Po Sandy Reflection

Naivety 

If I were to stop a random stranger on the street and tell them about a friend I once knew that was magically turned into a tree in order to remain hidden from the world, it is very unlikely that the stranger would believe anything I said.  This is because as a society we have found an overwhelming amount of evidence that suggests that believing in magic is naive.  In Conjure Women many of the slaves believe in hoodoo, which is essentially magic.  While the slaves are not educated, I don't think that is the reason they believe in hoodoo.  I believe that the reason they are naive to the evidence against hoodoo is hope.  It is true that slaves were not given any formal education, that doesn’t mean that they weren’t capable of rational thought.  Near the end of Po Sandy the narrator says "Are you seriously considering the possibility of a man's being turned into a tree?” in front of Uncle Julius.  Uncle Julius is aware that the idea of a man being turned into a tree is preposterous to most.  Uncle Julius is perpetuating the idea of hoodoo for his own personal gain, but I think he is also doing it to keep the other slaves naive.  The life of slaves is brutal and hellish.  Uncle Julius realizes that anything that can keep there spirits up is worth believing in, even if he knows it isn’t true.  The slaves need hope to carry on, and Uncle Julius is doing them a favor by keeping them naive.  A modern day example of this need for hope can be found in our prison system.  Prisoners with a life sentence are in a very similar situation as slaves, the only big difference is prisoners put themselves in the situation and slaves had no choice.  Many people sentenced to life in prison find solace in religion, much more so then normal citizens.  Prisoners choose to remain naive to the evidence that people outside of prison use to discredit aspects of religion.  This is because it is the one thing that can make there life in prison easier.  This idea of remaining naive for the sake of necessity really struck me in this story. 

Mars Jeems Nightmare

When reading our story I kept coming up on the use of goopher, and looked it up. this explains it a little... Goofer Dust. Used in old voodoo practice, it is a mixture of natural ingredients that can be used to cause harm, trouble or even kill

Katie's Reading Reflection on Pygmalion

What really grabbed me in the the story of Pygmalion is Eliza's Character. As a woman in the 1916's she is before in time in the feminist movement. She recognizes the importance of her own self-worth and independence in Act 4 and 5 and realizes that she doesn't have to put up with the shit Mr. Higgins throws at her; he's constant insult, dehumanizing remarks and critics of her. She realizes that she can be whoever she wants and that was a power very few women had during that time period. Eliza's independence astounds me, in a time were women were very much dependent on men.In act five she says, "Girls like me can drag gentlemen down to make love to them easy enough".She recognizes that most women need to find a husband to depend on but that's not what she wants. She could marry Freddy merely because he is so infatuated with her and she has that power over him but she doesn't want to.She aspires more to a life similar to that of Higgins and Pickering, the bachelor life, but without the assistance of someone like Ms. Pearce. In act five she says to Higgins, "you cant take away the knowledge you gave me. You said I had a finer ear than you. And I can be civil and kind to people, which is more than you can... I'll advertise it in the papers that your duchess is only a flower girl that you taught, and that she'll teach anybody to be a duchess just the same in six months for a thousand guineas."She realizes that he no longer has power over her and doesn't deserve to be the muck under his boots but a intelligent, empowered lady with skill.  She recognizes the power she has gained through her experience on Wimpole Street and how it may lead to independence Even though Eliza's character was independent throughout the novel it wasn't until the end when I realized how empowered and independent she truly was. She didn't want charity, all she wanted was to independent, well spoken lady.Which is ironic when you consider the character of Mr. Doolittle who depends on charity as a living. It shows the affect that parents have on their children and the decisions they make.  

From Rags to Riches

 "[She is no doubt as clean as she can afford to be; but compared to the ladies she is very dirty. Her features are no worse than theirs; but their condition leaves something to be desired; and she needs the services of a dentist]." This is the very first description of Liza, before she is taken in by Higgins. She has not had the opportunity to clean up or change her appearance at all because she has yet to be anything but dirt poor. Because of her appearance and her situation she is treated like a nobody and looked down upon by everyone. She also acts very defensively and rudely because she has always been treated like this and has never expected to be treated any better. Then she gets taken in by Higgins and given nice things and a place to clean up and make her appearance better,  

"I tell you, it's easy to clean up here. Hot and cold water on tap, just as much as you like, there is. Woolly towels, there is; and a towel horse so hot, it burns your fingers. Soft brushes to scrub yourself, and a wooden bowl of soap smelling like primroses. Now I know why ladies is so clean. Washing's a treat for them. Wish they saw what it is for the like of me!" Instantly after this and some training on how to act like a lady she is treated completely differently by everyone that Higgins introduces her to. This shows how much people judge by first impressions and first sights. Liza's personality and intellect did not change, she was dressed differently and spoke in a more educated way and people respected her more. I think that this is wrong and that people should be treated the same no matter how the look or speak because if only the people who have the opportunity to dress lavishly and speak educatedly have the opportunity to be treated well by people a lot of ideas and great people will be looked over.

What is the price of an upper class identity?

