Sunday, July 19, 2009

A discussion of the distinctions made b/w the rational mind, the feeling heart, & the desirous libido in A Room of One's Own

In A Room of One's Own Woolf seems to give different ideas on different aspects of women. One of those attitudes is that towards the rational mind. when Woolf speaks about the day-to-day life of 18th century women. We read about what she thinks their life would have been like; have their marriage arranged before they even leave the nursery and giving birth in their teens.
Woolf also talking about woman's heart. We see this when read what Woolf believed Judith's (Shakespeare's sister) life was like. Her heart told her to disobey custom and run away to be an actress; even though that was unthinkable in those days. We learn that all that would have led to was suicide; and Judith probably knew that but still made the choice to leave.
The last idea we will talk about is that of desirous libido. Woolf gives different ideas throughout the chapters. Most of what we read Woolf does not give much details about her own private life. However, when reading about Judith we learn that she was overcome with desire for Nick Greene that ultimately lead to her death. And this could be what Woolf was trying to get across about all women.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Outline

Topic: Human suffering in Narrative of the Life of a Slave.
Attitude towards theme: The attitude towards this theme is that Fredrick being rebellious is what has caused his human suffering.
3 Attitudes: ? I'm confused by what an attitude means. (Remember to ask about in class)
Alternative Attitude: Fredrick's suffering is not caused by rebellious action but, by his learning to read.
Question being posed: What does Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass say about human suffering?
If...Then: If Fredrick was not being rebellious then he would not be hurt as much. (ask about in class. how much is he looking for here; 1 page or 1 paragraph?)
Overarching thesis: If Fredrick Douglass had not been so rebellious all the time he would not have suffered as much as he did.