
third snort a huge pit opened up, and Enkidu fell in up to his waist. Then Enkidu jumped
out and seized the Bull of Heaven by its horns. The Bull spewed his spittle in front of him;
with his thick tail he flung his dung behind him. Enkidu addressed Gilgamesh, saying:
‘My friend, we can be bold’ … I shall grasp the bull…I will fill my hands.” (Kovacs, 54)
This and similar passages recounts the tenacity and courage with which the heroes Gilgamesh and
Enkidu dispatch their adversaries. Both heroes show that they are willing to confront all types of evil and
continue on towards victory, while relying on their courage and skill in combat to do so.
Although in many ways quite different from Beowulf, the Epic of Gilgamesh still possesses the
same heroic themes of loyalty, courage, and goodness (albeit more from divine influence where
Gilgamesh is concerned). These traits were just as important to the people of the ancient world as they
were over a thousand years later, and as they still are today.
Even though centuries apart, the two works Beowulf and the Epic of Gilgamesh still resound with
the same themes. Humanity, it seems, has not changed its idea of what a hero should be or the proper
themes of the heroic narrative since their inception. Yet the two works often seem simultaneously similar
and dissimilar. Why is that so? Given that the two epics were written millennia apart and in different
cultures, secular ideas were to differ. However, that still does not change the fact that the concept of
‘Hero’ was the same to both cultures; merely the way of expressing it differed.
A main point of friction in relating Beowulf to the Epic of Gilgamesh comes from the somewhat
divine qualities of both epics’ main heroes. Many of the more divine aspects of the polytheistic hero
Gilgamesh are radically different from those of the monotheistic character of Beowulf. This can be seen,
however, not as a difference in the heroes themselves but either epic’s idea of human choice versus divine
36
predestination. The two heroes, while themselves embodying different divine characteristics, serve more
as religious mediums of the cultures they hail from. Gilgamesh’s tale can be seen as one of man’s faulty
struggle against the predestination of the gods, while Beowulf involves itself more with the Christian idea
of self choice provided through God’s aide. Perhaps the comparison between the two heroes can be seen
somewhat as an indirect evolution of religion itself.
Loyalty, conceivably the heroic theme given the most clout in both epics, is played out in similar
ways but with one difference. Both tales stress and highlight the importance of loyalty to one’s fellow
man yet it is in the capacity of which loyalty is given to ‘superiors’ that differs. In Beowulf loyalty to
one’s superiors is stressed just as importantly as it is to one’s fellow man. Christian values can certainly
be identified as an influencing factor for this. Given that God is the being that is superior to all others and
there is a hierarchy (at least during the latter half of the first millennium in which Beowulf was written) to
lesser and lesser superior figures in which a given man can find his place. The reverence given to kingly
figures such as Hrothgar, God and, later, Beowulf himself serve only to support the trait of loyalty to
‘superiors’ in Beowulf. The Epic of Gilgamesh, however, does not have the same view of loyalty to one’s
superiors as Beowulf possesses. More emphasis is placed on loyalty to fellow man while the loyalty to
higher figures goes unquestioned or unexamined. The basis for this attitude can be seen in the tenets of
most polytheistic religions that the gods are vain and punish those who question their loyalty to said gods.
It can be said that the loyalty to one’s ‘superiors’ is implies in the Epic of Gilgamesh while it is openly
examined and explained in Beowulf.
Both Gilgamesh and Beowulf stand firm on one heroic theme, that of courage. The two epic
poems place the same emphasis on courage. Both view it in some manner as the ability and willingness to
face down all dangers and threats presented, and emerging from them victorious. Only one facet of
courage between the two stories could possibly be debated. As Professor J.R.R. Tolkien stated in his
essay, Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, “But we may remember that the poet of Beowulf saw
clearly: the wages of heroism is death.” In Beowulf such a statement holds true, where the ultimate price
paid for the courage and victories of the hero, is death. Yet with the Epic of Gilgamesh the hero does not
pay this weighty price, at least it is not recorded or told in any tale. We are left with the impression that
Gilgamesh will die simply of old age, and it can therefore be argued that one death is/was perhaps more
courageous than the other. Is it more noble to die in battle fighting overwhelming odds or to die of old age
after accomplishing a long life filled with many deeds of valor attributed to one’s name? Although the
battles and adversaries differ, the trait and theme of courage remains the same. In courage, it seems, all
cultures can agree.
Although sharing many similarities and differences, the two epic poems Beowulf and the Epic of
Gilgamesh both hold their ground on the heroic values and themes that resonate throughout them. Even
though the cultures from which the two tales hail differed, the concept of ‘Hero’ did not. The ways of
expressing what a hero was changed, but the essence of the hero remained the same.
Through this brief examination of two of the greatest works of literature, the central traits and
themes of the heroic concept have been explored. While differing from one culture to another in how they
are presented within a given work, the meaning and value of those traits and themes remain the same. It is
perhaps due to the lasting and profound effect that the concept of ‘Hero’ has on humanity.
The three main heroic themes of Courage, Loyalty and Goodness applied in both epics. It is these
themes that last from culture to culture. They are universal indicators of what is believed to be necessary
in a hero no matter the time or place. Although the expressions of these values may change, the concept
of ‘Hero’, an ideal to look forward to and strive to obtain never does.
37
Works Cited
Beowulf. Translated by Seamus Heaney. New York: Norton & Company LTD., 2001.
Epic of Gilgamesh. Translated by Maureen G. Kovacs. Stanford: Stanford UP, 1990.
Tolien, J.R.R. Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics. Oxford: Longwood Pr LTD., 1977.
38
My Grandfather
by Anna Hendrey
(English 101)
The Assignment: Assignment is based on a reading by N. Scott Momaday (“The Way to
Rainy Mountain”) in which the author describes his grandmother, who serves as a link
between him and family traditions. The student is asked to describe her own
grandparents and use details that show a connection to her family’s cultural identity.
(Descriptive paper)
G
rowing up I never really got to know my grandfather. This was not because I didn’t spend
enough time with him. Even though we lived two states away, I spent many weeks with him
every year throughout my childhood. My grandfather never seemed at ease around children, not
even his grandchildren. He wasn’t the kind of man that would let anyone close to him. Even though he
did not show emotion or share his thoughts and feelings with me, I knew my grandfather loved me. It
was never spoken, but I knew it was there. Maybe it was in the expression on his face when we arrived
for our yearly visits. Somewhere in his face I could see that he was very happy to see us. Or maybe it was
in the small showing of emotion in the tense hug he would give us when we were leaving after our visit to
go back home till next year. I never could pinpoint it, but I knew somehow that he did love me.
My Grandpa was not the kind of grandpa that took his grandchildren fishing or to the park to
play. My grandfather did not believe in children playing. This was a waste of one’s energy. He believed
that a person had only so much energy in their life and it should not be wasted on play. He was a man
who believed in hard work. Even with his small stature he was a strong man and did physical labor all his
life. He was full of pride and believed in the traditional Italian ways. These traditions held true in my
grandparents marriage. My grandfather ruled the home and supported the family. My grandmother
tended the children, garden, animals and all household chores. I never knew when I was young of the
hardships this strong prideful man had been through. Until I became an adult I never understood what
had shaped him into the man he became.
In 1904, Antonio, my grandfather, was born in a small coal mining town called Cambridge in
West Virginia. He was the firstborn child of Italian immigrants that had only been in America a very
short time. Seven more children would follow after him making him the oldest child of eight, which
would put enormous responsibility on him at a very young age. In Italy his parents had been farmers and
lived in poverty. They left their home, family, and everything they knew to come to America in hopes of a
better life and a brighter future.
When they arrived in America Antonio’s father found work in the coal mines of West Virginia.
His father spent long hours every day but Sunday doing the strenuous physical labor of a coal miner.
Antonio’s father worked in the coal mines till 1906, when Antonio turned two. He then decided that
America was not where he wanted to stay. He missed Italy, and the hardships here along with the
language barrier were too much for him. He moved his wife and my grandfather back to Italy.
My grandfather would live in Italy until 1914 when the beginnings of WWI would force my
grandfather’s family to relocate again. His father feared he would be drafted into the war and would have
to leave his family that was already struggling to survive. He would not take this chance and again they
left everything they owned and came back to America. Once again they settled in the mountains of West
Virginia and his father went back to working in the mines.
My grandfather’s life was full of hard work and hardships. He grew up in poverty having only
the barest of necessities available to him. At the age of eleven my grandfather wanted to quit school to
help out the family by going to work in the coal mines with his father. His parents did not want this life
39
for him but my grandfather begged his parents to let him work and help the family. They finally gave into
his will and gave my grandfather permission to quit school after the fifth grade and work full time as a
coal miner.
Children that worked in the mines did the same work as adults. My grandfather would take his
pick and shovel and go deep under the ground into the cold dark mines to mine the coal. He was paid by
how many cars of coal he would fill. He would swing his pick into the mine walls knocking the coal
loose and then shovel it by hand into the rail cars. He would then push the cars up the tracks by hand to
the processing area. The cars would then be inspected before the men were paid. Money would be
deducted if there were any mud or dirt in the cars. He would be paid a small amount for each car he
filled. This money would be brought home to his mother who would give him a small portion of it for
himself and the rest would be used to support the family. My grandfather lost his childhood in the coal
mines and the hardships he faced as a child molded him into a man that could not take joy in life like
other men could. He was constantly driven to keep ahead for fear he would not make it in a harsh world
if he slowed down.
When my grandfather was twenty years of age he met the woman he would marry, Julia. She was
also the child of Italian immigrants and the oldest of her many siblings. Against her parents’ wishes not
to marry at such a young age she married my grandfather when she was sixteen. My grandfather began
his life with his young bride in 1925. They made their home on a piece of property he shared with his
father in a small town in West Virginia named Lumberport. On this piece of land, up the path from his
father’s home, my grandfather built the house that they would live in their entire life. The home consisted
of two rooms and a coal burning stove in the middle of the rooms to provide heat. My grandfather built
an outhouse and dug a well so they would have fresh water. Electricity was not installed for many years.
The land provided them enough room to raise chickens, pigs and a cow for milk. They also had a large
garden to provide fresh vegetables. Together in this small home they began their family.
My grandfather’s first child was born in 1928. He was a strong and healthy son. In the following
years he would have eight more sons. Only three of those would survive after birth leaving him with four
healthy sons. Financially they were doing well on my grandfather’s pay from the mines. My grandfather
was a hard worker and never wasted his money. He scrimped and saved eight hundred dollars, which he
kept in a savings account in the Lumberport bank. In the 1920’s eight hundred dollars could buy a new
house in Lumberport. To save such a large sum of money was quite an achievement for my grandfather.
In 1929 the stock market crashed and the Lumberport Bank went under. My grandfather lost all the
money he had spent years saving. This experience would keep him from ever trusting a bank again.
The Great Depression came and once again my grandfather was faced with poverty. He was laid
off from his job in the mines and he did not know how he would feed his family. He found work here and
there, but this was not enough to keep his family from starving. He made a decision to look for work in
the Midwest. Leaving his wife and children behind he traveled to Chicago in hopes of finding work. He
found a job working in a factory in the city. This job provided him with enough money to send home to
take care of his wife and children.
Things were going so well with his job he decided to move his family from their home in West
Virginia to Chicago. As his wife packed up the family and made arrangements to move, the factory he
worked for closed its doors in financial ruin. He went home to tell his wife and children the bad news.
They would not be moving and again he was without means to support the family. He found odd jobs
here and there, barely keeping his family fed. Finally with the start of WWII the Depression came to an
end and the work resumed in the mines. My grandfather kept his family out of the bread lines and they
never accepted charity through those harsh times. This he would be very proud of.
During the 1940’s my grandfather was doing well financially and his family was thriving. This
was partly because he was promoted to a foreman in the mines. This new position provided higher pay
and easier work with less physical labor. It took hard work and determination for my grandfather to
qualify for this job. He went back to school and had to pass many classes before he could even be
considered for the position. He worked hard at the studies and even though he only had a fifth grade
education he passed the exam and became a foreman.
40
With higher pay and more money to spare it was time to make improvements to the little two
room house. The depression had put permanent scars on my grandfather and he was reluctant to part with
any of his money to get help with the projects. Instead he would do all the work on the house himself.
After working all day in the mines he came home and worked on improvements to the house. He and his
sons added on two more rooms, hand dug a basement under the home and brought in plumbing and
electric. The two room house was now double in size and had many conveniences for his family. No
longer would they have to pump water from outside and carry it in the house or light their way with
candles and lanterns at night.
As his sons came of age the war in Korea began. The first year his two oldest sons were drafted
into the war. My grandfather was afraid that his younger two sons were also going to be drafted. Instead
they enlisted. Within twelve months all of his sons would leave home for the war. This devastated my
grandmother and the worry and heartache took its toll on my grandfather as well. They waited at home
for their boys to come home. Their prayers were answered when all of their sons returned.
They were all men now and one by one they started families of their own. Only one of their sons
would stay in West Virginia to raise his family. The rest would move on to different cities and raise their
families there.
My grandfather retired from the mines at the age of sixty five. He lived out the rest of his years
with my grandmother in the house they began their life in. Even though my grandfather was elderly he
still was strong and had no fear of physical labor. His last day of life on this earth was proof of this.
On my grandfather’s plot of land sat a beautiful hemlock tree. My grandmother’s father had
planted this tree when it was just a twig many years before. It stood fifty feet tall and although it was
beautiful, some of its branches threatened the buildings surrounding it. My grandfather had trimmed
many large trees on his property. He was experienced in this and this unseasonably warm February day
was the perfect opportunity to get this job done. He climbed the tree with his saw in hand and spent the
day sawing limb after limb down by hand until he had it just right. Coming into the house exhausted he
went into the basement and rested in his favorite rocker. He gently passed away as he comfortably
napped in his rocker on that warm February day in 1976 at the age of seventy four.
He can now finally rest from the hard labor and hardships of his life. Now he will have enough
energy to waste on play.
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42
Investigating the Factors that Determine the Distribution of the Stem-Galling Tephritid Fly in an Old
Field in Northeastern Illinois
by Marsella Jorgolli
(Honors Biology 103)
The Assignment: Conduct original research and write a paper about the research that
follows a format in a particular scientific journal.
Abstract
T
his study investigated ecological variables associated with the distribution of Solidago altissima
and galls of Eurosta solidaginis. This parasite-insect forms galls in stems of S. altissima. S.
altissima was found to be positively correlated to soil moisture and negatively correlated to surface
soil temperature. Using Spearman rank correlation, the distribution of E. solidaginis was found to be
positively correlated to soil pH, the distribution of another gall-making fly Rhopalomyia solidaginis, and
to surface soil temperature. Both species showed clumped distribution but they were not correlated in
density.
Introduction
A goal of evolutionary ecology is to understand how the magnitude and direction of natural
selection may vary in response to basic ecological processes (Kapelinski et. al. 1994). An understanding
of the structure of selection regimes can aid in assessing natural selection's place among the causes of
evolution. Herbivorous insects have long been the subjects of speciation models and of tests of the
predictions of these models (Abrahamson et. al. 1993). The basic processes of speciation in herbivorous
insects are poorly understood, despite long debate (Craig et. al. 1997).
The plant-insect interaction under study in this investigation is the tall goldenrod (Solidago
altissima) the gall-making parasite, Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera: Tephritidae) (Cain 1990). Some 130
species of goldenrods are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, with the largest concentration right
in this country. They range in height from mere centimeters to several meters; the family resemblance is
remarkably strong (Egli et. al. 1998). Most goldenrods are upright in form, each branching stem tipped
with arching spikes or whirling panicles of yellow flowers produced from midsummer into autumn
(Lovejoy 1994). S. altissima, known as the tall goldenrod, propagates vegetatively by persistent rhizomes
that produce annual shoots (Meyer and Schmid 1999). Initial colonization of a site by S. altissima
involves the establishment of genets from seeds, but subsequent population development usually occurs
only by the production of ramets via clonal growth (Meyer and Schmid 1999). It is a broadly distributed,
native, rhizomatous, perennial forb (Kapelinski and Weis 1994). Throughout the northeastern United
States and adjacent Canada, this goldenrod is often the dominant plant in old fields and pastures during
the first 15-20 yr following abandonment (Root 1996). Independent and adaptable, goldenrods thrive in
ordinary garden soils and even poor soils. They are firmly drought resistant once established (Lovejoy
1994).
The goldenrod gall-making fly (E. solidaginis) is a common and widely distributed insect found
coast to coast in the central part of North America. This insect parasitizes the stems of the goldenrod
plants causing the plant to produce a large spherical gall on its stem. The adult flies emerge from their
galls in late spring. They only live about 2 weeks, during which time they mate and the females lay their
eggs. An egg is deposited at terminal bud of the emerging goldenrod stems. The larva emerges in about
ten days and immediately begins to eat from inside the stem of the goldenrod. The saliva of the larva has
43
chemicals, which cause the plant to grow abnormally, creating a spherical gall that the larva lives within.
The larva will exploit the goldenrod stem for a full year before becoming adult. The emerging larva then
tunnels through the bud to just beneath the apical meristem. The third-instar larva exhibits a distinct
winter diapause to avoid extreme cold temperatures (Craig and Horner 1997). Mature adults emerge from
the galls during the following spring. The insect, by exploiting the plant environment, leads to reduced
flower and seed production by the goldenrod.
Larval survival and growth are determined, in part, by aspects of host-plant quality, and hostplant quality for herbivores is frequently altered by water deficits (Abrahamson and Horner1999).
Goldenrod gall flies have many predators and competitors, such as parasitoids, parasites and birds, some
even when they are in the larval stage in their gall. A potential competitor is the goldenrod gall midge
(Rhopalomyia salidaginis), which forms flower like gall at the terminal bud of the stem (Root 1996).
The ability of a species to colonize and establish within an area is directly related to the
conditions of that specific environment. The objective of this study was to investigate factors associated
with the distributions of S. altissima and galls of E. solidaginis to include those biological and physical.
Galls of R. solidaginis were included in analysis as the midge is a potential competitor of E. solidaginis
based on parasitism of a common host. Physical measurements were those that commonly define climate
to include soil temperature, moisture, and light exposure.
Methods
The study site was an old field located in the campus of College of DuPage, Illinois. The old field
has been left to undergo natural succession for 15 years on top of construction debris evacuated during
building activities. The sampling was done in April 2004.
Transects of the study area were randomly chosen and fifty 1m2 plots were measured in each for
counts of S. altissima, galls of E. solidaginis and R. solidaginis as well as physical measurements of soil
pH, temperature, moisture and light exposure. The physical measurements were taken during the morning
and at noon to account for changes through the day. Soil pH was measured with a Kelway pH meter
(Kelway instrument Co. Japan). Temperature measurements were taken at different depth to look for
alternations in correlations with the distribution of the goldenrod and galls of E. solidaginis. Moisture and
10 cm soil temperature was measured with Aquaterr Temp-200 (Aquaterr Instruments, Costa Mesa, Ca).
Light percentage and surface soil temperature was measured with Log IT Datameter 1000 (DCP
Microdevelopments Limited, Norfolk, UK).
Patterns of dispersion for S. altissima and galls of E. solidaginis were determined from variance
to mean ratios from count data. Spearman rank correlation was used to determine relationship between
counts of tall goldenrods per square meter and E. solidaginis per square meter to the selected abiotic and
biotic measurements.
Results
A summary of the measurements taken for counts of goldenrods, galls and midges, as well as
selected physical factors is given in Table 1. The variance to mean ratios for tall goldenrod and galls of E.
solidaginis were 10.72 and 1.8, respectively, indicating both had a clumped distribution. Even though
both were clumped, they were not correlated in distribution (Table 2).
Counts of tall goldenrod were positively correlated to morning soil moisture and negatively
correlated to noon surface temperature (Table 1). The gall count of E. solidaginis was positively
correlated to morning surface temperature, gall counts of R. solidaginis, and the soil pH.
44
Discussion
There was no evidence to conclude that patterns of occurrence and abundance of both the fly and
goldenrod were shaped by light exposure, even though some other studied have shown that increasing
irradiance affected the growing patterns of the goldenrod, especially of its rhizomes (Egli et. al. 1995).
Another consistently non-significant factor was deep soil temperature. Possibly S. altissima might be less
deeply rooted than 10 cm where measurements were taken.
The positive correlation between counts of E. solidaginis and R. solidaginis fails to indicate
competition was affecting their distribution. These results are paralleled by Root’s (1996) who, in his
study, concluded that insect herbivores did not, in any way, impact the density of stems. This might be
because E. solidaginis may form host races on another goldenrod species Solidago gigantean, whose
distribution was not considered in this study. The absence of significant interactions between these two
potential competitors may be due to their low abundances.
The positive correlation of the values of pH with the fly distribution might suggest a correlation
of the fly genetic types of S. altissima that prefer particular pH conditions plant. This might come due to
the existence of various genetic groups of tall goldenrod with different resistance abilities resulting in
different levels of suitability with the fly.
In other studies it has been found that larval survival and growth are determined, in part, by
aspects of host-plant quality, and host-plant quality for herbivores is frequently altered by water deficits,
implying a positive correlation between soil moisture and insect abundance (Horner and Warren 1999).
The same results were obtained in this study. Even though soil moisture obtained significance to
goldenrod distribution only for the morning measurements, the afternoon value was still positive. The
negative correlation with the surface soil temperature also supports a link between soil moisture and tall
goldenrod density.
Conversely, E. solidaginis had a positive correlation with surface soil temperature, suggesting
that this species can resist dry environments. This occurrence might be adaptive in nature as to avoid
potential competitors and predators and live in an environment with low levels of parasitism and
competition (Schmid 1994). This correlation might also indicate a dependence of oviposition levels and
emergence of larvae to temperature.
A number of other factors may determine the relative abundance of E. solidaginis making it
difficult to explain distribution of this species based on the factors included in this study alone. Further
studies examining factors such as predation on E. solidaginis, genetic variation among S. altissima
populations, and other plant and habitat characteristics might offer to more completely explain the
distribution patterns of S. altissima and E. solidaginis.
Works Cited
Abrahamson, W. G., T. P. Craig, J. K. Itami, J. D. Horner. 1993. Behavioral evidence for host-race
formation in Eurosta solidaginis. Evolution 47: 1696-1711.
Abrahamson, W. G., M. D. Hess, J. M. Brown. 1996. Intraspecific competition in the goldenrod ballgallmaker (Eurosta solidaginis): larval mortality, adult fitness, ovipositional and host plant
response. The American Midland Naturalist 136: 121-134.
Abrahamson, W. G. and J. D. Horner. 1999. Influence of plant genotype and early-season water deficits
on oviposition preference and offspring performance in Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera:
Tephritidae). The American Midland Naturalist 142: 162-164.
Abrahamson, W. G., M. D. Eubanks, C. P. Blair, A. V. Whipple. 2001. Gall flies, inquilines, and
goldenrods: A model for host-race formation and sympatric speciation. American Zoologist 41:
928-939.
45
Egli, P., B. Schmid, P. Stoll. 1998. Plant foraging and rhizome growth patterns of Solidago altissima in
response to mowing and fertilizer application. Journal of Ecology 86: 341-354.
Cain, M. L. 1990. Models of clonal growth in Solidago atissima. Journal of Ecology
78: 27-46.
Canham, Ch. D., M. Uriarte, R. Root. 2002. A model of simultaneous evolution of competitive ability and
herbivore resistance in a perennial plant. Ecology 83: 2649-2664.
Carson, W. P., Z. T. Long, Ch. L. Mohler, P. Walter. 2003. Extending the resource concentration
hypothesis to plant communities: effects of litter and herbivores. Ecology 84: 652-666.
Craig, T. P., J. D. Horner, J. K. Itami. 1997. Hybridization studies on the host races of Eurosta
solidaginis: implications for sympatric speciation. Evolution 51: 1552-1561.
Horner, J. D. and G. A. Warren. 1999. Influence of plant genotype and early-season water deficits on
oviposition preference and offspring performance in Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera: Tephritidae).
Journal of Ecology 142: 162-178.
Kapelinski, A. and A. E. Weis. 1994. A path analysis of the ecological factors behind selection. Evolution
48: 734-746
Knapp, M. B. and S. L. Collins. 2002. Altered rainfall patterns, gas exchange, and growth in grasses and
forbs. International Journal of Plant Sciences 163: 549-558.
Lovejoy, A. 1994. Prospecting for goldenrods. Horticulture 72: 46-52.
Maddox, G. D. and R. B. Root. 1990. Structure of the encounter between goldenrod (Solidago altissima)
and its diverse insect fauna. Ecology 71: 2115-2125.
Meyer, A. H. and B. Schmid. Experimental demography of the old-field perennial Solidago altissima: the
dynamics of the shoot population. Journal of Ecology 87: 17-27.
Root, R. B. 1996. Herbivore pressure on goldenrods (Solidago altissima): its variation and cumulative
effects. Ecology 77: 1074-1088.
Schmid, B. 1994. Effects of genetic diversity in the experimental stands of Solidago altissima – evidence
for the potential role of pathogens as selective agents in plant populations. Journal of Ecology 82:
165–175.
46
Table 1. Summary ( x + SD; all n=50 ) of the counts of goldenrod, gall counts of Eurosta solidaginis,
gall counts of Rhopalomyia Solidaginis, and of the measurements of the physical and biotic factors.
Variable
8:00 a.m.
Noon
Mean + S. D.
Mean + S. D.
28.17 +
17.38
28.17 +
17.38
0.88
1.26
0.88
1.26
19.46 +
17.07
19.46 +
17.07
pH
6.621 +
0.296
6.621 +
0.296
10cm Soil Moisture %
76.62 +
6.40
67.78 +
10.25
10cm Soil Temp. (ºC)
17.76 +
1.13
11.00 +
4.68
Surface Soil Temp. (ºC)
9.14
+
2.13
19.52 +
4.42
Light Exposure
84.48 +
3.03
89.20 +
1.46
Solidago altissima
(gall counts/m2)
Eurosta solidaginis
+
+
2
(gall counts/m )
Rhopalomyia Solidaginis
(counts/m2)
47
Table 2. Spearman rank correlation analysis between counts of tallgoldenrods/m2 and selected variables.
Variable
Eurosta Solidaginis
8:00 a.m.
Noon
Galls of
Solidago Altissima/m2 E. Solidaginis/m2
Galls of
Solidago Altissima/m2 E. Solidaginis/m2
0.12
0.12
(gall counts/m2)
0.20
*0.33
0.20
*0.33
Ph
-0.02
*0.29
-0.02
*0.29
10 cm Soil Moisture %
*0.34
-0.15
0.19
-0.21
10cm Soil Temp. (ºC)
0.03
0.01
0.02
0.02
Surface Soil Temp. (ºC)
-0.09
*0.62
*-0.29
0.21
Light Exposure
-0.03
0.23
0.06
-0.01
Rhopalomyia Solidaginis
(gall counts/m2)
* -- Significant values showing positive or negative correlation between the variables and the goldenrod
or the gall fly
48
Two Alternatives to the Internal Combustion Engine
by Michael Kundert
(English 198)
The Assignment: This report will be a synthesis and analysis of the facts and opinions
presented by the authors of at least eight (8) of your sources. Develop a project that you
can actually use after this class ends; look for a topic directly related to your work place
that your own company could use.
Abstract
T
he days of the internal combustion engine appear to be coming to a close. The number of
industrialized nations, especially in Asia, has increased dramatically, and with it an increase in the
number of people able to afford automobiles. As automobile production and sales skyrockets, the
problems of air pollution and global warming have become even more critical than ever. The internal
combustion engine is one of the major contributors to these problems.
In addition, the supply of oil is likely to decrease dramatically during the next decades. Since the
1800’s, when it first began to find use, it is estimated that almost a third of it has been recovered and used.
As industrialization has increased, the demand for more of it grows, at a rate of about 2% per year.
Eventually, production will peak as the halfway point in the supply is reached. At that point oil (and by
extension gasoline) will become ever more expensive.
Both the pollution problem and the oil shortage require new ways of powering our automobiles.
One possible solution is to replace the conventional internal combustion engine with a combination of an
electric motor assisting a smaller, more fuel efficient internal combustion engine. Automobiles with this
combination are called hybrid-electric vehicles. Currently, only Toyota and Honda sell such vehicles in
the United States, and the two companies have different design philosophies in regard to how to best use
the electric motor/gasoline engine combination.
Another possible replacement for the internal combustion engine is an electric motor powered by
hydrogen fuel cells. Such a fuel cell combines hydrogen and oxygen to create an electrical current to run
the motor. The fuel cell is still in its early stages of development, and so has many questions associated
with its possible future use. These questions include how to store hydrogen fuel on an automobile, as
well as how to make it and distribute it. Some forms of hydrogen production add greenhouse gasses to the
atmosphere. Others, such as electrolysis, are not yet economically feasible. However, if these questions
can be resolved, it promises to be an outstanding source of energy.
At this point in time however, it seems that the large scale production of hydrogen fuel cell
vehicles is still many years, and probably even decades, away. The hybrid-electric vehicle appears to be
one of the most viable stop gap solutions for the present.
Introduction
The internal combustion engine has served us well over the past century. It has been the backbone
of both America’s and most of the rest of the industrialized world’s land transportation system. We are,
however, approaching a turning point in the history of the automobile. A combination of dwindling
worldwide oil reserves, even as the demand for that resource increases, will force a change in the design
of the automobile engine. In addition, air pollution, much of which is caused by automobile exhaust from
the internal combustion engine, will become an increasing problem as more and more of the world
becomes industrialized and the demand for private automobiles soars.
49
But what will replace the conventional internal combustion engine? Two possibilities are the
hybrid-electric engine and the hydrogen powered fuel cell. Automobiles with hybrid-electric engines are
already available on a limited basis, while vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells are still years away.
The purpose of this report is to give the reader a background on why alternatives to the
conventional internal combustion engine are necessary, and to explain how hybrid-electric and hydrogen
fuel cell powered vehicles operate, along with some of their drawbacks. In addition it will provide
information on how each of the major automakers is responding to the challenge of producing new engine
designs.
An Increasing Global Demand for Automobiles
The demand for automobiles is growing. Currently, in the United States alone, over 200 million
vehicles are registered. Worldwide the level reaches approximately 700 million (Mcauley 2003). As more
and more of the world becomes industrialized, this total is expected to increase three to five times over
the next fifty years, as shown by the graph in figure one.
Figure 1. World Light Vehicle Population
Source: Future U.S. Highway Energy Use: A Fifty Year Perspective
One of the largest potential markets for new automobiles and light trucks is China. Ranked fourth
in vehicle sales (behind the United States, Japan, and Germany), it is the world’s fastest growing market,
having increased sales by 40% (up to 3.2 million vehicles) in 2002. Currently in China, the ownership
rate for light vehicles is approximately 8.5 people per 1000. However, this is expected to increase
dramatically over the next few decades. According to Douglass Odgen, Director of the China Sustainable
Energy Program, “Projections show that China could surpass the total number of cars in the U.S. by
2030.”
At this point, the ability of the Chinese to manufacture cars of their own design is limited.
According to a report in the online magazine China Business Weekly, the majority of automobiles
produced in the country are foreign models. And, while government policy is to increase the number of
vehicles designed and manufactured in China, that total is not expected to get above 50 % until around
2010.
Nor is the current automobile boom limited to China. In India, the world’s other most populous
nation, production and sales are also dramatically increasing (Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers). Over the last fiscal year, they rose by approximately 32%, (1.03 million vehicles.)
Indeed, according to Jim Motavelli, in his book “Forward Drive,” there is an increase of
approximately 50 million new cars every year. The future, it seems, looks promising for the automobile
industry.
50
The Problem of Pollution
Along with all those automobiles comes increased air pollution. On average, a car powered by a
conventional internal combustion engine, produces up to 5 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. This is
one of the “greenhouse gasses” which are believed to be a cause of global warming. According to
scientists, at the current rate of CO2 production, the average temperature will rise from 2-6o F by 2100,
causing a vast potential for flooding, due to the melting polar icecaps (Motavelli 2001, 44).
While the automobile is not the sole contributor to increased CO2 levels, it is one of the largest,
accounting for approximately 14% of the world, and 33% of the United States’ total. In addition, there are
other polluting byproducts from burning gasoline in the automobile’s internal combustion engine. These
include 80% of the nation’s total of carbon monoxide, 50% of nitrous oxides, and 40% of volatile organic
compounds, all of which are ingredients of smog (Mcauley 2003, 5415). As more automobiles are
produced and driven, the amount of greenhouse gases and pollutants they create will have to be
addressed.
There are two ways to do this. The first way is to make automobile engines more fuel efficient, so
they burn less gasoline or diesel fuel. In the United States, since 1975 the federal government has
mandated corporate average fuel economy (C.A.F.E.) standards for automobiles and light trucks.
C.A.F.E. standards apply separately to each American automobile manufacturer. For a manufacturer’s
line of automobiles, the average fuel economy of the entire fleet produced must be at least 27.5 miles per
gallon. For light trucks (which include vans and sport utility vehicles) the standard is 20.7 miles per
gallon. For each 0.1 miles per gallon that the manufacturer’s average falls below these levels, there is a
five dollar fine, multiplied by the number of vehicles in that class that the manufacturer produces for that
model year. If the manufacturer exceeds the standard, it can take a credit which can be applied to
shortfalls in three previous or later years.
The second means of controlling automobile pollution is for governments to set standards for the
amount of emissions exiting the automobile’s exhaust pipe. The state of California has been instrumental
in attempting this. As California has approximately one fifth of the population of the United States, and
accounts for ten percent of its vehicle sales, automakers must take its standards into account.
The state regulatory body which sets these standards is the California Air Resources Board. It is
made up of five elected officials, five technical experts and one full time chairman, all of whom are
appointed by the state’s governor.
One of its mandates has been to require that automobile manufacturers who sell cars in the state
create a percentage of Zero Emission Vehicles (which are essentially battery powered cars) and Partial
Zero-Emission Vehicles (which have tailpipe emissions cleaner than 90% of the rest of the 2003
production year.) While the automobile makers fight this board at every opportunity, it has, in addition to
decreasing pollution, forced automakers into building cars getting better gas mileage.
The Looming Oil Shortage
The world’s transportation is almost entirely dependent upon oil, using nearly 40% of the 75
million barrels that are consumed each day. The Energy Information Administration (E.I.A.) predicts the
amount of oil used will increase between 1.1% and 2.7% each year until 2020. The twin problems
become: How much oil do we have left, and at what point will oil production peak?
Since 1859, it is estimated that approximately 850 billion barrels of oil have been pumped out of
the ground and used. No one knows for sure what oil reserves remain. However, based upon the known
geological requirements for the presence of oil, rough estimates can be made. The United States
Geological Survey estimates that the total oil capacity of the earth was approximately 3 trillion barrels,
including that already recovered and used, as well as 750 billion barrels yet to be discovered. (See figure
two.)
