I will make sheep of them
Those who stand around
Not knowing what to believe
I will mold their minds
Reveal the truth
Hate leaves none empty
I am knowledgeable
I am strong
And I will teach you
You have been waiting for me
Reich will rise again
3rd will be first
I am a guardian
And I will build our fence
But shelter is for some
Hygiene is mine
See my image
Learn to cleanse as I
Jews
Clog in our sprockets
Weight on our shoulders
Coal for my flame
Burn, burn, burn
See my eyes
Brimstone brings the deepest clean
I have seen struggle
I know thy enemy
I am not a politician
I do not stand and watch
I march and strike
Yours is mein kampf
Jews
Try to hide
Crawl into your hovels
Your church is no refuge
Germany is not yours
You are our weakness
You deserve nothing
You are nothing
I will extend my limbs
Fist to squeeze
Legs to stomp
Eyes to see, know, hear, everything
My greatest art
Your blood on the walls
No, yours is not blood
Jews
I hate you
I loathe you
You pain me
Your existence
Hell's last hurrah
But I will bring it to you
Gas may singe my eyes
But poison will run through your veins
I am the needle
Stones will not stand in our way
We will not stumble
The hammer will teach
I have seen war
War must have motivation
I will provide for my people
Painter, no
Architect, no
But I will build from your bones and smear your tears
Do not stagger my Germany
They are not human
Do not be swayed by red eyes
Jews
Mein Kampf, my people, my motivation
I will be your crutch, and I will be your axe
Germany I am your groom
Listen to my every word
Follow my every commmand
For the wolf has come
His howl will ring loud
Echo through every dark corner
And draw out the splinter
Germany, my struggle
-A. Hitler
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Allusiophile
Robert Penn Warren's influential novel All the King's Men does not only relate to the day it was written in, or the future, but it also holds value in the past, as it alludes to many recognizable figures in Greek mythology. Two of the most prominent, Telemachus of The Odyssey and Cassandra of famous literature, make noticeable references within the work. Telemachus, made famous through his trials in his search for his true father, almost directly symbolizes Jack Burden, who shares the same motivation and methods. Through tests of morality and research, Jack combs through his "suitors" to locate a figure to call his father. Telemachus on the other hand, works to eliminate actual suitors and sits in wait for his one true father. What they both share, however, is a true father they both discover, and whom they realize is the most righteous of all. Sadly, Jack does not uncover his soon enough, and only his father's death unveils his true identity. Jack also crosses with another mythical figure, Cassandra, as he flips through his ancestor's journal. Cursed by a god, his unrequited love became a burden on her that she could not withstand. Blemished with insight, yet never given any heed. Cass Mastern, Jack's late ancestor, also possesses this gift, but in a less literal sense. His writing's bring light to Jack's future, yet as the Greek people to Cassandra, Jack does not not heed the warnings. Yet, perhaps it was more than ignorance that prompted Jack's misconception. “Or perhaps he laid aside the journal of Cass Mastern not because he could not understand, but because he was afraid to understand for what might be understood there was a reproach to him.” But whatever the reason, Cass Mastern and his premonitions for the doomed Jack directly relate to Cassandra and her future-sight. Including this allusion, Warren succesfully relates back to Greek mythology through both Telemachus and Cassandra, and in this way spreads the influence of All the King's Men to the present, future, and past.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Vader
Shining hood of a hallowed existence
Eyes red but tearless
Stare into the face of your executioner
Twisted pride yields no tears
Ideal perfection, yet by the hands of another
His eyes wild, yet theirs staring heavily
I tried to do the right thing
But only smiled in a chilly way
Now breath made a labored sound
Pushed and shoved through the struggling mechanics
Like most things
Made of machine
Spun metal woven and coiled
Steam dynamo of complex design
But if so detailed, why so obvious
In this world, where everything happened
Forged by more than ebony steel
Created through a sun-dazzled world
Sit down, you all, so he can stand
Lifeless to the pull of strings
Eyes red but tearless
Stare into the face of your executioner
Twisted pride yields no tears
Ideal perfection, yet by the hands of another
His eyes wild, yet theirs staring heavily
I tried to do the right thing
But only smiled in a chilly way
Now breath made a labored sound
Pushed and shoved through the struggling mechanics
Like most things
Made of machine
Spun metal woven and coiled
Steam dynamo of complex design
But if so detailed, why so obvious
In this world, where everything happened
Forged by more than ebony steel
Created through a sun-dazzled world
Sit down, you all, so he can stand
Lifeless to the pull of strings
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A Long Life's Journey Into Hell
Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night unifies a plebian family of struggling hopefuls through the wrenching conflicts tied to past mistakes they constantly weigh one another down with. Their entire existence is just one large stalemate; neither member willing to let up their guard. That isn’t to say the Tyrone’s don’t speak the truth to one another, but the truth they spread is a scarring burning one, meant not to relieve but to intensify their pain. The family feeds off this pain, they believe it resolves their own personal insecurities, but in reality it only amplifies it. They believe that if they blow out their loved one’s candle, theirs will glow brighter. It is this assumption that fuels their conflict, and leads to bitter feuds within the family lines. One of the more prominent conflicts, the elder against the younger, provides a strong starting point for other quarrels.
Perhaps the most prominent within the work is the constant conflict between James Tyrone and his first-born son, Jamie. O’Neill hints at James’s intentions by giving his son his own name, and through this reveals the idea of family legacy. It is this idea that the father knows best, and because of this is horribly distressed to see his son turn the opposite direction. Jamie sees his father’s disapproval as motivation for rebellion, and pushes himself even further from his father’s shadow. James, who had been a hard-working youth, must stand before his own son and see worthlessness. It is always the people most similar to us that threaten us most (Gale), and James cannot look into the shattered mirror. He pursues other options, yet each are vain and end in only further conflict. He sends out his wealth to Jamie, yet only becomes angered by his loose-pockets. Jamie does not comprehend the importance of money in his father’s eyes, and so his spending leads to further conflict. A flawed act of love only responded to with harsh disparity.
