A Farewell To False Love- Sir Walter Raleigh

Context: We all can  recognize Raleigh as the capital of North Carolinaasically artifical and such. It's interesting. His poem condems love as but it seems that he was really a romanticist himself. He married Queen Elizabeth's lady in waiting without her consent (even though he had great favor from the queen from being knighted by her, and recieving a royal patent to colonizethe americas with). Wouldn't the sole purpose of that be true love? Once the news became widespread, they were banished to the Tower of London together. (thanks wiki)

False Love is the enemy in the poem. The trick is seeing what Raleigh defines as false love.

Farewell false love, the oracle of lies, - an interpreter of lies
A mortal foe and enemy to rest, - basically just evil/ fluff
An envious boy, from whom all cares arise, - tricky. i would say that it would be that the boy was only    
 envious,  and that is where the supposed "care" stems from. Not from the real importance of the person.
A bastard vile, a beast with rage possessed, - morally wicked illegitimate person. as if their desires were so foul that there existence itself was unnecessary. a raged beast.
A way of error, a temple full of treason, - The defilement of a sacred place due to the betrayal of its people.That could be a false love, the appearance of dedication to a practice, and then the opposite of its teachings actually go on. ironic.
In all effects contrary unto reason. - the opposite of reason. now that's a pretty big statement. I guess passionate and impulsive thought and action.
A poisoned serpent covered all with flowers, - false friend, deceiver
Mother of sighs, and murderer of repose, - killer of a confidence in. murderer of a trust.
A sea of sorrows whence are drawn such showers - would that be the maker of the sea of sorrows?
As moisture lend to every grief that grows; - the sea gets bigger as the grief does.
A school of guile, a net of deep deceit, - the teaching of sly intelligence
A gilded hook that holds a poisoned bait. - well a hook will already kill the fish. poisoned bait, its like an unnecessary double kill. Maybe its the idea of it being a sure death, like the only goal.
A fortress foiled, which reason did defend, - A place of reason and a just truth was destroyed
A siren song, a fever of the mind, - crazy thoughts, Haimen's whispering
A maze wherein affection finds no end, - Well. I can tell he was a protestant, my god. A never-ending place, where affection never ends. Well I'm guessing when he said affection, he meant the physical aspect of it. sex is evil.
A raging cloud that runs before the wind, - the leader or most zealous participant of a bad thing.
A substance like the shadow of the sun, - that's interesting. well, there is no shadow of a sun. only light protrudes from the sun. The shadow of the sun must be a dark side or opposite being. the substance has to be just black and utter darkness.
A goal of grief for which the wisest run. - an end with sure meeting of sorrow and even the smartest run to. could be an opinion of love itself. maybe war.
A quenchless fire, a nurse of trembling fear, - helper of inducing utter fear
A path that leads to peril and mishap, - bad path.
A true retreat of sorrow and despair, - *****good thing? questionable as to why this is here.
An idle boy that sleeps in pleasure's lap, - innocence given to pleasure. aka corruption.
A deep mistrust of that which certain seems, - mistrust of the certain. general doubt.
A hope of that which reason doubtful deems. - reason most likely won't deem as true.
Sith* then thy trains my younger years betrayed, [since] - younger years betrayed by false love
And for my faith ingratitude I find; -
And sith repentance hath my wrongs bewrayed*, [revealed] - he repeated his wrongs
Whose course was ever contrary to kind*: [nature] - my course was contrary to nature's intent
False love, desire, and beauty frail, adieu. - goodbye false love, desire, and beauty that won't last, goodbye.
Dead is the root whence all these fancies grew- I'm done with false love.

He says certain things that are false love and then he also compares things to false love by coming up with awful things. Maybe he decided to write this poem when he chose to marry his wife. He was probably supposed to marry someone else in those times and he was done with the idea of following something he didn't believe in anymore. It's not about the untrue love of a person per say, but more the idea of doing something that you don't believe in and how that is utterly wrong. Haha john would appreciate this poem to back up his theories on war and bundling.

The American Dream Comparison: A Raisin In The Sun & The Great Gatsby

 "Scott Fitzgerald and Lorraine Hansberry: The Debbie Downers On The American Dream"

When asked what makes up “the American Dream” two things come to mind: get rich and have a happy stable family. Within the two novels, “A Raisin in the Sun,” and “The Great Gatsby,” each shows, through the actions of the characters, the strife in pursuit of these goals.

                Both books express the “get rich or die trying” scheme. In “A Raisin in the Sun,” all of the characters aren’t happy about where they live (the south side of Chicago) and how they’re treated by society. Money is portrayed as the ticket to solving all of their problems: it allows for Benetha to finish medical school, for mama to have the house she’s always wanted, and for Walter to gain respect. Over the years, Walter devised schemes for getting rich quick, and failed. Everything immediately changes when the family’s father dies, and they inherit his life insurance. This large sum of money opens up opportunities that seemed impossible beforehand. In the end of the novel though, Walter realizes money comes second to teaching morals to his son. The idea of becoming rich associates itself with corruptness because of the shady dealings and liquor that Walter wants to invest the money in.

