Or so says Cameron, in explaining how Keating passed over the Realism section in the "Pritchard" textbook. Perhaps it makes sense to you now after reading stories like Bartleby, The Yellow Wallpaper, Paul's Case, and The Second Choice. I'm reminded of the exchange of verse between Keating and the Latin teacher:
Latin teacher: Show me a man unfettered by foolish dreams, and I'll show you a happy man.
Keating: But only in his dreams can a man truly be free; twas always thus and always will be.
Latin teacher: Tennyson?
Keating: No, Keating (with a wink).
So what I'm wondering is, what do you think of these realist stories? Do you think they are more relevant because they are more realistic? I sometimes think of American Literature as reaching a peak of liberation and unadulterated transcendental freedom with Walt Whitman... then everything that has followed has served to complicate the idea, to show how it's not as easy as it seems to get through the mud and muck to reach the hard bottom and say, This is. "Paul's Case" is complicated, but one thing I think it's about is how easy it is to fall into a trap where you think you are some kind of romantic individualist, but in the end you really just think you're better than "common" people. That's a dangerous trap. And while everyone would like to think they would make the brave choice and stand up against the heavy wave of social expectation, don't you think that the vast majority of people would, like Shirley, choose the easier, safer path of least resistance?
Personally, I found the realist essays to be a heavy dose of depressing. Sure there are social tides that can’t be overcome, but that doesn’t mean we go insane or kill ourselves. I found The Second Choice to be pretty good in that sense, but then it get to being annoying with her complaining constantly about things she has a power over.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as stated, some people simply cannot fight certain social expectations. I’d like to – love to – say that I can fight these expectations, but when I really think about it, I know it isn’t true.
While fighting the tide, I think one should also consider if they actually should fight the tide or if they are fighting for the sake of fighting. For example, I don’t fight people about whether God exists or not, because I know that some things just really don’t need to be fought over. On the other hand, I almost always fight a person who believes they are destined for nothing simply because they are told so by others.
I must admit, writing this is rather challenging; I want to be completely pointed into one direction with each point, but as soon as I get into actually inspirational territory I realize that what I’m saying is completely false, or is completely depressing, so I don’t say it. Balance isn’t always the most fun option in life, but it helps to keep you hopeful, within reason.
Reason would actually be a great term to use in this situation – and in life. Reason may not let you do extravagant and crazy things like jumping off of a bridge (not to mention the laws that prevent that) but it does permit you to enjoy the smaller things – like a smile or a blade of grass – with an eye that borders on insane. Is it really insane though? Or just brilliant?
Poe, Walt, and Ralph are sick, no doubt about it. I’m not trying to kill your buzz or be a heart-breaker, lol, but you can’t mess with reality. Personally, I believe that these realistic stories were very interesting and truly made me think deeply about what was really going on in the story as well as in the minds of the characters. Being able to read different stories that somehow connect each other helped me understand them and look at things in a various perspectives. Another fascinating part about these realistic stories is that they all have a purpose and message to show everyone. Barty, Paul, and bed-eating woman, can all be related to in some way, shape, or form. After writing this I thought back to one of our assignments that asked us to rate ourselves on a romantic scale. Don’t hate and don’t judge but I believed that I was only a four. Hey, maybe its because I think realists are cooler and more fun to hang around with☺
ReplyDeleteFirst, I would like to say that the timing that these were taught COULD NOT be worse. During the busiest part of our lives so far, we hear both how awesome of a time Walt is having being all transcendental, and then we get hit by the stark reality of the world by our friends Paul and Shirley. In all honesty, the combo makes me kind of feel jaded. Just sayin'
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I actually kind of liked these stories, even though they were depressing. I've always found the way the human mind works to be fascinating (one of the reasons Cather in the Rye is possibly my favorite book), and these stories were much better at showing the thought processes of real people than previously read shorts. They were relate-able on many levels, especially Paul's Case. I filly understood how it felt like to be Paul, to be in a weird situation that no one, not even yourself, can fully understand. I found The Yellow Wallpaper to be fascinating, just because it showed me a completely new way of viewing the world (although it may have been a little insane). I think the relate-ability factor was what solidified these stories as favorable for the most part for me.
I enjoyed the realism stories more than the transcendental ones because, frankly, I would rather read a story than poetry. So my preference is mainly due to the medium. HOWEVER I also like the subject matter of realism more because it's, well, realistic. Not everyone (nay, barely anyone) strolls around, admiring the beauty and perfection of nature, or struts through the streets telling people to buck up and declare themselves. More people take their lives like Shirley - one day at a time until something happens, then figure that out in the easiest way possible. [to be continued.....]
ReplyDeleteI greatly agree with David. I think that these stories were even more relatable at this time because of everything that is consuming our lives at the moment. Although these stories tended to be much more depressing and typically did not have a happy ending like the romanticist stories, I actually enjoyed them. Unlike the Poe, Hawthorne, Whitman, and Thoreau stories, they were realistic, hence the word realism haha. I do not think that they are necessarily more relevant than the romanticist stories, but they do have a sort of “more important” type vibe because they are everyday experiences.
