#6

Wittman Ah Sing is a young playwright living in 1960s San Francisco. As a Chinese American, Wittman struggles to find a place for himself in American culture as well as battles to understand his Chinese heritage. The reader is first introduced to Maxine Hong Kingston's hero Wittman Ah Sing as a character who "consider[s] suicide every day". Within the first page of the book, Wittman contemplates shooting himself in the mouth because "Hemingway had done it in the mouth". The fact that the narrator brings up Hemingway's suicide in comparison with Wittman's suicidal thoughts implies that they are merely fantasies. Kingston even writes, after describing her main character as suicidal, that he merely "entertained" the idea. The word "entertained" as well as the reference to Hemingway's suicide romanticizes the whole notion of suicide. Kingston's word choice and dramatic description of being shot in the head work together to build a first impression of Tripmaster Monkey's hero.

Paper Proposal

a) What is the topic you are interested in pursuing and why?
I would like to explore San Francisco's cultural influence on the psychedelic rock music movement of the 1960s. Music is something that I am very interested in and I think that the rock movement of the 1960s was a very important part of music history and would make an interesting paper topic.
b) How does this topic relate to San Francisco materials or frameworks read for the course? Which of the readings are particularly relevant to this topic?
Many of the bands that came out of the San Francisco Sound movement were inspired by and followed the example of the Beat poets. The musicians liked their music to have a free flow to them similar to the free flow poetry of Allen Ginsberg.
c) What are some of the other materials you will need or want to read and/or inter-connect to cover this topic?
I will need to gather more texts on the psychedelic music movement. I also need to go over the Beat texts we have read in class (such as Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, Brautigan, and Kerouac) and find textual evidence to back up my claim that the musicians were inspired by them.
d) What is your provisional “thesis” (hypothesis) at this point concerning this topic and these materials?
Following the example of the Beat poets and the counter culture movement, musicians used the city of San Francisco and all that it had to offer as a playground to explore new ways to change the sound of rock-n-roll music during the 1960s.
e) What problems or limitations do you anticipate in pursuing, framing, researching, and writing on this topic?
I'm afraid I might not be able to find enough textual information to write about for 8-10 pages. I'm also having a little bit of difficulty sculpting my ideas and information into a thorough and coherent paper.

#5

"I really believed in the reality of charity and kindness and humility and zeal and neutral tranquillity and wisdom and ecstasy, and I believed that I was an oldtime bhikku in modern clothes wandering the world, [...] in order to turn the wheel of the True Meaning, or the Dharma, and gain merit for myself as a future Buddha (Awakener) and as a future Hero in Paradise"
This quote, taken from Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums, is a great summary of what a Dharma Bum is. Both Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder, along with their buddies, aspire to find the Zen (peace) in life through nature and simplicity. "Dharma" is an Indian spiritual term that incorporates the meaning of higher truth and one's belief or religion. However, according to the narrator, Ray Smith, in order to be considered a Dharma Bum does not specify on a person's religious beliefs. As long as the "bum" follows and truly believes in the truth and goodness of their religion Smith defines them as a Dharma Bum such as the old bum he encounters on the train to Santa Barbara: "The little bum in the gondola solidified all my beliefs by warming up to the wine and talking and finally whipping out a tiny slip of paper which contained a prayer by Saint Teresa announcing that after he death she will return to the earth by showering it with roses from heaven, forever, for all living creatures. [...] "I cut it out of a reading-room magazine in LA couple of years ago. I always carry it with me."" Smith becomes impressed with the old man's devotion to his beliefs and later refers to him as "the little Saint Teresa bum" and "the first genuine Dharma Bum [he'd] met."
Based on this understanding of Dharma Bum, the term can be easily related to the Beats/beatitude. The Beats derived their name from 'beatitude', meaning the ones who are blessed. The Beats, like the Dharma Bums, attempted to live simple 'beat' down lifestyles just as Ray Smith and his buddies bummed around the country. Also like the Dharma Bums, the Beats had a a zen like attitude and view of the world.


Question: The terms Beat and Dharma seem almost interchangeable based on Kerouac's descriptions. Have you ever heard of the term Dharma Bum before or is it just Kerouac's "code word" to talk about his adventures as a part of the Beat Generation?

