A short story

by

Eric Momou

They landed in the heart of the Massif Central, near the French department of Dordogne, at forty-five degrees North latitude and five degrees East longitude. Oblong, the construct which carried them was recognizably avian in form: it spanned thirty metres, from nose to tail. Comprised of aluminum the hull and fuselage shone silver with iridescent impurities of olivine. Though shabby, the shuttle flew aloft, attesting to the acquired metallurgy of a lunar forge.

Men had left the moon to live on Earth again.

In her sanctity, the Earth smote and rent their lofty vehicle, sullying their plumage so that they returned tarred with dust. Her intent was simple: to mar them again, for another season. For the settlers, these specters stood in recent memory. Their passive thought lived, as if it could respire. It swam in elated minds, laying dormant to oxidizing consciences.

Fleeting, it gave way to rumination and this in turn to fear, which did well to inspirit the Men of the Company. They numbered seven.

For two days the Men witnessed the gray of the moorland. Now the land gave way, plain as an offering, to a patch of alpine forest. Vegetation died and the hedges dwindled, but the trickle of the rivulet stayed, and to this fact the Men held fast. A gradual incline uphill, the march had been long and strenuous. To this extent, the land claimed them, forcing them into recompense until it bore their bones.

At one time there were twelve. The Last died from a common cold; his successor perished from the flu. Those following grew weary and collapsed; one drowned. The remnant Men grew hardened at the passing of their comrades. Several, on the cusp of madness, saw the futility of the matter. As to this revelation, they kept to themselves for none were as brazen so as to speak to the First Man at the head of the company.

Conversely, the First Man was amongst the last of prolific Men to have fled Earth. He was a scientist, the kind that thought long and logistically about things, past the ethics and into their plain natures. The rest were born, or more so intubated, upon the Moon. They had never walked the terrestrial landscape, or tasted of the cool waters from the mountain streams. Water that rose from the lunar core was frozen and poisonous, full of syndicates and had to be thoroughly purified.

On earth, the richness of minerals and the presence of eukaryotic organisms, such as protists deemed the water unsafe— even deadly.

As they continued the rivulet grew into a river, roaring like palpation in their ears. Soon the surge was deafening, the sound cutting off conversation.

“Water.” said the First Man. And the Men listened. “Is it safe to drink?” said the Second. He wore his face pale and downtrodden, but his eyes bore steel. The First knelt. He placed a Geiger counter near the water and waited a long time. He took other readings, this time with a refractometer, and then with a litmus strip.

“By god,” said the First in undertone. Then he smiled and turned to the others.

“Yeah. It’s safe. But use your purifiers, just in case.” Relieved, he washed his face, cleansing it of soot. Then, he walked into the creek, wading barefoot. The Men followed him. They drank, but kept their heads elevated, always searching through the pine.

After drinking, their strength returned to them. The First pointed westward, towards a ridge.

“We will go a little further now, up the summit. There we can camp. Build a fire.”

Away from the disarray of wilderness, the ridge provided respite. Light kindled towards the forest’s Western edge, so that in the East its warmth forsook them.

At this portent, the First Man stoked a fire: greatly and hot, as he had done on the hearth in his crooked house a long time ago. The others gathered, amazed.

The First Man began his story of the folly of his predecessors, and their irrevocable natures. He spoke of the East and West and their affiliated feuds that all Men had forgotten. And the Men believed him for it was he who had kept the Company alive, until now.

In the morning, light splayed upon them, and their backs hurt from the rigid ground beneath, wrought of permafrost. Although snow had not yet fallen, the season was early winter. The wind grew most bitter at the timberline, as rime frost accumulated on the tents and trees.

They found the girl due north, sleeping in a cave of bedrock, near the river. When they had found her, a psychosis had already set in her feral eyes, and she was combative. She had remedied an affliction of parasitic helminths with stick rolling: reeling the worms around a twig at the base of her heel. When the worm had reared its head through the callused limb, she would tug at it (and her flesh stretched with it). In the span of several weeks the entire body would emerge, in full length, a dried vermiform body like a spirochete around the branch. Were she to cease this process or sever the worm, it would propagate and she would be obliged to start the process again.

“She’s delirious. Lifeless.” said the Third Man, who was a medic. “Imperceptive of stimuli.” With a hideous strength, she resisted any attempt to free her. She spat and muttered incongruent words, from which the linguist of their number discerned as an old tongue, Gaelic.

“Leave her,” said the Fourth, a Man of reason. The rest kept silent “Any further attempt would risk puncture to our suits, perhaps depressurizing them.”

She was blinded and fettered, with a thick twine fashioned from coarse, thorned flora. This heinous construct had caused her skin to bleed, the blood septic. The Fourth, being the horticulturist had administered anodyne, intravenously. The plant that twined about her extremities, was a variant of coniferous fern that had been inscribed in taxonomy books long ago. By analysis, the sap was toxic not in chemical composition but by its biological complex with a surge of virulent mycobacteria.

Pinaceia mortus, the horticulturist named it.

The Men camped within the cave. “Do not light a fire,” He told them. “When I return, we will hunt.” When night came, The First did not sleep. Rather, he assigned the Second as sentry, standing vigil at the cave entrance. Meanwhile, the First took this opportunity, as a time to explore. He carried a flashlight.

The complex was comprised of several antechambers, all of which had drawings that lined the walls: great works of abstractionism that ancient museum curators would gloat at.

There were the paintings at Lascaux, but monoliths also: tools of steel and canopic jars. In several chambers, where the previous occupants inhabited, was evidence of irrigation and riverside plumbing. Termite mounds grew from their bases, extending to the ceilings.

Like the fabled Mesopotamian city of Ur, this one stood in the midst of a vale— with access to fertile plain and hunting ground. It made him curious, however that the people did not grow their crop of corn and barley outside the antechambers. Instead, they planted within the main vestibule. This, was incredibly high— thirty fathoms at least. It tapered like a rotunda lined with an assortment of toothy stalactites. At the top of the vestibule was the source of cultivation, a sky light. Livestock lived in the chambers, grazed even on the edge of crop. The civilization gleaned, whenever there was famine.

