Mark Guggisberg
B3
Golden Review
Minju Park
AP English Language
May 2009
Contents
I.
Diff
erent Types of Analysis ………………………………………………………………… 3
II. Figurative Style & AP English Lang Vocabulary…………………………………………... 4
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III.
ISM Key Words……………………………………………………………………………. 6
IV.
Gol
den Lines and Reviews…………………………………………………………………..
7
i.
Nature
of Philosophy………………………………………………………………..
7
ii.
Nature
of Truth………………………………………………………………………
iii.
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Nature of Beauty…………………………………………………………………….
iv.
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Nat
ure of Virtue…………………………………………………………………….. 13
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v.
Nature
of Orwellian Government…………………………………………………… 14
vi.
Nature of Language…………………………………………………………………. 15
vii.
Nature
of Arts……………………………………………………………………….. 17
viii.
Nature
of Classics…………………………………………………………………...
I.
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Different Types of Analysis:
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Mode of Discourse
1. Exposition: illustrates a point
2. Narration: tells a story
3. Description: creates a sensory image
4. Argumentative: takes a position on an issue and defends it
Rhetorical Strategies
1. Examples/ Illustrations
 Don’t write too many or poor examples
 Draw examples from “real life” and “real culture” or well-known folklore
 Use transitions (for example, for instance, case in point, consider the case of)
 A single example that is perfectly representative or series of short, less-perfect but
still relevant examples can also work
2. Contrast and comparison
 Do not write about A in one paragraph and B in the other.
 Do not justify your groups or examples, simply present them.
3. Definition
 Keep in mind why you are defining that
 Define the key terms according to your audience
 Explain the background and history when it is relevant to your definition
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4.
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II.
Cause and Effect
 Explains why things should be or should have been done
 Be detailed and address each step in a series of causal relationships.
Process
 Sequence is chronological (think of recipes)
 Use transitions to make the stages of the process clear
 Every step must be clear – a single error in a step can make the whole thing
confusing
Narration
 Do in chronological order (have complete beginning- middle-end story)
 Use action verbs like “tumbled” instead of “were”
 Show, don’t tell. And, provide concrete and specific details
 Direct discourses help
Description
 Call on as much senses as possible, let the audience experience (don’t tell)
 Use concrete nouns and adjective – adjectives should not dominate
 Use figures of speech like similes, metaphors and such
 A brief illustrative anecdote is very effective
Classification
 The purpose of classification is to more easily analyze and explain.
 Have a central thesis!
Figurative Style & AP English Lang Vocabulary
Alliteration The repetition of words, especially consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words; to
reinforce meaning, unify ideas, and/or supply a musical sound
Ambiguity The multiple meaning of a word of a word, phrase, sentence or passage
Anadiplosis The repetition of the last word at the beginning of the next sentence or clause
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences
Anathema A thing or a person accursed or damned
Antimetabole The repetition of words in reverse order
Apostrophe A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personifies
abstraction
Assonance The repetition of vowel sounds
Asyndeton Leaving out the usual conjunctions between coordinate sentence elements
Cacophony Harsh, jarring sound; dissonance
Chiasmus
Similar to antimetabole, but reverse in grammatical elements
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Clause
A grammatical unit containing both a subject and a verb (Independent and dependent)
Cliché
An overused, worn out expression that used to be fresh but is not more
Conceit
A fanciful expression in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between
two dissimilar objects
Connotation The non-literal, implied, suggested meaning of a word
Consonance The repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious
effect
Denotation The literal, dictionary definition of a word
Ellipsis
The emission of a word or words necessary for complete grammatical construction but
understood in the context
Epanalepsis Opening and closing a sentence with the same word or phrase
Irony
An implied contrast
Verbal: contrast in what is said and what is intended
Dramatic: audience knows, characters don’t
Situational: something unexpected happens
Juxtaposition Normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to each other
Metonymy The use of the name of one thing for that of another associated with/suggested by it
Pun
Play on words that are similar in sound but have diverse meanings
Repetition
Using words, sounds, ideas are used more than once
Rhetoric
The skill of using written or spoken language effectively
Rhetorical modes/ Forms of discourse Narrative, descriptive, expository, argumentative
Rhetorical question A question that expects no answer
Romance
A story that presents imaginative incidents rather than ordinary experiences
Sarcasm
A taunting, sneering, cutting, or caustic remark
Satire
A literary work that ridicules aspects of human behavior
Semantics
The nature, structure, development and changes of the meaning of speech forms or
contextual meaning
Syllogism
Drawing a logical conclusion from two premises or statements
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Synecdoche Part represents whole, whole represents a part, container represents what is contained,
metonymy
Vernacular Using the native language of a country
Vignette
A short, delicate literary sketch
III. –ISM Key Words
Existentialism: claims that individual human beings have full responsibility for creating the meaning
of their own lives. Existence precedes essence. It is a reaction against more traditional philosophies,
such as rationalism and empiricism, which sought to discover an ultimate order in metaphysical
principles or in the structure of the observed world. The movement had its origins in the 19 th century
thought of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and was prevalent in Continental philosophy. IN the 1940s
and 1950s, French philosophers such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Simon de Beauvoir and Albert Camus
wrote scholarly and fictional works that helped to popularize thee associated with existentialism:
“dread, boredom, alienation, the absurd, freedom, commitment, [and] nothingness.”
