literature

Introduction

The concept of “the tipping point” can be boiled down to a series of events that lead to a sudden change. This can encompass a variety of aspects such as the sell off period in a stock market after months or years of a bull run, the sudden popularity of a fashion style, or the development of a pop culture icon (i.e. Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, etc.). Simply put, a tipping point can be considered as the outcome of a variety of factors that leads to an emergence of a monumental event or even an inconsequential instance, yet occurs almost overnight due to the factors that contributed to its manifestation early on.

Basically, a tipping point is a moment of critical mass where all the subjective factors that lead up to an event come together resulting in its manifestation. In fact, aside from the examples just given, the concept of a tipping point can be seen in a variety of historical accounts. For instance, the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand was considered a tipping point in history since it brought about World War 1. However, the death of a single person is actually insufficient to actually bring about a war that encompassed numerous countries. Instead, it is important to look at the factors that contributed to it.

Namely, the balance of power system that was in place at the time wherein the various alliances that interlinked countries within Europe resulted in them having to go to war since their own allies were dragged into it. This is a clear cut case of a variety of factors that lead to a point of critical mass wherein all that would be needed is a “slight push” so to speak in order to cause the critical mass to “explode”.

Thus, when examining the context of the tipping point and how it has impacted history and society, it becomes immediately obvious that some means of investigating such an important historical and sociological concept is necessary due to its sheer impact on the development of history and society. It is based on this that this paper reviews the work of Malcom Gladwell and this book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”. Through a review of Gladwell’s work, it is expected that a clearer insight regarding the concept of “the tipping point” can be developed which will help readers identify the signs of the process in action.

Personal Perspective

In my twenty-seven years, I have seen a variety of trends come and go such as cabbage patch dolls, Gibeaud pants, and Michael Jackson. While I rarely, if ever, followed such trends

I understood that there was something driving the popularity of these items and individuals. One of the most common questions I had when observing these trends as they developed was “what makes them special?” For instance, what makes a particular style of shirt like Nike more popular than a similarly designed shirt from an unknown retailer? Not only that, why do people consider Michael Jackson as “the King of Pop” and not any of his contemporaries who started out during the same period that he did?

It is based on these questions that I thought that whether it was a product or a person, their popularity was simply due to being at the right place at the right time. However, after reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point”, I have begun to realize the concept of being at the right place at the right time has more relevancy to the idea than I had anticipated. As such, the next few sections will give more detail on the work of Gladwell and the various factors involved in concept of the tipping point.

What is the Tipping Point?

“The Tipping Point” can be considered as a memoir of a thought process that focuses on evaluating the origin of events and what causes them to manifest. From the perspective of Gladwell, the ideal approach to examine the various complex changes that happen in life is to evaluate them based on an accumulation of events that cause a change to happen due to the presence of a “trigger” (Gladwell, 2000). Gladwell presents helps to explain this “trigger” through the use of “the tipping point” concept and two stories that showcase how a tipping point can occur resulting in a change in either societal perception or ushering in new events in history (Gladwell, 2000).

The first example that Gladwell focuses on is the Hush Puppies shoe line and how it vaulted from an overlooked band to the exemplification of hip in the world class design world in under two years. The second example he utilized focused on how New York City’s high crime rate dropped all of a sudden after years. The examples are important manifestations of “the tipping point” concept since they showcase how a series of events can lead up to a sudden change (Gladwell, 2000).

What this indicates is that the concept of change is not something that occurs without sufficient reason, instead, it is more accurate to state that it builds up through an accumulation of information and events and manifests immediately after a certain “trigger” is pulled. Thus, change under the concept of Gladwell in the book does not occur within a vacuum, rather, it occurs due to events taking place behind the scenes that manifest in “the front stage” so to speak; yet, the series of events that happen behind the scenes are what enables such changes to occur in the first place. Change can thus occur suddenly from the perspective of Gladwell yet such changes are based on an inherent structure of information and events and come together to bring such changes about (Gladwell, 2000).

One of the basic concepts that Gladwell touches on is irrational exuberance and how it manifests in the way in which people act. Irrational exuberance is basically the way in which people base their actions on the behavior of other people. For instance, he begins expounding on yawning, bringing up that simply the way that he is expounding on the saying “yawning” means there is a decent risk that a person in the audience will yawn. It is this form of behavior that helps to explain the sudden and often times irrational behavior of people when it comes to pop culture stars and products (Gladwell, 2000).

Basically, Gladwell and the concept of irrational exuberance shows that an individual or an item becomes popular simply because a group of people believe that it is popular resulting in other people believing it is popular which in the end makes it popular. This particular behavior can be compared to a form of mass hysteria or even a type of “herd behavior” wherein people accept the popularity of an item or individual simply because the group believes it to be popular. It is this particular underpinning that helps to explain how social trends take place and how the “tipping point” in the case of pop culture appears.

Simply put, the “trigger” in this case is the desire to belong wherein people will consider something to be popular if there is sufficient traction or other individuals that say something is popular. This helps to explain why artists that have little in the way of significant talent (i.e. Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers, etc.) become popular they are marketed as being popular by the various companies that they are under.

On the other hand, this also helps to explain why these individuals tend to lose their popularity as well since, when the marketing of these enterprises are removed, you are left with a mediocre artist that is simply not sellable due to the lack of quality in what they are producing. Based on this, it can be seen that the tipping point when it comes to pop culture stardom is basically people having sufficient enough belief that a person is popular. The “crowd effect” takes over resulting in the tipping point reaching critical mass and eventually creates a “star”. One example of this effect in action can be seen in the case of Kim Kardashian who is simply famous for being famous.

