Sherlock

 While Sherlock Holmes did possess some positive qualities, the great detective does not deserve to be regarded as a hero. A hero has unique traits and much power. By defining these qualifiers you will see why Sherlock Holmes should not be regarded by society as a hero.
    Hero’s carry certain traits. These traits can vary in degree; however, hero of every kind possess them. Leadership, humility, courage, virtue, diligence are trademarks of heroes. A hero leads (they are not afraid of failure and proceed with great responsibility). A hero is humble (not self-righteous). A hero has courage (to take the necessary risk for the best good). A hero is virtuous in nature. A hero is diligent (and will work until the task is finished).
    Hero’s are incredibly powerful. Two incredibly moving concepts are wrapped in a hero: justice and community. Hero's have an innate moral compass the presses them on to justice be held—motivation. In addition to carrying justice, Hero’s, also, move communities. By a hero serving justice they are intervening turmoil from the lives of their community. This accumulates into a uniting power.
    Sherlock Holmes is many things: an amazing detective, wildly intelligent, quick witted, etc. However, there is one thing that he surely is not—a hero. Mr. Holmes carries traits that are not in alignment with those of a hero. He is self-isolated, diligent, passionate, and an addict. A mix of good and evil, Sherlock Holmes is a melting pot of characteristics.
    Self-isolation cannot be a trait of a hero due to the power a hero has. There are incredible opportunities for uniting a community and locking yourself away (like when John Watson discovered him in his house). Diligence is a trait of a hero. Sherlock carries this in spades—he never wants to leave a case unsolved. Passion is another trait similar to the qualities of a hero; however, Holmes has much of his passion out of productive balance (given his self-righteous nature and addiction). Holmes is also an addict. Addiction is terrible. The behaviour that it triggers can be very destructive (to the individual and their loved ones). Therefore, these traits of self-isolation, diligence, passion, and addiction go to show that as great of a person Sherlock Holmes was he was not a hero.

Cotton gin

Last week we looked at life in the 19^th century, and how different it was compared to today. Many topics were explored, and for this blog I want to look at the impacts caused by one significant technological advancement that occurred during the Industrial Revolution, the Cotton Gin.

The Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18^th century and ended in the 19^th, was a period of time when many inventions were created that largely affected people’s way of living. One of these inventions was the Cotton Gin, which was created by Eli Whitney in 1794. While it doesn't seem that important, agriculturally, economically, and socially it had a massive impact.

The device separated cotton fibers from the cotton seeds, which sped up the cotton production process immensely because before the cotton gin was created, workers (usually slaves) had to separate the fibers by hand, which would take hours and only produce a small amount. By speeding up the cotton production process, this lowered the cost it took to produce cotton fibers. This hugely impacted the agriculture of cotton, because now that it could be produced much more effectively, cotton was fairly cheap to produce, and so it became widely used in clothing. This caused cotton production to skyrocket, and many farmers in the south moved to farming cotton, and they did this on large scale cotton plantations.

The large scale cotton plantations created because of the cotton gin affected slaves drastically. While on the one hand slaves no longer had to separate the cotton seeds from the fiber, the large scale plantations created more work for them. Before Eli’s cotton gin was created, about 700,000 slaves lived in the South, and in 1850 more than 3 million slaves were in the South. This increase in the slave population in the South after the cotton gin was patented shows what an impact the invention had economically on the south. Not only that, but the growing demand for cotton created a system in which the South relied largely on slaves economically.

This economic reliance on the slave trade to sustain the cotton business in the South eventually led to the Civil War. High cotton tariffs began to be imposed by northern states, and the election of President Lincoln caused unrest in the South, because he had anti-slavery sentiments. These factors caused the South to secede from the Union, which started the Civil War.

Overall the cotton gin was monumental to changing the economic structure of the South and causing the collapse of slavery. It is incredible to really think about this, because today the cotton gin is viewed as another machine that does something useful. And while it is useful, it is much more important than just a machine. 

