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?
The realist stories. I did find them more relevant, however not as exciting as stories like those of Edgar Allen Poe. I also liked reading some of the pieces of Transcendentalism, like those of Whitman and Emerson, who told their readers about the perfect way of life. In terms of these realist stories, however, I did enjoy that I could relate to some of the stories or empathize with the protagonists. Unlike some people, I think that these stories weren't too depressing because life can be depressing. I think that these stories depicted life perfectly. Sometimes there will be happy moments in life, like when the sheriff got married in "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky." Sometimes there will life moments that make one insane, like Bartleby or the main character in "The Yellow Wallpaper," although I hope that a single event doesn't make anyone go THAT insane. And finally, there are moments in life that are depressing, like shown in "Paul's Case" and even "The Second Choice." I think these combined stories definitely showed life in the way that we live it, with all sorts of different emotions and events that are significant.
ReplyDeleteI also liked that we read "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" and "The Blue Hotel" at the same time that we are learning about expansion into the West in my history class. Well planned!
Next, onto the second question. I find this one quite intriguing. I do think that many people in our society think of themselves as "Romantic Individualists" and better than "the common man," as shown in "Paul's Case." I too think this is a dangerous trap. Many people in our society claim that they would plant their feet down in the ground and battle the opposition, they shy away from the first opportunity to be unique or different. I think that most people, maybe not the vast majority, would, like Shirley, choose the easier path. It is quite easy to claim uniqueness, however most people freak out about being different or even getting in trouble for perhaps doing something that is risky and problematic. I hope this blog post was the right length? (please note the irony)
-Rebecca :)
I personally don't think that these stories are necessarily more relevant than the transcendental message, in most cases. For instance, I don't think it is any more relevant to throw one's self in front of a train as opposed to living a transcendental life. I see every story in this unit as equally unlikely with the transcendental stories, except for "the second choice" (TSC).
ReplyDeleteI think that of all the stories we have read recently TSC is the most reasonable. This story is perfectly relevant to me and I have no issue believing that this type of thing happens all the time. The thing that I think is important to note about this story however, is that it is a "choice". This story, and "Paul's Case" (PC) are similar in the message that one cannot be overrun by society without giving in. PC is a more extreme example, but a little too extreme. The realist stories that I think are unreasonable are Batleby, and the Yellow Wallpaper. (the Crane stories are a bit different) I think that Melville and Gilman overshot realism, and in the end they ironically ended up with something that is overly real, and therefore not realistic.
The second part of this question is more interesting to me, and yes I know this is going to get long. I agree with what Rebecca said, this is a society that in general discourages the individual. I will stand up and tell you I give into the train of society, knowing full well that there are people that wouldn't say that. Those people, at least the ones not living in the woods, are wrong and have false images of themselves. The one thing that I think this section of literature kind of misses is that embracing society doesn't mean you can't be an individual. For comparison, this section is like Thoreau, as in society is terrible and one must completely reject it to be free. But what this section misses is a Walt Whitman-esque realist. One that recognizes that society, at its heart, is a collection of people and one cannot truly be free without embracing people.
In the end the realists showed only the bad parts of society, and missed the good parts. Society may mean working a job, or living in a suburb, but one must choose this life. The realists missed that one must also accept that these societal norms are something to be hated. That these things are only as conformist as you let them be, and as an effect you are only as normal as you accept to be.
Like Rebecca said, I thought these realist stories were not as exciting as the stories by Poe and the Transcendentalist writers, but I did find them intriguing to read because of all the deeper meanings that could be interpreted. The stories dealt with issues that are more typical in society but on a magnified scale. For instance, I personally did not really relate to them at all considering I do not have a boring job like Bartleby, I have never been forced to marry someone like Barton, and I have never eloped to anywhere like Paul. So, yeah these realist stories are more “real” than some of the other units we have studied because they deal with actual human issues, but I think the stories are over dramatic in their depiction of human emotions and societal pressures. Overall, these stories left me feeling kind of depressed because they do not offer any way in which these issues can be resolved.
ReplyDeleteSo for the second question, I again agree with Becky that most people probably see themselves as romantics when in reality they’re just assuming that they are better than the common man. But if this is true, then wouldn’t that just make you common to think of yourself as better than everyone else? Hmmm. Also, I think people almost always choose the path of least resistance even if they are unaware of it. People will claim that they want to be unique and a free spirited individual like Shirley and Paul both demonstrated, but in the end, though people claim they want to be different, they rarely take action to do so for fear of failing or being rejected. Oh and I like what Mitch said about the second “choice,” and the realists only showing the bad parts of society, that’s exactly how I felt when reading these too.
