| Text Journals | FYE Journals |
While others may view The Matrix as a means of entertainment on a Friday night, Centenary students take this movie to a deeper level. Throughout the movie, various symbols exist to present certain themes that were in common with Plato's "Allegory of the Cave." One of these themes was darkness and light, which at times subtly indicated the difference between reality and what is perceived to be reality.
In Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," light represents knowledge and truth while darkness represents ignorance and hidden shelter. The shadows are also a representation of that same darkness as they are falsely perceived to be fully real by the prisoners in the cave. The Matrix elaborated upon the ideas in this allegory and represented light and darkness in its own way.
In The Matrix, one of the physical symbols of darkness and light was the clothing of the main characters. When those from the outside world were traveling in the Matrix, their clothes, especially their coats, were dark. The coats may represent the cave itself from Plato's allegory as somewhat of a shelter and protection from the outside. Also, while Neo and his friends were in the outside world, they would wear more neutral and lighter colored clothing. When Neo first left the Matrix his clothes were gray; however, he eventually wore whiter clothing. This represents that the transitions between the two worlds are being symbolized by color.
Another symbol that can be associated to darkness and light in Plato's allegory is the sunglasses that were worn in the Matrix. After living in a cave for quite some time, it is difficult to adjust one's eyes to the light outside. The people from the outside world wore sunglasses to once again symbolize in the Matrix that it was some sort of shelter or protection from what they were exposed to.
Finally, before he left the matrix, the role of Thomas Anderson was played in all the scenes that took place at night. The only time a scene took place during the day was in his dreams (or what he thought were dreams). This subtly identifies that "light" only existed out of Thomas Anderson's world, and everything he perceived to be real took place in darkness
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, switch is defined as "a shift from one thing to another." The dictionary further defines it as "a device for making, breaking, or changing the connections in an electrical circuit." Both definitions are significant in the role that Switch plays in The Matrix. Just as Douglass describes a "pathway from slavery to heaven," Switch represents the transitions between the outside world and the Matrix.
The definition of switch as "a shift from one thing to another" clearly identifies Switch's symbolic and apparent role as a connection or pathway between the two worlds. According to the second definition, Switch is a device that assists another in gaining knowledge, like "making a connection in an electrical circuit."
Douglass reminds us that the "pathway from slavery to heaven" is undertaken through basic knowledge and certain opportunities. There was no single step between being enslaved and free. He must acquire of language and knowledge, but that was a long and somewhat frustrating process for Douglass. Nevertheless, this was the only way for Douglass to reach his freedom. Switch is the indicator for this process in The Matrix. Although Switch may not play a leading character, she is a reminder that a function or device is required to exist in order to travel between the two different worlds. This "device" in a broader sense is knowledge. Switch is not a character like Neo who acquires knowledge from the outside world. She is a symbolic tool for the audience to recognize that a pathway or opportunity is needed to lead oneself into a "higher world," or according to Douglass, Heaven.
On September 5th, Centenary students took advantage of a special FYE event that took place in the Hurley Auditorium. A renowned pianist and professor, Dr. Mark Zeltser, gave an astounding performance on the piano. He played a selection of diabolical music that contrasted the spirit between two characters from Euripides Bacchae. Through this range of classical music, each selection depicted the character and style of Apollo and Dionysus. As an introduction to his performance, Dr. Zeltser first performed a Nocturne by Chopin to display his own characteristics.
The first part of Dr. Zeltser's performance consisted of a group of music that described the character of Apollo. He played music mainly from the Baroque and Classical period. The first was a Bach "Prelude in b flat minor." This piece was very structured and grave. The next was Scarlatti's "Sonata in C minor". This piece was very fast, melodic, and intricate. The third piece he played was the intro to Schubert's "Fantasy in C major." This piece once again had a very melodic pattern. Overall, the pieces that describe Apollo were very structured and formatted with a distinct and predictable melodic line. Pieces from the Baroque and Classical music era themselves are tonal music and have a conservative style. This concludes that this style of music portrays the structured and logical character of Apollo.