Was the book “The Tipping Point” Easy for you to Read?

Overall, Gladwell’s work is straightforward, compelling and rather well written when it comes to combining his views regarding “the tipping point” and combining it with a variety of examples. Gladwell utilizes a variety of cases and subtle elements that make his contentions convincing and gives readers a variety of examples on they can apply the model he developed in order to understand the origin of events and what the triggers were. The main strength of the work of Gladwell comes from its use of prolific body of historical knowledge and thoughts from various experts in social learning that formed the foundation of his work (Gladwell, 2000).

Yet, despite this abundance of literature, it must be noted that Gladwell fails to “think out of the box” so to speak when it comes to examining the causes of particular events when taking into consideration aspects related to individual action, the contribution of culture and how such aspects combine into creating events. Instead, the author single mindedly focuses on the concept of “critical point of change” that he had brought up at the start of the text as the main causes of behind events occurring.

In the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell gives an outline on the marvel of social pandemics, the underlying reasons that make things happen and how to identify them. The book is littered with a variety of academic commentary combined with a fascinating account that shows the hypothesis. I would have given the book five stars if not for two issues that detracted from its overall veracity and insightfulness. The first problem is the fact that while the book has a considerable amount of academic content, it is lacking when it comes to incorporating sufficient enough examples to prove the various assertions that it makes.

Aside from this, while the book contains a great deal of intriguing thoughts, there is little in the way of sufficient incorporation into proper examples (fictional or otherwise) that would have enabled readers to better understand the material. The second problem is the fact that while the book sufficiently bundles scholarly research with straightforward ideas and clarifying these through examples, it is neither sufficiently academic or is not properly entertaining.

What this means is that it “toes the line” so to speak between academic literature and fictionalized accounts to the extent that it melds the two. Unfortunately, from my perspective, the melding was not done in a proper fashion and the books comes out as a mediocre form of academic text. However, for those intrigued by subtle elements, there are almost ten pages of endnotes that clarify the ideas all the more completely and give references to the first writing.

So what makes things tip? As per the assertions of Gladwell this can be partitioned into three clarifying classifications: the law of the few, the stickiness variable, and the force of the connection (Gladwell, 2000). The law of the few states that only a few individuals can be responsible for the popularization of particular ideas and concepts and their subsequent manifestation into events that change society or history.

These individuals can be classified as connectors, experts, and business people. Connectors are people with uncommonly extensive individual networking systems (i.e. they know a lot of people). The stickiness principle alludes to little “sticky” subtle elements that can result in considerable events that occur as a direct result. What this means is that certain elements “stick” together resulting in their contribution towards the manifestation of an event.

All in all, it can be stated that “The Tipping Point” is an effective book when it comes to giving a method for translating what variables have helped a certain event from coming about. Whether it is historical or sociological in nature, the main assertion of the book focuses on how events “buildup” through interconnections (whether through an interconnection of events or individuals through the sticky principle) which inevitably manifest in a type of change.

Do note though that while a type of model for identification does exist within the book, it is severely lack in academic veracity, especially when it comes to its implementation in case examples. Not only that, there is a lack of evidence to support its use in predicting future events. Instead, it acts more as a means of examining historical accounts within society or history and explaining how they occurred after the fact instead predicting the course of actions as they would occur in the future.

Information Obtained

After going over the book, the following viewpoints are what I have obtained:

The concept of a “Tipping Point” can be characterized as a snippet of discriminating mass, the edge, and the breaking point. It is the moment that ordinary things achieve considerable levels of popularity to the extent that they become part of commonplace information. There are three different qualities of epidemics as defined by Gladwell, namely: infectiousness, the way that little causes can have huge impacts, and that change happens not progressively yet at one explosive instant (Gladwell, 2000).

What must be understood is that the various events and situations that occur around us on a daily basis, actually do not conform to what our instincts tell us is the norm. It is based on this that we should take on an attitude of constant doubt and test what we know versus what is actually happening. This is because the various aspects of society that help to define it are often the result of explosive changes that have helped to influence its creation.

Three Rules of Epidemics

Law of the Few – First and foremost, the concept of “word of mouth communication” should still be considered as being one of the most utilized, as such the most imperative, form of human communication. The “Law of the Few” basically states that a few individuals in the right places can be sufficient catalysts of change as compared to having a large number of individuals that are spread out. This particular method of explaining the catalysts of change has its basis on the various politicians, senators and even celebrities who are in ideal positions to act as the “triggers for change” by being the voice for the type of change that is to be brought about. Gladwell helps to classify these types of individuals under the following categories:

1. Connectors – this first collection of individuals has an exceptional skill for connecting people from different backgrounds (Gladwell, 2000). It can be said that they know a wide assortment of different people in a variety of locations and careers.
2. Second, the concept of “the Mavens” can be surmised as a gathering of individuals with the express purpose of collecting different types of information (Gladwell, 2000). To be a Maven is to be an instructor and an understudy. Basically, people in this type of situation are educators or mentors and help to influence people towards a particular train of thought which influences their future actions.
3. Salesmen – the concept behind this type of group focuses on influencing an individual due to the pessimistic way in which they are viewing the information that is being given to them. Basically, under this particular concept, people are convinced to follow a particular line of thinking not because they are taught new information; rather, they are convinced based on the veracity and the apparent passion of the information they are being told (Gladwell, 2000).