They plant inside because of the fallout, thought the First Man. Already, he had prospects of rebuilding, of colonizing. Like a visionary, he saw many encampments, fashioned in the form of these caves speckling the horizon.

We can send ambassadors, build a country.

Of course, if the politics played out, they could trade-even reconstruct the main infrastructure for the current inhabitants, a symbiosis efforts.

He wondered what the air smelled like. Surely, it was pristine in such a place— an area where plants proliferated and animals lived mundane lives. Yet, the organisms might well have adapted to a nitrogen rich environment. He tested his luck, and removed his rebreather.

He had forgotten the smell of soil; the taste of water free of particulates.

Just maybe Men could re-populate. Maybe they could find the xylem, or the very moral fiber to reseed. But, Earth was not like home.

At twilight, The First made his way towards the cave entrance. Excitement had taken root like soil in his veins, enriching him. With stronger still. them:

With each step, the palpitation of his heart grew As he ran, he mouthed the words, recited.

Come! See that my stories are true.

And he ran harder, almost taking flight. When he did arrive, his Men had gone. Remnant kindle and cinders smoldered. In his absence, The Second had annulled his command. As he trod in the darkness, he almost fell on a carcass that lay on the floor, skewered on a pit. The beast, he did not recognize. Rather, whatever miasma possessed him, turned to a sullen anger. Were they to return, from some unknown excursion, he did not have the spirit to wait and greet them. Instead, he slept.

It was not until afternoon, that it occurred to him, the Men had been ousted. When the grey of morning settled and the sun had nearly reached its apogee, he saw the carcass. In the light, the body of the Second was mauled: mutilated like a mass of meat, extremities torn. The only limb that remained was the left leg. Dependent lividity shown in the torso.

His instinct told him to run. He made his way to fissured rim of the vale.

Down in the basin, the Men numbered six. All stood in a line parallel to the river, clad in the white of their space suits. Each Man knelt in a state of genuflection, bound about their ankles with thick twine. Another paced, separate from the Men. Dressed in the garb of the cave dwellers He wore feathers, like some avian mediator, and carried a sword of steel. He spoke: an orator of orators.

“Our forefathers taught their sons these things, so that we may know what went and came. This was after the Dreaming, but the world continues sleeping still and through all else we have kept it so. The story has been told. We are of the good people. As for you, the Earth is not your inheritance. You rejected it and you abandoned it. Because of this, it does not receive you.”

The First Man gazed onward, out past the river to the mountain and the cradle of valley beyond it. And for the second time the First Man imagined.

East, out past the vale he saw juniper trees. Cedars too, lined the horizon— the like of which grew in Lebanon; a place he had only read about. At the memorial scent of figs, his mouth watered. The sweet smell of wind wafted to the back of his throat, only to be caught by the saline scent of blood. And as he ingested it, the iron made his stomach turn.

Further, he witnessed the generations of Men who would inhabit the vale, even their children. He saw their abodes: cabins and houses-all strong, even resilient. Unlike the laborious tilling of the moon, fine crop grew each season, and the collection for the harvest was plentiful. Seeds germinated, the moon waxed and waned, the sun tumbled and rose, and the stars sifted through the celestial murk. Orion’s belt quivered on high, out past the assortment of nebulous clouds, and the fractal limits of his own reckoning.

These thoughts contented him. But as this madness overtook reason, the First Man unbridled himself from instinct. He very nearly plummeted into the vale, that slaughtering place. He met the eyes of the Men with the elderly spark of resilience. In the current, The First Man saw the blood of his comrades. Flecks of red settled down in the river silt, swirling around his knees. Above all, he heard their cries: one after the other as their throats were slit. None were louder than the rushing of the river.

After he collected himself, The First Man prostrated. Then, he set his face to the wet soil.

Eric Momou

MISOGYNY AS A POST-FALL MILTONIAN CONSTRUCT

From the seventeenth-century onward, scholars have disputed the nature of the sexes, hierarchy, and patriarchy in Paradise Lost. To gain a better understanding of this issue in our analysis of Milton’s work, we must create a dichotomy between the two main functions of meaning as they pervade to the topic of gender. This is the originalist meaning of gender, as Milton himself, would have been accustomed to using it with Lenhof’s white, masculine archetype. Second, there is our modern definition that includes the social structure, and political foundations of the 21st century. With a further consideration of the latter, we will further contextualize our sense of fallen meanings, and recontextualize them within the parameter of Paradise Lost. This reevaluation will shed light on how the duality of meaning gives birth to the  post-fall construct, as we know it. Looking at the relativity of exegesis, and eisegesis will give a better understanding of both the unconscious, and conscious nature of this construct. In so doing, we will call forth such scholars as Rosanna Cox, Elisabeth Liebert, Shannon Miller as well as the modern intersex activist, and clinical psychologist Tiger Devore. 

First, we must decipher Milton’s work on gender based off of its original meaning. Milton’s originalist perspective certainly has garnered criticism in regards to gender. For one, scholar Kent R. Lenhof  asserts Milton’s work is often attributed to in terms of sex, being confined to the white, English patriarchy of his era. However, his perspective shines light on both the political and social structure during this period. As Lenhof relates in Performing Masculinity in Paradise Lost, Milton’s notion of gender in Paradise Lost was a function of his time during the Commonwealth of English antiquity. This would have been, strictly speaking “a white male” patriarchy with its affiliated “body and its effects” (Lenhof, 64). The roles, on Milton’s account pervade to a “seventeenth-century political theory” which organized the “domestic and public spheres” (Miller, 152). Gender typically, in Paradise Lost typically refers to the interplay of the sexes: male and female. To think of gender with a modern day definition is indicative of a non-original, and modern day interpretation of the text. It is this modern day understanding that I seek to address in the following paragraphs. 

