Colloquium II

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Star-Eyed: I just love everything and everyone

Sleepy: My sleep schedule is so BAD

Journal #11 - Scales of Justice

I thought it was incredibly interesting that the book decided to include a picture of a scale. The point was that Shylock was meant to put Antonio's "pound of flesh" onto the scale to make sure he was taking the right amount. But the meaning or symbolism of the scale is much more than just the tool it was used as.

The most iconic use of scales has been in courtrooms. (as a Criminology major, I immediately picked up on this). Lady Justice, the figure that represents trials and the judicial system, holds the scales. They're meant to represent the fairness of the trial. The two sides of the scale represent the two sides of the story and how both sides have the right to produce evidence. The scales are used by Lady Justice to measure the outcome; whichever side has more weight to it (more concrete evidence) "wins the trial."

The whole first scene of the fourth act takes place in a courtroom. Shylock does have a case, he didn't get the money he was owed, and now he wants what he agreed upon, the pound of flesh. Antonio is fighting this, but does he have the 'win'. Shylock doesn't even want to take the 6,000 ducats offered (double the price Shylock originally gave to Antonio) and wants to honor his bond.

The idea that Portia is the one to bring in the scale screams Lady Justice symbolism. I found it so incredibly fascinating that Shakespeare chose to put that in there. Lady Justice was based on the Greek Goddess Themis, and we know that Shakespearean works oftentimes have an element of Ancient Greece. So it seems as though it was purposeful and not just a coincidence.

Journal #10 - Cellini: Epic Rapper or Just a Dick?

There have been a lot of instances in this book where Cellini just straight-up insults the people he's with for seemingly no reason. There are also instances where he just gets into fights with people he should probably not get into fights with (aka a Cardinal on page 253). But the one that really got me was just a page after that, where he's talking about the two boys that follow him around; it seems to me like they're really fond of him and are basically looking up to him. And then Cellini gets sick of them and insults them so that they'll go away, "Aren't you ashamed you haven't the courage to do without your leading-strings? It's too pitiful for words" (page 254).

I'm a bit convinced that if Cellini knew what a microphone or a roast was, he would say "Mic Drop" after every one of these instances. What I can't decide is if I think it's really funny or if I think he's just annoying for being so outwardly mean. It's almost like he's living the modern "rapper's lifestyle"; he gets what he wants, lives lavishly, gets to do his craft, has some amount of fame, and has a girl with him to "satisfy his sexual appetite." (265). There are also instances of him being evicted, a lawsuit of theft, and a ton of people asking him when his next gold statue is going to drop. What a man.

He's living the ideal male life, honestly. A lot of people, even now, would love to have that sort of opportunity. If he had put his roasts to paper, he would surely have been the first successful rapper.

Journal #9 - Let's Scream Together

"Perhaps in the future then, there will not be someone lacking to envy our century for this as well; because no one reads of the marvellous deeds of the ancient without forming in his mind a certain higher opinion of those who are written about..." (pp. 208).

Now, let's start off with a big ol' sigh. Dear God, the complete devotion that some people have for not only the ancients but also Renaissance figures is getting old. We saw this happen with the Emily Wilson translation of the Odyssey. People looked up to Odysseus so much that they couldn't handle a translation where he could possibly do something wrong. Right after Castiglione writes about worshipping those before, he writes about straight-up misogyny. Like WHY WOULD I LOOK UP TO THOSE GUYS? We should be able to look back on a text, realize its significance but also be able to criticize it like we do with modern media.

"Thus just as it is very fitting that a man should display a certain robust and sturdy manliness, so it is well for a woman to have a certain soft and delicate tenderness, with an air of feminine sweetness in her every movement... always makes her appear a woman, without any resemblance to a man." (pp. 211).

Instead of sighing, let's start SCREAMING!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!! Shut up, shut up, shut uP! First of all, I don't even want to resemble a man, but that doesn't mean I have to be sweet and tender (God, I hate that word). On that same page it talks about women having to shun affection, to be clever, to not be proud or envious or vain. Jesus Christ, men want all women to be robots! I want to get a version of this sticker and paste it over Castiligone's stupid, dumb face.

Journal #7 - A Love with An Unhappy Ending

UNCOVERED FILES!!! LOST DECAMERON STORY FOUND!! MAKING IT THE UNIDECAMERON!!

The hidden story takes place on the fourth day, at least that has been inferred given the theme of the story: a love that has come to an unhappy ending. Assuming that there are an equal amount of stories per day, one can only assume there are other lost works in the series, including a whole other 11th day.

In the files lies this story:

Once upon a time, there was a king. This king ruled his land with an iron fist. He believed he was adored by all. But what he really wanted, deep down, was to be adored by one woman and one woman only.

His kingdom was meant to be perfect. Every blade of grass should stand tall at 90 degrees, and each dog should have a perfect coat. Furthermore, he wanted each citizen to attain the utmost perfection in looks and morals. Any creatures with magic were not considered pure, so they were banished from the kingdom into a neighboring swamp.

