Looking back over my posts, I see a large proportion of books about World War II. I guess I do read a lot of books about that era. I think perhaps it is because I was born just as the war was beginning in Europe, and the war colored my early life. My father was a chaplain in the Army Air Corps, and our family moved with him from base to base. The first churches I remember are Army base chapels. I remember them with great fondness and warmth. Some of my first baby sitters were my dad's chapel assistants, lovely WACS. I remember when Franklin Roosevelt died, and when the war ended. Even though I was very young, those memories remain strong and were formational influences in my life. I remember ration books and coupons for clothing and food.....those memories stay.
Recently I was talking with a good friend who had just finished a book about World War II, and recommended the book to me. The full title is The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Hahn Beer.
Edith is a young Jewish woman who grew up in Vienna as part of a warm, loving, middle class family. Her ancestors had lived in Vienna for years. Her father owned and ran a restaurant, and their lives were secure and safe, until Hitler started coming to power.and war came to Europe.
This book is an autobiography, written by Edith at the request of her daughter, Angela, so she could understand what her mother had survived. Edith Hahn had saved her papers....everyone had stacks of papers to prove who they were, to allow them food rations, to allow them to move around....to allow them to breathe! Her papers are now in the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C.
I have read other books about this time and about concentration camps, including the classic Night by Elie Wiesel, and I've heard him speak. I've visited Dachau, the concentration camp just outside Munich. However, this book reached me in a personal place, and I think it is because, at last, I've read a woman's story from that time. So often, we read the men's stories. This time I could put myself in her place and experience what a woman had to endure.
What she had to endure is almost unthinkable. She lived as a "U-Boat" in Munich for several years during the war. A U-Boat is what Jews who lived in the society as "Aryans" called themselves. She did this. She married a German man who became an Army officer toward the end of the war. She told him she was a Jew, and for some reason he married her anyway, and did NOT turn her in. She lived in fear all the time.
Her mother had been taken away to Poland, and her sisters had escaped to various places while she was at a work camp early in the war. She was the only family member still left in Germany, and did not know about her family until the war ended. Then, she learned that her mother, after being taken to Poland in 1942, had been killed shortly after being deported. She had told herself the entire war that her mother was alive, and after finishing the book, I think this belief is what kept her going. That belief, and the beautiful daughter she had in 1944. The daughter who would later ask her to tell her story to the world.
She and Werner Vetter (the Nazi) were married about a total of four years. He was sent to Siberia when captured by the Russians, at the end of the war, and when he came back to Munich, their life together disintegrated and they divorced. He remarried his first wife, and Edith and her daughter soon were able to get out of Germany to England. Edith has lived in Israel since 1987.
This book portrays the inhumanity and unbelievable cruelty of people towards other people, and I learned much about the Nazi treatment of people, especially of women. Women were good only as breeders, not as thinking, capable people. She had to subvert and bury her entire background and personality in order to survive.
In this book I also learned about the resilience of people in horrid circumstances, and how people will fight to survive in spite of horror.
This is a personal book about one life, but one life which was part of a large pattern of attempted extermination. The human spirit shines brightly, but my heart weeps for the horror.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Ease of speech
When I get interested in a subject, I pursue it until I've mined it pretty well. Right now, that subject is King George VI and his speech therapist, Lionel Logue. After viewing the movie twice, I saw the book written by Logue's grandson at Target. The book is The King's Speech: how one man saved the British monarchy.
I couldn't resist buying it, as Colin Firth's picture was on the front of the book, and I had become curious about Lionel Logue. Why did he emigrate from Australia to London? How did he get referred to the future king? Who else did he work with? Was he successful in his life?
This book is written by his grandson Mark Logue along with Peter Conradi. This grandson did not know his grandfather. He was born after Mr. Logue died. However, he had lived with a series of pictures on his mantelpiece of the king and queen, signed by them. He knew the connection with royalty came through his paternal grandfather, and after having children of his own, set about to find out all he could.
Fortunately for him and for us, Lionel Logue kept detailed notes about his work, and also kept voluminous scrapbooks of newspaper clippings concerning the royal family and his family.
This book details Logue's family in Australia. Logue's family went to Australia from Ireland in 1850....that would have been during the potato famine. They prospered and did well in the brewery business. Lionel said he found himself when he discovered poetry, plays and public speaking. He is said to have had a beautiful voice, and gave voice, poetry and drama recitals to great acclaim. These were quite popular before the advent of radio. These recitals drew large crowds all over the English speaking world.
He and his wife took a long cruise.....six months in length.....from Australia to Vancouver, B.C., to Chicago by train,and on to New York. They stayed in both Chicago and New York for extensive periods of time, going to school in both places, and becoming acquainted with the upper society of each city. From New York they sailed to London and stayed there several months. This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and they knew when they returned home to Australia they would go to England again some time. In 1924 they took their three sons and emigrated to England. Lionel had had some good therapeutic voice results with World War I veterans in Australia, and wanted to try his methods where there were even more needy men.
The relationship between the King and Lionel Logue is quite an intriguing one. They became very good friends. Logue was with the King for almost every speech the king ever gave. The king's progress was truly phenomenal, but Lionel always credited the king's hard, persistent work. The king was able to rally his people during World War II, while he carried the heavy burden of the war. We here in the U.S. hear more about Churchill, and he was a gifted strategist and orator, but the king was the heart and soul of the British people, and it was his and his queen's example and stability which carried the British people through the war.
Since I like history, this was a good instance of backstairs history, not the world-shaking event kind, but the human kind, which does truly shape great events.
I couldn't resist buying it, as Colin Firth's picture was on the front of the book, and I had become curious about Lionel Logue. Why did he emigrate from Australia to London? How did he get referred to the future king? Who else did he work with? Was he successful in his life?
This book is written by his grandson Mark Logue along with Peter Conradi. This grandson did not know his grandfather. He was born after Mr. Logue died. However, he had lived with a series of pictures on his mantelpiece of the king and queen, signed by them. He knew the connection with royalty came through his paternal grandfather, and after having children of his own, set about to find out all he could.
Fortunately for him and for us, Lionel Logue kept detailed notes about his work, and also kept voluminous scrapbooks of newspaper clippings concerning the royal family and his family.