In her article, Gender, Miller makes several points from other notable scholars including Ester Sowernam, who pairs the unbalanced nature of Adam and Eve’s creation with their primacy, or times of creation. Sowernam asserts against the notion of the patriarchal firstborn for divine providence, mentioning that the creation of woman was “from Man himself,” therefore being heaven’s final gift (Miller, 153). In so doing, Sowernam lends a precedent towards the sole, perfect, and unique gift of Woman, as she is manifest in the garden of Eden. This places Sowarnam’s sanctitude of power, without hierarchy, in another territory. It speaks towards the nature of hierarchy itself as a patriarchal construct, and against the countless permutations of misogynistically driven regimes throughout the ages. The fact is, she and Miller see the construct of gender for what it is: an amalgamation of male-driven order that must be challenged in order to prevent marginalization, and oppression for those who do not fit beneath its paradigm of elitism. Only through its questioning, can it be surmised. 

Sowernam’s argument speaks accordingly to the issue of normalizing hierarchy. This latent creation of Eve is a testament against the male privilege of rulership. Her argument poses into question the condition of one’s birth, and whether or not they are fit to rule. As poignant as this point is, the procession of divinely appointed sovereignty does not equalize the gender claim. 

To counter example this argument, it must be discerned how much we wish to identify as fallen readers. We may read Milton’s words within the confines of the text, as a rendition of Milton’s biblical exegesis from its original intent. That is, choosing to identify with Adam and Eve as a fallen reader, one may look at the parameters within the poem itself. This is indicative of exegesis. Second, we can choose to look at it through an eisegesis lens. ascribe to and relate with the nature of Adam and Eve’s fall with modern scholars in mind. The brilliance of Milton rests on our current understanding of his characters through time. Whether they exist within or outside the Bible, they serve as fervent contrasts of moral virtue. 

It must be noted that there is a stark difference between what scholars consider textual, as opposed to secular renditions of Mitlons work; that there is a stark difference between exegesis, and eisegesis. Exegesis is the “critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture” (Oxford Dictionary). Eisegesis, rather is the  interpretation of a text (as of the Bible) by reading into it one’s own ideas (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). As modern day readers of the text, it is vital to look at both exegesis and eisegesis. The reason is not simply to discern truth from fiction for the sake of armament, but rather to understand the Bibicular from the extra-biblical. The fact that notions of gender can exist as a product of our time, and not within the confines of Paradise lost is a point worth mentioning. A possible reason for this is our nature of discernment on the psychological front. 

A point of extribibicular contention rests in the psycho-social make ups of Milton’s Adam and Eve. In Cox’s paper Milton, Marriage, and the Politics of Gender, she discusses the differences in Adam and Eve’s psychological makeup. To note, Adam and Eve serve as occupying separate components. Scholars, such as Ariela Pelaia, have mentioned the Yahwinistic account of Adam’s creation differing from its “first account in Genesis 1”  (Pelaia, 1). Other scholars have amalgamated this discrepancy into the being of one person (Baskin, 1). 

Interestingly enough Man is the only creature described as not possessing a male or female binary before the first account. This has put into question the nature of the Jungian Anima in relation to the androgyne archetype (Von Franz, 205). This puts into question one notable point: how much of each masculine or female essence comprise the Other? 

This puts into consideration the nature of masculinity in Paradise Lost, as proposed by Lenhof. Unlike human beings, spirits “can either sex assume” (PL 1.424). 

This has led some scholars to believe in an androgyne essence to Adam, and that after his creation he was considered as a wholesome Man, but undivided from the essence of Woman.   In so doing, being replete, having the power of procreation within himself (Pelaia, 1). This essence to man is what must be questioned with the current gender binaries. That, as matter and energy are a spectrum so too could be gender. 

With matter as a spectrum of affiliate energy, it would make sense to have a spectrum of gender and sex. A person who knows this spectrum of gender and sex well is Dr. Tiger Devore. Devore has appeared on several talk shows, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, and KRON 4.  Dr. Tiger Devore is a proponent against infant genital mutilation. As a clinical psychologist his work lies in the public sector. Having appeared on several forums, he is an advocate for personal choice in regards to intersex-born individuals. The beauty of Dr. Devore’s work rests in the logos of his claim, as he himself is an intersex-born, licensed, medical professional. 

At his birth, he was not given the choice to choose his biological sex. His experience represents the state of 1 in every 1000 births throughout the world (Intersex Society of North of America). It must be noted however, that the terms intersex and hermophrodite are not exchangeable. As hermaphroditism is not physiologically possible, due to the completeness of gametes in either biological sexual chromosome, this is a misnomer. However, as gender and sex serve as both a spectrum and social construct in the modern day, this function cannot be ignored. 

However, as Pelaia was not a contemporary of Milton it is not likely that Milton would have shared this particular sentiment. In all likelihood with the decline of Oliver Cromwell, in the seventeenth-Century, his stance was better described in the Doctrine of Discipline of Divorce, aligned with the traditional doctrine of the church at his time. This separateness of church body, and marriage equates to unequal components. It was this misappropriation of separation that is better exemplified in the Doctrine of Divorce. Thus, the  belief in Adam and Eve as physically separate individuals would have been a rampant idea readily accepted, lending to a psychological bias of inequality. Divorce being seen as immoral, would have been considered a product of moral ineptitude, or a sacrilegious breaking of the divine contract.  

If this idea was one shared by Milton, it would make sense that the formative nature of the first pair, being both their masculine and female essence to have been equal counterparts of the other: equal in thought, equal in mind, of truly one flesh. Thus, Adam and Eve served as “co-equal” complements to each other, in relation to the whole of God. 

How then does the psychological impact of gender effect the state of misogyny in the poem? 

Thus, given this question arises in terms of equivocality of the sexes: in physical form, spiritual posterity, but in mental disposition. 

The value I stress upon this notion is the idea of completeness of “one flesh,” that is a rudimentary foundation of Christian marriage. The complex this poses is the egalitarian nature of human beings. What must be discussed however is how Milton’s rendition of gender, must be reevaluated with the 21st century in mind, perhaps with the notion of an androgyne Adam. It must be held under the microscope of the modern audience, one keen to the matrimonial effects of a totalitarian establishment and the oppression it proliferates. Also, given the definition of gender, we must reevaluate the meaning of misogyny. 

