Comparative Book Covers

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Cognitive Dissonance

In 1959, psychologist Leon Festinger was studying cognitive dissonance; a theory, which dictates, “Human beings have a natural propensity to avoid psychological conflict based on disharmonious or mutually exclusive beliefs.” Festinger proved his theory by conducting an experiment, in which he asked participants to perform dull tasks, like turning pegs on a doorknob, for an hour.  Participants were then paid either one dollar or twenty dollars for completing the task. It was found that when participants were asked to explain to a “waiting participant” how interesting the job was people who received $20 felt they had been “sufficiently justified,” while those who were only paid $1 felt they had to justify themselves and their time spent by making the task seem more meaningful. This concluding that people commonly tell themselves lies to make the world seem like a more logical and harmonious place.

I used Festinger's theory as the secondary source in my ISU essay, comparing The Book of Negroes and Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker. I found his theory very interesting, that we as humans feel the need to justify our actions not only to others but to ourselves. 

Oedipus Rex Complex

The Oedipus Complex was created by Freud, he states that the complex stems from the desire to kill ones father and sleep with the mother. This complex in found in young males, whom are  jealous toward their father; as if the two were in a competition for the mothers love and affection. This is merrily a stage in the child's psychosexual development. The complex was named after the character Oedipus in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, who in fact does kill his father and marry his mother. This phase ends when the child identifies and bonds with the parent of the same sex, or when the young boy becomes frightened of his father when he realizes that he is stronger. Freud considered the development past the Oedipus stage "the most important social achievement" in the human mind. However, I do not believe that Oedipus fits into this complex because he was much older then his primary years, and had no idea that he had killed his father or married his mother. Therefore, I believe that calling the theory, The Oedipus Complex is fitting but not accurate.

"What Does Freud's Oedipal Complex Mean?" About.com Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://psychology.about.com/od/oindex/g/def_oedipuscomp.htm>.

Book of Negroes Playlist

1.     What Will Become of Us

Passenger

Aminata’s travel from Africa to Charles Town

2.     Caravan

Passenger

Aminata arrives on the Appleby Plantation and her

Her relationship with Georgia

3.     What Now

Rihanna

Appleby takes Aminata’s baby

4.     I Know You Care

Ellie Goulding

Lindo and Aminata begin making amends before their travel to New York

5.     Brave

Josh Groban

Aminata runs away from Lindo for her freedom

6.     Lay Me Down (30 Lives)

Imagine Dragons

Chekura and Aminata are reunited in New York

A Streetcar Named Desire - Abductations

Tennessee Williams wrote A Streetcar Named Desire, in 1947; in 1951 the film was released, directed by Elia Kazan. As with any novel or screen play written, the director makes certain liberties to make the play more visually and emotionaly appealing. In sence six many production elements have been changed from the original text have been edited to make the sence come to life.

            Kazan’s takes his first abductations of the text with sence six right as it opens by changing the setting. In the screen play Williams describes Mitch and Blanche returning back the the appartment after being at an amusment park. Where as Kanzan has the couple walking out of a dance onto what appears to be a peir. Kazan has also cut out the beginning of the playful banter between the two. He starts the sence by showing the audience Mitch’s light playful side talking about his weight, then immideialty goes into Blanche telling the story of her past.

            Even though much of the dialouge in this sence has been has been cut out and edited, Kazan still stays true to music. The Varsouviana begins to play everytime something is brought up about Blanche’s past and her young husband. Like Williams wrote in the play, the music comes on as Blanche begings to tell her story and stops abruptly with a shot as she mentions Allan’s death. Kazan, like Williams, has the music restart and play untill the end of the sence. It begins again faintly as Blanche finishes her story, and becomes louder as Mitch proposes. The music in both the play and the film seem to increase with intensity and reflect the emotion in the sence.

            Lighting is another huge factor used throughout the play and the film. As with the music, the lighting is also used to reflect the intensity of emotion running through the characters in the sence. Again with lighting, Kazan stayed faithful to William’s vision and kept the lights dim and shaded in the film. The lights can be seen as a reflection of Blanche, where she once shawn so bright and happy, she now stays in the dark and has become flickery with emotions. At the start of sence six Blanche says,  “We’ll have a night-cap. Let’s leave the lights off. Shall we?” (103) This showing her level of insecurity. Where as Kazan made the change to have Blanche and Mitch outside on the peir; the lights still however, are dim but the feeling of Blanche’s insecurities is not as prominent.