51
Figure 2. Estimated World Oil Capacity
Source: Future U.S. Energy Use: A Fifty Year Perspective
One factor which must be considered when pumping oil out of wells is that the maximum rate of
extraction for each field versus the remaining oil in that field takes the shape of a bell curve. This means
that the rate increases up to the point where half of the oil has been extracted (about the time when all the
wells have been sunk, but before their output begins to taper off.) After that it begins to decrease, and the
remaining oil becomes more difficult and expensive to obtain
It is believed that that peak of production has not yet been reached. However, depending upon
which analyst is correct, it is believed likely to occur sometime between 2010 and 2037. After that
demand will outstrip supply. Figure three shows a possible scenario developed for the U.S. Department of
Energy, which assumes a continued annual growth in demand for oil of 2%, combined with a peak of
production in 2020. It assumes that production remains stable, even though much of the world’s oil
reserves are in the Middle East, an area of notorious political instability.
Figure 3. Projected Future Demand: Oil versus Production
Source: Future U.S. Highway Energy Use: A Fifty Year Perspective
As the graph shows, there is a projected oil gap which appears after the production peak. This gap
will need to be filled somehow. One way is to make synthetic oil out of other fossil substances such as tar
sands, heavy oil, and oil shale. Converting these substances to usable fuel however, is expensive and
would cause even more air pollution and greenhouse gasses.
One answer to the problem of dwindling oil reserves is to use less of it. Since the automobile
accounts for such a large portion of energy usage now, and is likely to account for an even greater portion
in the future, that industry would obviously be a good place to start conserving fuel
52
The Hybrid-Electric Automobile
From the standpoint of solving the problems of air pollution and an impending oil shortage, the
most fuel efficient vehicle would be one that did not use any kind of petroleum product at all. Such
vehicles exist today in the form of electrically powered automobiles. These cars get their motive power by
means of electrical motors supplied by batteries. Though they often have good acceleration and a top
speed that allows them to drive in any kind of traffic, they have a limited range, generally no more than
200 miles.
At that point, there is the problem of recharging the batteries. This can be a lengthy process, and
is one of the main reasons why electrical vehicles have not become popular.
Hybrid-electric vehicles however, are a different story. The reasoning behind a hybrid electric
vehicle is to use both an electrical motor and a gasoline or diesel engine to provide the power to propel an
automobile more efficiently and economically than a gasoline or diesel engine could by itself.
On a conventional automobile, light truck, or sport utility vehicle, the gasoline or diesel engine
does all the work of driving the transmission and thus propelling the vehicle. A basic fact about gasoline
and diesel engines is that smaller, less powerful engines get better gas mileage than larger more powerful
ones do. The reason is that the larger engine has a heavier block, and larger and heavier components, such
as pistons, rods, camshafts and other moving parts. The engine must do more work just to move itself.
Since the larger engine also has larger cylinders, it uses more fuel for combustion. And, of course, a larger
engine is also likely to have more cylinders.
In addition, in all cases, gasoline and diesel engines are at their most fuel efficient and
economical when operating at a steady speed. Most driving is done at steady speeds, which normally
require less than 20 horsepower to push the car through the air, overcome friction due to the car’s
transmission and brake system, and to provide power to run its electrical system.
However, most automobile engines are capable of up to several hundred horsepower. This extra
power is needed for those relatively short periods of acceleration, whether due to starting from a standing
stop or the need to change speeds because of changing traffic conditions. The hybrid-electric car is
designed to provide this extra power by adding the power of an electrical motor to that of the gasoline or
diesel engine.
In theory, hybrid-electric vehicles come in two basic types, called “series” and “parallel.”
(Though, in reality, there are no strictly “series” hybrids available at this time.) Both types have an engine
(either gasoline or diesel), an electric motor, and batteries. A series-hybrid also has an electrical
generator.
Series-Hybrids
In a series-hybrid, the transmission is operated solely by the electric motor, which is able to
accelerate the vehicle efficiently or to drive it at a constant speed. The motor in turn would be powered by
the car’s battery pack. Without a means to recharge the batteries, they would soon be exhausted, probably
within two hundred miles. This, however, is where the gasoline engine and generator come in. The
generator, which is run by the gasoline engine, keeps the batteries charged. If the batteries don’t need
charging, the engine does not run, and gasoline is not used.
Parallel-Hybrids
A parallel hybrid uses both the electric motor and the gasoline engine to run the transmission,
though not necessarily at the same time. There are two types of parallel-hybrid. The first type (called a
“full” hybrid) starts the car from a standing stop by using just the power of the batteries to run the electric
motor. After the battery has discharged to a certain point, the car’s computer will start up the gasoline
engine. While the gasoline engine is running, the electric motor is able to act as either a source of
53
additional power, in case the car needs to quickly accelerate, or to switch functions to act as a generator to
recharge the batteries. The car’s computer determines which function the electric motor serves.
The second type of parallel-hybrid is also called a “mild” hybrid. In this type, the gasoline engine
does most of the work and the electric motor does not take as active a role as in a full parallel hybrid.
Instead, the electric motor is used to give the modest gasoline engine an assist when rapid acceleration is
needed. It also allows the engine to turn off when the car is stationary (for instance, at a stoplight), acting
as a starter when the driver is ready to start moving again. In this case, however, it only acts to restart the
gasoline engine. It does not actually start the car moving itself.
Currently, there are three hybrid-electric automobile models for sale in the United States. Two of
them are from Honda: the Insight and a variation of the Civic. The third is the Toyota Prius.
The Insight and Civic are mild parallel hybrids. In each of them, the electric motor is used to
augment the car’s small gasoline engine when accelerating from a stop or for quick bursts of acceleration
at higher speeds. The Insight is particularly remarkable for being extremely light weight (approximately
1900 lbs.), which is also a factor in its ability to get approximately 60 miles per gallon of gas.
Unfortunately, it is only able to carry one passenger, and it has a maximum payload of 365 lbs.
The Toyota Prius has elements of both Parallel and Series full hybrids. When it starts moving, it
does so by using its electric motor only. At the nominal cruising speed the gasoline engine kicks in,
running in a very narrow speed range while supplying energy both to the transmission and a generator,
which is used to charge the car’s batteries. This is done by means of a device called a power splitter,
which allows the gasoline engine, generator and electric motor to work together to propel the car and
charge the batteries (Nice 2004).
The chief advantage of these three hybrid-electric cars is that they all get very good gas mileage.
The Prius is rated at 60 miles per gallon in the city and 55 miles per gallon at highway speeds. The Civic
and Insight are rated at 46 and 60 miles per gallon in the city and 51 and 66 miles per gallon on the
highway respectively. All three cars also emit very low percentages of pollutants and greenhouse gasses.
Their disadvantages are that they cost more than a conventional automobile of the same size
would cost. The Civic hybrid for instance is $2000 to $3000 more expensive than a standard Civic
(Associated Press 2004). Also, they are more mechanically complicated than most cars with internal
combustion engines.
They also still need gasoline to operate, and so are still dependent on oil. They do however help
to delay the inevitable, while helping to prevent environmental pollution. But at best they are a stopgap
solution. What is really needed is a source of energy based on fuels other than oil.
Hydrogen Fuel Cells
One such possible source of energy is hydrogen. It, along with oxygen, could be used to generate
electricity in a fuel cell. Figure four shows a generic Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell
connected to a DC electric motor.
54
Electron flow
Proton exchange
membrane
Electric conductor
Electric conductor
Hydrogen channels
Pos.
Ions
Annode
Oxygen channels
Cathode
DC Electric
Motor
Figure 4. Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell Connected to a DC Motor
In the diagram, hydrogen gas (H) is introduced into the channels in the anode. A catalyst (usually
made of platinum) inside the channels causes the hydrogen to lose its electrons (e-), and form positive
ions (H+). The positive hydrogen ions are able to migrate through the proton exchange membrane to the
cathode, where they combine with oxygen (O2) introduced into oxygen channels of the cathode. In the
meantime, the electrons which the hydrogen had lost in the anode travel through the electric conductor
where they operate the DC electric motor (which powers the transmission on the automobile.). The
electrons then complete their circuit by traveling back to the cathode where they recombine with the
hydrogen and oxygen to create water (Nice 2000). The actual chemical reactions are:
At the anode:
2H2 → 4H+ + 4e-
At the cathode: O2 + 4H+ + 4 e- → 2H2O
The total reaction is:
2H2 + O2 → 2H2O
In theory, this should be a pollution free source of power, with water as its only byproduct.
Fuel Cells in Automobiles
Currently fuel cell technology is in its infancy, and there are still many issues to solve. For
instance, a typical fuel cell, such as the one shown in figure four, would supply one volt of DC electricity.
An average car powered by hydrogen would need a lot more than that. For instance, Ford Motor
Company currently has an experimental fuel cell vehicle adapted from its Focus model. It has three stacks
each of 400 PEM cells, making a total of 1200 fuel cells per vehicle.
Then there is the question of how the car is to carry its fuel. While it could get oxygen from the
air, hydrogen is a different matter. While plentiful, it does not occur naturally by itself, but is instead
combined with other elements, particularly water and fossil fuels. When released from these elements it
floats away. At this point, there are three means of storing it. The first is in pressurized tanks. The tanks,
55
however, must be pressurized up to 5000 lbs per square inch, in order to give the car enough hydrogen
gas to travel about 200 miles (Monasterky 2003).
Another possible solution is to use a substance that can store hydrogen gas and release it slowly.
Such substances are called hydrides. When their hydrogen is depleted, more of the gas can be recombined
with it.
A third possible means of solving the fuel problem is to use a fossil fuel such as liquid methanol
(CH3O) in the fuel tank, and to remove the hydrogen from it by means of a process known as
“reforming.”
In “reforming,” a combination of water and liquid methanol is vaporized and then added to a
heated chamber with a catalyst. Once in the chamber, the water vapor breaks down to hydrogen and
oxygen molecules, while the methanol breaks down into hydrogen and carbon monoxide. The carbon
monoxide then combines with the loose oxygen molecules to form carbon dioxide. This process has the
advantage of producing hydrogen without resulting in carbon monoxide, a known pollutant. Its
disadvantage is that the carbon dioxide that it also produces is a suspected greenhouse gas (Nice 2000).
Production and Distribution of Hydrogen
The issue of how to produce and distribute hydrogen is probably the greatest obstacle to the
widespread production of fuel cell vehicles. While a hydrogen fuel cell by itself is a highly efficient
producer of energy, the difficulty and costs of producing it out of anything other than fossil fuels are
great. And, of course, the by-products from using fossil fuels are usually pollutants or carbon dioxide.
There are possible solutions to these problems however. One would be to get hydrogen from
water. This can be done by a process known as electrolysis, in which a direct electrical current is passed
through water. An example of this on a small scale is shown in figure five. Using this technique, the
water breaks down into hydrogen and oxygen gas molecules, which float up out of the water and can be
captured for later use. The problem with obtaining hydrogen in this fashion is that it must be performed
on a large scale, with a lot of electricity. Most electricity generated in the United States (68%) is
generated by fossil fuel plants, which defeats the purpose of using hydrogen.
However, as renewable sources of energy, such as hydroelectric, geothermal, wind and solar
power are developed, electrolysis will become a more attractive option.
DC Electrical source
Cathode
Annode
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Water
56
Figure 5. Electrolysis
Source: Scientific American Magazine
Distribution of hydrogen is another problem, since it is not commercially available to the extent
that would support a fleet of fuel cell vehicles. One possible means that has been suggested, is to use the
grid of natural gas pipelines to distribute natural gas to regular service stations. The natural gas could then
be reformed at each station to extract hydrogen from that chemical. A General Motors study says that by
installing hydrogen pumps in most urban areas and along major highways, up to 70% of Americans
would have access to it. The projected cost of such a plan has been estimated at 10 to 15 billion dollars
(Economist 2003).
The future of hydrogen power and the fuel cell is far from clear however, at least as far as the
automobile is concerned. At this point, there are two many “if”s to be certain that it will ever be
economically feasible. To quote Marshall Miller, a research engineer at the University of California who
is adapting vehicles to run on fuel cells: “All of us say that this is the future of transportation technology.
But the bottom line is, it’s really uncertain whether this will start to take off in 10 to 15 years or in 30 to
40 years. And anyone who says they know is kidding themselves.”
Hybrids and Fuel Cells: Who’s Doing What?
Change has come hard to the big three automakers in the United States, and they have been
reluctant to part with the conventional internal combustion engine. Currently, the American automaker
most interested in developing hybrids is Ford Motor Company, which is coming out with a hybrid version
of the Escape, a compact SUV later this year. They also plan to introduce a full-hybrid version of the
Furtura, a sedan which is due to go on sale in the fall of 2005.
General Motors and Daimler Chrysler’s philosophies are apparently more attuned to developing
hydrogen fuel cell and diesel powered vehicles. To quote General Motors Vice Chairman Donald Lutz: “I
do not view hybrids as the future transportation solution” (Welch 2004). Nevertheless, Daimler Chrysler
plans to begin selling a mild-hybrid diesel-electric Ram pickup truck, and G.M. plans on introducing a
full-hybrid sedan and two SUV’s in 2007.
Honda, which introduced the first hybrid into the United States, is continuing along the path of
developing mild hybrids. Currently, they sell the Insight and the Civic worldwide, and this year they will
be selling a mild-hybrid version of the Accord.
Toyota, at this point, is the probably the leader in hybrid design. In addition to selling the fullhybrid Pius worldwide, and six smaller hybrids in Japan, they are planning on exporting two full-hybrid
SUV’s to the United States this fall as well as starting to develop a full hybrid truck.
Hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles are still in the development phase. Currently, there are eight
companies with prototypes, including Toyota (which has eight of them in the United States).
One of the more interesting developments in the area of fuel cell vehicles is a joint program
involving the Department of Energy, BP Amoco, and Ford Motor Company, in which Ford intends to
operate 30 hydrogen vehicles in three cities, Orlando, Detroit, and Sacramento. In order to give them
some place to get hydrogen, BP Amoco has begun to set up hydrogen fueling stations in each of those
cities.
Conclusion
The future of the automobile is unclear at this point. After a one hundred year reign, the days of
the internal combustion engine, as we have known it, appear to be numbered. The twin problems of
pollution and potential oil shortages would probably have made a replacement for it mandatory anyway.
However, as the number of industrialized nations has grown, and the number of people with the ability
and desire to own an automobile has skyrocketed, its replacement by some less polluting an more
57
efficient system has become essential.
At this point, it seems that the hybrid-electric car would be the best solution for the short term.
However, in the long run, a complete replacement of automobiles powered by fossil fuels seems
necessary. While the hydrogen fuel cell seems to represent a possible long term solution, it is not the only
one, and not necessarily the best. In many ways the situation at the beginning of the twenty-first century
resembles that at the beginning of the twentieth. At that time too, different technologies, like electric
batteries and steam power, battled for control of the automobile market. It took years then to finally come
to a decision, as it probably will take years again. Only time will tell.
Works Cited
Associated Press. “Hybrid Vehicles Gain Popularity Among Americans.” Wall Street Journal: (April 22,
2004): (Eastern Edition): D4.
Birky, Alicia et al. “Future U.S. Highway Energy Use: A Fifty Year Perspective.” (May 3, 2001), Draft of
a Report Written for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Brain, Marshall. “How the Hydrogen Economy Works.” How Stuff Works: (May 5, 2004):
<http://people.howstuffworks.com/hydrogen-economy.htm/>.
Brown, Stuart F. “Dude, Where’s My Hybrid?” Fortune: (April 28, 2003): 112-117.
________. “China’s Tailpipe Tally” E Magazine: (Nov/Dec 2002): 13:16-17.
Coy, Peter. “The Trouble With Gushing Oil Demand.” Business Week: (April 26, 2004): 44-45.
________. “A New Kind of Gas Station” Economist: (December 6, 2003): 59.
Fairly, Peter. “Hybrids Rising Sun.” Technology Review: (April 2004): 36-42.
Guyer, Lillie. ”$2.50 a Gallon Gas? Not a Problem” Advertising Age: (April 14, 2003): pS-6.
Holmes, Robert and Jones, Nicola. “Power Struggle: Brace Yourself for the End of Cheap Oil” New
Scientist: (August 2, 2003): 8-11.
Kerwin, Kathleen. “Detroit is Missing the Boat.” Business Week: (October 27, 2003): 44-47.
Monasterky, Richard. “Running on Fumes.” Chronicle of Higher Education: (October 10, 2003): (A14).
Nice, Karim. “How Hybrid Cars Work.” How Stuff Works: (May 4, 2004):
<http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hybrid-car.htm/>.
Nice, Karim. “How Fuel Cells Work.” How Stuff Works: (2000) <http://science.howstuffworks.com/fuelcell.htm/>.
Mcauley, John W. “Global Sustainability and Key Needs in Future Automotive Design.” Environmental
Science & Technology: (December 1, 2003): 5414-5417.
Motavalli, Jim. Forward Drive. New York: Sierra Club Books, 2001.
Motavalli, Jim. “Driving Clean.” E Magazine: The Environmental Magazine,(Jan/Feb 2004): 23-25.
Service, Robert F. “New Fuel Cell is the Coolest of All.” Science Now: (June 16, 2000): 2
_______. “Passenger Vehicle Sales in Top Gear” Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (June 9,
2004): <http://siamindia.com/media/coverage/viewcoveragehead. aspx?id=36>
Wald, Matthew L. “Questions About a Hydrogen Economy.” Scientific American: (May 2004): 66-74.
Welch, David. “Gentlemen, Start Your Hybrids.” Business Week: (April 26, 2004) 45-46.
Zhengzheng. China Business Weekly: (June 17, 2003): <http://chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/200306/17/content_2407.html/>
58
Lavinia, Kate and Portia: The Progression of Identity
by Sarah Magin
(Honors English 228)
The Assignment: Write an analytical essay that will demonstrate your understanding of
and acculturation of Shakespeare, closely examining his plays read up to midterm.
T
he works of William Shakespeare often touch upon and make comments about women. One
example that has been illustrated is the concept of a self-aware identity. What is meant by a selfaware identity is a woman with her own opinions and beliefs, one who possess a strong voice and
is a powerful force. As presented, for the purpose of my argument, a woman’s identity is defined
by her valued voice and her own power. The treatment and outcome of women with their own identity in
Shakespeare’s plays serve to present different views on this concept. Three of his works that create
suggestions on how to deal with self-aware women are: Titus Andronicus, The Taming of the Shrew, both
written in 1594, and The Merchant of Venice, written years later in 1599. In Titus Andronicus, the
character of Lavinia is raped, ravished and killed because of her individual identity. This vilification of
identity is somewhat subdued in The Taming of the Shrew where the self-aware Katherine fares well, but
only because she is tamed. The Merchant of Venice presents an appreciated sort of woman, where the
character of Portia is allowed the force and voice of identity, but only when disguised as a man. A study
of these plays demonstrates a progression, over time, of an individualized feminine identity from that
which must be destroyed by man, to that which must be tamed by man and finally developed into that
which can be valued in the form of a man. What this progression shows is the formation of the concept
that the only proper way that a woman can carry a voice and power in society is when (she is likened to a
man). This idea further makes the suggestion that if women want to be respected and valued, they must
learn to act less like a woman, and more like a man.
The tragedy of Titus Andronicus is a bloody and brutal tale that illustrates the self-aware identity
of Lavinia as the marker of her downfall and demise. She is first introduced into the play by her brother
as “her to whom my thoughts are humbled all, gracious Lavinia, Rome’s rich ornament” (1. 1. 51-52).
This shows how, at the beginning of the play, Lavinia has no real individuality and exists simply as an
adornment to add beauty to the city. This concept is furthered by the fact that she has very few lines,
which represents a lack of voice and power. She forms no opinions and displays no authority over any
other characters, even when her father gives Saturninus permission to marry her when she is already
betrothed to Bassianus. When Titus asks if she is displeased with this arrangement, Lavinia’s only
response is “not I, my lord; sith true nobility warrants these words in princely courtesy” (1. 1. 271-272).
Her refusal to protest a marriage that she doesn’t want further exemplifies her complete lack of voice and
power that form a true identity. In fact, the only reason that she is not forced to wed Saturninus is
because of Bassianus, who seizes Lavinia and announces “this maid is mine” (1. 1. 276). Others
recognition of Lavinia being without individuality is expressed with the declaration of Demetrius that
“She is a woman, therefore may be woo’d; She is a woman, therefore may be won” (2.1. 82-83). What he
is saying is that Lavinia is an example of a woman without identity; she has no power over or opinion on
her domination by men.
One can mark a change in Lavinia to a woman with a self-aware identity upon her entrance into
the forest. She and Bassianus come across Tamora, the Goth queen, engaging in sexual acts with a Moor
that is not her husband. Surprisingly enough, the quiet disposition of Lavinia seems to disappear
suddenly when she speaks the majority of her lines in a short dialogue where she exchanges lewd and
crass insults with Tamora. Lavinia goes as far as crediting Tamora with “a goodly gift in horning” (2. 3.
67) and makes reference as to Tamora’s husband being “mightily abus’d” (2. 3. 87). The fact that Lavinia
59
uses her voice to overpower Tamora by accusing her of being sexually loose and shaming her husband
shows the expression of Lavinia’s opinions and demonstrates the construction of her self-aware identity.
The creation of Lavinia’s own identity is quickly followed by Tamora’s plea to her sons to
“Revenge it” (2. 3. 114). What happens is that Lavinia’s self-expression causes her own destruction in
which Chiron and Demetrius cut out her tongue, cut off her hands, rape her and then mock her.
Demetrius cries, “So, now go tell, an if thy tongue can speak, Who ‘twas that cut thy tongue and ravish’d
thee” (2. 4. 1-2). Chiron then goes to add, “Write down thy mind, bewray thy meaning so; An if thy
stumps will let thee play the scribe” (2. 4. 3-4). The loss of her tongue makes it so that she is unable to
speak and the loss of her hands leaves her as powerless and as devoid of an identity as she was in the
beginning of the play. Her father, Titus, later declares “Die, die, Lavinia, and they shame with thee”
when he murders her in order to protect her from her shame (5. 3. 46). In response to the accusation of
himself as Lavinia’s murderer, he responds, “Not I; ‘twas Chiron and Demetrius; They ravish’d her, and
cut away her tongue: And they, ‘twas they, that did her all this wrong” ( 5. 3. 56-58). What is being
exemplified is the concept that it was the self-aware identity of Lavinia that caused her suffering and
death. This is because it was the development of her identity that called for the need for the loss of her
identity; which was done through the rape and ravishment that then led to her death. In this manner, it
can be seen how Titus Andronicus presents the concept that a woman’s identity is something that must be
taken away by men. In Shakespeare’s next play, The Taming of the Shrew, the effects of a woman having
individuality are softened.
The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy that deals with the idea of a woman’s identity and makes
the suggestion that women with self-aware identities, in this case Katherine, can be tamed into a new
humor that is more desirable to men. In the beginning of the play, Katherine is described as “curst and
Shrewd” (1. 1. 193). This is because she uses her voice freely and loudly and lets others know of her
opinions. When her father commanded her to stay, she declared “What, shall I be appointed hours as
though, belike, I knew not what to take and what to leave? Ha!” (1.1. 105-106). This shows that
Katherine is forceful and makes her own decisions. With all of this, what is clearly defined is that
Katherine is a woman with a self-aware identity. Because of this, men are not attracted to her; yet,
because of her rich dowry, a man named Petruchio decides to tame her in order to “wive it wealthily” (1.
2. 76).
Petruchio’s first act of taming is to compromise Katherine’s identity by calling her Kate. When
she corrects him, he responds “you lie, in faith, for you are called plain Kate” (2. 1. 193). This is
important because Petruchio is telling Katherine who she is and thereby taking away her sense of identity
with his use of power and voice. Basically, he is subduing her voice and power by establishing his own
as more important. Petruchio later fully discloses his intent when he tells Katherine that “I am he am born
to tame you, Kate, and bring you from a wild Kate to a Kate conformable to other household Kates” (2. 1.
291-292). With this, it becomes clear that Katherine’s identity is not acceptable and she will therefore be
changed in order to make her acceptable in the eyes of men. The taming process can be further shown in
Petruchio’s statement to Katherine “and kiss me, Kate. We will be married o’ Sunday” (2. 1. 343). This
is important because he rejects her voice when he does not ask her opinion and basically informs her that
they are engaged. Petruchio’s denial of Katherine’s identity obtains the desired effect because instead of
refuting the engagement, Kate silences her voice and allows her father to start planning the wedding. The
remainder of the taming goes on after the wedding at Petruchio’s home where he doesn’t allow his Kate
to sleep or eat and speaks in opposition to whatever it is that she says. In this manner, he takes away her
power to the point where she can not even get anyone to serve her food and takes away her voice by
making her so frustrated with him that she gives up her own view and simply agrees with whatever he
says.
A great shift in Katherine’s manner appears when, after a fight in which Petruchio states the sun
to be the moon. She finally declares “and be it moon, or sun, or what you please. And if you please to
call it a rush candle, henceforth I vow it shall be so for me” (4. 5. 15-17). This is very significant because
it marks the moment when Katherine realizes that she must adhere to whatever it is that her husband says
and abandon her own individuality. This realization is further marked in her long speech at the end of the
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play. Petruchio commands Katherine to explain a woman’s duty to her husband and she submits and
continues to declare that “thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper” (5. 2. 162) and that “my hand is
ready, may it do him ease” (5. 2. 195). One can see from this persuasive and lengthy speech that she
obtains her original voice and power, yet not her self-aware identity. What this means is that Katherine’s
identity had been tamed to the point where her voice and power still remain, but they do so only at her
husband’s will. It has been shown how The Taming of the Shrew takes the belief from Titus Andronicus
that a self-aware woman is no good; but, through the taming of identity, presents a milder way to rid
society of such women. This concept of identity is further shaped into an acceptable form in The
Merchant of Venice.
Another comedy by Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice expands the already developed concept
of a woman’s individuality into an identity that can be valued by society. In this play, the character of
Portia develops her own sense of identity that is respected and profitable to others by adapting the identity
of a man. At Portia’s introduction into the play, it becomes known that she is “aweary of this great
world” because she must adhere to a lottery courtship, involving three chests, that was formulated on her
father’s deathbed (1. 2. 1-2). She laments that “so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a
dead father” (1. 2. 24-25) and “I cannot choose one, nor refuse none” (1. 2. 26). What she is saying is that
she has no voice or power in her courtship and must marry the man who picks the correct chest, no matter
how she feels about him. She later says to one of her suitors that her father “scanted me and hedged me
by his wit to yield myself” (2.1. 16-17). With her regrets on being so restricted and bound, it becomes
clear that Portia longs for the identity that she lacks because of her father. Fortunately, the suitor that
chooses the correct chest is Bassanio, who was favored by Portia.
Upon his winning guess, Portia states that “myself, and what is mine, to you and yours is now
converted” (3. 2. 170-171). This illustrates the fact that now free from her father’s hold, Portia is capable
of creating her own identity. Yet, because it is a marriage that releases her, the only kind of identity that
she can create is one that is dependent and somehow mixed with that of her husband. This concept is
further explained with the misfortune of Bassanio’s good friend Antonio. Immediately after the wedding,
Bassanio must depart for Venice because Antonio must appear in court and could be killed. Upon her
husband’s departure, Portia and her handmaid Nerissa decide to acquire “such a habit that they shall think
we are accomplished with what we lack” (3. 4. 63-65). What she means is that both women will disguise
themselves as two men, a doctor and a clerk, in order to travel to Venice and save Antonio. Because a
woman’s voice is not valued like a man’s and a man has more power, especially in the courtroom, they
will have to “turn two mincing steps into a manly stride” in order to help (3. 4. 70-71). What is shown is
that Portia is forced to take her identity that is already dependent on a man and push it one step further to
construct an identity as a man.
In court, the costumed Portia uses her voice and power of her masculine identity in order to save
Antonio from death. Bassanio expresses to Portia that “Most worthy gentleman, I and my friend have by
your wisdom been this day acquitted” (4. 1. 426-427). Portia and Nerissa are celebrated and quickly
return home in order to arrive before the men. At Bassanio and Antonio’s arrival, Portia admits that she
“was the doctor, Nerissa there, her clerk” (5. 1. 288-289). Upon this discovery, Antonio says to Portia
“sweet lady, you have given me life” (5. 1. 306). This shows the significant good that Portia was
responsible for because if it were not for her, Antonio would have most likely died. This is very
important because it is an instance of a woman’s voice and power of identity being not only acceptable,
but highly valued. The important thing to remember is that Portia would have never been able to express
herself in court and save Antonio if she had not been dressed as a man. What this shows is the complete
progression from a woman’s self-aware identity as something that must be destroyed or tamed by man, to
a woman’s identity as something that can be appreciated, but only as long as it is expressed like that of a
man. What is being suggested is that if a woman wants her identity to valued, she needs to make it more
like a man’s. While the fact that Portia had to pretend to be a man in order to have her identity valued
may seem like a catastrophe, one must keep in mind that the distortion of one’s self to liken that of a man
is a great step beyond Kate having her identity tamed into subservience or Lavinia’s identity being
destroyed with rape and ravishment.
61
Through the Shakespearean works of Titus Andronicus, The Taming of The Shrew, and The
Merchant of Venice there has been demonstrated a progression of identity. Each play features characters
that have their own sense of individual identity through their voice and their power. The fate of each
character is unique: Lavinia, of Titus Andronicus, is raped and murdered; Kate, of The Taming of the
Shrew, is tamed; and Portia, of The Merchant of Venice, saves the day disguised as a man. This concept
of the self-aware identity of a woman is treated differently in each play in order to illustrate the movement
to the idea that the only way for a woman’s opinion to be valued in society, is if she presents herself less
like a woman and more like a man.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. The Taming of the Shrew. New York, NY: Washington Square Press, 1992.
Shakespeare, William. Titus Andronicus. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1926.
Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. New York, NY: Washington Square Press, 1992.
62
The Pledge of Allegiance and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment:
Why Vishnu and Jesus Aren't In the Constitution
by Daniel McCullum
(Criminal Justice 151)
The Assignment: The student is to write a research paper on a Constitutional topic of
their choice.
F
ew court cases cause as much public reaction, both positive and negative, as those that deal with the
First Amendment. Cases that deal with the establishment clause in particular seem to strike a chord,
or a nerve, with the American public. None more so than the June 2002 ruling of the 9th Circuit
Court striking down the Pledge of Allegiance as unconstitutional, based on the phrase "under God",
which the court found to be in violation of the establishment clause.1 This paper will examine the Pledge
and attempt to determine if it does, in fact, constitute an "establishment of religion."
In 1892, Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, published the Pledge of Allegiance in Youths'
Companion, a family magazine.2 In its original form the Pledge read: "I pledge allegiance to my flag and
to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.3 Bellamy had
been asked to write the Pledge as part of a series of events designed to commemorate the 400th
anniversary of Columbus' arrival in America.4 Bellamy also managed to convince President Harrison to
declare Columbus Day a national holiday.5
Gradually the Pledge worked its way into schools across the country and became the traditional
way to start off every school day. The Pledge underwent several modifications over the years, including
the change from the words "my flag" to "the flag of the United States of America".6 In 1942, the Pledge's
50th anniversary, Congress made the Pledge an official part of the flag code.7 On Flag Day, June 14,
1954, in an attempt to differentiate the United States from communist nations, Congress and President
Eisenhower added the words "under God" to the Pledge.8
Up until this point there had been relatively little controversy over the Pledge. The Supreme
Court had only heard a handful of challenges, and those all dealt with whether or not children in public
schools could be forced to recite the Pledge. In 1943, the Court ruled in West Virginia State Board of
Education v. Barnette, overturning an earlier ruling, that reciting the Pledge must be voluntary.9 Then, in
2002, Dr. Michael J. Newdow brought suit against Congress and the Elk Grove School district, where his
daughter attends school.
In his case, Newdow alleged that the phrase "under God" violated the establishment clause of the
First Amendment. Newdow, an atheist, alleged that his daughter was being injured by being forced to
watch her teachers lead the class in what he described as "a ritual proclaiming that there is a God."10 A
three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court agreed in a 2 to 1 ruling and declared that the words "under
God" did constitute a violation of the first amendment.11
How did the three judge panel determine that the Pledge violated the constitution? There are
several "tests" that have been developed over the years by the court to determine if a law or statute
violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Here we will look at all three tests, we will then
apply them to the Pledge.
First and foremost among these is the Lemon test. This is a three-pronged test that is derived from
the case Lemon v. Kurtzman. The three prongs are defined here as they were by Chief Justice Warren
Burger in his opinion for the Court. The first prong states that "…the statute must have a secular
legislative purpose…", the second that "…[the statute's] principal or primary effects must be one that
neither advances nor inhibits religion…", and the third that "…the statute must not foster 'an excessive
entanglement in religion.'" 12
63
In the case Lynch v. Donnelly, Justice O'Connor wrote a concurrence further refining the first two
prongs, the "purpose" and "effect" prongs, of the Lemon test. In her concurrence Justice O'Connor said
that what is important to determine is not so much whether government is advancing or inhibiting religion
but whether government is endorsing or disapproving of religion. Government endorsement of religion,
O'Connor says, "sends a message to nonadherents that they are outsiders, not full members of the
political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members
of the political community."13 The main idea presented in O'Connor's concurrence is known as the
"endorsement" test.
The third test is known as the "coercion" test, as laid out in Lee v. Weisman.14 In Lee, the
Supreme Court held that religious invocations at public school graduation ceremonies were
unconstitutional. They believed that while the ceremony is not mandatory, it is unreasonable to assume
that someone of primary or secondary school age will be immune to the subtle coercive pressures applied
to them to attend and participate in the ceremony. In the opinion for the court, Justice Kennedy said that
since the ceremony took place in a secondary school environment, there existed "subtle coercive
pressures… [such that] the student had no real alternative which would have allowed her to avoid the fact
or appearance of participation."15 In short, the Court ruled that school children could not be put into a
situation where they are forced to choose between participating in or protesting a religious ceremony.
Violation of any one of these tests would be enough for a court to find the Pledge
unconstitutional. Now that we understand them, we can apply the tests to the Pledge. However, for
purposes of clarity later, we will first demonstrate that the Pledge is, in its current form, of a religious
nature. There is ample evidence to show that it is and that it was intended to further religion, specifically
Judeo-Christian monotheism, in America. Demonstrating this first will make it easier to apply the tests
and see their results.
Congress and President Eisenhower did not decide to add the words "under God" themselves;
rather, it was under pressure from the Catholic organization Knights of Columbus.16 Senator Homer
Ferguson, who introduced the resolution to change the Pledge in the Senate, said at the time "I believe
this modification of the pledge is important because it highlights one of the real fundamental differences
between the free world and the Communist world, namely belief in God."17 Congress also stated at the
time that "the inclusion of God in our pledge therefore would further acknowledge the dependence of our
people and our Government upon the moral directions of the Creator. At the same time it would serve to
deny the atheistic and materialistic concepts of communism." (Emphasis added)18 President Eisenhower
said at the bill signing ceremony that "From this day forward, the millions of our school children will
daily proclaim…the dedication of our nation and our people to the Almighty."19 All this taken together is
a clear indication of the religious nature and intent behind the addition to the Pledge. We can now apply
the tests to the Pledge.