Gender, defined in the Oxford Library has several meanings that differ markedly from the modern meaning. In the 15th century gender expanded from its use as a term for a grammatical subclass to join sex in referring to either of the two primary biological forms of a species, a meaning sex has had since the 14th century; phrases like “the male sex” and “the female gender” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

While this doctrinal idea of man serving as the godhead over woman is not specific to Christianity, it is topic worthy of discussing — especially within the context of misogyny. This is exemplified in the work itself, as Adam is considered to have an original role, of assigning names to the animals overshadowing Eve’s naming of plants. Yet, even so despite her plight as the only woman at the start of creation, Milton still refers to her at PL V 288-299 as “Godlike erect,” with “Majestie” as one of the “Lords” of creation. 

For one, we can choose to see Adam’s rebuke against Eve as a reclamation of his divinely appointed masculine role. Or, we can choose to see it as the first example of verbal abuse.  From Michael’s description of Adam’s “effeminate slackness” (PL11.634) it appears that the failure to withstand was his own, and that his exclamation of “_” was an attempt to psychologically satiate his conscience. 

We must define the term “misogyny,” as it appears in the Oxford dictionary. Misogyny, defined by the Oxford dictionary, is  Hatred or dislike of, or prejudice against women. We must examine whether any hatred, dislike, or prejudice against women is evident in the nature of the poem. 

I will assert that misogyny is in fact evident in the poem: perhaps not through utmost hatred, but through dislike and disdain on the part of Adam to Eve after the Fall. In displacing the anger of his own error upon Eve, Adam fails to internalize the fact that his acceptance of the fruit is a symbol of his failure to have withstood temptation. Instead, his masculine essence is “fondly overcome with Femal Charm” (PL 9.999). This evident lack of masculinity, characterized by Michael’s description of “effeminate slackness,” is counsel he fails to psychologically accept (PL11.634). Instead, he supplants this internal discontentment of himself on Eve — who simply acts according to her nature. 

The adulation given to Eve attests to an idolatry of this female image, beset by an infatuation and an inability to assume his divine appointment as leader. According to Lenhof, this realization is made most evident through Michael’s speech to Adam, where he says, “Was she thy God…Thou didst resign thy Manhood, and the Place” (PL 10.145-51).

However, it must be noted that Eve’s subsequent guile does not rest upon a purposeful seduction, as a femme fatale. Her disposition contrasts to that of Lillith as a succubus. Rather, Adam’s misplacement of godhood onto Eve, rendering her as an Aphrodite of sorts above divinity results in his fall. Upon that realization, rather than accept it, he rebukes her [Milton source]. After that subsequent folly, his reprimand holds little weight, as he is guilty of misogyny onto Eve. The pride of his inability to accept his own vanity makes him the first fallen misogynist. Therefore, the fault of misogyny undoubtedly rests upon Adam’s shoulders. 

This nature of the fall opposes Tertullian’s, who described the nature of Eve’s lot as a yoke all women should bear. In asserting Man’s dominion over Woman, On the Apparel of Women fails to address the duality of Adam’s character in relation to his inaction in opposing temptation. Tertullian’s scathing denunciation only serves to exacerbate Adam’s hypocritical claim. Thus, this intergenerational trauma is a false accusation of man’s ineptitude, being blamed upon women.  

In essence, the exigent use of power to signify that “might is right,” for its own sake, is where co-equality ends and codependency begins. This unequal distribution of power, as is exemplified with Adam’s condemnation, lends to the deleterious effects of misogyny and misandry. 

It must be noted the divine appointment of Adam over Eve in terms of domestic headship, is not an implication of defined misogyny. Rather, Adam’s over-extension of power in regards to this leadership served to his detriment, and subsequent misogyny. 

The etymology of the word “misogyny,” is derived from the greek word “misos” (meaning hatred), and gynē meaning woman. Thus as this is a human word, derived from the human lexicon it is reasonable to assume that the eisegesis of the meaning of misogyny came into use after Milton’s rendition of the Fall.  Thus, as the word became in use after, it became a post-fall concept, and became a construct of fallen readers. 

However, was misogyny present before the Fall? Therefore with this fallen disambiguation in terms of etymology, I do not believe that humanistic misogyny existed before the fall of Milton’s Paradise Lost. Though, the angelic characters put on the mantle of masculinity, they are not truly the embodiment of Adam’s exclusive human manhood. Instead, they possess a myriad of attributes in one (PL 6. 350-53). Because angels can assume either sex freely, as a result of the spectrum of their material form—the true nature of their humanistic manhood cannot be metriculated with a similar barometer. 

While the concept of patriarchy might well have existed in Paradise Lost before the Fall, considering the predominantly masculine nature of spirit beings, and their embodiment — this does not mean that they possessed a hatred of women, as there were no women present before the creation of man. Rather, the disdain for the celestial patriarchy was evident in the heavenly rebellion, made evident through Satan’s dialogue in Book 1. 

This puts into question the benign nature of hierarchy in heaven without sex. The fact that no true humanistic sex existed before the fall puts into question the nature of the individual. 

In Paradise Lost, Adam serves as a figurehead of human masculinity, divinely appointed . In regards to a broader sense of masculinity, this extends further according to Lenhof impacting as far as spirit beings (Lenhof, 64). Thus, I believe that this heavenly hierarchy of Milton’s is specific to its “breed” of sentient spirit beings, utilizing the mantle of masculinity as translation of humanistic fortitude. 

