ELIT 48C Class 18 ELIT 48C Class 18 Disinterested Versus UninterestedDisinterested Versus Uninterested

Chair Poet?

I would define poetry as the rhythmical creation of beauty. - Edgar Allen Poe

I would define poetry as the rhythmical creation of beauty. - Edgar Allen Poe

AGENDA• Ellison

– Prologue– “Battle Royal”– Historical Context– Themes and Style

• Lecture– Introduction to The Beats– Author Introduction: Ginsberg– Howl – Themes; forms and devices

• Author Introductions:– Gloria Anzuldua– Maxine Hong Kingston

• Ellison– Prologue– “Battle Royal”– Historical Context– Themes and Style

• Lecture– Introduction to The Beats– Author Introduction: Ginsberg– Howl – Themes; forms and devices

• Author Introductions:– Gloria Anzuldua– Maxine Hong Kingston

Selections from Invisible Man

Group Discussion 1.What does the reader know about the narrator solely on the basis of the Prologue? Explain both what he reveals about himself explicitly and what inferences can be drawn, justifying your findings as you go along.

2.Why would the audience listening to the narrator’s speech have reacted so strongly to the narrator’s mistake? Discuss the implications of his slip of the tongue.

3.QHQ

1.What does the reader know about the narrator solely on the basis of the Prologue? Explain both what he reveals about himself explicitly and what inferences can be drawn, justifying your findings as you go along.

2.Why would the audience listening to the narrator’s speech have reacted so strongly to the narrator’s mistake? Discuss the implications of his slip of the tongue.

3.QHQ

The Prologue

• What does the reader know about the narrator solely on the basis of the Prologue? Explain both what he reveals about himself explicitly and what inferences can be drawn, justifying your findings as you go along.

Invisible Man 1952By Ralph Ellison

QHQ: PrologueQHQ: Prologue1. What does Ellison mean by being an “Invisible Man”? And

why do people interpret his work as a statement about African Americans?

2. Is invisibility being used as a coping mechanism to oppression?

3. is the man really invisible?

4. Why couldn’t the tall, blonde man see the narrator, or why is the narrator invisible to him?

5. How does being a minority feel like being the equivalent of invisible?

Themes and MeaningsThemes and Meanings

The battle royal episode introduces many of the themes of the novel: Social Darwinism, which metaphorically encourages individuals to fight to the finish in order to receive rewards; the ways in which the black community's strongest and wiliest members take advantage of their fellows, refusing to cooperate against the common white enemy just as Tatlock refuses to fake defeat; the corrupting influence of prizes and praise on the narrator himself; and the need for the white establishment to maintain symbolic as well as literal power over the black community. “Battle Royal” provides insight into thematic crux of the larger work: how to respond to the cruelty of racism while retaining one's decency and humanity.

“Battle Royal”“Battle Royal”

“Battle Royal” was first published as a short story in Horizon in 1947 under the title “Invisible Man.” It later became the first chapter of Ralph Ellison's only novel, Invisible Man (1952). “Battle Royal” provides a fascinating window into the creative forces that produced Invisible Man.

Grandfather episodes provide the thematic motor that drives much of the novel: a study of a naïve young man who is wounded by racism but unsure how to respond. He wants to be a good member of his family and community but fails to understand the poisonous effect that southern race relations have on even such simple acts as delivering a harmless graduation speech. The story makes clear just what the narrator will face in his maturity.

Battle Royal

1. How do the adults respond to the grandfather’s deathbed speech?

2. Where does the battle royal take place?

3. What kinds of men does the narrator see in the audience?

4. What does the blond woman have tattooed on her belly?

5. How is the boxing match made more entertaining for the audience?

6. How does the narrator try to appease Tatlock when the two are boxing?

7. How do the whites first try to pay the young men for their boxing?

8. Are the coins real?

9. What happens when the narrator accepts the briefcase presented to him?

10. Who is in the dream the narrator has at the end of the chapter?

Why would the audience listening to the narrator’s speech have reacted so strongly to the narrator’s mistake? Discuss the implications of his slip of the tongue.