This book details Logue's family in Australia. Logue's family went to Australia from Ireland in 1850....that would have been during the potato famine. They prospered and did well in the brewery business. Lionel said he found himself when he discovered poetry, plays and public speaking. He is said to have had a beautiful voice, and gave voice, poetry and drama recitals to great acclaim. These were quite popular before the advent of radio. These recitals drew large crowds all over the English speaking world.
He and his wife took a long cruise.....six months in length.....from Australia to Vancouver, B.C., to Chicago by train,and on to New York. They stayed in both Chicago and New York for extensive periods of time, going to school in both places, and becoming acquainted with the upper society of each city. From New York they sailed to London and stayed there several months. This was a thoroughly enjoyable trip, and they knew when they returned home to Australia they would go to England again some time. In 1924 they took their three sons and emigrated to England. Lionel had had some good therapeutic voice results with World War I veterans in Australia, and wanted to try his methods where there were even more needy men.
The relationship between the King and Lionel Logue is quite an intriguing one. They became very good friends. Logue was with the King for almost every speech the king ever gave. The king's progress was truly phenomenal, but Lionel always credited the king's hard, persistent work. The king was able to rally his people during World War II, while he carried the heavy burden of the war. We here in the U.S. hear more about Churchill, and he was a gifted strategist and orator, but the king was the heart and soul of the British people, and it was his and his queen's example and stability which carried the British people through the war.
Since I like history, this was a good instance of backstairs history, not the world-shaking event kind, but the human kind, which does truly shape great events.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Your Majesty, Sir!
This time I will diverge from writing about books and write about a film. If you know me, you won't be surprised at my choice of films, yes The King's Speech! A dear friend recommended it to me without reservation; I mentioned it to another dear friend, she had seen it, but was more than willing to see it again. I saw it the first time.....and LOVED it! I visited my sister in California last week, she hadn't seen it and wanted to, I was MORE than willing to see it again. It was even better the second time around.
If you don't know the story, it is about King George VI of England, father of the present Queen Elizabeth, a man who had an almost debilitating stutter. Since he was second son, he didn't think this would make much of a difference, BUT, his older brother David, king for a very short time, abdicated so he could marry Wallis Simpson, a twice divorced woman from Baltimore. Fortunately for the world, George VI was king during World War II, not his older brother. His older brother was sympathetic to Hitler, George VI was not.
Okay....that is background, now to the movie. In order to lead the nation, the king often had to address his people, and he had to overcome his stutter. His wife found a non-conventional therapist who was able to help the King overcome his stutter. Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue, the therapist, and Colin Firth as the King are both terrific. What a pair they are....first adversaries, then friends. Thanks to Logue, the King became the encourager of his people on the radio and in person. Also, Logue became his friend. The most poignant line in the movie was when Logue said something about his friends (the King's). King George replied, "I don't have any friends." That was the lonely life he lived until he married. He was fortunate in his marriage, and it was a real love match.
Colin Firth, whom we remember as THE Mr.Darcy from A&E's Pride and Prejudice in 1995, does a masterful job in a completely different role. He has played many successful roles since 1995, and was nominated for an Oscar last year. I don't know how difficult it must have been to learn to stutter like he did, but I felt every humiliating anguish with him, and triumphed with him at the end. If you've seen it, did you notice Logue's wife? She was played by Jennifer Ehle who was Elizabeth Bennett with Pride and Prejudice. Remember how good she was?
If you haven't seen this movie, by all means do so. I see very few movies a year, and this was my movie, probably for 2011. It is a treasure, and so is Colin Firth.
If you don't know the story, it is about King George VI of England, father of the present Queen Elizabeth, a man who had an almost debilitating stutter. Since he was second son, he didn't think this would make much of a difference, BUT, his older brother David, king for a very short time, abdicated so he could marry Wallis Simpson, a twice divorced woman from Baltimore. Fortunately for the world, George VI was king during World War II, not his older brother. His older brother was sympathetic to Hitler, George VI was not.
Okay....that is background, now to the movie. In order to lead the nation, the king often had to address his people, and he had to overcome his stutter. His wife found a non-conventional therapist who was able to help the King overcome his stutter. Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue, the therapist, and Colin Firth as the King are both terrific. What a pair they are....first adversaries, then friends. Thanks to Logue, the King became the encourager of his people on the radio and in person. Also, Logue became his friend. The most poignant line in the movie was when Logue said something about his friends (the King's). King George replied, "I don't have any friends." That was the lonely life he lived until he married. He was fortunate in his marriage, and it was a real love match.
Colin Firth, whom we remember as THE Mr.Darcy from A&E's Pride and Prejudice in 1995, does a masterful job in a completely different role. He has played many successful roles since 1995, and was nominated for an Oscar last year. I don't know how difficult it must have been to learn to stutter like he did, but I felt every humiliating anguish with him, and triumphed with him at the end. If you've seen it, did you notice Logue's wife? She was played by Jennifer Ehle who was Elizabeth Bennett with Pride and Prejudice. Remember how good she was?
If you haven't seen this movie, by all means do so. I see very few movies a year, and this was my movie, probably for 2011. It is a treasure, and so is Colin Firth.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Sic semper tyrannis
Sic semper tyrannis, yes....thus always to tyrants! And today, February 11, 2011, the world watched as the Egyptian people peacefully persuaded a tyrant to leave. Even 24 hours ago, it seemed this would not happen, but it did! Egypt, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, has seen more than its share of tyrants come and go, from well known pharaohs, to foreign despots, to their own homegrown tyrants. But, in today's world, the young people knew they didn't have to suffer under the heel of a tyrant and his secret police any more, they knew life could be better for them and their grandchildren if they took their futures in their own hands.
I was reminded of October 1989 when the first cracks in the Berlin Wall were chipped away, when the guards between East and West no longer checked papers, and let people through, and they began streaming into the west. Both of these times I sat and watched the television and chills ran through my body for the sheer audacity of the people, and the power of this audacity and combined strength.
I am in awe of those people. We need to remember what Martin Luther King said: "The arc of history bends long, but it bends towards justice." We saw that arc bend today toward justice for the Egyptian people. The joy on people's faces is a never-to-be-forgotten sight.
