Essay #2 Pitch

For the final essay, I have chosen to go with prompt number one, the Real Skinny Textbook Debate. I will attempt to convince the editors of the Norton Anthology that Walt Whitman, T.S. Elliot, and Hilda Doolittle should be the three authors included in the shorter version of the anthology textbook.

I have chosen Walt Whitman to represent the Romantic Period because he is a true Romanticist. In every one of his works, he gets very intimate, and often times sexual, with his surroundings. He takes in all of the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings that surround him, and reflects this in his writing. Whitman really draws the reader into his emotions. One can truly feel as though one is living the experiences that he portrays. Whitman describes his fascination with the simple things in life and turns our attention to their perfection.

For the Modernist Period, I have chosen T.S. Elliot. If there was any Modernist who did not cater to the reader, it was T.S. Elliot. His pieces do not give the reader time to dwell on any one image, as he quickly moves from one thing to another and yet another in his writing. His fragmented poems force the reader to work hard and seek outside references in order to interpret them. Furthermore, his writings, like other Modernist writings, are difficult to understand because there isn’t a unifying idea, connection, or consistency, between the fragments.

For the final author, I chose to include Imagist Hilda Doolittle. H.D. should make it into the shorter version of the Norton Anthology because not only does she successfully accomplish Ezra Pound’s principles of Imagism, but she creates complexity in the images she writes about. Her writing is simple and clear. In fact, she does not explain the intellectual or emotional meaning of the image or images she presents in her poems, but rather leaves it up to the reader to decipher that for himself.

These writers not only help us understand the time periods which they represent, but tell us more about the society in which they lived in or the society they were trying to escape. Romanticists painted emotions with their words, as they tried to illustrate the perfection they were so fond of and which they tried to get others to experience. Imagists, on the other hand, added no emotion, therefore removing subjectivity from their works. They, unlike the Romanticists, left it up to the reader to emotionally connect with the object on their own terms. Modernists, much like Imagists, leave their work open for interpretation. However, Modernist writing is more complex than that of Imagists, exemplifying the difficult times they lived in. It takes a lot of questioning and investigation on the reader’s part to make sense of what someone such as T.S. Elliot created, sometimes making no progress.

These three authors will help students develop critical reading and writing skills as they attempt to analyze their works. As students struggle in their analysis of these difficult pieces, they will develop the ability to deeply question the writers’ purpose and the bigger ideas that connect to culture and history. They will be able to engage in the exchange of ideas to gain further insight of these literary masterpieces. Finally, students will leave the class with an enjoyable experience of their creative journeys.

T.S. Eliot's " The Wast Land" p.1587

Although “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot is very difficult to understand because of all the fragments he uses throughout his poem, it is an intriguing piece of work. From the very beginning, T.S. Eliot takes me on a trip down memory lane when he says:

My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.

This passage reminds me of how much I loved the mountains when I was growing up. One day, my sister and I were sliding down a mountain on some cardboard sleds we made. Shortly after, we hit a bump and I flew off of the sled. I rolled all the way down the side of the mountain terrified. Even though I ended up all scraped up and with a broken arm, I will never forget how free I felt to play in the mountains.

Another passage that I really like is when he says:

‘My nerves are bad to-night. Yes, bad. Stay with me.
‘Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak.
‘What are you thinking of? What thinking? What?
‘I never know what you are thinking. Think.’…
‘What is that noise?’
The wind under the door.
‘What is that noise now? What is the wind doing?’
Nothing again nothing.

Although this really makes no sense, it makes me laugh. I can picture a bunch of crack heads all tweaked out and paranoid, looking out the window at any little noise.

I really like that T.S. Eliot has a good sense of humor. There are a couple of passages that made me laugh hysterically. He does a really good job of painting a very vivid picture in my mind and makes it come alive. He writes:

Now Albert’s coming back, make yourself a bit smart.
He’ll want to know what you done with that money he gave you
To get yourself some teeth. He did, I was there.
You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set,
He said, I swear, I can’t bear to look at you.

When I read this I could picture someone scolding a girl with really messed up teeth. I could also picture a dumbfounded look on the girl’s face. All I could think of as I wiped away the tears of laughter is, “Where does he come up with this stuff?” Just when I thought it couldn’t get any funnier, he surprises me with:

Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see…

I really like the way that T.S. Eliot comes up with some really crazy stuff and adds a twist by adding lines in a different language. Although I don’t know what it means, it flows well together.

Raymond Chandler's "Red Wind" p. 1541

What a big difference it is to be able to read something that you could understand. Raymond Chandler is a great murder mystery writer, especially for his time. I really enjoyed reading “Red Wind.” I have read many murder mystery stories, but none that placed me in a murder scene in the 1930s. I was actually able to visualize the way they dressed, the cars, and even the way they smoked their cigarettes. Chandler’s story is so detailed, it actually comes alive. I loved all the twists and turns he sets up for you. Once I picked up the book, I could not put it down.

One thing that I noticed about this piece is how Dalmas, who is a character, is also the narrator. I have read plenty of novels and never really paid attention to this very important detail. I think that reading and analyzing poetry has really paid off. The first thing I do when I read is automatically try to analyze what the author is trying to say, how he is saying it, and what it is he means by it. Another thing that I can attribute to reading poetry is the way that my mind wants to recreate what I read, giving it my own twist.

One of my favorite scenes is in the beginning when Dalmas is talking to the young bartender. They are speaking about the drunk over in the corner and the kid says: “I don’t like drunks in the first place and in the second place I don’t like them getting drunk in here (meaning his bar), and in the third place I don’t like them in the first place.” I could not stop laughing after reading this piece. What a way to start off a story!

Another thing that I like about what Chandler does with his character Dalmas, is that he lets Copernik (one of the dicks) take the credit for the capture of the murderer. Then towards the end of the story, when the dick is beating up Dalmas, Dalmas confesses everything and blackmails the dick into giving him what he wants (the pearls, papers, and names kept out of the newspaper). If the dick fails to comply, and the truth is revealed about the capture and the other solved murders the dick took credit for, he is going to look like a cheat and a liar. That was a very smooth move on his part.

The part that really confused me was when Dalmas had the fake pearls replaced with other fake pearls. After rereading and analyzing, I realized that he did it so that Lola would never find out that the pearls which were given to her by her lover were actually fake.