Modernism: affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, deconstruct and reshape their
environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge. It is thus in essence both progressive and
optimistic. The term covers many political, cultural and artistic movements rooted in the changes in
Western society at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth century. Broadly,
modernism describes a series of reforming arts which emerged in the three decades before 1914.
Realism: refers to the trend towards depictions of contemporary life and society ‘as they were.’ In
the spirit of general realism, realist authors sought to depict everyday and banal activities and
experiences, instead of romanticized or similarly stylized presentation.
Romanticism: originated in the 18th century Western Europe during the industrial revolution. In part
a revolt against aristocratic, social, and political norms of the Enlightenment and a reaction against
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the realization of nature, in art and literature. It stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic
experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation, horror and the awe experienced
in confronting the sublimity of nature. It was influenced by idea of the Enlightenment and elevated
medievalism and elements of art and narrative perceived to be from the medieval period.
Transcendentalism: emerged in New England in the early 19t century. Transcendentalism began as
a protest against the general state of culture and society at the time. Among Transcendentalists’ core
belief was an ideal spiritual state that ‘transcends’ the physical and empirical and is only realized
through the individual’s intuition, rather than through the doctrines of established religions.
IV. Golden Lines and Unit Summaries
Every man, for his individual good and for the good of society, is responsible for his own
development (Goldwater1909-1998)
A mind once stretched by a new idea never gains its original dimension (Oliver Wendell Holmes 18411935)
One word in the wrong place will ruin the most beautiful thought (Voltaire 1694-1778)
I. The Nature of Philosophy
Esse Es Percepi (Bishop Berkeley 1685-1753)
Go Gito Ergo Sum – I think, therefore I am (Descrates 1596-1650)
Homo Homini Lupus (Thomas Hobbes 1588-1679)
Life is nasty, brutish and short (Hobbes)
Never treat any person as a means, but as an end (Immanuel Kant 1724-1804)
Tabula Rasa – Blank slate (John Locke 1632-1704)
Crutches of Certainty (Friedrich Nietzsche 1844-1900)
In choosing myself, I choose man (Jean-Paul Sartre 1905-1980)
Existence precedes essence (Sartre)
The unexamined life is not worth living (Socrates 470-399BC)
All things are full of Gods (Thales)
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The only thing we require to be good philosophers is the faculty of wonder
The world becomes a habit
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Xenophanes (570BC): men have created the gods in their own image
Natural philosophers: earliest Greek philosophers mainly concerned with the natural
world and its processes
Thales : the source of all things was water
Anaximander: our world is only of the myriads that evolve and dissolve in something
called boundlessness
Anaximenes (570-526BC): “air” or “vapor” is the source of all things and when water is
pressed it becomes earth. Fire is rarefied air. Thus, air is the origin of earth, water and fire.
Eleatcs: a group of philosophers I the Greek colony of Elea in Southern Italy, interested
in the problem of change
Parmenides (540BC): nothing can come out of nothing and nothing existing can become
nothing. Thus, everything that exists had always existed. Further, he claimed that our
sensory perceptions were unreliable. “Nothing that exists can become nothing”
Heraclitus (540BC): everything can change “All things flow”
Empedocles (490-430BC Sicily): the nature consists of four elements (air, earth, fire and
water) which remain untouched and everlasting. Although nothings changes, our senses
are important sources of perception and forces at work are love and strife.
Anaxogoras (500-428BC): whole exists in each tiny parts and claimed that sun is not god,
but a red-hot stone.
Democritus (460-370BC Aegean Coast): the last of natural philosophers. Everything is
built up with tiny invisible blocks which were eternal and immutable – the atom theory.
Thus, human beings had no immortal soul, the soul atoms spread.
Materialist: the belief in nothing but material things
Hippocrates (460BC island of Los): founder of Greek medicine
Sophists: there are no absolute rights or wrong it varies from one area to another.
