Harper’s Monthly 1882-1883

Harper’s Monthly is the second oldest continuously published magazine in the U.S. This fact didn’t contribute to why I wanted to pick this one up.

It’s interesting an Academy of Art and design was founded early in the 19th century. Founded mostly by people who weren’t artists but were physicians, professors. One member of the academy was John Trumbull, the War Colonel. The “means” of the academy is devoted to preserving and creating art from around the nation. Currently it stands as a museum with work that starting being created at that time.

The writing is so much more formal than magazines published these days.

According the the editor at the time, Washington Irving was New York’s most famous person at the time. His name is more known to the New Yorker than say, John Bay. The words “Universal” and “English-speaking race” are used to describe how famous he was. He is described as being unique because of his “sweet literary grace” and “harmless gayety of humor”. He had his critics though, as “all geniuses did”.

Some disasters:

-Floods on the Rhine and Danube.

-Fifteen women killed by explosion in a cartridge factory at Mont Valerien, France.

-Eight persons killed by an explosion on the steamer Josephine in Port Susan Bay, Wyoming Territory.

I found the founding of Tombstone interesting. As it was only Ed Schieffelin and his brother who ventured into “dangerous” territory to prospect. They made enough money to found a city in the area. The estimated cost of the ground 2 years after foundation was $1,050,980. Tombstone was a great source of silver and made over $30 million in it.

Interesting outlaw names: Curly Bill, Russian George, Man-killer Johnson. The city was famous for harboring outlaws, as well as being notable for the number of shootouts that took place.

 

Désirée’s Baby

That was bleak. Would it be as effective if it wasn’t? I don’t believe in gratuitous bleakness, as I think every time a story includes something mind-blowingly dark there is good reason for it. In this story, it helps us get a perspective of the kind of lifestyle and mindset people had of black people at the time. Even people who were half or a quarter black were looked down on. I liked the ending reveal so much, because it proves that our perception of people most of the time is completely wrong. Assumptions can’t be made when judging someone.

And Désirée descended into darkness. I think that kind of immediate change of behavior is fascinating, even if it is depressing. To have a strong, defined character arc in such a short story is incredible. Désirée is a strong, confident woman at the start of the story. She loves her baby, she loves her husband maybe even more. The slight hint of a change in her lifestyle already frightens her, but with suppressed, and then outward anger Armand expresses his disapproval of her. And that shatters Désirée. She is fragile and weak. Broken, and convinced that she must dispose of herself and the baby. To make things right? To spite Armand? She definitely doesn’t even respond to her mother. So her suicide was in what way redeemable? In no way at all it seems, it’s Armand who had the “tainted” blood.

The Luck of Roaring Camp

What happened to Cherokee Sal? She just died?

I know she wasn’t the point of the story, but it seems she is rather brushed aside. Cherokee Sal kickstarts the whole thing, did she not have any part in the “Luck” of the town? I feel that at Tommy Luck is sort of a help to the town, but not something lucky that happened to them. Is it so hard to think that at this time an indian woman would die in childbirth? And is it so hard to believe that this boy would change these mens lives? It is a way of nature to take care of children. Men have as much a part in the raising of children as women do. These things happen, and the men are thankful for it. But the last thing they should thank is luck. If luck gave Tommy to them, then what took him away?

I was hoping for a bit of a darker end to things. The cheerfulness of the whole thing was too much, that something had to happen. There was not going to be a happily ever after. The appearance of gold at the end seems to be more of a temporary happiness as they will continue to be what they always were, men. They need to see past the gold and think about what started their better lifestyle. A woman did. Cherokee Sal did. Maybe they should look into that.

Twain

“I wish it would not talk, it is always talking” – Adam

What did go through Adam and Eve’s mind as they were getting acquainted with each other? This? Maybe something like this. Were they comfortable around each other? Did they even like each other? Eve seems to know a whole lot about…everything. Eve is smarter than Adam? It sure looks it. Man I have so many questions about this conversation. I think it’s fantastic.

“I tried to hide my disappointment, but I suppose I did not succeed” – Eve

Eve is naming things! Caring for them! Why isn’t Adam paying any attention to her!? He sure is annoyed by her. What a great exploration of how a man and a woman react/talk/think to/about each other. Go back to the “beginning” of man, and find out what they said to each other. I imagine Mark Twain writing this with glee, and not stopping at all until he finishes it. It’s great fun to read, but I don’t think I’ve read anything where it is so apparent that the author had a great time actually writing it. And Adam and Eve live happily ever after, with all the evil and bad and shit released into the world. That stupid apple.

Does Adam ever say he loves her? I don’t think it matters.

“I find I do not know, and do not really much care to know” –

Man, hand grenades, fingers blown off, all done in good humor? If only journalism was this exciting, if only reading about journalism was this exciting in real life. The whole story read in such a deadpan straight-faced way, it only adds to the funniness of it all. I thought both readings were fantastic.

