The Festival Experience

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After months of planning, hours of preparation, and weeks of promotion, the 2013 Literary Arts Festival proved to be an event that will be remembered and cherished by many. It was my first time volunteering for this event and it may not be my last. I enjoy the concept of the Literary Arts Festival because it gives students and staff a reason to be excited about literature, and it’s an outlet for great creativity. I have to applaud Damaris for winning the award for best short story, which also happened to be her Essay #1 for our class. This made me feel like our Intro To Fiction class was represented well. The festival had some touching moments that had me put many things into perspective. It’s a shame that I can’t remember the names of all those that received special honors, but based on the anecdotes expressed by their fellow workers I realized that it was indeed a labor of love by those who believed in it. .Along with being inspired by hearing all the award winning writers recite their pieces, and being entertained by the lively first performance of the City Tech band, I learned a lot about the history of this festival and those who made it possible for it to exist.I began to see and appreciate the festival for more than it is on the surface, although the surface is indeed very appealing. We had the privilege of hearing from Katie Dellamaggiore who directed the documentary “Brooklyn Castle”, Pobo Efekoro who appears in the film. This was my favorite part of the festival considering that these talents came to be in the same room with college students and faculty in Brooklyn to share their wisdom, stories, and relevant encouragement. There was so much to draw from this night of wonder and showcase of applied talents. Volunteering really made me feel like I became a part of history to have my name documented as a participant. I’m looking forward to being a part of the next one, which I honestly wish was happening tomorrow.

Group Project Runaway Slave BHS (Brian, Danny, Simone and Nicole)

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In the first slave advertisement it is a reward of $20 to find the slave named Joe. They give a brief description of his outer appearance saying how tall he is (5’4), well-built and that he has no beard. He is also 20 years old. Also they mentioned that he has a scar on his face in order for others to recognize him. The article warns captains to not harbor this slave and if spotted to report it.

In the second slave advertisement it’s not a reward but a captured slave. This slave was arrested for calling himself Caesar and said that he belongs to Colonel Grem of Fort Hudson. In the advisement they said that he is being held in the jail of the Parisher St James. He is 35 years old and lost his right leg and the end of his left foot.

These slave advertisements compared to the Franklin/Schweninger “runaway slave profile” are brief and to the point. Although I found it interesting in the first document because the slave named Joe was 20 years old and according to the runaway slave profile, teens and early twenties was the common age for men to run away. They also mentioned his “built” and height which in the runaway slave was common for owners to state that. In the runaway slave profile they said that slaves were identifiable by marks or scars and in document 1 you can see that when they mentioned Joe having a scar on his face. It also mentions about missing limbs although in document 2 doesn’t mention how he lost his leg but it could be from an accident or disease that caused him to lose his leg according to the runaway slave profile. They never mentioned any of the slaves skin color in the advertisements or what their clothing may look like and that was also two of the things that were part of the profile of a runaway.  (Nicole Romano)

 

Danny: Bullet Point 3&5

3. When looking at the different documents we came upon an old news article that was reward amount for the slave that escaped and if found the reward on top was the payment for finding them. The wanted news article described the runaway slaves to be between 2035 years of age, both black and male, one was Joe and he had a scar on his face, no beard, well built, and was around 5 feet four inches tall. The article as posted by the state of Louisiana 1835 may 15th. Another article described a man who was jailed for referring himself as Cesar who belong to the colonial green of fort Hudson.  He was 35 years of age and lost his right leg and the end of his left in a big accident that isn’t specified. This article was published may 30th 1835.

5. When reading the “runaway slave profile” Franklin/Schweninger  the story described the runnaway slave to be young men in their teens or twenties and 78% of those were between the ages of 13-29. Rarely was there an older slave runaway but when there was one they were between the ages of 40-50. Most were described as having dark skin, not so well built, and height varied. But when seen in the newspaper article the two men described were between 20-40, well-built and unlike the ones described in the “runaway slave profile” the ones in the news article were injured in different ways. One had a scar on his face, and the other had no leg/ foot.