A final agreement I have with both scholars Rosanna Cox, and Elisabeth Liebert is the nature of this particular equality at PL V 288-299, in which both Adam and Eve are regarded as sharing sovereignty over the entirety of earthly creation. Adam is appointed with naming the creation (PL VII). One point I contest, however, is the limitation of equality in so for as their roles are evident for each other. Like an employer of a corporation, it appears that God in Paradise Lost exists to appoint stewardship over his creation with variable roles. In so doing, with this appointment, each is limited to exercising their own roles without a true understanding of their compliment, or internal Animas. Adam and Eve are equal insofar as their purposes are defined for one another as compliments in mind, and body. However, the spiritual nature of their fall results in their evident awareness of their psychological, and physical differences.  Thus, tt is through the inciting incident of Adam’s rebuke, that renders misogyny, a Post Fall construct in Paradise Lost. 

Bibliography

Baskin, Judith. “Midrashic Women: Formations of the Feminine in Rabbinic Literature.” University Press of New England: Hanover, 2002.

 Dreger, Alice Domurat. 1998. Ambiguous Sex—or Ambivalent Medicine? Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Intersexuality. Hastings Center Report, 28, 3: 24-35.

How Common is Intersex? Intersex Society of North of America. https://isna.org/faq/frequency/. Online. 2008.

https://www.tigerdevorephd.com/blog/. Blog. Online. 2016.

Dodelson, Scott (2003). Modern Cosmology. Academic Press. ISBN 978-0122191411.

“misogyny.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2011. Web. 8 May 2011. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/misogyny

“Gender.” Oxford Dictionary. 2019. Online. 

Pelaia, Ariela. “Legend of the Androgyne.” Learn Religions, Apr. 17, 2019, learnreligions.com/what-was-the-androgyne-2076659.

Sowernam, Esther, Esther Hath Hang’d Haman: or, An Answer to a lewd Pamphlet (London, 1617).

M.-L. von Franz, “The Process of Individuation” in Carl Jung ed., Man and his Symbols (London 1978) p. 205-6

We Who Feel Differently. The Journal About Ephemera. https://wewhofeeldifferently.info/interview.php?interview=108. Online. 2019. 

Whether it’s porn, alcohol, or drugs the cycle of abuse is the same.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/addiction. Below is a hand drawn cycle of my daily to do list, and diagram.

                          Career Paper

7/19/2020

After much contemplation I have decided on one decision. My career will be centered around the field of Educational Psychology, working to improve the lives of others. I have made mistakes and I owe the world an apology by being a better version of myself. My trials of drinking, and impulse control – which I now admit have reached critical mass. I must take action and do the right thing. I will continue to learn.

Specifically, with an emphasis in counselling, and coaching I have not specifically decided what area of focus I may be most readily accessible, but I know that special health, and alcohol abuse counselling in conjunction with truth will be where I’m needed most. I do believe that this is an area of focus moving forward and will be the type of future needed for rehabilitation. This emphasized furthermore in the work of Graneveeter who seeks to understand the socio-economic need for work in the economy at large. I continue to work relentlessly in my pursuit of my education, and understand the relative necessity of helping others through substances. My work will be in conjunction with others who have worked towards Granovetter’s notion of open communication as it is resolved through opening a dialogue — what he describes as “face-to-face communication” (Granovetter, 109).

In Mark Gronevetter’s book Getting a Job, Granovetter talks about the basis of his approach to make sure to find a job he mentions as the importance of maintaining contacts. One such area of influence where Gronevetter emphasizes this is in the nature of establishing contacts for the workforce at large – specific to “young workers” (Granovetter, 42). This is even more important when considering the nature of the workforce and the law of interpersonal relationships. When we dare to consider the nature of life and the interpersonal nature of these interactions, we come to the conclusion of understanding of the importance of the causal connections associated with them. 

These causal relationships can inhabit what are described as “nodes.” In Networks, Crowds, and Markets the social network analysis serves points of communicating as a mediation for another’s interpersonal experiences. Easley, and Kleinberg go further on to mention the aspects of networks and how “the social, economic, and technological worlds are connected” (Easely and Kleinberg, 1). One such thing that is mentioned by Granovetter, is the nature of which things must be reassessed. Including interpersonal relationships. This sense of interpersonality is mentioned by Granovetter in his ideology towards causal models. 

He notes,

“A first temptation is to conclude that the quality of education received in better colleges makes one more desirable afterwards; it is also possible that is that those attending is that those attending better schools are pre-selected, regardless of educational quality of those schools.so that they would be more likely to be sought out after” (Granovetter, 32). This type of “temptation,” that Granovetter speaks of is in direct correlation with the ideology that education received from what is regarded as more secularly reputable can give one the needed impetus in one’s career goal. An example of this is a reception of a degree from a notable institution, such as any one of the excelled, and reputable Ivy League institutions prevalent throughout the world today. An example of Ivy League colleges may be Brown, or Harvard. However, the point that Granovetter makes here is that despite the erroneous idea that people from these institutions are more “sought out after,” they are truthfully better fit around “the right” people — characterized by the social web of their immediate influence during their time here (Granovetter, 227).

Furthermore, an understanding of these interpersonal relationships can result in a better understanding of the career goal as a work from which there are others in the field. This is also an exemplification of the viability for understanding the correct form of communication. Reinforcing this form of communication is better exemplified in the work of Granovetter’s work who mentions the importance of necessary job function in the type of communications. Communication is therefore better exemplified in the kind of career choice one chooses for themselves. It is better exemplified in the utterance of knowledge, through which one decides to make amends. In The Peacemaker, Ken Sande makes this very point in his chapter on conflict management under the subhead ‘Stewarding Conflict” (Sande, 38). The point he makes is that it is not a question of whether or not to avoid conflict, but rather it is a question of utilizing more moral ends to amend the sources of conflict. These will undoubtedly create a better sense of understanding for both parties involved. Under this vice, it will be easier to understand the source of conflict imbued.

As an elaboration of the conflict received, there appears to be a better understanding with Sande’s work, and my relative career goals. I believe that through a shared understanding of these beliefs that there will be a more formal understanding of my choice to maintain peace, serenity and calm in the workplace. While my end goal is to remain around the field of educational psychology in the long run, the goal that I currently have is to resolve any interpersonal sense of conflict in conjunction with Sande’s work. This will further my job market availability as it works in conjunction with the work necessary in my current field as was manifest in the airline industry. The main importance is the emphasis on peace here, and Sande’s work is a reminder of such. 