 

 

 

On Dickinson

I like how clear Emily Dickinsons poetry can be after multiple readings. Her writing almost begs for rereading. I liked how human the poem makes me feel, as she says at the beginning “Success is counted sweetest, By those who ne’er succeed” (Dickinson pg 1201). Certain defeat, can only lead to victory is what I think she is trying to say. However low you may fall, there is always a shining light ahead.

Again in the second poem, “There is a certain Slant of Light” (Dickinson pg 1205), she makes the reader feel human. There is an epic underlying theme about her poem, about death, but this is something we all face at a certain point. I love the line “None may teach it -Any-” in reference to death, as it is something unexplainable but we all feel it. Death is the “Seal of Despair”.

I love the word Throe, I’ve never heard it before. The next poem has some anger in it, and in such a short poem she conveys it so well. “I like a look of Agony, Because I know it’s true” (Dickinson pg 1207). Again she refers to death as unavoidable, as she mentions it is “Impossible to feign”.

According to Dickinson, death leads to immortality. Death did not hasten when leading her to eternal life. She is mentioning life passing before her eyes in “Because I could not stop for Death” (Dickinson pg 1214), and also says that it went by all too quickly.

“Much Madness is the divinest Sense” (Dickinson pg 1216) is a difficult poem to read. As there was anger and death in the previous poems in this one it is frustration. She mentions a “Majority”, and how we are sane if we “Assent” to their beliefs. If we “Demur” and stick to our own beliefs we will be called dangerous.

The Cask of Amontillado, Tell Tale Heart

“No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick” -Montresor

An insult is all Montresor needed to justify his actions against this friend of his, Fortunato. There is some hidden anger in Montresor, and it isn’t explained where it stems from. The only hint we get is an indication of his family motto, which is no one attacks me with impunity. He vows to seek revenge and takes do unto others a completely different way. I found it interesting that he first needs to justify his actions before doing anything else, much like in a Tell Tale Heart. Montresor never reveals what the insult was, which adds to the suspicion of his motives.

It’s so great that Montresor is telling the story 50 years after it’s occurrence, finally confessing to his crime. In Tell Tale Heart it’s also great that it is all being told from what sounds like first person narrative. The narrator in Tell Tale Heart is obviously bipolar, and has an identification problem. The fact that he constantly addresses himself as “I”, seems intentionally repetitive. There is also some anger in this narrator, directed towards the old man’s eye. The old man has a significant trait that distinguishes him from others, as opposed to the narrator who is confused about who he is. Clearly confused, for example he describes himself as devious but makes sure that we know that he isn’t mad. He doesn’t understand that if he would kill the eye, he would essentially end up killing the old man. I loved Tell Tale Heart so much more than The Cask of Amontillado simply because the narrator is kept anonymous, his motivations are blurred, and he descends into this insanity at the end in such a darkly funny but immediate way. The Cask of Amontillado seems intentionally ridiculous, and there are some intentionally humorous or symbolic moments which just don’t work for me, like the slap in the face that is Montresor’s motto (keep it vague please), My favorite part of The Cask of Amontillado would be the helpless bleak ending, where Montresor is sad that he did what he did. This fact made all the more terrible by the fact that he had to live with it for 50 years.

Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown

“Say thy prayers dear Faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee.” – Young Goodman Brown

Young Goodman Brown represents an everyday man. Just as he leaves his wife he comforts her in the thought that all she need do is pray and all will be well. Their names, representing how they start this story, are Goodman and Faith. Their names implying they have done no wrong to the world. I thought that all could be well in this story, but every great tragedy or horror story begins with great lightheartedness and even some comic relief.

The immediate image of this staff implies some sort of demonic presence. The man carrying the staff ordinary just like Goodman Brown, only his “facial expressions” may be different. The devil is thought to be behind every corner, in the shape of an ordinary man taking advantage of other people’s lightheartedness and willingness to have an open mind. This is also a horror story, following every rule that one horror story could have. The number one rule though, of course, is that the protagonist is not smart enough to stop the journey for example, when the old man tells him he helped his grandfather and father commit unspeakable acts.

“Is that any reason why I should quit my dear Faith, and go after her?” – Young Goodman Brown

If there is anything Young Goodman Brown is still hanging on to, it’s the love of and to his wife. The thought of her pink ribbon keeping him sane still, and once he finds it caught on a tree branch he loses all sanity and refuses any hope he had had with the world. He finds the congregation of evil, and in what I thought was a great remark of bleak dark comedy Goodman sees Martha Carrier and says “a rampant hag was she!”

Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle

The introduction to Rip Van Winkle was so funny I laughed out loud. To begin the setting in such an epic manner was somewhat appropriate given the nature of Rip Van Winkle’s adventure but it seemed so funny to introduce him in such a grandiose way.

