Of Treason and The Root of Innocence

 It is true that money cannot buy happiness,

But enough of it can buy your innocence.

               Sir John Harrington wrote the epigram Of Treason about one of the harsh realities of society: That treason is only seen as such when it does not benefit the right people.  I attempted to model my own epigram after this same fashion. The idea that people in society are willing to turn a blind eye toward certain injustices if the price is right is one that has certainly been around for a long time.

                The most important similarity between the two epigrams is definitely the idea that money, or prospering in some way, can cover up any issue no matter how severe. While this may seem like a pessimistic view of the world, it is in many ways a realistic one.  

Sir John Harrington was highlighting the more devious actions of which some government officials are capable.  There have certainly been cases throughout history, many of them documented and well-known, of cover-ups and espionage that have been swept aside or in some cases even celebrated as successes as long as the right people with the proper power, influence, and money were behind them.

With my own epigram, I tried to evoke a similar feel, but focused more specifically towards the judicial system. I was particularly influenced by many of the recent high-profile cases involving NFL players and domestic violence. Many of these players have a great deal of evidence stacked against them, yet they have been able to be reinstated and continue to not only be free men, but collect their multi-million dollar salaries.

Harrington’s Of Treason is a great example of the power that an epigram can demonstrate. While they are usually quite short in length, and are typically humorous or ironic, they can often also lead to great discussions relating to deep societal issues.

Works Cited

Harrington, John. "Of Treason." Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson. 2012. 525. Print.

Two Plots, Side by Side

Conflict is the root of any good plot. This week’s writing assignments highlight this fact perfectly, albeit in slightly different ways.

Margaret Atwood’s Happy Endings shows not only how a story without any conflict would be quite boring, but also how almost every ending is essentially the same. The journey the characters take on their way to the ending is what really makes a story. Each alternative narrative that Atwood presents becomes increasingly tragic and, in many cases, depressing, yet she insists that every version of the story ends the same way: A happy ending.  The couple in the story falls in love and lives happily ever after, no matter what else might take place. Until they both die, of course. Because it is this fact: That all stories must end as all lives do, which highlights the main point that a story is comprised of the events that lead us to an end, and not the end itself.

Eudora Welty’s A Worn Path is an exercise in taking a very simple story and making it fantastical by making small events seem larger than life. If this story had been written in the more plain language of Happy Endings, it might read something like this: An old black woman travels from her home through the woods to a town to get medicine for her grandson. Along the way, she finds money and is able to also buy him a toy. The end.

This version still tells the basic tale, but it is in no way the same story. Welty’s version is so much more whimsical. From the moment the reader meets Phoenix Jackson, it is implied that there is something more to her than meets the eye. The name Phoenix itself suggests that some kind of magic may be at play. So much so that when she begins to talk to animals she sees in the woods, the reader is almost expectant for them to start talking back. Welty uses this almost supernatural feeling to manufacture conflicts where there really are none. The apparent normalcy of her trip, once it is finally revealed, actually feels like a plot twist.

The main point to be derived from these stories is that no matter how interesting or happy an ending may be, it does not dictate the quality of a story (just ask anyone who watched all six seasons of Lost). No; a story is made by its plot and a story’s plot is built on conflict.

Works Cited

Atwood, Margaret. Happy Endings. Backpack Literature. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson, 2012. 290-293. Print.

Welty, Eudora. A Worn Path. Backpack Literature. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Pearson, 2012. 365-372. Print.

Cutting Through the Nada

There is no disputing that Ernest Hemingway lived an exciting and extraordinary life. It would also be fair to say, however, that his life was full of moments of great depression and trauma. This is especially evident when considering the manner of his death. So when he said that, "the most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it,”(Plimpton 128) he meant that the most important aspect of writing is to shed light on some truth in life. This is demonstrated in his short story Clean Well-Lighted Place.

In the story, two waiters debate whether or not to stay open and continue to serve an old deaf man who frequents the café where they work. The older of the two sympathizes with the deaf man, understanding his need to have somewhere that he can feel comfortable and escape the pressures of his life. The younger of the two is so apathetic and selfish that when discussing the old man’s attempt at suicide, he goes so far as to say that, “he should have killed himself last week.” (Hemingway 143), so that he could go home to be with his wife. While this attitude may seem extreme, it does highlight the fact that many people in the world are in fact selfish and uncaring.

