Goodbye Winesburg

Goodbye Winesburg

As the first quarter comes to an end, so does our reading of Winesburg, Ohio.  For some it was enjoyable.  For others it was stressful.  That doesn't matter, though, because it is all over now.  Unfortunately, we will never escape this first quarter, because what we have done over the course of this quarter is the first domino in a long chain of pieces that make up the rest of our lives.

Similarly, it is impossible for George Willard to escape Winesburg.  Despite physically leaving Winesburg, the events and people there shaped his manhood and life in a way that will always stay with him.  Winesburg will always be there in the background of his life.  He may be able to leave Winesburg, but Winesburg will never leave him.

I hope everyone had a good high school career, because how well they did will affect the rest of their lives.

Just kidding.

Or am I?

"There Are Times When A Cigar Is Only A Cigar"

"There Are Times When A Cigar Is Only A Cigar"

There have been numerous criticisms of Freud and his theories.  One of these criticisms is how Freud claims that any object that is phallic or yonic is symbolic in some way.  Freud loved smoking cigars, and many of his critics poked fun at him for this.  In response, Freud gave the famous quote: "Gentlemen, there are times when a cigar is only a cigar!"

This quote is comical, especially when you take into consideration how serious of a person Freud was.  Despite this, some people still choose to analyze the quote as a denial of the basis that Freud's theories stood on.  Freud's theories were controversial already, so his poking fun at them did not help to convince people of their authenticity.

As a follower of Freudian psychology, Sherwood Anderson was certainly aware of this quote.  In The Philosopher, Anderson makes his own subtle joke about this quote with the character of Doctor Percival.  He is a large man with numerous stogies protruding from his pockets.  Unlike every other mentioning of cigars in the novel, this has no symbolic meaning.  This just goes to show that sometimes, "a cigar is only a cigar."

George Willard and the Talking Cure

George Willard and the Talking Cure

According to Freudian psychology, there are only two ways to release repressed memories from the subconscious -- free association and dream analysis.  Free association is a psychoanalytic technique in which the patient is allowed to say whatever comes to mind in an effort to understand the problems that they are experiencing in their subconscious.  Dream analysis is another psychoanalytic technique where the patient talks about their dreams so that the psychologist can identify symbolic elements that represent problems within the subconscious.

Both of these methods require the patient to talk to the psychologist and reveal their personal thoughts and emotions.  Psychologists are able to draw out this information with their years of experience in dealing with people.  Much like psychologists, journalists also try to extract personal information from people.  In Winesburg, Ohio, George Willard acts as a psychologist by drawing out repressed feelings from people's subconsciouses. 

In Hands, Wing Biddlebaum is an outcast with something to hide.  He displays his inner conflict through dissociation.  His hands move uncontrollably, as if they have a mind of their own.  Nobody tries to get to know Wing until he meets George Willard.  George speaks to Wing in a way that forces him to recall his repressed thoughts.  He reveals his experience as a teacher in Pennsylvania and how he was accused of touching his students inappropriately.  By talking about these issues, he starts to become better.  He begins to regain control of his hands, but snaps out of it and begins to displace his trauma by hitting his hands against a fence post.

Despite his failure, George Willard helps Wing towards overcoming his problems.  In a seemingly simple interview, he is able to draw out the traumatic events that affect Wing and address them in a positive way.  George Willard acts as a psychologist and his interview is his way of using free association to treat Wing Biddlebaum.

Defense Mechanisms

Defense Mechanisms

This week in English class, we focused on various Freudian concepts, including defense mechanisms.  According to Freud, the body would completely shut down when faced with trauma and no way to deal with it.  To counteract this, the mind uses various defense mechanisms.  Freud came up with two mechanisms on his own, those being repression and sublimation.  These are considered to be the two most important defense mechanisms by Freudian psychologists, despite dozens of other mechanisms being discovered since then.

Repression is the when the mind pushes traumatic events into the subconscious.  An example of this is how children forget traumatic events, such as witnessing their parents creating their siblings.  This is considered to be an unhealthy way of dealing with traumatic events.  Repressed memories manifest themselves in different ways during daily life, yet can only be addressed through free association and analyzing dreams.

Sublimation is when negative emotions are channeled into positive outlets.  An example of this is how artists will use their emotions to dictate their creations.  This is the best way for people to deal with problems, as it acknowledges the source of stress and converts it into something meaningful with no emotional harm to the person.

