4/16/2020 0 Comments Cover Letter for Milton PaperIn my essay, I explained how Milton uses the word “providence” to explore the central theme of autonomy in Paradise Lost. Through explaining how God has the ability to “foresee” the future, he implicitly reveals that God is not fully autonomous; if God was autonomous, he wouldn’t require the foreknowledge that allows him to control the actions of mankind. Additionally, I explained how Milton uses the word “providence” to justify God’s actions to man. Because one source defines providence as being essential to establishing order and control, the word supports Milton’s central theme that God should be respected as a divine creator, even in the absence of autonomy.
I had a lot of difficulty writing this paper, likely because quarantine and the rapidly approaching end of senior year have stripped me of any motivation I had left for school. Although I still care a lot about school, I’ve found it increasingly more difficult to get my work done on time, and as such, I felt like I had to force myself to write this paper. Additionally, I had trouble writing this paper because I found it difficult to articulate the full extent of providence’s multiplicity. Thankfully, I have been diligently commonplacing all of my thoughts throughout our AP Lit classes and zoom meetings, and being able to look back at my commonplacing helped me tremendously.
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4/16/2020 0 Comments One Word Milton PaperThroughout his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton attempts to “justify the ways of God to man” through exploring autonomy, agency, and the nature of being in traditional creation stories (Milton 1.26). Drawing from Biblical narratives, Milton emphasizes God’s hierarchical relation to man by purposefully placing specific words throughout the text to emphasize God’s foreboding and powerful nature. One of these words, “providence”, has a multiplicity of meanings that are essential to our understanding of Paradise Lost as a creation story that grapples with man’s struggle for autonomy. Though it only appears five times throughout the text, “providence” plays a vital role in Milton’s attempts to dignify God to the reader. Each of providence's definitions are uniquely important to Milton’s telling of the creation story, and they each reveal distinctly important characteristics about autonomy and the nature of being. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, providence not only means “foresight; anticipation of and preparation for the future; prudent management, government, or guidance;” but also “the foreknowing and protective care of God (or nature, etc.); divine direction, control, or guidance” ("providence, n."). These definitions suggest that providence is an important word for Milton not only because it aids him in his efforts to exalt God, but also because it explores God’s position as a non-autonomous figure. By stating that God must foresee the future in order to exert power, Milton implies that God has no control over the actions of his creations. This suggests that God’s power comes not from autonomy, but rather, through determining the scope of his creation's agency. Providence’s importance in describing God’s lack of autonomy becomes abundantly clear during Milton’s second usage of the word where he states: “As being the contrary to his high will Whom we resist. If then his Providence Out of our evil seek to bring forth good, Our labour must be to pervert that end, And out of good still to find means of evil” (Milton 1.159-163). In this passage, Milton explains how, although God lacks autonomy, he is still able to determine the scope of man’s agency using his divine providence. Additionally, he explains how God plays a vital role in ensuring that man is punished when he violates the scope of his agency. By stating that, “if then his Providence out of our evil seek to bring forth good,” Milton implies that God’s actions are necessary to restore good to the world when man violates the scope of his agency (Milton 1.160-161). This simple phrase demonstrates the true multiplicity of the word providence by not only exploring God’s lack of autonomy, but also through providing a prime example of Milton’s attempts to justify the ways of God to man. Milton’s use of the word providence as an indication of God’s ability to regulate the scope of man’s agency is also clear in his third usage of the word where he states: “In thoughts more elevate, and reason’d high Of Providence, Foreknowledge, Will, and Fate, Fixt Fate, free will, foreknowledge absolute, And found no end, in wandring mazes lost” (Milton 1.558-561). Through equating providence to will, Milton implies that, in the process of granting free will to man, God stripped himself of the ability to be fully autonomous. However, he also explains how although God lacks autonomy, his providence allows him to regulate the scope of man’s free will. This is evident in the story of Adam and Eve where when Eve violated the scope of her agency, she was punished by God. Additionally, it is evident through Milton’s explanation that God created hell because he predicted Satan and the fallen angels would conduct a rebellion. Each of these stories reveal how God’s providence is essential to his ability to not only exercise agency, but also regulate the scope of his creation’s agency. In Milton’s Paradise Lost, he purposefully uses the word “providence” to emphasize God’s vital role in restoring good to a world filled with chaos and evil. In doing so, he both reveals God’s position as a non-autonomous figure and simultaneously, attempts to convince the reader to admire and respect God. Through defining providence as both God’s ability to foresee the future and his ability to provide guidance to mankind, Milton expertly “justifies the ways of God to man” and convinces the reader of God’s divinity and importance (Milton 1.26). As such, he leads the reader to conclude that providence’s many meanings are essential to Paradise Lost and to our understanding of creation and ontology. Works Cited "providence, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2020. Web. 11 April 2020. "providence, n.1a" OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2020. Web. 11 April 2020. "providence, n.2" OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2020. Web. 11 April 2020. 