We will start with the Lemon test. It is clear from the statements made by Congress and President
Eisenhower that they intended the Pledge to foster and encourage devotion to God and to act as a counter
agent to atheism. The idea of the Pledge and its use is certainly a secular one, but the inclusion of the
words "under God" had a specifically religious purpose. That is, the addition of the words served no
purpose that could be achieved in some other secular manner, which means that the Pledge violates the
first prong of the Lemon test.
The words were also intended to have a twofold effect, as stated above, of promoting belief in the
Almighty and inhibiting the spread of atheism. This is an obvious violation of the second prong of the
Lemon test, the effect prong. We can also see from this that the Pledge in its current form fails the
endorsement test as well. In Barnette the Supreme Court ruled that the Pledge requires "affirmation of a
belief and an attitude of mind."20 This ruling came before the addition of the words "under God",
however, given that ruling, it is impossible to view the phrase "under God" as anything other than an
endorsement of monotheistic beliefs and values.
As Judge Goodwin eloquently stated in his opinion in the Newdow case "[a] profession that we
are a nation 'under God' is identical, for Establishment Clause purposes, to a profession that we are a
nation 'under Jesus,' a nation 'under Vishnu,' a nation 'under Zeus,' or a nation 'under no god,' because
64
none of these professions can be neutral with respect to religion."21 The Pledge as it is now is a clear
example of what Justice O'Connor said would make non-adherents outsiders; thus the Pledge also fails the
endorsement test.
The third and final test, the coercion test, presents yet another insurmountable barrier to the
Pledge. The religious nature of the current Pledge cannot be denied, and it thus puts students in the
untenable situation of being forced to actively participate in or protest a religious ceremony, as laid down
in Lee. This effect is exacerbated the younger the child is; the younger they are, the more impressionable
and more apt they are to succumb to such coercive pressures.
It is clear that the Pledge stands in violation of the Constitution, and the 9th Circuit Court was
right to rule the way they did. However, judging by the backlash against the ruling in 2002, there are
many people who would disagree. Many say that the Pledge cannot have such a profound impact on
students as to make a violation of the establishment clause. One wonders, however, how these same
people would react if, as Judge Goodwin said, the Pledge contained the phrase "under no god." Indeed, it
is hard to imagine those who believe in God not feeling excluded by their own government if the Pledge
did have the phrase "under no god," so how can it be different to replace that with a phrase
acknowledging a single, all-powerful God?
The debate in this country over the role religion plays in daily life, both public and private, will
not be resolved anytime soon. The courts will play a large role in many of these issues, but most of these
decisions are ones that will ultimately have to be resolved by the citizens of this country, not the
government. This much at least is clear: if the wall of separation that Thomas Jefferson spoke of is to be
preserved, then the government must be neutral towards religion, neither favoring it nor discouraging it.
Anything less and the wall will crumble.
Bibliography
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
Newdow v. United States Congress, 292 F.3d 597 (9th Cir. Cal. 2002)
"The Pledge's Creator", Jones, Jeffery Owen, Smithsonian, Nov. 2003, Vol. 34, Issue 8
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
"With Little Ado, Congress Put God In Pledge In 1954", Rosenbaum, David, New York Times, Jun.
28, 2002
West Virginia State Board Of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
Newdow v. United States Congress, 292 F.3d 597 (9th Cir. Cal. 2002)
"Court Strikes Down Pledge; Ruling Based On Words 'under God'", Schodolski, Vincent, Chicago
Tribune, Jun. 27, 2002
Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602 (1971)
Lynch v. Donnelly, 465 U.S. 668 (1984)
Lee v. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577 (1992)
Ibid
Knights Of Columbus, www.kofc.org
"With Little Ado, Congress Put God In Pledge In 1954", Rosenbaum, David, New York Times,
Jun. 28, 2002
House Resolution 1693, 83rd Congress, 2nd Session (1954)
65
19.
20.
21.
The American Presidency Project, www.presidency.ucsb.edu, Wooley, John; Peters, Gerhard,
University Of California, Santa Barbara
West Virginia State Board Of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
Newdow v. United States Congress, 292 F.3d 597 (9th Cir. Cal. 2002)
66
Shakespearean Names in The Taming of the Shrew
by Mary K. Meier
(Honors English 228)
The Assignment: Write a formal essay that will demonstrate your understanding of and
acculturation to Shakespeare up to this point of the quarter by heightening your aesthetic
and critical interest in certain aspects of his plays.
T
hroughout each of Shakespeare’s plays, he uses an extensive array of names with just as many
different meanings. Shakespeare’s ability to take the time and choose so wisely for each
character’s name enhances his quality as a writer. Each of these names was chosen very
meticulously to either reflect the character’s personality or make a statement about the character itself. In
his play The Taming of the Shrew, he utilizes this ability throughout the entire play, including its
Induction.
In the Induction that sets the reader up for the idea of characters being able to change clothing in
order to change their identities, the only character with a name is Christopher Sly. Many theories say that
Shakespeare actually knew someone by the name of Christopher Sly. In my opinion, there’s a great
possibility he knew someone similar to the character named Christopher. That choice of a simple,
common name places the characters in England and contrasts the Induction from the play-within-the-play.
The last name “Sly”, however, seems to have been a direct ironic statement about the nature of Sly’s
character. The word sly means crafty or cunning, while Sly himself is the exact opposite. He is easily
fooled into believing he had amnesia for years and was really a lord. He is also very gullible in believing
the lord’s page is a woman. Even his naming of this small character allows the reader to differentiate
between the name and reality. It is obvious that Sly is far from being sly. This way, if the readers are
aware of the meaning of the names used in the play-within-the-play, they will realize the incongruence
between appearance and reality that the entire play is based on.
The first character in the play-within-the-play that is presented to the reader is Lucentio, but
before the reader gets to know him, Shakespeare characteristically presents Lucentio’s father Vincentio,
whose name derives from the more common Vincent with the Italian flare, ending in “io,” which implies
masculinity in the Italian language. Vincent means conqueror or victor. This is consistent with
Shakespeare’s portrayal of Vicentio being a “merchant of great traffic through the world” (1.1.12).
Lucentio’s esteem for his father reveals Vincentio’s worth. Lucentio vows to “deck his fortune with his
virtuous deeds,” allowing for him to make his father even more the conqueror (1.1.16). Later in the play,
Vincentio is the conqueror of the conspiracy of everyone’s disguises because he shows up unexpectedly.
Although at first, he is ignored, he is victorious in the end because he was right all along. When Baptista
realizes the plot, he is infuriated that Lucentio did not receive consent from him to marry his daughter,
Bianca. Vincentio, sure of his ability for victory, says, “Fear not, Baptista, we will content you,” implying
that he is undefeatable (5.2.138).
The next character I have chosen to study is Katherine, the titled shrew. She “is so curst and
shrewd” that her father refuses to let anyone woo Bianca while Katherine remains a spinster (1.1.183).
The name Katherine means pure and virginal, two characteristics expected of any lady at that time that
had not yet wed. Despite her shrewdness, she remains a virgin until her marriage to Petruchio. The
cleverness in the choice of her name weighs mostly on the shortened version that Petruchio refers to her
as—Kate. Through the use of this name, Petruchio is able to make a vast number of puns on her name
and her temperament. During their first meeting, Petruchio is able to make puns on her name that
demonstrate both the shrewd woman she is and the way he plans to make her tame. At their meeting,
Petruchio refers to her as his “super-dainty Kate (For dainties are all Kates),” with dainties, or food
67
delicacies, also being known as cates (2.1.196-7). Later during their banter, he says he is born to “bring
[her] from a wild Kate,” which is a pun on calling her a wildcat, describing her temperament as cat-like
(21292). During this first meeting, he calls her Kate approximately twenty five times and calls her
Katherine only twice. When he refers to her as Katherine the first time, he says, “sweet Katherine, in thy
bed,” displaying the importance of her virginity, the meaning of her name, in bed (2.1.282). The second
time he refers to her as Katherine, he is addressing her father, who might be appalled at his casual
shortening of her name. After their marriage, he expresses his taming methods in a soliloquy, using an
extended metaphor, comparing Katherine to a falcon. He calls the tamed falcon a “kite,” which is also a
pun on the name Kate.
Following the introduction to Katherine’s outspokenness, the reader views the opposite in her
younger sister Bianca. Her name means white in Italian. The implications from the idea of “white” are
those of purity and serenity. The ideal of whiteness goes back to the ancient days of Europe. In the
Celtic belief structure, white animals or beings were thought of as being able to pass between the physical
world and that of the afterlife, similar to Christian angels, which are also most commonly pictured
adorning white. Any men that came across these white animals chased them. These men were ultimately
fooled and stuck between the physical world and the afterlife. Bianca is described using an extensive
amount of praising words spoken by various characters. Lucentio is hooked on Bianca and says he sees
“mild behavior and sobriety” in her (1.1.72). Her father refers to her as “good Bianca,” expressing that
even he has been suckered in by Bianca’s perfection. I brought up the Celtic beliefs because Bianca is
very similar to the white animals in that Lucentio, Hortensio, and Gremio are all pursuing here
relentlessly. She is viewed as angelic and perfect. In the end, the name “Bianca” turns into a fantastic pun
on Petruchio’s part. Bianca’s obedience ultimately falls short of her sister’s, causing what was thought
about them both to be completely the opposite. Petruchio says to Lucentio, “’Twas I who won the wager,
though you hit the white” (5.2.202) This is a fantastic pun because although Lucentio achieved the hand
of the lady most sought after, or the bulls eye, Petruchio ended up with the loving, obedient wife that men
truly desired. I also found this to be a clever pun because modern day interpretation could allow it to be
translated as a sexual comment referring to Bianca as “the white.”
During the first act, we also learn of Lucentio’s character through his observation of others and
his dialogue with Tranio. His name, coming from the word lucent, means luminous or clear. This reflects
his personality in that he is transparent. From the very beginning it is obvious that he has fallen in love
because of appearance. To me, his “love at first sight” despite Tranio’s warning that he may not have
seen what was really there makes it completely obvious that his weakness lies in his love of appearance.
Even after he spends some time with Bianca, who is not as mild as she first appeared, he is completely
blind to her faults. Despite her refusal to be “tied to hours, nor ‘pointed times,” Lucentio continues to do
the clear thing—continue to “love” her because of that first impression (3.1.19). Lucentio is transparent
because the reader knows he is going to fall for Bianca’s tricks right away, even after the reader realizes
Bianca’s temperament appears different than reality. Any Shakespeare reader would expect that when he
so commonly write about appearance being incongruent with reality.
Last, but certainly not least, Petruchio’s unusual name brought two different ideas into my head.
Originally, I completely based Petruchio on Petrarch, the fourteenth century sonnet-writer that I am sure
Shakespeare must have idolized at one point. I thought of Petruchio as a poet because of his fantastic
puns on words, as well as his ability to go on and on, using language of love in order to kill Katherine
with kindness. His cleverness baffles Katherine, and I believe that characteristic is what attracts her to
him. The other idea I got from the name Petruchio was its similarity to the word “patriarch”. A patriarch
is the male leader of a group, whether it is a country, a village, or a family. Petruchio is a patriarch that
dominates his family by taming his wife into obedience. He is also obviously dominant during his abuse
of Grumio, whose name, as a side note, comes from the word “grum”, meaning morose, sour, and
guttural—a good description of a “villainous” servant. I am unsure whether Shakespeare was making
either connection when he made up Petruchio’s name, but both symbols arose in my head at the time of
reading the play.
All in all, Shakespeare was magnificent at choosing carefully each name for every character, even
68
those as seemingly insignificant as Vincentio and Grumio, who have very small parts to fill in the play.
This play is merely one example of the plays in which Shakespeare uses names to enhance understanding
of the characters or just play on a pun on their personalities. Without Katherine and Bianca being named
as such, Petruchio’s cleverness that links him to a poet would not be present in the plot. The importance
of names ranks high in order for a reader or a viewer to understand the play, especially in one full of
disguises, such as in The Taming of the Shrew.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, Williams. The Taming of the Shrew. The New Folder Library Shakespeare. Eds. Barbara
A. Mowat and Paul Westine. New York: Washington Square Press, 1992.
69
70
A Mummy Mystery: Analysis of a Badlands Cave
by Andy Morris
(Honors Biology 103)
The Assignment: Characterize the remains of a human as to archeological age and vital
statistics, and author a paper of the research that follows a professional format.
Abstract
T
he identification of an archaeological find and unknown human remains requires the analysis of
the various artifacts and evidence within the site. This study examined the remains of a
mummified human cadaver and related artifacts excavated from a cave in Badlands National Park,
South Dakota, to reconstruct the site and the unknown human cadaver found within it. Carbon –14 dating
was used to date the individual samples and provide the general relationship between the human remains
and the other associated artifacts. A student t-test was conducted to determine the statistical age
differences between the samples. An analysis of the structure and development of the preserved human
skeleton was used to determine important anatomical characteristics of the individual. Comparison of the
analyses of the different samples served to provide a better understanding of the site and the mummified
body found on it. The human cadaver was found to be a 30-40 year old male at time of death and was
dated around 5,378 years old. Analysis of the different samples suggests that the individual probably died
from an illness caused by a tapeworm parasite.
Introduction
The analysis of an archaeological find requires the joint examination and interpretation of the
various artifacts uncovered within the site. A former cave discovered by paleontologists in Badlands
National Park, South Dakota, was found to contain the remains of an unknown mummified human
cadaver and other artifacts. The cave entrance had been sealed by a prior rockslide, which preserved the
human remains and other artifacts within the cave. The research and interpretation of the human remains
and other evidence is essential to the analysis of the cave site and the unknown mummified cadaver.
Researchers utilize many different analytical techniques in addressing an archaeological site and
analyzing the remains within it.
The analysis of human bones is also a basic tool to evaluate a site and the identity of an unknown
individual. Osteology and bone analysis examines the structure and development of human bones to
determine various features and traits of an unknown individual. Particular human skeletal remains can be
examined for structure and growth to determine important anatomical features as height, sex, and age
(Bruce 2001, Ubelaker and Scammel 1992).
The known history of the area can also aid the analysis of the cave site. Badlands National Park
and the surrounding plains have been the home to various native cultures for over 11,000 years. The
mummified cadaver belonged to the Early Plains Archaic Period, in which Paleo-Indian groups inhabited
the northwestern plains (Fagan 1995). Around the time of the mummified individual, various native
cultures descending from the ancient Clovis culture are believed to have occupied the Badlands area and
lived as hunter-gatherers. They survived primarily on the hunting of bison, smaller game animals, and
plant foraging (Fagan 1995). Excavations of known Clovis and other Native American sites have yielded
evidence that early cultures relied heavily on the hunting of bison and other game to provide food and
other necessary materials (Fagan 2001).
This study is an attempt to examine and analyze an archaeological site and an unknown human
71
cadaver found within the Badlands National Park. The discovered cave provided various artifacts as
evidence to the identity of the site and the mummified cadaver. The results of the study provide data to
determine approximate age of the uncovered materials and their relationship to each other within the
context of the site. The findings help determine the basic characteristics and identity of the mummified
human cadaver.
Methods
The study was conducted on various artifacts and samples acquired from a former cave in
Badlands National Park, South Dakota. The samples examined included a complete human skeleton, a
cyst-infested human liver, human tissue containing the remains of insects, complete skeletons of an adult
wolf and seven puppies, and charcoal drawings on the walls of the cave. The remains were discovered in
a cave measuring 3 m. in height, 10 m. in depth, and 4 m. in width.
The approximate age of the human remains and other associated artifacts were determined
through carbon-14 dating. One sample from each wolf and insect specimen and 8 samples from the
human cadaver, cysts, and charcoal drawings were subjected to the carbon-14 dating. This method of
dating provided a sample mean and standard deviation for the approximate age of each sample. The
statistical differences in age between the human skeletal remains and the other materials (cysts, charcoal,
insects, and wolf skeletons) were calculated using a student t-test. Student t-tests and a statistical
significance at p<0.05 were used to analyze the statistical age difference between the samples and the
probable relationship between the human remains and the other artifacts.
The height of the assembled skeleton was measured, and weight was estimated based upon
obtained height (Bruce 2001). The gender, age, and other identity markers of the mummified individual
were obtained by analyzing the bone characteristics. Particular areas of the bone, such as cranial sutures,
were analyzed to determine the basic measurements and characteristics of the unknown human skeleton.
Different areas on the human skeleton were examined as anatomical markers to identify important
characteristics of the individual.
Results
The carbon-14 dating provided an estimated age for the human remains and other associated
artifacts (Table 1). The statistical differences between the human remains and the other samples varied.
As expected, the student t-tests concluded that the human skeletal remains could not be shown to be
statistically different in age from the cyst-infested liver (t= .760; p= .460; df=14) or the insect material
found throughout the body (t=1.049; p=.312; df=14). The charcoal samples proved to be significantly
older than the human remains (t=13.005; p< .001; df=14), while the wolf remains appeared much younger
(t=160.710; p< .001; df=14).
Examination of the individual samples provided information of the identity of the human cadaver.
Measurements of the human skeleton determined the individual’s height to be close to 1.58 m and have an
approximate weight of 61.4 kg. The analysis of the skeleton’s pelvic bone structure distinguished the
individual as male. The skeleton’s smaller pubic arch (less than 90°) and less open, heart shaped pelvic
inlet identify the remains as male (Van DeGraaff 1998). Examination of the skeletal structure also
determined the individual to be between 30 and 40 years of age. The full emergence of the individual’s
teeth, ossification of the sutures, and the almost complete closure of the cranial sutures suggest that this is
a mature skeleton and probably over 30 years old (Bruce 2001, Van DeGraaff 1998). The lack of bony
outgrowths on the vertebrae, lack of eroded teeth, and the clearly visible sutures on the skull suggest that
the individual was not very old at the time of death (Ubelaker and Scammel 1992). The cysts within the
liver were found to be hydatid cysts, which would have resulted from the tapeworm parasite,
Echinococcus granulosis. The male was the intermediate host for parasite’s larval form.
The insect specimens found within the mummified human tissue provided details on the death of
the human cadaver. The human remains contained individuals from Dermestes maculatus, Creophilus
72
maxillosus, Silpha lapponica, and Cynomyopsis dadaverina. The first three species are scavenger beetles
and the latter a calliphorid fly, which reside in and feed on carrion (Elzinga 2000, Borror and White
1998). Each of these beetles infests dead material in a specific order and at a particular period of
decomposition (Gullan and Cranton 1994).
Discussion
The earlier date of the charcoal drawings shows that the mummified individual could not have
created the images of the bison and deer and must have inhabited the cave at a much later time. The 600year difference does indicate relative long-term use of the cave by humans. Likewise, the significant age
difference between the human skeletal and wolf remains determines that they also could not have
occupied the site at the same period of time. Animals other than humans evidently also utilized the cave.
The adult wolf may have been a parent of the pups, but this and the possible causes of the wolf deaths
were not explored.
The presence of the tapeworm-infested liver may provide a reasonable explanation for the death
and health at time of death of the individual. The tapeworm, Echinococcus granulosis, is a widely
common parasite which causes hydatid cysts within human livers and other areas of the body. The larval
form of the tapeworm infests the liver, causing hydatid disease in humans. Hydatid disease may lead to
the emergence of serious health problems, as ruptured cysts may cause anaphylactic shock, fever, and
harm other organs (Anwar et al. 1991). The parasites are transmitted from the intermediate host of
grazing animals to humans by ingestion of the eggs by hand-to-mouth transmission (Anwar et al. 1991).
The individual is likely to have ingested the tapeworm eggs, as Paleo-Indians relied primarily on hunting
game animals and foraging for plants for food (Fagan 2001). The individual would have picked up
parasitic eggs as he handled unsanitary plant or animals material containing feces matter. The hydatid
disease infection would have weakened the individual and may also have lead to his death.
The evidence of carrion and scavenger insects within the human tissues and mummification
further supports this. The diseased individual would have used the cave as a shelter to rest and would not
have been properly buried if he suddenly died from the hydatid cysts. The exposure to the environment
would have allowed scavenger insects to feed on the decaying material and also would have promoted the
natural mummification of the cadaver. The small amount of insects found in the body probably meant that
the cadaver had limited decay and was mummified not long after death. The individual probably died in
winter, in which the cold, dry temperatures would have limited decay time and increased the
mummification process. Winter would also have reduced the number of available insects to infect the
cadaver. The cave environment may have exposed the cadaver to a relatively dry, cold, and windy
environment, which would naturally mummify the individual’s body (Zivanovic 1982).
Works Cited
Anwar, G.N, R.M. Matossian, H. Radwan, and G.A. Meshefedjian. Monitored medico-surgical approach
to the treatment of cystic hydatidosis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 69: 477.
Borror, D.J., and R. White. 1998. Peterson Field Guides-Insects. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY.
Bruce, A. 2001. Dem bones: forensic resurrection of a skeleton. The Journal for College Science
Teaching 31: 37-41.
Elzinga, R.J. 2000. Fundamentals of Entomology, 5th ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Fagan, B.M. 2001. People of the Earth, 10th ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
73
Fagan, B.M. 1995. Ancient North America: The Archaeology of a Continent. Thames and Hudson, New
York, NY.
Gullan, P.J, and P.S Cranton. 1994. The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. Chapman and Hall,
London.
Ubelaker, D. and H. Scammel. 1992. Bones: A Forensic Detective’s Casebook. HarperCollins, New
York, NY.
Van DeGraaff, K.M. 1998. Human Anatomy, 5th ed. McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA.
Zivanovic, S. 1982. Ancient diseases: The Elements of Paleopathology. Pica Pr., New York, NY.
74
Table 1. Summary (x + SD years; all n=8) of carbon-14 data of tissues from the human cadaver
and also associated artifacts found in a cave in Badlands National Park, South Dakota.
________________________________________________________
Item
Mean + standard deviation
________________________________________________________
Human skeletal remains
5379 + 79
Insects in human remains
5342 + 59
Hydatid cysts in the liver
5352 + 56
Charcoal drawings
5974 + 103
Wolf remains
403 + 38
________________________________________________________
75
76
Giving Up Densities of Small Mammal Granivores and Their Foraging Behaviors
by My Nguyen
(Biology 103)
The Assignment: Author a paper describing a field-based experimental research project.
Abstract
T
he foraging behaviors of small mammal granivores may be influenced by many combinations of
factors. Granivores forage for food in search of preferred food items and with caution against
predation risks. It is expected that granivores found in the Russell R. Kirt prairie at the College of
DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois are likely to have a lower giving up density with larger seeds than with
smaller seeds. It is also hypothesized that the GUD for open microhabitats would be greater than it would
be in covered microhabitats. ANOVA was used to make comparative analysis. Results show that the
differences in giving up densities for large seeds and small seeds are minute and does not have any
significant relationship. However, there is a significant relationship between the microhabitat and the
giving up densities. The GUD for open microhabitats are larger than that of covered microhabitats. The
study also found that large seeds were consumed more in covered microhabitats than small seeds. There
was no significance found between seed size and open microhabitat.
Introduction
Animals behave in different ways due to their surroundings. The way an animal obtains its food
in its natural habitat can be affected by several characteristics. Primarily, animals must think about food
selection and availability, risks of predation, and competition with other animals for the same food items.
In this experiment, we are observing the giving up densities of a few small granivores foraging on large
seeds and small seeds in two types of microhabitats. At the College of DuPage, some of the likely
nocturnal granivores found in previous studies feeding on seeds in the Russell R. Kirt prairie included the
white-footed mice, meadow voles, and prairie voles.
Wolf and Batzli (2004) found that white-footed mice tended to forage for food items like tree
seeds and invertebrates at different seasons. White-footed mice enjoyed nuts, samaras, acorns, and fruit.
Wolf and Batzli had found in previous experimental studies that the white-footed mice tended to ignore
millet seeds and were more likely to forage in seed trays filled with sunflower seeds. Meadow voles also
were found to forage on tree seeds like oak trees, maple trees, and ash trees similar to the white-footed
mice (Howe and Brown 1999). They had a preference for dicots in the grassland and agricultural
habitats. Morgan and Brown (1996) attest that small mammals forage for food either passively or
actively, whichever that would enhance its preference and encounter with food. In their experiments with
fox squirrels, the use of an active search mode would allow the fox squirrels to scavenge for its food with
a lower GUD with one particular food type while foregoing another food type that may also be present.
Hence, the fox squirrel will tend to forage for food that it prefers and spend a longer time obtaining its
preferred food than it would to forage for an equivalent mass of food item that is less desirable.
Therefore, it would be likely to find small granivores feeding on large seeds like sunflower seeds rather
than small seeds like thistle and millet seeds, as it tends to prefer these items much more.
Brown, Kotler, and Mitchell (1994) explains that the longer the time that an animal spends in a
seed tray, the less rewarding the tray will be to provide food to the animal. It will no longer be
worthwhile for the animal to find food in the same experimental seed tray as the amount of food tends to
diminish as the granivore is feeding on it. By tracking the giving up densities we can examine some of
77
the behaviors that may influence the way animals forage for food. Giving up densities determines the
point of quitting harvest rates (Morgan and Brown 1996). To optimize its maximum foraging outcome,
animals will tend to spend not too much time at one site when its food availability is diminishing. There
would be a point at which it quits foraging for that food item and move on to another site that may have
more abundant resources.
Another factor that influences the giving up densities and quitting harvest rates for foraging
granivores is the risk of predation. Predation risks are common for animals in their natural habitats. It is
only natural that they find protection for itself as it exposes itself while foraging for food. Kelt et al.
(2004) saw that various species of the mice such as the Akodon foraged more extensively in absence of
predation. Covered areas surrounded by shrubs and tall grasslands may provide a place for animals to
hide. The open areas with the moon shining down on the animal allow for predators to easily find its
prey. Therefore, foraging behaviors are modified when perceived risk of predation is high, open areas are
avoided and food is left at higher GUDs (Howe and Brown 1999). In many studies, the giving up
densities of food were found to be lower in covered shelters than that of food left in open areas for
foraging small mammals (Brown, Kotler and Mitchell 1994, Wolf and Batzli 2004, Kelt et al. 2004).
Brown, Kotler and Mitchell (1994) saw seed trays set in plots with bushes received more activity than
seed trays set in an open microhabitat. The study on white-footed mice showed that the mean GUDs from
open shelters were at least two times higher than the mean GUDs from covered shelters (Wolf and Batzli
2004). The Octodon, Phyllotis, and Akodon consumed more food from trays under shrubs than in open
habitats.
It is expected to see that the small granivores feeding in the Russell R. Kirt prairie will feed on
favored seeds like sunflower seeds over smaller size seeds. It also expected to see that the small
granivores are more likely to have a larger giving up density in open microhabitats than that of covered
microhabitats.
Methods
Seed trays were set up at four experimental sites at the Russell R. Kirt prairie and the Hill prairie
and restoration along the Circle Drive at the College of DuPage. Two of the sites that had low growth of
mesic prairie or oak savanna with scattered oak trees were considered as open sites. Covered sites
contained dead standing plant stalkings from the previous year, which provided some of the predator
protection.
Each site contained 30 trays with a total of 120 trays for all 4 sites. At each site, there were 15
small seed trays and 15 large seed trays. Each seed tray consisted of sand mixed with 5.0 grams of either
small seeds consisting of thistles and millet seed or large seeds containing black oil sunflower seeds. A
pair of the seed trays was spaced approximately 1 meter apart. Each pair of seed trays was spaced at least
3 meters apart from each other. The trays were semi-randomly placed and were partly staggered across
the site to occupy the majority of the site. The seed trays were set out on the field sites on April 21, 2004
at about 7:00 pm. The seed trays were taken in the next morning at 6:30 am. Due to wet conditions,
some of the seeds were air-dried before weighing. After drying, the seeds were separated from the sand
and were then weighed to figure for the giving up densities. The measured GUD of the seed trays assess
the foraging behavior of the small mammal granivores found in the Russell R. Kirt prairie, such as the
white-footed mice, meadow voles, and the prairie voles. The different sites and seed size were compared
using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) with a significance of p= 0.05.
Results
The two types of sites and seeds sizes were compared using analysis of variance. The granivores
were more likely to forage in seed trays that were in covered sites than they were to seek food in seed
trays that were out in the open prairie grasses. There was a significant relationship found between
microhabitat and giving up densities (⎯X = 4.31, F (1,116) = 19.96, P = 0.0002). Covered sites had a
78
significantly lower mean GUD than that of open sites; both covered sites had a mean giving up density of
3.81 grams, whereas, both open sites had a mean GUD of 4.82 grams (Figure 1).
There was no significant relationship found between seed size and giving up densities (⎯X = 4.32,
F (1,116) = 2.41, P= 0.1230). Figure 2 shows that for small and large seeds, there was a not much of a
difference in the giving up densities. However, when comparing microhabitat x seed size, figure 3 will
show that there is a significant relationship between seed sizes in the covered habitat (⎯X=3.81, F (1,116)
= 5.06, P = 0.0264) when measuring the mean GUD. Small seeds in covered sites had an average GUD
of 4.24 grams. Large seeds in covered sites had a mean GUD of 3.38 grams. Conversely, there is not
much of a difference in GUD between seed sizes in open sites. Small seeds in open sites had a mean
GUD of 4.74 grams and large seeds in open sites had a mean GUD of 4.90 grams.
Discussion
My hypothesis suggested that the small granivores would feed on the larger seeds over the
smaller seeds in the experiment. However, it was found that the relationship between seed size and the
giving up densities are not significant. The white-footed mice, meadow voles, and prairie voles were just
as likely to consume the large sunflower seeds, as it was to consume the small millet and thistle seeds.
Conversely, there was a significant relationship found between seed size and microhabitat with
giving up densities. The granivores in the covered sites consumed more of the large seeds than that of the
small seeds. This shows that with a decreased risk of predation, the granivores are more likely to
consume preferred food items when presented with an equal abundance of both food types.
There was also a significant relationship found between the microhabitat site and giving up
densities. The data demonstrates that granivores were more likely to consume more food in covered areas
than food in open areas as hypothesized. There was much support in previous studies claiming the same
theory (Brown, Kotler and Mitchell 1994, Wolf and Batzli 2004, Kelt et al. 2004). With a decreased risk
of predation, the granivores would forage for food more extensively and thoroughly.
This study was first targeted to observe the giving up densities of both birds and granivores.
However, due to the unexpected rainfall, the study could not be completed to include observing the
foraging behaviors of birds during the day. Future studies would help to demonstrate the various foraging
behaviors of both birds and nocturnal small granivores. Future studies would also go into delving into
more information about which predators may be lurking for their prey at the Russell R. Kirt Prairie.
Works Cited
Brown, J.S., B.P. Kotler, and W.A. Mitchell. 1994. Foraging theory, patch use, and the structure of a
Negev Desert granivore community. Ecology 75: 2286-2300.
Howe, H.F.and J.S. Brown. 1999. Effects of birds and rodents on synthetic tallgrass communities.
Ecology 80: 1776-1781.
Kelt, D.A., et al. 2004. Foraging ecology of small mammals in semiarid Chile: The interplay of biotic
and abiotic effects. Ecology 85: 383-397.
Morgan, R.A. and J.S. Brown. 1996. Using giving up densities to detect search images. American
Naturalist 148: 1059-1074.
Wolf, M. and G. Batzli. 2004. Forest edge – High or low quality habitat for white-footed mice
(Peromyscus leucopus)? Ecology 85: 756-769.
79
Figure 1: Mean Giving Up Densities
6
Giving Up Densities (grams)
5
4.82
4
3.81
3
Series2
2
1
0
open
covered
Microhabitat Type
80
Figure 2: Mean Giving Up Densities
Small vs. Large Seeds
4.6
4.54
4.55
Giving Up Densities (Grams)
4.5
4.45
4.4
Series1
4.35
4.32
4.3
4.25
4.2
Small
Large
Seed Size
81
Figure 3: Mean Giving Up Densities
Microhabitat vs. Seed Size
6
5
open
open
Giving Up Densities (Grams)
covered
4
covered
open
covered
3
2
1
0
small
large
Seed Size
82
Tuesday Night
by Kristopher Luke O’Dell
(English 101)
The Assignment: Write a response to Carol K. Littlebrandt’s “Death is a Personal
Matter” (1976, Newsweek): “We all celebrate or commemorate the landmarks in our
lives – births, marriages, deaths.” Write a narrative showing how a person or groups of
people faced one of these major events.
I
was twelve years old. It was Tuesday night, an event that, up until that evening, I had always
loved. It was the one night of the week I truly anticipated. It was the one night of the week
that my father would gather with his two older brothers and about half a dozen of their
friends. They would gather, sit and talk in a cigar-smoke filled room that reeked of beer. On
occasion, we would play cards for nickels, dimes, and quarters. Poker nights were always my
favorite, probably because I liked to win.
These Tuesday night gatherings have been going on since the early seventies. I have always held
them in high regard. Initially I liked the gatherings so much because I got to stay up late with these men,
even if it was a school night. I took this gesture as a great gift and a rite of passage because I looked up to
them so much. So when my parents divorced in 1994 and held equal custody rights over me and my four
year old sister, naturally I wanted to be with my father more often--completely opposite from my sister.
Therefore, I made it a point to be at my father’s house on Tuesdays.
These fun, liberating Tuesday nights were quick to change on a fall night in 1997. We were
playing poker and I was winning, for once, when the telephone rang. It was too late in the evening for the
telephone to ring and I knew something was awry. I hesitated to answer it. My father’s best friend, Joe,
decided he would answer the telephone in his typical comic fashion. The horrid change from humor to
cold seriousness on his face set my fears in stone. He looked at my father oddly, almost questioningly,
and my father slowly nodded and handed the telephone to me. It was my mother telling me my father
needed to drive me to Good Samaritan Hospital. My childhood best friend, my childhood hero, my 83year-old grandfather on my mother’s side had died.
I went through the typical “this is not happening stage” on the short, quiet trip to the hospital in
my father’s black Ford pickup. Only the two of us rode in the truck, and my father-- who was usually
talkative and cracking jokes--was silent. That bothered me the most. Silence usually meant adults did not
know what to say, and that has never been a good thing in my experience.
As we slowly walked through the green-canopied hallway to the entrance of the hospital I could
not help but think how unnecessarily long this green tunnel was. It seemed like a mile, especially in the
silence. We went through the automatic doors and I suddenly remembered how my grandfather had
always said, “Open Sesame!” at every door. Early on in my childhood I always thought he held some sort
of senior citizen power that allowed him to open doors by command. But childhood days with my
grandfather were now only a memory, and he was gone forever. Deep sadness hit me, and I could not
even bring myself to look at the smiling, pink-clad candy striper at the front desk. My father gave my
grandfather’s name, and she cheerfully gave us his room number. Her enthusiasm seemed ill timed. It
made me nauseous.
