Blogger Assignment 4

      I think the song "Yakety Yak", from 1948, portrays the 1950's the best. This song shows how discipline and strictness changed. It also shows how people of the younger age groups started to rebel. The formality of society started to decrease. In the song it says, "Take out the papers and the trash, Or you don't get no spendin' cash." During the 1950's, rebellion started to come about and adults had to adapt to the disciplinary changes. The parents had to start disciplining their kids more, and they also started to give punishments by taking away certain privileges. Also the song "Yakety Yak" quotes, "If you don't scrub that kitchen floor, You ain't gonna rock and roll no more." Not only did parents have to adapt, but children and the younger age group started to have more responsibilities. This was the era of "Rock n' Roll" and the music was starting to take charge of their personalities. The 1950's was an era of change both in music, dance, and the character of age groups. "Yakety Yak" portrays the 1950's the best by showing there were changes taking place in the persona of society.

Two Soldiers

       I think that "Two Soldiers" should be kept in the curriculum. This short story relates to our topic really well, and it creates a good picture of the time during Pearl Harbor. This story also shows the high impact that the war had on America. Specifically focusing on a family that was poor in Mississippi. Even more specifically focusing on the relationship of the two brothers, Pete and his little brother. Their relationship connections and thoughts created a theme throughout the story. "Anyway, I'm going. I got to." Pete understood what was taking place, but his little brother at first was confused. "He joined the army yestiddy. He's going to Pearl Harbor. So am I. I want to ketch him. Where you all got him?" Also, the descriptions of the recruitment, action at war, and draft gives a feel of the actual situation of Pearl Harbor. It shows the immediate reaction and action America had to take. This story should be kept in the curriculum because it applies to the history of Pearl Harbor and the impact it had on Americans and America as a whole.

      In my opinion, this story isn't really "my cup of tea". It gives a good image of a specific story of Pearl Harbor, but it would be more interesting to me if it gave more invoice on the actual situation during the war. The story seemed very simple and slow moving to me. It would keep my attention more if it gave vivid descriptions of the war. If the story also showed more of the impact that Pearl Harbor had on families and the soldiers it would have more of an affect. The conclusion of Pete's little brother finding Pete and then having to go home was kind of a simple and sudden end to the story. "I can get back, I reckon," I said. "I don't live in but one place. I don't reckon it's moved." If the story was continued, it would've been exciting to see the reaction of the two brothers that created their relationship to be re-joined. Overall, this book gave a good specific image of Pearl Harbor, but it would've been more interesting if it had more details and details to show the reader more of a feel of the impacts.

    

Blogger Assignment #2

Romanticism was an artistic movement that developed in the 19th century. Writers put their imaginations over reason and intuition over facts. The Romantics was revealed in nature scenes. In this photo, it is mainly based on nature. The trees take up most of the image, and there is an area of water in the background. In the body of water, there are two sailboats. There is also white rocky terrain which shows more nature. The Romantics showed the accent of nature also through the people. The people are very small, and they aren't shown in much detail. The artist of this picture did this to add emphasis on the nature. The lady in the red dress on the left is pointing at something, and the man in the center is looking down off of the ledge. These people are also looking at elements of nature, accenting Romanticism. 



Realism was an artistic movement developed in the 1820's-1880's. It portrayed real life accurately and focused on ordinary people with harsh realities. In the photo to the left, there are many traits showing Realism. For example, there is a general standing in the front speaking to his soldiers. The lighting is very real as it it just centered as one fixture in the center of the room. The clothing on the men in this image also shows Realism through the type of fashion the soldier's wore during this time period. The man in the left front corner is taking notes, which shows Realism. Another example is the stance of the man in the blue shirt in the middle front of the photo. His stance shows Realism because it is a standard stance of a man that is listening intently. This photo, overall, shows Realism by portraying the lives of men during this time period. Many of them had harsh realities which were caused by war. This image shows Realism by showing ordinary people during this time period that are dealing with ordinary situations.

Modernism was an artistic movement that was developed in the 1860's to the early 1970's. Abstraction was a major characteristic of Modernism. Modernism used the Iceberg theory, because it left the reader to figure out the story of the image. The image shows part of a story, but some of the story has to be developed. In the image to the left, there may be an implied theme that the viewer has to develop. Modernism leaves the reader uncertain, and the image to the left shows major uncertainty. There is a horse that has a wheel on it, as if it is a motorcycle. There is a Japanese man that is leading the "horse". The horse is constructed out of metal parts after the neckline, but if the front end of the horse is just viewed it looks like a normal horse. The viewer is left wondering, "What is this?" The viewer may try to figure out the purpose of this image. 

Blogger Assignment 1

A Soldier's Home "Welcome Home"

Modernism refers to the change of literature and art during the post World War I period.  In Soldier’s Home, WWI had a positive and negative affect on the characters, lifestyles, and the overall literature. Krebs was a character in the novel that was enlisted into the war in the summer of 1919. Krebs’ life was changed immensely from the start of war to the end of the war. Before he was enlisted, he had certain lifestyle practices and routines that he would do at home. “Before Krebs went away to the war he had never been allowed to drive the family motor car.” (Page 2) Also, Krebs noticed after being home from war that not much changed. He only noticed a change in the women, they had grown up and changed. He noticed the change in their fashion and the trends that were occurring throughout the public. Although, he learned from the war that he did not need a girl. “It was all right to pose as though you had to have a girl. Nearly everybody did that. But it wasn’t true. You did not need a girl.” (Page 2) Krebs knew you didn’t need a girl unless you thought about them often. If you really wanted one, it would come and you would get one. Krebs was also mentally affected by the war. He became more isolated at home, and he didn’t want to leave Germany to come home. Krebs, like all the other soldiers, always wanted to tell stories about the war. Although, he didn’t have anybody to tell the stories to. Nobody wanted to listen to him, because he came home late and everybody was told stories. Krebs was being mentally wrecked by this, because he wanted to let out his thoughts and feelings. To solve this problem, he was constantly telling lies to the public to gather attention. Krebs was also mentally destroyed with his religion and family thoughts. Krebs said he didn’t belong to God’s kingdom anymore when he was talking to his mother about the war. Krebs also told his mom that he didn’t love her anymore, because she said she was very worried about him and the things he was exposed to at the war. Krebs parents were telling him that they were worried, because Krebs didn’t seem to have any ambition to set goals and have an aim in his life. They wanted Krebs to become somebody and settle down with a family. Krebs was mentally wrecked from the war, his life was complicated to him now. Nothing felt the same to him anymore, and he didn’t have a drive in life. Soldier’s Home was written by Ernest Hemingway in 1925. Ernest Hemingway gave the readers a good view of a young man who was completely tormented from his awful experiences in the war. He showed us that the young man came to a realization when he returned home from war, he realized that he doesn’t belong to his childhood home anymore, and he decides to leave. His family was also affected, as they tried to relieve their son from post-war trauma. Soldier’s Home showed Modernism through the physical and mental affects which World War I had on the characters and lifestyles during the times of trauma and relief throughout America.


http://www.hemingwaypreservationfoundation.org/soldiers-home-by-ernest-hemingway.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldier's_Home