Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Blog post tres- Freedom of mind

John Jacob
EN 101.16
Blog post 3
10/03/2013
Freedom of mind
            “The Cask of Amontillado,” by Edgar Allen Poe, “Liberty,” by Thomas Lynch, and “Suburban” by John Ciardi all portray freedom differently. Poe uses the role of a vigilante as a representative for freedom. Lynch uses the isolation of the suburbs as a separation wall towards freedom. Ciardi uses satire as a means of freedom from the irritating neighbor.
            In Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado,” the readers are informed that the speaker, Montresor, is plotting revenge on his acquaintance, Fortunato, who instuled him. This plot of his is deliberately carried out during a festival where Fortunato is convinced to wine taste what is supposedly Amontiiado. Montresor intoxicates Fortunato and brings him down into the vaults where is soon to be Fortunato’s demise. Once there Montresor chains Fortunato and begins to build a wall to form Fortunato’s tomb where he will die of starvation and dehydration. Montresor plays the role of the law abiding citizen. In other words, he has the freedom to do whatever he pleases to anyone he chooses.
            “Liberty,” by Thomas Lynch, is about a man who in the first line says, “Some nights I go out and piss on the front lawn as a form of freedom.” This clearly depicts the independence he has of sweet liberation simply from relieving himself in the front yard instead of “porcelain and plumbing and the Great Beyond beyond the toilet and the sewage works.”  To me this poem reminds us of what humanity use to be. The social norm years ago was “pay[ing] their homage to the holy trees,” but now we “pay [our] homage” into a bowl.  Not that it’s bad, but Lynch is writing about our transformation and how the word “freedom” has assimilated to today’s culture.
            Satire is what came to my mind when first reading “Suburban,” by John Ciardi. Mrs. Friar, the speaker’s neighbor, phones Mr. Ciardi and tells him that his dog has “deposited…a large repulsive object in my petunias.” It was humorous to me how Mrs. Friar was being so subtle about the situation. Mr. Ciardi decided to play along with this by thinking of saying “Have you checked the rectal grooving for a positive I.D.?” Because he knew it was not his dog that. The way Mr. Ciardi handled the situation brought me to realize that we have the freedom to control every situation presented.

            On Wednesday, September 25th, I went to see Othello, a Shakespeare play. The play was about a Moor who resides in Italy and falls in love with Desdemona, and eventually becomes his wife. However, through the devious and malicious acts of Iago, the antagonist, who turns Othello, a humble, courageous, and respected Moor, into a “green eyed monster” referring to jealousy. Iago tricked numerous characters into his evil and senseless plan. This tragedy is a perfect example of how everyone has the freedom to think freely. Othello did not have to believe everything Iago said, but with the evidence presented, Othello became blinded by jealousy and in the end killing his wife and himself. We have the freedom to do anything we please, and we can use that in anyway we choose whether for revenge, relief, or satire. It is our decision how we use freedom.  

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