Protagoras (480-410BC): “Man is the measure of all things”
Socrates (470-399BC): “One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing”
o Socratic irony – feigned ignorance to make others think
o Similar to Jesus:
 Enigmatic personality
 Neither wrote down their teachings
 Masters of the art of discourse
 Spoke with self-assuredness
 Believed that they spoke on behalf of something greater than themselves
 Challenged the power of the community by criticizing all forms of
injustice and computation
 Their activities cost them their lives
Plato (428-347BC): a rationalist, believing that everything flows and human have innate
ideas. There is a reality behind the material world and all natural phenomena are shadows
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of the eternal forms or the ideas. He believed that we can only have true knowledge when
we use our reasons. Also, Plato believed that women could govern just as efficiently as
men because women have the same powers of reasoning.
Aristotle (384-322BC): What we perceive with our senses is the highest of reality. Things
that are in the human soul were purely reflections of natural objects. Thus, nature is the
real world. Nothing exists in consciousness that has not first been experience by our
senses. His views on ethics were that man can only achieve happiness by using all his
abilities. Also, he asserted that men by nature are political animals; without a society, we
are not real people. He viewed woman as unfinished man.
Stoic (300BC): everyone was a part of the same common sense of logos and is a
reflection of the macrocosmo, thus is a microcosmo.
Aristippus: the aim of life was to attain the highest possible sensory enjoyment. “The
highest good is pleasure.” “The greatest evil is pain”
Epicurus: the gods are not to be feared and death is nothing worth to worry about. The
good is easy to attain; the fearful is easy to endure. “Live for the moment”
Semites: monotheism
Jesus: the messiah and son of God. He was the “suffering servant” who bore the sins of
humanity that we could be atoned” and save from God’s wrath.
Paul: “And if Christ be not risen; then is our preaching vain and your faith is also vain.”
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679): Men are innately evil; thus, need to be regulated by rules.
“All phenomena consist of particles of matter”
Descartes (1596-1650): “Cogito ergo sum” Knowledge is only attainable through reason.
Empiricists: “There is nothing in the mind except what was first in the sense” Believed in
this Aristotelian idea with some philosophers being Locke, Berkeley and Hume.
Rationalists: believes that human reason is the primary source of knowledge of the world.
(Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz)
Spinoza (1632-1677): Lived as a lens grinder, and believed that everything happens with
necessity, thus was a determinist. “God is all, all is God”
Locke (1632-1704): He believed that all thoughts rise from those we have taken in
through the senses. As a result, before perceiving the world, our minds are in a “tabula
rasa.”
David Hume (1711- 1776 Scotland): He viewed moral and ethics to be intrinsically
motivating. He also believed in an “unalterable ego.”
Bishop Berkeley (1685-1753): we are what we are perceived as
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804 Prussia): He believed that men have an immortal soul and
free wills although God exists. “dag Ding an sich – the things in itself and the thing for
me” This means that we cannot understand what we are; we are just us.
Hegel (1770-1831 Germany): The history is evolving because human knowledge is
always increasing. Thus, there is no eternal truth. Truth is subjective. “Genuine tragedies
in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two
rights.”
o Hegelian argument: thesis, antithesis and synthesis
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Kierkegaard (1813-1855): like Hegel, he believed that truth cannot be objective.
Objective truth is useless. In fact, man must find his own individual definition of truth.
Karl Marx (1818-1883): The Communist Manifesto He was a historical and dialectical
materialist.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939): Dreams illustrate the logic of the unconscious mind. He
believed in the id, ego and the superego.
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980): his belief was the existence precedes essence and there is
no innate nature.
II. The Nature of Truth
Truth is a river that is always splitting up into arms that reunite. Islanded between the arms
the inhabitants argue for a lifetime as to which is the main river. (Cyril Connolly 1903-1974)
If God didn’t exist, everything will be possible. (Fyodor Dostoyevsky 1821-1881)
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes revolutionary act. (George Orwell
1903-1950)
To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day. (Lao
Tse 400BC)
Nothing but shadows of the images (Plato428-347BC)
Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself (Sartre 1905-1980)
The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple. (Oscar Wilde 1854-1900)
Errors are more valuable than truths: truth is of the machine error is alive; truth reassures,
error disturbs. (Zamyatin 1884-1937)
Revolutions are infinite (Zamyatin)
Heretics are the only bitter remedy against the entropy of human thought (Zamyatin)
Allegory of the Cave – Plato
Plato asserts in “the Allegory of the Cave” in the Republic that we must break the chains
of illusions and ignorance to see the light – true knowledge of reality. With his elaborate use
of imagery and symbolism, Plato is advocating us to break the fetters of the mere shadows of
the fires and be the “truth seekers” out of the cave. Indeed, Plato asserts that it will be a
“sophrosyne” as we break away from the comforting shadows and be enlightened with the
real light. In doing so, we must break away from the confusion between the two “realities”
tested upon us. Yet, Plato is not only asking his audiences to see the real light that can be
found outside the cave, he is also requiring the enlightened to come back and break the
prisoners free.