Yes, unfortunately, I do believe that most people, when given the opportunity to choose, would pick the easier, less resistance route. I say unfortunately because if we had a society where everyone was rebellious, we would have more original ideas, more free thinkers, better critical thinkers, and a more interesting generation. However, I am not saying that society needs more Pauls, because too many Pauls mean a dysfunctional, lazy society. Regardless, I think people would choose the safer path because as soon as they move against society, they become a target. They become a target of ridicule and mistreatment. They are thought of as a threat to the rest of society. A perfect example of this is in “Bartleby the Scrivener.” As soon as Bartleby prefers not to do his work, Turkey and Nippers turn against him. Also, people will take the safer-less resistance path because they are scared of being alone. When people decide to go against society in an extreme way, they are shunned by most. Everybody needs a few strong relationships in their life for love and support. Why would someone want to choose complete exile from society over being well liked and respected? It seems that even though we may receive “rebels” negatively as a society, I believe it is important for there to be people who take the risky path. All of the major players in the civil rights movement could have been considered rebels. (MLK, Malcom X, Rosa Parks etc.) Even though it may be easier to go with society, it is important to have those who don’t, because they are courageous enough to withstand torment in order to achieve something greater than themselves.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed most of the realist stories. They were very enjoyable, but like Rebecca, I liked the Poe stories much better. The Poe stories were just more thrilling. I did like the realist stories more than the transcendental stories. The realist stories were much more down to earth and just more relevant to our lives as high schoolers. These stories show how different people deal with the difficulties that life has thrown at them. As Rebecca said, these stories show both the good and bad in life. These stories are easier for us as high schoolers to associate with than transcendental stories. These stories discuss problems such as dealing with difficult situations that we high schoolers have to deal with very often.
ReplyDeleteMost people will tend to go with the flow. It is so much easier and so much 'safer' than trying to stand out from the crowd. Also most people would rather just take the easy route in life because they would rather not make any extra effort to get what they really want. Shirley made the easy choice to go with the person who already loved her even though she knew she could be happier in another relationship. Paul made the choice to kill himself so he would not have to deal with the all difficulties in life. Most people will choose to be like shirley and just be pretty happy instead of really happy. Most people will not kill themselves like Paul because it is a very extreme thing to do. Most people will choose to do whatever is easiest, and normally that means going with the flow.
Man, I'd say that period one is blowin' the roof off this blog! Great stuff. I'm still waiting for Tony to drop a bomb -- and Rachel? Grace? Nicole? Time to unload, Jessica; let it fly, Jenna. :)
ReplyDeleteRealism = not my favorite unit overall. But I really enjoy the discussions that come out of some of the stories. "Paul's Case" and "The Second Choice" bring up some pretty interesting questions, especially when you consider them back to back.
Great job here!
I’m not really sure what it is I’m answering, but I’ll just throw out some answers anyway. Do I like these past short stories? Yes, I think they were pretty interesting. They presented real problems of society and human nature, maybe more centered in the past, but why do we study history then?
ReplyDeleteEach story presented a few different themes, that can be interpreted differently, but one that I saw shared between “Paul’s Case”, “The Second Choice”, “The Yellow Wallpaper”, and “Bartelby the Scrivener,” was imprisonment and in simple terms, the imprisonment from an oppressive society, a forced position, and dehumanizing work. Obviously there is much more that taken from these short stories, as well as “The Blue Hotel” and “The Sky Comes to Yellow Sky,” but I’m not going to go into it. I liked the stories because of their realism and interesting twists on big world themes.
With Mr. Harrington’s second topic, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve actually seen the distinct difference between thinking one is romantically individual or just better than everyone else. Back when we rated ourselves on the romantic scale I overheard a girl (not in our period and I’m not going to name a name) tenaciously assert herself as a romantic individual (a 10 on the scale) to another student. She based this opinion only on the fact she thought she was unique and didn’t conform to anyone or anything around her. I find it pretty impossible for anyone to truly stand to these descriptions and I feel she may have a had a bit of Paul’s thing going on there. With that said, it’s probably very easy for someone to fall into that trap and easier to fall with the current of social expectation.
I enjoyed the realist stories. However, I also enjoyed the romantic stories but in a different way. To me the romantic stories were a little bit more intriguing and had more interesting plot lines. The realist stories, on the other hand, overall I enjoyed reading the realist stories the most. I liked how the authors took issues that surrounded society at the time and figured out a way to bring attention to them. Because they revolve around “real” issues and situations that are presented throughout ones life, it is easier to relate and connect to the story.
ReplyDeleteLike Drew said, “Most people tend to go with the flow.” It is easy for someone to say and fantasize about stepping out of the normalcy of society, but it is a completely different thing to actually do it. Shirley talked about going away and taking a “different path”, but ended up taking the easy route in life. Although Paul didn’t necessarily take the “easy route”, he certainly didn’t “stand up to the social expectations. In my opinion, Paul took a different kind of “easy route.” Instead of dealing with society by standing up to it or conforming to it, he just decided not to deal with it. In today’s world, it is my belief that most people will choose a path similar to Shirley’s.