The elevator hum was annoyingly loud due to our unconscious oath of silence. Suddenly, my
father broke the oath and offered a peppermint Altoid to me. Chewing mints was a habit we picked up in
order to calm our nerves when my other grandfather had a heart attack. I do not know if it really did calm
me, but the crisp, cool mint took my mind off reality for the rest of the elevator trip.
As we stepped off the elevator, the sickening smell of hospital food and cleanliness hit my nose
83
and the remarkably bright floors and ceilings blinded me. Before we reached my grandfather’s room, my
father offered me another Altoid, almost to numb me for what was to come. I took two more cool, minty
psychological buffers and turned the corner. The sight of my mother, obviously upset, hurt me. Oddly, I
continued on as if drawn by my grandmother’s cracking voice, calling me like the snakes to Saint Patrick.
Nothing, not even the whole tin of Altoids, could prepare me for the scene in the room.
The room was small and dark. What I could distinguish between my grandmother’s sobs was,
“Come see him, he’s gone, he’s gone Kris. Forever.” Then she laid her hands upon his, and I was seeing
a dead body for the first time. Even more shocking was the way my always happy, optimistic
grandmother very quickly broke down. That was when the knot in my throat came, larger than ever
before. It was going to block off my breathing if I did not do something.
I had never seen any male role model in my life cry. I was not about to cry either. My twelveyear-old self felt it was my responsibility to be a man and support my hysterical grandmother. She then
did something that made me realize that the pain I had experienced entering in the room was only a hint
of what was to come. She took my hand and placed it on my grandfather’s cold, clammy hand. I looked
at his face and for once, it looked very tired. He needed a shave, his hair was a mess and resembled
cumulus clouds, and his mouth was wide open like he was snoring. Again came the painstaking, ear
splitting silence. The knot grew twice its size and I realized I had to leave the room and could no longer
be the man. I could not support my grandmother even after her husband of over fifty years was gone. I
left the room, went back into the bright, clean smelling hallway, and had another Altoid. My father took
over in my place and did not fail as I did.
Outside the room, my mother was complaining loudly to the doctors and nurses about
something I did not understand until weeks later. The hospital had no real explanation for my
grandfather’s death. The memory of the events at the hospital, coupled with the memories of his
wake, when the undertakers closed his casket and asked us to leave so they could incinerate him,
still leaves a void in my soul. When my grandmother died one year later, on yet another Tuesday
night, I was better prepared. But despite the best preparation, life and death, much like a poker
hand, are often out of one’s control, something I first learned when my mother and father
divorced.
84
Stop Being Lost in Translation ©
by Aaron Olson
(Honors English 102)
The Assignment: Write an argument to persuade a resistant audience who may express
considerable resistance to your actions, values, and beliefs because your position is
highly contestable.
Claim: Because of the inherent differences of film and literature, it is important that both art forms be
judged on their own terms in order for a viewer or reader to fully appreciate both as equally artistic.
E
very so often there is a novel or short story that is turned into a motion picture and the first
question that is always brought up is whether or not the movie is better than the book. Reviewers
spend entire columns comparing and contrasting novels with their cinema counterparts, yet most
of these debates are left in ambiguity. This is because film and literature are fundamentally different in
the way that the public receives them. Books are read without time constraint or length requirement.
Also, books are experienced in a personal way according to the reader’s imagination and with respect to
any of five literary points of view. Films, on the other hand, are absorbed visually by a mass audience
and differ from literature in terms of point of view and time constraints. Those who directly compare the
two mediums often overlook these distinctions. Overlooking the distinctions can be counterproductive to
a reader or viewer whose goal it is to genuinely experience the cinematic and literary forms of art. A
viewer or reader must first dispel his or her expectations of the novel or film in order to fully enjoy the
work as an individual artistic creation. Because of the inherent differences of film and literature, it is
important that both art forms be judged in their own terms in order for a viewer or reader to fully
appreciate both as equally artistic.
In order to better understand the distinctions between film literature and written literature, one
must first maintain a basic understanding of the processes and conventions of their creation as well as
their inherent differences. Books are written, more often than not, by a single author, with more freedom
of expression than a director, who is forced to conform to rating standards of the time. Also, the writer
has the advantage of working almost entirely with written language—a medium that, though complex in
its own right, is easy to control and modify. This, of course, excludes the small amount of illustration that
is used in some novels. Film is a far more technically complex medium to work with. Movies work
solely with pictures and sounds, with the rare exception of small amounts of text that appear on the screen
from time to time. The texts seen on screen in some movies (excluding the credits) are usually used for
the purpose of a basic introduction to the plot line, as seen in the opening sequence of every Star Wars
movie, or to provide some basic information about a character in the story, like in the ending of the movie
Animal House where all of the main characters’ future lives are summarized in a brief paragraph. Neither
the incorporation of illustrations into novels, nor the incorporation of texts in movies is proper grounds
for deeming books a visual medium or movies a language-based medium. Because film is primarily
visual, it offers a great variety of technical challenges in communicating plot, theme, and character depth.
One of the major challenges that directors face in adapting a novel to the screen is the limitation
of the camera’s ability to represent literary points of view. Of the five literary points of view—firstperson, omniscient-narrator, third -person limited point of view, dramatic point of view/concealed
narrator point of view, and stream of consciousness or interior monologue—three of them require that the
narrator be able to “see” what the characters are thinking by looking inside those characters’ minds,
which is difficult to depict cinematically (Boggs 679). Some would say that voice-over narration can be
85
imposed (or superimposed) on a film to give a sense of narration and thus a novelistic point of view.
Joseph M. Boggs, refutes this by stating that “This [voice-over narration] is not a natural cinematic
quality, and it is rarely completely successful in duplicating or even suggesting novelistic viewpoints. In
film we usually simply see the story unfold. Thus the dramatic point of view is the only novelistic
viewpoint that can be directly translated to cinema” (680). In elaboration of this point, George Bluestone,
states that movies have the ability to present the audience with images and dialogue, which can lead to the
inference of thought, but cannot show us their thoughts and feelings directly (48). This limitation can
prevent filmmakers from capturing the novel’s essence, which is largely based on point of view (Boggs
680).
Another primary difference between movies and books is the audience that they target and the
levels of imagination that are expected by both mediums. For movies, appeal to a mass audience, which
is collectively viewing the movie, is necessary. Books, on the other hand, are more personal, targeting
one reader’s imagination at a time. This distinction is one key element to film adaptation that causes
much controversy. In essence, it is impossible to capture the way that each individual reader imagines the
settings, actions, and characters on film because everyone’s perception of literature is different. “It is a
mistake if people watch movies through the pages of a novel because I think you have to reconcile
yourself as a filmmaker to the fact that each person who reads a novel is playing out a perfect version of
the film in their minds,” said writer-director Anthony Minghella (3). This gives people the false
expectation that, when going to see an adaptation of a novel that they had previously read, their vision of
the novel will be recognized. Keeping in mind the restrictions on film in terms of directly communicating
literary elements, it is impossible for moviegoers who make direct comparisons between the book and the
adaptation to be satisfied (Eidsvik 669). Instead, they should recognize that the film and the novel are
products of two different artistic visionaries, with two very different audiences.
Film’s need for mass appeal also motivates filmmakers to focus on plot and story energy. As
stated in Mark Caro’s article, “They [novels] have nothing to do with momentum. They have to do with
deep spelunking into the psyche of the characters” (2). That is not to say that films cannot also dive deep
into the psyche, only that movies do not always address characters with the same amount of depth or
background development as the corresponding novel might (Boggs 683). Although this is not necessarily
a bad thing when considering the shorter attention span of a movie audience, the exclusion of this
information is, of course, due to the time constraints that are put on film literature in general.
Length is another important variable in the film adaptation equation. As stated by Boggs, “…the
average novel contains more material than a film could ever hope to include, so the screenwriter or
director must choose what to leave in and what to take out” (675). This is a great source of
disappointment for moviegoers who expect to make direct links between the film and the novel. In most
movies, the time spent on back-story, extended character development, as well as the exploration of
themes, is often cut short. However, because of the difference between novel and film audiences, as
discussed above, some of that detail would be counterproductive to a director wishing to hold his or her
audience’s attention. Knowing the differences in length, audience, and point of view is essential to a
person who wishes to explore a different way of viewing film adaptations and the books that inspired
them.
More often than not, those who do directly compare film adaptations to literature are left feeling
disappointed in one way or another. If attempting to read a book that corresponds to a particular film
adaptation after watching the film, a reader will most likely take on the film director’s perspective of the
novel. Taking on the director’s perspective destroys the sense of individual imagination one gets from
reading, which can limit the reader’s enjoyment of the book. If, after reading the novel, the reader attends
a screening of its film adaptation, the reader will more than likely be inclined to weigh the director’s
interpretation (visually or thematically) of the novel to his or her own experience when reading it. This
comparison can cause the viewer to be disappointed in the movie simply because of the incompatibility of
perspective. In both of these cases, the reader or moviegoer is unable to experience both the book and the
film with the same level of intrigue and appreciation. Certainly, most people recognize the importance of
equally appreciating works of art in different mediums.
86
How does one properly prepare one’s self to view a film adaptation or read a book as an
individual work of art without directly comparing the two? The key to this equation is dropping one’s
expectations. This can be done by acknowledging the fundamental differences between the visual art of a
film director and the verbal art of the writer as discussed above. If reading a book after seeing its film
adaptation, a reader must first realize that artistic liberties were taken by the director to reinvent what he
or she envisioned after reading the book. With that in mind, the reader must then free him or herself from
that director’s interpretation and be ready to creatively interpret and experience the book personally. This
can give the reader more freedom to imagine characters, settings, and scenarios on their own terms, thus
creating a more unique reading experience. The reader must allow him or herself to mentally dive deep
into the book and experience it on a personal level, not relate it to his or her experience with the film
adaptation in a public setting. A moviegoer who is attending a screening of the film adaptation of a novel
he or she had previously read must also achieve a similar mindset.
After reading a novel, every person has certain ideas about what the characters and settings look
like, as well as what the themes and main plot entail. When watching a film adaptation, it is important to
recognize this inherent difference in interpretation from person to person, and how ludicrous it is to
compare two interpretations. Those interpretations, though different, have equal intrinsic value. For
example, if two people with different life perspectives were to read a novel and then discuss it, finding
that they both perceived the story differently, would they argue that one person’s perception of the story
has higher merit than another’s? No. People generally recognize that no individual’s imagination works
in a set way; people are all unique. Likewise, a film adaptation is the product of the filmmaker’s vision,
which is undoubtedly different from anyone else’s. For this reason, film adaptations should be viewed as
a fresh outlook on the original story, not as “accurate” or “inaccurate” because that distinction is far too
subjective. Viewing film adaptations with a fresh outlook requires that the viewer drops any expectations
of the movie conforming to his or her interpretation of the novel. Also, the viewer must be sure not to
criticize the movie in terms of time, visual perspective, or literary point of view, as discussed above. If
this is accomplished, and the viewer remains open-minded to the director’s different interpretation of the
novel, his or her movie going experience will be far more enjoyable than that of a person who directly
compares the novel with the film.
Lost in translation is the individual reader’s ability to imagine stories in different ways at
different times and to translate that interpretation through different artistic mediums, much like a painter
creating a rendition of a sculptor’s work. It would be foolish to think that one person’s outlook on a story
could encompass the different artistic elements in every other person’s interpretation. Furthermore, the
differences between visual and written communication as well as the limitations to both mediums are the
sources of film art and are what creates the important distinction between the cinematic and literary art
forms. Because of this distinction, direct comparisons between film and literature cannot be used to
determine whether or not the film was better than the story or vice versa. The very nature of both
mediums and the intrinsic restrictions to means of communication that they both possess makes clear that
no direct comparison between the two can be reasonably offered. Yet, many viewers insist on directly
comparing them. Comparison is bound to leave the reader or viewer unfairly disappointed in either the
film or the book. Because directors and writers are, in essence, completely different kinds of artists, both
the original story and its film adaptation must be judged on their own terms, not criticized for their
dissimilarities. The reader or viewer must lower his or her expectations of the “accuracy” of the film’s
translation of the novel, or the novel’s effectiveness of the novel after watching the film adaptation. If
this is accomplished, their experiences with both forms of works are bound to be more satisfying.
Obviously, the ultimate goal is to appreciate both the novels and their film adaptations for what they are:
amazing, and often moving, works of art.
87
Works Cited
Bluestone, George. Novels into Film: The Metamorphosis of Fiction into Cinema. Berkley and Los
Angeles: University of California Press. 1966. 47-48.
Boggs, Joseph M. “Problems of Adaptation.” From Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Eds.
Laurence Beltrens and Leonard Rosen. 6th Ed. New York: Longman. 1997. 674-683.
Caro, Mark. “Reading Between the Lines.” Chicago Tribune 9 Jan. 2000.
Eidsvik, Charles. “Why Adaptations Are Good for Literature—And for Movies.” From Writing and
Reading Across the Curriculum. Eds. Laurence Beltrens and Leonard Rosen. 6th Ed. New York:
Longman. 1997. 669-673.
88
Peckinpah: Violence, Betrayal and the American Auteur
Chris Orlock
(Honors English 154)
The Assignment: Students were asked to select a film director, watch a minimum of
three of his/her films, and then write an essay explaining how this filmmaker fit the
auteur theory.
O
f all the American directors who emerged as “auteurs” in the 1960’s--a list that includes such
filmmakers as Stanley Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove, 2001, A Clockwork Orange), Arthur Penn (The
Miracle Worker, Bonnie and Clyde, Little Big Man), and Mike Nichols (Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?, The Graduate, Catch-22)--Sam Peckinpah is by far the most controversial. Although he worked
primarily in mainstream Hollywood genres--Westerns and action-adventure thrillers--he cultivated a
personality for outrageous behavior that translated to the screen. He loved to push the envelope of what
was considered tasteful and tactful. His battles with producers and the studios are the stuff of Hollywood
legend. As David Thomson has observed, Peckinpah “got out of line from sheer, willful resolve, as if
certain that self-destruction would be his only peace.” (672). And Pauline Kael wrote that “Peckinpah is a
great ’personal’ filmmaker; he can work as an artist only on his own terms…he can’t turn out a routine
piece of craftsmanship--he can’t use his skills to improve somebody else’s conception. That’s why he has
always had trouble” (112).
As Louis Giannetti defines him, an auteur is a director who stamps his movie with a personal
vision, style, and thematic obsession (532). He is like a writer or an artist whose personality is infused in
his subject and style. The word “auteur” means “author,” and the theory developed by French critics in
the 1950’s proposed that the film director was that author, even though sometimes hundreds of people are
involved in making movies. If we accept the premise that an auteur is the master of his art, then Sam
Peckinpah is an auteur. Throughout his films, he struggles with the same issues, questions, and concerns
in a fashion that is unique to him alone. We can see his obsessions in three of his most famous films, The
Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, and The Getaway: violent action that is filmed in a distinctive, almost beautiful
way; storylines that hinge on personal betrayal as a motivating factor in establishing conflict; and
personal honor as a code to live by. Through Peckinpah’s lens, we are shown things many people would
just as soon not see: that violence is exhilarating and gruesome, that people are capable of the most
humiliating betrayals against each other, and that the only way to survive in this world is by sticking to a
code of honor regardless of the consequences. (8)
Peckinpah does not try to portray violence in a humorous way, or as exciting, or as anything other
than what it really is--frightening and uncompromisingly bloody.
Throughout the films The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, and The Getaway, Peckinpah tries to deal with the
idea of violence in the world. In The Wild Bunch, the characters are accustomed to killing--it is their way
of life. And it extends to all segments of society in the film; innocent bystanders, women, and children are
given no quarter in Peckinpah’s world. No one is innocent. In the opening scene of The Wild Bunch,
children play by throwing scorpions into a pit filled with red ants. This casual torture foreshadows the end
of the film. The four survivors of the bunch (Pike, Dutch, and the Gorch brothers) walk into Mapache’s
town and fight like the scorpions in the red ant pit--they eventually will be taken down, they know, but
they will kill as many of their enemy as they possibly can.
The violence in Straw Dogs is even worse. The entire film is shot with a low-key lighting, which
gives the impression of a cold, stark reality where there will be no bright tomorrow. Unlike The Wild
Bunch and The Getaway, the violence in Straw Dogs has very little of the adrenaline rush of exciting
action. Everything is closed in and bottled up. The violence simmers under the surface whenever the
89
townsfolk are shown. Thus, we are given glimpses of long-standing feuds between some families in the
town. The opening shots of the film show children teasing a small dog in a graveyard, terrorizing it to
entertain themselves. A man slaps his dimwitted brother across the face for flirting with the children. A
fight nearly breaks out in the local tavern. All of this makes the viewer uneasy, but it is not until Amy’s
rape that the most horrible violence rears its head. Once it does, the film descends into an orgy of violent
combat. At the end of Straw Dogs, a drunken mob of townsmen encircle David Sumner’s home and
terrorize him and his wife Amy, and attempt to get the town’s “Lenny” --the mentally retarded Henry
Niles--out of David’s protection so they can beat and kill him. David’s defense of Henry and the principle
that his home is his castle that he won’t permit to be violated results in the gory deaths of several of the
men in this mob, including one who is nearly decapitated by a bear trap.
The Getaway has a more linear plot. The movie portrays the journey of a man, Doc McCoy, and
his wife Carol and their attempt to liberate themselves from the law and the past. The violence that occurs
in the film is rooted in the story of a bank robbery and a double-cross, and although it is graphic and
filmed in Peckinpah’s trademark style of slow motion and multiple camera angles, it seems to lack the
personal animosity that made Straw Dogs so disturbing, except for the character of Rudy. He kidnaps a
man and woman and forces the husband to watch while he and the wife have sex. Eventually, this cruelty
causes the man to hang himself in a hotel toilet without even a tear from his wife at the loss. Another
interesting part of the violence in the movie is that much of it is directed toward cars. It is almost as if the
cars take on the personalities of the people who drive them--instead of shooting the police, Doc shoots up
the police car. It almost seems as if Peckinpah is tweaking his own reputation, in an “act of self-parody,”
according to Pauline Kael (112).
Another of Peckinpah’s auteur characteristics is that of personal betrayal as an element of the
plot. In The Wild Bunch, the two characters Pike Bishop and Deke Thornton deal with the effects of
betraying people. Deke betrays the gang when he gives his word to bring them to justice in an attempt to
free himself from prison. Pike, on the other hand, leaves men behind throughout the film and begins to
hate himself for it. This self-loathing builds up until he is standing in the presence of a young Mexican
whore and her child, and he realizes that if he continues to run he will lose his self respect. “When you
side with a man you stay with him, and if you can’t do that you’re like some kind of animal,” he lectures
members of his gang. But these are hollow words. He understands that he has left too many people behind
trying to save his own skin and getting the next big score. Crazy Lee, Old Sikes, Thornton--he has failed
all of them and he knows that if he doesn’t go back for Angel he is just as finished as if he does go after
Angel (Seydor 169). The only difference is that if he tries to rescue Angel he dies a man, and not as some
coward who could not keep his word.
Straw Dogs also deals with the issue of personal betrayal on several levels. The most glaring
betrayal is that of Amy to David. Right before she is raped, she willingly gives herself over to Charlie,
betraying her marriage vow to David. At the end of the movie, when she refuses to help David protect
Niles, she betrays their friendship. David betrays himself as well. Throughout the entire movie he is prim
and proper, the ideal civilized scholar. However, as soon as he is pushed enough, he sheds that air of
civilized intellectualism and becomes something of a wild animal. He betrays his wife, Amy, as well. He
refuses to acknowledge the lewd comments and looks that the men give to her. Perhaps if he had stood up
for her, she would not have been raped and they would not have attacked his house.
In The Getaway, pretty much every character attempts to, and sometimes succeeds in, doublecrossing or betraying everyone else. Jack Banyon, the crooked politician who set up the bank robbery,
tries to use Doc’s wife against him in order to get all the money as well as the woman. Rudy tries to
double-cross Doc and steal the looted money before they even meet with Jack Banyon. Carol betrays Doc
by sleeping with Jack Banyon in order to secure Doc a ticket out of prison. Even at the end of the film, an
old friend of Doc’s betrays him by informing both Rudy and Jack Banyon’s men what room he and Carol
are in. All this betrayal is more or less a commentary on how greed sways most people, how bonds can be
bought, but just as easily broken.
The most interesting positive theme in Peckinpah’s films is the idea of honor as a man’s word. In
The Wild Bunch, Bishop and Thornton believe that a man’s word is more binding than the law. When
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Thornton gives his word to bring Bishop and the others of the bunch to justice, he doesn’t pretend to like
it but will do it nonetheless. After all, a man’s word is all that he has. Thornton says on several occasions
how he wishes he could just ditch the idiots he is riding with and join up with the bunch, but he gave his
word and must see it through until the end. This idea of a man’s word as a code to live by is missed by
many of the other characters in the film; they believe that a man’s word only matters depending on whom
it is given to. Pike and Deke, however, realize that if there are compromises in that code of honor, a man
loses his sense of himself, perhaps the only thing that makes his life worthwhile.
Straw Dogs deals with the idea of a man’s word as well. This does not really come into play until
the end of the film when the townsmen are harassing David. He gives his word that Niles will not be
harmed until the police and the doctor arrive. He finally draws the line and stands up for what he believes
in. Amy pleads with him before all the violence happens to just give Niles over to the mob. He says no.
He is defending his house and he will protect it. He gives his word on that, yet to Amy it doesn’t mean
anything--just silly pride. But to David it is something much more. David is trying to finally be a man,
someone he can be proud of, someone who will not be pushed around anymore. He realizes that if he
gives up Niles to the mob, he will not be able to stand up for himself ever again. In a literary sense, David
begins to take on the qualities of an Atticus Finch. However, when he resorts to violence, he loses his
civility and sacrifices his own idealism. As Peckinpah noted in an interview following release of the film,
“There’s a point in the middle of the siege when David almost throws up, he’s so sick...He’s just used a
poker to kill a man who’s tried to kill him…he doesn‘t care at that moment whether he lives or dies” (qtd.
in Prince 187).
Carter “Doc” McCoy is the character whose word is his law. He is the “Thornton” of The
Getaway because he follows his code regardless of whether following it is easy. Immediately after pulling
the bank heist, when his wife, Carol, offers the option of running off with all the money and cutting Jack
Banyon out of his cut, Doc scoffs and says that a man must follow through with what he says. After all, if
a man doesn’t have his word, he doesn’t have anything. Doc’s unwillingness to call his and Carol’s
marriage quits shows how he is a man who sticks to his word. Although times may be tough, it gives no
excuse to cop out when hard times show up. Even at the end of the film, Peckinpah introduces an old
scavenger (Slim Pickins) who sells his beat-up truck to the pair so they can escape into Mexico, and
remarks on how it is nice to see a young couple stick it through when others would just bail.
Throughout his films, Peckinpah shows a unique approach to filmmaking that is all his own. He
possessed an ability to use the conventions of the Western genre and action films--violence, betrayal, and
honor--in a way that is both moving and disturbing. Although eccentric and ultimately self-destructive,
Peckinpah must be considered an auteur--to call him less cheapens his cinematic genius and his
accomplishments. As Paul Seydor states it: “Nobody has recognized anything in Peckinpah’s work that
wasn’t transformed into something authentically his own by the time it got there; and like them or hate
them, no one mistakes his films for anybody else’s” (368).
Works Cited
Getaway, The. Dir. Sam Peckinpah. 1972. Laserdisc. Warner Bros. Home Video, 1995.
Giannetti, Louis. Understanding Movies. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2002.
Kael, Pauline. “Notes on the Nihilist Poetry of Sam Peckinpah.” When the Lights Go Down. New York:
Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980.
Prince, Stephen. Savage Cinema. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998.
Seydor, Paul. Peckinpah: The Western Films--A Reconsideration. Chicago: University of Illinois Press,
1980.
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Straw Dogs. Sam Peckinpah. 1971. DVD. The Criterion Collection, 2003.
Thomson, David. The New Biographical Dictionary of Film. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002.
Wild Bunch, The. Sam Peckinpah. 1969. DVD. Warner Bros. Home Video, 1997.
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Usage and Effects of Color in Moulin Rouge!
by Richard Payton
(English 135)
The Assignment: Students were asked to choose one film from a list of twelve, and to
write an essay which explained how its director used color to enhance the story.
T
he artistic continuum on which Moulin Rouge! belongs is, I think, quite clear, and I’m fairly
certain that Luhrmann knows it. A trajectory is not hard to trace: in overall feeling, Verdi’s
quintessential opera-melodrama La Traviata (or “Love in the Time of Tuberculosis,” as I like to
call it, with its subtle parallels to the contemporary Garcia-Marquez classic); the visceral, riotous,
licentious, primal, joyous Carmina Burana (both the 13th century Latin and Middle High German texts
and Carl Orff’s modern-day setting), among others. Visually, Luhrmann draws heavily on such works as
Van Gogh’s “The Night Café” and, appropriately enough, Toulouse-Lautrec’s “At the Moulin Rouge,”
taking their slightly off-kilter perspectives and lurid (albeit muted) reds, greens, blues, and yellows, and
infusing them with a high-intensity super-kinetic energy instantly recognizable to a generation raised on
MTV, imported British acid-house and Ecstasy-driven trance-rave culture.
One would think that a color analysis of such a vibrant movie would be a cakewalk – a taking of
the candy from the proverbial baby, as it were. However, the viewer must still take care to avoid visual
red herrings (or yellow, green, or blue herrings, as the case may be). This film may be the flashiest thing
since the 1938 Technicolor Adventures of Robin Hood, but Luhrmann’s selection is as careful as any,
such that, with a close dissection, the innumerable threads of color may be thinned down to a workable,
meaningful amount. With this in mind, I have chosen to analyze Luhrmann’s storytelling techniques
through the use of the following: the colors red and blue. Tracing these throughout the film, I will
consider the nature of the colors’ presentation, the use of color in the setting of the mood, and possible
symbolic interpretations.
Red is by far the most dominant color throughout, serving a variety of purposes and representing
a variety of things. Two reds show up the most: we see the first, a considerably darker, almost maroon
shade, at the very beginning of the film, in the curtain behind the conductor. The second, a higher
intensity, is seen in the set and costumes of the Moulin Rouge itself. We can note also that a good half of
the title is red – “rouge.” Is this a clue hinting that we should watch for the color? Or does the use of red
merely establish the setting? Or is this use, perhaps, just a “rouge” herring? I’m inclined to think that it’s
the first, and that we should pay extra careful attention to red in the film.
It’s a loaded color, if ever there was one. The amount of associations it carries is mind-boggling.
For this picture, there’s a strong link to “red light” districts, “scarlet women,” and the fact that in certain
countries it is the custom for prostitutes to display red lights outside of their houses. There are biblical
associations along these lines, as well: in the fortress city of Jericho, the harlot Rahab was to give a signal
by hanging a scarlet rope out of her window – evidently a common symbol for harlots of the time. In this
context, red brings with it associations of sin, corruption, extravagance, worldliness, and vice. After all,
how is Satan most commonly depicted but as a red creature? Thus it is with the uses of red, among other
things, that Luhrmann subtlety underscores the atmosphere of decadence apparent within the setting.
However, vice and decadence aside, what is Moulin Rouge! but a love story? “… above all things
a story about love” (my own emphasis), if the author is to be believed. The point is that red is, ironically
enough, just as symbolic of love and passion as it is of vice and evil. A contradiction, yes, but is not the
movie itself, in all its postmodern glory, just one gigantic, convoluted, multi-layered contradiction? The
contrasts of meaning in red serve nicely to illustrate this point.
With its subconscious links to blood and fire, red represents life. The Moulin Rouge, with all its
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red trappings, is an establishment full of people living their lives with wild abandon; vivacious,
hedonistic, energetic, non-stop. They are truly living for the moment. Similarly, Christian and Satine find
greater fulfillment than they could ever have imagined in their love, and thus find themselves living more
completely. In the words of the author, this is a story about “a love that will never die.”
Contrariwise, with its subconscious links to blood and fire, red represents death. The Moulin
Rouge, with all its red trappings, is an establishment full of people on a frantic downward spiral into
various unpleasant ends (untimely and painful death, suicide, alcohol and drug dependencies and venereal
disease, etc) – we can draw parallels here with Poe’s story “The Masque of the Red Death,” in which a
prince throws an extravagant party inside his sealed palace while outside his subjects die in a cholera
epidemic. (We will return to the conflict between reality and illusion later. Right now, though, we stick to
red and its associations with death). The red surrounding Satine is also a constant reminder that (as we
know from Christian’s introductory comments) she is going to die of tuberculosis. A symptom of
tuberculosis is the coughing up of blood. We see this happen and we can’t help but see her blood mirrored
in the red surroundings, and, especially in the red carpet on which she finally dies.
Red also serves as a warning: stop signs are red, stop lights are red, the red lights on the Death
Star means it’s going to blow up. And, indeed, this notion of a warning can be applied in numerous ways
to the movie, though two in particular stand out to me. First of all, the red cries out to us to stay away
from Montmartre in general, and the Moulin Rouge in particular (“Turn away from this village of sin!”).
Van Gogh said of “The Night Café” that it was a dangerous place for an artist such as he; a man “with no
wife, no homeland, no real goal.” Whether Christian would have done well to heed this warning is a topic
for debate – after all, where would the story be without, well, everything that happens? Secondly, the red
again reminds us that this love between Christian and Satine is doomed to end tragically, as her condition
slowly degenerates towards death, symbolic of the Moulin Rouge itself and the life-styles it propagates,
and, more universally, of the powerful forces of chaos and entropy that surround us.
Finally, if we wanted to put a socio-political reading on this film, we could make remarks on red
tape – for use in a neo-Marxist reading (the rest would write itself – talk about rampant consumerism,
sheesh!) – and on red as a symbol both for communism and anarchy. This topic is, however, I think,
subject matter for a different paper.
Where the two most common reds are shades, the two most common blues are both tints – not
overly light, but still considerably lighter than a pure blue. The first we see at the very beginning, with
Christian sitting at his type-writer. This is the darker of the two, a somewhat unreal color, almost
subterranean. The second shade is seen initially with the appearance of Satine – she descends in a mist of
it and this is a colder, whiter tint. Very ice-and-snow-like.
With the overwhelming predominance of red, all other minor colors necessarily contrast with it,
almost as if red were the background of a painting. Of all of these contrasts – and there are many – the
contrast with blue, and these blues in particular, are the most striking. Where red is warm (or hot), lively
and exuberant, demanding our attention, the blue is cold, sterile, understated, almost inhuman.
This is an exceedingly multi-layered, intertwining ouroboros-complex of a film, and I would
argue that one aspect of the blue glow surrounding Christian at the beginning of the film is a device used
by Luhrmann to signal a transition to a different plane of narrative reality. We descend, from our vantage
points as viewers, into a movie of a play about a man writing a story, via shots of him writing the story,
into the story itself. Blue is often associated with sleep, dreams, and hallucinations. It has already been
noted that this particular blue has an unreal feeling to it, suggesting that perhaps the story which we are
about to witness is not completely free of the hazy obscurity of memory and impression, or of the
influence of dream, hallucination, idealization, and (as we actually see), of absinthe. In the end, we move
again through a transitional blue and into a scene more realistically colored, which, we assume, is the end
of the play (and which is certainly the end of the movie).
Interconnected, and equally as convoluted as the picture itself, are the associations of blue with
not only dreams and sleep, but also with water, the ocean, and, thus, the subconscious. These
psychological associations suggest that the film will go much deeper than at first meets the eye.
The contrast of blues and reds, seems to me to be symbolic of reality verses unreality. For
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example, at the end of Christian’s story, we rise through the ceiling of the Moulin Rouge and into the outof-doors, which has been covered with a blue snow. Red interior, blue exterior. As Zidler remarks at one
point, “outside it may be raining/ but in here it’s entertaining.” The Moulin Rouge is a place where one
goes to escape reality – the blue reality, let us note – of rain, which we can interpret as the worries and
troubles of life. The Moulin Rouge makes a profit off of escapism, which provides us with yet another
layer of self-reference – after all, isn’t that where most movies turn their profit?
It’s also interesting to note the juxtaposition of red and blue in the relationship between Christian
and Satine: as I’ve already mentioned, red can symbolize many things, but it takes on a whole new
meaning when viewed within the context of reality (blue) verses unreality (red). Their relationship is so
immersed in red, suggesting that the happiness we see cannot be realistic – after all, it’s just going to end
tragically, as we know. The reality is that Satine is going to die of tuberculosis, something foreshadowed
early on – by the dialogue, but, more subtly, by Satine’s first appearance on screen, hovering above her
audience like a spirit, ghostly in a mist of shimmering, cold, blue.
Works Cited
Moulin Rouge! Dir. Baz Luhrmann. Perf. Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, and Jim
Broadbent. 2001. DVD. 20th Century Fox Home Entertaiment, 2002.
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Analysis of “School Prayer: When Constitutional Principles Clash” by Stuart Taylor Jr.
as Reptd. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions, pp. 159-162
by Nadia Qazi
(Honors English 102)
The Assignment: Students are to write the final documented research essay for Honors
English 102 in a section which studied international genocide.
S
tuart Taylor, in his essay entitled “School Prayer: When Constitutional Principles Clash,” argues
that to forbid prayer in school is equivalent to forbidding the Pledge of Allegiance. He feels that by
objecting to prayer in public schools, a person takes away a fundamental freedom of speech and
expression. Citing the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on June 19th to rule against a Texas high school’s
policy of allowing a student leader to pray over the public address system at football games, Taylor writes
that, in effect, the decision to prohibit prayer in public schools is one step away from banning it in public
places.
Taylor opens his article by telling us, “It may now be unconstitutional for a public school to recite
the Pledge of Allegiance in class.” Citing the Supreme Court’s decision on June 19th opposing prayer in
public schools, Taylor asserts that such verdicts may lead to additional restrictions on free speech. After
acknowledging that the school in question may “have crossed the line into unconstitutional sponsorship of
religion” (160), Taylor emphasizes his belief that prayer does not divide a student body but rather unites it
and cultivates in it a sense of brotherhood. Indeed, he interprets the Supreme Court decision as being
sufficiently ambiguous to include the Pledge of Allegiance in its ban. He suggests that the word “under
God” are religious enough to be put under examination. He writes that under the 1943 Supreme Court
decision, the child of a Chinese diplomat would not be compelled to join in the Pledge of Allegiance on
political grounds. Taylor finishes his article by citing another Supreme Court decision involving a
Louisiana school policy on teaching evolution. He praises the policy and rejects the Court’s verdict that it
was unconstitutional. He ends his article by quoting an Illinois woman, “How long will it be before they
tell us we can’t pray in public places?” (162).