The Tao of Pooh – Benjamin Hoff (1946)
In his essay “the Tao of Pooh,” Hoff centers his argument with the allegorical painting
“the Vinegar Tasters” where Confucius finds life sour, bitter for Budha, requiring him to
reach Nirvana, and nature for Lao tse who believes that life become sour only by man. With
this allegory, Hoff asserts that we need to take in the world as the teacher of valuable lessons
and that nothing is something and something is nothing: the “Great Nothing.” This brings to
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conclusion that all ideas come from “nothing” and emptiness cleans out the messy mind and
charges up the spirit. Hoff is claiming that we should “appreciate and utilize the value of
nothing.” This parallels with that of John Locke’s “tabula rasa” in belief that we are in a
blank slate; yet, Hoff goes further and says that we need to appreciate this “blank slate-ness.”
What the Bleep Do We Know?
In this documentary, the audiences are questioned of the reality vs. what we perceive to
be real. Is there a true light outside the “Platonic cave?” Or is it really true that “we are what
we are perceived” as Bishop Berkeley claimed? In the current reality, the past is mixed with
the present and we are lost of the true reality. Is there a universal and absolute reality? In this
documentary, it asserts that there is an absolute truth and quest for truth in reality is
meaningless. Furthermore, it claims that thought and emotions can change reality or at least it
is perceived to be so.
Existentialism – Jean-Paul Sartre
Sartre and his existentialism surround the one idea that existence precedes essence. Thus,
man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Sartre claims that a man is either a
subjectivist or a quietist. Subjectivists are individuals who choose and make himself. On the
other hand, quietists are those who say “let others do what I can’t do.” It is impossible for a
man to transcend human subjectivity. In short, man has a freedom of choice and he needs to
make his choices and create his being. It is the reality alone that counts. There are no priori
goods. There is no reality in except in decision and action; thus, trust the instincts and never
treat any person as a means, but as an end which is a Kantian ethics.
Television: the Plug-in Drug – Marie Winn
In her essay “Television: the Plug-in Drug,” Winn points out that television and advanced
technology in general have reduced interactions among real people, causing a gradual lose in
the ability to interact with real people. She brings her point across by illustrating a family
gathering where “those rituals and pastimes that once gave family life its special quality have
become more and more uncommon” as we just sit back and watch the television. She
criticizes these television-addicts as “much less feeling that the skilled actors.” Like Socrates
and Christ, she has come to tell her audiences back in the cave that the televisions we see are
mere shadows of the reality. Yet, what would Winn say about the current issue of the masssurveillance of Facebook as this essay was written in 1977?
III.
The Nature of Beauty
The revival of red lipsticks indicates, above all, I suppose, that women’s sense of security was
transient (Angela Carter 1940-1992)
The privileges of beauty are immense (Jean Cocteau 1889-1963)
Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it (Confucius 551-479BC)
Beauty will save the world (Dostoyevsky)
Beauty of consumption and beauty of provocation (Umberto Eco 1932)
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Beauty is truth, truth is beauty, - that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. (John
Keats 1795-1821)
I’m tired of this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep. That’s deep enough. What do
you want, an adorable pancreas? (Jean Kerr 1922-2003)
Nothing less than perfect will do (Susan Sontag 1933-2004)
The power to attract, not the power to do (Sontag)
I prayed for beauty (Alice Walker 1944)
A Woman’s Beauty: Put-Down or Power Source? – Susan Sontag
The Greeks viewed beauty as a virtue; Christianity deprived beauty of the central role in
human excellence; now, as Susan Sontag asserts in her essay “A Woman’s Beauty: Put-Down
or a Power Source?” women’s preoccupation with physical beauty is a sign of their selfabsorption and lack of power. Women are seen as “parts” that need to be perfect which
contradicts with that of men whose good looks are his whole views. Although we know that
“the privileges of beauty are immense” as Cocteau exclaimed, the problem is that it is the
only form of power encouraged to women. Beauty is a “power to attract, not the power to
do.” This causes women to concern with superficial appearances and identifying themselves
as creatures pre-occupied with how they look rather than who and what they really are,
trivializing them.
Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self – Alice Walker
In this very personal essay, “Beauty: When the Other Dancer is the Self,” Walker realizes
the true definition of beauty. Beauty is not how others perceive myself as being, but how the
people I love see me. She understood this knowledge “being cute… ended” with her wound
in the eye. She “prayed for beauty” not for the lost sight. Yet, she realized, with the help of
her loving daughter exclaiming that “there is world in” her wounded eye, that even with the
scar, “she [was] beautiful, whole and free.”
