| 
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

LaFata, Nicholas

Page history last edited by Nicholas LaFata 9 years, 3 months ago

nlafata@ltu.edu

Journal II

 

gilgamesh.jpg

 

This is some art from The Epic of Gilgamesh here Gilgamesh is fighting a god in the cedar forest.I chose this piece because it doesn't get any more epic than The Epic of Gilgamesh. This is a bit different than a lot of other art work in tribute to a hero, quest, epic, montage etc...  because it is art of Gilgamesh fight a god. Even in the story the Gods are highly regarded and a part of every day life for the people, but here is an art piece that shows their king and his companion killing a god. I find the Epic of Gilgamesh a very interesting story because we don't get a full understanding of what kind of person Gilgamesh was. There are those who call him a tyrant and those that call him a hero. We have a gauge of his sorrow and understanding of mortality but still no clear idea of character is made which also makes me question this piece of art. Is this a piece to honor his quest, or is it a reminder of dark times to curse Gilgamesh for a foolish journey?


 I found it kind of hard to describe this with a strategy because I didnt know if there was one actually used, were these techniques present at this time since it is one of the first pieces. but if there was one I see lines but strangly placed lines. the lines of the two outer charaters intersect almost like they are engaging each other but they are going after the monster in between.

 

16th century wheel lock pistols carved from wood and Ivory. The artist is unknown on these which is unfortunate because the craftsmanship was incredible. From this view you cant really see it and they wouldn't let me go in close to it because an even was being set up but the fine detail is so small and intricate I had to sneak a pic.

 

Sneakily crossed the red velvet  to get a close up of the rifle. Also If you look closely that is m in the reflection.

 

 

French Gothic church reconstructed by individual brick. The initial construction of this windowsill is a masterpiece of its own but the ability to reconstruct this is amazing and really moved me.

Great pictures! And I love this Gothic room, too!

 

Final Paper Topic: I was hoping to dive into the Maus books before I chose but as I was thinking on Frankenstein the Idea of What does it mean to be human came into mind. I feel that is one of the key questions or ideas Shelly gets the reader to think about also and this is just an assumption because I haven't read them yet but I think the Maus books will also have this subliminal message lurking. The idea behind the Dr. and the monster can be easily related to Nazis and the Jews. Nazis experimented and tormented these people and to them they weren't people they were monsters just as the Dr experimented and created the monster. Both are viewed as not being human so I ask, what does it mean to be human?

 

Journal 6 Working Thesis: Man kinds desperate endeavor to define what it means to be human is the dam that blocks its own solution.

 

 

Rough Draft:

Nicholas LaFata        

Dr. Abigail Heiniger

World Masterpieces II

1 November 2014

Define Humanity: Is being Human Humane?

While analyzing the course theme of literary quest, I found that each quest was one endeavor after the other in an attempt to define who and what they are as human beings. However, while these authors and artists depict a strong image of the intent and ideals of those seeking this definition, and an even stronger subliminal message is defined that reveals the true horror and destruction that was left in its wake.

 

The Maus series of books tell a very powerful story of a man’s experiences during the Holocaust. The horrors this man knows from his experiences have changed him at all levels leaving behind only a small portion of who he used to be before the Holocaust. My goal in this paper is to bring into perspective the actions of Nazis and their false perception of what it means to be human has actually regressed humanity.

 

To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into three sections. In the first section, I provide historical context of Nazi ideology explaining what they hated about the Jews and why they believed that. In the second section, I discuss how Nazi intervention has actually ruined the humanity of so many by relating events discussed in section one to the course text Maus I and II along with a chosen piece of artwork with a similar theme. Finally I end my paper with a conclusion of my thoughts summarizing why man’s quest to find out what it means to be human has ruined the lives of so many.

 

Historical Context

            Anti-Semitism was not a trait only found in Nazis during the 20th Century, religious tensions between Judaism and Christianity have consistently held a place in history. Along with religious differences Jews have also faced discrimination from non-Jews for their social and economic standings as well. To an extent this is somewhat understandable because these are the reasons provided for any sect of people not to get along with another sect of people.

 

 “What made the Nazis hatred of the Jews so unusual is that it was racial and biological” (David Cesarani, The Nazi Hatred of the Jews). Because preexisting overall dislike for Jews, and the fanatical preaching of Nazi ideology it was easy to turn that belief into an idea and once an idea becomes a belief the mentality is easily spread to everyone surrounded by it.