Stuart Taylor’s “School Prayer: When Constitutional Principles Clash” is a vivid and colorful
piece of writing. It appeals to the emotions of the reader, as Taylor presents himself as an “average Joe”
fighting against the restrictions of the “establishment.” Taylor slams us with quotations and facts, then
proceeds to make broad generalizations based on faulty logic. He emphasizes his belief in the common
man, or the majority and goes out of his way to establish the fact that he is on their side. Taylor’s essay
might lead one to believe that the bulk of the American population has no problems with prayer in school,
but he provides no statistics in his essay to support his beliefs. He begins his argument with the
fraudulent assumption that all of his readers will agree that patriotic ceremonies aren’t coercive. This is
simply not the case. That is not to deny that many people do tend to feel a natural affection for the land
they call their home. Nevertheless, many citizens might object to participating in patriotic ceremonies on
the grounds that they must desist in participating in such ceremonies when they feel the country is
participating in an action that they condemn. Yet Taylor writes, “It seems most unlikely, of course, that
the Justices would actually take the radical step of banishing the pledge from school ceremonies anytime
soon-if only because it would be all too obvious that if the law that, then the law is an ass” (159-160).
Taylor uses blunt language to establish a connection with his audience. He ridicules the verbose language
of the Court Justices, conveying the image that it is Us versus Them.
When describing the Supreme Court decision t ban prayer in school, Taylor uses such words as
“struck down” (159) and quotes the dissenters as saying “the tone of the Court’s opinion…bristles with
hostility to all things religious in public life” (160). He points out that these limitations on free speech
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may lead to additional restrictions on what can be said and done in a free society. Free speech by
definition is not the tolerance of speech that invades the privacy of the unwilling listener. There is no way
for a member on a school’s football team, for example, to avoid listening to a prayer that calls upon a God
that he does not agree with. Taylor writes that by banning prayer in public schools, any prayer voted on
by the majority of students may be banned. He omits the fact that the Supreme Court makes no ruling
against private prayer. There is nothing wrong, constitutionally, with carrying out prayer in private
schools. The prayer is not being imposed on anybody because all of the members of the school have
chosen to be there. Similarly, there is nothing in the Constitution that suggests that prayer in public
places should be banned because passersby are not obligated to participate and can simply leave the area
if they are offended. Clearly, the Supreme Court case involving the Louisiana school board did not
present any serious breach of Constitutional rights. However, Taylor infers from that decision that all
Supreme Court rulings are pompous and heavy-handed. He writes, “Yes, there are really a lot of people
in the hinterland who still believe such stuff. Not any of them went to Ivy League schools, or hand out
with Supreme Court Justices” (162). He forgets that imposing one’s interpretation of God onto the
members of a public school is constitutionally wrong. To argue that the minority must agree with the
majority is grossly unfair. Minorities, after all, come and go, and what might be the minority today may
become the majority of tomorrow. If America were to allow Christian prayer in public schools on the
grounds that Christianity is the religion of the majority, what would there be to stop other countries from
imposing that same policy? What would it be like for Christians and other minorities in Muslim countries
who would be forced to begin their day in the name of Allah?
Taylor’s response to such an argument might be that no child is required to participate in any
prayer. However, is that really true? It would be hard to deny that there are numerous instances of
harassment in public schools today of any individuals who are perceived as different. To deny that there
is the potential for any great psychological and emotional pain for minorities and other individuals in
public schools is to deny the fact that human beings, by nature, are not perfect and are prone to ridiculing
those who are perceived as being at a disadvantage from themselves. In principle, in the secular concept
of running governments and legislation, everyone born in a country, regardless of religion or color or
creed acquire basic fundamental civic rights. Everyone has a fair and equal chance to make his say heard
at least by the opposition on matters of common principle. To tell someone that they must pray according
to the interpretation of God held by the majority is to trample directly upon these rights. In Brown vs.
Board of Education, the Supreme Court made it clear that “separate” is inherently unequal. Taylor
acknowledges that the aforementioned Texas high school may have been amiss in sponsoring a religion.
Still, he maintains that the minorities in the school would have no reason to feel a “sense of isolation and
affront” (160). He believes that prayer, instead of dividing a class, unites it into a feeling of brotherhood.
He does not seem to remember that in order for anything to flourish, there must be the right climate.
Therefore, if he wants to allow prayer in public schools, he must consider if there is the right climate of
tolerance and understanding. Even in one religion, there are many different interpretations of God. It is
as if different-colored eyeglasses are used by different sects to see the name God. It is not just a question
of the religion of the majority by of how each individual interprets that religion. It may be all very well
for Stuart Taylor to write that prayer unites a class into a feeling of brotherhood, but it only unites those
who participate and are comfortable. What must also be taken into consideration is the fact that the
participants of prayer will look at the outsiders and question their rejection of their religion. The outsiders
themselves may sense the need to assimilate in order to avoid the majority’s questioning of their faith. It
cannot be denied that by imposing one interpretation of God, the majority population of the school says
that their view is right. Instead of scoffing at the “establishment,” and making school prayer a debate of
Us versus Them, Taylor should look carefully at the wisdom of our forefathers when they declared that in
America, there would be no official religion. If he truly wants to protect our fundamental freedoms, he
should look carefully at all the consequences of any decision that includes the imposition of one
interpretation of God. We must think many, many times, before we even begin to consider whether
anywhere in the world, religion can be imposed as a legal tender.
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Works Cited
Taylor, Stuart, Jr. “School Prayer: When Constitutional Principles Clash.” Current Issues and Enduring
Questions. Eds. Sylvan Barnett and Hugo Bedau. New York: Bedford/ St. Martins, 2004. 159162.
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100
Will Interracial Couples Ever Be Accepted in American Society?
by Cara Raiman
(Honors English 103)
The Assignment: Write a 10-page descriptive synthesis research essay on an American
Culture issue of your choice. Include: a research question, working annotated
bibliography of 20 sources that contain a combination of primary source articles from the
COD Library databases; primary source books; specialized reference works; WWW for
current and popular culture information and statistics only; one general reference work;
one personal interview; a notebook of your knowledge, ideas, questions, and analyses on
the topic; a working thesis statement and sentence outline; ten open-ended interview
questions; source note cards; and an MLA-formatted Works Cited page.
A
s they walked down the street, the interracial couples were sneered at, sworn at, and spat on. They
stared straight at the ground as they walked, for fear of making eye contact with people who did
not approve of their relationship. They received threatening phone calls, and in the middle of the
night, they might have seen a cross burning on their front lawn, or have awakened to bricks crashing
through their windows. Interracial couples dealt with many trying situations in the late 1800s and early
1900s. Even though many interracial couples today do not experience such severe punishments from
society as they did fifty years ago, they still know they are viewed negatively by some Americans.
Although American society’s attitudes about interracial relationships have softened over the last fifty
years, interracial couples still comment on their struggle to be accepted in today’s world.
Fifty years ago, many Americans strongly disapproved of interracial relationships, and especially
in the South, they clearly voiced their opinions about them. Mark Mathabane, author of Christopher
Award winning book, Kaffir Boy, and his wife Gail Mathabane, comment on their interracial relationship
and marriage in the book, Love in Black and White: The Triumph of Love Over Prejudice and Taboo.
Mathabane discusses how the Ku Klux Klan terrorized interracial couples in the South by burning
wooden crosses in their yards, making obscene phone calls, and holding rallies in vacant lots, actions that
would frighten most people (171). Renee C. Romano, assistant Professor of History and African
American Studies at Wesleyan University and author of the book, Race Mixing: Black-White Marriage in
Postwar America, observes mixed couples sixty years after World War II. Romano discusses that some
Americans believed that because God “created” separate races, people were sinful if they engaged in
interracial relationships (45). In the late 1800s, interracial relationships began forming due to slavery in
the United States. Robert P. McNamara, Maria Tempenis and Beth Walton, authors of the book, Crossing
the Line: Interracial Couples in the South, explore interracial marriages, particularly in South Carolina,
and the isolation the couples face in their community because they have violated generations of traditions.
They explain that interracial couples were considered beneficial for slave owners because any children
produced from the couple would also become slaves (McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton 23). However,
many people in the in the early 1800s South felt that children of interracial relationships were difficult to
tell apart from black people (McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton 25). Because most, if not all, blacks had
a lower status in society during most of the 1800s, many whites felt that looking like blacks was
extremely insulting (McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton 25). McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton note that
as the 1800s progressed, to be black meant to be a slave, and many slave owners began forbidding
interracial relationships, even though it was beneficial for them (23). Because whites dominated most
decisions in American society from the late 1790s to 1865, all Southern states prohibited marriages
between blacks and whites (McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton 25). According to Romano, interracial
marriages in the 1950s were just as disturbing to many Americans as interracial marriages were in the
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1860s (45). She explains that the divorce rate among interracial couples in the 1950s was significantly
higher than couples with both partners of the same race (138). She explains that the greater risk of divorce
among interracial relationships in the 1950s was because of the pressure and objection society showed
towards mixed couples (138). The South was a very difficult place for interracial couples during the
1800s. Because American society let their prejudices form their views about interracial relationships,
most mixed couples faced many roadblocks that were difficult for them to overcome.
Because many Americans have yet to change their views about interracial relationships, the lives
of most mixed couples are negatively affected even today. Many family members who voice their
negative opinions about interracial relationships to the mixed couples can have a major impact on the
couples’ decisions. For many generations, parents have had an extremely difficult time accepting that
their children were in an interracial relationship. In her book, Of Many Colors, Peggy Gillespie, codirector of Family Diversity Projects, Inc. in Amherst, Massachusetts, comments on interracial families in
America and the stories they have told describing the emotions and struggles they face in multiracial
families. In her interview with Gillespie, Epi Bodhi, a white female, states that when she announced her
plans to marry Charlie, an African American male, her mother did not accept (17). However, her father
pointed out her marriage was her own affair, not theirs (Gillespie 17). Mathabane also admits that his
friends told him not to mention publicly that his wife was white because people might not accept his
interracial relationship, and he could possibly ruin his career as a famous author (193). However,
Mathabane refutes his friends’ advice and states that his wife fell in love with him when he was poor, not
famous. While many black women continued to reject him, he felt that if he did not reveal his wife’s
race, he was being unfair to her because her reasons for loving him ran deeper than his money or his fame
(Mathabane 193).
Many children of interracial relationships must face their peers who constantly ask them why they
are different. Paul C. Rosenblatt, Terri A. Karis, and Richard D. Powell, educators and authors of the
book, Multiracial Couples: Black and White Voices, explore twenty-one interracial relationships and the
contradicting support they receive from their family, friends and community. They point out that biracial
children feel the need to pick only one race because of immense peer pressure (Rosenblatt, Karin, and
Powell 213). Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell also confirm that most biracial children will feel they need to
choose one race over the other by the time they reach junior high or high school (213). In an interview
with Charles* and Marie Jones* on May 1, 2004, they discussed the pros and cons they experienced in
their interracial marriage. Marie Jones*, a black female, stated that her biggest concern about their
relationship was their children. They have a two-year-old daughter and recently welcomed a baby boy
into the world. Even though their children are very young, Marie* is worried about sending them to
school to face peers and teachers who may not accept interracial relationships. Before they had children,
the Jones discussed that their children might encounter problems because they were mixed. They
understood that they might need to explain many situations to their children at a young age. However,
they felt that any battle their children would encounter could only make them stronger human beings.
They understood that as most children grow older, their peers’ influence would increase with the need to
fit in and they were ready to address that problem with their children when the time came. Couples’
decisions to have children can be affected because of the situations their children may face. However, not
only do the negative attitudes of the interracial couples’ family’s impact the couples’ decisions, but the
public’s negative opinions also affect mixed couples.
Adam Goodheart, a member of the C.V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at
Washington College, discusses in his article “Change of Heart,” from the American Association of
Retired Persons, that whites, blacks and Hispanics have a new acceptance of interracial relationships.
Although many Americans believe the relationship between blacks and whites in American society has
increased dramatically over the years, Americans continue to face many disappointing divisions between
the two races (Goodheart 43). In her book, Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and
Identity, Lise Funderburg, journalist for Mirabella and New York Newsday, comments on views across
the United States of many adults who come from interracial families. Funderburg notes that occasional
stares, a mumbled comment, or being disowned from the family are problems few interracial couples can
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avoid (25). Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell also observe that many interracial couples would like to go
shopping or for walks, but feel “mistreated” in public with constant stares and comments (31). Many
interracial couples must pay closer attention to what they do because they are constantly being watched
when they are in public (Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell 32). According to Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell,
many interracial couples felt they were not given a chance to be seen as an ordinary couple because they
were mixed (31). Charlie Bodhi, the black counterpart of his relationship, in his interview with Gillespie,
acknowledges black females’ negative feelings about interracial relationships and the possible sources of
those feelings (18). He understands why black women may feel he has “sold out” by marrying a woman
of another race (Gillespie 18). He explains that African Americans have had to work together to be able to
move forward in America, and by marrying a woman of a different race, he is “abandoning” his own race
(Gillespie 18). However, Charlie Bodhi contradicts that statement by explaining that he can only love
whose he wants and people should not define him based on those characteristics (Gillespie 18). Mark
Mathabane’s wife, Gail, also admits that she was unaware of any pain her marriage to her husband might
cause black women (200). She continues to explain that she believed whites would disapprove of their
interracial relationship the most (Mathabane 200). Many interracial couples deal with difficulties on a
daily basis because their skin tones do not match. Because they come from different racial backgrounds,
society disapproves. They must battle their way through the obstacles society throws at them to lead a
comfortable life in America.
And yet as time has progressed, more Americans have started to approve of interracial
relationships. Some Americans have started to view them as a way to help control prejudice in the early
twenty-first century. When discussing the differences between races in America, Goodheart states that
progress has been made in two important areas over the years, including interracial relationships. The
Gallup Poll, an organization that conducts surveys nationwide, surveyed Americans in November 2003
and found that about 70 percent of Americans believed marriage between blacks and whites was
acceptable, up from just four percent in 1958 (Goodheart 44). Some Americans feel that an advantage of
interracial relationships is that they can help American society overcome prejudice and ignorance
(Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell 225). According to Romano, interracial marriages could help impact
American society in ways the Civil Rights Movement was not able to (287). Although there are only few
positive differences in the ways Americans are viewing interracial relationships compared to fifty years
ago, these differences are opening the door for better views towards interracial couples. As Americans
move further away from slavery, many people are opening up to new possibilities.
Many family members are also starting to accept interracial relationships within their families.
According to Goodheart, many Americans have recently stated that they would not have a problem if one
of their own family members were to engage in an interracial relationship (44). Charles Jones* stated in
his interview that his family and his wife’s family did not give them any trouble when they began dating.
He expressed that their parents never spoke of the differing races. However, because their parents never
commented on their different races, he explained that he and his wife were unsure if their parents did have
any problems with their relationship, but were not vocal about the problems to help support them.
Charles* stated that he was grateful their parents did not argue against their marriage because he did not
want another obstacle to try and overcome. Marie Jones* supported her husband’s comments about the
support they received from their families and added that her parents openly welcomed Charles* into her
family. Along with the support interracial couples are now receiving from their families, mixed couples
are also helping American society change its views by explaining the advantages of interracial
relationships and how their lives have changed from them.
Interracial couples report that many areas of their lives are affected positively because of the
interracial relationships they are engaged in. Interracial couples can experience many different scenarios
and events that can help them grow emotionally and mentally that people with only one racial background
might not experience. Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell report that people in interracial relationships are
exposed to more experiences and are often able to apply what they learn to help them grow (227).
Interracial couples have noted that their children can also be affected positively from being biracial. Not
only are the children’s lives affected, but the children can also influence those around them, including
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their own parents. Romano states that biracial children can help conquer the division among races (287).
Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell also state that the biracial children of many interracial families they
interviewed all lead typical lives (193). In her interview with Gillespie, Janet Obermann Ford believes
that children raised in multicultural families are gifted in ways “single-race” children can never be (32).
Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell also state that biracial children have the advantage of learning “two
worlds” whereas single race children may only learn their own (196). They explain that many parents of
single race children hardly ever explain any benefits of other races because they think their race is the
only race that matters (Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell 196). Thus, many Americans are starting to
understand that biracial children may have an advantage over single race children. Biracial children’s
lives can be affected positively even though they are sometimes tormented by their peers. Interracial
couples also encounter a lot of positive aspects being married interracially and many have learned how to
ignore certain events or comments from the public.
Many interracial couples have also found ways to overcome society’s negative views towards
them. Because America has mostly seen interracial relationships as negative, mixed couples have
constantly had obstacles to conquer, making many of them wiser and stronger. Many interracial couples
explain that many of the problems between them come from influences outside of the relationship, not
from within (Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell 34). Epi Bodhi states in her interview with Gillespie that
about 90 percent of any arguments or problems she and her husband have had in their marriage have been
because they were “different genders, not races” (17). Many single race couples may have similar
arguments that mixed couples have, but they may believe that mixed couples’ arguments occur because of
conflicting races, not genders (Gillespie 17). McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton point out that one of the
most effective ways to overcome society’s actions towards interracial couples is for the couples to simply
ignore the reactions society shows towards them (111). If both partners are strong enough emotionally to
ignore outsiders’ feelings and views towards them, interracial couples find that coping with the problems
they have becomes much easier (Rosenblatt, Karin, and Powell 34). Another problem interracial couples
struggle with is determining which race to base their rituals on. Marsha Wiggins Frame, author of the
article “For Better or Worse” from The Christian Century, studies how interracial couples have to make
difficult decisions when dealing with religion, gender roles, money, sexuality, and child rearing. Frame
notes that religious and family rituals are significant when interracial couples are trying to reconcile their
differences (1). She points out that many interracial couples may find themselves forming new rituals in
their relationships that draw from both cultures or from neither to help overcome that problem (Frame 1).
Also, one of the hardest fears for interracial couples to overcome is the fear of physical harm the public
fills their heads with (McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton (94). Interracial couples begin to think that they
may be next and many couples become frightened (McNamara, Tempenis, and Walton 94). However,
many interracial couples have a strong confidence in their love of one another in order to overcome the
public’s negative outlook about interracial relationships.
As a twenty-first-century American, I cannot imagine what interracial couples faced fifty years
ago. I have never had to deal with any negative reactions from the public when I am with my boyfriend,
who is black. When I first met him, I never thought that our races would affect how American society
would treat us. I have never received any stares or comments while we walk or shop. While the rest of my
boyfriend’s family seems to be all right with our dating, his mother and brother have yet to accept his
relationship with me, a white female. They have made comments about me to him, causing him stress he
should not deserve. I hope that over time they do come to accept our relationship and understand how
beneficial mixed relationships can be for society. The first time I realized that many people in society
were still not accepting interracial couples occurred when my boyfriend refused to get out of the car in a
mostly white town. I did not understand why he had a problem with getting out of the car, but he later
explained to me that he would rather not put himself in a rough situation if he did not have to. As naïve as
I was, I thought he was being ridiculous. However, I now understand that many people in our society may
never accept two different races together as a couple. Although I know that one interracial couple cannot
help American society to understand the benefits of mixed relationships, we can begin by showing what
positive aspects can come from the relationship and pass that knowledge on. Prejudice and racism are
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hard to live with in a society, but many interracial couples are helping to erase them.
Works Cited
Bodhi, Charlie, and Epi Bodhi. “The Bodhi Family.” Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial Families.
Kaeser, Gigi, and Peggy Gillespie. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1994. 17-19.
Ford, Janet Obermann. “The Ford Family.” Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial Families. Kaeser,
Gigi, and Peggy Gillespie. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1994. 31-33.
Frame, Marsha Wiggins. “For Better or Worse.” The Christian Century 121.7 (2004): 6. Expanded
Academic ASAP. Infotrac. College of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn. 22 Apr. 2004 <http://0web1.infotrac.galegroup.com.lrc.cod.edu/itw/infomark/905/760/48108569w1/purl=rc1_EAIM_0
_A115078566&dyn=4!xrn 1 0 A115078566?sw_aep=cod_lrc>.
Funderburg, Lise. Black, White, Other: Biracial Americans Talk About Race and Identity. New York:
William Morrow, 1994.
Goodheart, Adam. “Change of Heart.” AARP. May 2004: 43-5.
Mathabane, Mark, and Gail Mathabane. Love In Black and White: The Triumph of Love Over Prejudice
and Taboo. New York: Harper Perennial, 1992.
McNamara Robert P., Maria Tempenis, and Beth Walton. Crossing the Line: Interracial Couples in the
South. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999.
Romano, Renee C. Race Mixing: Black-White Marriage In Postwar America. Cambridge: Harvard
University, 2003.
Rosenblatt, Paul C., Terri A. Karis, and Richard D. Powell. Multiracial Couples: Black and White
Couples. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1995.
Szumski, Bonnie, ed. Interracial America. Opposing Viewpoints Ser. 1. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 1996.
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106
Study of an Artist-Manifest as a Rebel: Sonic Youth
by Frank Redmond
(Honors Philosophy 250)
The Assignment: Choose a philosophical theory from the textbook (Alex Neill, Aaron
Ridley. The Philosophy of Art. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1995) and apply the theory in an
analysis of a piece of art. At least three books (not articles or Internet sources) need to be
used for research.
i. PROLOGUE
rguably, from the early 1950's till this day, labeled popular music has pervaded the Western mind.
Virtually all persons receptive to the modern and post-modern Western ages have been affected
by its overarching presence - it would be foolish to jettison the notion that popular music has been
influential. With all agreed and aesthetic judgment aside, the fervent sibling of popular music has
unconditionally been provocation and rebelliousness. Whether it is in the vein of Bob Marley's political
lyrics or the drug-induced experimentation of the Beatles post- Revolver or the performance antics of the
Sex Pistols, popular music time and time again has shown that it holds a powerful grasp upon the mind of
the listener and/or audiences at large. At times, it incites the audience to question the answers and to
challenge. History exhibits such a dichotomy.
As a fairly recent phenomenon, rock and roll (a.k.a. 'pop' music) has not had an adequate
opportunity to be philosophically analyzed. From my experience with philosophical texts and other
critiques of music and/or art, 'pop' music is given little attention from the "great minds". It is seemingly,
"too mainstream", pejorative, or colloquial to be considered "great art", whatever that means. As an
attempt to give 'pop' music a fair deal and some much needed acclaim, I have chosen the modern rock
group, Sonic Youth (1981?-present), whom in my opinion deserves adulation for being both aesthetically
pleasing and challenging (as will be explicated later). It is the rebellious and challenging nature of their
music that this essay wishes to focus upon. And what does it mean to be an artist-manifest-as-a-rebel?
ii. THESIS
The mission of the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel is to incite a new understanding via provocation.
This essay wishes to construct an argument that art is at its pinnacle when it is provocative and confronts
convention of the present within the construct of an individualized mission. Furthermore the essay's
aspiration is to use the provocative nature of Sonic Youth's music in order to explicate an intimate
comprehension of the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel.
I. AESTHETIC CRITIQUE OF "IN THE KINGDOM #19" AND
"SHADOW OF A DOUBT" FROM 1986's EVOL
Prior to progression and philosophical analysis, a concrete example of Sonic Youth's music must
preferably be offered. Hopefully these two tracks will give the reader a faint realization of the musical
talent and interests of the group. The brief descriptions will attempt to engage the reader into the music
and its meaning. Although this is merely a sliver of the catalog, these two tracks on the most basic level
sum up the mission of Sonic Youth.
Track #4 of Sonic Youth's breakthrough album EVOL (backwards for LOVE), "In the Kingdom
#19", is possibly the group’s most severely avant-garde piece. Through the integration of dreary poetry
and sheer noise, Sonic Youth tells the tale of a man who confronts "death on the highway". The track
begins with a harsh blink as the guitars screech against each other. From this point onwards, the music
has a distinct relationship with the voice of the poet, which seems to be speaking from heaven or hell. For
instance, when the voice over speaks of "smoke and flames", a car squeals in the background and then the
music settles. As the man is avoiding his inevitable death the music slows and becomes more dissonant (if
A
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this is possible). Eventually, the victim of the car accident "is inching towards truth" and perishes. As his
death passes, the noise slows down with first the bass disappearing then the guitars and finally all that is
left is voices over a basic drumbeat. The most intriguing part of this piece is how Sonic Youth
incorporated renegade poetry with dissonance and uncompromising music. Through the synthesis of
discord and prose, Sonic Youth constructs a fascinatingly believable story about isolated death on the
highway.
In a change of heart and musical tempo, "Shadow of a Doubt" (Track #2) is a different breed of
composition. Here, one can hear the direct link between "atmospherics, poetry, feedback, and backbeat ...
played with a staccato plucking of reverb-drenched guitars, a single ringing and off-beat low note on
piano, and ambient tom-tom drums, 'Shadow of a Doubt' settles into a grooving, expansive soundscape
before exploding into a middle bridge" (Janavitz). Possibly the most impressive part of the song is its
successful blend of influences. Wearing their influences like a badge, Sonic Youth adds their own twist
upon the formula and create something most people have never heard before. Startlingly, the band
embraces the femininity of the piece, something their peers refused to advocate. The embrace of feminity
in this piece helps to demonstrate the versatility of Sonic Youth, but also helps to assign their rebellious
label. By creating against the grain of their peers and exploiting the feminine, Sonic Youth stands out as a
voice to be reckoned, an artistic force with a mission.
One could extrapolate a connection of the lyrics and rebellion, however, for our purposes, the
backing music is of utmost importance. It was mainly the music that insisted on rebellion from prior
works and not the lyrical artistry. The lyrics are simply a means to help create melody and to expand upon
the musical artistry of the band - add a persona. They help to give further meaning to the piece (as seen in
the previous paragraph the lyrics combined with the music can intice further provocation and can be seen
as a positive attribute. Lyrics, in many cases, are the means of the provocation). Over and above, the
lyrics hold a certain intrinsic value, but once again, the music is what in our illustration is to be perceived
as rebellious and "new" in relation to past works.
II. PLACING THE REBEL
A. A MEANING OF "NO"
The rebel is one who states "NO" to a present condition. Within the "no" the phrases such as "'this has been going on too long, 'up to this point yes, but beyond it no', and 'you are going too far'"
(Camus13) - are discovered. Yet, this "no" is not a negation, but an affirmation of a rebellious idea. On
the other hand, what does saying "yes" imply? Answering "yes" insinuates that one is content with their
current circumstance, therefore change is unwarranted, or one is unwilling to change a respective
circumstance. Furthermore, the "yes" can stem from unfamiliarity with the side of "no". The absolute
nature of the words "Yes" and "No" leave no room for an intermediary - you're either in or out, it is 'all'
or 'nothing'. No gray area exists. Yet, feeling cannot be erased from the choice between the two absolutes.
(This feeling is further explored later in the essay).
Considerably, the choice of "no" cannot be allocated outside of a personal belief system.
Questionably, how powerful is the "no" in relation to one's beliefs? Very often, impatience is a powerful
genesis. For instance, a practicing, devout Jew, due to their belief system, should not kill without proper
reason - no exceptions. His moral code dictates such. However, this particular Jew dislikes his neighbor,
has become exceptionably impatient with him, and is convinced that his murder will create a greater
good; so much so, he decides to rebel and murder him. In this case, the Jew is making a choice to
transcend his morality and belief system to submit a proper "no". He most likely, if he has a sane head,
had to wrestle with his belief system before making the choice to say "no". Albeit this cannot be allocated
from the effect the action has on one's conscious and the consciousness of others. Rebellion is,
nevertheless, a challenge due to its absolute nature and responsibly. Once one proclaims "no", there is no
turning back to the former predicament. This issues in an important realization. The "no" should be
permanent fixture of the rebel's mindset. If there is a return to the formerly unsatisfactory condition, the
rebel is acting out of "bad faith" and negates his or her rebellion. Either way, the person contemplating
acting in an insurrectionist matter is torn between two cognate choices. Feeling is what tears one to a
lateral.
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B. A REBEL
Camus foreshadows, "Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is" (11). Yet, rebellion
"type" changes and shifts over time as culture, history, and moral codifications transform. The present
codifies the type of rebel one should be. For instance, a rebel protesting cell phone abuse would have
groundless accusations prior to the invention of the cell phone. Transformation very often begins with
sedition. "Rebellion ... breaks the seal and allows the whole being to come into play. It liberates stagnant
waters and turns them into raging currents" (Camus 17). The feeling rebellion invokes in the participant
has remained constant. Whether it is Judas betrayal of Jesus with a kiss or a young boy running away
from his parents, the same feeling is involved. It stems from the "no". In fact, no act of rebellion is free
from tribulation or spite from within the individual. This tribulation is related to unwillingness, defiance,
resistance, unruliness, and so on. If it were otherwise, the act would not be rebellious, but merely
unconscious and ordinary - a facet of the belief system. As established, feeling is needed to spawn
rebellion. But what is the rebel's attitude after the genesis of "no"; after the rebel has crossed the line?
This attitude can only be carefully described as provocative.
Camus fails in his critique of the rebel because he does not give his rebel a general attitude.
Throughout his book, The Rebel, Camus is more or less specifically battling prevailing post-war nihilism
where the "rebel" is an ideal character trying to restore post-war hope. However, for our aspirations, we
should develop a more general definition - one that facilitates all time periods. This is why the rebel must
be provocative after the initial proclamation of "no". So what does it mean to be provocative? To provoke
is "to stir or incite to action" (Grolier 1054). Among words analogous to "provocation" are excitement,
stimulation, and arousal. The "feeling" that one gets from rebellion is not found in the "no" but in the
period of time afterwards, in the attitude of the participant. Meaning, provocation is the thesis of the
attitude, the genesis of the emotion - not the emotion itself. The emotion incited by provocation is subject
to the individual and therefore cannot be earmarked as one distinct feeling. More often than not, it is a
feeling related to unsatisfaction or incompleteness - a will to transformally complete.
Rebellion is a commonality within the strand of the human population. However common,
rebellion is very often negligent meaning not proportionately measurable. Only a small proportion of the
human community possesses the ability to elect rebellion to its height of ability - to influence an audience.
For instance, a motorist is driving at 65MPH in a 55MPH speed zone, the latter of which is generally the
speed limit on national highways. Is this person guilty, and moreover, a "rebel"? It is questionable for it is
not exactly uncommon; their rebellion is far from being the proto-type of "provocative". However, if that
same motorist is driving at 210MPH, their rebellion has gone beyond the realm of common sense because
it is both an imminent danger to others and to oneself. Here the rebel is forgetting the power and
responsibility he or she holds in the wake of their provocative act. In both examples, the motorist knows
and is fully awake to their sedition and yet they say "no" to the established authority. The driver could
possibly get pulled over with reasonable cause at any time. But are they being "provocative" by settling at
the poles of the terminology? Similarly, Aristotle makes note of the power of the median in effectiveness.
Aristotle:
"There are three kinds of disposition, then, two of them vices, involving excess and
deficiency respectively, and one a virtue, viz. the mean, and all are in a sense opposed to
all; for the extreme states are contrary both to the intermediate state and to each other,
and the intermediate to the extremes; as the equal is greater relativity to the less, less
relativity to the greater, so the middle states are excessive relativity to the deficiencies,
deficient to the excesses, both in passions and in actions." (Aristotle 8).
The golden mean is extremely hard to achieve, however, as Aristotle demonstrates, there is an
intemperate difference between deficiencies and excesses both to the participant as well as the viewer.
Through using Aristotle's theory and trying to find the "golden mean", one can come closer to achieving
the state of "true", or accurate, provocation. Carefully, I would describe provocation as the choice which
leads to the state of feeling one exudes when the participant is consciously transforming belief systems, in
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any form, and exhibiting this emotion within the boundaries of the "logical" extremes determined by the
greater society.
Notwithstanding, rebellion is often equated with being dangerous, rather than being provocative this is an error. Instead, provocation produces danger; danger is merely a byproduct of the mission. In this
sense, it is perilous to trade the two definitions for the latter is born from the former. Usually, the ignorant
and heavily confused/disorientated masses confuse the two terms and synthesize them as one. They ask,
"How dangerous is this rebel?". And this not acceptable because their intentions are to assimilate the two
words together. One must not forget that without provocation, danger would not exist. Provocation needs
not to entice danger but can.
Importantly, in a shift of locus, selfishness can be a hindrance to the rebel as well. "Selfish"
meaning being "concerned chiefly or only with oneself" (Grolier 1176). Through imposition, and not
egoism, the rebel works for the sake of their mission and/or ideals. They must uphold their mission in
relation to the human community. This is where the difference between a rebel and a menace is
established. The rebel wishes to influence with a purpose in mind, and share with those who are likeminded, whereas the menace wishes to impose, and more often than not, without an agenda or an ideal.
The rebel is not egotistical, whereas the menace cares solely for their ends. The menace is strictly
individualistic and places their "personal agenda" and comforts (whatever they may be) before their
ideals. Instead, "the rebel - once he has excepted his motive and at the moment of his greatest impetus preserves nothing in that he risks everything. He demands respect for himself ... but only so far as he
identifies himself with the natural community" (Camus 16).
Once again, rebellion and insurrection is not a matter of conquering, but instead, a matter of
imposition and influence. To clarify, when one is a rebel, one prefers sacrifice, and possibly death, rather
than the negation of ideals because one considers these ideals more important than their selfish being (156). This is the dilemma Jesus of Nazareth faced in the Garden of Gethesamene - are my objectives worth
suffering and ultimately dying for? It is recounted in the New Testament:
"Then Jesus came to a place called Gethsemane ... He advanced a little and fell prostrate
in prayer, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will,
but as you will.' ... Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again, 'My Father if it is not
possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!' ... [He] withdrew
again and prayed a third time, saying the same thing again. Then He returned to his
disciples and said to them, "...Behold, the hour is at hand when the Son of Man is to be
handed over to sinners" (Matthew 26: 36,39,42,44-5).
In this famous story, the battle between Jesus's ideals and his humanly selfish behavior is dramatically
fashioned. Jesus is "enticed" to forego his mission of creating a "heavenly" utopia on earth (albeit these
are religious terms) and return his "cup", his reputed theological destiny assigned by God. Instead, Jesus
acts "rebellious" and accepts his mission thereby affirming his ideals1. In this manner, the Jesus is acting
out of respect for humankind. With pride, the rebel must hold the responsibility of their ideas upon their
back wanting humanity to see them with the hope that people will exercise or contemplate their ideas.
As alluded, the rebel must have a mission. Like a missionary, the rebel must be the proponent of
their provocation. The means to the end are defined within the mission of the insurrectionist. What is a
mission? Simply, a mission occurs when a person or persons decide to propagate their ideals through
action. Action is key to understanding a mission. In relation to the rebel, an additional description is
1
Whether or not Jesus understood his mission himself is irrelevant. The example of the rebel (e.g. Jesus of Nazareth)
is powerful due to its colloquial influence and therefore was an accurate choice for this essay. The theological and
historical questions of Jesus' life and mission are troublesome, but for our purposes we will assume Jesus had
knowledge of his mission from God in order to dismiss all theological and historical watchdogs.
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supplemented. In a sense, the rebel must pursue to be a propagandist - a person(s) using insistent
persuasion to influence and impose ideals. Moreover, the rebel must follow through in their mission least
their mission will be negated because of a lack of activity. This is the plight Jesus faced in the garden.
Even more problematic, however, may be a deficiency of "good" faith and responsibility in relativity to
the mission.