The contrast of these two types of defense mechanisms is palpable.  It is obvious why Freudian psychology is considered to be outdated when you consider that he was only able to identify these two.  While they are important, they neglect an entire range of other mechanisms, both healthy and unhealthy.  It is amazing to think how a science as philosophical as psychology has completely changed over the course of a century.  Ideas from the 1900s are either built upon or refuted, which makes me wonder how it will change over the course of my own lifetime.

Modernist Principles in Inception

Modernist Principles in Inception

One shining example is the nonlinear structure.  Inception starts in medias res and so does this blog post.  The movie does this better.  The film opens where it ends.  Cobb lands on the shores of his imagination and is sat at the table with Saito.  The top spins and he snaps back to reality.

The same happens at the end, or does it?  Cobb snaps back to reality and is reunited with his family.  He finally sees his children after being away for what seems like years.  He spins the top; however, the screen fades to black before we see it topple.  This begs the question: is he still dreaming?  This sort of ambiguous ending is very common in modernist literature, as it reflects how nothing in life has a straightforward resolution.

The movie also features the repeated use of the quote: "I'll tell you a riddle.  You're waiting for a train, a train that will take you far away.  You know where you hope this train will take you, but you don't know for sure.  But it doesn't matter."  At the end of the film, the significance of this quote is shown when Cobb gives Mal the kick to escape limbo by running her over with a train.  This is an example of how language is not always transparent, as a seemingly simple metaphor also represents an actual event.  

Perspectivism plays a great part in the film.  Each person's dream is a world of their own construction, filled by people that represent pieces of their subconscious.  This allows us to see the world from the points of view of various characters, despite the movie taking place in the third person.

The Bamboo Bead Curtain

The Bamboo Bead Curtain

In class, we discussed "Hills Like White Elephants" by Earnest Hemingway.  We discussed different elements of the story, including the symbolism of the hills and wording; however, we barely touched on the significance of the bamboo bead curtain.  As a class, we decided that it is merely used to show how exotic the area was to the American couple.  I agree with this, but I also believe that there is much more to Hemingway's use of the curtain.

The word "curtain" appears eight times throughout the short story.  The number of times that the curtain is significant, as it is used more than the word "elephant," for which the story receives it's namesake.  Hemingway could have left the doorway open, yet he specifically chose to use the bamboo bead curtain, as he refers to it repeatedly throughout the text.  

When the curtain is first mentioned, it merely appears to give background details as part of the exposition.  It's purpose is simply to "keep out flies."  Personally, I am unsure as to what this means, but I am sure professional literary analysts would have some idea of what this symbolizes.

During the curtain's second appearance, the man is ordering beers by talking "into the curtain."  This may represent the man's unwillingness to talk to the girl.  Throughout the conversation, he orders more drinks in order to avoid the conversation at hand.  She points this out when she says "That's all we do, isn't it -- look at things and try new drinks?"  The man does not seem to care about what the girl says, as he treats her as inferior and only pretends to care about her opinion of the operation.

The next time that the curtain is used is when the girl notices the Anis del Toro advertisement.  This gives the man a chance to segue into ordering more drinks.  It is almost as if the curtain is a wall trapping the girl with the man.  

The man then calls over the waitress by yelling "Listen" through the curtain.  Like when he first orders drinks, calling through the curtain allows him to avoid the topic at hand.  

The curtain is then shown to be blowing in the wind.  This is shortly before the man describes the abortion as simply "let[ting] the air in."  This once again emphasizes the problems that they have communicating, as the man resorts to using euphemisms in order to dance around the idea that the operation is serious.

Next, the girl takes a short departure from their conversation, as she "put her hand out and took hold of two of the strings of beads."  This shows she does not want to have anything to do with the man after he says that the pregnancy is the "only thing that's made [them] unhappy."

The next use of the curtains features the barmaid walking through them to serve the couple their drinks.  This seems insignificant and only acts to close the plot hole where the couple has not yet received their drinks. 

Finally, he the man returns through the curtains to see the girl smiling at him.  This parting of the curtains by one of the main characters shows how the barrier has finally been broken, and the girl smiling shows that she is finally ready to reach a conclusion; however, the story is cut off at that point.

Overall, the curtain acts as a barrier that represents the increasing divide in the couples' relationship.  Throughout the story, the couple is unable to overcome the barrier to discuss the elephant in the room.  By the end, they are finally ready to resolve the conflict, but the principles of Modernism state that resolution is impossible, so the reader is left to wonder who got their way: the man or the girl.