Sande’s work, as well as books like the Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, have touched upon this very point. The importance of which has definitely been a difficult tangent to understand is the importance of an awakening to an understanding that is beyond the previous understanding. While I cannot quote James Redfield as a reputable source of factual information, his work has forwarded my current understanding of the importance of the need to awaken to the current job market, as Granovetter describes. 

Furthermore, to be more specific with my thesis of helping others through the field of Educational psychology, I will be putting the work of Granovetter, and that of others in my understanding of the current field at large. This will be a re-awakening process for me, and I must do everything in accord with what is necessary in order to maintain a more rich and fulfilling life. In Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain mentions the individuality of introverts and extroverts in leadership roles. Her emphasis is on the power that introverts possess. Moving forward in my career goals, Cain’s work will be more than useful for its truth, and lack of bias. One such passage, I found that enlightened me was the notion of leadership from that of the vantagepoint of introversion. Cain quotes Farrall and Konberg in Leadership Development for the Gifted and Talented when she says, “While extroverts tend to attain leadership in public domains, introverts tend to attain leadership in theoretical and aesthetic fields” (Cain, 78). Furthermore Rana Foroohar mentions one incredulous point, “Without the right story of what went wrong, we won’t fix what needs to be fixed” (Foroohar, 60). This exemplifies the need for a better understanding of the story as is imposed through helping others understand their own through counselling, and assistance of choice.

In conclusion, my job, though it has not been exemplified yet through the current job market will revolve around educational psychology, paving the way for others along the path of navigation through wanton addictions, and re-manifesting their ability to change and do better for themselves. John C. Maxwell further notes the importance of leadership in his book Developing the Leaders Around You, when he mentions “leaders express feelings that other leaders sense” (Maxwell, 9). This is especially poignant when we begin to discern the leadership prevalent in the pioneering work of educational psychology, already made manifest through voices such as Brene Brown, and Cheryl Strayed. In Brown’s work Daring Leadership, Brown describes a leader as someone who “takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential” (Brown, 4). The work made manifest throughout these processes currently being pioneered through Brown and others really stand as a stalwart manifestation of the current field of Educational Psychology made truthfully manifest through the world of publication and self-care through individualized personal means. It is my intention to continue the work of these women, through a pioneering effort of bettering others by first bettering myself. Only through this work, may I show others the better way. 

Annotated Bibliography

Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking. New York : Crown Publishers, 2012. Print.

Ritzer, George. The McDonaldization of Society: An Investigation Into the Changing Character of Contemporary Social Life. Newbury Park, Calif.: Pine Forge Press, 1993. 

New World Bible Translation Committee. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures With References, Rendered From the Original Languages. Rev. 1984. Brooklyn, N.Y.: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, 1984. 

Sande, Ken. The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Book House, 1991. Print.

Farrell, J., & Kronborg, L. G. (1996). Leadership Development for the Gifted and Talented. In M. McCann, & F. Southern (Eds.), Fusing Talent. Giftedness in Australian Classrooms (pp. 87 – 103). The Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers (AAMT) Inc.. 

Foroohar, Rana.  2016.  Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business. New York: Crown Business.

Redfield, James. The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure. New York, NY : Warner Books, 1994. Print.

Maxwell, John C. Developing the Leader Within You. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1993.

drive.google.com/file/d/1ptkpp5J9Aqb5PsO5i-mf7fWm6y_EkZjM/view

English is not my first language. Yet, I believe that is why I must major in it. This is why.

Before becoming a Hugo, and Nebula Award winning novelist, Octavia E. Butler was discouraged by her aunt, who said, “Negroes can’t be writers.” As a dyslexic teenager, in the 1960’s Butler could have taken this claim to heart as an irrefutable fact.

Butler could have decided to put her pen down, but she didn’t.

Choosing to ignore her aunt’s advice, Butler became the literary stalwart of her generation. Years later, she published her book, “Kindred” – which remains popular until this day. Her Xenogenesis series continues to shape, and mold the conventions of an era previously dominated by white men.

Her essay, “Furor Scribendi,” (translated in latin as the “The Anger of Writing”)  exhorts all aspiring writers to bury themselves into the psychological limerence of deep work, writing constantly despite the contagion of complacency. It is an admonition to all who wish to write, and I have decided to heed that call through a self-driven education.

A decade after her death, I found a copy of Kindred. She was the first female African-American, science-fiction novelist I had ever read, and I regarded her as my literary mother.  

Thus, began my discovery of literature pertinent to Butler’s genre, and that of the whole world of literature.

In college, I started reading her work, after her death. In her work I found an identity. I began searching for her influences and steeped myself in literature.

In the Spring of 2017, my biological mother fell ill with cancer.

That event caused a shift in me that I was unable to process positively. As a result, my grades plummeted. During this time, my mother, with Stage IV ovarian cancer remained in her nursing program at UW – Madison – studying in between her chemotherapy sessions.

That event, and her determination have spurred me onward to this day. Her spirit for success has imparted me with the diligence, and humility necessary for re-admission to the institution.

There is no doubt that I will succeed, as that is my only option.

As far as college essay applications go, this is the most difficult to write because it is the most honest. Perhaps, I should spare the details of my life as a millennial immigrant for another work in the future. Yet, an even greater voice impels me to tell my story.

That is the obligation of a writer.

My family hails from the Ivory Coast. We flew here when I was one. My father came here with the illusory enchantments of his age: namely, a life outside Abidjan with a dream to one day own his own business. My mother, a nurse came from a family of teachers in Bouake, a rural town not far from Yamoussoukro.

I was born in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire. Though I have little memory of my initial years, I have heard our stories.

The stories that pass down from my homeland are alive. They must have mediums to contain them. The people through which the story imbues its essence are called griots.

In my tribe, the Baoule, the griots are the storytellers, who beat the drums, and teach the young men of the villages. There are not many left. By all my reckoning my father, and his father were unofficial griots. They could tell a story – a fantastical folklore – and imbue it with the life of its lesson.