The Wound in the Face – Angela Carter(1940-1992)
Angela Carter explores the wound we women inflict on ourselves in her essay “the
Wound in the Face” and the deeper symbols of these wounds that reflect the damages from
the culture of women’s beauty and self-perception. Ironically, the “pancake makeup” that was
“a mask” to camouflage our true selves was in fact a billboard sign crying out the pains and
burdens of the obligation to look beautiful. Ultimately, Carter asks, “might… it be possible to
use cosmetics to free women from the burdens of having to look beautiful altogether?” Our
chaining to the idea that “esse es percepi” is manifested in this essay.
There is No Unmarked Women – Deborah Tannen (1945)
In her essay, “There is No Unmarked Women,” Tannen asserts that women are “marked,”
evaluated on every physical feature in us. Whatever we do makes a statement, leaves a
footprint. A woman with the “pancake makeup” as Carter mentioned and kill hills of Sarah
Palin will make a statement as would a woman with no makeup and plain shirts and jeans.
The latter would leave an impression that she is making a hostile refusal to please the men.
This brings to question, who marked us? Like Simone de Beauvoir’s claim, it is ourselves
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that have inflicted this wound and marking, because we are quietists willing to kowtow to
what the society has made us to be.
Killing Us Softly III – Jean Kilbourne (1943)
In this documentary by Kilbourne, she criticizes the media for synthesizing a public
image of a beautiful woman. Through advertisements in particular, “women are seen as
things, objects.” The size 0 we see on advertisements are found in about 5% of the real
population, but this is the only size and idealistic women size we see. Consequently,
stereotypes of a Barbie-girl is established which ends up damaging the whole society.
Aren’t I a Woman – Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)
In Truth’s “Aren’t I a Woman?” speech, she refutes the stereotypic image and assertion
that “women need to be helped into carriages and lifted over ditches, and to have the best
place everywhere” by comparing herself with man in strength and other abilities. In this, we
can see that there was a stereotypic image of a woman even back in the 1850s. The women
are delicate, passive and helpless beings. As a result, women need men to survive. Thus,
women should not be able to vote. Here reference to Christ and strong voice allows this essay
to be more persuasive.
Woman as Others – Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)
In Simone de Beauvoir’s essay, “Women as Others,” She claims that it is the women’s
fault that we have become the “other.” The Proletarians say “we;” Negroes also say “we.”
However, the women did not stand up for ourselves when the society or men objectified us
and made it an obligation to force superficial beauty. Why didn’t we see that it was our own
fault that we did not go against the society that objectified, marked and wounded us?
Move Over, My Pretty, Ugly is Here – Sarah Kershaw
In the article “Move Over, My Pretty, Ugly is Here” by Sarah Kershaw, Kershaw
observes the widespread injustice against unattractive women. She points out that “ugliness is
associated with evil and fear, with villains and monsters.” With this universal idea, Kershaw
is indirectly blaming the media for this discrimination of unattractive women which portrays
evil villains with ugliness and heroes with the handsome beauty.
IV.
The Nature of Virtue
Knowledge is power (Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
Pure good soon grows intrepid, wants variety and spirit. Pain is bittersweet, which never
surfeits (William Hazlitt 1778-1830)
Virtue is power (Virgil 70-19BC)
Arriving at Perfection – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
In his essay, “Arriving at Perfection,” Benjamin Franklin gives his audience list of virtues
that must be achieved starting from temperance to humility. In doing so, he claims that “we
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must break habits and acquire good ones.” By bringing his point like a step by step guidebook,
he seemingly makes virtue seem mechanical. Furthermore, when did virtue become so
objective?
On Ben’s Franklin’s Virtues – D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930)
In this satirical essay by Lawrence called “On Ben Franklin’s Virtue,” he mocks
Franklin’s “Arriving at Perfection.” Lawrence notices that Franklin makes virtue seem
something physical and mechanical and that there is a certain point of perfection. He claims
that “I am a moral animal. But I am not a moral machine.” Consequently, Lawrence comes up
with his 13 virtues on being a moral animal, not a moral machine.
The Necessary Enemy – Katherine Anne Porter (1890-1980)
Katherine Anne Porter claims in her essay, “The Necessary Enemy,” that hatred is our
“necessary enemy and ally.” In other words, she is saying that hate is intrinsic; thus, it
manifests itself in every relationship. On the other hand, “love must be learned. Hate needs
no instructions, but waits only to be provoked.” As a result, even when we love someone we
hate them as well. We end up saying “I love you” therefore “I hate you.” Hatred is a part of
us that we cannot get rid of according to Porter.
On the Pleasure of Hating – William Hazlitt (1778-1830)
In his essay, “On the Pleasure of Hating,” Hazlitt claims that “without something to hate,
we should lost the very spring of thought and action.” In short, we love hating; we were born
to hate; we cannot not hate. In asserting that “hatred is immortal,” Hazlitt makes an
assumption or accedes that “homo homini lupus (man is wolf to man)” as Hobbes claimed.