I have witnessed many wonderful events in my long life, and this is up in the top tier.
I was reminded of October 1989 when the first cracks in the Berlin Wall were chipped away, when the guards between East and West no longer checked papers, and let people through, and they began streaming into the west. Both of these times I sat and watched the television and chills ran through my body for the sheer audacity of the people, and the power of this audacity and combined strength.
I am in awe of those people. We need to remember what Martin Luther King said: "The arc of history bends long, but it bends towards justice." We saw that arc bend today toward justice for the Egyptian people. The joy on people's faces is a never-to-be-forgotten sight.
I have witnessed many wonderful events in my long life, and this is up in the top tier.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Second Coming
As I said the first night, literature deals with truth, and truth applies from one generation to the next. What is written at one specific time in history, has truths for later generations. This is the case with The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats, an Irish poet of the early 20th century.
This poem was written at the end of World War I, when the world as people had known it, had truly ended. Yet people today still find meaning in it, and its words have applied to the entire 20th century, and well into the 21st century.
Some of the phrases from the poem have been used as titles for books, as Things Fall Apart. People often speak about the "center holding." The "ceremony of innocence" is used countless times and in countless ways. I think "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity" could without a doubt be applied to today, or many times since 1919.
We always think The Second Coming is at hand because of this or that happening.....floods, drought, blizzards, famine......etc. We think we are original in this; we are not.
How timely is this poem with what is going on now in Egypt! "...somewhere in the sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man."......the eternal image of the sphinx and its terribleness.
Is Mubarak the sphinx, or are the people the sphinx, now rousing itself? Will they be the ones to solve the riddle of the sphinx?
What a picture he paints in "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" How many false prophets could that have been said about this past century?
We, today, think we are the first ones to have these feelings. We are not. We follow in a long line. Remember all the fuss about Y2K and how meaningless it was? The year 1000 promoted the same kind of panic in Europe, with the same stupid things said about that coming year.
Good poets speak to all ages. They share truths that we can get hold of and use for understanding. They are not trite, nor easy to get hold of. We must mine deep for their meanings.
Enjoy!
This poem was written at the end of World War I, when the world as people had known it, had truly ended. Yet people today still find meaning in it, and its words have applied to the entire 20th century, and well into the 21st century.
Some of the phrases from the poem have been used as titles for books, as Things Fall Apart. People often speak about the "center holding." The "ceremony of innocence" is used countless times and in countless ways. I think "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity" could without a doubt be applied to today, or many times since 1919.
We always think The Second Coming is at hand because of this or that happening.....floods, drought, blizzards, famine......etc. We think we are original in this; we are not.
How timely is this poem with what is going on now in Egypt! "...somewhere in the sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man."......the eternal image of the sphinx and its terribleness.
Is Mubarak the sphinx, or are the people the sphinx, now rousing itself? Will they be the ones to solve the riddle of the sphinx?
What a picture he paints in "And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?" How many false prophets could that have been said about this past century?
We, today, think we are the first ones to have these feelings. We are not. We follow in a long line. Remember all the fuss about Y2K and how meaningless it was? The year 1000 promoted the same kind of panic in Europe, with the same stupid things said about that coming year.
Good poets speak to all ages. They share truths that we can get hold of and use for understanding. They are not trite, nor easy to get hold of. We must mine deep for their meanings.
Enjoy!
Antigone
I am so sorry we won't be together to share this play! We need to read parts of it aloud and see how it builds to its fateful climax. Antigone is said to be the birth of the individual conscience in literature. Previously all actions had been determined by tribe or clan or family. Antigone, however, takes a stand on her own, doing what she believes is right, even though it goes against Kreon and his believe in the powerful State. He believes that if people like Antigone are allowed to have their way, anarchy will be loosed upon the world. He, like all dictators, fears anarchy more than anything else. They cannot see that what appears to be anarchy is often just the stirrings of people to determine their way. I think this is what we are seeing in Egypt now. Mubarak says anarchy threatens if people don't follow him. This is supposed to scare these people into obeying.
Well, Antigone stood on her own. She knew she must obey the gods and bury her brother. Kreon had decreed that no one could, because Polyneices was a traitor to the state. Antigone believes that all the dead are owed their burial rites. Ismene is afraid to participate with Antigone, and Antigone appears a bit heartless when Ismene comes along to her side.
I find it encouraging that Antigone is betrothed to Haemon, yes, a distant relative. I remember that Oedipus prophesied that no one would want to marry her because of her heritage, but Haemon loves her and does not hold her heritage against her. This is an early picture of romantic love, which is not usually shown, as most marriages were arranged and made for dynastic or business purposes.
I love Antigone, the play and the person. She is her own woman, one who would stand out today. Antigone made her decisions on her own. Esther did well, but did not act on her own. Mordecai told her what to do and she did it.
Poor Thebes! What will happen to it.......of course, it disappeared, only to be known in literature and legend. Antigone lives on, and will continue to live.
Well, Antigone stood on her own. She knew she must obey the gods and bury her brother. Kreon had decreed that no one could, because Polyneices was a traitor to the state. Antigone believes that all the dead are owed their burial rites. Ismene is afraid to participate with Antigone, and Antigone appears a bit heartless when Ismene comes along to her side.
I find it encouraging that Antigone is betrothed to Haemon, yes, a distant relative. I remember that Oedipus prophesied that no one would want to marry her because of her heritage, but Haemon loves her and does not hold her heritage against her. This is an early picture of romantic love, which is not usually shown, as most marriages were arranged and made for dynastic or business purposes.
I love Antigone, the play and the person. She is her own woman, one who would stand out today. Antigone made her decisions on her own. Esther did well, but did not act on her own. Mordecai told her what to do and she did it.
Poor Thebes! What will happen to it.......of course, it disappeared, only to be known in literature and legend. Antigone lives on, and will continue to live.
Suffering with Job
This week's reading is LONG! A lot to digest. Sometimes it seems as if it is the same thing over and over again, though I know it is a progression of ideas, building to God's part in the dialogue. I enjoy the vivid use of language and word pictures the author uses. My favorite one is Chapter 19: 16-20. it begins with "My breath is noisome to my wife.....and ends with My bones stick out through my skin, and I gnaw my under-lip with my teeth." Quite a picture, and one most of us can identify with.