In the summer of 1992 my father bought an international lottery ticket. The ticket, he said, was a random draw. He’d bought it at the booth of a souvenir dealer. The odds, he knew, were astronomically low. The probability of winning, he negated by prayer.

Whoever won it, he said, would come to America.

Three months later his prayers were answered. He had won the ticket.

*

When we moved to North Dakota, that story kept us warm. We shared those stories, as self-proclaimed griots.  As the world outside froze, our togetherness became our solace. We stoked our inner fires.

We learned that camaraderie, and hospitality were reverred qualities in either cultures. And we learned the topography of the world through the stories we told.

Of course, I enjoyed fantastical stories. Throughout this time, I began reading Uwem Akpan, and Amy Tan. I decided to meet Neil Gaiman, and Trevor Noah. Ursula K. Le Guin, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Harlan Ellison, and more of Octavia E. Butler. And then, I began the work of Gene Wolfe, who has grandfathered many through a prestigious tomes of spell-binding fantasy, and science fiction.

That all led me to Viktor Frankl’s work, “Man’s Search for Meaning,”

On reading Frankl’s work, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” I was struck with a quote. Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust writes about his experience in the following way:

“The prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future —was doomed. With his

loss of belief in the future…Usually this happened quite suddenly, in the form of a crisis, the symptoms of which were familiar to the experienced camp inmate” (Frankl, 82).

Furthermore, on the duror of his trials, Frankl writes, “The angels are lost in a perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.”

The way, I saw it I had two options:

I could decide to be like Octavia E. Butler, and my mother  and continue my studies despite the disparaging situation, or I could remain like the prisoner’s of Frankl’s mental incarceration.

I choose the latter, and seek to go back to school for what I love.

For me, literature has been and always will be a form of perpetual contemplation. It is a conversation from eras past with writers as heralds. To delve into the mind of an individual of whom one has never met, but identifies with is nothing short of a miracle. To me, reading and writing is a sanctuary.

In a certain way, we all exist between two worlds: that of our reality, and that of our reveries. In so doing, Campbell’s Hero’s Journey resonates with us all.

My mother, whose cancer is in remission abides by this subconsciously. Octavia lived by it.

It is true. My previous transcripts have reflected a significant academic decline

Yet, that was a time in which I felt that nothing good could come out of my current situation with a defeatist mentality. I lost the vision my family has.

The specific error of my academic past was dual-fold.

The first was a youthful, unrealistic expectation of myself, as it pertains to the invincibility principle. The environmental factors that led to my academic probation were many throughout the semesters I was in school at UW-Milwaukee, and UW – Green Bay. My mother’s cancer at the time, my disfellowshipping from the Jehovah’s Witness religion, and my grandmother’s immigration to America were undeniable stressors, but my grades were the symptoms of a greater ill. I denied the destitution I felt, and that was my downfall. Namely, I lacked a spiritual outlet, and regaining that literary spring has made all the difference.

To regain it, I read Milton, and Hume throughout this time. Their philosophies imparted me with a knowledge outside myself, namely that the suffering of religious ostracism from my family was temporary.

The second error of my past, was an unprecedented, atavistic response to the social change in my environment.

In order to grow, a plant must have suitable conditions (i.e. soil, water, sunlight) from which to propagate. If that environment changes, the shock is such that it can harm the plant.

Previously, in my past life as a Jehovah’s Witness I had only associated with people inside the religion. The Watchtower literature was highly regulated, and research outside was strongly discouraged. Fraternizing with anybody outside was forbidden. And so, moving to Milwaukee with a new job, and new circles made me feel like my roots were exposed. I felt the susceptibility of that plant, and the shock of the environment was something I truly was not prepared for.

After reassessing the events in my life, I thought it better to move back with family, and find a licensed therapist for my disfellowshipping from Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Though I am no longer a part of the religion, I believe moving back was what I needed to help me continue my degree. Thus, this is the prime trajectory for re-entrance into school, and the aim of my vector from cult exclusion to autonomy.

In effect, I took Education courses seeking to help others when I needed to help myself. I have shifted my focus to English with a track onto Literature and Cultural Theory. Once completed, I would like to go into teaching. However, I must learn of others like myself first familiarize myself with the ethnic voices of change.  

As an Ivorian-American, I wish to tell our stories to the world. Literary voices such as Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Chris Cleave have yet to reach the heartstrings of a millennial audience. I seek to hear that ever resounding timbre of story. I wish to see the fulfillment of these cultural stories, weaved in the social fabric for all.

The plight of the immigrant is not an easy one. But it can be made easier through the accounts we tell. We educate through stories.

That, is why I must continue to study literature. That is why I must write.

English is not my first language. Yet, I believe that is why I must major in it. This is why.

Before becoming a Hugo, and Nebula Award winning novelist, Octavia E. Butler was discouraged by her aunt, who said, “Negroes can’t be writers.” As a dyslexic teenager, in the 1960’s Butler could have taken this claim to heart as an irrefutable fact.

Butler could have decided to put her pen down, but she didn’t.

Choosing to ignore her aunt’s advice, Butler became the literary stalwart of her generation. Years later, she published her book, “Kindred” – which remains popular until this day. Her Xenogenesis series continues to shape, and mold the conventions of an era previously dominated by white men.

Her essay, “Furor Scribendi,” (translated in latin as the “The Anger of Writing”)  exhorts all aspiring writers to bury themselves into the psychological limerence of deep work, writing constantly despite the contagion of complacency. It is an admonition to all who wish to write, and I have decided to heed that call through a self-driven education.

A decade after her death, I found a copy of Kindred. She was the first female African-American, science-fiction novelist I had ever read, and I regarded her as my literary mother.  

Thus, began my discovery of literature pertinent Butler’s genre, and that of the world of literature.

In college, I started reading her work, after her death. In her work I found an identity. I began searching for her influences and steeped myself in literature.

In the Spring of 2017, my biological mother fell ill with cancer.