If one acts in "bad" faith toward their mission "a man annihilates what he posits within one and
the same act; he leads us to believe in order not to be believed; he affirms to deny and denies to affirm; he
creates a positive object but it has no being other than its nothingness" (Sartre 87). Why must one not
develop "bad" faith? Basically, "bad" faith constitutes a lie to oneself in relation to the lying in general
(87). Dangerously, "bad" faith "seeks by means of 'not-being-what-one-is' to escape from the itself ... Bad
faith seeks to flee the in-self by means of the inner disintegration of my being" (Sartre 116).
Questionably, how can the rebel follow through on a mission where he or she is in bad faith, lying to
oneself, and in effect lying to others? The end result of the mission would be disastrous, a reflection of the
"bad" faith in the rebel - a visual lie to the masses and oneself. In order to create a positive object to be
taken sincerely (both to yourself and others), one must be in "good" faith which "wishes to flee the 'notbelieving-what-one-believes' by finding refuge in being2" (Sartre 115). One must adhere to tenants of the
respective belief as outlined by the self. In our case, the mission becomes equitable through "good" faith.
Furthermore, the rebel must hold a discrete responsibility over their mission. The mission is a
creation on the rebel's behalf. It is their distinct responsibility to give the duty its tenants and structure.
Analogous to the Sartrian notion that man chooses oneself, the rebel chooses their mission, and therefore,
no one is held accountable but the rebel for the mission's interests and future. However, what about
responsibility to the world? In a sense, a mission is a universal suggestion. A mission by definition has to
contain visible and perceivable components - it cannot be merely a thought. In this regard, the rebel holds
a responsibility to others in esteem of their intentions. This entails that the rebel is: 1. not lying to others
(i.e. acting in good faith), 2. positing an absolute "no" (i.e. affirming your intentions and rebellion), and 3.
always working towards the goal. Responsibility to the mission is crucial in order to prevent a negation.
C. THE ARTIST-MANIFEST-AS-A-REBEL
Jerrold Levinson's definition of art - "A work of art is a thing intended for ‘regard-as-a-work-ofart,’ regardless of the ways works of art existing prior to it have been correctly regarded" (226) illuminates the theory that a work of art must have a relationship to its time and previous history. To
allocate a piece of art from this context is to eliminate all measurement of progress and evolution. It
would be virtually impossible to demonstrate how artistic pursuits have changed and what or who were
the catalysts of the change without a historical background. From the proto-arts to today's art, a lineage
has developed which helps the historian and casual art viewer alike place certain pieces. It is only logical
to assemble art history along this chain. However, often an artist arrives who shakes the foundations of
the artworld; they make the perpetually forming and unfolding chain stutter in its tracks and reassess
where it should proceed into the future. Some artists, known as revolutionaries, create their own chains.
Others take the past and transform. How do we describe this person in totality? This person is the artistmanifest-as-a-rebel.
What is the definition of an artist-manifest-as-a-rebel? Simply, the artist must exist prior to the
rebel. Therefore the artist must make the choice to say "no" and become a rebel. So why use manifest?
Manifest is correlated with the word manifesto - "a public declaration of principles or intentions" (Grolier
794) - which embodies the piece of art the rebel creates. It is a manifesto, or expression, of their
ideologies. So when I speak of the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel, it is person who has demonstrated an
intention to create or have created a manifesto.
Hypothetically, we are transported back in time to 50,000 BCE. Currently, in the Twenty-First
Century, we have no evidence of "art" from this time period. However, this opens the opportunity to
2
Sartre defines Being in this relationship: "the nihilation of Being-in-itself; consciousness conceived as a lack of
Being, a desire for Being, a relation to Being" (800).
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illustrate an important principle. In this fictional account3 I wish to embellish how the artist-manifest-as-arebel works in relation to the historicity of art and thereby challenges its conceptions.
A caveman returns to his dwelling after a long day of hunting. He looks up at the wall of
the dwelling and makes an observation, "Why do we only paint and depict in black and
white? Out on the daily hunt, I see a world full of vivacious color - the brilliant green of
grass, the caramel dripping color of the oak tree's bark, the crimson red of a beast's
flowing blood. Nature demonstrates such passion for its creations, yet man can only
depict in black and white. No, no, no ... this is not right! Man's creations must
demonstrate the same colorful passion. I will go and make color depictions!". Onward,
the caveman goes for the "all". He in rebellion against his people's previous work paints a
picture of a buffalo being splayed with a spear. Although not technically sound, his
picture gets completed to his satisfaction and regards it as a work of art. Later in the
night, the rest of the hunters return home with their catch of the day. Sitting at the fire,
the painter says nothing. He only points to his creation and sees the reaction of his
fellows. They immediately drop the buffalo leg from their mouths and run up to catch a
closer look. They have never seen such a farce and outcry against their previous
paintings! Nevertheless, after the sun rises and falls many times, the piece begins to
enrapture their intellect. Their emotions settle as the stratosphere of time cools the
dwelling. And they all understand - this is ingenious.
The hunters never thought that one of them would be capable of such an idea and took them all by
surprise. However, this idea sprung from a particular dissatisfaction - the feeling that black and white
pictures have been painted for too long. A change was needed; a new understanding of the world needed
to be presented. This painting was the work of an artist-manifest-as-a-rebel.
Is the creative the same as rebellion? In the previous story, one could cite that the hunter was
exceedingly "creative" and, therefore, painted in color. Aside the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel must be
creative; creativity is an essential component of all art. However, the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel intends to
create in a provocative manner meaning not with the old, but the new. The rebel paints in color because it
is new and is regarded as different than previous pieces. If the hunter wanted to be only exceedingly
creative, this is possible within the old construct. They would have used black and white to make the
piece[s]. Instead, the hunter was the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel because he said "no" to former practices,
ideologies, etc. and created a new practice, ideology, etc. It is faulty to incite all art as rebellious, but all
art is creative.
However, before continuing, one must identify the difference between evolution and revolution in
relation to artistic pursuits. "If art is continually looking at the rear, how can we change it or advance?"
(Levinson 232). This is the cry of the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel. Contrary to the opinion of the defiled
masses, revolution need not occur to change artistic pursuits and understanding. Evolution is just as
important as revolution; change is more likely to occur via evolution rather than revolution anywise. In
support, Levinson proposes there are three main categories of art - "new", "original", and "revolutionary"
(The first two categories lend themselves to the "evolution" of art).
"A 'new' artwork is simply one nonidentical to any previously existing artwork. An
'original' artwork is a new one significantly different in structural or aesthetic properties
from any previously existing artworks ... But by a revolutionary artwork I mean one for
which any of the past ways of approaching art seems inadequate, inappropriate, pointless,
or impossible; a revolutionary artwork appears to be ultimately calling for a kind of
regard which is totally unprecedented" (Levinson 232).
3
Of the author’s creation
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However, what braids the three categories together is found within the intentions of the artist. The
creators of these pieces wish to regard their creations as art. The revolutionary artist may wish to be dealt
with in new and unprecedented ways but only under the umbrella of artisan. Their goal may be to
confuse, frustrate, or even leave questions open, but their intention is be an artist. A strategy to deal with
the unprecedented is to expand the notion of what is regarded-as-a-work-of-art. In this way, the
revolutionary artist is to be regarded "in some other way in contrast to and against the background of
[history]" (Levinson 233). In this manner, new explorations are encompassed by the historical and
thereby a new path is visibly revealed. Others can now follow the revolutionary path that has been
plotted.
Notwithstanding, artistic revolutions are a rare occurrence. Instead, evolutions of ideas and
techniques in art are more frequent. The substance of the "new" and "original" works of art is key to
knowing and defining evolution. Evolution, like revolution, requires the same "no" to be proposed and
solved. The solution, or goal of the mission, after the "no" is what evolves the artworld. With looks at the
historical, the evolution of ideas is seen in its full manifestation. Evolution in a historical light originates
from the artist seeing the conditions of the present and feeling a dissatisfaction. This leads into the
cultivation of the provocative piece of art. In relation to previous works and present works the
dissatisfaction of the artist via the price must be easily identifiable for it to be provocative. In addition, a
provocative price of art is evolutionary for it leaps into the ether of the future. It takes the former
iterations of ideas and transforms it into new archetype. Step by step, like the synthesis of a DNA strand,
evolutionary processes shift conditions, and through the rebel's work, towards a particular goal.
D. THE DIONYSIAN INFLUENCE
Friedrich Nietzsche, in his book The Birth of Tragedy, outlines a duality in the arts via the Greek
gods Apollo and Dionysius. Between these two gods an extreme difference in "origin and aims" exists Apollo appeals to dreams and Dionysius to intoxication. Within these dreams "we delight in the
immediate understanding of figures; all forms speak to us; there is nothing unimportant or superfluous.
But even when this dream reality is most intense, we still have, glimmering through it, the sensation that
it is mere appearance" (Nietzsche 568). Within this Apollian influence, the emotions stay within a certain
realm, within a certain restraint. Intoxication awakens another realm. Nietzsche writes, "These Dionysian
emotions awake, and as they grow in intensity everything subjective vanishes into complete selfforgetfulness" (569-70). This duality is analogous to the differences between the non-rebellious artist and
the rebellious artist in relation to their intentions. Response and emotions can initiate understanding.
Through use of Nietzsche's duality, I wish to demonstrate that there is a difference in emotional response
in relation to understanding. The artist-manifest-as-a-rebel wishes to cast a new understanding, which can
only be achieved by appealing to the Dionysian influence - intoxication4. The Apollian appeal to dreams5
suggests that a piece brings about no re-evaluation of belief or learnt convention. Even when this appeal is
at its most intense, it is still familiar therefore not challenging to preconceptions. The pieces where
Apollian influence is strongest is where the artist intended not to challenge the historicity of art and create
a piece easily blended within the system of the historical. This does not discredit the talent of the artist.
Instead it implies that the artist felt no need to say "no" to the system of history that preceded their
regarded piece of work. On the other hand, the intoxication exhibited by Dionysian influence brings about
an awakening - one forgets them and this opens the opportunity of re-evaluation in the mind. When the
feeling subsides, the understanding one had of the piece and moreover the world previously has changed
(at least this is the intention of the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel). This is distinctly tied into the "no" a rebel
4
"an urge to unity, a reaching out beyond personality, the everyday, society, reality, across the abyss of
transitoriness" (Nietzsche 539)
5
"urge to perfect self-sufficiency, to the typical 'individual', to all that simplifies ... clear, unambiguous, typical:
freedom under the law" (Nietzsche 539)
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propounds. In clarification, the "no", like discussed earlier, has a distinct correlation to displeasure with
the current conditions or prevailing attitudes of the present - the unambiguous, the colloquial, the current
crest. The conditions of the present are basically the crest of former historical conditions. Found in the
crest, is a reason to posit "no". Iterated from this "no" is the idea for the piece of work which is
challenging to the crest of the conditional present. Thereby the artist creates from this "no," their piece to
be regarded as art. Since the piece is founded on the idea stemmed from the "no", which is not a
prevailing condition, or idea of the present, the piece seeks to bring about a different emotion than the
"Apollian influenced" piece. The artist-manifested-as-a-rebel's piece wishes to intoxicate the viewer with
a new idea thereby bringing about a new understanding of the familiar world. In this regard, the piece
intends to exhibit an evolution (and revolution) of ideas whether they related to sociology, psychology, a
new realm of space, the definition of art itself, etc. The evolution of preconceptions and prior
understanding into new configurations is the main use of the rebel's provocative tool. "Apollian
motivated" artists do not utilize the tools of provocation, but merely the historically calculated tools of the
past to appease and be within the crest.
What are these tools of provocation utilized for? They are applied to idealize the future. Without
the syntheses of new evolution, ideas would be stagnant. In regard to art, without new procedures,
concepts, ideas, and media iterating into the future, artistic liaison would be as quiescent as asphalt. If the
definition of art is determined by looking-backwards-in-history, then the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel has a
particular mission - to recharacterize definitions. This is the main use of the tool of provocation.
However, let it be known that the-artist-manifest-as-a-rebel is a rare occurrence in the historicity of art.
Most artists "adapt themselves to what the majority of society wants" (Camus 253). Therefore, we shall
not glamorize all artists as rebellious, but only the select few who say "NO" and follow through with their
mission. If this cannot come true, admit your negation and proceed in life with "good" faith as your
guardian.
D. CAMUS' OUTGROWTH
Albert Camus volunteers an interesting correlation to the artist-manifest-as-a-rebel. To Camus,
there are two forms of art: the "art for art's sake" and the "art of effort". "Art for art's sake" is a merely a
reflection of what the pioneers have accomplished. In essence, the "art for art's sake" is merely the
watered down version of the real effort, and some critics dismiss it as mere "imitation" or "play" art. For
example, our media is strewn with images of glamorized celebrities who very often are considered
mainstay "artists". We watch our televisions with eyes glued to the screen to see what so and so is
wearing, what so and so is doing. Even more incredulous is that the popular masses "have the feeling of
knowing this or that great artist of our time because they have only learned from the newspapers that he
raises canaries or that he never stays married for more than six months" (Camus 255). In this manner, the
artist disappears behind the facade of his or her persona created and passed on by the popular culture. The
real creators are hidden from the mainstream media while their imitators are the one's who are glorified.
The artist creating for art's sake is creating for the "we" of the masses; it is art to feed the masses with
comfort. Basically, this art can be considered nothing more than squalid amusement. On the other hand,
we find the "art of effort". This form of art explicitly rejects the popularization of the time, in effect,
making a painful divorce with society. “The freest art and the most rebellious will ... reward the greatest
effort. So long as society and its artist do not accept this long and free effort, so long as they relax in the
comfort of amusements or the comfort of conformism, in the games of art for art's sake ... its [real] artists
are lost" (Camus 268-9). For this reason, the artist must be provocative and create works of effort, at least
in relation to the greater society of the modern and our post-modern age.
III. SONIC YOUTH
A. BIOGRAPHY AND DELINEATION OF THEIR MISSION
Sonic Youth, unlike many of their peers, has made a career out of extremist rebellion, curiosity
with the other realms of musical possibility, and non-conformism. Their peers, on the other hand, seemed
to believe they were "pushing the envelope”; however, they were innocuous, in the sense that they copied
their former peers and were creating "art for art's sake" underneath other intentions. For these simple
reasons, Sonic Youth typifies the role of the "rebel" in modern music. They "thought for themselves" and
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were more provocative in relation to their innocuous contemporaries. As the synthesizer of avant-garde
surrealism with the discord of rock and roll music, they made their "no" explicit to the art world, were
provocative in their artistic pursuits, and created new landscapes. They were an obvious choice for
critique as outlined:
"Sonic Youth began their career by abandoning any pretense of traditional rock and roll
conventions. Borrowing heavily from the free-form noise experimentalism of the Velvet
Underground and the Stooges, and melding it with a performance art aesthetic borrowed
from the New York post-punk avant-garde, Sonic Youth redefined what noise meant ...
Their dissonance, feedback, and alternative tunings created a new sonic landscape, one
that redefined what rock guitar could do" (Erlwine 1040).
Only through careful listening and comparison to other similar artists can one determine their worth and
credibility. Their ability to transform musical horizons in music has been unparalleled arguably up till
today.
This statement is risky, yet true. In hindsight, one can try to argue that Sonic Youth was not
provocative enough to be considered rebellious - as rebellious as I allege. They sound vaguely familiar to
the "modern" listener and music enthusiast. Sonic Youth's influence upon the music industry has been
abstruse. Many of the current "alternative" bands and groups of today were heavily affected by the
aesthetic techniques of Sonic Youth thereby "watering down" their role as a synthesizer of new ideas to
the modern listener. Whether or not Sonic Youth meant this to be is questionable. Yet, only by
transporting oneself back to the mid to early Eighties and having an understanding of the past of rock
music can one make an accurate assessment. Hindsight can be dangerous in regard to art; hindsight can
interrupt the immediate impression a rebellious work of art had on the contemporaries of the time. In this
case, Sonic Youth is extremely different than anything their peers were attempting, yet only those with a
knowledge of music and its history will be able to make this assessment due to the dissemination of Sonic
Youth's sound over the last two decades.
Therefore, what is the proof of this provocation? From the biographical account of the band in
Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azzerod, I wish to introduce the techniques and ideologies
which make Sonic Youth rebellious, and moreover, very provocative:
1. In the spirit of John Cage (a major influence on the band), "Sonic Youth stuck drumsticks and
screwdrivers under guitar strings" (243) in order to create new sonic atmospheres and noises. Their
instrument of choice was the guitar, like many other punk bands, but they were one of the first to meld
"non-musical" elements and instruments together.
2. "The main weapon in Sonic Youth's arsenal was alternative guitar tunings, departing from the standard
E-A-D-G-B-E to whatever sounded good" (242). Out of necessity and punk mentality, their sound is an
equal synthesis of lack of funds to buy decent equipment and the abuse of their equipment to achieve new
sonic heights. This is analogous to how Beethoven would pound his pianos to peel forth hidden sounds
and melodies. For example, "with weird tunings or something jammed under a particular fret these
horrible instruments could sound rather amazing - bang a drumstick on a cheap Japanese Stratocaster
copy in the right tuning, crank the amplifier to within an inch of its life, and it will sound like church
bells" (247). This meticulous (some would state worthless) discovery only helps to demonstrate their
dedication and effort towards their art.
3. Furthermore, Sonic Youth melded the border between noise and melody. Many critics of the band have
stated that its is sheer noise and the music's lack of melody and structure forfeits any reason to consider
the band's work as music. I beg to differ; Sonic Youth may have utilized noise, but only in the context of
melody. They took noise and made it melodious, a task hard to swallow for the classical listener.
However, in regard to song structure, one of Sonic Youth's dissatisfactions was that the form of the song
in rock music was too calculated. Who said a song had to be such and such length, or exhibit so much of
this or that instrument? Sonic Youth decided to question these premises by composing thirty to forty
minute epics and utilizing non-musical instruments to enhance their sound. In this regard, their rebellion
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was not just for rebellion's sake, but instead was a response to the calculation and prognosis of rock
music. They wished to expand the possibilities of what could be headed under the rock music umbrella.
Besides we must delineate the mission of Sonic Youth. A concrete mode to assemble the mission
is to look at the early history of the group. In the beginning, Sonic Youth was comprised of
three art students with an extreme affection for punk rock, the deranged protégé of the flower music of the
late 60s. The lead guitarist's (Thurston Moore) father was a philosophy professor at a major New England
institution, the bassist (Kim Gordon) was the daughter of a UCLA sociology professor as well as a
graduate of art school, and the other guitarist (Lee Ranaldo) was studying art and filmmaking at the
SUNY at Binghamton (234). These influences cannot be allocated from the band itself. Notwithstanding,
the festering sounds and ideas of punk rock were just as influential. Punk rock was freedom. Nonetheless,
the New York scene, whom Sonic Youth became an underground staple, was angry as well; however,
angry at the conventions of the seventies and the propagation of commercialism in American art. They
chose to preach DIY, or the Do-it-yourself ethos - the cornerstone of all punk rock ideology - and in effect
created the underground network of today. By 1979, most Americans knew of punk rock, but were
oblivious to the overall mission. The perception of the movement was perverted to say the least. Albeit, it
was a minority of people who were involved in the scene. However, as the decade changed hands to the
Eighties the steam of the movement dwindled. With this loss of steam, a new scene evolved from the
pieces and the experimentalism began. The beginnings of Sonic Youth are found here. However, in
relation to their peers, who tended to stay close to the New York scene's roots, punk rock was not Sonic
Youth's only influence. Instead, punk was merely a shadow over their arty pretensions. In fact, it could be
argued that Sonic Youth went in the opposite direction of punk rock, not ideologically, but musically.
They were educated and intelligent, adventurous and musically iconoclastic; they felt no need to stick to
3-chord progressions and angry lyrics. Most of the other punk receptive bands of the early 80s which
were comprised of streetpunks and "unemployed hardcore6 meatheads" enjoyed the heavy nature of the
music rather then the ideology behind it. Sonic Youth was immediately a sought after commodity in the
independent rock world of the early Eighties because of their embrace of the arty lateral. Their main break
came when avant-garde guitar-symphonist Glenn Branca sensing a new wind in the making invited the
youthful, yet futuristic, band to record at his studio. On this recording, as recounted by Ranaldo, "'It was a
lot more wide open to what a song was. A song was a lot more about sound and structure than its was
about chords and progression" (Azerrad 236-7). This, as simply and ineloquently explained by Lee
Ranaldo, is Sonic Youth's mission in a jar - never calculate what a song's structure or sound will be like.
Create your own sound. And do-it-yourself on your own terms and conditions. A career based in pure
experimentalism was founded and Sonic Youth has yet to be lead astray.
Furthermore, did Sonic Youth act in "good" faith in regard top their mission? Philosophy
professor and musicologist from DePaul University Bill Martin, author of Avant-Rock, rationalizes how
Sonic Youth has stayed true to their mission over time:
"One of the lovely things about Sonic Youth is that, as much as there were gems in the
first ten years of the band's existence, the second decade has been even more interesting there are not many musicians in rock music about whom this could be said ... Some of
what sounds like carelessness comes from the group's willingness to experiment with
extreme contingency - not just through jamming, but through use of a large array of
different guitars (often cheap electrics that have been ... modified, or to put it more
colloquially, heavily messed up), and through extremely dissonant, and often
unrepeatable, tunings. Besides their desire to move forward, this is another reason why
Sonic Youth rarely (now, in fact, never) revisit old material" (121).
6
The fastest and loudest outgrowth of the punk rock movement; usually associated with violence and other antisocietal behaviors
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The fact that the band has been performing for 23 years and is still not a household name or favorite of
the popular press is a testimony to their mission. Sonic Youth could have easily compromised and created
lushish pop music, but instead they stayed true their roots and mission - acted in "good faith". Lovingly,
at the 1995 music festival Lollapalooza, Sonic Youth were the headliners. Despite their prominent stature,
the younger bands that Sonic Youth had inspired and/or influenced had a greater audience. More than half
the crowd left during Sonic Youth's performance because the witless crowd deemed it to uncompromising
and “bad”.
B. THE INTOXICATION OF NOISE
Questionably, is this new sound Sonic Youth created intoxicating? Foremost, if Sonic Youth
wished their pieces to be merely standard and appeal to the dream state, then they would have followed
their predecessors’ techniques and aesthetics. For Nietzsche, the dream state is likened to the "category of
the naive, since [it expresses] a direct, unmediated, non-reflective relationship to nature" (Holub 18).
Nature in this sense is the pre-determined, the calculated, the past sound of music. Sonic Youth, with their
reaching into the realms of what noise can produce, would be far out of sight of the Apollian likened to
the eternity of the beautiful form (Nietzsche 539). Sonic Youth craved to reinterpret the role and
definitions of structure, sound, and, ultimately, music through heavy distortion and the incorporation of
the "non-musical"; to question the "beautiful form". Their music requires a reflection upon its contents in
relation to past works thereby placing it in the realm of intoxication rather than dreams. To repeat,
intoxication is the Dionysian, or likened to the continual creation via transitoriness of creation (539). With
the introduction of a Dionysian piece the fabric of the nature transforms meaning the transformation past
convention of creation. With intoxication one can "bloom" new beginnings from the former because it
shakes the fabric of nature, and with revolutionary pieces, it creates new blossoms. By no means was
Sonic Youth "revolutionary" (arguably their predecessors were7), but they were heavily evolutionary.
They deconstructed an instrument - the guitar - into a machine rather than a tool of creating beautiful
music. A machine in the regard that they meticulously tinkered and adjusted the instrument to create new
sounds however "ugly" they may seem to be to the casual listener. The group made melodies out of the
ether of ugliness and this is what is intoxicating about their work. In relation to the works of music being
made in the Eighties, Sonic Youth was a lone composer. Nothing, no band or group, came close to
sounding like Sonic Youth. By deduction, this obviously means listening to their music is a different, very
different, experience in relation to other artists of the day (and to a certain extent today). This is what
Nietzsche means by intoxication - "Artists should see nothing as it is, but fuller, stronger: to that end, their
lives must contain a kind of youth and spring, a kind of habitual intoxication" (Nietzsche 421). Sonic
Youth is an intoxicating artist - they exhibit the strength to overcome the past and also the youthfulness to
create new sensations of music yet to be discovered. Understanding comes via these senses of
intoxication. The senses are overloaded with new sensations; they are searching for a connection, but
nothing familiar is to be found. By making these new connections from new experiences, the viewer is
able to achieve a new understanding. Usually this understanding is a reflection of the unsatisfactoriness
the artist seeks to replace or question. In this way, the viewer comes into mental intercourse with the
artist's rebellious idea. This intercourse, or intoxication, procreates a new awareness of the world and for
this reason alone the intoxication is powerful for the viewer. Although Nietzsche identifies the
intoxication with a return to nature, but in the sense that it absolves the mind, a sinking back unto the
oneness of nature. However, this is what is needed to develop new understanding, and in relation to Sonic
Youth, an openmindness is needed to digest their music; a clearing of the old rhythms and calculations of
rock music is needed to incorporate the new grooves and soundscapes the band presents. This is example
accurately depicts what Nietzsche meant by intoxication in order to innervate understanding.
Importantly, Nietzsche held a high regard for music: "Compared with music all communication
by words is shameless; words dilute and brutalize; words depersonalize; words make the uncommon
7
e.g. Ramones, Sex Pistols, Clash, Velvet Underground, etc.
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common" (428). Due to the cerebral experience music produces, the senses are on hyper-mode; when a
melody hooks a listener, it creates intoxication. For this reason, people attend concerts - they provide a
modern Dionysian experience, possibly the best Dionysian example available today. The music being
performed at the concert heightens the emotions to an intense apex. In this regard the concert is a sort of
release, namely an emotional release. As a rebellious group, Sonic Youth questioned the notion that a
concert, in order for it to hold a Dionysian release, needs to incorporate identifiable, and undeniably,
easily digested melodies. At times Sonic Youth's music lacks all forms of melody and traditional structure
yet this is their mission. Although melody maybe absent, music by its nature is communication with the
cerebrum. According to Nietzsche, music is personal and undiluted. Attending a concert or listening to a
recording, even if it is sheer noise, is still more sensual and experiential than reading a book or watching
television. If Sonic Youth has a lasting impression upon the consciousness of music it will be that melody
can be sacrificed and yet the audience can still have a Dionysian experience for listening, no matter the
content, is the greatest form of communication in relation to the Dionysian.
In repetition, it would be senseless to rebel against nothing, or rebel for rebellion's sake. Hence, if
no effort is exuded through the piece itself, or if the rebellion is merely used to upset, or "piss off", the
mainstream, the piece shall not be regarded as rebellious but merely absurd. In these examples, the
Aristotelian mean is not accounted for; the Nietzschian urge for the artist to create in excellence is not
present. However, I can safely gather that Sonic Youth is not merely rebelling for rebellion's sake or
creating without effort. Spending weeks at a time to manifest a sound recording, Sonic Youth has
dedicated themselves to their art. When creating, Nietzsche, as well as Camus, urges the artist to create
"as man sees a woman and, as it were, makes her a present of everything excellent, so the sensuality of
the artist puts into one object everything else that he honors and esteems" (424-25). Therefore, there
application for this essay is acceptable.
C. CAMUSIAN ASSESSMENT AND CONCLUSION
To continue, Camus suggests the question - is art being made for the creative? or for the masses?
In a music industry founded upon imitation and profiteering of certain sounds, Sonic Youth has stood
their ground - battled against the masses. In the current market place, this is an adequate question for any
rebellious artist. Should I or should not I entice the masses? Sonic Youth has never compromised their
creativity for instant success, meaning corporate success. "Sonic Youth inhabited a charmed zone where
they were successful enough to keep going and yet low profile enough to elude the compromises of
success. Although each record sold more than the last, there were no spikes in their sales graph that would
have prematurely attracted the attentions of the mainstream music business" (Azzerod 272-73). To
Camus, Sonic Youth would be a "real artist" - one who rejected the negotiations of the popular masses as
well as the sabotage of the mainstream. Throughout their 23 year career the band has constantly pushed
for the independence of their sound and thereby, according to Camus, made a divorce with mainstream
societal habituations. However, part of making art of effort is the recognition and acceptance of this
divorce, something Sonic Youth has accomplished successfully. As Camus states, "This passion which
lifts the mind above the commonplaces of a dispersed world ... It does not result in mediocre efforts to
escape, however, but in the most obstinate demands" (Camus 262).
The artist-manifest-as-a-rebel is the one who makes that obstinate demand. The mission of the
artist-manifest-as-a-rebel is to incite a new understanding via provocation. Art is at its pinnacle when it is
provocative and confronts convention of the present within the construct of an individualized mission. In
regard to the thesis, I have demonstrated that the rebel's effort and demand for the subjugation of the
satisfactory creates overtly provocative, yet "powerful" pieces of art. Powerful, meaning an exertion of
maximum influence of the provocation; the pinnacle of persuasion to incite understanding. To end with
something to ponder: when a piece of art changes your life, aiming to enhance or change understanding,
is not it usually provocative? Is not the life most changing, the most mentally metamorphic, usually
against the grain of convention whether out of time of place? I propose we should seek out rebellious art
in order to question our conventions and satisfactories; if one fails to solicit questions, faithfulness is tooeasily jettisoned.
118
Works Cited
-----. The Catholic Bible: New American Bible. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
All Music Guide to Rock. Third Edition. Ed. by Bogdanov, Vladimir; Erlewine, Stephen; and Woodstru,
Chris. Ann Arbor: AEC One Stop Group, 2002.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. The Internet Classics Archive. 2004. 17 April 2004.
<http://www.classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.2.ii.html>.
Aristotle. Poetics. London: Malcolm Heath, 1996.
Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981 1991. USA: Little Brown, 2001.
Camus, Albert. Rebel, The. New York: Vintage, 1984.
Camus, Albert. Resistance, Rebellion, and Death. New York: Vintage, 1995.
Grolier International Dictionary, The. USA: Houghton Mifflin, 1981.
Holub, Robert. Friedrich Nietzsche: Twayne's World Authors Series. New York: Twayne, 1995.
Janavitz, Bill. "Shadow of a Doubt". 2000. 17 April 2004. <http://www.allmusic.com>.
Levinson, Jerrold. "Defining Art Historically". In: Alex Neill, Aaron Ridley. The Philosophy of Art:
Readings Ancient and Modern. Boston: McGraw Hill, 1995.
Martin, Bill. Avant-Rock. Peru: Carus Publishing, 2002.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. "The Two Faces of Art". The Birth of Tragedy. In: Western Philosophy: An
Anthology. Ed. by Cottingham, John. Cambridge: Blackwell,
1996.
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Will to Power. New York: Random House, 1967.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. Being and Nothingness. New York: Washington Square Press, 1984.
Sonic Youth. EVOL. Perf. Martin Bisi, Kimberly Gordon, Thurston Moore, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley,
Mike Watt. SST, 1986.
Works Consulted
Plato. Republic, The. Second Edition. London: Penguin, 1987.
Schopenhauer, Arthur. "The Metaphysics of Beauty". On Aesthetics. In: Western Philosophy: An
Anthology. Ed. by Cottingham, John. Cambridge: Blackwell, 1996.
Stumpf, Samuel Enoch. Socrates to Sartre. Sixth Edition. USA: McGraw Hill, 1999.
Thompson, Dave. Alternative Rock. San Francisco: Miller, 2000.
119
120
A Comedic Response to the World’s First Artificial Satellite
by Jon Scherer
(English 103)
The Assignment: After selecting an article from the satirical newspaper The Onion,
students research what “really” happened and compare it to the “fake” news story,
ultimately answering the question, “What is The Onion’s argument or commentary on
this issue?”
D
uring the heat of the Cold War, no pun intended, an article entitled, “Bleeping Two-Foot Tin Ball
Threatens Free World” was published in The Onion on Friday October 4, 1957. The first line of
the article seems to sum up the event the best by suggesting, “American metal-bauble superiority
was cast into grave doubt Thursday when the Russians launched a two-foot ball of tin into orbit around
the Earth.” In a comedic way, The Onion takes a unique approach into what was, back in 1957, a great
threat to the United States and the whole free world. This event was the launch of the world’s first
artificial satellite, developed by the Russians, called Sputnik. The United States, at that particular point in
time, was just playing around with the idea of actually sending objects into space. There wasn’t an actual
organization set up, like the modern day National Aeronautical Space Association (NASA), which was
dedicated to the space program like there is today. Freedom as the country knew it was directly affected
by this discovery of rocket science. At the time, the nation was about twelve years out of World War II
and into the Cold War, which was between the United States and Russia. The threat was simple, that if
people could send a one-hundred-eighty-four pound piece of metal up in a rocket with enough force to get
it into space, then why couldn’t they send a nuclear weapon propelled by a rocket over to a neighboring
country and destroy it? The general point that The Onion was trying to make was that this two-foot wide
piece of tin was nothing to be worried about, because at the time it was technologically insignificant.
This was a discovery and should have been considered a positive mark in the record books of history, but
it was not seen in that light when news first broke. After all, it didn’t do anything to anyone except emit
various beeps and bleeps via radio waves as it passed over the areas in its orbiting path, and if anything it
gave way for modern satellites which most people say they just couldn’t live without nowadays.
The actual article published in The Onion is written in a very satirical manner. The Onion is a
satirical newspaper that pokes fun at mostly political events throughout history. In a nutshell, it basically
poked fun at the whole situation that the United States and Russia were in at the time. The author of the
article starts off talking about how the United States has been beaten in something for once in history.
How our “…metal superiority was cast into grave doubt...” (The Onion 93) This quote refers to how the
U.S. had superiority over the Russians, but lost it due to Sputnik’s launch. At the time, President Dwight
D. Eisenhower was in office. He is said to be a “do nothing” president by many. His reaction, reflected
his “do nothing” attitude, did not have the response that America wanted to hear, so accordingly The
Onion made comments about him numerous times throughout the article. By saying that he actually shut
down schools in the around the country and told the children of America to pray for the safety of the free
world. No one seemed to know what this meant for the rest of society. Just because Russia had launched
essentially a tin beach ball with a radio transmitter attached to it into space, it didn’t mean that the world
was necessarily going to end the next day. After poking fun at the fact that Sputnik was nothing more
than a piece of orbiting tin, The Onion makes fun of the way it beeps and how it does nothing else. In the
article a man named A. Crandall Dewitt of Harvard University was interviewed and said, “The bleep is
also cause for concern. If they can make it bleep today, they can make it squawk tomorrow. By this time
next year they could have a ball that honks.” (The Onion 93) Lastly, The Onion says that President
Eisenhower wishes to put our own piece of tin into space. According to The Onion President Eisenhower
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guaranteed that, “…the American ball will have a handsome, tastefully, streamlined and tail finned casing
and up to three beep-level settings.” (The Onion 93) This quote shows how The Onion does not think this
situation is a threat at all, because the President would never say something like that. The Onion poked
more fun at the situation by saying that the nation was terrified of the Soviets creating an even larger
sphere or creating more spheres that would create a sort of “shadow of communism” over the whole
country. (The Onion 93)
The Onion’s take on the story reflects exactly how America responded to the launch of Sputnik.