Chapter 28 is called the Hymn to Widsom and is a later insertion, not part of the grand dialogue.
This part of the book raises questions to me. What is the nature of God in these chapters? What is the nature of Job in these chapters? What did I learn about the comforters in these chapters? I see God portrayed as powerful, and dominant. Poor Job is waiting for a resolution. I notice his use of sarcasm quite a bit....a natural response to events. The comforters I see as arrogant and self righteous.
Several questions are asked in these chapters......for instance, does God answer a helpless person's cry? Where does understanding dwell? And of course, since I am good, Why am I being punished? I see few answers provided in these chapters.
I think the drive for immediate answers is a strong American characteristic.....other people I know from other cultures seem to be able to deal with ambiguity more successfully than we are. We like black and white, good and evil, wrong and right, yes and no. It takes us a long time to grow up and realize that life doesn't work that way. Job has to accept this, also.
Chapter 28 is called the Hymn to Widsom and is a later insertion, not part of the grand dialogue.
This part of the book raises questions to me. What is the nature of God in these chapters? What is the nature of Job in these chapters? What did I learn about the comforters in these chapters? I see God portrayed as powerful, and dominant. Poor Job is waiting for a resolution. I notice his use of sarcasm quite a bit....a natural response to events. The comforters I see as arrogant and self righteous.
Several questions are asked in these chapters......for instance, does God answer a helpless person's cry? Where does understanding dwell? And of course, since I am good, Why am I being punished? I see few answers provided in these chapters.
I think the drive for immediate answers is a strong American characteristic.....other people I know from other cultures seem to be able to deal with ambiguity more successfully than we are. We like black and white, good and evil, wrong and right, yes and no. It takes us a long time to grow up and realize that life doesn't work that way. Job has to accept this, also.
Acquainted With the Night
I love Robert Frost's poetry. My two favorite poems are Mending Wall and Birches. These two poems use Frost's familiar rural images. However, when I read them and understand them, I see that he is not talking about a benevolent and kind nature. He sees the harshness of nature and what it means in people's lives.
In Acquainted with the Night Frost goes to the city, and shows his lonely, dark, shuttered side. His images are stark and make me feel lonely and somewhat afraid. I feel depression and angst in this poem. He looks for answers and finds none, not even wrong and right. In fact, most of his poems leave us with ambiguity. He offers no solutions or answers, he just offers questions, and he never is particularly upbeat or optimistic.
He looks at life realistically, but cloaks it in his powerful images, so I don't have to accept a big bite all at once. I can take him a bite at a time, which is enough.
In Acquainted with the Night Frost goes to the city, and shows his lonely, dark, shuttered side. His images are stark and make me feel lonely and somewhat afraid. I feel depression and angst in this poem. He looks for answers and finds none, not even wrong and right. In fact, most of his poems leave us with ambiguity. He offers no solutions or answers, he just offers questions, and he never is particularly upbeat or optimistic.
He looks at life realistically, but cloaks it in his powerful images, so I don't have to accept a big bite all at once. I can take him a bite at a time, which is enough.
The Irish Troubles
England and Ireland have a long history of antagonism. This antagonism is seen clearly depicted in Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor. Thanks to our fourth amendment, we in the U.S. will never have to quarter soldiers of an opposing army, or even our own army. Quartering of soldiers had been a standard practice in many countries for years, and during our revolution families had to quarter British soldiers, if you can imagine! However, the framers of our Constitution made sure that would never happen to us. A law professor we know says this is the foundation of everything in the Constitution, and begins his Constitutional Law class with this amendment, something most of us never think about, nor do we even know.
The Irish lady had to house the two English soldiers, and for her this situation worked well, because of the nature of Belcher, in particular. Belcher and Hawkins, the English soldiers had become cozy and friendly with their landlady and with the Irish soldiers Noble and Bonaparte. They had become so friendly that both sides had forgotten why they were quartered here, and what their military duty was.
This story raises the question of duty and the powers behind that duty. Did Donovan HAVE to kill Belcher and Hawkins? Could he have refused? If he had, what would have been his consequences? Did ne actually enjoy killing in retribution for the Irish soldiers' lives? Why was an Irish soldier named Bonaparte? Is this significant? What part do fate and destiny play in this story? Can we change fate, or are we hostage to it, as Donovan tells Bonaparte that Belcher and Hawkins are hostages?
This story raises many questions, and answers few. It leaves me with a feeling of unrest and dissatisfaction. This war which the English and Irish fought for years provided a pervasive sense of unrest to both parties.
The Irish lady had to house the two English soldiers, and for her this situation worked well, because of the nature of Belcher, in particular. Belcher and Hawkins, the English soldiers had become cozy and friendly with their landlady and with the Irish soldiers Noble and Bonaparte. They had become so friendly that both sides had forgotten why they were quartered here, and what their military duty was.
This story raises the question of duty and the powers behind that duty. Did Donovan HAVE to kill Belcher and Hawkins? Could he have refused? If he had, what would have been his consequences? Did ne actually enjoy killing in retribution for the Irish soldiers' lives? Why was an Irish soldier named Bonaparte? Is this significant? What part do fate and destiny play in this story? Can we change fate, or are we hostage to it, as Donovan tells Bonaparte that Belcher and Hawkins are hostages?
This story raises many questions, and answers few. It leaves me with a feeling of unrest and dissatisfaction. This war which the English and Irish fought for years provided a pervasive sense of unrest to both parties.
Sylvia and Miss Moore
The Lesson by Toni Cade Bambara dumps us unceremoniously into the lives of Sylvia and her cohorts. Obviously, Sylvia is the leader of the group, although others try to wrest this leadership from her. This leadership is known because it is to Sylvia that Miss Moore gives the $5.00 for taxi fare. For all her outspoken antagonism to Miss Moore, Miss Moore sees in Sylvia potential and brains. Miss Moore wants Sylvia to have opportunity, and feels dutybound to provide it, as no one else is.