12/17/2019 0 Comments Cover Letter on Final EssayAs I reflect on my work this past semester, a single fact is overwhelmingly clear to me: the kale salad is starting to taste much better. Although our work in AP Lit was undoubtedly kale salad for me at the beginning of the semester, I’ve recently found myself far more appreciative of the time we spend analyzing each text. Throughout the semester, I’ve learned that taking the time to fully comprehend a piece of literature is essential to determining its central theme and feeling more confident with each text. I think that’s why writing this paper was so rewarding for me; it made me feel as though all of the work and analysis I’ve done in class has been worth it. Although the process grappling with Scott and Greenblatt was long and arduous, it has become evident to me that the countless hours we put into analyzing “Better Living Through Criticism,” and “Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” have allowed me to compellingly identify Scott and Greenblatt’s central theme: autonomous agency.
In my essay, I explained how Scott and Greenblatt incorporate the theme of autonomous agency to empower the reader to operate within the structures that frame our identities. Although we may not have control over the generation of our identities, we have power over how we operate within the structures that form them. For example, we can use criticism to reject or embrace aesthetic experiences, a process that grants us agency over how we function within our identities. 12/17/2019 0 Comments Final Essay on Scott and Greenblatt"The dream of autonomous agency, though intensely experienced and tenaciously embraced, is only a dream." In “Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” and “Better Living Through Criticism,” Scott and Greenblatt conceptualize the relationship between the aesthetic and the social to reveal the importance of autonomous agency in our discussions of identity and culture. While “Renaissance Self-Fashioning” reveals our power to operate within our identities, “Better Living Through Criticism,” provides a concrete and discursive process through which we can exercise that agency within our lives. Throughout “Renaissance Self-Fashioning” and “Better Living Through Criticism,” Scott and Greenblatt discuss the central theme of autonomous agency to provide us with a powerful means of operating within the formations of identity that frame our lives. Throughout “Better Living Through Criticism,” Scott incorporates the theme of autonomous agency by detailing the inherent value of criticism in challenging, affirming, and embracing aesthetic experiences. He describes criticism as “powerful,” indicating its urgency and importance in facilitating agency. In doing so, he reveals that criticism is an effective means by which we can either reject or embrace an authority; if we embrace a piece of art, we are submitting to its authority, but if we reject a piece of art, we are rejecting it as an alien. However, he not only addresses the importance of criticism in facilitating agency but also in understanding the dream of autonomous agency. He explains how subjective universality, the idea that everyone has the same opinions, is controversial because “to suppose that everyone likes the same kind of thing may strike us as a small step away from requiring as much” (Scott 54). According to Scott, subjective universality is seen as contentious because it strips us of the autonomy we crave over the formation of our identity and opinions. This is vital to Scott’s discussions of agency because it reveals that despite the hopelessness of our attempts to achieve autonomous agency, we are still able to exercise agency through criticism. Similarly, in “Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” Greenblatt explains the importance of agency in our discussions of identity by revealing that despite our attempts to self-fashion, the generation of identity is outside of our control. He explains how “the dream of autonomous agency, though intensely experienced and tenaciously embraced, is only a dream,” (Greenblatt 1) indicating that we have no autonomy over the creation of our identities. Although this is a seemingly hopeless premise, Greenblatt later explains how even if don’t have power over the generation of our identities, we do have power over how we operate within them. He painstakingly describes the process of self fashioning, empowering us to better function within that process; through making us aware of our agency, he provides us with the tools necessary to recognize when we are rejecting or submitting to an authority. This relates to “Better Living Through Criticism,” because awareness of our agency allows us to better understand how criticism can be an effective means of