How delicious

Food in the 19th Century

            The 19th century was an era of Romanticism. It is, then, to be expected that the same sentiments were regarded towards food. Appeals to class, conformation of social norms, and consumerism are all elements of what was promoted by food companies. In this piece, Wringley Gum and Gantz, Jones, & Co will be examined to highlight these and other elements that compose the Romantic Era of the 19th Century.

            The Wrigley Gum Brand, for instance, had an ad campaign that solicited a very fancily dressed woman on a poster. She was illuminated with a sophisticated nature about her—her dress, mannerism, expression. All of these designed and orchestrated details go to form a picture of the high class. In this way, Wrigley is adding to the notion that one should desire to be a part of that demographic—both an appeal to social norms and consumerism. In addition to the woman, the idea of value was another point of emphasis. Wrigley sought after linking their product to the concept of gifts and value deals. Hence, the promo offer details on the other side of the poster. The promise of buying in bulk and receiving a prize for your purchase were meant to entice, the opposing side of, the buyer.

            Gantz, Jones, & Co had a different target demographic than Wrigley. Where Wrigley was advertising to a group of consumers that could afford small commodities like gum, Gantz, Jones, & Co was selling to a consumer focused on the essentials—bread, biscuits, etc. With their audience in mind, Gantz, Jones, & Co went with a simplistic campaign. Their imagery features a little boy (with a caption of, “Would go fifty miles to get it”) and a little girl (with a caption of, “Brings health & comfort”), both dressed pleasantly. The image is both clear and concise. The previously mentioned captions capitalizes on a calming blue text. In addition to the cool color the caption alludes to both class and social norms. To begin, “would go fifty miles to get it,” gives an impression of desperation (one that’s highly contrasting to the impression of the image). Also, because the target demographic of Gantz, Jones, & Co was the working class there was a big importance on attendance at work. You have to be there to earn a pay check. Therefore, the promise of “health & comfort” is great for its consumer

            The world of Food in the 19th century had many parallels to the culture of the times, the Romantic Era. Therefore, class, social norms, and consumerism are all reflected in their advertisement (as represented by Wrigley Gum Brand and Gantz, Jones, & Co).

Western film or Nah?

Growing up I remember watching western films with my father and thinking to myself how boring I thought they were. To me every western movie was basically the same. They all followed the genre verisimilitude exactly. What is the genre of a western film? Western films are typically a story of good vs. evil and an attempt to establish some sort of law. You can always count on an action packed showdown typically a gunfight or salon brawl. Generally the characters are cowboys who are fighting Indians or other malicious cowboys who believe themselves to be above the law. The setting is always set in a desert like terrain one that makes your lips feels chapped. And horses galore, there are horse everywhere. The general theme is based on telling a story about morality.

Although The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky is a western short story I could not help but find all of the points in which it strayed from the typical western genre (personally to myself, making it more enjoyable to read and rather humorous). The first example I noticed was the uncertainty and fear that the marshal had about bringing his new wife home. Western heroes such as a marshal are thought to be tough, courageous, and bold. So seeing a sensitive or soft side of the western hero was very different than what I was expecting. Another stray from the genre that noticed was the in the end scene where there is about to be a showdown between the marshal and the town drunk but does not end like you would expect a western confrontation to conclude. In fact neither one of the characters shoots a gun; in class it was discussed that Scratchy did not shoot because he realized that he was in the presence of a woman and he wanted to be respectful. However I have to disagree, I believe that it was because he was so drunk that he had become dumbfounded when he was told by the marshal that this lady was his wife. Because he had no idea that the marshal had left town and gotten married. So in his drunken stupor he became stunned and was unable to shoot because of the news he had just received. It would also have contradicted the point of the story which is what I believe to have been a parody on the western genre because if he had continued the marshal to bear arms the marshal would no longer be the fearful hero that he was. He would have to act in an entirely different manner with courage and strength which is way different than the nervous man we got to know in the train.