Section 2 Discussion Review Notes

Rosemarie Dombrowski

January 27

I hope that everyone has taken a few minutes to read Prof. Lockard's summary. He explores some extremely important issues that we neglected to address, so I think you'll find it beneficial/enlightening.

As for our discussion, the highlights were as follows:

The canon -- rethinking, re-mapping, and refashioning what we've come to accept as "canonical" in literary studies; experiencing both the euro-centric and native/indigenous perspectives; considering the impetus behind the various voices and the tone each produces.

Imperialism/colonialism -- considering the master/slave dichotomy and how that relationship informs and influences the literature of the age; power dynamics within travel literature/lit. of the encounter; early ethnography and the imperialistic slant of cultural presentation; "othering" the indigenous peoples in order to distance and dehumanize (and justify the m/s binary).

Religion -- the multiplicity and eclecticism of native religions; the role of nature in native religions; the European "self-as-god" syndrome; questions of "divine justification" regarding the conquest.

I think I've touched on most of the themes that we covered, but feel free to post anything that I've inadvertently omitted. I used a "discussion-outline" format for this posting, but I might be inclined to switch to prose -- please let me know which you'd prefer.

February 16

Franklin's political satires:

-censuring of practices such as the witch trials and slavery rooted in logical reasoning
-emphasis on values such as temperance, frugality, logic, etc. -- ideological harbingers to the autobiography

Franklin's Autobiography:

-establishes the trope of the self-made man and the American dream/rags-to-riches phenomenon
-becomes not only the thematic model for works like The Great Gatsby, but also the structural model for forthcoming slave narratives and autobiographies (Frederick Douglass)
-emphasis on self-control/temperance: mental, physical, and financial
-roots of capitalisitic ideology
-notion of self-reliance -- deist philosophy -- man, rather than God, controls his own destiny - negates Edwardian/Puritan concept of divine providence

February 25

Equiano's Narrative:

-questions of authenticity; effect of those questions on reception of narrative; widespread acceptance of "ethnographic inauthenticity" of "white texts"

-idealization of native land/customs; recognition of "superiority" of whites in certain instances (i.e. they don't sell their own people into slavery) -- early evidence of Equiano's awareness of his audience (which is made up of educated white men and white abolitionists)

-process of acculturation: literal and chronological movement away from edenic homeland toward white, European culture; the quest for a Christian ideology; retrospective narration/reflection and subsequent incorporation of Christian ideals, almost to the point of didacticism

-Franklinian trope with a twist: self-made man struggling toward acceptance/recognition; uses Christian faith as a means to achieving that acceptance/equality within white society

March 28

Summary:

We discussed symbols within the context of Ch. 16 and then projected both forward and backward, considering the changes/developments or lack thereof in these symbols throughout the rest of the novel; we also discussed the
thematic implications/impact of the various symbols for both individual characters and the work as a whole:

The forest -- we agreed to disagree on this one, or at least consider a multiplicity of interpretations. In the tradition of Hawthorne's predecessors and Euro-centric folklore in general, the forest seems to signify a space of wildness; it is outside the parameters of culture and religious law, and therefore, in the eyes of the Puritans, is lawless. However, the forest also seems to symbolize safety, sanctuary, and comfort for Hester; it allows her to exist (at least temporarily) outside the
confines of the society that has censured her; it serves as a temporary escape from conventional mores. Given these relatively different interpretations, we decided that we could also interpret the forest as a space of in-betweenness -- a purgatory if you will. Hester flees to the forest because she has broken the laws of society, but the protection/shelter it offers is transitory. Instead, she almost seems to be serving her time -- awaiting redemption -- while focusing on self renewal.

The Black Man -- we thought it significant that Pearl would ask about the Black Man in the very chapter where Dimmsdale and her mother were to meet in private for the first time in the novel. Some believed that Dimmsdale was beginning to manifest "dark" qualities at this point. Again, the concept of evil comes up within the context of the forest, suggesting that a
wildness/darkness thrives there. Pearl's awareness of this Black Man/Devil figure seems indicative of her knowledge of her mother's sin.