“Battle Royal”

QHQ: “Battle Royal”QHQ: “Battle Royal”

1. What is the significance of the fight scene in Ellison’s “The Invisible Man”?

2. What does the naked woman represent?

3. Why is the narrator attracted to the naked woman, but simultaneously repulsed and driven to violent thoughts by her?

1. What is the significance of the fight scene in Ellison’s “The Invisible Man”?

2. What does the naked woman represent?

3. Why is the narrator attracted to the naked woman, but simultaneously repulsed and driven to violent thoughts by her?

QHQ: GeneralQHQ: General

1. What does the Invisible Man say about the existence of the oppressed?

2. Would Ellison’s idea of invisibility be accepted by a modernist minority critic?

3. Can the metaphor of being “invisible” be attached to more than just African Americans?

4. Are people treated equally today, or are we all invisible?

1. What does the Invisible Man say about the existence of the oppressed?

2. Would Ellison’s idea of invisibility be accepted by a modernist minority critic?

3. Can the metaphor of being “invisible” be attached to more than just African Americans?

4. Are people treated equally today, or are we all invisible?

Kerouac Ginsberg

CassidyFerlinghetti

Kerouac

The BeatsThe Beats

• The literary movement called the Beat Generation burst into American consciousness with two books published in the late 1950s. The first, Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems (1956), stirred both controversy and an obscenity trial for Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who offered copies for sale in his San Francisco bookstore.

• The second book, Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957) had a profound cultural effect when it was published. It was the Beat Generation’s manifesto.

• The literary movement called the Beat Generation burst into American consciousness with two books published in the late 1950s. The first, Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems (1956), stirred both controversy and an obscenity trial for Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who offered copies for sale in his San Francisco bookstore.

• The second book, Jack Kerouac's On the Road (1957) had a profound cultural effect when it was published. It was the Beat Generation’s manifesto.

http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/allen_ginsberg_reads_his_beat_classic_poem

_howl.html

http://www.openculture.com/2012/06/allen_ginsberg_reads_his_beat_classic_poem

_howl.html

…was a turning point in American literary history. Ginsberg created a new, radically different, space and style for writing, and he pushed back against the narrow modes of expression acknowledged by the literary establishment.

Ginsberg’s poem, which must be heard to truly be appreciated and understood, reclaimed the strength and influence of the poet’s singing voice; it denied those who insisted poetry in print was most important. Ginsberg used chants to modulate moods and build rhythmic power through systems of sound, compelling audience participation.

…was a turning point in American literary history. Ginsberg created a new, radically different, space and style for writing, and he pushed back against the narrow modes of expression acknowledged by the literary establishment.

Ginsberg’s poem, which must be heard to truly be appreciated and understood, reclaimed the strength and influence of the poet’s singing voice; it denied those who insisted poetry in print was most important. Ginsberg used chants to modulate moods and build rhythmic power through systems of sound, compelling audience participation.

Allen Ginsberg’s first public performance of “Howl” (1955) Allen Ginsberg’s first public performance of “Howl” (1955)

“Howl” represents the birth of the 1960’s counterculture, endeavoring to extoll its ethics explain its meaning, celebrate its beauty, and defend its ostensibly aberrant and rebellious behavior.

The driving force of the poem is the message of community and tolerance as parts of an ideal America.

He is one of the first to acknowledge sexual “deviants,” radical activists, extraordinary, unconventional artists, and experimenters with forbidden substances.

Ginsberg wanted a country that accepted eccentricity and individualism. He wanted to redeem the society he saw as built of greed and materialism.

“Howl” represents the birth of the 1960’s counterculture, endeavoring to extoll its ethics explain its meaning, celebrate its beauty, and defend its ostensibly aberrant and rebellious behavior.

The driving force of the poem is the message of community and tolerance as parts of an ideal America.