 

Brian: Bullet Point #6

The reality of connecting the acts of the “slaves” in Beloved to the descriptions given in the advertisements and even just connecting it to the actions taken by the “owners” is startling. The thought that these articles represented another human being is one that i still have problems accepting. For example in the case of Sethe she ran away without taking anything to help disguised herself. If her owner had created an ad for her its description would have been spot on until she gave birth and got the coat from the man and his son to carry her newborn child in. In the first advertisement we have an offered reward for the return or capture of a slave and a proclamation that warns ship captains to not harbor the slave whose name was Joe. Comparing these two things a fictitious account of a slave to that of a real advertisement sheds a light onto an issue that should be remembered and teach a new generation about where they were and how far they have come. In Beloved we learn the story of Sethe who has run away and is on the run for quite some time trying to make it to safety. She goes through many trials and tribulations before making it to Baby Suggs house her mother-in-law. This as it pertains to the ads is basically that she had somewhere to go to and someone that could help her when she got there. The people mentioned in these ads probably had no one and would have been on their own after arriving to safety. In retrospect I think both the story and these ads are part of history that should never be forgotten because it is what helps us to realize that we are an advancing people who are better off due to our experiences. I mean better as a collective whole and not just individually.

Simone McPherson

The size of the rewards are very small, they are just ads from the newspapers. The ads include from document 6; a $20.00 reward for a runaway slave named Joe, who doesn’t have a beard but has a scar on the face, about 20 years old, who is also 5’4 and well built. In document 5, describes a man named Caesar who is about 35 years old. He lost his right leg and the end of his left foot. During these times which is rounded to about the time of 1835. The slave owners have given good descriptions of their runaways and it seems like they are a value to them, since they want them back.

Attached are four pictures the first two are advertisements for run-away slaves the third is the citation for all the images and the fourth is a code that was the law for all slaves

Group 2

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In “Runaway slave advertisement” we have seen that a man named Jim or Armstead. His age is 22 and he ran away with a young horse. They described the horse as if the values are similar to the man. It mentioned that this man might go to Nashville, Tennessee where his mother lives as free person with many acquaintance.

The character  in the advertisement are very similar to the character in “Beloved”. The runaway man called Jim or Armstead resembles Halle in Beloved. The mother said to be free resembles Baby Suggs and other people at Sweet Home.

The Advertisement we saw in BHS is the “The Long Island Star” newspaper, a boy named David Smith age 11 to 12 was larking around Brooklyn and the subscriber want to give away his indenture for free. This boy is rogue and the owner could not govern him. It is sure sign of more freedom here in New York than in other parts of slave states.

 

Queen “We Will Rock You” (Literary Arts Festival)

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In a night filled with learning, laughter and music the 2013 Literary Arts Festival happened on Thursday April, 18 and it was a night that I will definitely remember for years to come. We got to hear some amazing pieces of literature that really were thought evoking.  I am very proud to say I knew two of the winners one from a previous class and the second is our classes own Damaris to her I would like to say congratulations. Her piece was thoughtful and really is something I would buy for my kindle. It was actually the story we had to re imagine for essay one in class. By far however the night was stolen by our guests of honor the director of “Brooklyn Castle” Katie Dellamaggiore and one of the students featured in the film Pobo Efekoro. We got to hear Ms Dellamaggorie’s thought process as she came across the students and how it rocketed into the wonderful movie/documentary it is today. However really and truly Mr. Efekoro stole the night with his clever innuendos and subtle wordplay he had us all captivated as he spun a tale about struggle and necessities. The realities of stopping and realizing that the little things in life truly mean the most. In his case it was his schools Chess Club a place where he could go and just fit in a place to just be himself. Without realizing it this young man at the tender age of 16 is a leader and mentor to a new generation of students who are now filling shoes he once walked in. He appears to be older than he looks and when he speaks it is with a wisdom that comes with time and experience. I learned so much and was so inspired that I for the entire night I wrote down lines and ideas for writing stories and poems. Inspiration was exuded in abundance from everyone there the atmosphere was lively and the people were amazing. At the end we got to mingle with professors and students, guests and friends just learning from each other and reflecting on what we had just experienced.

