Chapter 6

"Rap enthusiasts insist that much of the material is sheer poetry" (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

I do believe this to be true as there is no differences in the final result other than the fact that one is sung with inflections and the other is simply read, but both produce rhythms that form an auditory aesthetic when read. Most of the time they both form a story that allows the reader or listener to  sink into the world of the song or poem evoking feelings that would arise if you were in the situation or allow you to make your own story out of the lyrics or text given.

"Blues are songs of despair, but gospel songs are songs of hope." (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

I feel as if this is an inaccurate statement and it is clear why such a statement was said, Mahalia Jackson, the speaker of the quote, was in fact a gospel singer and may have had an ulterior motive for saying such a thing, likely to promote her music. She may still believe it truly but I feel as if it isn't true, the blues makes up its own mood, although its tone is associated with more negative emotions such as sadness and such it isn't the core of blues I feel, it is more of a calming music. It is great for a listening when your sad as it does not counteract your feelings, this would be the only relation to negative emotions it has, but never will it relate directly to the loss of  hope, despair.

Chapter 7

"The aim is to stimulate an emotional response not for the sake of the emotion, but for the aftermath of emotion: the feeling of calm that follows it."  (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

They later state that the calm is called "catharsis", I feel like catharsis is a very important aspect in horror movies in the current day, after one experiences a frightening scene in a horror film they often times skip to a calm scene after the frightening incident or a calm scene in another setting that allows the viewer to enjoy the rush they achieved from the scene as well as allows them to recover their heart rate to a resting heart rate. A viewer is also given time to mentally and emotionally recover. The aspect is to temporarily bring the viewer out of the feel of the film and into reality is as I would describe catharsis. 

"They walked up and down the real stairs, opened a door and exited through it, presumably to go outside. The actor was only going backstage, but this was the era of verisimilitude, the convention of making everything look and sound like the real world."

This is the premise of non-fictional movies and of course theater productions. They bring a special appeal to audiences that fictional movies and theater productions can not, for one theater production is limited to the realism of making fictional productions feel really real as one can not simply make supernatural incidences occur in real life, this is why they are supernatural. The attempt to do such in a theater setting will usually appear quite unreal. Although this can be done in movies with CGI and a multitude of other resources, the audience clearly has their minds set on a distant or non-existent world giving them a feeling of distance. This is unlike a play of verisimilitudal standards that brings the setting of the play much closer to home allowing people to relate to daily life and feel more of a familiar setting and immerse themselves into these similar environment that they are seeing.

Chapter 4

"We are storytelling animals- who we are, what we are, and why. When we die we become part of other stories. This residue is our immortality" - Salman Rushdie (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

This is an interesting way to think about stories and metaphysical immortality. I believe this form of metaphysical immortality is flawed as stories are no longer created and are being retold and exponentially slower rates as modern stories take their place and their inclusion in society is limited therefore the memories of these people die with them.



"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are gone, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing." - Carson McCullers (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

This is a much more accurate/precise statement than that of the one before, likely due to its broad range in definition, but in this case it is a good thing. Almost all modernly read stories are about things that people did that were worth writing. Its not that we simply included yourself in a story but we are truly part of the story for the story is about said person doing things worth writing. 

Chapter 3

"Heroes are people who rise to the occasion and slip quietly away" -Tom Brokaw (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

I think that this is an interesting statement as it provides an idea on how others feel about terms with broad definitions such as the term of "Hero" and what one must be to become one. In this case he believes that such a person is one that only arises when its his time then once the deed is done he returns to the shadows among the regular people where rather stays hidden to not draw attention or bring attention to his heroic acts as this man's definition of hero describes.




"When the best leader's work is done, the people say,"We did it ourselves."- Lao-tsu (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

This method of leadership I have heard and seen in action and it really brings a group together towards a common cause and due to this cooperation the total power of the group led this way is much stronger than if it was led by regular means.

Chapter 1
"The pleasure that beauty inspires in us is called aesthetic" (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

This quote is quite interesting as I had been using the word aesthetic wrong in a grammatical sense as I have been using it as a adjective instead of it as a feeling, a noun. This feeling I feel is more specific truly than what they try to attribute it to, everything. The use of this very important word is too freely used in my opinion as I believe it should only be attributed to visual aesthetics, auditory aesthetics, possibly movement, and methodology of thought. Attributing aesthetics to other senses I feel is a stretch.
"Through language we make ourselves understood to others, and we are able to understand what we read and what others are saying."(Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

This is interesting as I have previously researched languages influence on how we think and that it definitely existence. In fact I feel as if I am a different person when I speak Spanish or Russian. I have read articles into which they describe some languages with many more words that result in more descriptive speach and how it allows them to communicate better.
"Your view of the humanities and the world will continue to expand, and you will be on your way to becoming an infinite person" (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

I had previously not understood what it meant to be an infinite person but now I have somewhat of an idea. But from what I understand, doing so in our time contained world is truly impossible, no matter how hard one tries, but one may become the most infinite person uniquely.

Works Cited:


Janaro, R. P., & Altshuler, T. C. (2017). The art of being human: The humanities as a technique for living. Boston: Pearson.

Chapter 2
"The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing knowledge" - Albert Einstein

   Although this isn't exactly within the lines of actual textbook, but rather a side quote, I found this very interesting. I, for one, have a single question that likely will never be answered, was Albert Einstein a dreamer? This question is important to me as I would definitely consider myself a dreamer. Some may not exactly understand what it is to be a dreamer, or falsely identify what a dreamer is, there is likely only one type of person that may understand what it is to be a dreamer, a dreamer. "The gift of fantasy", could he be referring to the feeling of "dreaming" rather than what the text relates it to being a sort of entertainment. From the standpoint of a dreamer, sounds like something another dreamer would say.


"He then made a famous distinction between two ways of responding not only to drama but to events in real life."  (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

   Apollonian and Dionysian, I feel as if this could be a way to identify personality factors of an individual and would like to know how often these terms are used in the real world. One may record and transcribe conversations with people and identify their responses to the same questions and see how much of their response is logical and rational, Apollonian, and how much of it stems from emotional roots, Dionysian. This data could be used to understand people to a higher degree. This response itself is a very Apollonian response.



Assumptions... "Often these are buried; that is, they lie underneath what people are saying without being acknowledged as assumptions, and often they are the real message that is being communicated. The critical thinker listens carefully, always seeking what is actually being said." (Janaro & Altshuler 2017)

I feel like assuming assumptions to be as are initially to be important when reading most types of text as it is part of the natural human experience to assume assumptions and adds a new level of depth to fictional stories as well as real ones as the reader may assume his or her own assumptions to the story. Fiction and non-fiction will never be the same for two people, no matter how specific you describe things, people will assume things as they please to fill the gaps that will always appear in fiction and understanding.

Works Cited:

Janaro, R. P., & Altshuler, T. C. (2017). The art of being human: The humanities as a technique for living. Boston: Pearson.