Sylvia is articulate and cagey, but Miss Moore is cagey too. Even though Sylvia calls Miss Moore's talks "blah, blah, blah" we, the readers, soon realize that much of what Miss Moore is doing, much more than what she says, is getting through to Sylvia.
I like Sylvia, and I admire Miss Moore. These are two worthy adversaries, each strong willed and determined. Miss Moore is determined to enlarge Sylvia's world, and in the process knows that the other children's worlds will be enlarged too. Sylvia is a fighter, she has had to be. We learn that her mother does little for her. She evidently is kept by a man in what Sylvia calls a "la di da" apartment, and it is the aunt who minds the kids. Sylvia thinks her aunt is an easy walkover, but knows where would she be without her?
Sylvia's brains can be seen in her vivid descriptions of actions and people. Her language is colorful and specific. Her description of them all going into F.A.O. Schwartz is beautiful: (p. 460) "Then the rest of us tumble in like a glued-together jibsaw done all wrong." No one stupid could have thought and written that!
I think we see Sylvia's mettle in the last lines of the story: (p. 462)
"We start down the block and she (Sugar) gets ahead which is O.K. by me cause I'm going to the West End and then over to the Drive to think this day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin." I believe Sylvia will fight her way to a better life.....I have hope for her.
Sylvia is articulate and cagey, but Miss Moore is cagey too. Even though Sylvia calls Miss Moore's talks "blah, blah, blah" we, the readers, soon realize that much of what Miss Moore is doing, much more than what she says, is getting through to Sylvia.
I like Sylvia, and I admire Miss Moore. These are two worthy adversaries, each strong willed and determined. Miss Moore is determined to enlarge Sylvia's world, and in the process knows that the other children's worlds will be enlarged too. Sylvia is a fighter, she has had to be. We learn that her mother does little for her. She evidently is kept by a man in what Sylvia calls a "la di da" apartment, and it is the aunt who minds the kids. Sylvia thinks her aunt is an easy walkover, but knows where would she be without her?
Sylvia's brains can be seen in her vivid descriptions of actions and people. Her language is colorful and specific. Her description of them all going into F.A.O. Schwartz is beautiful: (p. 460) "Then the rest of us tumble in like a glued-together jibsaw done all wrong." No one stupid could have thought and written that!
I think we see Sylvia's mettle in the last lines of the story: (p. 462)
"We start down the block and she (Sugar) gets ahead which is O.K. by me cause I'm going to the West End and then over to the Drive to think this day through. She can run if she want to and even run faster. But ain't nobody gonna beat me at nuthin." I believe Sylvia will fight her way to a better life.....I have hope for her.
The Gunner and Death of the Ball Turret Gunner
Randall Jarrell's two poems The Gunner and Death of the Ball Turret Gunner are two poems that came out of World War II. The position of gunner was acknowledged to be the most dangerous one in a plane. Also, the space was small and cramped, the man had to be small, and he was an open target in his plexiglass bubble.
These two poems were written ten years apart. Interestingly, the first one published in 1945 is a bald telling of what happened. The one published ten years later deals with questions, though couched in provocative and figurative language. Each, though, questions the right of the State to take away a life in this manner. Each regretting the shortness of life and wondering "Is this all there is?"
I react to these two viscerally. The author was born the same year my father was, my father served in World War II, fortunately, as a chaplain, so he was not in such a precarious position. The author bewails the youth lost, and I remember what my father reported as the common wisdom: "There old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots." Youth does not know any better....and as Winston Churchill said "Young men fight old men's wars." Sad, but true.
These two poems were written ten years apart. Interestingly, the first one published in 1945 is a bald telling of what happened. The one published ten years later deals with questions, though couched in provocative and figurative language. Each, though, questions the right of the State to take away a life in this manner. Each regretting the shortness of life and wondering "Is this all there is?"
I react to these two viscerally. The author was born the same year my father was, my father served in World War II, fortunately, as a chaplain, so he was not in such a precarious position. The author bewails the youth lost, and I remember what my father reported as the common wisdom: "There old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old bold pilots." Youth does not know any better....and as Winston Churchill said "Young men fight old men's wars." Sad, but true.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Not Second Best!
The readings this week cover a wide historical swath, and show a wide variety of personalities. Two women figure prominently this week. One is Georgiana in Hawthorne's The Birthmark. The second is Virginia in Rita Dove's Second Hand Man.
Each time I read The Birthmark I am gripped anew by the desperation of Georgiana and the arrogance and hubris of Aylmer. I get exceedingly angry with Aylmer, and frustrated with Georgiana, yet I know Georgiana was a woman of her time and had been taught to "obey" her husband. Georgiana represents what happened to many women then, but sadly she also represents what still happens to women today. Why do women feel it is imperative to have botox treatments and plastic surgery to "perfect" themselves for a man? Why can they not accept themselves as they are and be proud? Why do they accept derogation from males? What is it in our society, or in our DNA that makes women behave this way, and makes men take advantage of women so meanly? Georgiana was as near perfect as possible for a person from the hand of the creator, as Aylmer said, but not perfect, so he felt it necessary to change her, and of course in the process killed her. He did this physically, but I have seen women killed emotionally because of the same lack of respect and love.
On the other hand is Virginia, a woman who valued herself as she should and would not sell herself cheap for just any man. Interestingly, there is no explanation for why Virginia could hold herself proudly, but she did. James intuitively knew how to win Virginia, and he did. Their humanity and depth of relationship is seen only after she learns he is a "second hand man" having been married before in another state and having fathered a child. Her solution was startling, but it worked. Virginia showed herself to be a bigger person than people would have thought when she asked to have his child brought to Ohio. I admired her before this, but I liked her when she did that. I wish Georgiana could have had one quarter the confidence in herself that Virginia did. Then, she would have lived.
What is to be said about Oedipus Rex? This is one of those works that people have heard so much about that they think they know it, but few have ever read. The play grabs the reader and doesn't let go. Horror builds on horror, especially awful, since the reader does know the outcome. Greek plays were taken from Greek history and legend. The people watching knew the story, but it was the playwright's job to build it so memorably that it would stay with the audience. It has stayed with audiences for 2,500 years. Each time I read it, I watch Oedipus work his way boldly to knowledge which everyone, even his wife, tries to shield him from. He is the last to know the terrible truth. This sometimes happens to us in our lives...and we say "Why didn't someone tell me!"
