The Ropewalk: A Poem About Boredom

The Ropewalk by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is a poem about the things a man daydreams about while he is at work at a rope factory. He daydreams about the different things the rope he is making might be used for. A swing for girls to swing on, a rope for a tightrope walker to walk across high above an awed crowd, tied to a bucket in a well, and he even muses about the rope being used for gallows. What this poem is really about is escapism. Making rope probably wasn't a fun activity, winding pieces of twine together for hours on end was bound to become tedious. So, what does one do when faced with a boring and mindless task? Why, daydream of course! When you're doing something mundane, don't you let your mind wander as far from where you are as possible? During the Industrial Revolution many people worked in factories such as the one this poem is about, and I'm sure the employees of those factories used daydreaming as escapism. Romantic thought emphasized the power of imagination, and how it could be a useful tool for escapism. Not only is this poem about imagination, you have to use your imagination to read it. Each stanza paints a picture, so the poem is much easier to understand if you use your imagination and envision what Longfellow is trying to say.

"Then a booth of mountebanks,
With its smell of tan and planks,
And a girl poised high in air
On a cord, in spangled dress,
With a faded loveliness,
And a weary look of care."

I definitely had to use my imagination in order to understand what that was all about.

Thanatopsis: We're All Going to Die

Thanatopsis is all about looking at death in a different way. Most people view death as a horrible and scary thing, but with this poem Bryant attempts to portray death as just another part of life and not really something that is that scary at all. Bryant explains that death should not be feared because everybody dies and it's natural. When we die we return to the ground from which we came, it's the circle of life, so to speak. Since the Romantics thought that nature was pretty much the coolest thing around (something heavily exemplified in this poem), becoming part of nature would be considered kinda awesome. Bryant also mentions that when we die we join all the souls that have passed before us, "Thou shalt lie down, With patriarchs of the infant world--with kings, The powerful of the earth--the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers of ages past...", so death is sort of like the great equalizer. This poem is romantic because of the two things I just mentioned. The glorification of nature and the emphasis on the fact that we are all a part of that nature, and the emphasis on death being something that the great, as well as the not-so-great men all have to go through. The common man as well as the king has to die sometime.

Geisha (Writing Assignment Two)

Geisha are highly skilled female Japanese entertainers. Although they are an iconic image of Japanese culture, not that much is known about them. When it came time to write this research paper, I though it might be cool to learn more about the mysterious world of the geisha. I wasn’t expecting it to be very difficult, but while I did find a large amount of information, it was all very broad. I read that geisha in training take classes, but I couldn’t find out what kind of classes they took or where they took them. Much about being a geisha is kept secret.

Geisha history dates back to the 1700’s, and while there have been similar women throughout Japanese history, geisha have the distinction of being entertainers only. It seems to be an extremely common misconception that geisha are just highly paid prostitutes. This is most likely because there have been many prostitutes who have impersonated geisha and because they were closely associated with the prostitutes of the “Pleasure Districts”. Pleasure Districts were government sanctioned areas where prostitution was legal during the Endo period (1603 to 1868). Operating as a prostitute outside of these areas was against the law. Early in their history geisha were confined to the so called Pleasure Districts along with female entertainers who were prostitutes, but the geisha never sold sex (Immortal Geisha/History).

Geisha sell nothing but their skills as dancers, musicians, conversationalists, and artists. They are hired to create an atmosphere of luxury with their beauty and grace; nothing more is expected of them from their clients. Geisha women are single. If a geisha chooses to marry; she can no longer be a geisha. She is supposed to give the illusion of obtainability, while never actually being obtainable. Although it is less common in modern times, geisha sometimes have patrons. These patrons are called danna. Although a danna financially supports a geisha and is likely to have a closer relationship with her, she is still never expected to be intimate with him (Wikipedia/Geisha).

