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?