The poem that gets to me the most of today's selections is Lot's Wife. The poet, Kristine Batey, shows a truly human woman caught in a web not of her own making. Through this poem we see the humanity of biblical characters who don't even rate a name in the scripture. As we know from the succeeding scripture, her daughters were not exemplary. Maybe she knew that, so she didn't regret her decision. The most poignant part, to me, is when she goes to bid her little herd of goats farewell. The goats provided the family with milk and wool for clothing. They probably gave her more affection than Lot did!
Each time I read The Birthmark I am gripped anew by the desperation of Georgiana and the arrogance and hubris of Aylmer. I get exceedingly angry with Aylmer, and frustrated with Georgiana, yet I know Georgiana was a woman of her time and had been taught to "obey" her husband. Georgiana represents what happened to many women then, but sadly she also represents what still happens to women today. Why do women feel it is imperative to have botox treatments and plastic surgery to "perfect" themselves for a man? Why can they not accept themselves as they are and be proud? Why do they accept derogation from males? What is it in our society, or in our DNA that makes women behave this way, and makes men take advantage of women so meanly? Georgiana was as near perfect as possible for a person from the hand of the creator, as Aylmer said, but not perfect, so he felt it necessary to change her, and of course in the process killed her. He did this physically, but I have seen women killed emotionally because of the same lack of respect and love.
On the other hand is Virginia, a woman who valued herself as she should and would not sell herself cheap for just any man. Interestingly, there is no explanation for why Virginia could hold herself proudly, but she did. James intuitively knew how to win Virginia, and he did. Their humanity and depth of relationship is seen only after she learns he is a "second hand man" having been married before in another state and having fathered a child. Her solution was startling, but it worked. Virginia showed herself to be a bigger person than people would have thought when she asked to have his child brought to Ohio. I admired her before this, but I liked her when she did that. I wish Georgiana could have had one quarter the confidence in herself that Virginia did. Then, she would have lived.
What is to be said about Oedipus Rex? This is one of those works that people have heard so much about that they think they know it, but few have ever read. The play grabs the reader and doesn't let go. Horror builds on horror, especially awful, since the reader does know the outcome. Greek plays were taken from Greek history and legend. The people watching knew the story, but it was the playwright's job to build it so memorably that it would stay with the audience. It has stayed with audiences for 2,500 years. Each time I read it, I watch Oedipus work his way boldly to knowledge which everyone, even his wife, tries to shield him from. He is the last to know the terrible truth. This sometimes happens to us in our lives...and we say "Why didn't someone tell me!"
The poem that gets to me the most of today's selections is Lot's Wife. The poet, Kristine Batey, shows a truly human woman caught in a web not of her own making. Through this poem we see the humanity of biblical characters who don't even rate a name in the scripture. As we know from the succeeding scripture, her daughters were not exemplary. Maybe she knew that, so she didn't regret her decision. The most poignant part, to me, is when she goes to bid her little herd of goats farewell. The goats provided the family with milk and wool for clothing. They probably gave her more affection than Lot did!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
When bad things happen to good people...apologies to Rabbi Kushner
The Week 2 readings for Literature in Life seemed to coalesce around a theme after I read them: The Sorrowful Woman, The Things They Carried, Slipping, Do Not Go Gentle, A Worn Path, The Book of Job ...the one that did not seem to fit was The Road Not Taken.
I'll begin with Job. Each time I read it for this class, about twice a year, it's as if I've never read it before. I have to start all over again. Somehow, it just doesn't stay with me. Other people read it and re-read it, and can remember it well, I can't. I've heard about it all my life, how patient Job was......I'm not sure about that. How his suffering was redeemed, yes he was given back several fold what he lost, but for some reason, though I have been through some horrendous losses and experiences in my life, I just cannot identify with him. So, now that he's out of the way, let's get on to the others.
When I read The Sorrowful Woman I see the total disintegration of a human personality and mind. This is written in the third person objective voice, so we never know what the woman is feeling, we just see what she is doing. Being modern Americans we immediately want to make a psychological diagnosis, to sum her up in a few words or a catch phrase. That is too facile. She cannot be summarized. She is going through something destructive, not only to herself but to those around her, but cannot stop it. I wonder when this started...we come in to her story after it's been ongoing for a while......what was the genesis, were the seeds of this behavior in her from birth? We don't know, and the author doesn't even explore that. Instead, Gail Godwin paints a detailed picture for us to inhabit, and when I read this, I do.
As happens with almost every war, some very good writing came out of the Vietnam War. Tim O'Brien has become what could be called the "Poet Laureate" of the Vietnam era. This story The Things They Carried gets to me every time I read it. The people are real, I smell the jungle, I hurt, I get claustrophobia when the soldier goes in the tunnel, I REMEMBER daily headlines from that time.....I'm old enough to do so. His use of the concrete is particularly memorable.....he doesn't just say they carried a lot, they carried letters, a New Testament, a hatchet, good dope.....very specific. Every war story is ultimately an anti-war story, starting with The Iliad.
Slipping and Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night are two poems about adults' parents dying, two very different approaches. One is a howl against the death of his father, begging him to fight death; the other is a depiction of a father's falling into Alzheimer's and the author learning to know him at the end of his life and the regret she has for not knowing him earlier. I lost both my parents too young, 56 and 69, both from heart attacks, so I did not have to see them suffer the indignities described by Joan Aleshire, but I can identify totally with Dylan Thomas' cry against death.
Phoenix in A Worn Path is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. Eudora Welty presents her with grace and dignity, so we see the grace and dignity of this bent, tiny little old lady walking to help her grandson. She is walking as Welty says "Out of the ingrained habit of love" and in that has much in common with the father in Those Winter Sundays , though she is a much more obviously sympathetic character to the reader. I love it when she fools the hunter and gets the nickel. I love it when the attendant offers her some pennies, and she says "Five pennies make a nickel" and therefore has two nickels.....which she spends on her grandson, not herself.
I love Robert Frost's poetry, but The Road Not Taken is so overused and made trite in high school, I think I am going to change the Frost selection for the next session.
