|
Activity 2.2 Goethe’s message, Personal reflections In Goethe’s poem, it simple states that humans are accursed, no matter what he does. But is this true, are men cursed, unable to free himself from the clutches from sin and other imperfections? ‘Fate has given this man a spirit’, ‘fate’ means chance or luck. So when ‘fate’ gave us humans a spirit, it implies that we were an accident, or a by-product. Goethe is implying that we as humans weren’t meant to be. Or that we humans aren’t suppose to be the way we are today, that we are different then what we’re suppose to be, but by chance we were made differently. Is Goethe wrong? Maybe it isn’t chance at all, but something that our forefathers (Adam & Eve?) did to make us less perfect, to make us accursed, something that ‘fate’ or by sheer chance made them do. ‘Which is always pressing onwards, beyond control’. So this spirit that ‘fate’ has given us, is acting out of control. That spirit ‘is always pressing onwards’, jumping ahead, making illogical decisions. How can it be ‘beyond control’? Look around us today, humans today are still making illogical decisions, ranging from pollution to wars, mankind is out of control. So when Goethe states that man is ‘beyond control’, he means our actions as a whole or causing destruction, wherever we go. But not only destruction to our planet but also to ourselves, in fact it has made us ‘mad’ in a way. ‘And whose mad strivings overleaps’, so ‘fate’ is causing us to go out control, has made us ‘mad’ in our dealings. In fact our ‘mad strivings overleaps’ or surpasses our previous actions. Every bad action we as a whole do, is far greater then our past actions. Is there a kernel of truth in that? Again let’s look at history, the Bible at Ecclesiastes 8:9 says “man has dominated man to his injury”, we all see that there is truth in those words. Every war from Charlemagne to WWII has been far worse then the other, truly men have become ‘mad’ in every sense of the word. ‘All joys of the earth between pole to pole’, here Goethe shows that although men have destroyed parts of the earth, it is still very beautiful. There is a paradise in every part of the world. But men don’t see the beauty, ‘him shall I drag through the wilds of life’. Humankind as a whole sees our earth only as a resource, something to be used, and then thrown away. In fact they see the earth as ‘wild’ since we don’t know how it works; they eat up the earth, not knowing the consequences of their actions. ‘And through the flats of meaninglessness’ to men the warnings we see around us like global worming etc, are nothing but meaninglessness. They don’t see the big picture. To men the earth is ‘flat’, in that it has no substance, has no real meaning, it’s just something that is there with no purpose. ‘I shall make him flounder and gape and stick’, men don’t really have a purpose. Men ‘flounder’ or struggle to live on this earth, fighting for dominance other his neighbour. They separate (gape) from each other, they are ‘beyond control’. From this war, racial hate, and other forms of violence escalate on a huge scale. The words ‘mad strivings overleaps’ is very true in every sense. But men can be very easily manipulated.’ And to tease his insatiableness, hang meat and drink before his watering lips:’ Men will do various things for the sake of pleasure, be it ‘meat and drink’, or other forms of pleasure. True it is one of our basic needs, but men take it to the extreme. Wars have been fought for one thing or another, be it land, women (Think of the battle of Troy), or food stuff. In fact when mankind don’t have such basic needs, ‘in vain he will pray to slake his inner thirst’. When men or in need then and only then does he look for help from god. Then will he remember that there is a greater force then himself. All the time from his ‘mad strivings’, onward he has ignored god. Consider this: after a natural disaster, what do you see in the news and newspapers? One would notice that everyone is praying to one god or another. Why? Because in times of need, man can’t trust each other, so they trust the one person they can’t see, but know MAY help. ‘And even had he not sold himself to the devil, he would be equally accursed’. Man can’t do anything to help themselves, no matter what they do they are cursed. Cursed to live with himself. Rules for the debate between (Brent, Yanick, & Sam) vs (Mellisa, Jess B & Kim) -No swearing -No physical contact, including throwing stuff -No directly instulting opponent -Must stand while speaking, except during the free for all -Must have 3 jokes that relates to the topic throughout the debate, with one joke must be a Chuck Norris related ARGUE In the beginning. . . -We were told how to properly write an essay to Mr.Murray’s standards Thesis Reason Example Example Reason Example Example Reason Example Example Conclusion – Restate thesis *Every example is back by quotes to prove it *Speaking in the first person doesn’t matter First week with Mr.Murray is always fun. Lots of lectures and little work. GREAT!! We all picked ISU books mine is ‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert, the best sci-fi you will every read. we learned how to write a essay properly and started on the histroy of the English language. Looking forward to next week
12
02
2008
 
My Personal Accountability AgreementPosted by: Alex van der Mout in ENG 3U, tags: ENG 3U
My Accountability Agreement Alex van der Mout 2/12/08
Focus: -To better understand English literature (Shakespeare etc.) -To become a better writer of essays and poems -Learn how to write in different styles in stories, essays and poetry Contributions: -I am not disruptive in the class -Bring my ideas to the fore and express them when possible -Help my peers when they need assistance Accountabilities: -To do the best I can do in everything -To finish assignments on time -To stay on task while working on something Supports: -I need Ms. Dobson & Ms. Cooper (A.K.A homebase) to be there for me when I need a quiet place to work -I need Mr. Murray to be there when I need someone to bounce ideas off of -I need my sister to proof read my work before I hand it in Measurements: -My marks from the first report card to the final mark have increased -My final mark is a level 4 or higher -My writing abilities have gotten better Consequences: -If I get a 75% or higher in every class, and a 80% average or higher I get to see a movie -If I fail I lose a bet I have with my siblings (Who is best at English?) -If I succeed I will reward myself with a big tub of gummy worms |
ENG3U – “I am, because I am here.”
If fishes were wishes we’d all cast nets
Hosted by Edublogs.
Mandigo theme by tom.
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