Stickiness Factor – the concept behind the stickiness factor is that a piece of information or content becomes sufficiently memorable that it “sticks” so to speak resulting in it becoming a prime influence in the way in which people view various events and how they react to them (Gladwell, 2000). For instance, it is actually surprising to note that in Guam the food product Spam has become a part of the regular diet of the population. This is due to the locals observing the American servicemen at the time eating it on a regular basis. At the time, people in the area thought that things that were foreign were basically aspects that were good. The end result is that the idea “stuck” resulting in Spam becoming as prolific in the country as beef or chicken when it comes to everyday meals.

Force of Context – “The way to getting individuals to change their conduct off and on again lies with the most diminutive points of interest of their prompt circumstance. Under the concept of “the Power of Context”, it is actually explained that people are actually a lot more in tune with the general environment than most people tend to believe and, as such, this should be taken into consideration when dealing with people in general or when it comes to determining how their behavior would aid in enacting an event to come about (Gladwell, 2000).

What did I Learn?

When going over the contents of the book, it can be realized that it helps people to develop a method for comprehending why change so frequently happens as fast and as suddenly as it does. For instance, utilizing the framework developed by author, you could answer the following queries: How does a novel composed by an obscure creator wind up as a national smash hit? Why do youngsters smoke in more prominent and more noteworthy numbers, when each and every individual in the nation realizes that cigarettes would kill them? To answer such questions, all that would be needed is to overlay the “tipping point” model and examine the events that lead up to the manifestation of each change.

The result is that you would inevitably be able to determine the origins of each change and what were the factors that contributed to it. The sudden popularity of an item or of an activity does not happen within a vacuum; instead, its cause is usually a series of events that get stuck together resulting in their manifestation as a change in society later on.

One of the most important pieces of information that I have learned from the book is that a multitude of things can happen at the same time, and little changes can have a colossal effect. That being said, it can thus be assumed that a variety of different events and influences can come together which can bring about colossal changes in the world as we know it. As individuals, we generally anticipate that commonplace changes will happen gradually and consistently, and for there to be some relationship in the middle of circumstances and end results.

This is somewhat true; however, the concept of change can actually occur abruptly and without warning. While there is an intrinsic series of events that lead up to the change happening in the first place, what I have learned is that most people are not aware of these series of events and instead focus on the change that occurred. This is one of the reasons why the statement: “if you do not learn from history, you will be doomed to repeat it” becomes relevant since to understand history is to know how everything that we see around us was formed and developed.

Another interesting aspect that I learned from the book is that in all things, there is a tipping point that creates change. For instance, if it rains too much in a certain location there is would inevitably be a tipping point wherein the local rivers would not be able to sustain the continued rainfall and they would subsequently flood. The same concept applies to various eco-systems wherein there is a tipping point where they no longer become sustainable due to excessive resource harvesting (i.e. the Amazon rainforest and the constant harvesting of lumber in the region). It is with this context in mind that I questioned the origin of popularity and what was the tipping point that made something popular.

Technically, it should be fundamentally the same wherein there is a point of critical mass which would result in an inevitable change. However, one of the more difficult aspects of understanding what makes something popular is the concept of human behavior and how it varies from person to person. Since human behavior is varied, then there must be an underlying factor that causes the tipping out that exists outside of behavioral contexts. It is due to this that I turned once more to the work of Gladwell and determined that the underlying aspect of popularity is not that people intrinsically like it due to the quality of the content, rather, just enough people have to like it under the principle of connectors to make it popular.

For example, there is a show on the TLC networking called “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” which depicts the lives of what can best be defined as “white trash” (i.e. uneducated and uncultured Caucasians). Normally, such a show would not be popular at all, however, due to the fact that enough people like it results in more people taking an interest resulting in it becoming popular. Thus, the quality of what is popular should not be taken into consideration, rather, all that is needed is sufficient quantity to “start the ball rolling” so to speak.

Based on my overall view on the book, I like to consider it as a type of scholarly escapade story. It draws from psychological research and social science as well as the study of disease transmission in order to formulate its various concepts. I think the book would intellectually engage any individual who needs to comprehend their general surroundings in an alternate manner. It is based on this that it can be stated that “the Tipping Point” is not some mere experimental content with far reaching references, formal definitions and test examination to defend its position. Instead, it depends on the creativeness of the arguments it makes and illustrations to give support to the positions it emphasizes.

Accordingly, I do not accept that Gladwell would affirm that he has demonstrated that these three guidelines are the best or just controls which represent trends. Indeed, the principles are suitably dubious and overly generalized that one may be enticed to contend that any new lead discovered which appeared to fall outside of their degree could simply be acclimatized as data about: “the few”, “stickiness”, or “connection”.

Conclusion

Overall, I have to state that “the Tipping Point” was an awesome book that was very entertaining to read and helped me considerably in understanding a variety of different factors related to causation that I had not realized early on. The book is actually not boring at all with the author utilizing a variety of interesting and amusing viewpoints in order to illustrate a variety of points and arguments regarding the origin of events and the various methods that could be utilized in order help understand the origins of change. As such, I would highly recommend this book not only as a text to help understand the changes that have occurred in a business environment, but also as a means of understand the development of society as a whole.

Reference List

Gladwell, M. (2000). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Boston: Little, Brown.

Personal Response to Rip Van Winkle

Washing Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle” is a powerful historical material that describes the issues experienced by many Americans before and after the Revolutionary War. The author uses the life of Rip Van Winkle to analyze the practices of many communities. The story highlights the economic activities embraced by different people in the targeted society. The author also describes the experiences of many citizens during the colonial period.

The writer also examines the traditional beliefs of these native Indians. For instance, the Kaatskill Mountains were associated with different spirits (Irving 26). Such spirits influenced the experiences of many communities.

