Category Archives: ERH 102

Reflection on Writing thusfar

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My ideas on the beat generation are still garbled, and not worthy of publication yet. Thankfully the submission date got postponed. I’m still unsure of what message the beats were trying to send. The counter culture vibe is the only clear thing that emerges, but the manner and message varies greatly between people. The reading I have done from the beats involves amusing tales of travels, drugs and sexual exploration. There is also an interest (in some authors) in the transcendental and spiritual. Particularly with dharma. The most interesting thing I have come across to write about on the Beats is that Kerouac’s interpretation of Dharma was fundamentally skewed. This statement threatens to undermine the basis of his novel the dharma bums. This is the only emergent point that I believe that I could get a paper going on, with a serious discussion of the sub culture and the rhetorical implications that the beats had. If this statement on Kerouac turns out to be correct, I think a full appraisal of the Beat’s message to the larger American culture is possible.

Reflection on Research Informed Project

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So far I have only written a basic outline for my research informed paper. This is largely because I intend to write about the rhetorical aspects of the Beat movement. I do not think it would suffice to categorize them as simply counter culture. They had their own style. Certainly writings like Howl and On the Road were meant to be read and interpreted. I believe their lifestyles were also rhetorical devices. They seemed to have lived largely in a deliberate attempt to upset establishment people, to make them reflect on their own lives. In this sense they are like Socrates. They encourage people to evaluate themselves and whether their happiness is a result of self-deception. People like this are never popular. I think it will be key to incorporate sources that are critical of the Beats and of counter-culture. I feel like that could be easier said than done. Either way I will have to attempt to join a scholarly conversation that (due to their age) will mostly concern their legacy. Somebody that can also tie into this is Foucalt. Though less artistic, he certainly had several things in common with the Beats concerning opinions on the establishment. I think this could be a good opportunity to tie in my theory that he was able to perceive the Panopticon due to the paranoia he was forced to live with as a gay man. Maybe not though. Either way I am in desperate need of critical sources as opposed to purely analytical or admiring sources. Also getting past the outline phase will help.

Transition

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Foucalt describes the transition that occured between the ways that power is displayed. Foucalt describes a brutal execution in 18th century France. The condemned is quartered by horses and then has his entrails drawn. He is also brutally burned. The event is a public spectacle and it displays what happens to those who oppose the laws of the state. This varies greatly from the following centuries where the public spectacle of execution went away, and executions were made swiftly and in private. Eventually, Focault describes the world of the panopticon and how eventually the state removed the sight of punishment from the public. The spectacle of punishment allowed for people to become sympathetic to the condemned, to respect or see bravery in facing a horrible death. This show of force was changed to a rigorous disciplinary routine and constant surveillance. This in effect dismembers the individuality of a person rather than dismembering the body itself. Essentially it removes all nobility and bravery present in punishment. Focault describes this transition because of its importance in forming the panopticon. With constant surveillance replacing brutal reprisal, the modern form of punishment and discipline which Foucalt is so concerned with came about.

Panopticism

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Panopticism is a way of saying all seeing. Many examples of literature come to mind when thinking of the disciplinary styles. JRR Tolkien’s eye of Sauron, Orwell’s Big Brother, and the spectacles on the billboard from the Great Gatsby. To maintain discipline among a populace, the Panopticon is the ultimate tool.

“anyone, chosen almost at random can operate the machine:” – 202

There needs not be one central operator or agency that is concerned with keeping an eye on everyone at once. People are expected to monitor the behavior of one another. This is very much reminiscent of 1984, where children are taught to spy on their own parents to serve a “Big Brother” who despite being non-existent is everywhere at once.

“But the Panopticon was also a laboratory; it could be used as a machine to carry out experiments; to alter behavior, to train or correct individuals.” 203

Ultimately, the Panopticon can be used on the populace. An instrument that allows people to affect the opinions and actions of people using mainly implicit rhetoric. In this sense we are monitered constantly, and by ourselves. This tool could ultimately eliminate the idea of a prison, by making inmates of everyone.

Confusions:

The only confusion I have is how the Panopticon manifests itself. Is it an intentional creation, like a prison or like barracks? Or is it something that comes around naturally.

 

 

thank you for arguing

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The author spends the entire first chapter being persuasive. The story of his quick thinking manipulation of his son to get the toothpaste is attention grabbing. For many people his age, the idea of being able to persuade your teenager to do something is certainly effective. The short and succinct discussion of persuasion that he uses (detailing the implicit rhetorical gestures of things like advertisements and the placement of fox feces) is primarily to convince the reader that being aware of the nature of persuasive tactics is tantamount to being an effective rhetorician. The author’s down to earth language and informal tone, combined with his use of personal anecdote are effective uses of persuasion in keeping the reader interested and informed. The opposite might be said of other more high brow rhetoricians. Viewing this book about rhetorical strategy while looking for the author’s rhetorical strategies could get sort of meta. Rhetoric-ception. Perhaps I should just take the book at face value. But I think that would be missing the point in a rhetorical class.

HR: class discussion