People just did not know how to react to this event. Sputnik was launched the night of October 4, 1957
from a desert near Tyuratam in the Kazakh Republic located in the Soviet Union. The Satellite was
essentially a sphere no bigger than a beach ball with four spring-loaded antennae that trailed behind it. It
also carried with it a small radio beacon that transmitted a series of beeps to the people on the ground
below. This was impressive due to the fact that, at that same point in time, the American racers were
developing project Vanguard which was an even smaller satellite weighing in at a measly three and a half
pounds, whereas Sputnik weighed in at a beastly one-hundred-eighty-four pounds. As soon as the news
hit in the states, Russians who were living in the U.S. at the time, went party-crazy creating a scene
outside the Russian embassy in Washington D.C. with drinking and rioting. They were very excited that
the Russians had actually done something right and that they had beaten the Americans to space.
According to the NASA source, this night of celebration became known as “Sputnik Night.” (Sputnik and
the Origins of the Space Age, NASA)
The decade in which these events were unfolding held some uncertainty for the nation. World
War II had just over and new social plans were beginning to take effect, no one knew what the future
would hold. During the 1950’s all the way up to the 1980’s the United States was in the midst of the Cold
War, which was essentially between the U.S. and Russia only. The war did not involve actual combat
fighting but instead just a war of words. The U.S. was basically worried that the Russians, under the
influence of communism at the time, had nuclear weapons program. It was essentially a cold stare across
the ocean which went on up until the fall of the Berlin Wall. The 1950’s was the time of rebirth for the
nation. With World War II over, the Civil Rights Movement just beginning and the crisis in Little Rock,
Arkansas, where the Arkansas National Guard helped a few black children attend an all white school, the
1950’s was also a time of growth for the nation. (Dickson, 4) The nation wanted to get everything back
together. Sputnik came as a shock to most of the nation, but the President did not make it seem like it
was anything to be worried about. Contrarily, in fact he congratulated the Russians on their success, but
at the same time discredited them on their triumph. The U.S. encountered a “Pearl Harbor effect” shortly
after the launch of Sputnik was reported. People worried greatly about there being a nuclear war in the
future. (Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Race, NASA) Little did the President know that the launch
of Sputnik would impact the lives of people all over the world in the not to distant future, but not in a
negative way.
The main issue that was focused on in this era, and not touched by The Onion, was to set up an
active space program and to eventually send a human being into orbit. Sputnik started the chain of
events, and the United States now had to come back and show that they are still the number one nation
and superpower in the world. Although President Eisenhower did not do much for our nation, there were
congressmen that did. For example, Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, who had heard over the
radio that the Russians had successfully launched a satellite into orbit, was furious at the situation and
knew something needed to be done. He and his committee found that there was serious under funding of
programs that related to space and the arms race between Russia and the United States. For this they
simply blamed the whole Republican Party and the president, since Johnson was a Democrat this
accusation did not matter. Another important person was John Hagen who headed the Vanguard project.
Vanguard was the United States counter attack to the Russian Sputnik. His attempt to catch up to the
Russians in the space race failed miserably when both of his rockets blew up shortly after take off. This
is important, because it set the base for competition and started the U.S. off into the space race. (Sputnik
and the Origins of the Space Race, NASA)
Aside from all that history, The Onion makes an excellent point about this sensitive issue.
122
Through making fun of the space race and how the Russian satellite just beeps and bleeps, there is an
apparent threat to the America. Although this threat is not directed toward the whole American
population it is important. The situation threatened the American society as the Russians had broken
through the atmosphere and into the undefined and unexplored area of space with a rocket. This invention
of rocketry combined with the fact that the United States and Russia were in a state of war and were
continuing the development of nuclear arms, the threat became clear that they could essentially launch a
nuclear weapon over the ocean and onto U.S. soil causing chaos. As demonstrated through history,
bombing a country would result in repercussions from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in Japan
that occurred earlier in World War II. The Onion basically says that there is nothing to be afraid of. It is
simply just a bleeping annoying piece of metal shaped like a ball with antennae coming out of the sides.
Although the Russians beat us at our own game, hats off to them, it doesn’t mean that the world is
necessarily going to end tomorrow. They make the point that this piece of machinery is not particularly
harmful; rather the technology that came out of this discovery could change the world, but not drastically
enough to cause any significant harm or devastation.
During the launch of Sputnik there were many comments directed at President Eisenhower and
how he handled the situation. Just to sit back and play golf and ignore this delicate situation was not a
good way to calm a worried nation down. To express his disgust with the whole situation, G. Mennen
Williams, who was the governor of Michigan, wrote a sarcastic poem about the whole event. The poem
basically expresses his negative view of the president and the job that he is doing.
“Oh little Sputnik, flying high
With made-in-Moscow beep,
You tell the world it's a Commie sky
and Uncle Sam's asleep.
You say on fairway and on rough
The Kremlin knows it all,
We hope our golfer knows enough
To get us on the ball.”
(Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Race, Launius)
He says that Uncle Sam, meaning the United States government, is asleep and is completely oblivious to
what is going on around the world. Since the Russians were the first to launch the satellites, and they were
in a communist state at the time, he says that it is a “Commie sky.” He compares the U.S. to as a golf ball
that is stuck in the rough and compares the president to the golfer and says he hopes that president knows
what to do to make the situation better and to get the nation back on track.
In this day and age satellites are going up on a regular basis, beaming vital data back and forth so
life can continue. Back in 1957, sending a man or woman into space would be considered a fantasy
simply because the technology was not ready. In fact the average person, in 1957, would probably worry
about this situation considering that the quest for who had the best and biggest nuclear arms stock pile
was just beginning. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, Sputnik marked the start of the space
age, “The space age began on Oct. 4, 1957. On that day, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first
artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.” (World Book Encyclopedia 694) This landmark in the record books
leads to the next point as to how important this launch was to the space age in general. Also, according to
the World Book Encyclopedia, the various unmanned satellites and space probes that were sent up into
space after Sputnik greatly affected our knowledge of our surroundings and the universe. They allowed
us to travel a vast amount of miles, to explore the planets, the moon and lead to the discovery of the
radiation field that is located just above Earth’s atmosphere. (World Book Encyclopedia 694) Now in
2004 we would simply disregard the launch of any satellite unless it is considered a threat directly to us.
Many of us take for granted just how important satellites are in our everyday lives. Sure they are just
123
some floating pieces of metal placed in space that relay data back and forth, but they control things that
some people would consider vital for everyday life such as television, the internet, our cellular phones and
they help us get vital information that is needed for daily affairs. The launch of the first satellite in 1957
would definitely be seen differently in the year 2004. The threat for nuclear war is greater now with the
advanced technology in rocketry and advances in modern science and could literally happen at any time.
Times have certainly changed since that day in 1957; everyone seems to be oblivious to what is
happening around them. They take what this tiny piece of metal did for their everyday lives and modern
science for granted and just expect the technology that they have to work. They don’t care how it works
or how it came to be invented; they just simply want it to work. At the time, the president didn’t have
anything to say towards this event. The Onion was right. President Eisenhower was seen by many as a
person who did absolutely nothing about various events at the time that affected the nation. I applaud the
position that The Onion takes on this delicate issue. I agree on their stance that average person was
probably worrying about the situation more than they should have. From expressing disgust for the
presidents and important people of this country, to making fun of the most controversial topics that face
the nation from decade to decade, The Onion will be there reporting on the topic in a satirical manor
exactly as it did with the Sputnik story. No one knows how the world is going to end, but it didn’t end on
the day when the satellite was invented.
Works Cited
Dickson, Paul. Sputnik: The Shock of the Century. USA: Walker Company, 2001.
Launius, Roger D. Sputnik and the Origins of the Space Age. NASA.
<http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/sputnik/sputorig.html>.
Oberg, James . "Space Exploration." World Book. 18 vols. Chicago: World Book Incorporated, 2004.
Payne, Roger A. “Public Opinion and Foreign Threats: Eisenhower’s Response to Sputnik.” Armed
Forces and Society 1994 14 May 2004
Sidey, Hugh. “The Space Race Lifts Off.” Time. 31 March 2003
124
Island Biogeography Theory Applied to Parking Lot Islands
by Maya Strahl
(Honors Biology 101)
The Assignment: Island Biogeography theory has application to wildlife conservation.
The basics of the theory have relevance of the distance and size of an island to rates of
species immigration to the island and extinction of species on the island. You are to
explore the theory where the islands are planted areas within College parking lots and the
“mainland” is to be decided and write a research paper.
Abstract
I
sland biogeography theory has often been applied to the study of land habitats to predict species
diversity and number. The objective of this study was to determine whether MacArthur and Wilson's
island biogeography theory applies to islands of land in a parking lot area. Several areas were
measured and the bordering ones designated 'mainlands' and smaller ones within the parking lot 'islands'.
Invertebrates were selected as the species to study and samples were collected from above ground and the
soil. Measurements of soil moisture and light were collected at the same time.
A chi-square analysis was done to compare species richness and number between the study sites.
The results suggest that the theory of island biogeography was not supported in this case; the island sizespecies diversity and distance-species diversity ratios did not hold true for the sites studied. However,
correlation was found between species richness and soil moisture and species diversity and soil
temperature. The only area that showed significant variation in species index was a naturalized prairie
area, suggesting that anthropogenic changes to the landscape, such as cultivating large areas of a single
plant species and mowing such planted areas down, need to be accounted for.
Introduction
The equilibrium theory of island biogeography as proposed by MacArthur and Wilson, predicts
low species diversity on islands (Krohne 1998). According to this theory, islands that are smaller or
farther from the mainland will be lower in species number and diversity (Odum 1993). The species
population on an island will not be as stable as on the mainland because colonization and extinction
determine the population of an island (Krohne 1998). Islands are populated by species from the mainland
and other islands, but because of their small size can only support a limited number of species, so many of
the species that do reach them will die out. When the rate of extinction is exactly balanced with the rate of
immigration, the island's population should reach equilibrium. Two islands of the same size should have
similar rates of extinction, but if one is farther away, its population will be less diverse because it is more
difficult to emigrate to.
A key point of this theory is that isolation causes lack of diversity (Cotgreave and Forseth 2002).
Thus it can be used to predict species composition not only on islands in the ocean, but also on any other
kind of habitat that is small and isolated from a larger, more diverse area (Townsend and Begon 2003).
From the time of its development in 1963, island biogeography theory has been applied to the study of
fragmented habitats disrupted by human development (Wu and Vankat 1995). It has been widely used to
develop design theories for nature preserves in areas already developed, and thus has had an important
impact on conservation efforts (Dodson et. al. 1998). Using the model of species migration and extinction
provided by island biogeography theory, conservationists came to the conclusion that to be effective,
nature reserves needed to be large and that multiple reserves should be connected by corridors to facilitate
125
migration (Wu and Vankat 1995). In addition, it became accepted that fragmentation of habitat led to
species extinction (Jules 1998).
The applicability of island biogeography theory to fragmented habitats has been disputed by
many studies, but no conclusive studies have been able to completely discount its reliability as a predictor
of population diversity (Farina 1998). One of the major factors that needs to be researched is the
population of the ocean of the surrounding landscape, which in many cases, can still support at least a
limited number of species (Cook 2002).
It has been suggested that with modifications the theory can still reliably predict species diversity
in fragmented natural areas (Cook 2002). For example, the theory is well suited to the study of natural
areas in urban landscapes because these areas may be very isolated from each other and developed land
such as parking lots or buildings cannot usually support more than a few species (Melles 2003, Cook
2002). However, although the parking lot area is inhospitable, it may not be as much of a barrier to
animals as water is (Cook 2002). It is likely that species can migrate across it and perhaps even live on it
(Melles 2003).
Using the landscaped areas in a parking lot, this paper focuses on island biogeography theory as
applied to habitat fragmentation. The populations of macroinvertebrates on different islands and
mainlands were compared to determine whether the distance and species-area relationships found on
islands are applicable to the study of land islands. Macroinvertebrates were selected as the subject to
study because they are likely to be found on the small habitat niche provided by the islands, which
probably cannot support many larger animals (Gullan and Cranston 1994). Macroinvertebrates play an
important role in decomposition, nutrient recycling, and soil mixing. They also provide food for other
animals such as birds, and help support plants as pollinators.
Methods
The study site was located on the southwestern side of the main campus buildings of College of DuPage,
which serves some 34,000 students in Northeastern Illinois. A naturalized tallgrass prairie and two lawns
designated South mainland and West mainland, which bordered the parking lot, were considered the
mainlands. The prairie is the result of a 20-year re-creation effort to preserve the native plants of Illinois
in their natural habitat. The two lawn mainlands are mostly planted with grass. The islands are four
smaller planted areas within the parking lot and surrounded by the three mainlands.
The area of each of the islands and mainlands was measured in square meters to test the island
size-species diversity ratio. The distances between the different areas were also measured. The narrow
west edges of North, Central and South Islands are 7.4 m from the West Lawn, which is the strip of
mowed lawn around the edge of the prairie. The long edge of South Island is 10 m from the South Lawn,
which was a mowed area. The L-shaped East Island has a southern length (70 m) that is 10 m from the
South Lawn. The remainder of East Island faces South and Central Islands (8 m distance). Eight meters
separate North Island from Central Island, and Central Island from South Island.
Above-ground samples of invertebrates were taken in late September, 2003. At the same time, the
quantity of light reaching the soil and soil temperature were measured at 3cm depth using a DataMeter
1000 (DCP Microdevelopments Limited, Norfolk, UK). During early October 2003, 1-liter soil samples
were taken from each of the study sites for analysis of soil invertebrates. The invertebrates were extracted
using a Tullgren funnel. A portion of the soil was weighed and dried in an oven set at 60° C. Weight loss
was used to determine the fraction of moisture content.
Species richness was equated to the number of species found above ground per sample site. The
species diversity of the soil fauna was computed using the Shannon formula to compare species richness
of the areas studied. Chi-square goodness of fit tests were used in pair-wise comparisons of species
richness between sample sites. Linear correlation analysis was used to test for associations between
diversity and physical measurements. It was predicted that the central island, which borders the prairie
and three other islands would have the greatest species number and diversity, potentially followed by
South Island and East Island. North Island was predicted to have the lowest species diversity, because it is
126
near the SRC building of the college campus.
Results
An analysis of the data showed that the variety of species present on the prairie far outnumbered
that of any of the other sites studied (Table 1). The prairie contained almost every species found on any of
the other sites. The abundance of soil macro-invertebrates on the sample sites demonstrates that the
prairie had the most varied number of species as well (Table 2). For example, the prairie had 1 to 3
invertebrates from each of 7 species, whereas the East Island had a total of 18 invertebrates from 3
species, with one species heavily represented.
Macroinvertebrate diversity and selected physical measurements are provided in Table 3. The
data indicates that the species-island size ratio predicted by island biogeography theory does not hold true
for this study. For example, less than half as many species were found on the South lawn as on the prairie,
which is far smaller. The diversity of the prairie was also much greater than that of the South lawn. Of the
other sites studied, not only was the variation of species between islands found to be non-significant, but
those of the two lawn mainlands were not significantly greater than the species diversity of the islands
either even though one (the South lawn) was much larger than any of the islands (Table 3).
A comparison of species richness show that the prairie’s species richness was significantly
greater than that of any other site studied (Table 4). No other site showed a significant difference in
species richness. Comparison between diversity measurements and physical measurements taken from
study sites revealed that two physical factors, soil moisture and temperature, can be linked to the species
population of the islands (Table 5). The number of species increased with fractional soil moisture (which
was greatest on the prairie) and the variety of species decreased with the increase of temperature on the
sites studied (which was highest on the lawn mainlands and North Island). No other significant
correlations were found between sample site comparisons.
Discussion
This study applied island biogeography theory to parking lot islands to determine whether it
could be used to predict their species number and richness. The overall conclusion is that there was no
significant evidence that supported island biogeography theory. There was very little variation of species
populations among sites examined, not only of the islands, but of two of the mainlands as well. The only
exception to this was the prairie mainland. However, it may be that other factors influenced the results.
One of these factors might be the plant varieties present on the areas studied. The species richness
and number of invertebrate populations have been closely linked to the number and variety of plant
species in the same area (Gullan and Cranston 1994). The re-created prairie is the only area studied that
appeared to have a relatively varied and natural plant population. Its high species diversity and richness in
relation to the other sites suggest that the prairie was the actual source of invertebrates now present on the
lawn mainlands as well as that of the islands. If this were true, the same could not be said for the plant
population. The plants were selected by humans and might not be native to the area. The introduction of
exotic plant species may have affected the native invertebrate population.
Another possible explanation is that in the South and West mainlands the homogenous plant
populations (mowed grass) affected the invertebrate population. The islands, while consisting for the most
part of mowed grass, did have some trees, shrubs, and a few perennials on them (perhaps lowering soil
surface temperature). This may have nullified the differences in invertebrate populations that could
otherwise have existed between the islands and the lawn mainlands.
Island biogeography theory proposes that the farther an island is from the mainland, the lower its
diversity (Krohne 1998). North, Central, and South Islands were spaced out approximately the same
distance from each other and the prairie. North Island was thought to be the most isolated because it was
closest to a building. However, if the prairie was the source of the migrant invertebrate population, this
might not be significant. Because there was not much difference between distances from the prairie to the
127
other sites, perhaps island biogeography theory is actually supported.
One significant correlation was found between soil moisture and species richness and another
between soil temperature and species diversity. Species richness increased with fractional soil moisture
and species diversity decreased with soil temperature. Soil moisture and soil temperature appeared to be
the main determiners of species number and diversity on the areas studied. The plant population of the
islands and mainlands was not recorded in this study, but it could be an important determining factor of
species population, and island biogeography theory could be further explored by investigating this.
The results of the study suggest that there are many factors that can be considered in future
studies. Research could focus on the effects of soil temperature and moisture on species richness and
diversity. Future studies on island biogeography theory as applied to land habitats might need to
investigate the effect of the plant population on the invertebrate population and the effect of non-native
plant species on indigenous invertebrates. This could further the development of the application of island
biogeography theory to urban and landscaped areas.
Works Cited
Cook, W. M. et. al. 2002. Island theory: matrix effects and species richness patterns in habitat fragments.
Ecology Letters 5: 619-623.
Cotgreave, P. and I. Forseth. 2002. Introductory Ecology. Blackwell Science Ltd., Oxford, UK.
Dodson, S. I. et. al. 1998. Ecology. Oxford University Press, New York, NY, USA.
Farina, A. 1998. Principles and Methods in Landscape Ecology. Chapman and Hall, London, UK.
Gullan, P. J. and P. S. Cranston. 1994. The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. Chapman and Hall,
London, UK
Jules, E. S. 1998. Habitat fragmentation and demographic change for a common plant: trillium in oldgrowth forest. Ecology 79: 1645-1656.
Krohne D. T. 1998. General Ecology. Wadsworth Publishing Company, Belmont, CA, USA.
Melles, S., S. Glenn, and K. Martin. 2003. Urban bird diversity and landscape complexity: speciesenvironment associations along a multiscale habitat gradient. Conservation Ecology 7: 5-27.
Odum, E. P. 1993. Ecology and Our Endangered Life-Support Systems. Sinauer Associates, Inc.,
Sunderland, MA, USA.
Townsend, C. R., M. Begon, J. L. Harper. 2003. Essentials of Ecology Blackwell Publishing, Malden,
MA, USA.
Wu, J. and J. L. Vankat. 1995. Island biogeography: theory and applications. Encyclopedia of
Environmental Biology (W. A. Nierenberg edition) Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
128
Table 1. Macroinvertebrate species found above ground at each site studied. Symbols: P=re-created
tallgrass prairie; WL=west lawn; SL=south lawn; N=north island; C=central island; S=south island; and
E=east island; x=presence of species on site studied.
________________________________________________________________________________
Taxon
Mainlands
Islands
P
WL
SL
N
C
S
E
______________________________
Gastropod slug
x
Lumbricus
x
x
x
x
x
Oribatid mite (O. Acari)
x
x
x
x
Red mite (O. Acari)
x
x
Spider mite (O. Acari)
x
x
x
x
Opiliones (O. Acari)
x
x
x
x
Lycosidae (O. Aranea)
x
x
Oniscus (O. Isopoda)
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
O. Spirobolida (Milliped)
x
x
x
x
x
O. Lithobiomorpha (Centipede)
x
x
O. Protura (Proturan)
x
x
Entomobryidae (Springtail)
x
x
x
Onychiuridae (Springtail)
x
x
x
x
Cicadidae (Cicada)
x
Acridinae
x
x
x
x
Melanoplus femurrubrum (Grasshopper)
x
x
x
x
x
x
Attonemobius (Field cricket)
x
x
x
Gryllus pennsylvanicus (Field cricket)
x
x
Coenagrionidae (Damselfly)
x
Dermaptera (Earwig)
x
Aphidae (Aphid)
x
x
Incompletes fasciatus (Large milkweed bug) x
Cicadellidae (tree hopper)
x
Thripidae (Thrip)
x
Noctuidae (Noctuid moth)
x
x
x
Vanessa atalanta (Red Admiral)
x
Pieridae (Cabbage butterfly)
x
Carabidae (Ground beetle)
x
Coccinellidae (Ladybug)
x
x
x
x
x
Cucujidae (Flat bark beetle)
x
Apion rostrum (Weevil)
x
Elateridae (Click beetle)
x
Histeridae (Hister beetle)
x
Mycetophilidae (Fungus gnat)
x
x
Cecidiomyiidae (Goldenrod midge)
x
Tipulidae (Crane fly)
x
x
Syrphidae (Flower fly)
x
Stratiomyiidae (Soldier fly)
x
Tephritidae (Goldenrod fly)
x
Muscidae (House fly)
x
x
Tachnidae (Tachnid fly)
x
x
Vespula (Yellowjacket)
x
x
Bombus
x
Halictus (Halictid bee)
x
x
Chalicidae
x
Formica (Red ant)
x
x
x
x
x
Formica (Black ant)
x
x
x
x
x
Lasius claviger (Field ant)
x
x
129
Ponera (Ant)
x
x
Taxon
Mainlands
Islands
______________________________
P
WL
SL
N
C
S
E
________________________________________________________________________________
Solenopsis molesta (Thief ant)
x
x
x
x
Tetramorium caepitatum (ant)
x
x
x
x
________________________________________________________________________________
130
Table 2. Abundance of macroinvertebrates according to taxon collected from soil samples from the study
sites. Symbols: P=re-created tallgrass prairie; WL=west lawn; SL=south lawn; N=north island;
C=central island; S=south island; and E=east island.
________________________________________________________________________________
Taxon
Abundance
Mainlands
Islands
______________________________
P
WL
SL
N
C
S
E
Oribatid mite (O. Acari)
3
14
1
10
Spider mite (O. Acari)
1
1
2
6
Red mite (O. Acari)
2
Lycosidae (O. Aranea)
1
O. Spirobolida (Millipede)
1
O. Protura (Proturan)
1
1
Entomobryidae (Springtail)
2
1
1
Onychiuridae (Springtail)
3
1
7
2
Aphidae (Aphid)
3
1
Thripidae (Thrip)
3
Cucujidae (Flat bark beetle)
1
Elateridae (Click beetle)
1
Chalicidae
3
Ponera (Ant)
1
Solenopsis molesta (Thief ant)
2
31
2
1
_________________________________________________________________________________
131
Table 3. Comparison of island and mainland size; species number and diversity; soil moisture, soil
temperature, and light penetration at 3 cm.
Study Sites
Area m2
Species
richness
Shannon
diversity
Fraction
soil moisture
Surface soil
temperature C°
Light
Mainlands
Prairie
West Lawn
South Lawn
12000
900
20000
44
17
16
1.864
0.271
1.31
0.228
0.0971
0.148
15.05
19.2
18.7
88
91
87.5
Islands
North
Central
West
East
567
980
1253
2520
11
12
14
9
1.071
1.56
1.333
0.937
0.1728
0.1024
0.1383
0.0972
17
16.1
16.65
19.9
87
87
91
91
132
Table 4. Chi-square statistics of goodness of fit tests comparing species richness between sample sites.
*denotes significance at p<0.05. All df=1. Symbols: P=re-created tallgrass prairie; WL=west lawn;
SL=south lawn; N=north island; C=central island; S=south island; and E=east island.
WL
SL
N
C
S
E
____________________________________________________________________________________
P
WL
SL
*12.0
*13.1
*24.8
*23.3
*20.5
*27.8
<0.01
2.1
1.5
0.5
3.8
1.5
1.0
0.3
3.1
<0.01
0.4
0.2
0.2
0.4
N
C
S
1.1
133
Table 5. Correlation coefficients (r) from linear correlation analysis between diversity measurements and
physical measurements taken from the study sites. *denotes significance at p<0.05. All df=5
____________________________________________________________
Physical variable
______________
Shannon Diversity
_______________
Species richness
______________
Soil moisture
0.63
*0.78
Area of site
0.41
0.46
*-0.78
-0.58
Soil surface temperature
Surface light reception
-0.57
-0.18
____________________________________________________________
134
Thirst for Distinction? Abraham Lincoln’s Political Ambition and the Emancipation Proclamation
by Jasmine Thorne
(U.S. History 256)
The Assignment: The essay examines a prophesy Abraham Lincoln gave in his address
to the Young Men’s Lyceum (1832) through historical context and other primary
resources.
The Atmosphere of 1838
L
incoln’s Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum provides an account of his cry for social justice and
of his foresight for what was to come. Since the signing of the Declaration of Independence the
moral and legal aspects of slavery had been scrutinized. Over time the intensity of the debates
aroused by this issue continued to escalate. Illinois was not exempt from the raging slavery debate. Even
though Illinois entered the Union as a free state, the abolitionist movement was very unpopular. Just a few
months prior to the address, Elijah Lovejoy, an Illinoisan abolitionist publisher, was murdered. And ten
months prior to Lovejoy’s death, the Illinois House of Representatives adopted a resolution that
established the right to hold slaves, disapproved abolition societies, and declared the government unable
to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia.1 Southern states denounced the mob action against
Lovejoy while Illinois papers and politicians remained silent. Lincoln was the only state office-holder
who addressed, indirectly, the recent incident. Perhaps the possible political ramifications were perceived
too great to risk any direct statements concerning the affair.2 Nonetheless, every man who heard
Lincoln’s speech would have recognized this incident as an example of mob rule. Lincoln’s cry for
justice was loud and clear.
This address was also prophetic. Lincoln forewarned the young men of the growing instability of
the Union. It is not coincidental that Lincoln used slavery as the point over which a new empire was to be
created. Debates about slavery clouded every political move. If it wasn’t about the admittance of new
states, it was about how slavery affected the economy. Even state governments had to address the issue
of slavery. How were fugitive slaves to be treated? Should abolitionist publications be allowed? As
states began to attack other states’ rulings in regards to slavery, the nation began to divide. Lincoln knew
the strength of the Union would be tested, perhaps by bloodshed. The Civil War proved his predictions to
be right.
Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum
On January 27, 1838 Abraham Lincoln spoke to the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield,
Illinois. Lincoln was twenty-eight years old and a member of the Illinois State Legislature. He was
_________________________
1
The resolution passed 77-6. Lincoln was one of six men who voted against the resolution.
(http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ihta9724.html)
2
Cyrus Edwards, a future Whig candidate for the Governor of Illinois, and the Attorney General of Illinois Usher
Linder held a conference just prior to Lovejoy’s death requesting the cessation of his publications or his removal
from the state. Lovejoy refused and four days later he was killed.
135
invited to speak at the Young Men’s Lyceum, which he helped found two years earlier.3 In his speech,
Lincoln warned the young men against the imminent danger rising from within the nation. Although no
outside force could defeat America, the lost zeal of the Founding Fathers to unite the states endangered
the liberty they had inherited. If the young men did not struggle for freedom and fight for the country’s
unity, then America would fall. Lincoln condemned the entire country for breaking the laws and allowing
outraged mobs to rule.4 The North and the South had reports of both white and black men being lynched.
No man was safe. Without the maintenance of judicial order, anarchy would ensue, causing the
government to collapse. Lincoln exhorted the young men, and “every lover of liberty,” to not tolerate any
violation of a law. Although there may be bad laws, he believed that they should be obeyed until they
could be properly repealed. At whatever cost, mob law should not be allowed to prevail.5
Lincoln proceeded to address whether there was a need for such concern in America. Was there
really a danger of the government, which had already endured fifty years, of collapsing? Lincoln declared
that it would only take one ambitious man with the right talents to rise up to pursue the gratification of his
ruling passion. And he would do so at the cost of the Union, for he would not settle to simply lead what
had already been established.
Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored. It
sees no distinction in adding story to story, upon the monuments of fame, erected
to the memory of others. It denies that it is glory enough to serve under any
chief. It scorns to tread in the footsteps of any predecessor, however illustrious.
It thirsts and burns for distinction; and, if possible, it will have it, whether at the
expense of emancipating slaves, or enslaving freemen...And when such a one
does, it will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the
government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his
designs.6
Lincoln appealed to the young men to remember the cost of the Revolution. He urged them to embrace
the passions of the Founding Fathers that motivated and strengthened them to fight for and to guard their
independence at any cost.
William Herndon, Lincoln’s law partner, stated that the publication of this address in the
Sangamon Journal “created for the young orator a reputation which soon extended beyond the limits of
the locality in which he lived.”7 How much or how quickly the publication in the Sangamon Journal
aided in the spread of his reputation is unclear, but Lincoln rose to a myth-like status and arguably the
greatest American president. And yet it is ironic that Lincoln cautioned about the ambitions of a man
rising up to create a new nation “at the expense of emancipating slaves or enslaving freemen” when he
would eventually be the one to sign the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. How would Lincoln view
his own role? Did Lincoln have anyone in particular in mind as the potential threat? Would the audience
have had any specific leader in mind? Could they stop such an ambitious leader? The answers to these
questions would depend on who was being asked. Northerners and southerners would have very different
responses.
_________________________
3
http://douglassarchives.org/linc_a69.htm
“The Address to the Young Men’s Lyceum,” in The Portable Abraham Lincoln (New York: Penguin, 1993), 20. In
his speech, Lincoln referred to the incident at Vicksburg where a group of white gamblers were murdered, which led
through a series of events to the lynching of several slaves and those accused of helping them to escape. Lincoln
also referred to the burning of a recently freed slave in St. Louis.
5
Ibid., 18-23.
6
Ibid., 24.
7
http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm
4
136
A Northern Response
The North saw itself as the preserver of the Union while the South threatened to break or weaken
the Union through secession or the nullification of laws. If the North had to pick a person who
represented a potential threat it may have been John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Calhoun had once
been a strong nationalist after the War of 1812, but during John Quincy Adams’ presidency he shifted to a
states’ rights position. After Lincoln’s address some listeners may have interpreted this shift as a personal
means to gain influence and power, especially since he attained the vice presidency under Andrew
Jackson. They may also have chosen to interpret his resignation from that office as a tantrum for not
being able to secure party support for a future presidential election.
Most of all the North would remember the immediate and residual effects of Calhoun’s The
South Carolina Exposition and Protest, which was published in 1828. The exposition heated political
debates concerning the authority of the federal government. Did individual states have the constitutional
right to secede or nullify laws that were found to be unfavorable? The Jackson Administration found
itself in the midst of the Nullification Crisis brought upon by South Carolina over the Tariff Laws of 1828
and 1832. The tariffs South Carolina nullified were passed constitutionally. Therefore, Jackson
considered South Carolina’s nullification treasonous, for it defied the authority of the Constitution and
their obligation to abide by it. Although the crisis ended with only the threat of force, a question hung in
the air: who had greater authority, the federal or state governments?
When arguments continued to intensify over the slavery issue, the South used Calhoun’s
exposition as an argument for their right to secede from the Union unless their interests were protected.
In other words, slavery had to be protected in not only existing states but also in new states. The North
believed that the South did not have the constitutional right to secede regardless of the fate of the slave
institution. Congress, following the Constitution’s established lawmaking rules, would determine what
was to be done with slavery. The South must submit to the tariffs; the thought of secession was
intolerable. Later in his First Inaugural Address, Lincoln would clearly state the North’s argument that
the Constitution did not provide a means to withdraw from the Union, for the Constitution was meant to
be enduring and perpetual. When the states ratified the Constitution they agreed to submit to it and to the
future laws passed as prescribed by the Constitution.8 Although the North held various views concerning
the economy and slavery, it united over the unconstitutionality of a state to nullify laws or secede from
the Union.
Calhoun’s thirst for distinction would be blamed for the erosion and looming destruction of the
Union as Lincoln forewarned. Northerners would imagine themselves as the defenders of the Union,
fighting in unity to preserve the liberty entrusted to them by the Founding Fathers. Although Calhoun
aspired to help the South become a new nation, the North would try to assume the mantle of the Founding
Fathers as the “pillars of the temple of liberty.”
A Southern Response
Many southerners who heard or read Lincoln’s address would immediately defend the South’s
right to come against any government that no longer protected its interests, its ability to survive. The
South saw itself assuming the role of the Founding Fathers by preparing to fight a new War of
Independence against sectional tyranny. Although the South had representatives in Congress, it felt it no
longer carried any influential weight. The North continually gained all of the benefits of new legislation
while the South suffered the consequences.
The Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 may have been viewed as modern Navigation Acts that only
_________________________
8
“First Inaugural Address,” in ibid., 197-198.
137
benefited the North’s industries, even the ones dependent upon the South’s cotton crops. In the meantime
the South’s trade and sustenance were restrained and adversely affected by these tariffs. The Nullification
Crisis was a means to remind the North that the Constitution was meant to serve all of the states. As it
was with Great Britain, the North’s means of prosperity on southern labor was intolerable. If necessary,
the South would secede to gain independence from a new tyrannical rule.
As the slave debate continued to dominate politics, the South saw its means of survival
threatened. Without slavery the South would not be able to yield the same crop results that were
necessary to its economy. In addition, free blacks would be uncontrollable and societal menaces. If the
North believed that blacks were their equals in God’s eyes, then why didn’t they want emancipated slaves
in their states? Although the South repeatedly accepted compromises to protect the Union,9 the North’s
complete disregard for the South’s welfare threatened to destroy it.
The South perceived northern abolitionists, such as New York’s William Lloyd Garrison, as men
seeking public attention and political power at the risk of emancipation. Garrison’s The Liberator
advocated sudden emancipation without compensation to slave owners. He did not care to consider the
horrendous effects it would have on the economy or what the social implications would be. And though
Lincoln was not a national leader at the time of the address, the South would soon see him as an
abolitionist who threatened the Union by his persistence to keep slavery out of new territories and
abhorrence for popular sovereignty. His advocacy for federal control was synonymous with northern
control, which was considered corrupt and tyrannical. Lincoln’s presidential campaign was not widely
supported, and he would become known to the South as the president who trampled on their liberty.
Many southerners believed Lincoln had successfully gained the distinction that he sought at the risk of
emancipation and war.
