You Jelly, Bro?

I agree with Gleick. If people are offended by the idea of research materials being made public via the internet, then I think it has less to do with what they perceive that others may miss out on and more to do with their personal attachments to the texts. Furthermore, I think it shows a sort of jealousy that reminds me of the old image of academics in their ivory towers. It think that sharing these texts rather than guarding them allows for a new level of learning and understanding amongst those who could not have realistically accessed them before. I don’t think it cheapens the texts in any way. As Gleick points out, these relics are certainly still valued for themselves even after their knowledge has been widely dispersed. In fact, I feel like the more people have seen a document in reproduction the more they are likely to comprehend its significance when presented with the original.

Wikipedia Conquers Britannica

Wikipedia is something I definitely take for granted. I had never considered exactly how it worked before and it was interesting to find out about the inner workings or the world's most convenient encyclopedia. I think that Wikipedia may not be perfect, but it is overall a huge success. On the other hand, I understand why it's articles are not accepted by the academy. I generally take what I read on Wikipedia with a grain of salt, but incorrect information can be found anywhere, as this article pointed out. Any discerning person knows not to believe everything you read.

Pygmalion Acts 3 & 4

By Act Four, Higgins begins to seem like the ignorant one. Liza has been trained and versed in his culture and class, and so has a broader perspective, and a better understanding of the situation. Higgins acts offended by Liza asking what belongs to her, which is a perfectly legitimate question considering that Higgins still does not seem to esteem her beyond an ignorant flower girl that he happened to pick up. Perhaps the difficulty lies within Higgins' ability to express himself, but I think Higgins really doesn't give Liza any credit as a legitimate person. After all, he expresses outrage that Liza may have had a hand in winning the bet and considers it fully his responsibility.

Pygmalion

I wonder if Higgins' abilities are realistic. The idea that a person can differentiate 130 different vowel sounds seems absurd to me. What makes one accent better than another? Although Higgins can tell them apart minutely, society in general can tell what class one is by their speaking habits. Language seems to be a way of keeping people in their respective classes as well. By learning to speak better, Eliza is breaking out of her class and opening up new opportunities for herself. This is by odd chance though, a sort of cinderella story, and normally she would be stuck in the same economic situation through her whole life. When we think of the things which hold people back in society, speech pattern is not typically something that springs to mind. It is not the only thing which must be refined of course, but in Eliza's case it is the main change.

I think Orwell's overall point is valid. I've often felt that academia pushes a certain degree of flowery language that often obscures meaning more than it illuminates it. I could not even understand what the authors of the quotes that Orwell gives were trying to say. I don't agree, however, with the way Orwell seems to brand certain words and phrases as generally bad. Just because a word is often misused, does not render it meaningless. Democracy, for instance, has a specific definition. It is not meaningless just because people incorrectly label certain governments as democracies. If someone was to look beyond the word itself they would certainly discover whether a certain government was actually democratic. I also think that many metaphors have taken on a life of their own. Whether they are relevant in real life or not, people understand what they mean, even if they don't understand why. I don't think we should throw "Achilles's heel" out the window, simply because most people today are not familiar with the Greek story. The phrase is still universal. It is well understood to mean someone's specific weakness.
I wonder how Orwell would feel about how language has progressed, or regressed since his time. Would he approve of the simplifications seen in texting and cyber-language? Or would he say that as we communicate more and more, we are saying less and less?

Feminist Criticism of Wuthering Heights

Pykett’s assertions drew the women of this Wuthering Heights into a new light for me. Her critique allowed me to more clearly see the power of the female characters of this novel in shaping their own destiny, where before I often thought of them as victims. They struggle to create a life which suits them in an environment that defines them by the men they choose. Pykett also illustrated to me how this text was actually a bit radical for its time. The heroines hardly act as proper ladies by the standards of the day.

The elder Catherine is punished, not for going against society, but for going against her true nature.

Although time have changed greatly since the setting of this novel, women still face similar problems trying to reconcile their true selves with the expectations of society.  This connection makes the novel seem more timeless. I have developed greater respect for the women in this novel and the challenges they faced.

     I found Lady Caroline Norton's letter very helpful in putting Wuthering Heights into context. The complete lack of legal rights of women is hard to imagine, despite the fact that many of our rights are so recently obtained. She is not arguing, however, even for so basic a right as the vote, but for women to simply be treated as humans who may own property and have some small say in their day to day lives.
     It seems to me that women were in no better a position than slaves, and were in fact slaves, to their husbands. This is how, in Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff  is able to maintain such absolute control and manipulate the property. Had the women in this novel had any basic rights, perhaps they would have been able to thwart him. This historical context helps me see why the females in this novel seem to hold such little power and are rather portrayed as being battered about in a storm of men's intentions.

A History of Reading II

As this book has progressed, I have begun to find it quite thought provoking. I can hardly believe I once thought the topic a bit narrow. This book has made me realize how much I took reading for granted. For example, I never fully understood how threatening some people find reading, how subversive. To me, this illustrates the overwhelming power of reading and writing. I also enjoy feeling connected to the various readers that Manguel indroduces.

A History of Reading

Manguel's story reveals the enormity of reading. Many of his assertions I have never considered before, and yet I recognize their truth. I had never realized how much I read, until Manguel pointed out how many daily actions, in which the is no actual text, could be considered reading.
When it comes to Manguel's personal accounts of reading I am torn. I too enjoy reading, but Manguel seems to worship it on a whole new level. His claims that when he meets a new person, he is reminded of characters he has read, and that life takes on a deja-vu quality. To me, reading can expose truths about people I already know, but more often I find myself relating characters to people and not people to characters. I use reading as a tool to understand life, but I wonder if Manguel could even separate the two.

About Kate

     This is my first semester at Kennesaw. Previously, I attended West Georgia as a geology major. Since then, I have decided rocks are not my true calling after all. I am excited about my first semester here and my first as an English major. Besides reading and writing, I also enjoy art, music, and hanging out with my friends. I love English classes because they are about so much more than language; they are about life. The most interesting discussions tend to happen in them, and I expect we will certainly see some on these blogs!