During the next part of his performance, Dr. Zeltser played music that represented the nature of Dionysus. This music was mostly from the late Romantic era, although pieces from the Modern era could fit this category as well. He first played Liszt's "Malfisto Waltz." This luscious piece portrayed the creative and emotional side of Dionysus. Dr. Zeltser then played a part of Chopin's "Fantasie in f minor." This piece also had the same qualities. In many of the late romantic pieces, there was less structure and rigidity in the works with things such as cadenzas and certain modulations. Dr. Zeltser's choice of music fit Dionysus' description very well and brought the chaotic, emotional, and creative side of this Geek god.
Throughout his presentation, Dr. Zeltzer gave small lectures about the two characters and compared their two worlds to the right and left sides of the human brain. In the conclusion of his performance, Dr. Zeltser played pieces that described both worlds of Apollo and Dionysus. He first played Liszt's "Sonata in b minor" where both the structured form of the sonata and the emotional harmonic melody were brought together from both worlds. He then played a piece by Rachmaninoff called "Rhapsody of the Theme by Paganini, Variation 18." In this variation there was a simple tune to begin with, and later throughout the piece, this tune was more decorated and melodious with other voices. Finally, one of the most powerful pieces that Dr. Zeltser played was the finale from Rachmaninoff's "Concerto No. 3." This piece had Apollo's harsh and stern sounds and melodies; however, the fast, rough, and compelling chords brought out Dionysus' world.
I feel that Dr. Zeltser has done a wonderful job in describing the two opposite worlds of Apollo and Dionysus through classical music. His choice in music repertoire was not only good, but the manner in which he played this music was remarkable. His small lectures were also very amusing. As a pianist and lover of classical music, I am appreciative that we can have and FYE event such as this to expose Centenary students to different types of classical music.
Proposed question:
Why do you want to create a bar that can "foster a safe community environment" when the presence and/or abuse of alcohol can easily just lead to more danger?
Apollonian Response:
First, the alcohol at the Olympian bar would only be served in moderation. As we've stated before, we will have supervisors who will make sure that everyone will get their fair serving of alcohol. The environment would remain safe also because almost everyone in the bar will know or be familiar with one another - members would only be centenary students. It is true that alcohol abuse does easily occur among college students; however we can trust them with our enforcement of the "drinking honor code."
Second, alcohol can bring students closer together (given that the students will drink a moderate amount), thus enabling them to create a strong sense of community. It can be a bond that can gather people together and allow them to socialize with one another.
Third, a moderate consumption of alcohol is actually healthy for one's body. For example, drinking wine with a meal helps digestion.
Finally, students can come to this bar and not even drink alcohol. It can be just a "hang-out" place for them, or place to just relax. The main purpose for this bar is to give Centenary students another option to enjoy their life on campus.
In the play Electra, much commotion arises between the characters because of their over-dramatic attitudes of certain situations. This too exists in soap operas, specifically in Thursday's episode of Young and the Restless. Lindsey Bagley and I both watched this episode, so you can see her summary on it as well. This show has no specific relations to each of the characters in Electra; however, the general setting of exaggerated conflicts and high-powered emotions strikingly resembles the attitudes of the cast of Electra.
Like Electra herself, different characters in the show displayed much grief and emotion over certain issues. There was a lady who did not want a boutique shop to stay open because it would give it a bigger name and more popular. Ironically, she just wanted to keep this business small without too much exposure. To get her point across, she fussed and complained to the manager. Another sufferer of the "Electra complex" was a young girl named Colleen who made a big deal of not being able to have a family portrait with her divorced parents. Of course this would be a fairly large issue for many children, but Colleen became very upset and moody and did not even want to speak with her father or mother. There were also examples that displayed the role of Ægisthus' and Clytæmnestra's love affair. Like most soap operas concurrent affairs between couples constantly exist as it did in this episode. And finally, there was a character who was friends with Colleen's stepmom that resembled the character of Chyrothemis. Colleen's stepmom was grieving over her conflicts with her children and husband (Colleen's dad) to her friend. Her friend's advice was to "forget the past and focus on the future."
A famous criminologist and novelist, Professor Shoham of Televiv University came to speak to Centenary students about certain topics that he has investigated and that is also relevant to our First-Year Experience. There were two specific topics that were divided on the two nights he came to speak. I attended his second lecture, which was based on mythology and how it brought about the holocaust and formed the motives of Hitler. The reason why he chose to study and discuss mythology was because it was an aspect about the holocaust that was forgotten by many scholars.