The author uses the life of Van Winkle to describe the fate of many settlers. Rip Van Winkle was a blessed person. His kindness made him popular. Many women and children admired Rip Winkle. He also taught them how to fly and make kites. Van was always ready to help many individuals in society. However, he was not ready to complete different family duties. Van did not bother about his farm. Winkle was always “ready to whistle his life away” (Irving 10). Winkle’s experiences describe the issues encountered in every Dutch society.

Van Winkle’s encounter with the above spirits describes the traditions and beliefs of many native tribes. The narration also describes the lifestyles of the Dutch. These people engaged in different activities such as trade and farming. The emergence of the Revolutionary War created a new history in the country. This war eventually made these people free. Rip Van Winkle eventually rejoined a free society after the war (Irving 21). This narration also explains why the work of Diedrick Knickerbocker is unquestionable. This approach makes the article meaningful. I am therefore planning to read similar stories to understand the history of this society.

Works Cited

Irving, Washington. The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon. New York, NY: Longman, 1981. Print.

In spite of research indicating the methods helping to reduce inequality in healthcare, the problem of health disparities is still recognized as a critical question. In her award-winning book titled The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Skloot (2010) tells the story of a financially disadvantaged African-American cervical cancer patient whose cells were used for scientific purposes without her and her family’s consent. The author shares the results of her thorough research that partially support the theories of disparity, focusing on race-based social division, resource deprivation, and the link between motivation and identity while also highlighting certain ethical issues evident in the case.

The first factor that allows making connections between the story and modern theories explaining the sources of health disparities is Henrietta’s access to medical resources based on her financial situation and race. As a poor woman, Henrietta Lacks did not have many options when finding out about her health condition. In 1950, she and her husband visited their local doctor, and they were referred to the John Hopkins clinic – one of the few hospitals that served financially underprivileged people, the majority of which were black (Skloot, 2010). This fact aligns with the theories of health disparities centered on the social division on the basis of financial resources often related to ethnicity. According to Arcaya, Arcaya, and Subramanian (2015), economic stratification heavily impacts U.S. citizens’ access to medical services. In the middle of the twentieth century, this division was even more obvious, and the woman who was constantly bleeding and had severe pain had to travel a long way to visit the hospital and get the right diagnosis (Skloot, 2010). Taking this fact into consideration, it can be said that health disparities related to economic class impacted the woman’s opportunity to get timely medical services.

In addition to the financial component of discrimination in healthcare services, the story of Henrietta problematizes race-based differences in access to timely help. As is stated by Skloot (2010) in her non-fiction book, in the era of the so-called Jim Crow laws, racial segregation was a common practice in healthcare institutions. Henrietta needed to get the correct diagnosis and start treatment as soon as possible at the time when it was normal for the medical staff in some hospitals to deny aid to non-white patients even if they needed urgent and life-saving surgical interventions (Skloot, 2010). To some extent, this example illustrates and supports the resource deprivation theory stating that white and non-white populations have unequal access to important resources, which explains the existence of health disparities (Arcaya et al., 2015). Therefore, some facts from the book illustrating segregation in healthcare support the theories of health disparities, emphasizing the role of race in access to resources.

The very fact that Henrietta neglected her condition until it was too late can be analyzed with reference to the identity-based motivational model proposed by Richman, Blodorn, and Major (2016). According to it, the levels of perceived health disparities have an impact on people’s willingness to avoid unhealthy practices and behaviors (Richman et al., 2016). Henrietta started noticing alarming symptoms such as pain, bleeding, and lumps a few months before going to the doctor, but she decided to seek medical help only when the symptoms aggravated (Skloot, 2010). This example is indicative of self-depreciation and a tendency to neglect physical difficulties, which can be related to being a member of a segregated group not welcomed in white-only hospitals. It also demonstrates that disparities in healthcare can be unobvious, thus changing people’s attitudes to the problem and preventing them from oversimplifying the structure of discrimination.

The content of the book also allows examining ethical issues in healthcare that influence patient outcomes and satisfaction with care. Firstly, the use of Henrietta’s cells for research purposes without her consent is considered an ethical violation, and Skloot (2010) notes this fact in her work. She states that there are multiple guidelines and ethical codes that emphasize the importance of obtaining informed consent to such manipulations. However, as explained by Skloot (2010), ethical codes were not established as law, and it was thus difficult for an African-American woman to take the issue to court due to legal and social disparities. Secondly, the author notes that human tissue research, in general, is considered ethically dubious, and there are many scholars who are against it for ideological reasons (Skloot, 2010). Medical professionals involved in the treatment of Henrietta failed to comply with ethical requirements associated with this type of research and acknowledge the moral side of the situation, which makes this case an illustration of ethical concerns evident in healthcare.

The topic of ethics in the book is also related to the theme of race and the inequalities suffered by Henrietta. Delayed and denied care provision as a result of racial discrimination were prevalent ethical issues at the time, and in some cases, they still persist in contemporary medicine. Skloot (2010) shows the impact of discrimination on the patient in great detail throughout the book, thus drawing attention to the ethical side of the situation. For instance, the patient’s distress and impaired health as a result of poor access to and quality of healthcare provided highlight that ethical violations pertaining to healthcare impact both mental and physical health outcomes.

Concerning the advantages of the book, the work is full of facts that allow making conclusions concerning the character of health disparities in the twentieth century when hospital segregation on the basis of race was an acceptable practice. Moreover, the book is worth reading due to the quality of research conducted by Skloot (2010). She presents the facts of Henrietta’s life reported by her grandchildren and the analysis of the available medical records. In addition to that, the author thoroughly documents all interviews and provides the reader with an opportunity to analyze different perspectives on the story and the ethical appropriateness of using cancer tissues without informing patients and their family members. Judging from the book and the way the author presents her findings, she tries to be impartial and avoids using emotional reasoning. As for potential shortcomings, the author’s interviews with Henrietta’s relatives can sometimes be the source of incomplete or inaccurate information since these people present a biased party and human memory is not reliable in some cases.