Social classes are a funny thing, aren't they? Even today, we associate certain morals, traits, income, etc. to different social classes. Shaw's Pygmalion is a dissertation on not only language, but the identities we connect language to: gender, social class, monetary gain, etc. Two passages in Pygmalion grabbed my attention. In Act IV, Eliza is upset that the bet is over and Higgins and Pickering have no need for her anymore. What is she to do? She is perceived as upper class (a duchess even), but she doesn't have the money to back it. The only thing a genteel woman, such as herself now, can do is marry. She can't work, because upper class women didn't do that. She is completely dependent on a husband to support her. Her freedom is lost to the refined language she has come to possess. This reminds me of a similar predictment Betty, from Caryl Churchill's Cloud 9, faces. Because she is a lady, she is dependent on her husband. She has no freedom, until the very end of the play when she obtains a job and her own income, which allows her to leave her tyrant husband because she no longer depends on him for money. Eliza makes her own comparison between the independence she had as a flower girl (making her own money) and the freedom she lost when she became a lady. "I sold flowers. I didn't sell myself. Now you've made a lady of me. I'm not fit to sell anything else. I wish you'd left me where you found me". This is in response to Higgins' suggestion that Eliza marry. Eliza makes the contrast that she is worse off now because she is perceived as a lady and will have to "sell herself" to matrimony, instead of selling flowers. In the next act her father, Alfred Doolittle, has a bone to pick with Higgins' for writing a recommendation for him to an American millionaire, who in turn leaves Doolittle money in his will. "Who asked him to make gentleman of me? I was happy. I was free". This inhertance has bumped Doolittle to the middle class, which, he tells us has brought too much responsibility for other people's happiness and draws upon him to create a new, middle class identity. " I have to live for others and not myself: that's the middle class morality.... I 'll have to learn to speak middle class language from you [Higgins] instead of speaking proper English". Alfred is outraged at being forced into all of the "middle class morality" and makes the same comparison as Eliza: with more money and refined image/language, comes more responsibility and less freedom. It leaves one to wonder which is better: money or freedom? For me personally, I'm right there with Eliza and Doolittle. I would rather have my freedom and happiness than be a slave to money.

Eliza's Goal

I get that Henry is a terrible person. He doesn't care about Eliza or what her mission was. I know also think that Eliza doesn't care about her original goal either. In Act 2, Eliza says "I want to be a lady in a flower shop stead of selling at the corner of Tottenham Court Road. But they wont take me unless I can talk more genteel,"(ACT 2-29). A clear goal that she eventually goes through with. Pickering offers to pay for the lessons because he bet Henry that he couldn't make her into a lady. Henry says he can do better and will make her into a "Duchess". The last time we had a discussion in class we were talking about morals and about Eliza then being an object instead of a lady. To me, being a Duchess is like being a Lady on steroids. The definition of a Duke is "A male holding the highest hereditary title in the British and certain other peerages,"(Freedictionary). The duchess is obviously the wife of the Duke. This would make Eliza a person of interest in many citizens eyes. Eliza is concerned because she knows that she is just a project to Henry and Pickering. They don't care what Eliza does after she is a lady and why should they? "She can go her own way, with all the advantages I have given her,"(ACT 3-200). To me, this is perfectly valid and exactly what she came for in the first place. She came to get lessons to be a lady so she could work in a flower shop. At the end of this, Henry has done just that. As Henry educates her, she realizes that she is just the project and says "Ive won your bet for you, havnt I? Thats enough for you. I dont matter, I suppose,"(ACT 425). I wasn't aware that at any point she was supposed to matter beyond teacher/student status. There is a want to succeed from both sides, for Henry to win a bet, and for Eliza to become a flower girl.

I have four quotes that show her, for lack of a better word, stupidity in her decisions following her lessons. "What am I fit for? What have you left me fit for? Where am I to go? What am I to do? Whats to become of me?"(ACT 4-54). "I sold flowers. I didnt sell myself. Now youve made a lady of me I'm not fit to sell anything else. I wish youd left me where you found me,"(ACT 4-56). "The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated,"(ACT 5-135). "Oh! If only I c o u l d go back to my flower bascket! I should be independent of both of you and father and all the world! Why did you take independence from me? Why did I give it up? I'm a slave now, for all my fine clothes,"(ACT 5-219). Starting with the first quote, what is she fit for? Where is she to go? To this I say, exactly what you were intending to do. Her original purpose was to get the skills to work in a flower shop. The same thing goes with the second quote. Henry did exactly what Eliza asked him to do plus more giving her all that was needed to do what she wanted. For the third quote, she claims that the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated is contradicting what she went to Henry for. She said that the flower shop wouldn't take her unless she could talk more "genteel". Lastly, independence. She says that she can no longer be independent of Henry because of what he did to her. However, she stood up to Henry and has all the skills required to get a job and support herself better than she had selling flowers on the street. The very last scene proves her ability to be independent and make decisions for herself. I don't want to side with anyone in this play. Henry is an ass, Pickering encourages him, and Eliza is blind to her original goal. Some could say that Henry and his rude comments took away Eliza's self confidence, however I would tell them to refer to Act 4 and 5 where she completely dominated him in a conversation.