He described mythology as a factor that determines our actions. It is our worldview and how we act in this world. For Hitler, his mythology gave him a negative worldview of the Jews. Mythology was the motivating force that allowed him to act the way he did. Hitler of course thought that the Jews were the inferior; he even stated, "If they cant' be gods, let them perish." Another interesting aspect about the impact of mythology proves that Hitler was not an innately degrading or immoral person. Of course he might have undergone certain psychological disorders to even think of doing such a deed, but he was controlled by his beliefs and this myth to dutifully kill the Jews. He thought he was doing what was right and fulfilling his role to serve the "Germanic gods" by making such a sacrifice with the Jews.
I do believe that the power of mythology can have a great impact on a human. As it was evident with Hitler, mythology unfortunately can have an enormous negative impact on a human and surrounding circumstances as well. It was interesting to see, however, the worldview of Hitler and his background motives and reasons for doing what he did.
A breeze is floating around in the sky so blue,
The fields a luscious green are swaying in tune.
Within these open pastures lies the beauty
Of vibrant flowers hued in colors true.
Their pleasing scents just merely overwhelms
The natural senses that one can only bear.
And I just lie in reverie inhaling
The wondrous sensation flowing within the air.
The heavenly light from the sun consumes my heart
And I find that all of this is a symbol of your love.
How did Shakespeare's Henry V relate to my fall break?
During fall break I mainly slept or just sat around the house like a vegetable. However, I did manage to go to my school's homecoming football game. (Well, it wasn't really my school - it was the all-boys school that was connected with the all-girls school I attended - but that's beside the point.) As I stood in the stands, I noticed that the battle I saw between the two teams on the football field greatly resembled the battle between England and France in Henry V. Our rival team was very strong and intimidating as it significantly portrayed the image of the Dauphin and his threatening acts towards King Henry. The soldiers of France were also very confident about the war, as were the players on this team. They had been known to defeat us in the past years, and we knew that extra effort was required to defeat them this year.
The game was very gradual - we would score a touchdown, the other team would score a touchdown, we followed it with another touchdown, and so forth. When the fourth quarter finally arrived, I saw from a distance, the football coach talking with a group of the players. He was most likely explaining their strategies and giving encouragement for the remaining quarter. Like this football coach, King Henry also gave a remarkable speech of encouragement and patriotism to his soldiers before the last battle. As a result, the soldiers charged with full force and might into the battlefield with a victorious defeat against the French. We too triumphantly defeated our rivals with a score of 35 to 7!
During the week of October 15, Centenary students were fortunate enough to be exposed to the talent of the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express. Considered to be one of the country's most important Shakespeare companies, this group of young actors put on an amazing production of Shakespeare's Henry V.
They introduced the show by singing a song that gave a brief background of the play. Each scene was thoroughly acted out with much energy. Even though there were thirty-five roles in Henry V and only eleven actors of the SSE, each actor managed to bring out the distinct character of each role. They knew the right ingredients for each role, and so it did not even make a difference that they had to play at least three or four roles each.
The enthusiasm and poise of the players not only made the play interesting, but their interaction with the audience was innovative and made the play more enjoyable. They left the lights on in the auditorium so that they could have more contact with the audience. They also knew how to keep the audience on their toes with their spontaneous and humorous acts. Two examples that I enjoyed most were the characters of Pistol and Captain Fluellen.
Overall, this group of players was very creative and knew how to capture the audience very well. By having the opportunity to watch a Shakespeare play come to life enabled me to create a deeper interest in Shakespeare and look at his works from a different viewpoint. The SSE has done a wonderful job, and I would recommend anyone to see one of their performances.
Every year, Centenary honors a literary figure with its Corrington Award for literary excellence. This year's recipient was C.K. Williams. Williams is the recipient of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for some of his recent book of poems, and this year, English 101 students studied his translation of Euripedes' Bacchae and a selected collection of his poems.
During the presentation, Williams read a few of his poems and gave a brief introduction to each of them. One poem that I thought was very deep and touching was called "War." He coincidentally wrote this poem without realizing he already wrote an earlier poem called "War." In comparison to his recent "War" poem, the previous one seemed lighter because he basically wrote about two kids playing a game of war. Although it does have some symbolic significance, I seemed to relate more to his recent version of "War." This poem actually went through its last revision on the date he spoke to us (10/27/01). This poem lyrically yet powerfully described the horrific events of war and gave subtle implications of the September 11 tragedy. It was amazing too see his perspective of the event in a poetic sense.