exerting autonomy within our lives. Although he never explicitly talks about criticism in his piece, by providing us with the awareness of agency necessary to effectively practice criticism, he empowers us to navigate the structures that shape our understanding of self. Throughout “Better Living Through Criticism” and “Renaissance Self-Fashioning,” Scott and Greenblatt incorporate the central theme of autonomous agency to reveal the ways in which we can exercise agency within our lives. In “Renaissance Self- Fashioning,” Greenblatt describes the process of self-fashioning to reveal that although we have no control over the generation of our identity, we still have some autonomy over our lives. Similarly, in “Better Living Through Criticism,” Scott provides a means by which we can exercise agency within the structures that shape self-fashioning; by describing the urgency of criticism, he reveals that criticism is a vital component to our ability to maintain agency. After reading both Scott and Greenblatt, it’s evident that the continuous struggle to attain autonomous agency underlies the entirety of our readings this past semester. I created my concept map to delineate the commonalities between each of the texts we read this summer. When creating my concept map, I attempted to not only delve into my own analysis of each text, but also to reveal the underlying themes the text adhered to. Although at first, I had trouble finding a single theme that each text fit under, upon closer analysis, I determined that they all dealt with the power of language and questioning to enact social change. In my persuasive descriptive piece, I used the reasoning from my concept map to more deeply analyze how each text connected and fit under the theme of language and power. At times, I had trouble properly expressing the connections between each piece, but overall, I am really proud of the piece I wrote. I think that, although it was frustrating, my original misunderstanding of the assignment allowed me to more deeply analyze each text and determine how they fit together.
I organized my concept map to highlight the intrinsic similarities that the texts from our summer reading presented. Although each piece dealt with seemingly unrelated subjects, they all emphasized society's amenability to change, and the power that language and questioning hold. When creating my concept map, I found that almost every piece I read this summer was related to language and its inherent power to both stifle and facilitate change.
For example, in “Descartes on Wonderment,” Maria Popova explains how wonderment and the act of questioning have the ability to recalibrate our being. According to Popova, wonderment facilitates intellectual growth and the expansion of ideas; when we inquire about different issues, we are able to better understand and build off them. This piece reminded me of Warren Berger's, “A More Beautiful Question,” in which Berger explains the problematic nature of a decline in questioning and curiosity. Additionally, it reminded me of Popova’s “A Stop Motion Love Letter to the power of curiosity,” in which Popova explains that curiosity is essential to progress; each piece discusses the intrinsic value of questioning and the role of questioning in facilitating change. For example, Berger highlights the transformative nature of questioning through explaining that Edwin Land invented the digital camera because of a question his daughter asked. Similarly, Descartes explains how questioning “allows the mind to reach previously unconquered territories,” emphasizing that questioning is essential to innovation and the formation of new ideas (Popova). However, although questioning is an effective tool for change, it is not the only form of language that facilitates change. In “Better Living Through Criticism,” A.O Scott delineates the power of language through detailing the inherent value of criticism in enacting social change. He explains how society necessitates the adherence to certain beliefs and rules, and that criticism provides us with the forum to challenge those beliefs. I connected this piece to Popova’s “Nietzsche on Truth, Lies, the Power and Peril of Metaphor, and How We Use Language to Conceal and Reveal Reality,” in which Popova explains how language embellishes and conceals the truth, because criticism has the power to expose falsehoods and create new truths. In fact, criticism allows us to challenge the norms and social constructs through which language is created. Additionally, I connected this piece to Stephen Greenblatt’s “Renaissance Self Fashioning” because criticism and language have the power to both create and dismantle the structures that Greenblatt identifies as essential to the formation of our identities. For example, criticism was essential to our transition from the Renaissance era to modern day; it allowed us to challenge the norms of the Renaissance and create a society that better reflected modern beliefs and traditions. Throughout my concept map, I connected the seemingly disparate ideas each piece presented under the single idea of language and power. Upon reflecting on the summer reading, I found that each piece discussed the inherent power of language to enact change. Although each piece explained the power of language in different manners, they all highlighted its ability to either stifle or facilitate social progression. 8/15/2019 0 Comments Concept Map(It's a bit hard to see everything without seeing the pdf, so I am including pictures of each section (with some of the lines and explanations of how they relate.)
