Blog Post 4

Jeneh Perry

October 16, 2013

Blog Post 4

Relationships and Unity

In the readings "Tableau" by Countee Cullen, "Theology" by Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley all deal with the relationships of people. In “Tableau”, the speaker depicts the relationship between blacks and whites. In “Theology”, the speaker satirizes religion. In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays a relationship between a monster and its creator.

In the poem "Tableau", Cullen talks about equality and unity between whites and blacks. He creates an image of a black boy and a white boy walking together arm in arm and people scolding which watching them from their homes. Cullen expresses the desire for change. He wants black and white people to be able to be equal. In the end of the poem Cullen compares the boys to thunder and lightening, which are two things that go hand in hand.  This metaphor shows the unity of blacks and whites and how one day the will come together in harmony.

“Theology” by Dunbar is a satire about religion. In the first 3 lines the speaker says, “There is a heaven, for ever day by day, the upward longing of my soul doth tell me so.” He is saying that he knows that there is a heaven because his soul wants to go there, so in effect he is also claiming that he is going to heaven while all of his neighbors go to hell. In the second half of the poem the speaker makes religion humorous. Religion is usually a very serious topic and people are very committed to it but Dunbar shows that religion does not always have to be so strict serious all the time.

In Frankenstein, Mary Shelley portrays relationships through victor and the monster. Victor wants to create a being out of corpses that he has put together. Victor has a vision of noble piece prizes for his brilliant new creature, but it turns out terribly wrong. He says, “I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart. Unable to endure the aspect of the being I had created, I rushed out of the room and continued a long time traversing my bed-chamber, unable to compose my mind to sleep. (5.4)” He was disgusted by what he created because it is so repulsive and soon after falls ill. Victor abandoned the monster.

I saw the play Henry IV, Part 1 in McManus Theater and it was humorous and about betrayal. All of the literary works fit together because they all involve the relationships between people how they all want a feeling of unity and togetherness. Frankenstein wanted to have a companion and because Victor abandoned him he was lonely. Cullen wanted unity in races through the equality of black and white people.