So, bad things do happen to good people, and we don't know why, but we carry on. If we let the bad things destroy us, then bad comes out of the event. It is up to us to redeem these bad events for our good, and the good of those around us.
I'll begin with Job. Each time I read it for this class, about twice a year, it's as if I've never read it before. I have to start all over again. Somehow, it just doesn't stay with me. Other people read it and re-read it, and can remember it well, I can't. I've heard about it all my life, how patient Job was......I'm not sure about that. How his suffering was redeemed, yes he was given back several fold what he lost, but for some reason, though I have been through some horrendous losses and experiences in my life, I just cannot identify with him. So, now that he's out of the way, let's get on to the others.
When I read The Sorrowful Woman I see the total disintegration of a human personality and mind. This is written in the third person objective voice, so we never know what the woman is feeling, we just see what she is doing. Being modern Americans we immediately want to make a psychological diagnosis, to sum her up in a few words or a catch phrase. That is too facile. She cannot be summarized. She is going through something destructive, not only to herself but to those around her, but cannot stop it. I wonder when this started...we come in to her story after it's been ongoing for a while......what was the genesis, were the seeds of this behavior in her from birth? We don't know, and the author doesn't even explore that. Instead, Gail Godwin paints a detailed picture for us to inhabit, and when I read this, I do.
As happens with almost every war, some very good writing came out of the Vietnam War. Tim O'Brien has become what could be called the "Poet Laureate" of the Vietnam era. This story The Things They Carried gets to me every time I read it. The people are real, I smell the jungle, I hurt, I get claustrophobia when the soldier goes in the tunnel, I REMEMBER daily headlines from that time.....I'm old enough to do so. His use of the concrete is particularly memorable.....he doesn't just say they carried a lot, they carried letters, a New Testament, a hatchet, good dope.....very specific. Every war story is ultimately an anti-war story, starting with The Iliad.
Slipping and Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night are two poems about adults' parents dying, two very different approaches. One is a howl against the death of his father, begging him to fight death; the other is a depiction of a father's falling into Alzheimer's and the author learning to know him at the end of his life and the regret she has for not knowing him earlier. I lost both my parents too young, 56 and 69, both from heart attacks, so I did not have to see them suffer the indignities described by Joan Aleshire, but I can identify totally with Dylan Thomas' cry against death.
Phoenix in A Worn Path is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. Eudora Welty presents her with grace and dignity, so we see the grace and dignity of this bent, tiny little old lady walking to help her grandson. She is walking as Welty says "Out of the ingrained habit of love" and in that has much in common with the father in Those Winter Sundays , though she is a much more obviously sympathetic character to the reader. I love it when she fools the hunter and gets the nickel. I love it when the attendant offers her some pennies, and she says "Five pennies make a nickel" and therefore has two nickels.....which she spends on her grandson, not herself.
I love Robert Frost's poetry, but The Road Not Taken is so overused and made trite in high school, I think I am going to change the Frost selection for the next session.
So, bad things do happen to good people, and we don't know why, but we carry on. If we let the bad things destroy us, then bad comes out of the event. It is up to us to redeem these bad events for our good, and the good of those around us.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Fathers, sons, young romance, life, etc in poetry
I just finished reading the poetry for tonight's class. I like them all, but my favorite begins "Sundays, too, my father got up early......" Perhaps I like this poem the best because I grew up in the north where dads did get up early and warm the house for the family. I remember the coal being delivered in the fall in Chicago, and the dust in the house for a week, and my father going down in the morning, or when the fire went out, shaking up the coals, shoveling in more, and warming the house. The biggest thrill for northern fathers was when oil heat became a reality, and they no more had to start a fire.....I remember that too! My father smiled that entire winter. The last two lines, "What did I know! What did I know of love's austere and lonely offices" are perhaps two of the most poignant lines I've ever read.
Another son looking back on his childhood unfolds in "My Papa's Waltz" That boy loved his father! I think it gives a good portrayal of the connection and love children feel for their parents. One of the most telling words in the poem refers to the mother "My mother's countenance could not unfrown itself" I think that means her habitual expression was unhappiness. He did not say my mother's countenance did not "smile."
Oranges is a sweet poem of a first romance. The bright colors played against the fog bring it to life. I lived in California and have experienced the fog the poet describes.
I love all the images of life Billy Collins gives in his poem. At this age, I have experienced all of them. Emily Dickinson speaks for many people in her poem "I'm Nobody, Who are You." She declares she'd rather be "nobody" than "somebody telling his/her name the livelong June to admiring bog" but I wonder..... Is this how Nora felt?
Another son looking back on his childhood unfolds in "My Papa's Waltz" That boy loved his father! I think it gives a good portrayal of the connection and love children feel for their parents. One of the most telling words in the poem refers to the mother "My mother's countenance could not unfrown itself" I think that means her habitual expression was unhappiness. He did not say my mother's countenance did not "smile."
Oranges is a sweet poem of a first romance. The bright colors played against the fog bring it to life. I lived in California and have experienced the fog the poet describes.
I love all the images of life Billy Collins gives in his poem. At this age, I have experienced all of them. Emily Dickinson speaks for many people in her poem "I'm Nobody, Who are You." She declares she'd rather be "nobody" than "somebody telling his/her name the livelong June to admiring bog" but I wonder..... Is this how Nora felt?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Esther and Nora
I just finished reading the Book of Esther in the the Old Testament of the Bible, and A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen. These two books were written about 2,300 years apart, and show more clearly than history books, the status of women in these two cultures.
Esther became queen of the Persian empire when Ahaserus was king, at the time of the Jewish captivity in Babylon. The capital was in the city of Susa in present day Iran. ( I understand the ruins are a popular tourist attraction today.) Ahaserus ruled over lands from India to Ethiopia, the largest known empire up to that time. He was an absolute monarch with power of life or death over whole states and individuals.
Esther herself has been intriguing to me since I was a young girl. She was so brave! And the older I become, the more I realize how BRAVE she was. Women had NO rights in her time, and she dared to appear and plead her people's cause. I aways have pictured her tall, dark haired and beautiful.