                This isn’t exactly how Gatsby feels in “the Great Gatsby.” Gatsby was a janitor and was raised on a farm when he was younger. He was a poor kid, wanting to become a rich man when he grew older. Upon meeting the caption of big yacht, and being taken under his wing, he became cultured and knowledgeable in the ways of the world. Investing his money in drugstores (similar to Walter, who wanted to invest in liquor stores), he slowly gained his fortune. To keep his fortune however, he had illegal dealings in order to gain more money. Gatsby is unsatisfied once he reaches his goal of becoming wealthy. He throws these lavish parties at his home, and he sits in a corner away from others, day dreaming that his lost love might show up. In fact, it is later revealed that the point of where his house was and all his nice things, were to impress a woman named Daisy. Once Gatsby and Daisy do reconnect, he stops throwing the parties. Although Gatsby was able to become wealthy, Walter was the smarter than him because of his quicker realization that money isn’t everything.  

                That leaves us with the more important of the two: a stable and happy family. This is something that is strived for in both novels profusely. Mama in “A Raisin in the Sun” wants a house, so that she can see her family together and happy. Walter realizes the importance of this at the end of the novel when he turns down a large sum of money in exchange for not moving into a house in a white neighborhood.  By turning this offer down, the family also taught Walter’s son the importance of standing up for what you believe in. These types of lessons are what make up a cohesive and happy household because it allows for everyone to be on the same moral value standard.

                In “the Great Gatsby,” Gatsby wants desperately to have a family with Daisy. Once he does reconnect with her, he tries to relive the past. Once Daisy’s husband Tom finds out about their love, he becomes outraged. On the very same day, Daisy and Gatsby crash a car into Tom’s mistress myrtle, killing her instantly. Tom then tells Mr. Wilson (Myrtle’s wife) that the driver was Gatsby (when it was actually Daisy), and then Mr. Wilson shoots Gatsby dead. Daisy thought she was going to live the American dream when she married Tom. She would become a wife, a mother, and live in a big house. After a few years she realizes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. Gatsby’s failed attempt at a happy family is a big heart wrench for the readers of this novel.

                In the end, these two authors write about the strife for the “American Dream,” but leave the actual achievement in shambles. “A Raisin in the Sun,” leaves the reader without knowing what happens at the house they move into and that the getting rich doesn’t matter/is only achievable with bad intentions. Yes, they are on living on same moral example which allows for short term happiness, but who’s to say that won’t change. Especially under the social pressures they’ll be faced with when they have to deal with the racist white people in the new community. The whole “get rich scheme” is shot down from the beginning of the novel, with silliness associated with Walter’s liquor store investment ideas. In “The Great Gatsby,” we can see from the types of characters who attend Gatsby’s get togethers, Gatsby, and Tom and Daisy, that being rich isn’t all that awesome. The main thesis the novel gives is that it brings corruptness to innocent people.  Another strike for the American dream. Any attempt at a happy family is severely shot down in this novel too, with Gatsby’s death, Nick’s disregard for Ms. Baker, Tom and Daisy’s marriage, etc.  At the end of these two novels, the reader is only left with one conclusion: the “American Dream” is unachievable.  

But hey, I guess there’s a reason why it’s referred to as a dream. A dream is something that occurs during sleep. A person can’t live in a dream, but only be there for a few moments. A person can’t be happy forever is a point these authors try to convey with the unsuccessfulness of the character’s pursuits. The dream of being rich forever is accompanied with the notion that it is only possible through moral corruption and/or illegal dealings.

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Comparison On Persuasiveness

Although "The Crisis," by Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry's "Speech in the Virginia Convention," are both persuasive, Patrick Henry's is more due to its compelling rhetoric and to the point analysis.
When reading, "The Crisis," by Thomas Paine, I felt as if I came across many conflicting arguments. For example he states that God won't leave men to die by war. This is just inherently false, men die all the time in war. He later says in the speech that on every side of war there is never a more just side than the other. That conflicts when he calls upon everyone to support the Americans. How can he say the Americans have a just cause when he just said that isn't possible in war? That argument also conflicts with the last portion of his speech when he says there is no clear winner of reasoning in any war. Overall it was a read I didn't agree with and was confused about. Patrick Henry's speech was completely different. He starts out with a big claim that his thesis of his argument is freedom vs slavery, which drew me in. He always defends his cause as just, basically saying it's a bad idea to start a war with happy, smart, and compliant people. Henry also states the american's previous actions against Europe's injustices of which, no repercussions have been made. It also always helps to gain support from people by stating that God's on his side. The last line of his speech, "Give me liberty or give me death!" is so rhetorically powerful that it resonates within the listener. That is a quote that I remembered well more than any line in "The Crisis."

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The American Dream

The American Dream of moving through society from the "bottom up" is a thought that has resonated in the minds of American citizens since the 19th century. In the mid 1850s, many immigrants came to the Americas to start anew based off of the lack of a strict hierarchical social system.  This common ground significantly decreased the distinction between social classes, allowing more social mobility. America became the country, "where dreams come true." Instead of being born into a system that had no mobility, a man could move up in status based off of his hard work. This idea of honor and hard work has been recently been magnified onto students in the US. Every kid in elementary school is a fish in the same net. Since I was a little kid, the goal of an ivy league education has been drilled into me like hammer to nails. My mother was a single parent, unsatisfied with her mediocre living standards, so I grew up being told I could do anything. Well, anything if I worked hard enough for a scholarship.  I know that I'm not unique in this way. Going to a school like Whitney, many kids strive to take the hardest possible classes with the potential for the best possible grade; regardless of their own interests that don't benefit the god sent piece of paper that determines the rest of your life college application. Whether school administrators accept this obvious community consensus is beside the point. I have big dreams; dreams that I know can only be accomplished by hard work. The difference between today and the 19th century is that instead of it being applied into adulthood with movement within job positions, it's now hammered into the minds of middle and lower class children as the only option of success. 

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