Group 4

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The picture on the left is document 1 from the original group 4. It is a newspaper from 1800s. The publication is from the Corrector, Sag Harbor, Long Island, vol. IV, no.6, June 4, 1825, 1975.1391; Broadside collection, box 3; Brooklyn Historical Society. It looks like pages of different advertisements. The ad about the runaway slave is located on the third page of the newspaper. It was on upper right side of the page. The ad section were small. However, we were easily able to find it because it had a small dark picture of a person looking like he\she is running. The title of the ad is “Six Cents Reward, AND NO CHARGES PAID.” The ad is in black ink and the picture of the slave is dark, maybe it’s because the slave is black so they purposely print the picture darker so people can know the slave is black. The ad is about the owner looking for their runaway slave and they will reward 6 cents to anyone who find the slave. On the ad, it describes the characteristics of the slave. It provided his name, age, height, color, appearance, and outfit that he is wearing when he runaway. Also the last sentence on the ad says whoever tries to hide the slave or hiring him to work will be on penalty of the law.

Transcription of Document 1:

Six Cents Reward, AND NO CHARGES PAID.

RANAWAY from the Subscriber, on the 25th of April last, an indented boy, named, Edward Decay, aged, 18 years, about five feet, two inches high, thick set, and of a yellowish complexion, with thick lips, and very large feet, is remarkable fond of singing, dancing and swearing, had on when he went away, a short woolen jacket, with wide stripes, running round the body, mixed trowsers and naped hat, Whoever will return said boy, shall be entitled to the above reward, and all persons are forbid harboring, or employing him, on penalty of the law. HENRY P. OSBORN. Moriches May 30 No53w

The picture on the right side is document 2. It is a page of list of ads about the runaway slaves. On the ad, the title is 20 dollars reward. The size of the ad is small with a picture of a boy on the left. Its color is black and once again the picture of the boy is dark because the boy is black. The ad describes the characteristics of the slave with providing his name, age, height, where he escaped from, clothing, and the day he ran away. The day of the ad is in between June 2 – 10

Transcriptions of the document 2:

$20 REWARD

RUNAWAY from the subscriber on the 30th May last, a griff named LOUIS, creole of this country, speaks french and english, about 22 years old, 5 feet 5 or 6 inches, strong built. He had a pair of blue cotton trowsers and a gingham shirt. Captains of ships and stream boats ar cautioned not to harbour him under the penalties of the law.

June 2-10 BARTHELEMY FLEITAS.

Comparisons:

In beloved, Seth is description on the news is quite different than the runaway slave in document 1 because as oppose to Edward Devay, Seth wasn’t in the new just because she had run away, she was in it because she did something worse than that, something cruel. So cruel it made the news. Seth had killed her baby daughter and believes to kill her sons also because she didn’t want them to go back to slavery.

Looking at the description of the slave in document one. It is clear that he falls into Franklin runaway profile. In Franklin runaway slave profile It is mentioned that most of the runaways were between the age of 13 to 29. Most of them were describe as very black, jet black or dark skin. However, a few of them were also described as yellowish, yellow, red, mullato and so on. Moreover, they didn’t have the same skills. If you were describe as yellowish you were more likely to be literate as a black man and you would most likely work as waiters, barber, cooks or tailors. Yellow were treated better than a dark skin slave and sort of worth less when they runaways. Therefore if we go back the document 1, we can conclude that it is quite similar to Franklin runaway slaves.

Both documents are also different form beloved. Seth add on the news to be more specific because as oppose to the runaways she was in the news because she had ran away she was there because she did something cruel . She had killed her baby by cutting her throat.