Williams' poems in general are very amazing and thought provoking. I admire the detailed descriptions in his writing as well as the appreciated value of aesthetic qualities he exhibits in his poems. We were very fortunate to see him and listen to his readings.
During the week of Halloween, various film versions of Mary Shelly's Frankenstein were presented each night as an FYE event. Because this novel has made such a profound impact on American literature as well as this American holiday, I thought that this FYE event was appropriate during this time. The films that I chose to watch were Gods and Monsters, and Frankenweenie with Alvin and the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein.
Gods and Monsters is about famous director James Whale, who directed Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. The movie takes place later in Whale's life when he starts to get a little strange and psychologically unstable. Images of his former gay lover as well as other events in the past would constantly recur in his mind. In the movie, he befriends his young lawn keeper Clay Boone and spends time and shares stories with him. The movie itself is a depiction of Shelley's Frankenstein as Whale represents Victor Frankenstein and Boone, his monster. Whale's stories and thoughts mold and capture Boone's mind, thus enabling him to fall into the lure of Whale. The climatic ending was somewhat disturbing, but overall, the movie was very enjoyable, and the acting was superb.
After watching Gods and Monsters, the movies Frankenweenie and Alvin and the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein seemed much lighter and fun. I cannot relate these movies to Gods and Monsters on really any sort of level; however, they both had something to do with Frankentstein. Frankenweenie is about 10-year-old Victor Frankenstein's dog that was brought back to life after it was killed. It is shunned by society because, hello, it is a dog with stitches all over and bolts coming out of it. At the end of the movie, it saves Victor from a burning fire and becomes a hero. In Alvin and the Chipmunks meet Frankenstein, the chipmunks meet Frankenstein (the monster) at one of their concerts. Initially, the chipmunks were afraid of the monster, but he later reveals himself as a gentle creature. Both of these movies relate to Shelley's Frankenstein in that they both hold similar themes of "society's acceptance" and "don't judge a book by its cover."
A different theme, whether it would be "God and creation" or "society's acceptance," was presented in each movie. As a result, these contrasting films helped me see Shelley's Frankentstein on a larger scale.
What are the significances of the costumes worn in the play Electra?
One of our texts for English this semester is the Greek play Electra. Centenary students were given the opportunity to see this play come to life in Centenary College's production of Electra. Costumes revealed natures of the characters that were not as obvious in the book. The three players whose costumes suited their characters well were Electra, Clytaemnestra, and Aegisthus.
When I read the book, I thought that Electra was a snobby little girl who would only wear princess outfits. However, I was wrong. Electra mainly wore rags and hobo-like clothing. The appearance of each article of clothing was large, dirty, and droopy, which, in turn, gave a sense of total depression, misery, and self-pity. Her hair was also very hideous and repulsive. It looked like it had not been combed in a year; however, it did reveal her misery very well.
When I saw Clytamnestra on the stage, I knew right away that she was a selfish woman who was not depicted to be as caring as she seemed in the book. Her long, tight-fitting red dress showed that she was a type to care greatly about her looks and how well she can attract men (like Aegisthus). Her wild hair and heavy makeup was also not typical for an older mother. Her overall appearance gave me a better idea of what kind of character she was. It showed that she might have had different, more selfish, intentions of killing Agamemnon that were not as stressed in the book.
Aegisthus wore an unusual yet appropriate costume. He wore a white Nigerian outfit, or I think something similar to that. I feel that the white color of Aegisthus' wardrobe represents his actions, because, like the color white, he cannot hide what he has done. When something like grape juice or a piece of barbeque chicken lands on your white shirt, the colored stains are clearly revealed. The white on Aegisthus was used to deeply contrast the color of the blood that was later stained on his clothes. Although the blood that was all over Aegisthus was from his own murder by Orestes, the significance of the distinctive bloodstains clearly showed that Aegisthus had large "associations" with blood, and therefore, some role in a murder that he is guilty of. This further implies that he was a catalyst or an aid to Clytaemnestra in the murder of Agamemnon. This idea was not as apparent in the book.
The Holocaust is one of the major topics studied this semester in English. In order for us to understand this event from a first-hand view, Holocaust survivor Rose Van Thyn took her time to come and speak to us of her experience.