To sum up, the book by Rebecca Skloot sheds light on numerous problems in medical ethics and disparity research. Particular facts documented by the author illustrate the presence of race-based inequalities highlighted in health disparity theories that emphasize social stratification and minorities’ access to resources. The author also highlights the ethical environment surrounding the case, which allows for a detailed exploration of Henrietta’s story from the perspective of both research and ethics.

References

Arcaya, M. C., Arcaya, A. L., & Subramanian, S. V. (2015). Inequalities in health: Definitions, concepts, and theories. Global Health Action, 8(1), 1-12.

Richman, L. S., Blodorn, A., & Major, B. (2016). An identity-based motivational model of the effects of perceived discrimination on health-related behaviors. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 19(4), 415-425.

Skloot, R. (2010). The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks. New York, NY: Crown Publishers.

Topic

Is it relevant to discuss Eleonora in “Eleonora” by Edgar Allan Poe and Tia Roma in Torquemada at the Stake by Benito Perez Galdos as agents of knowledge or as objectified characters?

Textual evidence

Quote #1 (from text #1)

Eleonora “grieved to think that, having entombed her in the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass, I would quit forever its happy recesses, transferring the love which now was so passionately her own to some maiden of the outer and every-day world” (Poe 146).

To state whether Eleonora is an agent of knowledge or an objectified character, it is necessary to focus on her vision of death and her attitude to her lover expressed in her words and actions. Thus, the power of Eleonora is in her possibility to focus on the moments which are important in life. Asking her lover about the possibilities to fall in love with another woman, Eleonora demonstrates her ability to analyze and predict situations.

Quote #2 (from text #2)

When Tia Roma saw Valentin “gripped by that terrible illness, which according to her was a rupture of the talent in his head”, the old maid “went to inquire morning and afternoon; she got into the boy’s bedroom and sat for long hours beside his bed, gazing at him silently, her eyes like two inexhaustible fountains that poured tears over the aging parchment of her face and neck” (Galdos 34).

While Valentin is suffering from his illness, Tia Roma demonstrates her wisdom through the real actions and predictions of the actions of Valentin’s father. When Torquemada is focused on his suffering because of Valentin’s illness, Tia Roma chooses to act to relieve Valentin’s sufferings.

Narrative space

Narrative space from text #1

The narrative space in “Eleonora” is the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass which as beautiful as Eleonora herself. The descriptions of the Valley of the Many-Colored Grass are associated with the discussions of Eleonora’s perfect and delicate character and appearance because all the flowers of the valley cannot even reflect the beauty of the young woman. Thus, the descriptions of the valley serve to emphasize the character of Eleonora.

Narrative space, text #2

The narrative space in Torquemada at the Stake which is associated with Tia Roma is the house of Torquemada where Tia Roma is responsible for creating the atmosphere and comfort for all the members of the family. As a result, any situation in the house can be closely associated not with the cruel nature of Torquemada but with the attempts of Tia Roma to create a comfortable small world for the family which is close to the maid.

Imagery

Symbol from text #1

The character of Eleonora is directly associated and compared with the Seraphim because of the young woman’s innocence and inner spiritual purity. That is why her actions and thoughts as clear and innocent as the intentions of the Seraphim directed toward protecting the people’s souls.

Symbol from text #2

Tia Roma’s character is associated with the image of the Virgin because this woman intends to protect Torquemada’s family as the mother for whom all the family’s members are children who can lose their rights way. Tia Roma’s task, as it is the task of the Virgin, is to provide the family with a blessing. Moreover, Tia Roma always refers to the divine power as the protective one to direct the people’s life.

Abstract

Even though the characters of Eleonora and Tia Roma can be discussed as different from the authors’ descriptions, these characters act and behave as the agents of knowledge rather than the submissive objectified characters because they demonstrate significant inner power, and they can predict the people’s actions or the further events because of their inner purity; that is why both authors are inclined to associate the characters with the divine images of the Seraphim and the Virgin.

Works Cited

Galdos, Benito Perez. Torquemada at the Stake. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986. Print.

Poe, Edgar Allan. Edgar Allan Poe’s Annotated Short Stories. USA: Bottletree Books LLC, 2008. Print.

Introduction

Throughout this course, I have learned many things that I was not aware of hitherto concerning traditions and especially folklores. Folklore, which is also popularly known as ‘lore’, includes oral history, music, jokes, proverbs, legends, fairy tales, tall tales, as well as traditional customs of different cultures or groups. It is easy to see that folklorists’ interests lie in songs and tales, rituals and religions, customs and beliefs, proverbs, jokes, and many others. In simple terms, folklorists are majorly interested in produced materials in a manner that pleases a group as well as contributes to each other’s understanding. Earlier on, they had a concern in these things for personal use as the main thing was text (Untiedt, 2006).

Quite a number of American experiences resulting in folklore emanate from historical circumstances while others from institutional and social structures. The frontier experience, the colonial experience, and the ethnic experience have come about particularly in American history whereby each has produced ballads, folk customs, legends, and traditions. From my perspective, I can conclude that folk refers to a group of whatever kind of people who share one or more common thing(s). In this case, the common thing does not in any way matter. In Marxist theory, the term “folklore” is a class protest weapon. For instance, the majority of folklores highlight the discontent that exists within the society with an example of racism (Sop, 2003). Following the Marxist theory to the letter, it would mean that a perfect society would emerge in the future and there will be no oppression of groups, and thus folklores would cease to exist.

