Song of Solomon Chapters 1-7

Becky Ferber
Tonya Russell
Priya Srivastava

The middle aged Macon Dead Jr. is a man of wealth, propriety, and power. He holds power over many different people, but his primary source comes from power over women. This need for male dominance originates from his first experience of being powerless, when Pilate makes a decision that determines the rest of his life. He is dependent on Pilate, "waiting for her to stick her wooly head out of the cave…he [waits] the whole night" (Morrison 171). After hours of feeling weak and helpless to his little sister, Macon is forced to run "as fast as he .. [can] through the woods until he .. [can't] hear the dogs anymore"; clearly, Macon is unwillingly forced to go through terrifying experiences-- experiences which belittle him and leave him feeling powerless (Morrison 171). These experiences forever haunt Macon. After this traumatic moment, Macon never again allows a woman to boss him around and determine his future. He goes to an extreme when he finds out that two women, Pilate and Ruth, tricked him into conceiving, and "told [Ruth] to get rid of the baby" ( Morisson 125). He is not willing to let a woman control his future, even if that means killing his unborn baby. Furthermore, Macon will not let his family associate with the woman who "had as much to do with his future as she had his past," for she is the ultimate threat to all that he has worked to attain since their parting (Morrison 36).

Love Medicine Test Prep

Faith is a selfish way people bring stability to their lives. The motivations of the characters in Louise Erdrich’s, Love Medicine, prove that faith is mechanism to console and comfort oneself. When the outcomes are unknown, faith is used to reassure person that the desired will happen. Most importantly, when the desired does not occur, people use faith as a means to get themselves through the crisis. In other words faith brings people stability. Faith assures the motivation that good outcomes occur. Thus, in Love Medicine the motivations for the desired outcome and stability prove that faith is a mechanism to assure and consol oneself.

What I Learned

In the Modernism unit, several ideas were discussed. Hemingway conveys the story minimally whereas Fitzgerald uses elaborate descriptions in order to present the story. It was difficult for me to understand the concepts Hemingway expressed due to the art of reduction, for a great amount of time was spent on trying to understand the core of the story. On the other hand, the ideas Fitzgerald presented were much easier understand because of the descriptions. Most importantly, it was most difficult to compare both authors because of the vast differences between them. I admire both Hemingway and Fitzgerald because they present their works in unique ways, and the reader truly has to read between the lines in order to receive the messages. I learned that both authors are trying to convey their negative views over women, as well as the strengths of men during this time period.

"Cross-Country Snow"

In “Cross-Country Snow” two men exhibit a strong bond of friendship and togetherness with each other. However, Nick and George do not talk about sentimental feelings, for they maintain a distance between each other by connecting with each other in skiing and silence. During skiing, each man is in his own mind set, for “the mountain side plucked Nick’s mind out and left him only the wonderful flying (Hemingway 107)”. After skiing, George expressed feelings of fear because he “was afraid to Christy… [because] the snow was too deep” (Hemingway 108). It may seem unimportant, but George expresses an inner feeling to Nick, which makes the two men closer; this proves that Nick and George are close and can be comfortable with each other. As the two men sit together leisurely, they discuss their futures; George suggests to Nick that they take their “skis and … go on the train to where there was good running and then go on and put up at pubs” (Hemingway 110). Once again, this activity seems unimportant, but this suggestion allows each man to ponder on his future and wish for more time with his friend. Overall, this short story allows the reader to understand that even with distance between two friends, important feelings can be expressed

Bull Series

Bull Series: An Analysis of Architectural Significance

Buildings are passed throughout the day; however, little is realized about the core architectural significances of buildings. Vitruvius, a renowned Roman architect and engineer, stated that an architectural sound building must consist of delight, firmness, and commodity; in other words a structure, be it simple or complex, must be aesthetically pleasant, must be structurally sound, and must serve it function. In spite of these criteria, common spectators assess a building’s prominence only on delight or aesthetics, and the architectural significance, build, and function are often ignored. It is important for a person to be educated in architectural history and construction; not only will the artistic design draw a spectator, but also the architectural features will fascinate the viewer. A team design of a gallery, from an architecture class, is reduced to demonstrate the core of the building. This bull series shows the significance of the basic architectural engineering in a building’s function amidst the appealing design.

I prepared a Google SketchUp representation of the gallery Mohad Zahid, Drew Smith, and I designed, and reduced it to bare lines in order to show the buildup of the construction. The gallery, at its fullest representation, shows what a passerby would see at a glance; this representation includes texture, the environment, one of which is a superfluous pond, and the aesthetics—aesthetics which only represent one-third of the building. It is regardless if the viewer thinks this gallery is attractive because they are still missing two other components used to assess any building: build and function. In the first reduction all texture is removed from the gallery; although, this reduction may seem insignificant, but without texture, a viewer becomes more open to the engineering and function of the building. The second reduction removes all color to a simple front elevation sketch of the gallery. This cutback gives the viewer perspective on the firmness of the building, for the structure of the roof, the division of floors, and the foundation of the gallery is shown; these characteristics are essential because they represent the groundwork of the gallery. The final reduction, as well the most basic representation of the gallery, serves the significance of delight, commodity, and firmness. It may be hard to believe that this basic representation shows aesthetics, but modernism is represented, which is a type of aesthetic; modernism is the rejection of historical precedent, ornament, and prefabricated elements. Simplicity is shown throughout this gallery without historical architectural markers such as dentils and rusticated stone work. This reduction gives the viewer an insight into commodity, for the basic build and outline of the gallery is shown. One may argue that this representation is the most complex due to multiple lines; however this depiction shows the assembly of the building and the basics of architectural engineering. The lines on the bottom of the building display the most basic way the gallery’s foundation can be placed; moreover, the lines underneath the roof show how the covering of the building will be supported and justify the division in the roof. Most importantly, this picture provides insight into the function of the building, which is to support paintings and sculptures and provide a space for gathering in a conservative manner. These series of reductions, clearly provides the make and architectural significance of the gallery.

The bull series on the essential architectural criteria helped enhance my understanding on the basic essentials in architecture. It improved my ability to justify an aspect of a building. The more knowledge I accumulate on architectural issues will allow me to assess a building’s architecture objectively. Most importantly, I learned not to judge a book by its cover, for the aesthetic elements of any building do not justify the beauty. As ironic as it may seem, beauty not only includes delight, but also it includes firmness and commodity. Simplicity and complexity do not judge the greatness of a building, but the architectural markers and engineering truly define the personality and magnificence of a building.

Modernism

Modernism is about perspective and perception, for the art separates the experience from the response to the experience. In “Indian Camp”, two characters, the Indian husband and Nick, are presented with a situation; the story reveals how these two characters gain perception of the circumstances. The Indian husband chooses to kill himself, for he perceives the situation as unsuitable. Nick is presented with the idea of death, but he chooses to ignore the meaning of the matter. Hemingway presents this story in a condensed manner, so that the reader has to take every fact into account. Moreover, Picasso presented the bull series, where he uses the art of reduction and diminishment to present a bull by using the least amount of detail as possible. Both, Hemingway and Picasso show the importance of detail in stories and art. However, it is still unclear to me how to figure out the hidden meanings in the stories; nonetheless, minimalism amazes me because reading a story by Hemingway is like solving a puzzle.