Geisha were usually trained from a very young age, but now it’s not uncommon for a women to start later in her life. The first stage of training consists of becoming accustomed to the world of geisha culture by performing as a maid while living in the okiya (geisha house). The girls go to classes during the day and wait on the geisha at night. When the trainees have become skilled enough in geisha arts, they are brought to parties and tea houses. This is so they can learn by observing a geisha at work with a client; I imagine that it is easier to learn some things, like conversation skills, by seeing them in action. This is a brief stage in the geisha’s training, and typically only lasts a month. After that, the geisha in training becomes what is called a maiko. Maiko are the white faced and brightly dressed young women that are most commonly associated with geisha culture. Maiko have “older sister” geisha who teach them what it is actually like to be a geisha by taking them along with them to visit clients. It can take as little as five months, or as much as five years for a maiko to become a full geisha. Once a maiko becomes a geisha she takes a new name and charges full price for her services. This is how she will live until she retires. (Wikipedia/Geisha)

The most outstanding characteristic of a geisha is her appearance. Geisha always wear elaborate, beautiful, and expensive robes called kimonos. These kimonos are hand painted and are works of art in their own right. The style and color of a geisha’s kimonos changes to illustrate her status. Maiko wear bright, flamboyant kimono whereas older geisha wear more demure colors and patterns. Footwear also changes throughout a geisha’s career. Maiko wear extremely tall wooden sandals with a slanted front and geisha wear shorter, flat sandals. Their hair is styled up in what is called the shimada style and is adorned by many combs and accessories (Wikipedia/Geisha). Maiko wear the iconic painted white face and red lips almost constantly, but after she has been a full geisha for three years she will only wear such heavy make-up for special occasions. The process of putting on this make-up is very complicated and can take more than an hour to achieve (Immortal Geisha/Make-Up). I watched a video on YouTube of a geisha applying her make-up, it was heavily edited and it was still 12 minutes long. It was fascinating to watch the process though.

Although the world of geisha is filled with beauty, I imagine it’s also very uncomfortable. Hours upon hours of make-up application and hair styling cannot be fun, and I read on Immortal Geisha that after they get their hair done that have to sleep with their necks on special pedestals so they don’t mess up their hair and have to get it styled all over again. They walk in flimsy sandals that are more than half a foot tall to keep their kimono from dragging on the ground. Relationships could be hard to obtain when you’re living in a house full of women with whom you are competing for clients, and the only outsiders you see are those clients.

After doing all this research, I’m still left with one unanswered question: Why does a woman choose to become a geisha? It takes so much training, preparation, and pain, and what do they get in the end? I read on a woman’s blog that she traveled to Japan and met an elderly former geisha. The former geisha told her of her fond memories of being a geisha and I wondered if that was all she had to show for her time spent as a geisha. I still find geisha to be interesting and beautiful, but I also still wonder what they get out of it and why they do it.

Sources:

Naomi Graham-Diaz. “History of the Geisha, Part One: 1100AD - 1750AD.” Immortal Geisha. October 2001. Immortal Geisha. 11 September 2008. http://www.immortalgeisha.com/history_01.php.

Naomi Graham-Diaz. “Make-Up of Geisha and Maiko.” Immortal Geisha. October 2001. Immortal Geisha. 11 September 2008. http://www.immortalgeisha.com/makeup_01.ph.

Wikipeadia “Geisha.” 29 August 2008. Wikipedia. 11 September 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geisha.

Now that's what I call romantic artwork!

This painting is by Eugene Delacroix and is entitled, La Liberté Guidant le Peuple, which means Liberty Leading the People. This is one of my favorite paintings and I think it is a good example of Romantic art. It shows Marrianne, who is Liberty personified and the symbol of the nation, leading a troop of French revolutionaries over rubble and bodies. Delacroix did this painting to commemorate the French Revolution and the overthrow of Charles X. The revolutionaries were a mix of many different people. Bourgeoise, upper class, and lower class all fighting side by side for a common cause. This painting is a celebration of the power of the common man.