What I have learned

As the course progressed, I learned about the origin of folklore. Studies regarding folklores always put their attention on interrelationships existing amongst literature, language, as well as history. Wilhelm Grimm and Johann Gottfield are the folklore founders whereby they even went ahead to call it philology (Untiedt, 2006). Folklorists of the past were much concerned with saving folklore pieces in an attempt to unravel the past coupled with predicting or molding the present and the future. Classification of texts was a common feature amongst ancient. Actually, the significant shift in regards to the 1960s folklorists was the move that they made to a new synthesis focus all the way from categorization and collection (Sop, 2003). The contemporary folklorists appreciate the relationships between how a storyteller puts across a certain text and how the audience responds to such narrations. In contemporary society, folklorists appreciate the disparate links that exist between the originative and conventional mindset. In a bid to have a pragmatic richness, folklorists in contemporary times use theories and data, fieldwork, and people (Untiedt, 2006).

The “legends” topic was particularly interesting especially since we looked at examples of different legends in various cultures. Throughout history, some legends have thrown the world into bewilderment. The legends of diverse cultures are seen as extremely strong beliefs, but there are those that are non-existent in the modern world (Bialik & Rawnitzky, 1992). For instance, the legend of Godiva (980-1064AD) whom people believed that she was a woman from the Anglo-Saxon tribe coupled with being the wife of the Coventry ruler. According to the legend, she was very much in love with her husband; however, she did not agree with the ways he treated the people that he ruled. As a protest, she took to the streets naked to oppose the heavy taxation that her husband imposed on his subjects. She did so covering herself with her hair only. People in the city had a lot of respect for her such that they decided to close their doors in an attempt to avoid seeing her nudity. As a result, her husband immediately removed the heavy taxation and this example is just one of the many legends told. Others include the legend of the youth fountain, Robin Hood legend, blood Mary legend, and many others.

Riddles and jokes are also extremely interesting as riddles seek to check a person’s intelligence. Some of the situational times where riddles are applicable include during leisure time as a form of entertainment and passing time, where they are told as a way of greeting when people are courting in order to prove a person’s worthiness coupled with in folk narratives and rituals particularly during death and initiation (Epstein et al. 2003). Jokes on the other hand make people smile, laugh, quiver, groan, and reflect. Prior to this course, I did not know that jokes fell into disparate categories including question and answer, one-liners, jests, and puns. The majority of the jokes told are about appropriate incongruity and they can have either a simple or complicated structure as well as deep and surface meanings. In my opinion, jokes mean any type of narration whereby the response it gets from the audience is humorous. Performers conversely have to take caution as to when and where they ought to perform (Sop, 2003). Jokes are part of folklore and they fall into different categories. In the early 1970s, there were not many collections of jokes, as people would think before cracking a joke as compared to contemporary times where everybody can make a joke.

In class, we also learned about Cape Breton Fiddling, which is under the violin style. Scottish immigrants brought the cape Breton fiddle music. There are also dancing styles linked with Cape Breton and these are step dancing, highland dancing, as well as square dancing (Graham, 2006). The piano is also another musical instrument learned within the course. It was interesting to learn about the different types of piano music with the inclusion of classical, baroque, contemporary, and romantic. Music associated with the piano started coming up during the mid-18^th century. Writing of piano music started in Western Europe and particularly in Germany, Italy, France, Austria, and England. Looking at the piano music period, the classical period went from 1750 to 1825 while the baroque period fell between 1600 and 1750 (Graham, 2006). People who love playing the piano should listen to Brahms (1833-1897), for his music is both authentic and intriguing. Brahm came up with three sonatas, which he wrote while he was still young. His music is extremely long and symphonic in style.

At the time UNESCO was developing the safeguarding on intangible cultural heritage convention in the year 2003, the use of the word folklore had ceased. UNESCO created the Intangible Culture Heritage (ICH) in order to put its attention on concrete cultural aspects (UNESCO, 2001). Intangible culture entails drama, music songs, and other different parts of culture. ICH somewhat varies from oral history, its recording, interpretation, and preservation of information from the past, which has the basis of a personal experience. The aim of ICH is to conserve cultural heritage with the community and this is by guarding those processes that permit the passing on of traditions. On the other hand, oral history tries to amass and safeguard historical information.

The reason why UNESCO does not use folklore and uses ICH is that folklore covers only a small part of what UNESCO hopes to cover. ICH covers human spiritual practices and values that have come about in historical evolutions like morals, wisdom, social practices, expertise, and literature. Passing on of ICH is done orally particularly in a community set up and in addition, it is bigger than the skills of a particular person. Since the year 1949, one of the main causal UNESCO activities is cultural diversity preservation. Early trials to give folklore international protection were included in copyright protection. All these efforts underscored a way to respond to the made out negative impacts in regards to folklore commercialization (UNESCO, 2001). Between the years 1968 and 1975, quite a number of countries started using the national legislation based on copyright mechanisms meant to guard folklore expressions.

Conclusion

Overall, this course allowed me to learn very many new things, which I did not know before, regarding folklore. The majority of the things at a glance would seem boring, but after going through the intricate details, they become appealing. People appear different while their traditions are more or less the same particularly when it comes to uniting them and this realization was quite intriguing to me. In my opinion, folklore is another way for people to escape the daily pressures of life and enjoy life especially referring to jokes, riddles, and the like.