After consulting his magic mirror on ways to make the kingdom more popular amongst his perfect folk, the mirror informs the king that his bloodline is not pure; therefore, he might not have a claim to the throne. In a fit of rage and ingenuity, the 'king' realizes that to maintain his rule, he must marry a princess.

A matchmaker brings him three options, each more beautiful than the last. With this logic, he picks the last princess. The fairest of them all (but not Snow White, as she was the first princess brought to the 'king'). To his misfortune, the princess that he desired most was trapped in a tower guarded by a most ferocious beast, a dragon that even the 'king' may not have been able to best. The 'king' rounded up his best guards from the kingdom, the strongest, the fiercest, to go save his future queen. He would hold a tournament, and the best fighter would be sent to rescue his future queen while he stayed in the kingdom. During the tournament, an untimely hero and a companion came and bested every single one of the knights, even though the new face was untrained.

This hero revealed that he was from the swamp where the nonperfect citizens were banished, and he wanted to be rid of them. He missed his privacy, and the new people were ruining his sacred land. Since he had won every battle he faced, the 'king' sent this new man to go rescue his queen in exchange for clearing his home from the unwanted guests.

After a long few days of running the kingdom, patiently awaiting his lovely bride-to-be, the untimely hero has brought back his future queen. True to his word, the 'king' has cleared the hero's swamp and takes his future bride back to the castle.

Now, dear reader, you might be wondering how this hard-worked love turns unhappy, as true to the fourth day, that is the theme. But here is where the tale goes awry.

The wedding was meant to be grand. All of the perfect citizens were going to be in the town square. The decorations were going to be perfect. The food, the outfits, all fit for his wonderful queen. The 'king' paced his floor, eagerly awaiting his nuptials. When the time arrived, he couldn't wait to finally get the crown... and marry the most beautiful woman in all of the land.

Standing across from the bride, the time had come. They were to be joined in holy matrimony, and all they had to do was wait for any objections. Then, a noise from below the castle walls grew louder. It was the untimely hero, the one who rescued his bride in the first place. He had fallen in love with the fair maiden and wanted to whisk her away to his newly private swamp. The untimely hero tells his bride about his ultimate plan, that the 'king' was marrying her solely for the crown.

Try as he might, the 'king' tried to reassure her that his feelings were true and that he cherished her beauty and would vow to do right by her, but it was too late.

As the future bride attempted to flee, he called on all of the guards who had failed against the hero before and ordered them to work together and seize him. He wanted the love of his life, the crown, the princess back. The guards were given an order: if they captured the princess, she would be placed back in her tower to keep her safe from the men. The hero was to be locked up for treason.

All of the madness of his ruined wedding day came to an end when, from the sky came the ferocious dragon that had kept the princess in her tower in the first place. This massive dragon had seemingly been trained by the hero (now villain, in the 'king's' story) to do his evil bidding. The dragon snapped up the 'king' in one fell swoop. Taking him far from the kingdom, leaving the hero and the princess to do whatever they pleased in his former country.

Lesson: The love of power will lead to an unhappy ending.

There was one thing remaining on the back of the last page of this uncovered story: a crudely drawn portrait of this power-hungry king.

Journal #6 - Manly Spirit

I don't want to be like a man! I don't want to have a manly spirit. I love being empathic. I love being kind and motherly. I want to be able to be recognized for those characteristics. I don't want to have to go to war to be recognized as great.

I preferred Christine de Pizan's Book of the City of Ladies, at least her introduction. She recognizes the difference between men and women when it comes to authorship. There's something that feels very performative about this being written by a man. I don't know, but it doesn't give me passion. There's not really a personal stake in this. Which is like good, because more men should recognize amazing women. But why does it have to come from men for it to be recognized? Why does Boccaccio mention beauty so much? I'm not necessarily beautiful, so can I be considered famous? Why does physicality make one famous in the sense that she could be remembers for centuries?

Journal #5 - Casting People in Hell

Instead of creating my own personal hell (I was going to do something akin to 'things that make me mad,' but I really don't get mad often, so it was hard), I just sorted the NHL teams into circles of hell instead. Is there any objectivity happening in this? Absolutely not. I am incredibly biased towards one team. I almost put the Penguins in Heaven instead of limbo, but their game was so bad yesterday that I did put them in Hell.

Hockey players are not saints, and neither are their organizations, meaning they have all been cast down to hell. But if I were sent to judge them, here is where I would send them.