Lincoln’s View of His Role
Lincoln considered anyone who put the issue of slavery over the unity of the nation as someone
to be challenged. Like other northerners, Lincoln may have considered John C. Calhoun as a potential
threat to the nation. The South’s push for the North to return all fugitive slaves at the risk of wrongfully
returning free blacks thus, enslaving freemen, was an obstruction of justice in Lincoln’s eyes. However,
Lincoln also viewed anyone who preferred the emancipation of slaves at the risk of permanently dividing
the nation as a threat. Like the South Lincoln may have considered Garrison. Lincoln opposed sudden
emancipation, especially without compensation. He considered the North partly responsible for the
dependence on slavery in the South since the northern manufacturing success required cotton from
southern slave plantations. As a result, Lincoln believed the North should help pay for the cost of gradual
emancipation, if it were to be done at all.
However, Lincoln repeatedly stated during his debates with Stephen A. Douglas that he never
intended to force the South to end slavery where it already existed because it was not ordained by the
Constitution.10 Although he would personally like to see all men free, regardless of race, he would only
fight to keep slavery out of the new territories as the Founding Fathers had prevented it from the
Northwest Territory. In regards to the slave issue, Lincoln believed he was walking in the footsteps of the
Founding Fathers.
_________________________
9
For example, South Carolina repealed the nullification of the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 when they were obliged to
decrease over a set time. In addition the Missouri Compromise of 1820 greatly limited the territory in which slavery
could expand.
10
“Lincoln-Douglas Debate,” in ibid., 115.
138
They had sacrificed the immediate emancipation of slavery in order to unify all of the states,
placing the Union above the fate of slavery. Nonetheless, Lincoln believed that they intended for the
slave institution to dissolve over time.11 The Constitution never mentioned slaves, which Lincoln
interpreted as an indication that they had hoped slavery would cease to exist. Instead, they referred to
slaves as those “bound to Service for a Term of Years”12 in order to determine the number of
representatives each state would have. The Constitution also stated that the “Migration and Importation
of such Persons”13 would be left for the existing states to control until 1808. The Founding Fathers
limited the control of slave importation to certain states and until a defined year, after which the federal
government would be given complete control over all migration. In addition the Founding Fathers
prevented slavery from entering the Northwest Ordinance. Not only did the very men who wrote the
Constitution believe the federal government had the right to control the expansion of slavery, but they
also chose not to allow it. Lincoln believed it was his responsibility to follow their intentions by keeping
slavery from progressing into new territories as the Constitution enabled him.
As a war president, however, Lincoln’s official stance on slavery in existing states began to
waiver. He realized the potential of sudden emancipation. The Union desperately needed new recruits to
fight in the prolonged war in order to save the Union. He knew that he needed to give the slaves an
incentive to fight for the Union by guaranteeing their freedom. In addition, the slave issue would be
settled definitively, so the Union would be truly restored. Slavery would no longer dictate political
debates or have an opportunity to divide the nation again. Lincoln defended his decision to sign the
Emancipation Proclamation, for it served the Union.14 He did not intend to build a new nation at the risk
of emancipation, but rather to preserve the Union through emancipation.
All along Lincoln aimed to imitate the Founding Fathers through his commitment to fight for the
Union. He never considered his presidency as a self-serving office that would enable him to use power
for his own gratification. “It was in the oath I took that I would, to the best of my ability, preserve,
protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. I could not take the office without taking the
oath. Nor was it my view that I might take an oath to get power, and break the oath in using the power.”15
Although the North would exalt him and the South would detest him for his presidential conduct, Lincoln
attempted to govern in accordance with the precedents established by the Founding Fathers.
A New Nation
The northerners may have perceived John C. Calhoun as a potential threat to national security
with his influential cries for southern secession. And the southerners may have originally considered
William Lloyd Garrison as the threat to unification at the time of the address. Lincoln may have agreed
with both of them. In time, however, the North would rally behind Lincoln in an effort to preserve the
Union, which the Founding Fathers fought to obtain and pass onto them. The South would perceive
Lincoln as the very enemy to unification through his complete disregard for popular sovereignty and their
right to protect their way of life. They would rise together to fight for a new independence as the
Founding Fathers had to fight against British rule.
_________________________
11
“Lincoln’s Address to Cooper Institute (New York City),” in ibid., 167-172.
Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution
13
Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution
14
“Letter to Albert G. Hodges (April 4, 1864),” in The Portable Abraham Lincoln, 303.
15
Ibid., 302
12
139
Lincoln would struggle to walk in the footsteps of the Founding Fathers in order to preserve the
political structure framed by the Constitution. The decision over slavery was never to be at the cost of the
Union, but rather the Union was to be saved at the risk of either abolishing or preserving slavery. In
January of 1863, Lincoln determined that the emancipation of slaves was necessary to preserve the nation
built by the Founding Fathers. But through emancipation, despite his intentions, Lincoln did indeed
create a new nation. The Emancipation Proclamation transformed millions of blacks from property to
human beings who could attain citizenship. Their unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness” were now, in principle, recognized. Although racism prevented them from being accepted as
“men created equal,” even by Lincoln, they were given the liberty to fight for that recognition. And
although racism still exists, the Emancipation Proclamation recreated the nation in which we live.
Abraham Lincoln destroyed the nation paralyzed by slavery and birthed a nation founded on
liberty for all men. In this respect, he fulfilled his own prophecy given in his 1838 address to the Young
Men’s Lyceum in Springfield. But unlike that individual, Lincoln’s ambition was not for personal glory.
Lincoln aspired to tread the path of the Founding Fathers and to preserve the nation they had established.
The Constitution was preserved, but the nation was completely transformed, and Lincoln obtained lasting
distinction.
Works Cited
Delbanco, Andrew, ed. The Portable Abraham Lincoln. Penguin. New York. 1993
Maier, Pauline, Merritt Roe Smith, Alexander Keyssar, and Daniel J. Kevles. A History of the United
States: Inventing America, Volume 1: to 1877. W.W Norton & Company. New York. 2003
http://www.douglassarchives.org/linc_a69.htm
http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ihta9724.html
http://www.showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/lyceum.htm
140
Melding Art Forms: The Future of the Art Community
by Bonnie White
(English 103)
The Assignment: Write either an informative, objective report or an argumentative
position paper (your choice) on a research question of your choice that is related to your
major or program of study. You may also elect to examine some issue/question from the
perspective of someone in your field of study (for instance, how a psychologist might
look at gun control).
T
he art world is one of great vastness and possibility. In this day and age, there are so many options
for artists on how they can express themselves. The traditional roles of painter, sculptor, or writer
have become a thing of the past. Why, here at COD alone there are so many art classes that a
single student would find it next to impossible to study them all. Knowing this, imagine what the class
selection would be like at Columbia Art School or even the Art Institute of Illinois. It is a forever
changing market, affected by everything from war to technological advances. Artists, as individuals, are
also changing, due to their desires to expand on what is considered art. This is where I fit in, as part of a
new generation of artists seeking personal satisfaction in their work.
Currently I am majoring in visual arts as well as writing. One of my grandest dreams has always
been to write and illustrate all my own work. This could be in the form of books, with occasional
illustrations, ‘word’ painting, or even public art. I have to ask myself, though, if there is a future in the
combination of visual and written art. If so, where is this future and what are the career options? You
might also ask me, “Why are these two skills, or any artistic skills for that matter, so closely related?”
We can explore the possibilities of these combinations by looking at certain artists like Keith Haring and
Faith Ringgold who have done combination art work. We can also look to the world of children’s books
and author/illustrator Maurice Sendak. There are even writers who write specifically about art! Last, I
will give you a glimpse into the future of the art market and show you why these two skills are so related.
The first way I would like to look at this question would be to explore it from a formal art
perspective. I have been painting for about three years and writing poetry, short fiction and essays for
seven years. I hope that one day I can be more widely published and have shows for my art. A lot of
what I do would probably not be considered ‘fine’ art, due to its modern taste and subject matter. By no
means does this equal amateur work, though. Many artists have followed in the footsteps of Andy
Warhol, creating ‘pop’ art that reaches out to modern man, not art gurus. They create art work that is
easily understood and can be appreciated by everyone. One artist in particular sprung up in the early
1980’s: Keith Haring. While he was an art student, he was disgusted by the rules of classic art and longed
to create his own vision: Art for the community (Drawing the Line). He also found himself very
displeased with the modern world, and was not afraid to let it show in his work (Haring 124).
Haring is best known for his characters or symbols that he used in all his art. Whether it was a
chalk drawing on an empty subway panel, a marker drawing on a t-shirt, or part of the large mural he did
on the Berlin Wall, it would appear his largest vessel was semiotics. He communicated with his
observers through pictures and phrases that had much grander meanings (see fig.1, Haring 244). Not
only was his art public to view, but his messages were for the public as well. Haring loved to do large
murals, and it was in these murals that he coined such popular phrases as “Crack is whack,” and “Safe sex
or no sex,” (Drawing the Line). These are very simple statements, but in the mid to late 1980’s, they
meant much more. In a time where the artistic and working community were being ravaged by drugs and
AIDS, his worked reached out to thousands of people across the world.
A very good point is made by Haring in the book Keith Haring Journals, in which he wrote, on
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May 31,1983: “The role of the image maker cannot be seen as the same as it was a 100 years ago. The
rate of change is accelerating at an increasingly rapid speed and the artist has to change with it … Our
imagination is our greatest hope for survival” (82). This leads me to another artist by the name of Faith
Ringgold. Faith grew up in Harlem in the 1930’s, and despite the poverty of her community, got a degree
in fine art and taught art at New York City public schools for 18 years (Bray). In 1983, she completed her
first story quilt, which was a combination of three different art forms : painting, quilting, and writing.
Theses story quilts came to be her trade mark and, ironically, her favorite thing to make as well. She
would use the knowledge of her heritage to make the quilt itself, then her creativity to paint a moving
picture on its surface and even accompany the picture with a story (Faith Ringgold).
In an article by Pamela Bray entitled “Faith Ringgold: Artist Storyteller,” Bray talks about the
significance of Ringgold’s work and how effective it is in getting her point across. Bray says, “Because
artists speak through their art, they must give careful consideration to the medium that will best deliver
their message.” This means that the artists must find how they communicate best. In the case of
Ringgold, she used a quilt as her medium, and the combination of pictures and storytelling to
communicate her deep relations with the African-American community. She branched out even further
when she created a children’s book entitled Tar Beach, which was based on a story quilt she had created
years back. This book won the 1991 Parent’s Choice award, and it’s not hard to see why. The story is
slightly autobiographical of Faith’s childhood, as it’s main character is an eight-year-old girl who lives in
the Bronx in 1939. The story is touching, and the art work is beautiful in its child-like simplicity.
Children’s books are cherished in our hearts forever, whether they are about the memories of ones
that we read as kids or maybe books that we are now reading to our own kids. They are so simple, yet
profound enough to make us remember them for the rest of our lives. So why, then, are the creators of
these books perpetually put down as mediocre? What greater combination of written and visual stimuli
can there be than the child’s book? It takes a great amount of skill to capture a child’s attention, and even
more skill to hold it! Author and illustrator Maurice Sendak talks about this in his video interview
Getting to Know Maurice Sendak. He talks about how the inspiration for one of his most famous works,
Where the Wild Things Are, came chiefly from real life. He was the little boy, always ready to get into
mischief, and the monsters were his older family members (who he thought looked ‘scary’ as child and
‘ate him up’ with their affection). Sendak states, “Why would a child turn a page? A child isn’t polite …
If they hate the first two pages it’s Whamo! against the wall and that’s the end of the book. They don’t
care if it’s won 18 Caldecott Awards, right?” He continues to talk about the art of sucking children into
the world of the book, and he even compares the repetitious page turning to a rhythm of sorts.
Maybe now it is easier to see why we, as an artistic community, need to place more value in a
good children’s author/illustrator. Not only does their work create a different kind of challenge, but these
books are also starting to be used as learning tools. Teachers in elementary classrooms are using visual
art forms more and more as learning aids. Kathy A. Miller-Hewes wrote an article about such learning
techniques called “Making the Connection: Children’s Books and the Visual Arts.” In her article she
documents a few specific classroom exercises that are performed involving visual art. In one example, a
group of children read and observed the contents of three different books involving dragons. The kids
soon started to realize that their ‘trained’ idea of what a dragon looked like wasn’t always right. Soon
they started talking about what a dragon could look like, as apposed to what it should look like, and that
the possibilities were endless. Miller-Hewes says that, “Using children’s books to motivate learning in
visual art can be rewarding for the teacher and the student.”
So far I have found many sources on including written art with visual art. What happens, though,
if you flip the spectrum and write about art? We just looked at how some teachers are using visual
images to expand their students’ concepts of art. Now we’re going to look at something similar: using
writing as an accompaniment and understanding of art. I have an exercise for you to try, if you like. Pick
an object, any object, and study it in detail for about five minutes. When the time is up, put the object out
of sight and try to write as many descriptive attributes about it as you can remember. After you can think
of no more, give someone else the description paper and see if they can guess what you are talking about.
This exercise is a great example of how much we can overlook minor details and descriptions, because we
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feel them to be ‘common knowledge.’ Or maybe yet, we’ve just never opened our eyes to the world this
way. The fact is, this is how the artist sees the world -- full of life and detail.
One teacher named Faith Zajicek wrote an article about having her students do such writing
exercises. The article, entitled “Writing Through Art,” mostly talked about different ways the teacher
(Zajicek) incorporated both her backgrounds in English and Art. While the class she was teaching in the
article was an art class, she made her students do many writing exercises to increase their awareness of
detail as well as of their feelings about a particular art piece. I can understand this very well, as my
painting teacher has had me keep a specific art log for a year now. I fill it with notes, ideas, descriptions,
definitions, thoughts, feelings, journalings, even drawings and clip art. It is incredibly helpful to be able
to look back and reflect on what I have written about my artistic experiences and endeavors, and it also
helps me to get out my ideas so I can look at them from another perspective.
Zajicek also notes that having students write down what they have seen and learned helps them to
retain and remember their new knowledge. She ends her article with a powerful statement that “Writing
provides a unique form of artistic expression, and the pen and paper belong in the art class along with
paint, and the brushes and the easel” (Zajicek). How far fetched is it then, to think that you could write
something based on or inspired by art? Unknown to many outside of the art world, there are hundreds of
examples of writers and poets who create their work from artistic work. A wonderful example is a book
by John Updike, the renowned American author from Pennsylvania. Published in 1989, the book is titled
Just Looking and consists of commentary, reflection, and related facts and stories about artists and the art
they created.
One such story is about a famous woodprint from the mid-1790’s titled Catching Fireflies. The
story itself, called “Little Lightening,” is about the memories that the art evoked in the author’s mind, and
how it seemingly brings him back to his own curios childhood behaviors (Updike 172-4). This is not
surprising, considering Updike himself strongly feels that the writer’s first impression is what he should
in fact write (John Updike). It is as if he were a visual artist at heart, but instead of seeing something,
being inspired, and drawing, he picks up the pen and writes out his idea or ‘impression.’ One such
impression that he had a few years back was stated in a videotaped lecture. Updike said, “I saw Snow
White when it was a new thing. … This very powerful medium [the film], struck me with a force that I
suppose TV and video have for today’s impressionable young people” (John Updike).
Another example would be writer/painter Diana Chang and her poems about artists and their art.
She was particularly interested in artists of the ‘action’ or ‘expressionism’ style of painting (Fink). As
she saw it, these paintings were created through motion, and this reflected her thought process as well: in
motion. In one of her poems, “Plunging into View,” Chang compares the paint itself to words when she
says, “Things move as verbs thrown and present and ranging way over there vigilant in the faintest
whitened viridian air” (qtd. in Fink 9-21). These ideas can be seen in an article by Thomas Fink titled
“Chang’s ‘Plunging Into View,’ ” as well as lines from the poem itself. Fink explores the ideas behind
Chang’s choice of work, as well as her delivery. As stated earlier, there are many more authors who have
found their inspiration in art work. Chang herself painted as well as wrote. So why then are these two
skills so closely related? Why is it that more and more artists are turning to multiple outlets for their
creativity? Some say that a creative spirit knows no boundaries.
If there is one thing that can be said true about people who are very artistic, it is this: Everything
they do, everything they see, breaks down into some form of art. When they are walking home from the
store and look up at the beautiful sunset, they don’t just think, “Wow, that’s pretty.” No! They have to
analyze the color schemes, the way the light plays off the clouds, creating puffs of pink, salmon, and
purple. They will notice the dramatic shadows that are created by the sinking sun, stretching in vastness
across the street and seemingly swallowing houses whole. They will feel something, whether it is awe for
this oh-so-common phenomenon that millions of people don’t even care to notice, or it is sadness brought
by the ending of another day, metaphorically bringing us closer to death. Maybe, they even will feel joy
and rejoice that the silver moon has finally come out to play, and the spirits of the night dance in these
new shadows. You think, breathe, eat, sleep, and dream art.
Keeping this concept in mind, why would you expect to limit themselves to only one form of
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medium? It should come purely by nature to long to express in various way. As described earlier about
Faith Ringgold, we have to find the medium that suits our purpose best. For some things, they may be
best sketched in fine charcoal, others needs to be sculpted and physically made. Some unspoken
dialogues are best put to words, meaning certain feeling are best expressed in written form, maybe a poem
or story. More and more people every day are figuring this out and finding it harder and harder to
categorize themselves. It has become unnecessary to categorize ourseleves anymore; we are all just
artists. Then, for those who feel they cannot create all they want themselves, they can team up to do
collaborated work with other artists.
In about the late 1950’s, these ‘team-ups’ were starting to become very popular. The general
public was used to seeing artists work together on such things as public sculpture and murals, but this idea
was a bit of a stretch to many. Many people thought that the combination of talents took away from the
individual skill of an artists and that it was the individual skill that made it art in the first place! (Briker).
So how then, they asked, was this ‘team effort’ to be considered art? Ten years or so passed and the
media changed its tune. They learned to embrace the collaborated art forms as representative of a genre.
Many of the collaborated art pieces of the 60’s and 70’s were political or radical in nature. Many of the
artists would team up because they shared a certain view point about war, or government, or freedom for
women and people of color. Others, well, they just shared common interests, but these ideas still
represented anyone who shared the idea as well.
In an editorial written in Art Journal by Deborah Bricker Balken, called “Interactions Between
Artists and Writers,” she fights to support group art, saying that in no way does it take away from the
value of the art. In fact, she believes that solo art is one-sided because it only displays the thought of one
human. While she uses many good examples to support her case, there is one that struck me as
meaningful. She talks about when William S. Burroughs and Bryon Gysin teamed up to make their ‘cutups,’ as they liked to call them. Both men argued that “…through the process of collaboration an
anonymous and disembodied voice is created. This ‘third mind,’ as they refer to it, is the outgrowth of
two egos working in conjunction.” Thus the meaning or the personality of the piece is not lost at all.
Quite the contrary, they say, a brand new personality is born, and it asks the reader/viewer to participate.
Another simple, yet great example can be found in the video tape Artists of America Series:
Anatomy of a Mural. It is a documentary that follows the creation of an immense mural on the outside of
a mission in New Mexico. The three artists involved are Carlos Larca, Manuel Villamor, and Betsy
Miller Kusz, and they all came from different racial and religious backgrounds. They all agree that they
want the mural to be for the community, meaning it should appeal and speak to the community
(Anatomy). Kunsz says that the mural must engage the community and draw attention to itself. It is
“…not light or sentimental or sweet or neighborly, but a statement of great importance out on the street”
(qtd. in Anatomy). While their medium for communication is mainly through semiotics, it makes
communication just the same. In fact, the mural most definitely benefited from the three different view
points of the world held by the three different artists.
After having looked at many different career options, ranging from formal art to children’s books
to formal writing, we can start to gather that it is not the limit of career options that are to be worried
about. While I have mainly explored these few, there are other big name jobs on the market today that
incorporate multiple talents. Some of these things might be comic books, web design, graphic arts, even
advertising. The winds of change are blowing, and our human race is consistently changing its opinions
and ideas of what art is. More and more artists are branching out to new things every day. As far as the
success rate of these individuals goes, the proof is in the pudding. There is a very popular set of reference
books called the Who’s Who series. If you take the time to look in the most recent edition (2003-04) of
the Who’s Who in American Art, you would find some very interesting information. Not only is it a basic
guide to every Tom, Dick and Jane who’s out there making it happen in the art world, but it also gives
you brief facts about the artist as well.
Included you might find listing of gallery shows, private shows, public work, even sold work
(Who’s Who vi). This book easily contains thousands of working artists, and because they are in fact
working, you have to imagine that they have found a way to be successful. It did not take me long to see
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a very distinct trend: collaboration. As well as stating facts, the books tells you what the artist is known
for, or what their trade is. Almost half of the artists included bore more than one title, so they are known
for more than one trade. In the first 17 pages alone, I counted five painter/writers, all with big lists of
work and shows they had done. This is proof of the wide variety at which art can be used, bought, and
sold.
There is another great book entitled The Artist Almanac, and it is a listing of thousands of
different business that are looking for various art work. These business include corporate offices,
publishing houses, magazine companies, advertisement companies, small businesses, restaurants,
government offices, and the list goes on. All of these people are looking for various forms of artwork,
from decorative sculpture to fine book illustration. The point is, there is obviously not a lack of work, nor
lack of career options. So how does the future of the art market look? I think it looks absolutely
promising and fantastic, full of possibilities and new horizons.
Whether I choose to write, paint, illustrate or combine them all, the future seems open to me.
Technology may be taking over many branches of the job market, but a computer cannot be creative, or
have an opinion. A machine cannot reinvent itself to be better. It is the human that must constantly strive
to change and make things better. This is why the artist may be starving, but she is never out of demand.
We have looked at possible career paths, and the people that fill them. By using specific examples of
artists like Faith Ringgold and Keith Haring, I hope you can have a better understanding of how the art
works, and why. I’ve even shown you how these different art forms can affect people, as how the
children’s books can affect learning and group art affects a genre.
The melding of art forms is indeed a special skill, one that we should be teaching more and more,
just as Miller-Hewes did with her students. If we cut art out of our culture, or label it as something that is
only for ‘upper class’ society, we are only shorting ourselves. The art community helps to round out the
world, as if it were the balance between conscious and subconscious. I don’t expect everyone to agree
with me, for many are quick to scorn any
art-related career as ‘fake’ or ‘trivial.’ You have to wonder, though: “What would the world be without
art?” What would the world be without the art community to constantly push the barriers on what is
considered art? Hopefully, we’ll never find out.
Works Cited
Artist of America Series: Anatomy of a Mural. Rick Goldsmith. Videorecdoring. Chip Taylor
Communications, 1993.
Bray, Pamela. “Faith Ringgold: Artist-Storyteller.” School Arts 88.4 (May 1989): 23(4). Expanded
Academica ASAP. Infotrac. COD School Lib. 12 July 2004.
Briker Balken, Debra. “Interactions Between Artists and Writers.” Art Journal 52.4 (Winter 1993): 16(2).
Expanded Academics ASAP. Infotrac. COD School Lib. 12 July 2004.
Drawing the Line: A Portrait of Keith Haring. Dir.Elisabeth Aubert. Nar.Gina Belafonte. Videocasstte.
Kulture International Films, 1989.
Faith Ringgold: The Last Story Quilt. Dir. David Irving. Nar. Lowery Sims. Videocassette. Home Vision,
1991.
Fanning, Eileen, Alison C.McGowan,eds. Who’s Who in American Art. 25th ed. New Providence, NJ:
Maquis Who’s Who, 2003.
Fink, Thomas. “Chang’s ‘Plunging Into View’.” The Explicator 55.3 (Spring 1997):
175(3). Expanded Academics ASAP. Infotrac. COD School Lib. 12 July 2004. Haring, Keith. Keith
Haring Journals. Eds. Julia Gruen, et al. New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
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John Updike: In His Own Words. Paul Byers, and Kevin Conrad eds. Videocassette. Ronald
G.Shafer, 1997.
Miller-Hewes, Kathy. “Making the Connection: Children’s Books and the Visual Arts.” School Arts 94.4
(Dec. 1994): 32(2). Expanded Academics ASAP. Infotrac. COD School Lib. 12 July 2004.
Ringgold, Faith. Tar Beach. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1991.
Sendak, Maurice. “Getting to Know Maurice Sendak.” Sendak. Morton Schidel. 1985. Videorecording.
Weston Woods.
- - -. Where the Wild Things Are. N.p.: Harper & Row, 1963.
Updike, John. Just Looking: Essays on Art. New York: Alferd A. Knopf, 1989.
Zajicek, Faith. “Writing Through Art.” School Arts 93.3 (Nov. 1993): 24(1). Expanded Academics
ASAP. Infotrac. COD School Lib. 16 July 2004.
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Seed Predation of Mammals Granivory in Different Microhabitats of Tallgrass Prairie
by Michelle M. Ziehm
(Biology 103)
The Assignment: Author a paper describing a field-based experimental research project.
Key words: foraging; GUD; microhabitat; Microtus ochrogaster; Microtus pennsylvanicus;
Peromyscus leucopus; prairie; seed predation.
Introduction
P
redation, or the way food is obtained, is important to the survival of numerous species. Generally,
food is not easily accessible, causing many mammals to spend much of their waking time looking
for nourishment. This time can take away from other activities, such as reproduction or training
their young. However, food is important to the survival of living things. Sometimes an organism may find
a region where there is an abundance of food. This creature, which was used to spending its waking days
trying to obtain enough food, now has an enormous amount of food (“Mouse (Rodents).” 2002). How
does this organism react? It is possible that it will decide to eat as much as it can, and hope that the left
over food will still be there the following day. However, maybe the organism will instead take an excess
of the food and store it. The amount of food remaining is called GUD, or giving up densities.
Due to the fact that this experiment was conducted during the night, it is more likely that small
mammals would be foraging for food. Experimenters and observers have identified various creatures
occupying the tested location in this experiment. One common mammal found, in the tested site for this
experiment, is the mouse. In the past, some species of mice identified included Peromyscus leucopus
(common name is white-footed mouse), Microtus pennsylvanicus (common name is meadow vole), and
Microtus ochrogaster (common name is prairie vole). Peromyscus leucopus is very successful in various
environments. Many of the white-footed mice have been known to reproduce year-round. Microtus
pennsylvanicus has had a dramatic decline in population. Many have suggested that this may be due to the
lack of vegetative cover. This has been considered because where livestock grazing has kept the grass
short there has been a decline in the amount of meadow voles found. Microtus ochrogaster is closely
related to the meadow vole in regards to what they eat and where they are found in the world (Alderton
1999).
Mice spend a great amount of their life looking for food. They usually eat seeds or diverse
insects. Many build burrows as nest in prairies. These burrows can be a place to hibernate, store food, and
nourish young offspring (“Mouse (Rodents).” 2002). Mice spend a great amount of time looking for food
because they usually are not surrounded by enough to survive on a daily basis. Luis Marone, Javier Lopez
de Casenave, and Victor R. Cuerto did an experiment in the Monte Desert (2000). This experiment was
conducted in South America, in an area with a small rodent population. The experimenter’s goal was to
see the different foraging patterns of ants, mammals, and birds. They used three different food
preparations for the different organisms. Many of the foragers were believed to be rodents. The
experimenters reached the conclusion that in order to achieve accurate results for the testing of mammals,
in this region; they would have to do this experiment for a longer period of time. This suggests another
factor in the predation of organisms. This factor is the time of year in which the organism eats. It is
possible that organisms eat only in a certain season and than store excess food in the following season.
However, it is also possible that certain organisms forage year round (Cuerto, De Casenave, and Marone
2000).
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A field study carried out by Maxine F. Miller was conducted in the winter and summer. This was
done in order to obtain accurate results due to the fact that foraging is not always consistent during
different seasons. Miller found that there was a difference in the seed consumption in the different
seasons, winter and summer. There were significantly more seeds eaten in winter compared to summer
(Miller 1994). One suggestion for this is that there is more available food in the summer compared to the
winter.
In this experiment there were many concepts considered in the foraging of mammals. One
concept tested was the location. Usually if mammals want to stay safe from predators it would seem
beneficial for the mammal to forage and eat in the covered area. However, much of this experiment is
taking place at night. There may not be a need to hide from predators compared to if these animals were
foraging during the day. Perhaps there is a decrease in the amount of nocturnal predators compared to the
amount of predators during the day. Therefore, it is likely that there will be more food left over in the
covered area. Another factor looked at in this experiment was the type of seeds; sunflower or small,
mixed seeds, eaten. Although the sunflower seeds contain more nourishment, these seeds may appear
more foreign to the mammals because they are not use to them. Also they may find these seeds harder to
eat. Therefore, it is possible that more of the smaller seeds will be eaten.
Methods
Experimental Locations:
The test site took place at the Russell R. Kirt Prairie, located on the College of DuPage campus.
College of DuPage is located in Northeastern Illinois. The Russell R. Kirt Prairie is about eighteen acres.
It contains approximately six acres of marsh and eleven acres of reconstructed prairie and savanna. This
prairie was planted and replanted between the years 1984-2000. The tall grass is called Mesic Tall Grass.
The Russell R. Kirt Prairie contains herbaceous plants with dominant warm season grasses. This prairie
also contains about one-acre of pond. Figure 1 shows a map of the experimental location (“Visitors
Guide: Natural Areas”).
In this experiment there were two types of sites examined. One site was a tall grass area, and the
second site lacked grass growth. The tall grass site is considered the covered area, and the site with lack
of grass growth is considered the open area. The other factor examined was the type of seeds eaten. In
one Petri dish there were large seeds called black oil sunflower seeds. The second Petri dish had small
seeds called thistle, millet seeds.
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Figure 1 This map shows the experimental
location. The experiment took place at the
Russell R. Kirt Prairie on the College of
DuPage campus.
Map courtesy of www.cod.edu
Foraging Experiment:
This experiment was arranged at six-thirty in the evening. Before arriving at the experimental
location, a total of one hundred and twenty Petri dishes were set up. Sixty of these Petri dishes contained
five grams of large (sunflower) seeds mixed with sand. The other sixty Petri dishes contained five grams
of small (thistle, millet) seeds mixed with sand. There were four locations, two sites contained low or no
growth (open area) and two sites contained dead standing stalk (covered area) from the prior year. Each of
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these four sites contained thirty trays, fifteen Petri dishes of large seeds and fifteen Petri dishes of the
small seeds. In each site a pair of Petri dishes, one containing large seeds and another containing small
seeds, were placed about one meter from each other. Each pair of dishes was placed at least three meters
apart from another pair of dishes. The goal of this was to have the Petri dishes semi-randomly placed. The
Petri dishes were mixed with sand in order to make the experiment as realistic as possible. The dishes
were also pinned to the ground, with wire, in order for less spillage to take place. The following day, at
six thirty in the morning, the trays were collected in all four sites. These dishes were brought to the
laboratory. Due to the fact that this experiment was conducted in the early spring, there was some
precipitation. Therefore, the seeds were left to air dry. They were not put in an oven to dry because this
could cause the contents of the seeds to be altered affecting the data. Once the seeds were dry, they were
weighed to calculate GUD’s.
Data Analysis
The dependent variable in this experiment is the GUD value. The analysis used, in order to
interpret whether the GUD was significant or not, was ANOVA. ANOVA is an analysis of variance. The
results that contained a probability value of 0.05 or lower was considered significant.
Results
According to the ANOVA results, this experiment produced some significant outcomes. One
significant factor in this experiment was the microhabitat. The microhabitat is considered significant
because the probability value, of 0.0002, is less than 0.05. Figure 2 supplies more statistical analysis using
ANOVA. One aspect of this experiment that was not considered significant, according to the probability
factor of 0.05, was the seed size. The probability value for the seed size was about 0.1230. The
microhabitat and the seed size together had a probability of about 0.0264. Thus, the microhabitat and the
seed size were significant factors for the GUD value.
All the Petri dishes contained about five grams of seeds before they were placed in the prairie.
Following the experiment, the average GUD for the large and small seeds in the covered site was about
3.4 grams and 4.3 grams. The average GUD for the large and small seeds in the open site was about 4.9
grams and 4.8 grams. Therefore, the smallest value for GUD was the large seeds in the covered sites, and
the greatest amount of GUD was the large seeds in the open sites. This is summarized in Figures 3.
ANOVA Results
Microhabitat (Open vs. Close)
Seed Size (Large vs. Small)
Microhabitat x Seed Size
*NOTE*: Results are significant
if P has a value of 0.05 or lower.
F(1, 116)= 19.96
F(1, 116)= 2.41
F(1, 116)= 5.06
P= 0.0002
P= 0.1230
P= 0.0264
Figure 2 This table displays the ANOVA
results. It is comparing the GUD in relation
to seed size and experimental location.
150
GUD of Large and Small Seeds in
Different Microhabitats.
5
4.5
4
3.5
Average 3
GUD in 2.5
grams 2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Large Seeds
Small Seeds
Cover
Open
Microhabitat
Figure 3 Average GUD under two variables.
Variable one is the difference in seed size, large
and small. The second variable is covered and
opened areas for foraging.
Discussion
According to the results, the seed size was not a significant factor overall in regards to GUD. It
was stated in the introduction that it would seem more likely that smaller seeds would be eaten. This was
suggested because the mammals eating the seeds may be more used to finding these types of seeds while
foraging for food. Also, it was thought that the larger seeds would be harder for the mammals to eat.
Nonetheless, the mammals eating the seeds did not have a preference on seed size. This may have been
because the mammals took the first seeds they found. However, this does not seem likely because the
pairs of seeds were not a great distance apart. Another idea that may have caused the seed size not to
appear significant was that perhaps different mammals ate certain seeds. It is possible that by coincidence
there was an equal amount of large seeds eaten by one species compared to small seeds eaten by a
different species.
One aspect of this experiment that was significant was the location of the foraging. It was stated
in the introduction that it would seem more likely that a greater amount of seeds would be eaten in the
open area. This was hypothesized because it appeared less likely that mammals would need to hide from
prey at night. However, there was a twenty percent less GUD value in the covered location compared to
the open location. According to the research, previously stated in the introduction, mice are known to
thrive in areas of cover. Statistics have shown that locations that have lacked cover have had a decrease in
their mice population (Alderton 1999). Therefore, it is possible that more mice are found in covered areas.
However, many other factors could be taken into account in regards to the significance of the GUD value.
For example, it is likely that more spillage of seeds took place in the covered areas. This could have
adjusted the data.
The results showed that location had significance in the GUD value over the seed size. If this
experiment was to be tested in the future one concept that should be looked at is the amount of time in
which the experiment took place. This experiment was conducted for twelve hours, one night. In order to
get more accurate results one could conduct this experiment from 6:30 in the evening to 6:30 in the
morning, for possibly fourteen days or more. Another issue that could be looked at, if this experiment was
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tested in the future, is what animals are eating these seeds. By past experience one is assuming that
mainly mice are eating the seeds. However, it is possible that other living creatures are eating the seeds.
By using a video camera an experimenter would be able to see what organisms are foraging.
Works Cited
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