BrainPickings pieces provide a cross-disciplinary analysis of important topics such as curiosity, imagination, and truth. In each piece, Popova deliberately intertwines quotes and imagery to enhance the reading experience. Popova’s “Nietzsche on Truth, Lies, the Power and Peril of Metaphor, and How We Use Language to Reveal and Conceal Reality” is a quintessential example of this style; in it, Popova cleverly juxtaposes quotes by the French philosopher Nietzche with paintings, photographs, and drawings to highlight the anthropomorphic and deceptive nature of language. Throughout my essay, I explained the rhetorical importance of quotes and imagery in Popova’s piece; Popova uses quotes to enhance the validity of her claims and imagery to cleverly allude to instances in which language has been deceptive. Specifically, I explained how Popova includes surrealist paintings to subtly indicate that language’s distortion of truth is synonymous to surrealist’s distortion of reality, and how her inclusion of quotes at the beginning of the piece allows her to encourage the reader to continue reading her piece.
7/26/2019 0 Comments Brain Pickings Rhetorical AnalysisThough it serves primarily to distinguish reality from falsehoods, language inherently conceals the truth, distorting reality, embellishing lies, and promoting fallacious rhetoric. In Maria Popova’s, “Nietzsche on Truth, Lies, the Power and Peril of Metaphor, and How We Use Language to Reveal and Conceal Reality,” she juxtaposes frequent philosophical quotes with whimsical imagery to highlight the anthropomorphic nature of language and to emphasize the validity of her claims.
Through including frequent philosophical quotes in her post, Popova demonstrates that experts support her musings, enhancing her credibility with the reader and giving her analysis more validity. She begins her post with two provocative quotes on the nature of language from Hannah Arendt and Karl Popper, allowing her to reveal that her post’s analysis is rooted in scientific thought and foreshadowing her later discussion of language’s distortion of truth. By immediately beginning her post with quotes, Popova not only enhances the validity of her claims but also piques the readers interest, encouraging them to continue reading her post; through not immediately delineating her own thoughts on the issue, Popova indicates to the reader that they will only receive her insight on the issue if they read the entire post. Throughout her post, Popova also includes frequent quotes from Nietzche, allowing her to illustrate and analyze his thoughts on the abstraction of language. For example, she includes quotes from Nietzche about mammals, mathematics, and science to determine whether language is an anthropomorphic creation or a fundamental truth. Popova also employs whimsical imagery to allude to languages ability to conceal the truth. For example, she includes images from “Pinocchio: The Origin Story,” to subtly indicate that Pinnochios use of language to embellish the truth quintessentially demonstrates the illusory and distortive power of language. Additionally, she includes a drawing of a snake to allude to the snake in Adam and Eve, who uses language as a means of deception and trickery. Finally, she includes a series of ominous, surrealist paintings by Dali and Michelangelo to reveal that language’s distortion of truth is synonymous to surrealist’s distortion of reality. Throughout her post, Popova cleverly includes imagery to illustrate Nietzsche’s writings on language and truth. In Popova’s, “Nietzsche on Truth, Lies, the Power and Peril of Metaphor, and How We Use Language to Reveal and Conceal Reality,” she cleverly emphasizes language’s distortion of truth through philosophical quotes and imagery. She uses imagery, such as paintings by Dali and Michelangelo and drawings from “Pinocchio: The Origin Story,” to subtly support Nietzche’s ideas, and she employs excerpts from Nietzsche’s writing to more explicitly express his thoughts. This juxtaposition allows her to effectively communicate to the reader that language is an anthropomorphic creation used to distort, embellish, and conceal the truth. |
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