Watch Your Head

I read The Legend of Sleepy Hollow instead of Rip Van Winkle, for no particular reason. I liked this story a lot though, it was very witty. It was a bit wordy though... Each sentence was easily three lines long. Part of the reason there were so many words it because Washington Irving is a very, very descriptive writer, which ties in with American Romanticism. Irving used vivid imagery to describe his story throughout the entire text. If you use your imagination when you read Irving's description of Ichabod Crane, you might find yourself laughing out loud. The picture Irving paints is utterly and ridiculously hilarious; "He was tall, but exceedingly lank, with narrow shoulders, long arms and legs, hands that dangled a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might have served for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely hung together. His head was small, and flat on top, with huge ears, large green glassy eyes, and along snipe nose, so that looked like a weather-cock perched upon his spindle neck , to tell which way the wind blew." Obviously this is not meant to be taken literally (I seriously doubt that Ichabod's arms actually stuck a mile out of his sleeves) , it's meant to be read with imagination!
Another example of American Romanticism that is in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is the glorification of nature. Irving opens his story with a long and heartfelt description of Sleepy Hollow and the surrounding land. He goes into great detail when he describes the peacefulness of nature, "A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility." Most of the people living in America at this time were living in filthy cities, so you can imagine how much they would long for a quiet valley like the one Irving describes.
Lastly, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a classic example of the underdog story. Ichabod is somewhat of a loser. If you read the physical description above, you know that Ichabod Crane was not really what I would call a good looking man. Irving compares him to a scarecrow at one point. Ichabod also seems to have limited social skills... Extremely limited. He makes a fool of himself quite a few times and doesn't even notice once. It seemed to me that he was sort of the village idiot. So, in the end of the story after he has been turned down by his lady-love, attacked by the "Headless Horseman", and fled the town never to return, you find out that he is now a moderately accomplished politician. Ichabod might have been unrefined, but he went on to make something of himself anyways. This exemplifies American Romanticism in the sense that Americans were viewed as sloppy and undignified by the English. So with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Irving was saying that even though someone might not be well mannered, doesn't mean that they can't do well.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer pages 1- 768

This book wasn't very good in my opinion. Meyer took the story in a completely new direction, and it was just not very good. She diverted away from everything I liked about Twilight. Everything was just too perfect, it all worked out so sickeningly sweet in the end. Meyer got rid of all the turmoil and stuff that made the books interesting. I don't want to read a book about two people who are in love and everything just is awesome, it's not interesting, or realistic. I mean, a vampire falling in love with a human and not sucking her dry isn't very realistic either... The very fact that the book is about vampires is unrealistic, but even if I'm reading a book that's fantastical I want the core of the story to be based in reality. I read this book called The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold over the summer. The Lovely Bones is a book about a girl who is murdered and what happens to all the people left behind, and it's narrated by the dead girl while she's in heaven. The premise is supernatural, but I never felt like it was weird... Until the end when she COMES BACK TO EARTH IN SOMEONE ELSE'S BODY! I was immediately put off. It was just too weird... It made the book end perfectly... and I didn't like it. Endings make or break a book for me, or in the case of Breaking Dawn, a series. So I loved Twilight but I feel like the book got steadily worse as they went on. Breaking dawn was still really good, but just not as good as it could have been, or anywhere near as good as Twilight. Twilight was amazing, New Moon was really good, Eclipse was good, and Breaking Dawn was just okay.

P.S. The whole baby thing just creeped me out a lot... I did not like it.

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer pages 1- 640

I can't remember much of what happened in this book... Edward came back so Bella stopped sobbing so much; that was a relief. I was mainly just mad a at Jacob for making everything so difficult. Of course there was another crisis that involved Bella's life being endangered, but it was somehow easily averted. This book was good, but not as good as the other two that came before it.

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer pages 1 - 608

Just like with Twilight, I was nearly obsessed with this book. I wondered what Meyer was going to do with the story next, and I was surprised at where she took it. It was nice to be surprised, (predictable literature is so boring!) but it was frustrating too. In book one, Bella and Edward are hopelessly in love. It's problematic (Edward is a vampire), but they work through it because they love each other so much; it's perfect. In book two Edward up and leaves Bella in the woods and says he's never coming back! So the rest of the book is basically just about how Bella can barely function since he left and then at the end she has to go save his life in Italy. I give Meyer mad props for one thing though - Edward is back now, but I kind of don't like him that much anymore. While Edward was gone Bella found solace in her friend Jacob(who turns into a werewolf abruptly in the middle of their friendship, go figure) and Jacob is ten times more likable than Edward. I had a discussion with one of my co-workers the other day about people who are Jacob fans and people who are Edward fans. She thinks that Edward fans are often younger and still have that Disney instilled dream that one day their prince will come, while on the other hand, Jacob fans realize that no one is perfect and you should settle for the guy who loves you and doesn't drive you crazy. In less words; quarks are endearing and perfection is aggravating. I agree, and I admire Meyer for challenging her readers with a new thought process instead of just shoveling book after book of lovey dovey bliss and perfection out into the market.