The reader then follows the older waiter as he travels home, stopping at a bar on the way. The waiter ponders for a great deal on nada or nothingness and how his café is so different from all the nothingness. He did not want to stay open just for the sake of the old man, but for his own as well. He will not be able to sleep when he goes home anyway and he tries to convince himself that, “it is probably only insomnia.” (Hemingway 146) He knows the reason the old man gets drunk every night because it is the same reason he does not mind staying late to serve him: it keeps him distracted from his thoughts of nothingness.

Hemingway ultimately chooses to follow the older waiter through this story because we are essentially viewing his life. He is simultaneously looking back on his past through the brash actions of the young waiter and looking ahead to his future as the old deaf man. And all the while he is yearning only to stay in his clean well-lighted place nestled among the vast nada.

Works Cited

Hemingway, Ernest. A Clean Well-Lighted Place. Backpack Literature. Ed. X.J. Kennedy        and Dana Gioia. Pearson, 2012. 143-46. Print. 

Plimpton, George. The Art of Fiction: Ernest Hemingway. Conversations with Ernest               Hemingway. Ed. Matthew Bruccoli. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 1986. 109-129. Print

Mrs. Mallard's Last Hour

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of an Hour” is the tragic tale of a woman who feels so oppressed by the expectations of society and the constraints of her marriage that she actually rejoices at the news of her husband’s death. Mrs. Mallard believes that her husband’s passing will grant her a new life; one of freedom and independence. Ironically, it is the revelation that Mr. Mallard is in fact still alive that brings about her own demise.

To better understand Chopin’s reasoning for writing such a story, it is necessary to look at her own life and experiences. She lost her husband in a railroad accident, just as Mrs. Mallard had believed she had. She also only began her writing career after his death. While Kate and her husband were happy together, it would seem that his death opened up several new opportunities for her. When she writes of Mrs. Mallard’s feelings, “she had loved him—sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!” (Chopin 170), it seems to stem from her own personal experience.

While I can sympathize with Mrs. Mallard feeling oppressed and diluted by what everyone else expects of her life, I find the overall tone of the story rather depressing. The idea that one would actually experience joy at the thought of their loved one dying so that their own selfish ambitions can become reality is difficult for me to understand. It is especially hard since Mr. Mallard is described as being a kind and loving man. Mrs. Mallard knows that she will grieve when she sees his body, especially when she looks at “the face that never looked save with love upon her” (Chopin 170), and yet she still feels that his death is ultimately a joyous occasion for her.

The more I ponder Mrs. Mallard’s situation, the more I find myself relating to poor Mr. Mallard. He loved his wife, but she did not reciprocate that love because she was too concerned with herself.  She did not understand that true love is about sacrifice. While the story if full of tragic irony, the greatest example comes when Mrs. Mallard dies of shock at the sight of her husband alive and well. It is her death that ultimately releases her from the constraints of her marriage and sets her free.

Works Cited 

Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. Backpack Literature. Ed. X. J. Kennedy, Dana Gioia. 

     Pearson. 2012. 168-170. Print.

Introduction

     Greetings everyone!

     My name is Matthew Gillespie and I just recently started going back to school at NCC as an education major. My goal is to get my associate's degree here and then transfer into Kutztown's dual certificate program for middle level education and special education. I am excited to have the opportunity to take most of my classes online as I also currently work full time. The company I work for offers many programs for underprivileged people and my specific program deals with adults who are intellectually disabled.

     While there are many things in life I consider myself to be passionate about, the one that I would put above the rest would have to be music. I have always loved music as far back as I can remember. I enjoy listening to all types of genres and I am interested in playing many different instruments. My favorite instrument to play is the guitar, because of its versatility and the emotional range of expression that it presents.

     I am looking forward to meeting all of you and reading about your passions as well. I would also just like to say good luck to everyone as we go through this course together!