ReplyDeleteThe social expectations are what relate to us the most. Many people do feel as if they do not belong, or that they believe whatever they don’t have is what can make them happy. I feel as if Paul’s Case was a bit overdramatic because instead of facing his problems and finding a resolution, he decided to take his life away. The Second Choice was my favorite because although she had a complaining side (who doesn’t), her story was very realistic. Many girls tell themselves that they are worthless and nothing after being rejected by the one they love. The other realistic part was her decision in the end. It is very true that the vast majority of people decide to take the safer and easier path in life instead of working through a problem or facing the unknown. Shirley, instead of following her heart and deciding to remain alone, chooses to marry Barton, because of social expectation and the fear of being alone.
Overall, I enjoyed the realistic stories in this unit. I thought that they were much easier to read than previous stories we have read in class, but that may just be because the language is more modern. However, like people before me have stated, they were rather depressing. This kind of bothered me because it almost seemed as if the authors were pretty much trying to say “Happy endings only happen in romantic stories or fairytales. In real life, life sucks”, which I don’t think is necessarily true because happy things do happen. I don’t actually think that the authors meant to leave this message, but instead were trying to write in a manner as far from romanticism as possible, which just happens to involve depressing endings such as suicide. Unfortunately, pretty much every realist author wrote under that impression, sending the message that everything real is depressing. I really hope these authors didn’t actually think that life was depressing because right now I am imagining them to be quite the Debbie Downers- especially the author of “The Second Choice”. Actually, I imagine that guy to be somewhat of a pedophile but that is besides the point. Anyways, I did enjoy the books in this unit because they were relevant, I was able to relate to some of the stories (I agree with what Ashly wrote about this above), and the language was much easier to understand. However, I wish some of the stories had happier endings because real life doesn’t suck that bad and positive things do happen, just not as dramatic as in romantic stories.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I can say that I enjoyed reading these realist stories and I think it was because it was of how relevant they were to our lives. When reading the writings of WHitman, Thoreau and Emerson, I guess they were good because they were like dreams. They were mostly things we could aspire to do with our lives and they seemed to promote a sense of hope, while realism on the other hand was a bit depressing because it showed how being a romantic hero is not as easy as it seems and how it just doesn't work as well in our real society. The thing about realism is that it tells us the truth about most humans in that we normally take the safest or easiest route like settling with boring lives or with how society wants us to live. I mean don't get me wrong, most of us don't follow through with extreme measures such as suicide, but you can't that hasn't happened or is continuing to happen. Kids and adults alike are committing suicide, having gone through the depression or feeling of being and outcast like in Paul's Case. Many men and women have had to settle with their "second choice" instead of being with the person they really want to be with. (Even happens with kids our age all the time)
ReplyDeleteAlso, realism writing shows how humans today become submissive (even though very reluctant) to change because there is no way to stop it. When change comes, like in "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" or "The Blue Hotel", we usually go with it. There are little to zero romantic heroes that go against such as the gay/lesbian movement or a long time ago with the civil rights movement: movements that could not be stopped. Although uncomfortable, a bit difficult, and over a period of time these things have just become apart of society. Trying to resist would only cause one thing in my opinion: war. This idea of settling and eventual acceptance is all apart of our nature and this writing appeals to this simply because its REAL! That's why I enjoyed reading it.
Sorry I’m late guys. After studying for 3 tests and writing 2 essays, I collapsed and was not able to blog. Overall, I must admit that I disliked the realism unit. Even though I can relate to Bartleby right now, I think that transcendentalism was much more appealing and even a little enlightening. One of the reasons why I disliked realism is because nearly half the time, I fell asleep reading the stories. For example, in the beginning of “The Second Choice”, I kind of wanted to punch Shirley in the face so she would shut up about a decision which she didn’t even have to make. After that, I began to grow bored of her constant wining, which brought me to a deep sleep. In the end, the fact that she will live a miserable life brought me a sense of joy and victory. I had the same type of mood swings for other realist stores, such as “Paul’s Case” and “Bartleby”.
ReplyDeleteI would also have to disagree with the people who said that realism was so much more realistic than transcendentalism. Instead, I think that realism just had a different style. Both sections tried to encourage social reforms, but instead of writing actual novels, transcendentalists preached their theories.
I do think more people follow the same path Shirley does. It’s easy to take those courses you don’t want to because your college counselor tells you, you should. It’s easy to dress like everyone else, even though you hate the way they dress. It’s easy to go to that college you hate, just because it is well-known. It’s easy to take that job you don’t want, because it puts food on the table.
ReplyDeleteThe first couple realist stories were tolerable, but what really annoyed me was they were ALL the same depressing, dead end, and hopeless story. I would argue that more often than not, people choose that path they don’t prefer to, sure, but I also believe there are alternative, none of which were brought up. I would have preferred the stories to end with each character’s obvious dilemma or finding an alternative, rather than spiraling all the way down to a romantically hopeless state. I say this because the depressing endings in each story. The ending are presented in a way so that it seems you have no options, this will happen, and I don’t appreciate that. That does not inspire me to find alternatives so I don’t end up like them, nor does it even make me thoughtfully consider my position and whether or not I’ll live life slinging my own gun and unhappily getting married or, live my life in the wild wild west that I love (“The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” reference by the way). But, I'll tell you what, the transcendental writings did...
I'm going to back up my Secret Pal on this one. I appreciate the transcendental writings so much more because I just feel like transcendentalist literature was more instructive, informational, inspiring and helpful, while realist literature was depressing, uninspiring, and nonconstructive.
Plus, I'd rather live a fulfilling live trying to aspire my dreams, than sit around and realize I could not be happy in this oppressive world.
heh heh he
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