 

“Anything dead coming back to life hurts.”

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Through part one Beloved motivates Sethe to tell stories of the ordeals she faced in her past.  All of the memories hold a certain tension when they were brought to the surface.  Reawakening the past is a reoccurring pattern that we’ve come to anticipate as it brings a new element to the story.  Instead of the novel reading in a progressive manner, we are giving blots of images from the characters’ past, however it is our goal to piece them together, similar to the film Memento.

In chapter three, Amy told Sethe “Anything dead coming back to life hurts”, this has been the emphasis of the first part of the story.  From the start of the novel, Paul D was the most reluctant to bring up the memories they all shared, he saw it as a dark cloud looming over them but later changed his perspective.  The characters realized that by recalling their past they are able to deal with the burden, as they say getting the “weight” of their shoulders.  Paul D’s personality depicts him as a typical “man” from the old days; courageous, strong, and willful.   However, when he was punished by the bit that was placed into his mouth, he felt his identity diminish.  He felt like a lesser man, which is one of the reasons why he was so reluctant to speak of his their past.  The slaves often used songs to tell their stories, with Paul D being no exception.  Another reason for the hesitance in the characters speaking up their past was the  control their slave masters had over their speech.  This was evident when Sethe was whipped after reporting her milk stolen.

Sethe’s experiences give us a hint as to why she ended up taking her daugher’s life

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No one can conclude if what Sethe did to her baby was the right thing to do or not. However, we can see how Sethe reaches her decision to kill her baby rather than have herself and her children deal with the tragic life of slavery again through her reflections.

When Paul D visited Sethe and the two talked in the kitchen, Sethe told Paul D about the time a “school teacher” and his nephews raped her. She explains to Paul D how they took her milk and beat her with cowhide while she was pregnant and made a “tree” on her back.

In the chapter starting on pg. 28 and also the chapter starting on pg. 74, The recollection of Sethe’s escape and details of her delivery was described through Denver’s mind. Sethe runs away wandering around through the woods while being six months pregnant with “her feet which were so swollen she could not see her arch or feel her ankles.” The delivery of Denver was very hard and the The pain and fear that Sethe faced must have been beyond imagination.

After overcoming these horrible experiences of slavery, she finally started her new life with Baby Suggs and her children. After her escape and overcoming all of the previous experiences she went through, Sethe was very pleased to be able to raise her children on her own.

In my opinion after reading all of Sethe’s recollections and experiences of her slave life and attempted escape, it is kind of understandable to me why she would kill her baby. After experiencing a little amount of freedom and then being caught again and forced back into slavery, she doesn:t want her children going through the same experiences she went through and to be treated like merchandise. At the same time she doesn’t particularly want to kill her own child but in the end that is the decision she chooses.

Memory: Bringing two stories together, forming the truth.

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In this story so far, Sethe did not know why Halle did not comply with her in leaving Sweet Home. Later on, we see Paul D comes into the picture and ends up staying with Sethe. In an argument about Paul D pressing Beloved for information about how and where she came from, Halle’s name comes up. Paul D ends up telling the truth about Halle, filling up the mystery that Sethe was trying to figure out. So we see that Halle, actually witnessed what happened to Sethe and how instead of intervening, his heart was shattered and like, his entire psyche was broken. Who else wouldn’t be heart-broken of seeing their wife being treated like that, the schoolteacher stealing her milk must have been the worst that had him shut out and not being able to go escape with Sethe. Afterwards, Paul D saw him sitting ‘blankly’ by a butter churn. He had smeared butter all over his face. At the time, Paul D was ignorant of the events in the barn and thus wondered what had caused this breakdown in Halle. But Paul D could not physically form the words to ask him because he had an iron bit in his mouth. At first, Sethe was mad that Halle did not intervene but that’s when Paul D explained to her.