            At the end of Blanche’s story she states, “And then the seachlight which had been turned on the world was turned off again and never for one moment since has there been any light that’s stonger than this – kitchen – candle.” (115) This shows how powerful light is in the play. And that Blanche in a way is scared of the light, because it brings out her past and all of her promblems and poor decisions. Again in Kazan’s verison due the the setting, Blanche compares the searchlights to a lantern instead of a candle. Which in this case may be more fitting to the storyline given her want to cover any bare light bulb with the paper lanterns.

Therefore, even though Kazan made many verbal changes to this sence he still stayed true to Williams orginal play and the characters emotions; as well as including all of the lighting and music changes. This allowed the characters moods and feelings to be seen quite easily, which made the story light up on film.

ISU Book

The novel I choose for my ISU book is "Mrs. Lincoln's Dress Maker" by Jennifer Chiaverini.  This novel is about a mid forties African American women named Elizabeth Keckley, who bought her own freedom as well as her sons. Elizabeth has made a living as a dress maker, who is hired and befriended by Mrs. Lincoln herself (The presidents wife).  The plot of the story takes place during the civil war; as Elizabeth gets a front row seat to all the happenings in the White House. For example, the death of the Lincoln's son Willie, the signing of the Slave Emancipation Bill, and hearing all the gossip of her many highly esteemed patrons. The novel goes into great depth of the civil war, however, there are many character traits that are similar and greatly different between Elizabeth and Aminata, from "The Book of Negroes." So far, to chapter eight of the novel, it has been a good read. Many stories of Elizabeth's past are just being brought out, only making the two books easier to compare. I would recommend this book to anyone whom is found of history, or just looking for a good read!

Meaningful Quotes

“I had now written my name on a public document, and I was a person, with just as much right and liberty as the man who claimed to own me.” (Hill 274)

I think this quote represents Aminatas need for freedom, and her drive to escape. It’s hard to imagine that something so simple as writing your name on a pubic document, can mean so much to someone. For Aminata arriving in New York, was a new start, where she had the chance to escape the claim that kept her bound to Lindo, and writing her name was the spark that set her mission to freedom in motion. 

“Now I was here 30 years old and had nothing to show for it. No son. No family. No homeland. And even my beauty would soon fade.” (Hill 250)

This quote is said in New York, when Chekura returns to Aminata. With-in two minuets of seeing him, she sees her life flash in front of her eyes, all of her losses overcome her. Chekura however, senses her feeling and tells her not to be sad, and that the thought of her crescent moons made him feel close to her at night looking up at the moon. These feeling and words can never be forgotten. Often during times of trial, we see Aminata look back and reflect on her past and pick out pieces of advice, whether it is from her parents or Georgia or Chekura. This advice guides her through many hard times and allows her to prevail to the next.

“Mama is beautiful,” I said. “Mama is strong,” he said. “Beauty comes and goes. Strength, you keep forever.” “What about the old people?” “They are the strongest of all, for they have lived longer than all of us, and they have wisdom,” he said, tapping his temple” (Hill 24)

Many times in the novel we see Aminata’s beauty mentioned, whether it is by admirers or speaking herself.  Aminata’s true strength is shown many times throughout the novel, whether it is staying devoted to Chekura, keeping her head high and staying strong on her many travels, or standing up for what she believes in. Although it may be argued that her beauty has aided in her learning how to read and write and other various skills, it is her tremendous strength that has allowed her to stay alive, use her many talents, and give her the drive to keep moving forward.

“It excited me that 50 years later someone might find an ancestor in the book of negroes and say, “that was my grandmother” (Hill 331)

This quote gave Aminata hope. Writing the names of black loyalist in The Book of Negroes, gave her joy. She found happiness in helping people like herself whom had overcome their claims of slavery and were now running for their freedom. Like the quote says, she was excited that someone might look in the book one day and find a family member. All of her many skills allowed her to be sought out, to be the one to complete the task of recording the names for the many black loyalists travelling to Nova Scotia. 

“But I had chosen freedom with all it’s insecurities and nothing in the world would make me turn away from it” (Hill 352)

Aminata quotes this when she first arrives in Nova Scotia. She previously admits that she never had to think about where she would eat or sleep on her travels to St. Helena Island, Charles town, or Ney York. When she arrives she has nothing and no one to ask for assistance, this fact scares her but in her heart Aminata knows that she made the right decision choosing freedom and wouldn’t trade it for the wor