This extremely cynical and pessimistic view of life is especially striking. He claims that “it
makes patriotism an excuse for carrying fire, pestilence, and famine in other lands.” It brings
to question whether we are truly all Jack Merridew’s of the Lord of the Flies by William
Golding.
V. The Nature of Orwellian Government
In the assumption that every sound you made was overheard and every movement scrutinized
(Orwell)
War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength (Orwell)
Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past (Orwell)
Language that avoids and shifts responsibility (William Lutz 1940)
Lies sounds truthful and murders the respectable (Lutz)
The future influences the present just as much as the past (Nietzsche)
Force does not constitute right… obedience is due only to legitimate powers (Jean-Jacques
Rousseau 1712-1778)
I have named the destroyers of nations: comfort, plenty, and security – out of which grow a
bored and slothful cynicism in which rebellion against the world as it is, and myself as I am,
are submerged in listless self-satisfaction (John Steinbeck 1902-1968)
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Entropy of thought (Zamyatin 1884-1937)
Nineteen Eighty-Four – George Orwell
In his dystopic novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell warns his audiences of being
manipulated of the truth. In this novel, the protagonist Winston Churchill is forced to accept
the slogan “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength” in the end. In the
society where “every sound you made was overheard, and every movement scrutinized,” the
idea that “who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the
past” become true. The person who could manipulate the truth is the omnipotent. What that
person says to be true becomes the reality; two plus two becomes five. In short, this novel
deals with three aspects: the reduction of words to reduce thought, mass surveillance and the
manipulation of the truth.
Politics and the English Language – George Orwell
Orwell asserts in his essay, “Politics and the English Language,” that thought and
language are inevitably connected. Thus, “thought corrupts language, language can also
corrupt thought.” This is precisely the reason the ministry is reducing words of Newspeak in
Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four: to reduce though, bringing ignorance to the people. With this
in mind, Orwell is urging his audiences to increase their vocabulary to enlarge their thought
and not just blankly succumb to manipulated truths – the shadows of the fire.
Freedom and Happiness – George Orwell
In “Freedom and Happiness” by Orwell, he asserts that “happiness and freedom are
incompatible.” Freedom is something that we must acquire and fight for, which will be a
sophrosyne. This means that it cannot be comfortable. In bringing this point, Orwell looks at
Zamyatin’s We and Huxley’s Brave New World. The significance in the three novels
including 1984 is the use of numbers. According to Orwell, numbers could mean the freedom
of mankind of just a weird arrangement of lines. Whatever it is, man need to strive for
freedom which will be torturous.
On Literature, Revolution, Entropy and Other Matters – Zamyatin
In his essay called “On Literature, Revolution, Entropy and Other Matters,” Zamyatin
explores the meaning of truth and revolution. His main claim about truth is that “today’s
truths become errors tomorrow.” Thus, all truths are “erroneous.” In relation with Orwell’s
claim that “in a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act,”
Zamyatin notes that there is “no final revolution” as there is “no final number.” Those quietist
and “weak-nerved minds insist on a finite universe, a last number; they need, in Nietzsche’s
words, crutches of certainty.”
Language, Appearance, and Reality: Doublespeak in 1984 – William Lutz
Lutz claims asserts in “Language, Appearance, and Reality: Doublespeak in 1984” that in
this current world, we are surrounded by “language designed to distort reality and corrupt the
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mind.” Like the Newspeak in Orwell’s 1984 people try to “alter our perception of reality and
corrupt our mind” by false language, or manipulated language.
VI.
The Nature of Language
Serpent’s tongue (Gloria Anzaldua 1942-2004)
I am my language (Anzaldua)
Ethnic identity is twin-skin to linguistic identity (Anzaldua)
It goes without saying, then, that language is also a political instrument, means, and proof of
power. It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity: It reveals the private identity, and
connects one with, or divorces one from, the large, public, or communal identity. (James
Baldwin)
Women are communicative cripples (Robin Lakoff 1942)
Something new emerging from the torrent (Eric Liu 1968)
Slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts (Orwell)
How to Tame a Wild Tongue – Gloria Anzaldua
For most, the greatest insult to a person is to talk badly about their family. For people like
us, the colored, the worst insult to us is to “talk badly about [our] language.” In the essay
“How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” the non-Anglo writer, Gloria Anzaldua goes further and
claims that language is our identity. “I am my language.” And for people like us, we speak an
“orphan language;” those we have a different identity from that of our origin, making our
language, our identity, a “serpent’s tongue.” Yet, whatever language we speak, “ethnic
identity is twin-skin to linguistic identity.”