That event caused a shift in me that I was unable to process positively. As a result, my grades plummeted. During this time, my mother, with Stage IV ovarian cancer remained in her nursing program at UW – Madison – studying in between her chemotherapy sessions.

That event, and her determination have spurred me onward to this day. Her spirit for success has imparted me with the diligence, and humility necessary for re-admission to the institution.

There is no doubt that I will succeed, as that is my only option.

As far as college essay applications go, this is the most difficult to write because it is the most honest. Perhaps, I should spare the details of my life as a millennial immigrant for another work in the future. Yet, an even greater voice impels me to tell my story.

That is the obligation of a writer.

My family hails from the Ivory Coast. We flew here when I was one. My father came here with the illusory enchantments of his age: namely, a life outside Abidjan with a dream to one day own his own business. My mother, a nurse came from a family of teachers in Bouake, a rural town not far from Yamoussoukro.

I was born in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire. Though I have little memory of my initial years, I have heard our stories.

The stories that pass down from my homeland are alive. They must have mediums to contain them. The people through which the story imbues its essence are called griots.

In my tribe, the Baoule, the griots are the storytellers, who beat the drums, and teach the young men of the villages. There are not many left. By all my reckoning my father, and his father were unofficial griots. They could tell a story – a fantastical folklore – and imbue it with the life of its lesson.

In the summer of 1992 my father bought an international lottery ticket. The ticket, he said, was a random draw. He’d bought it at the booth of a souvenir dealer. The odds, he knew, were astronomically low. The probability of winning, he negated by prayer.

Whoever won it, he said, would come to America.

Three months later his prayers were answered. He had won the ticket.

*

When we moved to North Dakota, that story kept us warm. We shared those stories, as self-proclaimed griots.  As the world outside froze, our togetherness became our solace. We stoked our inner fires.

We learned that camaraderie, and hospitality were reverred qualities in either cultures. And we learned the topography of the world through the stories we told.

Of course, I enjoyed fantastical stories. Throughout this time, I began reading Uwem Akpan, and Amy Tan. I decided to meet Neil Gaiman, and Trevor Noah. Ursula K. Le Guin, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Harlan Ellison, and more of Octavia E. Butler. And then, I began the work of Gene Wolfe, who has grandfathered many through a prestigious tomes of spell-binding fantasy, and science fiction.

That all led me to Viktor Frankl’s work, “Man’s Search for Meaning,”

On reading Frankl’s work, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” I was struck with a quote. Frankl, a survivor of the Holocaust writes about his experience in the following way:

“The prisoner who had lost faith in the future—his future —was doomed. With his

loss of belief in the future…Usually this happened quite suddenly, in the form of a crisis, the symptoms of which were familiar to the experienced camp inmate” (Frankl, 82).

Furthermore, on the duror of his trials, Frankl writes, “The angels are lost in a perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.”

The way, I saw it I had two options:

I could decide to be like Octavia E. Butler, and my mother  and continue my studies despite the disparaging situation, or I could remain like the prisoner’s of Frankl’s mental incarceration.

I choose the latter, and seek to go back to school for what I love.

For me, literature has been and always will be a form of perpetual contemplation. It is a conversation from eras past with writers as heralds. To delve into the mind of an individual of whom one has never met, but identifies with is nothing short of a miracle. To me, reading and writing is a sanctuary.

In a certain way, we all exist between two worlds: that of our reality, and that of our reveries. In so doing, Campbell’s Hero’s Journey resonates with us all.

My mother, whose cancer is in remission abides by this subconsciously. Octavia lived by it.

It is true. My previous transcripts have reflected a significant academic decline

Yet, that was a time in which I felt that nothing good could come out of my current situation with a defeatist mentality. I lost the vision my family has.

The specific error of my academic past was dual-fold.

The first was a youthful, unrealistic expectation of myself, as it pertains to the invincibility principle. The environmental factors that led to my academic probation were many throughout the semesters I was in school at UW-Milwaukee, and UW – Green Bay. My mother’s cancer at the time, my disfellowshipping from the Jehovah’s Witness religion, and my grandmother’s immigration to America were undeniable stressors, but my grades were the symptoms of a greater ill. I denied the destitution I felt, and that was my downfall. Namely, I lacked a spiritual outlet, and regaining that literary spring has made all the difference.

To regain it, I read Milton, and Hume throughout this time. Their philosophies imparted me with a knowledge outside myself, namely that the suffering of religious ostracism from my family was temporary.

The second error of my past, was an unprecedented, atavistic response to the social change in my environment.

In order to grow, a plant must have suitable conditions (i.e. soil, water, sunlight) from which to propagate. If that environment changes, the shock is such that it can harm the plant.

Previously, in my past life as a Jehovah’s Witness I had only associated with people inside the religion. The Watchtower literature was highly regulated, and research outside was strongly discouraged. Fraternizing with anybody outside was forbidden. And so, moving to Milwaukee with a new job, and new circles made me feel like my roots were exposed. I felt the susceptibility of that plant, and the shock of the environment was something I truly was not prepared for.

After reassessing the events in my life, I thought it better to move back with family, and find a licensed therapist for my disfellowshipping from Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Though I am no longer a part of the religion, I believe moving back was what I needed to help me continue my degree. Thus, this is the prime trajectory for re-entrance into school, and the aim of my vector from cult exclusion to autonomy.

In effect, I took Education courses seeking to help others when I needed to help myself. I have shifted my focus to English with a track onto Literature and Cultural Theory. Once completed, I would like to go into teaching. However, I must learn of others like myself first familiarize myself with the ethnic voices of change.  

As an Ivorian-American, I wish to tell our stories to the world. Literary voices such as Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Chris Cleave have yet to reach the heartstrings of a millennial audience. I seek to hear that ever resounding timbre of story. I wish to see the fulfillment of these cultural stories, weaved in the social fabric for all.

The plight of the immigrant is not an easy one. But it can be made easier through the accounts we tell. We educate through stories.

That, is why I must continue to study literature. That is why I must write.