Poe is Crazy, but interesting!

"The Fall of the House of Usher" has to be one of the most interesting pieces of literature I've read in a while, and so far the most interesting thing we've read in class. Edgar Allen Poe himself is an interesting character and "The Fall of the House of Usher" may be quite reflective of his character.

Poe's family life seemed to fall apart when Poe was young. His parents died within days of each other when Edgar was only 3 years old. From then on he never seemed to have a steady family life. He was taken in by friends of his parents, who seemed to move around. Although Poe was born in Boston and moved around quite a bit, he considered himself a Virginian. Perhaps this was his only claim to a sense of security after all he had endured.

"The Fall of the House of Usher" was described as the "ultimate nightmarish vision of the plantation myth of the Old South." (p.99) After reading it, this description couldn't be more correct. This story seems to only appear in a nightmare. The physical House of Usher seems to be right out of a horror story or movie. It is falling apart and has an eerie feel to it. Poe uses some unique statements to describe the house:
"extraordinary dilapidation," "crumbling condition of individual stones," "Gothic archway of the hall," "dark and intricate passages," "the ebon blackness of the floors, and the phantasmagoric armorial trophies."

Not only is the physical house falling apart, but the Usher family itself is falling apart. The last two known beings of the Usher family, Roderick and Madeline, are themselves falling apart, to the point of death. What I found most interesting about this story are the questions that arose in my mind. There are no definite interpretations of what is happening in this story. There are questions as to whether or not Madeline was already dead, was dying, or if she even existed. That was my biggest concern. I also began to feel bad for the narrator, in a sense sympathetic. The narrator was confused and a bit scared from the moment he came to the house. Roderick Usher seemed to be near death, but had the energy of a young boy. He had symptoms of various diseases so that one could not be pinpointed. There were many odd things that happened throughout the house. The narrator noticed all these things, but it was as if he was afraid to mention any of it. Eventually, the narrator seems to go crazy as well.

As a reader, I felt that the narrator should have gotten out of the house immediately, at the same time, I was curious to see what would happen next! It is similar to horror movies, where you are screaming at the TV for the main character to get out of the house!! You know something bad is going to happen but there is nothing you can do.

Asperger's Syndrome may be Beneficial

When I first heard that Thomas Jefferson most likely had Asperger's syndrome I was astounded. How could he be President with such a disease? I wasn't too familiar with this disorder, however, I did know something about autism. Upon further research into the subject I found more interesting facts beyond just the symptoms of Asperger's. Did you know that Mozart, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein were all thought to have Asperger's? Who would have thought!!

One of the major criteria of Asperger's is poor social interaction. In order to be a successful President, one must interact with people from all types of backgrounds. Presidents must meet with other leaders, sick and healthy, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, and many more if he wants to ensure the prosperity of the country. Presidents also deliver many speeches that apply to the public, both before and during Presidency. As we learned in class, Jefferson was not a strong orator and out of touch with society. It is surprising to me that he was even considered in the Presidential race. If he was unable to address the public and interact in society, what made him stand out as a leader?

Jefferson's strength was in writing, as we learned from this week's readings. Although I am not in agreement with his opinions, it is clear to see that he was talented in this area. Jefferson repeatedly contradicts himself, so it is hard to determine his official opinion. In his description of colored people, he notes that they sweat and smell, and their wild imaginations tend to make them less serious.
"They secrete less by the kidnies, and more by the glands of the skin, which gives them a very strong and disagreeable odour." (p.48)
"Religion indeed has produced a Phyllis Whately; but it could not produce a poet. The compositions published under her name are below the dignity of criticism."(p. 49)

Jefferson is condescending in his descriptions. Instead of saying in a blunt fashion, he adds a poetic touch. As part of Jefferson's disorder, I don't think he realized the meaning behind his observations. He was so far out of touch with society that he didn't realize that it was slave owners, like himself, that caused the black people to have a "disagreeable odour." Slaves were forced to work in hot conditions, of course they were going to sweat! I also think that his prejudices against black people caused his opinions about Phyllis Wheately (he didn't even spell her name right to begin with!) Her poetry has left its mark in history, so her writings must have been worth the criticism.

Thomas Jefferson has definitely had an impact on United States history. Something about him made him memorable as a President. His writing was most definitely his strong point as he leaves behind a great document in American history: The Declaration of Independence.

John Smith- a hero?!?

John Smith had two objectives when he came to the New World; one was to civilize the 'primitive savages' and the other was to encourage people of England to settle in this wonderful new land. Most readings that I have looked at praise John Smith as a hero. Perhaps back then, he was viewed in this sense. In class, however, we compared John Smith's actions to President G.W. Bush's of today, but do we see Bush as a hero- I think not.
John Smith invaded a land and told the people that things were going to change. These Native Americans had no choice. Smith was going to incorporate religion, build towns, and change the lives of these Native Americans. But, I'll bet that the Native Americans were going to stand for that and fought back. Today, Bush is doing the same thing in Iraq. We've invaded a land, told the native people that they are wrong in their ideas and beliefs. Now we are pushing our ways on them. They only choice they have is to fight back.
In both cases, instead of just assuming that their ideas or beliefs are so backwards, wouldn't it make more sense to listen and try to understand. But that's another topic in itself.
So what made the people believe he was a hero? Maybe it's the fact that the people did not see the immediate results of his actions. But today, we have the technology, media, and knowledge of the past to see that Bush's actions are as far from heroic as one might be. John Smith also had the advantage (to himself) to twist the truth in his writings. Today, we have the ability to see what is really going on in the world, and the results of the President's actions.
If you view John Smith as a hero, then maybe you view Bush in the same sense. I, myself, don't see the heroism in either case.

More thoughts on Southern stereotypes

In class on Wednesday, someone had mentioned that Southern people were generally more pleasant and nice. Last semester I did a research paper on crime in the United States. What I found was that people from the South are more violent than people from the North or West. And it wasn't just southern states. In northern cities that had a high number of southern people also had a high volume of crime. Also, I found that education in the south seems to glorify crime and violence.
When I did this paper the first thing that came to mind was Texas. However, when I think of the south I don't include Texas. Usually I think of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Louisiana. But when I think of Texas and violence, two words come to mind: capital punishment. Sitting here contemplating it now I think of horror stories and movies, such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which is supposedly based on a true story.
According to the little bit of research I did on this topic, the correlation of violence and location can be traced back to England. People from certain parts (I'm not sure which) immigrated to the southern part of the United States, while people from other parts immigrated to northern US.


If anyone is interested the book that I used for this research was called Albion's Seed.