Rose Van Thyn introduced her talk with a brief reference to the September 11th tragedy because she felt that this event is related to the Holocaust. After she gave a brief biographical background of herself, she began to talk about the beginnings of the Holocaust. Around 1940, when Thyn was around 18 or 19 years old, Hitler invaded the western European countries. This involved the Jews having to wear the Star of David on their chest everywhere they went. They were forced to drop out of school, turn in many of their personal items, and not even carry the right to enter regular stores.
In October of 1942 at 3 AM, the Nazis took Thyn from her home. At the time, she didn't realize that she was on her way to a hard labor camp in Germany. After she spent a few months there, a thousand people, including Thyn, was sent to Auschwitz in very small cattle cars (100 people per car). After they arrived in Auschwitz, 100 out of the 1000 people were chosen to survive while the rest had to go to the gas chambers. These 100 (Thyn included) were stripped of their clothing, had their heads shaved, and were placed in freezing cold showers. Many of these people had a role in the camp through hard labor. So were used for medical experiments, and many women were used for sterilization experiments. Many died from fatal diseases or starvation. Some were shot or punished for no reason. Thyn further describes her experiences at the camp by describing the death march and other tragic moments.
She ended her testimony with a very touching poem she wrote about the way she felt about the experiences and results of the Holocaust.
Thyn's indescribable experience is truly an unforgettable one both for her and the students here at Centenary. Her speech not only taught us about the Holocaust itself, but also the immense determination and strength that a human being is capable of. She is wonderful example of this, and we were blessed to hear her share her words.
On a beautiful Friday afternoon, I decided to take a trip to the Meadows Museum of Art to see some lovely paintings. Lovely… at least that's what I thought. As I walked through the exhibit upstairs I found a series of astonishing and horrid paintings that quickly struck my attention. These series of paintings were entitled "Hiroshima" (1983). Each painting had red and white skeleton-like images doing everyday, normal activities. In these paintings the artist Jacob Lawrence depicts the victims of the Hiroshima bombing. As the victims are depicted in everyday settings, Lawrence shows that it was innocent people who were affected and/or killed by the bomb. The skeletal images represent the dead people. The colors also add an interesting effect. Red can depict the color of blood, and white the color of bones. Red and white combined, however, are the national colors of Japan, and their representation indicates the people's nationality and further adds a fuller effect to the painting. I also noticed that in the background of each painting, the colors pink and yellow were very prevalent. I'm assuming that the pink represents flesh, and the yellow represents the skin of the Japanese people.
The two paintings that captured me the most were "Family" and "Market".
| "Family"
| "Market"
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Lacey Millet did a nice analysis on one of the paintings in this series called "Playground."
Since the tragic event of the bombing of Hiroshima took place around the same time era as the Holocaust, I think that both events can be related to eachother. By also reading the comic Maus, I figured that I know the Holocaust, or World War II for that matter, more through cartoons and images rather than actual textual resources. However, I realize that the image of the Holocaust becomes more real, even if it is only portrayed by a cartoon. By being exposed to images of WWII, whether it may be through drawings of mice or paintings of skeletons, it helps us as students to understand and "picture" what happened during that time.
On Thursday, November 15, I had the privilege of attending the Jazz Band Concert. I have attended various concerts that were held in Hurley Auditorium throughout this semester. However, I found that the jazz concert stood out among the other concerts. Most of the concerts usually consisted of classical music, so the jazz concert was a nice change. Don't get me wrong, though, I play the piano and am a fond lover of classical music. Nevertheless, I do also like jazz music, and I enjoyed the concert very much. The setting was very casual, and the mood of the performers was light and fun. I was surprised to see one of my fellow English classmates Mark Maricelli playing the trumpet. (Look what Michael Maricelli has to say about The Matrix.) He as well as the others played very well. What impressed me most about the performance were the performers' bravura solos. Each solo seemed like a brilliant cadenza ringing through my ears. Although it was not originally a jazz piece, "Somewhere out there" was my favorite piece that I heard that night. Senior vocal performance majors Sarah King and Rob Swafford sang a lovely duet in this piece.
Overall, I was very impressed with Centenary's Jazz Band. Before this concert, I did not know they even existed. To me, jazz music is very relaxing and delightful - the syncopated beats and the unusual, yet fitting, chord progressions. I was glad to have the opportunity to listen to such a pleasant concert.