Reference List

Bialik, H., & Rawnitzky, H. (1992). Book of Legends/Sefer Ha-Aggadah: Legends from the Talmud and Midrash. New York, NY: Schocken Books Inc.

Epstein, R., & Kovler, B. (2003). Fundrum My Conundrum: A Book of Riddles. California, CA: Fundrum Pub.

Graham, G. (2006). The Cape Breton fiddle: making and maintain tradition. USA: University of Michigan.

UNESCO. (2011). International Round Table: Intangible cultural heritage. Web.

Sop, B. (2003). Handbook of Folklore 1914. Whitefish, MN: Kessinger Publishing.

Untiedt, K. (2006). Folklore: In all of us, in all we do. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press.

Theodore Roethke – My Papa’s Waltz

Being easily one of the most misunderstood poems in the history of American poetry, My Papa’s Waltz is appealing to the general audience in many ways. Personally, I like the poem for several reasons, one of them being the atmosphere that the given poem creates: “You beat time on my head/With a palm caked hard by dirt,/Then waltzed me off to bed/Still clinging to your shirt” (Roethke lines 13–16). Although the idea of a father getting drunk rubs me the wrong way, I definitely like the relationships between the members of this family, with no one getting mad at the head of the family because of his indecent conduct and look; instead, they take care of each other, probably, leaving the moralizing to “the morning after the night before” (Roethke).

Langston Hughes – Negro Speaks the River

Another great poem that is worth being discussed is Hughes’ Negro Speaks the River. In contrast to the previous poem, the given one does not have a single image or concept that attracts me; instead, I am delighted by the structure of the poem, as well as its pace, rather slow and thoughtful, which adds bitterness to the poem. Finally, the vivid metaphors, such as “the singing of the Mississippi” (Hughes) soften the “rough edges” of the poem, which I also find very attractive.

Edna Vincent S. T. Millay – What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and When and Why

As for Millay’s sonnet, I like the symbolism in the poem. The “lonely tree” (Millay), which is waiting for the spring to come and is not aware of the fact that birds no longer visit it, seems especially touching and graphic, reminding not only about the love that is no more but also about death. The given metaphor is very appealing to me because it can be read in a number of ways. The tree may symbolize a lonely person (the most obvious interpretation), a dying person, the problem of two people parting, etc. The fact that so many ideas can be read into the poem fascinates me.

Robert Frost – Mending Wall

Frost takes his readers to the world of conflict to explain everything that is wrong with enmity among the neighbors. The given interpretation might be considered somewhat on-the-surface; indeed, Frost’s argument seems deeper than a blank statement of peace as the ultimate goal. However, after looking closer at the poem, I realized that it used a very simple and, quite frankly, rather worn-out trope. Personally, I dislike the obvious, on-the-nose moral of the story being shoved into the reader’s face. The author’s intention, was, no doubt, good, and Frost clearly strived for a good cause, yet he might have been trying too much.

Robert Frost – The Axe Helve

Another Frost’s poem, The Axe Helve, also seems to suffer from the same issue, yet, to the author’s credit, in the given poem, it is less tangible. However, it seemed strange to me that the ax helve was chosen as the focus of the poem. I understand that the author builds a huge metaphor around this ax helve, but after a while, the reader gets tired of metaphors. Personally, I was hyped to find out that the author and the Baptiste finally had a talk that they could share with the reader: “Do you know, what we talked about was knowledge?” (Frost) Ironically, the author never shared a single line with the reader from his talk with the Baptiste.

Edwin Arlington Robinson – Miniver Cheevy

Finally, reading Robinson’s Miniver Cheevy, I was very upset by the fact that the author never tells the back-story of the character. It is understood that he lives in the past, yet Robinson never explains what made him that way and why he is unwilling to live in the present. Meanwhile, I believe that this would have been a very enticing story. A minor nitpicks, it still frustrates me.

Works Cited

Frost, Robert. Mending Wall. 1914. Web.

Frost, Robert. The Axe Helve. n. d. Web.

Hughes, Langston. Negro Speaks the River. 1921. Web.

Millay, Edna Vincent S. T. What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, and When and Why. 1956. Web.

Robinson, Edwin Arlington. Miniver Cheevy. 1910. Web.

Roethke, Theodore. My Papa’s Waltz. 1961. Web.

Introduction

Ambrose Bierce was an American journalist and author. He participated in the Civil War, serving in the Ninth Indiana Infantry.¹ During this period, Bierce published various articles and essays. Afterwards, he started a new career as a journalist. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is Bierce’s most famous story. The narrative has many distinguishing characteristics. It lacks romantic and sentimental ideas that were popular among writers at the time. However, it presents a new vision of the role of human beings in the world. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, taking into account existing critical opinions of this story.

Analysis

Two realities

Depending on how deep readers immerse themselves in the story at the beginning, the ending might surprise them. The author describes small details with great accuracy. The story takes place in Alabama during the Civil War. Bierce describes the soldiers, their guns, their habits, military terminology, and other aspects in detail to create a real-world for readers. The author’s war experience helps to make the story genuine and unique.

However, the final part creates a contrast as Bierce introduces a weird fantasy world that conceals reality. If the beginning was not so complicated and realistic, the ending would not be as surprising and shocking as it is.² Readers do not expect that Farquhar has only dreamed of his escape, but harsh reality suddenly breaks into this fantasy world.

However, the author leaves some clues throughout the story that show the difference between reality and imagination. For example, the soldier’s guns described in the first part of the narrative as harmless and ceremonial are different from the guns in the episode of Farquhar’s escape. They suddenly start shooting as real military weapons. Also, the author shows that Farquhar’s thoughts are illusory and use an unreliable tone. For example, when the main character plunges into the river, the author ironically refers to popular narrative styles. Commercial fiction usually describes insurmountable obstacles that the protagonist is surprisingly able to overcome. Bierce employs this technique to give readers a clue that the story of the escape is not real.