He is one of the first to acknowledge sexual “deviants,” radical activists, extraordinary, unconventional artists, and experimenters with forbidden substances.

Ginsberg wanted a country that accepted eccentricity and individualism. He wanted to redeem the society he saw as built of greed and materialism.

Themes

Postmodern AspectsPostmodern Aspects

• A collapse of the distinctions between high and low culture.• Consider the lines: “Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs

illuminated” and “angel headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo.” Ginsberg fuses the high imagery of the angelic and celestial with the ramshackle tenement rooftop, with beat slang and pop language.

• A fragmentation of the self: a de-centering of the individual as subject.

• Whilst Part I begins with an affirmation of the subject – “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed” – the “I” is soon dissolved in favor of the “who.” Each descriptive line is no longer the sole possession of the subject. They all occupy a general, rather than individual space. After only a few lines of the poem, the self is completely consumed by the descriptive ‘other’: there is no anchored ‘I’, no centered subject.

• A collapse of the distinctions between high and low culture.• Consider the lines: “Mohammedan angels staggering on tenement roofs

illuminated” and “angel headed hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo.” Ginsberg fuses the high imagery of the angelic and celestial with the ramshackle tenement rooftop, with beat slang and pop language.

• A fragmentation of the self: a de-centering of the individual as subject.

• Whilst Part I begins with an affirmation of the subject – “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed” – the “I” is soon dissolved in favor of the “who.” Each descriptive line is no longer the sole possession of the subject. They all occupy a general, rather than individual space. After only a few lines of the poem, the self is completely consumed by the descriptive ‘other’: there is no anchored ‘I’, no centered subject.

• Altered states of consciousness: Part II of Howl was written under the influence of peyote.

• Many of the effects of the new drugs of the post-war period could be seen as ‘de-centering’ the subject (through hallucination or otherwise) in a postmodern way.

• Pastiche: One good example of pastiche is the channel-flipping viewer: a successive chain of images appear onscreen but are not connected by any meaningful narrative; rather it is the sensations of the surface images that the viewer consumes.

• If we read “Howl” looking for the sensations created by the language, we can see the disruption of the grand narrative. Ginsberg flips through images so fast we can barely collect them much less understand them. He also uses shocking scenes and offensive language to drive us from moment to moment. This pushes individuality and eccentricism across or beyond the modernist grand narrative and disrupts our understanding of the world.

• Altered states of consciousness: Part II of Howl was written under the influence of peyote.

• Many of the effects of the new drugs of the post-war period could be seen as ‘de-centering’ the subject (through hallucination or otherwise) in a postmodern way.

• Pastiche: One good example of pastiche is the channel-flipping viewer: a successive chain of images appear onscreen but are not connected by any meaningful narrative; rather it is the sensations of the surface images that the viewer consumes.

• If we read “Howl” looking for the sensations created by the language, we can see the disruption of the grand narrative. Ginsberg flips through images so fast we can barely collect them much less understand them. He also uses shocking scenes and offensive language to drive us from moment to moment. This pushes individuality and eccentricism across or beyond the modernist grand narrative and disrupts our understanding of the world.

Themes

• Ginsberg’s attention to radical activists, outrageous artists, sexual “deviants,” and experimenters with forbidden substances prefigured the explosion of variance and defiance of the 1960’s. “Howl” presents this nascent counterculture and attempts to explain its meaning and importance, extoll its values, celebrate its moments of beauty, and defend its seemingly aberrant and rebellious behavior. The thrust of the poem is an insistence on the importance of plurality and tolerance as components of an ideal America—an America in which examples of individuality and eccentricity would be accepted so that a society built on greed and materialism might be transformed and redeemed.

• Ginsberg’s attention to radical activists, outrageous artists, sexual “deviants,” and experimenters with forbidden substances prefigured the explosion of variance and defiance of the 1960’s. “Howl” presents this nascent counterculture and attempts to explain its meaning and importance, extoll its values, celebrate its moments of beauty, and defend its seemingly aberrant and rebellious behavior. The thrust of the poem is an insistence on the importance of plurality and tolerance as components of an ideal America—an America in which examples of individuality and eccentricity would be accepted so that a society built on greed and materialism might be transformed and redeemed.