I would not disagree with the fact that the realism stories are more relevant to real life. The thing is though, we don't read stories to experience something we are already living everyday. Maybe it's just me but I love to read books and watch movies to get away from my own life and read or watch about someone else's for a while. I want to read about the nerdy girl getting the hot quarterback. Or the pauper who is turned into a prince. Just because those stories are practically unheard of in the real world doesn't mean that reading them is bad. I personally greatly enjoy drifting into someone else's dream world and reading happy endings and miracles that dont happen on a regular basis in the real world. If i wanted to read about normal people with mediocre and unfortunate endings then I would just look out my window instead of taking the effort to read an entire book. Fantasy books or the transcendentalist writings give people hope, they give people goals to try and be. Stories like Pauls case simply tell stories we can read about in newspapers about actual people. So what if the other stories are crazy and give people dreams and ideas. Is that such a bad thing? The people in this world who completely see things how they are and don't believe things can change are pessimists who many people do not enjoy. It is healthier to have a sense of imagination and to have dreams and goals. So even if realism may be more relavant to real life, it is the fiction, fantasy, or transcendentalism writing that helps to keep people sane in this hard and unforgiving world.
ReplyDeleteStrangely I enjoyed reading the Realistic stories more than the Romantic ones. I thought they were very interesting to read but then again depressing. I like being able to relate my own life to things such as music or a movie and definitely in books. Romantic stories were nice to read about but hard to relate to while Realistic stories I felt as if I could relate to each one (to some extent). Realistic stories intrigued me and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about people with problems and how they went wrong in trying to deal with them. I found I was more in deep into the Realistic stories then the Romantic stories because I could emotionally relate to some of the problems the main characters were feeling – I mean every girl has met their own Author. Even though the ends of the stories are tragic and a little bit of a downer, it’s the harsh reality. Sometimes it can reflect on how they dealt with their situation and where things went wrong to teach the reader what not to do. Overall the realistic stories captured my attention and I really enjoyed reading them.
ReplyDeleteI find that both realist and transcendental writing styles have their own positives and negatives. Personally, I don't like either of them in a concentrated amount. Stories like Emerson's were fascinating mental wonderlands where anything was possible... once you got past all of the words. That was my main problem with it. Transcendental writers had amazing, generation defining ideas that really managed to spark my interests, but worded them in such a confusing way that I only comprehended a small fraction of what they were trying to preach to the world. Honestly, without Mr. Harrington right there to explain the ideas to me, the stories would just have been a jumbled mesh of words.
ReplyDeleteRealist writers on the other hand seem to have done the exact opposite with their stories. I am perfectly capable of understanding every detail and underlying theme of stories such as the yellow wallpaper and Paul's case, but I just don't care that much. The realist writers made their stories too... well, Real. If I had the choice, which I don't because this is school, but mind you if I did, I would not have read any of those depressing stories. I mean, if I could either read "How to be a Romantic" by Generic Transcendental Writer, or "Sad Story of a Kid Who Jumps Into a Train Because His Life Isn't Perfect" by Generic Realist Writer, I would much rather take the happy story. I don't think that these stories are more relevant just because they could actually happen and are more realistic because they are still just stories that don't really apply to me. Now if there is a realist story like, "Modern Day Highschool Boy Learns that Surviving Highschool is Difficult," then I would consider it relevant.
Now this doesn't mean I am in any means a romantic, because I don't live my life based of the teachings of a book. (Not even when it comes to religion). In fact im probably just as realistic as anybody else, but that's because you need to be in order to survive in this crazy world, or else you'll end up like Paul, as New York's new license plate.
Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteRealism is not more relevant or less relevant than transcendentalism. Realism is merely a reflection upon society and the social standards. America was rebuilding after the Civil War and America was transitioning into an industrial society. Blood and gore and monotonous labor portray the opposite of a free-spirited transcendentalist. Since the general trend of this blog shows that realism is more relevant, then realism most likely represents modern American society better than transcendentalism. If we take a closer look at today’s modern society we will find that our Western culture is deficient in nature and heavily focused upon instantaneous gratitude, greed, facts, and plausible reasoning. Western culture is absorbed in a bigger better faster stronger mentality of success by any means necessary, lacking the carefree primal self. At Parker, caring and stressing out over school is crucial to our success. If we were to put our troubles aside and embrace our transcendental self, then Parker would fail as a school. Today with the way society forces us as juniors to behave, the SAT’s, grades, extracurricular activities, curfews, and expectations, we are restricted to living a realist life. Since we live in the realist way, realism tends to carry a greater impact on us, but the impact varies with social expectations.