Blog assignment #7 Harlem Riot 1935

The Harlem Riot of 1935 started with a brutal beating of a 12 year old African American boy. The boy stole some candy from a company called Kress. Apparently a hurse was parked near the store while the boy was being beaten which led to rumors of him being dead. It can be said that along with the beating of a minor, the rumor influenced the riots as well 

Blog Assignment #6 Free Blog

 Since I'm doing assignments about the hardships of women in my other classes, I figured that I should do the same for my paper in this class.  "The Destruction of Gotham" and "Caesar's Column" has depicted women as being dependent more so than ever. In Miller's TDOG Dottie turns to Walton for support while Hattie Lane turns to Matherson. Miller also mentions about a dress Hattie Lane wears that confines her body, signifying her being imprisoned to her fiance's life. It made me wonder if financial stability is worth losing your freedom. In Donnelly's CC, Gabriel is determined to rescue Estella from being a "slave" to the Prince. He tells her a story about a knight rescuing a princess and ultimately offers to provide for her for the rest of her life. The story mirrors Gabriel and Estella's situation. Donnelly incorporates the only seemingly independent woman who sings to provide for her family. However, her independence ends when Max comes along to promote her talent and eventually provide a home for her family. After a tragedy occurs she is more dependent on him than ever. I believe if Max hadn't interfered, she would have gotten less income, but still have her independence. Both novels may cause readers to think that women were weak and men to be their "hero".

Blog Assignment #5 Caesar's Column 10.24.14

Hello, this week in my "Violence in American Art and Culture" class we've discussed "Caesar's Column" and the disputes between the rich and poor. Professor Rogers-Cooper split the class up into groups to analyze certain passages. The passage my group received was "But public safety and the demands of science had long ago decreed that they should be whisked off, as soon as dead, a score or two at a time, and swept on iron tram-cars into furnaces heated to such intense white heat that they dissolved, crackling, even as they entered the chamber, and rose in nameless gases through the high chimney" (Donnelly) 33. The "demand of science" in this case means natural order of things , as in the way society has always been. High society has used the lower class as pawns and once they die, they are cremated, dissolving into dust as if they were not worthy of a traditional burial. Apparently that's how it's always been. Another passage that I thought relates to this is "If the ruling class had to deal only with the brutalized peasantry, they might, as they did in other ages, trample them into animal-like inability to organize and defend themselves." (Donnelly) 53. The idea here is that in the past, the rich have treated the poor with a high level of disrespect to the point that they thought of anyone who isn't within their class as animals. This can be identified as the natural order of things.

Blog Assignment #4 "Caesar's Column" 10.17.14

Hello, my name is Taylor Alford. This week in my "Violence in American Art and Culture" class we've discussed "Caesar's Column" by Ignatius Donnelly. I was fascinated immediately by a passage in the first chapter. The protagonist, Gabriel, expresses "Would you believe it, my dear brother, in this city they actually facilitate suicide!" (Donnelly) 16. Gabriel is shocked to discover that there were places meant for people to die at their own will peacefully. I also wondered what kind of environment would support suicide. In our discussion, Professor Rogers-Cooper mentioned "Social Darwinism", as in "only the strong survive". This very saying answered my question of encouraging suicide. To have a strong environment, the weak must be eliminated. Therefore  those who did not feel that they have what it takes to live (the weak), simply ended their lives with the support of the society (the strong environment) they belonged to. 

Blog Assignment #3 The Destruction of Gotham 10/3

Hello, my name is Taylor Alford. This week in my "Violence in American Art and Culture" class we've discussed The Destruction of Gotham, a novel by Joaquin Miller. Some points were made out in class about the word "manly ans "masculinity". The Stone of Wall Street was considered as "manly since one can consider him as "money-hungry" and self-interested. The word "self-interest has been used often this week due to violence breaking out because of one's own needs or wants. Anyway, Stone has also exhibited masculinity. Most would say that to be masculine means to contest and strip other people from what makes them a man. Supposedly, that is what makes you stronger. In the story on page 28 the first few paragraphs describe an orphan girl who was once loved by her now deceased mother and was her mother's whole world. After her mother's death, the orphan now seemed less important in the world. People should realize that everyone at some point in their lives has someone who cared about them and therefore are not any less important than others. Which brings me to what I found odd on page 38. When Hattie and Matherson are passing by, Matherson notices the old woman, the cabman, the police officer and the reporter. However he doesn't seem to notice the poor orphan girl who was also present. my question is: does the girl's poor appearance make her seem unnoticeable or just not important acknowledge?

Blog Assignment #2 Headley Great Riots 1877

Hello, my name is Taylor Alford and I attend Laguardia Community College. This week in my Violence in American Art and Culture class (ENN 195) we've discussed Headley's view on the Great Riots of 1877. Headley mentions several principles of communism of which the rioters followed by. There was this one passage in particular that interested me, "No! No matter how needy your families may be you shall not do this work. Nobody shall do it except on our own terms". The rioters were preventing other people who are in desperate need of work to replace them under any means necessary. Their actions are violations of people's right to work for whatever wage they agree upon. Headley also states, “They may cut down the price of wages, but that is not so criminal as to tear down houses and make a wreck of human property”. He suggests that although the rioters believe their employers are committing a crime against them morally, it is not considered an actual crime compared to the chaos they have caused. It was somewhat unclear to me if Headley was against the rioters or for them.

Blog Assignment #1 9.19.14

As I was reading chapter 7 of The Flour Riot of 1837, I've noticed a statement in particular, "In front of the store, and far beyond it, the flour lay half-knee deep- a sad spectacle in the view of the daily increasing scarcity of grain". (Headley 109) I was curious as to why were people destroying the very thing they demanded. Which brings me to the point we've discussed last class about the "starving" and "suffering" issue. The rioters' actions help prove Headley's claim about people not "actually starving" to be true. I believe the rioters destroyed the flour to make the company owners suffer as citizens were suffering financially. This, in a way, explains the difference between "starving" and "suffering". My question is, although it was a way to strike at the companies, was it really wise to waste the flour?