It is always tragic to witness someone you love being raped, being treated like that. In this case, he was really broken down to the point that he could not even escape out of there with Sethe, leaving her while she goes alone, pregnant. Also, on her part, she did not know the actual truth, making her resent Halle these past eighteen years that she has been away. I believe it was good that Paul D filled in the blanks about the past and set them right.

Why does Sethe go to the Clearing? To connect with Baby Suggs

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Sethe feels that she needs to go to the clearing where Baby Suggs is going to preach. Baby Suggs does not give a preach but tells black individuals to be themselves to love, dance, smile and to love their bodies. Sethes decides to go there to show appreciation to Halle but also she feels as she has to find common interests with Baby Suggs spirits. It then comes to her mind that Baby suggs passed away in anguish, sorrow and poisoned by the whites without any hope for the future. When Amy had departed and Sethe was by herself, she walked until she discovered a black man with two young boys. The black man was Stamp paid who gave her material goods such as eel and and a coat so she can carry her young one. He had left her at a station by herself, where a woman named Ella had come to pick her up from the station. Ella bought Sethe to Baby Suggs. Baby Suggs gave Sethe a bath. Slowly Sethe began her life as a free woman. Sethe had finally seen her third child since she sent her with the railroad. Sethe was very happy that she was free now as a slave she felt as if it was still a dream. When Sethe was at the clearing with Denver and Beloved, Sethe tries to feel Baby Suggs existence. Sethe has all these imaginary thoughts and feelings about Baby Suggs. Sethe also decides she wants Paul D back in her life.

 

For Monday’s class, 4/15

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On Monday, we’ll be going to the Brooklyn Historical Society. That means that we won’t be in our classroom. Please meet promptly at 11:30 or prior inside the Adams Street entrance to City Tech (near the entrance to the bookstore). We will leave from there and travel the short distance to the Brooklyn Historical Society at 128 Pierrepont Street at Clinton Street. If you’re going directly to BHS, we should be there no later than 11:40.

We’ll be looking at runaway slave advertisements, plus a few other documents. For your reading assignment, you need to finish Part One of Beloved and read as much of the chapter on Runaway Slaves that I distributed in class that you can. If you didn’t get it in class, look for it in our list of readings.

For those of you who are blogging by end-of-day Saturday, you can blog about narration style or memory (the two prior assignments)–but please do not repeat what anyone else blogged about. Also, for the question on memory, please do not blog about something that is a memory in the novel, but about a reflection about memory. We talked briefly about Paul D’s rusted-shut tobacco box in the place where his heart was–that would be a great topic for a blog post!

When we read short stories, we agreed that it was harder to consider characterization than it would be when we would have such rich characters in a novel.  For a new topic, choose one character and a quotation that you think exemplifies the character. How do you learn what you know about the character? What does the passage you’ve chosen tell you about that character, and how? Remember to write at least 300 words, and to choose the category Homework, plus any tags you think are fitting.

Commenters, in your 150 words, remember what you’re not saying? I agree! You’re going to find different ways to communicate your ideas. Maybe you’re going to disagree! Maybe you’re going to fill in something that the blogger didn’t focus on. Maybe you’re going to explain further what the blogger started to describe or address. I’m very excited to see the results!

Questions about Beloved

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When Sethe is choked, is it Beloved, or is it the spirit of Baby Suggs? indeterminate

What is the circle of iron? is it a representation of her past? a necklace? noose? chains–shackles?

Why does Sethe go to the Clearing? To connect with Baby Suggs

Why does she feel she needs to connect with Baby Suggs? Because she’s been remembering when she first got to 124 and what Baby Suggs did for her; also for help making sense of what Paul D told her about how Halle saw what happened to her with the schoolteacher and his two boys.

What’s the iron bit situation with Paul D? a punishment that locked his mouth.

What’s the deal with Beloved? who is she? where did she come from? is she the baby ghost?

What’s the purpose of not cleaning the baby’s eyes and waiting for Sethe’s urine? Baby Suggs’s home remedy

How can something horrific keep you from your loved ones?