You are What You Say – Robin Lakoff
Robin Lakoff calls for change in her essay “You Are What You Say” as she notices the
biases made on women as inferior, less powerful and less important beings – like de
Beauvoir’s women as “others.” Her claim is that the society has manipulated women to talk
in the euphemistic way that we were trained to do since young. When a woman speaks out
her mind, she is criticized as being unfeminine. In this sense, women are “communicative
cripples” as their language is very limited. Lakoff is thus saying that “in more than one says,
it is time to speak up.”
Learning to Read and Write – Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” In his essay “Learning to Read and
Write,” Douglass emphasizes that although literacy had brought him painful costs, it has
brought him freedom. The white slave owners have kept them away from literacy to have
them under complete control and obedience. Throughout history, illiteracy has been used as a
shackle to subdue a race or gender. As Mary Wollstonecraft argued that society was caving
women by preventing schooling, Douglass believed that slaves were being fettered through
illiteracy. However, once Douglass managed to learn to read and write, he was in pain as he
was led to “abhor and detest [his] enslavers.” He “envied [his] fellow slaves for their
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stupidity.” Despite this suffering, he did not stop reading because he knew that language
made him forever free.
Mother Tongue – Amy Tan (1952)
In her essay “Mother Tongue,” Amy Tan points out that we are judged by our language.
If you language is “broken,” so is your thought; if you language is “limited,” so is your
thought. Orwell asserted that language reflected politics and thought; Anzaldua claimed that
language was identity; tan combines the two, explaining that we are identified as “broken”
people with “limited” thought because our English is “broken” and “limited.” This prejudice
was seen in the way how people treated her mother, who Tan herself was embarrassed of
sometimes. Therefore, I, being one of these “limited” people, need to find a new identity: my
own.
Notes of a Native Speaker – Eric Liu
In his essay, “Notes of a Native Speaker,” Liu tells his audiences of how he came to
redefine the meaning of race and end up identifying himself. Unlike Amy Tan with her
mother’s “broken language” and Anzaldua with her “Spanglish,” Liu is unaffected by his
parent’s “Chinglish” – at least not in his language or identity. Instead, he has identified
himself “into a Renaissance boy” to break the stereotypic Asian nerd prejudice. He
successfully “combated the stereotypes in part by trying to disapprove them.” Every single
Asian is burdened by “stereotypes of Asians otherness and inferiority…like immense blocks
of ice sitting before” him. There are only two solutions, you either succumb to this or “chip
away at them.” Eric Liu created his own individuality in his route of being a “different” Asian.
Nonverbal/ Verbal – Leonard Shlain
In the essay “Nonverbal/Verbal,” Leonard Shlain asserts that with the advent of literacy,
the equality between men and women have been broken, making men the dominant gender.
The fact that women are generally stronger on the right side of the brain and that men are
generally stronger on the left side is not a new idea. Thus, Shlain is claiming that although
language is bisexual, writing is male dominant. “The invention of writing completely upset
this balance” that is visible in speaking. This essay is not an essay explaining the catastrophic
consequences that followed with the advent of writing; it is an essay arguing why women are
“incomplete men.”
VII.
The Nature of Art
Art is made to disturb Science reassures. There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing
that you cannot explain (Georges Braque 1882-1963)
The aim of art, like life itself, is inspiring (Joseph Conrad 1857-1924)
Art is an end in itself (Definition of Aestheticism)
Great art can communicate before it is understood (T.S. Eliot)
An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris (Nietzsche)
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Art is lies that tell the truth (Pablo Picasso 1881-1973)
All art is quite useless (Oscar Wilde 1854-1900)
The Pictures of Dorian Gray Preface – Oscar Wilde
In this preface for his novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde defines his meaning of
art – “quiet useless” according to Wilde. He begins by claiming that “the artist is the creator
of beautiful things.” From this, he uses logical order of reasons and assertions that leads him
to conclude that the art is useful because it is it is admirable. He even goes further to claim
that “the only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.” Likewise,
useful things should never be admired. Thus, art which “mean only Beauty” to “the elect” is
useless. However, when we go deeper, if art is admired, it triggers our senses, creativity and
emotions. Now, art has a purpose; it is useful.
The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde
In this prominent novel by Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde develops on
the idea of beauty and art. Dorian Gray, a youthful and incredibly beautiful man, exchanges
his soul with the youth of his portrait. Indeed, “it’s no good for one’s morals to see bad
acting.” His acting was great; his forever youthful mask deceived his corrupted morals
completely. In this novel, among the many themes of the novel, one especially striking
assertion is the claim of Wilde, or Lord Henry, on women. According him, “no woman is a
genius.” “Women are a decorative sex. They never have anything to say, but they say it
charmingly.” Here, not only is the debasement of women which parallel’s Aristotle’s
argument that women are “incomplete men” notable, Wilde’s view of women being a
“decorative sex” – useless but charming. This is just one of examples of Wilde’s unique and
somewhat cynical view of everything charming being useless and vice versa. Like art,
beautiful things are only beauty and only to be admired.