If this was not enough, O’Neill also provides further conflict through Mary and Edmund, the mother and youngest son. Internal turmoil runs abound between the shared relationships of these two characters, as Mary looks to her son as a replacement, the second model of her first baby boy. Although Edmund only receives the best treatment from his mother, he holds a grudge of hurt emotions, knowing that her love spurts only from the grave of his lost brother. This misdirected affection leads to emotional outbreaks in the play, propelling Edmund forward as more than just the younger sibling. Through all of Mary’s care, he only feels obligated to revolt and speak from his inner thoughts to express his unrequited feelings of false love and relayed affection. He feels he is receiving what he does not deserve or request, and this leads to increased conflict among the two traditional roles of loving mother and nurtured child.
These open and internal conflicts between what should be loving guides and their hopeful youth leads to emotional distress within the Tyrone family, and motivates them even further down the stubborn path of unmoving subjugation. Even if any member moved to requite the feelings of another, by this time their relative would not know how to respond. These grudges have been forged on their minds and have become the guidelines to their everyday lives. They only see their own faults, but the only solution they can muster is blame. This vicious cycle of family degradation keeps the Tyrone’s from ever moving forward; forgive and forget is unheard of, and so they must squander their days in unrelenting night. Because the Tyrones will not forgive each other, and will not even forgive themselves, for their past faults, they forge for themselves a miserable present (Gale). The constant warring of an obstinate family leaves the individuals involved with a sense of unfelt affection, lost direction, and constant darkness. No one family member will pay their due, and so the loved one’s at their side must pay the price. Eugene O’Neill forms for the Tyrones a constant shroud, a self-induced cloud of spite that never ceases to reprieve their suffering.
Bibliography:
Wren, Celia. "All in the family: 'long day's journey into night'. (Stage)." Commonweal. 130.11 (June 6, 2003): p20. Literature Resource Center. Gale. LEE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM. 21 Sept. 2008
Perhaps the most prominent within the work is the constant conflict between James Tyrone and his first-born son, Jamie. O’Neill hints at James’s intentions by giving his son his own name, and through this reveals the idea of family legacy. It is this idea that the father knows best, and because of this is horribly distressed to see his son turn the opposite direction. Jamie sees his father’s disapproval as motivation for rebellion, and pushes himself even further from his father’s shadow. James, who had been a hard-working youth, must stand before his own son and see worthlessness. It is always the people most similar to us that threaten us most (Gale), and James cannot look into the shattered mirror. He pursues other options, yet each are vain and end in only further conflict. He sends out his wealth to Jamie, yet only becomes angered by his loose-pockets. Jamie does not comprehend the importance of money in his father’s eyes, and so his spending leads to further conflict. A flawed act of love only responded to with harsh disparity.
If this was not enough, O’Neill also provides further conflict through Mary and Edmund, the mother and youngest son. Internal turmoil runs abound between the shared relationships of these two characters, as Mary looks to her son as a replacement, the second model of her first baby boy. Although Edmund only receives the best treatment from his mother, he holds a grudge of hurt emotions, knowing that her love spurts only from the grave of his lost brother. This misdirected affection leads to emotional outbreaks in the play, propelling Edmund forward as more than just the younger sibling. Through all of Mary’s care, he only feels obligated to revolt and speak from his inner thoughts to express his unrequited feelings of false love and relayed affection. He feels he is receiving what he does not deserve or request, and this leads to increased conflict among the two traditional roles of loving mother and nurtured child.
These open and internal conflicts between what should be loving guides and their hopeful youth leads to emotional distress within the Tyrone family, and motivates them even further down the stubborn path of unmoving subjugation. Even if any member moved to requite the feelings of another, by this time their relative would not know how to respond. These grudges have been forged on their minds and have become the guidelines to their everyday lives. They only see their own faults, but the only solution they can muster is blame. This vicious cycle of family degradation keeps the Tyrone’s from ever moving forward; forgive and forget is unheard of, and so they must squander their days in unrelenting night. Because the Tyrones will not forgive each other, and will not even forgive themselves, for their past faults, they forge for themselves a miserable present (Gale). The constant warring of an obstinate family leaves the individuals involved with a sense of unfelt affection, lost direction, and constant darkness. No one family member will pay their due, and so the loved one’s at their side must pay the price. Eugene O’Neill forms for the Tyrones a constant shroud, a self-induced cloud of spite that never ceases to reprieve their suffering.
Bibliography:
Wren, Celia. "All in the family: 'long day's journey into night'. (Stage)." Commonweal. 130.11 (June 6, 2003): p20. Literature Resource Center. Gale. LEE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM. 21 Sept. 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Curtain
Flowing folds of shadowy shades
Creasing lines to reach the tile
Intertwined and woven-deep
Crooked work of hailed style
Masquerade the lights on high
blind the lost and lead the wise
spread the linen wings to show
the hidden deapth where sun resides
So cut the ties of posh decor
unearth the passe stylings of old
rekindle light and restore
push aside the tattered folds
Creasing lines to reach the tile
Intertwined and woven-deep
Crooked work of hailed style
Masquerade the lights on high
blind the lost and lead the wise
spread the linen wings to show
the hidden deapth where sun resides
So cut the ties of posh decor
unearth the passe stylings of old
rekindle light and restore
push aside the tattered folds
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