Form and Style

In the first part, according to Ginsberg, he used the repetition of the word “who” to keep the beat. He built “longer and shorter variations on a fixed base,” elaborate images that were written for both their meaning and “the beauty of abstract poetry.” He created energy in “awkward combinations … disparate things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a ground beneath each “streak of invention.”

Ginsberg believed that his “concentration and compression of imagistic notations” such as “hydrogen jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function like a haiku, in which juxtapositions stimulate the brain to stir connections in burst of energy: he called this “lightning in the mind.”

To establish pace, he used “primitive naïve grammar,” which condensed phrases by removing unnecessary words, eliminating “prosey articles” that dampened the rhythm.

The goal of his efforts was to “build up large organic structures,” avoiding any loose or dead areas that would leach energy out of the poem.

In the first part, according to Ginsberg, he used the repetition of the word “who” to keep the beat. He built “longer and shorter variations on a fixed base,” elaborate images that were written for both their meaning and “the beauty of abstract poetry.” He created energy in “awkward combinations … disparate things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a ground beneath each “streak of invention.”

Ginsberg believed that his “concentration and compression of imagistic notations” such as “hydrogen jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function like a haiku, in which juxtapositions stimulate the brain to stir connections in burst of energy: he called this “lightning in the mind.”

To establish pace, he used “primitive naïve grammar,” which condensed phrases by removing unnecessary words, eliminating “prosey articles” that dampened the rhythm.

The goal of his efforts was to “build up large organic structures,” avoiding any loose or dead areas that would leach energy out of the poem.

The second part calls forth the series of images of Moloch—Ginsberg’s ultimate symbol of the evil and damaging forces of the modern world.

Each line functions as a separate stanza, the line itself broken into “component short phrases” or “exclamatory units”; the repetition of the word “Moloch” acts as a “rhythmical punctuation.”

The section works toward a climax, presenting individual concepts as exclamations (“Dreams! Adorations! Illuminations!”).

The conclusion of part 2 is an explosion of energy that sets a mood of abandon stirred by a chant designed to stimulate frenzy.

The second part calls forth the series of images of Moloch—Ginsberg’s ultimate symbol of the evil and damaging forces of the modern world.

Each line functions as a separate stanza, the line itself broken into “component short phrases” or “exclamatory units”; the repetition of the word “Moloch” acts as a “rhythmical punctuation.”

The section works toward a climax, presenting individual concepts as exclamations (“Dreams! Adorations! Illuminations!”).

The conclusion of part 2 is an explosion of energy that sets a mood of abandon stirred by a chant designed to stimulate frenzy.

Part 3, according to Ginsberg, is a “litany of affirmation” that restores the tranquility that the Moloch passages disrupted.

Ginsberg’s repetition of a phrase base (“I’m with you in Rockland”) anchors the section; the individual units are surrealistic, and Ginsberg works to express the imaginative, often oblique sense of existence for which Solomon stands.

The final unit is purposefully too long for one breath unit, and its textual density is developed to carry the weight of Ginsberg’s last revelation (“where I open out and give the answer”). This final unit has no rigid punctuation device, as if to suggest the beginning of a journey “in the Western night” that replaces the initial journey into nightmare that was introduced as the poem began with animage of “streets at dawn.”

Part 3, according to Ginsberg, is a “litany of affirmation” that restores the tranquility that the Moloch passages disrupted.

Ginsberg’s repetition of a phrase base (“I’m with you in Rockland”) anchors the section; the individual units are surrealistic, and Ginsberg works to express the imaginative, often oblique sense of existence for which Solomon stands.