Benjamin Franklin was a smarty pants.

I think Benjamin Franklin's plan to arrive at moral perfection is a good example of why he was a good rationalist. Not only was his method of doing this very reasonable, it also had nothing to do with God. A Puritan would not have thought he could reach moral perfection because of the concept of original sin. It would most likely be considered blasphemous in Puritan culture to try and achieve moral perfection; only God is perfect. Benjamin Franklin, though, thinks he can attain perfection all by himself, with a well thought out plan. "It was about this time that I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without committing any fault at any time ..." He goes on to explain his method of doing this, "My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues, I judged it would be well not to distract my attention by attempting the whole at once, but to fix it on one of them at a time, and when I should be master of that , then to proceed to another..." It's all very reasonable, except I don't think anybody can ever be truly faultless. everybody screws up. We're all flawed. I admire Mr. Franklin for trying though.

The Box Man by Kobo Abe pages 90 - 104

I wish I could give you an explanation of what I recently read, but I'm still trying to figure it out. My mind was nearly blown into little bits when it was revealed that everything I had read up to page 100 might just be the narrator's wild imagination and not actually what was happening. I literally ran up to my mom's room and burst out with an exclamatory explanation of what I had just read before reading her the actual passage. I couldn't believe it, even though I was half expecting something like this to happen; that's just the type of book it is. I'm going to continue reading this book and attempting to understand it, I'll let you know how it goes.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer pages 29 - 544

I read all 544 pages of this book in less than a week. Needless to say I was slightly obsessed. You most likely saw me reading it more than once around the school; in classrooms, hallways, the parking lot, ect... Stephanie Meyer sucks you in, grabs your attention, and never lets go. Twilight is classic story of true love, but with many obstacles. Think Romeo and Juliet, but instead of dueling households being in the way, Romeo is a vampire and he's trying to keep Juliet from being sucked dry by fellow vampires. So really it's nothing like Romeo and Juliet except for the troubled love part, haha. Everyone I've spoken with about this series of books has proclaimed their love for it, they've also all been females. I think this book appeals to girls more than boys, because even though it's about vampires, it's more about love. It's been my experience that boys aren't as interested in the touchy-feely literature. Pages 29 through 544 is a large area to cover, so I'll just give you a brief synopsis. Bella, the female lead, and Edward, the male vampire lead, fall deeply, madly, and all encompassingly in love with each other. Edward kind of really wants to drink her blood though, so there's the daily struggle of him being anywhere he can smell her and controlling his urge to attack her and steal her life. Other than wanting to kill his lady love, there's another problem. Another vampire thinks Bella smells pretty delicious too, so now Edward has to save her from himself as well as this other guy. The story ends dramatically, with Edward saving Bella just in the nick of time. Of course a new issue arises though, who would want to read the sequel if everything ended well? Bella wants to become a vampire so she can be with Edward forever and ever, but Edward can't stand thought of it. So that's where I am now, I'm waiting for my co-worker to bring her copy of New Moon to me so I can continue the saga. Somehow this book sounds very silly when I explain it, but I still really like it.

I'll Ask You Three Times, Are You OK?: Tales of Driving and Being Driven by Naomi Shihab Nye pages 1 - 242

I loved this book. Once I started reading it I couldn't put it down, I read it in two sittings. True stories where the common thread is driving; it was fantastic. I loved the author's writing style and even her simple stories somehow felt profound. My favorite story was probably the one about how one of the first times she ever drove somewhere when she was a teenager was to the pharmacy, and when she returned to her car in the parking lot there was am elderly non-English speaking woman in her back seat that refused to leave. She drove the woman around until she eventually found her home and she dropped her off, without any further explanation. It was such a bizarre story, but for some reason it stuck with me. So many of her stories were good though, it's hard to pick my favorite. I greatly enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it.
I think I might buy myself a copy...