Realism

The author’s realism is necessary to demonstrate the terror of execution. It is an attempt to change common ideas about the Civil War. He highlights the real nature of military conflict and avoids romanticism. He shows the hideous truth without exaggeration. Bierce emphasizes the fact that many people gave their lives in the name of false and vague ideas. The author reveals the thoughts and emotions of a person who is about to be hanged. The story is an example of a realistic style. There is not a first-person narrator, which allows the author to present a comprehensive description of this horrifying event.³

He shows the inner life of the protagonist, which overlaps with his thoughts. Farquhar rejects real life by creating a new, alternative world. However, this is not purely the author’s artistic fantasy. Major stress can induce such hallucinations. There is a widespread idea that a person’s entire life might replay itself in the mind of a person who is about to die. However, Bierce presents a different view. A person does not recall memories of the past. On the contrary, he looks to the future, imagining the relief he feels about his luck. This illusion is so intense that it even elicits physical pain in the main character.

Although Bierce took part in the Civil War, he made this story apolitical. In spite of the fact that the author makes readers feel empathy with the executed rebel, the main idea is to present the protagonist as a person, not as an element in a political movement. Farquhar looks more real and alive than the antagonists who perform a routine, mechanical job. Also, the author highlights the main character’s appealing traits. He is young and good-looking, brave and devoted. However, Bierce describes his final moments with dark irony.⁴ This irony contributes to establishing the more real world of the narrative.

Farquhar symbolizes the class of planters. His pointless death reveals the tragic outcomes of the Civil War. His execution reflects the slaughter that caused thousands of deaths. The main character’s wife is his only supporter. However, she is far away from the place of execution. Farquhar is totally isolated.⁵ Various factors contribute to that. The author describes him as a soldier who could not go to war as others did.

However, he wants to join them and fight along with them. Farquhar perceives himself as a hero. His land was invaded and occupied by enemies. He was left behind and betrayed. Farquhar is a symbol of a socioeconomic system that his enemies strive to destroy. He has no allies and dies alone. The soldiers who carry out the execution are indifferent towards their victims. The final episode demonstrates the absolute isolation of the main character.⁶ This alienation offers no hope for any possible relief.

Hope

However, hope is another important theme in this story. The final part reveals the protagonist’s unconditional hope for salvation. Farquhar tried to burn down a bridge, thinking that it might change the course of the war. However, he was tricked by a Union soldier who talked Farquhar into attempting it. The young planter was caught and sentenced to death. At the beginning of the story, he looks at Owl Creek as he waits for the hanging.

Throughout the story, the author demonstrates the human instinct to survive that is evoked when a person faces death.⁷ Hope does not leave the protagonist until the end. Bierce even makes readers believe that Farquhar managed to avoid the inevitable punishment. When the protagonist falls and experiences suffocation and unbearable pain, he imagines that the rope breaks, and he plunges into the river. He believes that multiple bullets do not harm him. Farquhar swims to the bank and runs away from his enemies. He keeps running for a whole day and eventually comes home. His wife meets him with a smile and greetings.

During this illusion, the author offers various clues that show that the escape is not real. However, readers who want to believe in a happy ending can easily ignore them. Bierce questions all the unreasonable hopes that people might have. He underlines the idea that death is inevitable for everyone. However, this idea scares people, and they try to fool themselves through their meaningless efforts. The author’s cynicism promotes his view of cultivating false hopes. The death of the main character is also a symbol of the sunset of the South. The story thus diminishes all deceptive hopes. Bierce shows that life and death are insignificant elements in the universe.

Narrative structure

Another important aspect of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge is the narrative structure. The story’s ending provoked various reactions from other authors and critics. Some insisted that it was an unnatural denouement and did not correspond to existing literary conventions. Others perceived the ending as an innovative artistic approach. The story follows the traditional order. It has an introduction, main part, and conclusion.

However, the author’s conclusion is not exactly what it seems to be. Although the main character dies in the middle of the narrative, the story goes on. Through the final part, Bierce demonstrates that stories might be unresolved. They do not necessarily have to abide by the rules of traditional narratives. Bierce employs these innovative techniques to present his ideas clearly. He tries to avoid ambiguity. He combines two incompatible versions of reality within the same plot.

The final part illustrates the protagonist’s inner life that contrasts with the objectivity presented at the beginning of the story. By shifting the focus, the author suggests that both internal and external visions are significant. In addition, Bierce changes the perception of time, making it stretch and shrink. The first two parts occur in real-time. However, the final section lasts only a few seconds, while the narrative describes several hours of Farquhar’s life. One of the author’s most impressive innovations is how seamlessly the surface plot obscures two contradictory worlds.

Conclusion

This work is a striking example of realistic prose. The author adopted different techniques to embody his controversial ideas, but many readers did not approve of his innovative narrative style. However, this story has become a modern classic and is rightfully recognized as a masterpiece of world literature.

Works Cited

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Bloom’s Literature. Web.

Bierce, Ambrose. An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Other Stories. Courier Corporation, 2008.

“Hope in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Bloom’s Literature. Web.

“Death in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Bloom’s Literature. Web.

“Isolation in “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” Bloom’s Literature. Web.

Tabachnick, Stephen E. “A Possible Source for the Conclusion of Ambrose Bierce’s “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.” ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews vol. 26, no. 1, 2013, pp.45-48.