I love the fantasy element that is incorporated into this story. Dame Van Winkle is often included in some ridiculously exaggerated sentences that call to mind some early fairy tale evil witches. Dame Van Winkle is said to look at Rip’s only friend Wolf with an evil eye, use a broomstick to frighten Wolf, and when Rip Van Winkle ventures off into the highlands he is scared of the “terrors of Dame Van Winkle.” This story can also be considered a reversal of fairy tale elements as Wolves are usually regarded as villains, and wives as loving and caring.

Rip Van Winkle found comfort that he wouldn’t have to withstand the terrors of his wife Dame Van Winkle. What a great way to end the tragedy of losing his house, best friends, acquaintances and family.  It all felt so melancholic, that to end on a darkly comedic note felt appropriate.

It’d be interesting to find out what would have happened if Rip Van Winkle had slept 100 years, and woke up in our time. Would people have cared to hear his story as the people of his town cared? What would he have found most surprising? 

The Pennsylvania Gazette, issue 702

The first thing I noticed was how similar some of this particular writing is to German writing. Many words begin with a capital letter (Care, Province, Sheep, Salary, Year) which is exactly what Germans do with words today as well. The capitalizing of these words was probably dropped due to it been too similar to German, or for it being inconvenient. Another note on grammar, and I knew the s’ looked like f’s back then, but it’s actually kind of frustrating to read through and see sentences like “…fhe was content to redrefs them and even make some satisfaction…” or “thefe do not refpect them but that her Majefty..”.

It’s surprising how much European news is on the front page. The issue begins with articles speaking about the Princess of Hungary, a Frenchman writing from Stockholm, and an attack between Austrian troops and Saxon troops. There must have been a tremendous popular interest in what was going on oversees, or there just wasn’t much going on at home that was important enough to put on the front page.

I don’t think I’ve ever read such a moving obituary in a newspaper. After some other news on meetings in Europe, on the second page there is the obituary of the only daughter of Right Hon. William Pulteney:

“On Tuesday night died of a fever at her fathers home in Picadilly….She was in the 13^th year of her age, a beautiful young lady, of fine accomplishments. Words can’t express the parents grief for such a loss.”

The third page finally mentions a state. The headline of the article is “PHILADELPHIA”. It’s basically about these black worms or caterpillars that have been seen in crops, and the article goes on to explain how to get rid of these worms and save the peoples crops. I thought it was interesting that while the worms infesting crops may be news, the how-to guide to get rid of them is certainly not. Unless at the time this was a new form of worm or plague on the crops.

On the third page there are many advertisements but one stood out more than the others. Some of the objects the man stated he was selling sounded like they came from a fairytale or any work of fiction. He mentions things such as Camblets, Damasks, Sballoons, Dunjareens, Duroys, Muzel Fluffs, India DImmity, Popplins and so many other interesting sounding objects that I have no idea what they are.

On the fourth page, at the top left it straight up says “To Be Sold, A Negro Man” and that ends that advertisement. I never imagined that slaves were sold like this through newspapers, but I guess it makes sense since it was the only way to get word to spread around town quickly.

Response to Cotton Mather

Cotton Mather “The Wonders of the Invisible World”

 

“But I shall no longer detain my reader from his expected entertainment, in a brief account of the trials which have passed upon some of the malefactors lately executed at Salem, for the witchcrafts whereof they stood convicted.” (Mather 146)

 

There is no doubt in my mind that this man is insane. This reading was entertaining to me simply because I find it fascinating that Cotton Mather, an educated man, would be so convinced by the existence of these witches within New England. He says before the “The Trial of Martha Carrier” reading “you are to take the truth, just as it was; and the truth will hurt no good man”. (Mather 146) What is he saying? It’s funny because you can twist those words and get “if you are a good man, take this as the truth”. What if you are a bad man? What constitutes a bad man in Mather’s eyes? Someone who does not believe any of these ridiculous claims? Then call me a bad man. It’d be interesting to read reports on the states of mind of the people living in New England at the time. One of Mather’s wives went insane, but at the time it seems no one had a good grasp on the meaning of the word.

This reading reminded me of a wonderful scene in a Monty Python film where the townsfolk of a small village accuse a woman of being a witch. She is a witch because she is dressed like one, but when the woman replies, “they dressed me up like that” (false nose and all), the people admit that they dressed her up but still call her a witch. One of the men who helps out with the investigation is called “wise in the ways of science”. Once the townsfolk are “100%” sure she is a witch (with the help of a duck) she seems to simply accept her fate, and is eventually burned. One wonders how seriously some people at the time would take to that kind of satire. Would they even take it as satire? Would they use the duck method as an actual form of proving that someone is a witch?

I was also disturbed by the reading. At the end Mather calls Martha Carrier a “rampant hag” (Mather 149) which I suppose is also true, since it is the truth Mather is giving us. The man tells us he wasn’t present, but based on what he heard of the trials he ends with that disgusting insult. You also get the feeling of helplessness reading this kind of thing, always knowing the people burned and accused never had any say in their fate.