Friday, April 20, 2012

A Word on Literature and Worldview

In my American Literature studies for school I have learned a lot on different worldviews and how authors worldviews affect their works, and it's really quite interesting and gives me a better appreciation and understanding of many works and the people who wrote them.  Right now the focus is coming to the time period that I love so much, the 1800's.

A picture of Washington Irving
Wikipedia Image

The Romantic movement started in the early 1800's and it emphasized the emotional, the colorful, and the imaginative.  Romanticism and the American version Transcendentalism is a worldview in which the belief is that man is basically good and as Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, one should put their faith "in man" and not "in Christ" because man was godlike.  This worldview also put an emphasis on Nature as a god and if man came closer to "Nature" than he would become a better person.

People who were apart of the Romantic literature movement were people such as Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and William Cullen Bryant, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, and many more.

Edgar Allan Poe, one of the best.


Wikipedia Image  

There were many writers and poets who embraced this idea that man was inherently good and sinless and the idea of Nature.  For instance, William Cullen Bryant's poem "Thanatopsis" (which is Greek for "view of death"), you see a great deal of this idea and noted that death was simply a natural part of life.  Another example is in Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself"  in which he expressed this belief and his own:
 "I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good
belongs to you."

However, there were the exceptions, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne (a Theistic who's famous novel The Scarlet Letter was a Romantic novel with a Theistic Christian worldview), and Edgar Allan Poe, who was the best poet and short story writer in the history of American literature, who rejected the idea of man being good.  Instead both Hawthorn and Poe brought out the sinful nature of man, and especially Poe who delved into the deeper and darker of man, like in his "The Tell-Tale Heart" or "The Raven".  There is an example from a poem of Poe's that I would like to share, it is the last stanza in "The Conqueror Worm" :
Out - out are the lights - out all!
And, over each quivering form,
The curtain, a funeral pall,
Comes down with the rush of a storm,
And the angels, all pallid and wan,
Uprising, unveiling, affirm
That the play is the tragedy "Man,"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm.

 One of my childhood favorites that came from the Romantic movement of literature was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (pictured below), whose poems were in my English book for third grade.  

Wikipedia Image
I love learning a reading about these authors, and on the plus side I get to do it for school.


Sincerely,
DarkAngelCase

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

The Color Wheel

Google Images
That is a very fancy looking color wheel I think, that's why I liked it I guess.

But anyways, this is sort of a silly little post I wanted to do about how the different colors make me feel and how I see them as, and honestly I love color, that's why I love do paint and use colored pencils for my artwork.


Gray - It seems sad, sort of depressed, and stormy

White - Blinding, pure, and almost rather mysterious

Black - This color is comforting to me, and darkly beautiful

Blue - I feel calming, and it's rather soothing depending on the shade.

Green - This color is full of life; a feeling of energy

Yellow - Super bright and extremely happy

Purple (Violet) - This color makes me feel peaceful and happy; joyful

Red - I feel warm and safe

Pink - I think of bubble gum; this color seems sweet and lively

Orange - Isn't this a fruit?  It's Halloween!


Sincerely,
DarkAngelCase

Monday, April 2, 2012

The Problem with Religion

I have stated before my thought, which is not unique, about how I see religion.  Religion is rules and regulations, keeping you in chains and under a heavy burden that is ridiculous.  That is why I am against religion and don't believe in it.  I am not a religious person, never was and never will be, and neither was Jesus.

There is a misconception that to be a Christian you must be religious, but that is not the case, in fact one could say that they are two separate things.  And to me, they very well can be in many cases. 

I don't know about you but I certainly don't want to be following some religion telling me what I can and can't do.  If you set up wall I will fall over them, and if you keep me from living a life full of Joy I will always be looking for something else to satisfy me.

Now, when it comes to my faith, my Love, and my belief in God, I get none of the above.  No one is telling me what to do, or how to live, or setting up wall to block me in.  I get the choice to do what I know is right and I do it because I fear my God.  I get to be able to live a life to the fullest with Joy because I chose to be with the One that I Love and Who Loves me more and died for me.  It's okay if I screw up and fall down and take the wrong path to sin, because I can simply ask to be forgiven and ask to be lead back to where I need to me.  That's what it's all about.

Also, the Bible is not rule book, it's a Guide Book, and Instruction Manuel to help us on our journey through life.

I don't know if you've seen this video, but I suggest you watch it because this guy did a fantastic job.  Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.

Nuff said.


Sincerely,
DarkAngelCase