Most recent public comments by Celia Barbieri https://nowcomment.com/users/88515 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291463 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291463 This final, very clear comparison between society in the city and the hard-living in the country, points to the theme that different locations can act as entirely different worlds. Also, that sometimes where a person is is not where a person belongs. The orchestra feels like Aunt Georgie's home, although it is not her home at all. She feels this inherent connection to it, though it differs so greatly from her place in life--maybe because it differs so greatly from her place in life. Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:25:50 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291462 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291462 She feels at home in this place, despite how long she has spent steeped in the location and social milieu surrounding the country. This points to the theme that familiarity is a versatile thing. Someone can be familiar with things from their distant past, things that have hardly influenced them for years and years. Despite this gaping distance, metaphorical and literal, between Aunt Georgiana and city pleasure such as this one, she is still able to feel a sort of familiarity which shows that anything can spark that feeling. Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:18:20 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291447 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291447 This quote reveals that the city that the narrator (Clark) currently lives in was where his aunt grew up. This adds a layer to the fact that the city and the country have often been indirectly compared within this story, as these general categories can now be thought of as two specific locations. A possible theme that comes from this would be that the setting of one's life can greatly sway one's outcome. While Clark spent his youth in the country and now lives in the city, his aunt went the other way around, and each was affected by the location in which they spent their recent adult life. Even though his aunt apparently wanted to live in the city for "half a lifetime," she was still affected more by where she did live (the country) than where she wanted to (the city). Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:13:49 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291446 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291446 The way the narrator talks about his aunt here reveals a lot about how he sees her. He focuses so much on these little details, and is under no illusions about how ugly he considers them so be. On the other hand, this sentence acknowledges that her affliction has come as a result as the life she has happened to live (see: "nervous disorder resulting from..."). That sentiment hearkens back to other things that the narrator has said revealing his point of view on physicalities and their intersection with life experience earlier, such as recalling his "hands cracked and raw from the corn husking." These things combine to create meaning because it shows that although he may have some amount of disdain or morose fascination with his aunt's physical "defects," the narrator still does not seek to blame her for them. Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:06:36 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291443 https://nowcomment.com/documents/251837?scroll_to=2291443 This sentence, which is metaphorical in that his aunt is being compared to a charred dead body, points to a point of view on the narrator's part that his aunt's lifestyle is somewhat pitiable. The fact that she has been blackened with soot is a fairly literal interpretation of this metaphor, however I feel that it does more to reveal his point of view than just showing that he notices that her traveling clothes are soiled. In likening her to a burned-up person, he is revealing that he thinks of her as used up and heavily beaten down by her lifestyle, as the hull of a fine thing that is left behind after a great disaster. The disaster, though, by the narrator's estimation, is simply the events of her life that have left her misshapen and unpretty. Mon, 25 Jan 2021 17:01:11 -0500 https://nowcomment.com/documents/236669?scroll_to=2150190 https://nowcomment.com/documents/236669?scroll_to=2150190 Yes,I like your point that we can definitely see this same fact reflected in modern society. I think a great example of this is "performative wokeness," or the similar concept of "virtue signaling" that is a bit older. In both of these modern phenomenons, we see people experiencing guilt over the problems in the world and proceeding to do very little honest work on it while still seeming to care about it. An example of performative wokeness would be posting "#blm" and signing an online petition or two, but not participating in real action by donating time, money, etc. I really like your selection of this line especially since it reflects those true problems today that I discussed. Not only that, but this unuseful waffling over injustice is something that most people with privilege of one type or another have experienced. Hopefully many of us have gone past the bare minimum of wringing hands and signing a petition, but sometimes people do end up doing as Thoreau says: "nothing in earnest and with effect." Sun, 25 Oct 2020 13:19:41 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/236669?scroll_to=2148343 https://nowcomment.com/documents/236669?scroll_to=2148343 In Thoreau's saying this, the initial meaning to be gleaned is essentially that unfair government will never be just unfair to the people it wrongs directly. Similarly, he means that if the government is unfair, the people with morals have a responsibility to revolt against that injustice. Now, in the context of Thoreau's own experience with tax fraud and a brief bout in jail, it becomes clear that his personal feelings of anger against the government are quite selfishly founded. Though Thoreau was honestly for the rights of BIPOC, he also revolted against the government in small and mostly not relevant to the cause of abolition such as this instance of not paying his taxes that led to an overnight stay in a jail. But, of course, most people want to see justice done, especially against people in power. In this case, people like Thoreau saw huge problems happening like slavery and the forced removal of Indigenous peoples. But whatever and wherever the issue, the notion that raging against a corrupt machine is the morally right thing to do is something shared amongst like-minded progressives. Tue, 20 Oct 2020 17:07:51 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/236669?scroll_to=2147632 https://nowcomment.com/documents/236669?scroll_to=2147632 Thoreau is describing here his belief that they should place their own well-being morally and ethically above their potential duties as a citizen. This demonstrates the romantic concept of individualism, and the individual's ability to determine what is right for themself. He is using this as evidence for his civil disobedience, saying that those individuals outside of the majority still must stand up for what is right. In terms of a wider message, it represents the spiritual self-centerdness that comes with Romanticism. The notion that the individual can be literally the center of their own universe is heavily Romantic, and it reflects that deep and unshakeable desire of Romantics of the era to stand out of the crowd and create their own proverbial map of society and the world. Tue, 20 Oct 2020 13:30:04 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/225798?scroll_to=2048657 https://nowcomment.com/documents/225798?scroll_to=2048657 I also wrote an analysis of this same word choice, but I really like the things that you mentioned that I did not think to talk about. Namely, using the word "offensive" to describe the general implication in using "molestation" as a word to describe this affront. I think that was a great tone to pick up on and then voice. Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:07:17 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/225798?scroll_to=2048649 https://nowcomment.com/documents/225798?scroll_to=2048649 Yes, I agree with this repetition that you noticed. This is a common tactic employed in poetry and also in political speeches. By deliberately repeating specific diction, it places extra power and draws attention to that specific phrase in which you are utilizing repetition. Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:05:21 -0400 https://nowcomment.com/documents/225798?scroll_to=2046966 https://nowcomment.com/documents/225798?scroll_to=2046966 This piece of diction, selected by John Smith to convey the speech by Chief Seathl, is very effective in creating empathy. It paints the Chief and his people in a positive light, as this word is imploring the listener/reader to acknowledge that they should not be forced into victimhood. It has a lot of emotional weight since "molestation" has such a negative connotation compared to somewhat similar words in this context like "bother" or "disturbance". Wed, 16 Sep 2020 22:03:53 -0400