Definition of Aestheticism
In this essay titled “Aestheticism,” the writer explores the definition of aestheticism
which explains as “the notion that all art must be autonomous – art gratia artis or “art for
art’s sake. Like Wilde’s claim, the writer’s main argument is that “art should never be “useful
as such.” Art with purpose like for didactic, religious and tendentious reasons are the
“antithesis of autonomous or useless.” Thus, according to the writer, should not “serve any
ulterior purpose.”
What Use is Art? – Royal Bank of Canada Newsletter
In this article from the Royal Bank of Canada Newsletter, the writer refutes Wilde’s
claim that “art can help each of us enjoy the human experience more fully.” Not only do
some arts show knowledge, craft, imagination, truth and meaning, all art is quite useful
because “it raises men’s minds to a level higher than merely existing.” With the authoritative
quote of Tolstoy – “art is a human activity consisting in this, that one man consciously, by
means of certain external signs, hands on to others feelings he has lived through, and that
others are infected by these feelings and also experience them.” This article is the direct
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antithesis of Wilde’s argument. Wilde said that beautiful things like art only mean Beauty. He
would say that art does not have the meaning to “release us from the arbitrariness of life.”
The Nigger of the Narcissus Preface – Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad, a genius Polish writer, writes in his preface for the novel, The Nigger of
the Narcissus, that art is “a single-minded attempt to render the highest kind of justice to the
visible universe by bringing light to truth.” Conrad connects that written words are art as it
aspires to the “plasticity of sculpture, to the color of painting, and to the magic suggestiveness
of music.” Hence, Conrad is telling us that Wilde’s assertion that art is useless and the “cry of
Art for Art itself” is not correct. Because, according to Conrad, art has an aim: to inspire us.
VIII. The Nature of Classics
Innocence ends when one is stripped of the delusion that one likes oneself (Joan Didion 1934)
It is a matter of a misplaced self-respect (Didion)
A prince must know how to make good use of both the beat and the man (Machiavelli)
He should be ready to enter on evil if he has to (Machiavelli)
They are ungrateful, fickle liars and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy for gain (Niccolo
Machiavelli 1469-1527)
To be feared is much safer than to be loved (Machiavelli)
When a white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom that he destroys (George Orwell)
Imperialism is an evil thing (Orwell)
A bead of pure life (Virginia Woolf 1882-1941)
Death is stronger than I am (Woolf)
He was little or nothing but life (Woolf)
Shooting an Elephant – George Orwell
George Orwell, the best English essayist since Dr Johnson and a fervent anti-imperialist,
asserts in his semi-autobiographical essay “Shooting an Elephant” that when one controls
another like the situation Orwell was in when working as an imperial police officer in Burma
in 1926 not only those under the authority but also those who control and serve it become
machineries of repression. Through this rather “insignificant” event of shooting an elephant,
Orwell realized this reality: “when the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom that he
destroys.” Chong-min Hong extends Orwell’s metaphor of his situation to a puppet and a
puppeteer. With Orwell’s theatrical effect which resulted from his adroit use of imagery,
Hong emphasizes the ancient mythological heroes like Theseus with “a mask” in which “his
face grows to fit it.”
On Self Respect – Joan Didion
Joan Didion, an American journalist, essayist and novelist with crystallized observations,
asserts in her essay “On Self Respect” that self respect plays an immense role in living
through one’s troubled life. She claims that a life without self respect is living as “an
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unwilling audience to one to an interminable documentary that details one’s failings.”
However, a life with “self respect is potentially to have everything.” She claims that “our
fatal weakness” is due to our lack of self respect or “misplaced self respect.” Thus, to free
ourselves from “the expectations of others” and have the “courage of [our] mistakes,” it’s
time to gain our self respect – “the ability to discriminate, to love and to retain the
indifferent” – it’s time to “give us back to ourselves.”
Morals of the Prince – Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli explains in his essay “The Morals of the Prince” from his book The
Prince – which was written in 1513 as a guidebook for Guiliano de Medici – some virtues an
ideal prince must follow in order to protect his power. He is better to be stingy than lavishly
generous; better to be feared than loved; better to impress the mass by “superficial
appearance” than to lose “both his reputation and his throne.” Thus, Machiavelli asserted that
any action taken to acquire or maintain power is justifiable. Using wide ranges of historical
sources, Machiavelli makes his virtues seem more important.
The Death of the Moth – Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf, an English Essayist and novelist born into one of London’s most
prominent literary families, asserts in her essay “The Death of the Moth” that we must live
our lives like the moth, giving all we’ve got until death – something that is “stronger than I
am.” And when death eventually faces us at the end of our lives, we should accept its coming.
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