 

Nazi hatred did not stop with racial and biological disgust either it went much deeper with a profound belief in supernatural powers. The Nazis were obsessed with power and because of this obsession with power the Nazis also feared the Jews because they believed that the Jewish people have acquired vast amounts of power and used that power maliciously towards the Germans. Hitler was the catalyst to this idea, he felt that Jews during World War 1 were subjected to limitless power of economic and social standings while Germany was off fight the war. “So in Hitler’s eyes you had to destroy Jewish community after Jewish community wherever the Germans conquered, the countries they occupied, even the Jewish communities that were their allies – those Jewish communities had to be destroyed otherwise they would subvert the war effort and stab Germany in the back” (David Cesarani, The Nazi Hatred of the Jews). Fear can be a powerful motive and Hitler took this fear spread it and turned it into a mandate to destroy what he hates.

 

Arguments

            Maus starts with Art going to his father’s house to discuss memories of his experiences for a book that he is writing. Vladek arts father begins his story before the war with accounts about his wife suffering from post-partum depression and how he was taking her to the sanitarium in Czechoslovakia for treatment. From the very beginning of this story Vladek and his wife both witness and are subjected to cruel dealings of anti-Semitism and Nazism that spread throughout central Europe. As I discussed in the historical context anti-Semitism was not a new trend, people have been persecuting Jews for centuries because of religious, political, and economic reasons. Nazi radicals obviously knew that anti-Semitism was not uncommon so they used and already existing tension to further fuel the hatred for the Jews and it spread like a plague.

 

            When the Vladek and his wife return from Czechoslovakia three months later they arrive to find that Vladek’s factory had been vandalized and destroyed as a hate crime against him. His factory provided goods, services, and jobs to his community and stimulated the economy there. These are all very basic human resources that a community needs and because a man, who was no different from those persecuting him, was Jewish and Jewish men weren’t men at all, they were lesser organisms that needed to be exterminated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Spiegelman, Art. Maus: A Survivor's Tale. New York: Pantheon, 1986. Print.

Spiegelman, Art. Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began. New York: Pantheon, 1991. Print.

The Nazi Hatred of the Jews Professor David Cesarani WW2History.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.

 

Nicholas LaFata Final Paper.docx

LaFata Rough Draft.docx

LaFata Rough Draft.pdf

Comments (11)

Nicholas LaFata said

at 12:40 pm on Sep 1, 2014

I chose Frankenstein, Maus I and II for my 3 texts. I never have time to read a good book anymore and to me that is very unfortunate. These books strike an interest because I started reading Frankenstein and never finished, its rare to have an assignment that inline with something that one would want to do personally so I thought I would capitalize on the situation. Maus and II just sound over all interesting to me. I really love history and especially world war II era history so once again this sounds like a good opportunity to read a good book and get some work done in the process

Abigail Heiniger said

at 7:27 pm on Sep 20, 2014

Could you post this material on your page?

Nicholas LaFata said

at 8:33 am on Sep 2, 2014

1. Spiegelman, Art. (1986). Maus: A survivor's tale. New York: Pantheon Books. Art
2. Spiegelman, Art (1991). Maus: A Survivor's Tale II: And Here My Troubles Began. New York, Pantheon.
3. Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein (1818) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008


Abigail Heiniger said

at 9:37 pm on Sep 3, 2014

These are great texts - I hope you enjoy them! Where are your links to book summaries?

Abigail Heiniger said

at 12:53 pm on Sep 12, 2014

This is a great image! Nice summary!

Abigail Heiniger said

at 7:30 pm on Sep 20, 2014

The elements of visual rhetoric (line, color...) have been a part of art since art was first created. The use of line, space, and human body stand out to me as important here.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 8:31 pm on Oct 13, 2014

Exploring what it means to be human in the context of Maus I&II or Frankenstein is a great topic. You could consider the representation of Jews and Nazis as cats and mice (creatures that are not actually human). You'll also want to consider visual images in this analysis (beyond those in Maus).

Abigail Heiniger said

at 1:56 pm on Oct 18, 2014

I don't see your journal five here. Let me know if you need help finding scholarly sources for your topic.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 7:39 pm on Nov 4, 2014

That is a very interesting paper topic! Our constant efforts to define humanity are actually what prevent a universal acknowledgement/acceptance of humanity. Are you thinking of paring this with Maus or Frankenstein? And what artwork/artifact are you pairing with the text?

Abigail Heiniger said

at 7:39 pm on Nov 4, 2014

Happy to talk during office hours if you want to work through ideas.

Abigail Heiniger said

at 8:41 pm on Nov 12, 2014

I don't see your Journal Seven here.

You don't have permission to comment on this page.