The final unit is purposefully too long for one breath unit, and its textual density is developed to carry the weight of Ginsberg’s last revelation (“where I open out and give the answer”). This final unit has no rigid punctuation device, as if to suggest the beginning of a journey “in the Western night” that replaces the initial journey into nightmare that was introduced as the poem began with animage of “streets at dawn.”

Ginsberg depended on repetition of the word “who” to keep the beat, an approach influenced by Jack Kerouac’s ideas about improvisation akin to modern jazz. He then built “longer and shorter variations on a fixed base,” elaborate images lifting off each basic measure that were written for their meaning as well as “the beauty of abstract poetry” and the latent energy found in “awkward combinations … disparate things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a ground beneath each “streak of invention,” but even with this technique, Ginsberg worried that it would be difficult to sustain a long line in a long poem. To put “iron poetry back into the line,” Ginsberg believed that his “concentrationand compression of imagistic notations” such as “hydrogen jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function like a haiku, in which juxtapositions encourage the brain to make a connection in a leap of energy, which he called “lightning in the mind.”

Ginsberg depended on repetition of the word “who” to keep the beat, an approach influenced by Jack Kerouac’s ideas about improvisation akin to modern jazz. He then built “longer and shorter variations on a fixed base,” elaborate images lifting off each basic measure that were written for their meaning as well as “the beauty of abstract poetry” and the latent energy found in “awkward combinations … disparate things put together.” The repeated “who” operates as a ground beneath each “streak of invention,” but even with this technique, Ginsberg worried that it would be difficult to sustain a long line in a long poem. To put “iron poetry back into the line,” Ginsberg believed that his “concentrationand compression of imagistic notations” such as “hydrogen jukebox” or “bop kaballa” would function like a haiku, in which juxtapositions encourage the brain to make a connection in a leap of energy, which he called “lightning in the mind.”

Discuss “ Discuss “Howl” in groups for five minutes

• Was this poem intended to be read by the public since it is so personal?

• Taking into account the tone conveyed in “Howl”, what truly is the speaker’s purpose?

• What is the purpose behind Ginsberg’s overt use of “holy” in the footnote to “Howl”?

• Why did Ginsburg dedicate howl to Carl Solomon?• If the author was trying to explain his work, why would he

have the poem just overflow with words but what with words that just went everywhere instead of being organized and easy to follow?

• Was this poem intended to be read by the public since it is so personal?

• Taking into account the tone conveyed in “Howl”, what truly is the speaker’s purpose?

• What is the purpose behind Ginsberg’s overt use of “holy” in the footnote to “Howl”?

• Why did Ginsburg dedicate howl to Carl Solomon?• If the author was trying to explain his work, why would he

have the poem just overflow with words but what with words that just went everywhere instead of being organized and easy to follow?

PurposePurpose

• Do I like this poem? What should I feel about this poem? Will I be able to understand this poem eventually? (I don’t know.) Do I want to understand this poem? Is author considering the readers, or is he just doing whatever he wants to do in his poem?

• Why is the format so weird?• Does the stream of consciousness form to Ginsberg’s poem

enable him to address his issue at hand?• How is Howl a balance between savagery of form/structure

and intricate artistic beauty?

• Do I like this poem? What should I feel about this poem? Will I be able to understand this poem eventually? (I don’t know.) Do I want to understand this poem? Is author considering the readers, or is he just doing whatever he wants to do in his poem?

• Why is the format so weird?• Does the stream of consciousness form to Ginsberg’s poem

enable him to address his issue at hand?• How is Howl a balance between savagery of form/structure

and intricate artistic beauty?

Form and StyleForm and Style

• What is the significance of the title being “Howl”?• Who, or what, is the speaker howling about?• What does Ginsberg mean when he says he saw the

best minds of his generation destroyed?• What does Ginsberg mean by exclaiming Moloch! so

often in the second part?• Is there also an anger, in Part II of Howl, in the way that

queer people were treated? Especially because of the quote “Cocksucker in Moloch!” showing how queer people were treated and addressed during the time?

• What are angel headed hipsters?

