Response 2, Passage from the "BLAST"

The only way Humanity can help artists is to remain independent and work unconsciously. WE NEED THE UNCONSCIOUSNESS OF HUMANITY--their stupidity, animalism, and dreams. We believe in no perfectibility except our own.

As new discoveries were found and explored within the roots of science and technology during the time of WWI, most writers rebelled against the old belief and understanding of everything that had to do with human expression and thought. Thus, most writers responded to their contemporary world by portraying a new style in their writing. This passage taken from the "Blast: Long Live the Vortex," demonstrates how “THE UNCONSCIOUSNESS OF HUMANITY” was a central topic for writers to interpret their new perception of the individual and its reaction to technology and science. They explored the individual mind without taking in the old romantic and classical influences from the past along with the notion of avoiding futuristic ideals taken from these new changes. Clearly, it seemed to be a very challenging action as these new interpretations brought both shock and controversy to the public eye.

 Their new interpretation in writing was greatly influenced by the science of psychology. Thus, this mentioned “unconsciousness” was used to create a new understanding of the human mind. Not only through this unconsciousness could one reveal the real visage of the individual, but it also allowed the artist to capture it with straightness and without any fabrication or imagination that would obscure that true perception. Therefore, the words “stupidity, animalism, and dreams,” are introduced to explain how the unconsciousness accepts every flaw and quality the human mind is composed of. The concept of raising the mind to a higher level, by limiting it, or even by deriving it into another dimension, is not accepted by this new unconsciousness. The artist’s only intent is to obtain the raw truth and portray it as it is. It seems understandable for writers in this period of time to take this method when looking at how fast the world around them was changing. To avoid a loss of focus amongst these new changes, most fought for the present and for humanity to stay unchangeable and intact; “to remain independent and work unconsciously.” 
The problem with this notion, however, is how this unconsciousness was supposed to be when the world was going through many vast changes. Since these writers wanted no influence from the past or future, then what made their present? It seemed they were up against a battle about what the past meant to remove it from their sound present, and prevent it from being influenced by the future. This demand sounds almost impossible, for both periods of time reflect many of the flaws that made these writers revolutionize their expressions in paper. Therefore, the only concrete word they seemed to accept was the human unconsciousness, which was different from the past and future ideals.  They believed that unconsciousness was the key to stabalize their present and prevent big change.  In my belief, this unconsciousness, as liberal as it sounded, still had the inability for the human mind to stay intact and not change. First, the past has greatly influenced all human civilizations and it will always be there if we look at how we think, believe, and live. Second, if the mind follows this unconsciousness, it is still inevitable for the mind not to react and obtain new ideas or feelings it can come to experience. Lastly, since these writers rejected romantic interpretations in their writing, how could this unconsciousness be described when this term describes the human “stupidity, animalism, and dreams”? Although it seems liberating to take on this unconsciousness, we might still find many limitations and flaws that are not much different from the ones seen in the past and future.

Blog #1

Passage from Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est:

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,

And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime...

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

As I read Owen’s words, all I can think about is the excruciating pain the soldier, who was too late to put the gas mask on, felt and how nothing was done for him. I felt hopeless and guilty in not being able to respond to the soldier’s pain. It just made me think how little our society knows what it means to go on war and put one’s life as the paying price. Even with the availability of photos and videos about the war does not affect us enough to believe that things could be solved without putting people through death and suffering. I feel that Owen feels somewhat the same about the war as he describes the pain these soldiers are experiencing. He is even trying to portray the advancements in war with the use of the gas bomb, but as the effects of it are described, this point of view back fires in the way the bomb affects the soldiers. The description of this gas bomb establishes how the war has been influenced by technology and how it affects its victims. Owen makes a very critical point with this weapon; he is displaying the true effects technology has instilled in this time. With this notion, we can see how Owen is against the world’s transition from the old techniques in war to new methods WWI receives from the modern technology and how this progress has only caused more pain than benefiting its soldiers.

This passage even reaches a romantic stance as Owen describes the pain of the soldier and the effect of the gas bomb. There is so much emotion and despair happening that the passage becomes surreal as he describes the setting in being “a green sea.” At the same time I also think that he is not being so much of a romantic with these visions but rather he is writing the raw truth. Since most of us have never experienced a real battle scene in war, most would see this passage as an imaginary event that has extreme emotion and description. Therefore, by not experiencing the real truth of this war scene, we can only describe it as being romantic and unimaginable.  

We reject these notions because we have never been through it, so Owen has the need  to go far with his words and descriptions to reach that effect and make people see the true picture of the war. There is no sweetness or pride in this passage, only a suffering that seems unjust to humanity. The word “drowning” at the end of the passage pushes this notion, making the soldier’s situation more dramatic. There is so much hopelessness in this last line, giving the soldier no possibility to avoid his fate. Owen  transmits a feeling of guilt and makes it a consequence to the world’s acceptance in using this gas bomb in the war. Moreover, this passage can contribute to the idea of Owen being  a realist but also a pessimist in the way the passage states how inevitable it is for the soldier not to feel unimaginable pain and die. The passage only contains an optimism for the reader to understand the reality of what it means to die for this war.