Just after I graduated from college, I worked for a senator in Washington, D.C. One day a few months after I began work, the Shah of Iran came for a state visit (this is in 1962 when there was a Shah) and gave a speech before a Joint Session of Congress. Our office had one or two tickets for the event. No one else of the staff wanted to go.....I couldn't belive that! So, even though I was lowest seniority, I got to attend the speech. The Shah was short, but impressive in his uniform with a chest full of medals. The empress was tall, graceful and beautiful and more impressive to me. She was dressed in light turquoise silk, from her hat to her shoes. She is my image of Esther.
Fast forward to 1879 in Norway and Nora and Torvald Helmer. Women's lot had not improved appreciably since 480 B.C. Women were totally subject first to their fathers, then to their husbands. Women's children "belonged" to the husband; they had no rights over them. I think Torvald Helmer and King Ahaserus could switch places and be very comfortable in their marriage relationship. Each had a total sense of superiority and knew he ruled over his wife. Yes, Torvald, could have kept Nora from "his" children, even if she had stayed with him.
Queen Esther has been an inspiration to millions of women through the ages, as an example of a courageous woman. The Hebrew word for Esther is Hadassah, and in synagogues all over the world, the women's group is called The Hadassah Society, after Queen Esther. In African American churches traditionally, there are many women's groups called The Queen Esther Society. These names show, I believe, a longing in women to be empowered and recognized for their worth.
Esther became queen of the Persian empire when Ahaserus was king, at the time of the Jewish captivity in Babylon. The capital was in the city of Susa in present day Iran. ( I understand the ruins are a popular tourist attraction today.) Ahaserus ruled over lands from India to Ethiopia, the largest known empire up to that time. He was an absolute monarch with power of life or death over whole states and individuals.
Esther herself has been intriguing to me since I was a young girl. She was so brave! And the older I become, the more I realize how BRAVE she was. Women had NO rights in her time, and she dared to appear and plead her people's cause. I aways have pictured her tall, dark haired and beautiful.
Just after I graduated from college, I worked for a senator in Washington, D.C. One day a few months after I began work, the Shah of Iran came for a state visit (this is in 1962 when there was a Shah) and gave a speech before a Joint Session of Congress. Our office had one or two tickets for the event. No one else of the staff wanted to go.....I couldn't belive that! So, even though I was lowest seniority, I got to attend the speech. The Shah was short, but impressive in his uniform with a chest full of medals. The empress was tall, graceful and beautiful and more impressive to me. She was dressed in light turquoise silk, from her hat to her shoes. She is my image of Esther.
Fast forward to 1879 in Norway and Nora and Torvald Helmer. Women's lot had not improved appreciably since 480 B.C. Women were totally subject first to their fathers, then to their husbands. Women's children "belonged" to the husband; they had no rights over them. I think Torvald Helmer and King Ahaserus could switch places and be very comfortable in their marriage relationship. Each had a total sense of superiority and knew he ruled over his wife. Yes, Torvald, could have kept Nora from "his" children, even if she had stayed with him.
Queen Esther has been an inspiration to millions of women through the ages, as an example of a courageous woman. The Hebrew word for Esther is Hadassah, and in synagogues all over the world, the women's group is called The Hadassah Society, after Queen Esther. In African American churches traditionally, there are many women's groups called The Queen Esther Society. These names show, I believe, a longing in women to be empowered and recognized for their worth.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Journaling
It's been a while since I've posted. I've spent the first part of January cleaning up, clearing out, donating....all the housekeeping details that need to be done sometimes. I enjoy doing these because I feel so virtuous afterwards! However, the only reading I've done is light by-the-bed-read-before-going-to-sleep books. A good break for me.
This Wednesday evening I start teaching a five week course called Literature in Life for the Adult Studies program at Southern Nazarene University. I've taught this course numerous times, and really enjoy it each time. I find new insights and hear new ideas with each reading and each class. This time I will have seventeen students. Last summer I had six. I never know how many I'll have, but it's always rewarding and fun.
One weekly assignment they have is to journal about each reading....there are five to seven individual readings each week, a combination of poetry, drama and short fiction. I ask them to write a two paragraph immediate, off-the-top-of-the head, straight-from-the-heart unedited response in a journal. Then, after doing so, and digesting the reading, they are to write a formal two page response paper, synthesizing and choosing from what they have already written in raw form.
I have not journaled with the classes before. This time I am going to do so. So, for the next five weeks, I will be posting my journals in this place as I read through the course again. I re-read each reading every time....even though I think I remember from the previous class, I always find new aspects and new insights with each fresh re-reading. So.....I'll begin that this Wednesday. If you're interested, read along with me.
The first week's reading list is:
Poetry:
My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
Oranges by Gary Soto
My Life by Billy Collins
I'm Nobody, Who Are You? by Emily Dickinson
Drama:
A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
Bible:
The Book of Esther in the Old Testament
These readings cover a historical span from about 800 B.C. to today, a good variety.
This Wednesday evening I start teaching a five week course called Literature in Life for the Adult Studies program at Southern Nazarene University. I've taught this course numerous times, and really enjoy it each time. I find new insights and hear new ideas with each reading and each class. This time I will have seventeen students. Last summer I had six. I never know how many I'll have, but it's always rewarding and fun.
One weekly assignment they have is to journal about each reading....there are five to seven individual readings each week, a combination of poetry, drama and short fiction. I ask them to write a two paragraph immediate, off-the-top-of-the head, straight-from-the-heart unedited response in a journal. Then, after doing so, and digesting the reading, they are to write a formal two page response paper, synthesizing and choosing from what they have already written in raw form.
I have not journaled with the classes before. This time I am going to do so. So, for the next five weeks, I will be posting my journals in this place as I read through the course again. I re-read each reading every time....even though I think I remember from the previous class, I always find new aspects and new insights with each fresh re-reading. So.....I'll begin that this Wednesday. If you're interested, read along with me.
The first week's reading list is:
Poetry:
My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke
Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
Oranges by Gary Soto
My Life by Billy Collins
I'm Nobody, Who Are You? by Emily Dickinson
Drama:
A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen
Bible:
The Book of Esther in the Old Testament
These readings cover a historical span from about 800 B.C. to today, a good variety.
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