• What is the significance of the title being “Howl”?• Who, or what, is the speaker howling about?• What does Ginsberg mean when he says he saw the

best minds of his generation destroyed?• What does Ginsberg mean by exclaiming Moloch! so

often in the second part?• Is there also an anger, in Part II of Howl, in the way that

queer people were treated? Especially because of the quote “Cocksucker in Moloch!” showing how queer people were treated and addressed during the time?

• What are angel headed hipsters?

MeaningMeaning

• How is madness presented in this poem?• Who are the “best minds of my generation

destroyed by madness”?• How does Ginsberg’s experience as a mental

health patient bleed into his writing?

• How is madness presented in this poem?• Who are the “best minds of my generation

destroyed by madness”?• How does Ginsberg’s experience as a mental

health patient bleed into his writing?

MadnessMadness

• Gloria Anzaldua was born in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas in 1942. She described herself as a Chicana/Tejana/lesbian/dyke/feminist/writer/poet/cultural theorist, and these identities were just the beginning of the ideas she explored in her work. She died in 2004 of complications related to diabetes.

• Gloria Anzaldua was born in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas in 1942. She described herself as a Chicana/Tejana/lesbian/dyke/feminist/writer/poet/cultural theorist, and these identities were just the beginning of the ideas she explored in her work. She died in 2004 of complications related to diabetes.

Gloria AnzulduaGloria Anzuldua

Gloria Anzaldua moved to California in 1977, where she devoted herself to writing. She continued to participate in political activism, consciousness-raising, and groups such as the Feminist Writers Guild. She also looked for ways to build a multicultural, inclusive feminist movement. Much to her dissatisfaction, she discovered there were very few writings either by or about women of color.  

Some readers have struggled with the multiple languages in her writings – English and Spanish, but also variations of those languages. According to Gloria Anzaldua, when the reader does the work of piecing together fragments of language and narrative, it mirrors the way feminists must struggle to have their ideas heard in a patriarchal society.

Gloria Anzaldua moved to California in 1977, where she devoted herself to writing. She continued to participate in political activism, consciousness-raising, and groups such as the Feminist Writers Guild. She also looked for ways to build a multicultural, inclusive feminist movement. Much to her dissatisfaction, she discovered there were very few writings either by or about women of color.  

Some readers have struggled with the multiple languages in her writings – English and Spanish, but also variations of those languages. According to Gloria Anzaldua, when the reader does the work of piecing together fragments of language and narrative, it mirrors the way feminists must struggle to have their ideas heard in a patriarchal society.

Maxine Hong KingstonMaxine Hong Kingston

• Maxine "Ting Ting" Hong Kingston grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Stockton, California. Born in 1940 to Tom Hong and Brave Orchid, Kingston is the oldest of her parents' six American-born children. Kingston's parents serve as the primary sources for the imaginative stories she writes. Part 1 of Kingston’s autobiography Warrior Woman is “No Name Woman,” a secret story of an aunt from China that she never knew she had.

• Maxine "Ting Ting" Hong Kingston grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Stockton, California. Born in 1940 to Tom Hong and Brave Orchid, Kingston is the oldest of her parents' six American-born children. Kingston's parents serve as the primary sources for the imaginative stories she writes. Part 1 of Kingston’s autobiography Warrior Woman is “No Name Woman,” a secret story of an aunt from China that she never knew she had.

HOMEWORK

Read Gloria Anzuldua pp. 837-38La conciencia de la mestiza/ Towards a New Consciousness 838-49 and “El Sonavabitche” 858-62Post #23: Choose One1.QHQ: La conciencia2.Discuss themes or meaning in “El Sonavabitche” 3.Discuss Postmodernism or Feminist Theory, or Minority Theory in terms of AnzulduaRead Maxine Hong KingstonWarrior Woman: Part 1 “No Name Woman 793-801Post #24: Choose one1.Discuss a theme from the reading2.QHQ3.Comment on the text via a critical lens.