Who is the narrator? not part of the story–not homodiegetic. third person. jumps to first person who is limited? characters as focalizers, free indirect discourse.

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In the story beloved by Tony Morrison there is no narrator inside the story ,who is a part of the story . The narrator is totally unknown. The narrator in this story is not limited , knows everything that is going on in every ones mind and how every one feels about every even that has happened in life and is about to happened in their life.  But the story is narrated from a third person point of view.  I would like to state that the narrator in this story is omniscient.

The story is very self explanatory in a way . But it gets confusing because of the sudden flash backs . The story is mainly about Sethe and her struggle through out her life . That’s what I think of the story . But her story is narrated by different voices also . Just like the way Denver talks about the story of her birth. Its Sethe’s story of escaping from sweet home which is a painful memory for Sethe but when Denver becomes the narrator she takes pride of it. There is a hint of joy she takes out of Sethe’s painful story. The narrator played awesomely with words and timing and settings over here. Which made the story a bit confusing but very lively when its put together .The narrator is the real ornament of this story .

Narration and its effect on the Novel Beloved

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In the novel Beloved narration helps to develop and move the plot of the story forward. In the case of the narrator in this novel he or she is an omniscient narrator. This helps get insight into the minds of the characters we get to learn about them individually from an outside source thereby there is really no bias about the characters when it comes to each other. However there are times in the book when the narrator becomes one of the characters, thereby changing it from omniscient to a first person narrator. This in turn leads us to understand the complexity’s of each character because when they have a turn we can really see the type of person they are and understand their biases as it pertains to the other characters. This is because from the point of view of the omniscient narrator we get a general idea and see into their mind but here we get into the nitty-gritty parts of them. This leads our understanding of the characters to become more rounded.

Also narration plays a role in the development of the mood and general feeling of the piece. At times when it gets dark being able to read the story from the point of view of someone looking in helps us to understand and really feel what is going on. For example when we learn about the dog and it being hit over the head with a hammer that is really dark but looking in we get the context about why it was done whereas if it was first person we would see it from their point of view and that would change our understanding of the event.  Another way that narration helps the story is that in this context with the depth of detail we get we are drawn into the world. It makes us feel like we are part of the world and are witnessing everything first hand it makes it seem as if we are almost the narrator viewing this through a telescope.

The Anonymous Narrator

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The primary narrator in the “Beloved” is unknown for the readers. The narrator is not physically present in the story, but the narrator has access to everything. So I would say the narrator of “Beloved” is anonymous and omniscient. The anonymous narrator has narrated the story in the third person. The anonymous narrator does not only narrate the story but also the story is the collective narration of flashback of the characters. So when the characters express their feelings and look back into their memory, they use the first person.

The narrator has narrated the story with lots of detail information. In other words, the story gives the readers detail picture of everything that is taking place in the story whether it is the conversation between the characters, feelings of the character or the description of a scenario. “Kneeling in the keeping room where she usually went to talk-think it was clear why Baby Suggs was so starved for color. There wasn’t any except for two orange squares in a quilt that made the absence shout. The walls of the room were slate-colored, the floor earth-brown, the wooden dresser the color of itself, curtains white, and the dominating feature, the quilt over an iron cot, was made up of scraps of blue serge, black, brown and gray wool-the full range of the dark and the muted that thrift and modesty allowed.”(Page 38) In the above paragraph from the story, the description of a room is written using very detail information such as the colors, the position, features and so on. Narrating the story in such a detail way makes the readers as if they are the part of the story and the readers are actually witnessing the scenario.

Rendezvous

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Rendezvous (French: rendez-vous), to visit, to meet, tryst, less exclusive than

“Now it was too late for the rendezvous to happen at the Redmen’s house, so they dropped where they were. later he punctured her calf to simulate snakebite so she could use it in a way as an excuse for not being on time to shake worms from tobacco leaves.”

(Beloved: by Toni Morrison, pg 25)