Here's a breakdown of why I put them where I did:

Penguins in Limbo. I love them to death, but, Dear Lord, they're old. That game last night was a nightmare. But I can't seem to punish them. They're precious to me. I want to hold them in my hands and kiss their cheeks.
Toronto Maple Leafs, Canucks, Wild: I really like these teams. I wouldn't wish anything ill upon them, but they're not my first choice. Sometimes, I get mad at them (when they win against the Pens). But if there's no Penguins game, this is who I'm watching. These teams have some players that I adore.
Devils, Sharks, Oilers, Avs, Yotes: These teams endear me. I wish the best for them. Are they the best? No. This category is like a mix of underdogs (Sharks, Yotes) and some really good teams (Oilers, Avs)
Ducks, Habs, Kraken, Canes, Flames: I'll smile at them. I'll look at their stats. I couldn't name more than 1 or 2 players from each team.
CBJ, Sabres, Blues, Jets, Stars, Sens: Very neutral teams, like I do not care what happens to them.
Lightning, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Islanders: The start of my No No List. I love the Red Wings because I'm from Michigan, but they've got a lot of players that I don't like. There's something about these teams that seems weirdly suspicious to me.
Bruins, Kings, Predators, Flyers: You kind of love to hate them. Don't get me wrong, as a Pens fan, I HATE the Flyers. They would be lower, but, goodness, rivalry games are fun to watch.
Golden Knights, Caps, Rangers: These teams are the enemy to me. Somehow, always the antagonist in any game. I see them as the Bad Guys.
Panthers: I'm really mad at them right now. Mikkola injured my favorite player right before I got to go see him in Chicago tonight. Also, they're a super scrappy team that I would find fun in any other game but against my old men... I'm upset with them.

Something I'm noticing is the absolute hierarchy that is occurring. I think my team is better than all of the other ones. Hence, that is why the Penguins are at the top. But also, the curve of the number of teams in each layer follows a typical bell curve format. This was not intentional. That 'middle layer' of the 5th circle has the most teams in it. Only a select few teams deserve harsher or worse punishments. In Inferno, though we haven't gotten to that Canto yet, we can see there are only about four people in that 9th level. If everyone were punished to the most severe degree, it would be crowded and not as good of a form of 'justice.'

Journal #4 - Do Female Characters Have Cooties?

With the Wife of Bath being such an iconic figure in English literature, it was really hard for me to believe that she was the first of its kind. While she's not perfect, her image is pretty polished and consistent. I'm not surprised that she's synonymous with Chaucer because she's (from what I've read, which is not much) his best character.

Her ability to fight patriarchal norms while still being a relatable female character is something that can fill readers with hope. You don't have to be perfect or untouchable, royal or a religious figure, to be able to combat the way people view you. It's honestly a bit inspiring.

Though a man writes Alison of Bath, it seems like he's done his research (shoutout to his mom and wife). I truly believe that writing a woman of this caliber nowadays is incredibly hard to do because most male authors wouldn't even try. They would likely assume that they know everything about a woman but then fail to encapsulate the modern woman in their writings. I know there are some books that I've read where male authors make a female character incredibly flat and one-dimensional because they can't fathom her having deep thoughts. Do girls just have cooties, or are men so self-centered that they can't imagine a woman being complex?!

Journal #3 - Let's Talk About It (SEX)

There's a distinct difference in how sex is discussed in books like Tristan and Yseut versus how it's discussed in The Wife of Bath's prologue and tale. Is it a difference in audience, a difference in the times, or just a cultural shift that changed how the public viewed sex? Also, I did enjoy reading the view on sex from a female character (although it is a male author). I feel like that's not very common; it's mainly a male protagonist talking about it. There's something refreshing about a woman explicitly saying, "I want sex, and there's nothing religiously wrong with that!" She's not a fragile or meek lady like a lot of female characters that we see in old English novels. The Wife of Bath knows what she wants and she's well-educated enough to back it up with some stone-cold facts.

Something I did find interesting though, was the language used. I noticed that they didn't use the word sex, which didn't get used until around the mid-19th century. But they never come right out and use any of the words that we associate with sex (intercourse, fornication, the other word that starts with F). I thought that I'd go through the book and list some of the different ways either sex or genitals were mentioned. I think I'm going to start saying these.

Genitals:

nether purse
members
silly instrument
harness

Sex:

engendering
payment
barley bread (this one is still funny to me)
Love
pleasure

Journal #2 - Hunger Games: Canterbury Tales Edition

I'm leaning towards Canterbury Tales as a favorite right now due to all of the characters. There are even women with names! There are a lot of different connections between the characters, and we're getting a knight like we did in Gawain. The language is easier for me to understand, especially with the modern translation. When I read it in high school we read the old English version, which wasn't too hard to understand but took longer. This also uses curse words and is just far filthier than what we've been reading, and I like that honestly.

Also, what a cast of characters. I honestly find it very fun! I can root for a favorite and wish ill upon the others. I read this book in high school, but we never finished it, so I don't remember who won the prize in the end. So, to form a hypothesis, I put all the characters that I could into a Hunger Games Simulator, and whoever came out on top had my vote. Here is the link I made for it:

https://brantsteele.net/hungergames/r.php?c=D8iBGyOp

Journal #1 - Goals

Hey, everyone! Last semester, I figured out how to make my journals more like my personality while still making them somewhat academic.

This semester, I want to focus more on aesthetics and the website's look than the content! I mean, the content will still be good, but since I feel like I've figured that out, I want to focus on making a pretty website. There are different feels to each Colloquium section, and I want to make them flow into one another. Each section should have its own theme but still stand apart from one another.

As for the content overall, I really want to be able to look back on the journals post-graduation and still understand what I'm talking about. I want to add more context and background for journal posts even though the audience right now is my classmates (all of you!)

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