The 'A' -- in this chapter, we agreed that the letter's relationship to Pearl is emphasized. Some commented that she sees herself in the image of her mother, inevitably earning a letter for herself someday (which she would wear with pride...prideful dissent?). We discussed the idea of Pearl also associating herself with the letter, so much so that she becomes a
symbol herself. Her strong identification is evidenced in her refusal to cross the stream until Hester reattaches the letter (essentially, re-accepts Pearl).

Pearl -- we discussed Pearl as a symbol of naturalness, wildness, and penance. Her refusal to cross the stream further identifiesher with the woods, as do the beams of sunlight that she jumps into.

Lastly, we speculated about the community -- their homogeneity with regard to mores and their censuring of Hester, their obliviousness to Dimmesdale's burden, and their eventual splintering regarding the question of Dimmesdale's guilt. We speculated that the last was due to their unwillingness to admit fault within themselves and their spiritual leader. If they had, their entire foundation would have disintegrated.

We also discussed the ideas of sin and punishment with regard to Hester and Dimmesdale. Despite our contemporary disbelief at these accusations and punishments, we reminded ourselves of the context in which the story takes
place and the readership that it was addressed to. We also briefly tied in "Major Molineaux," and Hawthorne's continuous questioning of the status quo, democracy, homogeneity, etc.

April 11

We discussed basic Romantic and transcendentalist tenets, including beauty, nature, and the self. We attempted to "diagram" their relationship to one another by referring back to "Nature" and Emerson's idea of the renewed self via nature. We made comparison's to British Romaticism, Wordsworth in particular, which led to a brief discussion of the transendentalist's relationship with God. Someone brought up Deism as a point of comparison, which led us back to the spiritual ideas put forth by Emerson in "Nature" -- namely, that all things in nature are imbued with a God-like spirit, which is we our relationship with nature is the key is renewal.

We discussed the self vs. society debate as outlined by both Emerson and Thoreau. We talked about Emerson's idea of greatness and the marks that distinguish remarkable men from the rest of society. This led to a discussion of the Parks question, which most agreed could be more effectively argued via "Self Reliance," especially given the characteristics of the self-reliant minority that Emerson enumerates throughout the essay. We named each characteristic, and made reference to a couple of the examples that he uses, specifially Franklin, which spurred us to include Emerson in the lineage of writer's who have immortalized the idea of the self-made American.

We also discussed the misappropriation of Emerson and Thoreau, giving specific examples of some of these instances (Thoreauean aphorisms being taken up by every war protestor during the 60s and 70s, financial corporations and luxury cars appropriating Emersonion phrases, etc.). Most of these examples were provided by myself since my students claimed to be unaware of this phenomenon and largely unfamiliar with Thoreau's works (although they knew something of his ideas and his association with Emerson).

We talked briefly about the anti-slavery sentiments present in both works, and the booming rhetoric regarding "Man," rather than mankind or woman, inherent in both.

April 18

We discussed the slave narrative as autobiography and made structual/organizational and thematic comparisons between Douglass' narrative and other autobiographies that we've encountered (Equiano, Franklin). We also discussed the shaping of a new American identity via this mode of writing.

We discussed the importance of education to Douglass and the abolitionist cause. We compared different forms of resistance and speculated on the effectiveness of each using contemporary examples to ground our discussion (violence vs. non-violent confrontation, sword vs. pen, Malcolm X vs. King).

We discussed the master/slave relationship, specifically noting its contingency on submissiveness, ignorance, etc. We cited passages from the text to support these contantions.

We also discussed the role of religion in the narrative, and more specifically, Douglass' censuring of the Christian faction that used dogma as a means of justification. We cited several passages here as well.

We discussed the Covey section as tangential to the themes of religion and education. We noted the transformation process: violence followed by spiritual awakening/enlightenment, which served as the catalyst for self-reclamation. We discussed the images of whiteness and the ships that open the passage, speculating on the duality of meaning inherent in these (freedom and slavery), and we briefly touched upon the incorporation of animistic elements within his transformation (a harkening back to the motherland, a reincorporation of all aspects of the self in an attempt to attain wholeness).