#3

While sitting inside the crowed Ghiradelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Shop, many people eagerly gobble down their ice cream sundaes with fudge dripping off their chins and peanuts stuck in their teeth; however, many of these happy and satisfied visitors are unaware of the story behind those delicious sundaes. The actual facts behind Ghiradelli Square are what make up a quintessential American success story. Domenico Domingo Ghiradelli first learned about chocolate making in his home town of Rapallo, Italy when he apprenticed as a young boy. While living in Peru, Domingo caught wind of the California Gold Rush and, leaving his family behind, he ventured off like many men in the hopes of discovering gold. Upon arriving in California, Domingo first attempted prospected but eventually ended up opening a general store in Stockton followed by a hotel in San Francisco. However, it was The Great San Francisco Fire of 1851 that destroyed Domingo's Europa Hotel as well as everything else he owned in San Francisco. Unfortunately, a second fire a few days later burnt down his Stockton business. A clever business man, Domingo put his remaining assets to good use and decided to open up another store once more in San Francisco. With an established business, Domingo sent for his family who were still living in Peru. After several location changes, Ghiradelli finally found home on Jackson St. circa 1856. Upon becoming one of the largest chocolate factories in western North America, Ghiradelli's sons, who now owned the company, expanded and created the famous Ghiradelli Square during the late 1890s and early 1900s.
In the 1960s, The Golden Grain Macaroni Co. bought Ghiradelli Chocolate and relocated the factory across the bay. However, two San Franciscans, William Roth and his mother, feared the destruction of history and purchased the entire Ghiradelli block. The Roth's managed to complete one of the first successful adaptive reuse projects in America by salvaging the old Ghiradelli buildings as well as incorporating modern stores and restaurants which make up the Ghiradelli Square visited today.
It is important to understand the history, not only of Ghiradelli Square, but of all landmarks. They are landmarks for a reason! Domingo is a perfect example of an immigrant creating a better life for himself and his family. After two fires that destroyed nearly all that he owned, Domingo chose not to be defeated. I bet he never even dreamed of people more than a hundred years later to still be greedily munching down on his divine chocolate. Obviously the Roths felt that Ghiradelli Square was important to San Francisco. Domingo chose to start his business in the city of San Francisco and that's where it should stay after all these years. I can't think of a time in my childhood when my family and i would travel to San Francisco and not stop by Ghiradelli Square to eat a piece of chocolate. Visitors to Ghiradelli Square should not only enjoy the wonderful deserts offered, but should also keep in mind that this San Francisco landmark serves a reminder that America is a country built by immigrants and their dreams.



Question: After watching "Alcatraz Is Not An Island" in class I started thinking about the history between Native Americans and the city of San Francisco. Maybe I missed it, but I feel like Brechin didn't really discuss this issue. I guess my question is, why do you think that is?

#2

Entitled Trout Fishing in America, Brautigan never clarifies exactly who or what "Trout Fishing in America" is. At times the phrase is personified as in "Another Method of Making Walnut Catsup": "And Trout Fishing in America said, "The moon's coming out."" (12). The phrase is capitalized, like a proper name, when Brautigan personifies the term, giving "Trout Fishing in America" human emotions and body descriptions as well as the ability to speak such as in "The Last Mention of Trout Fishing in America Shorty": "Trout Fishing in America Shorty was instantly alerted, then he saw it was a baby and relaxed. He tried to coax her to come over and sit on his legless lap. [...] "Come here, kid,"he said. "Come over and see old Trout Fishing in America Shorty."" (96-97). Brautigan grants "Trout Fishing" the ability to feel emotions ("alerted") when he sees the child as well as uses the pronoun "he" numerous times when referring to the phrase. Based on such descriptions, and because of the fact that Brautigan never clarifies who or what "Trout Fishing in America" is, the reader may assume that the phrase is in fact the name for a person. As joked about in class, the book is not a handbook or how-to guide on to fish for trout; however, Brautigan never makes it definitely clear what he means by 'trout fishing in America'. He does write about incidents as well as experiences that happen to occur while fishing for trout. However, following the counter-culture style of the 1950s and 60s, Brautigan twists the stories out of the norm and personifies the phrase in a persistent attempt to deny the reader satisfaction of understanding who and/or what "Trout Fishing in America" is.


Question: Can Brautigan's "short" poems really be considered poems?

#1

While both of their poetry is populated with “extremes”, Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poetry deals with the issue of fighting against conformity. Despite their different tastes in language, Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti warn against losing the “old” San Francisco to a more industrial city that lacks artists. Ferlinghetti bluntly addresses this fear in “The Poetic City That Was”: “Fifty years ago the city seemed an ideal place for a poet and artist to live […] Fifty years later, […] Corporate monoculture had wiped out any unique sense of place, turning the “island city” into an artistic theme-park, without artists.” Ferlinghetti’s choice of diction is perfect in describing his views of San Francisco, then and now. Once described as an “island city” because of its unique distinction of residents from the rest of America; Ferlinghetti writes of San Francisco as now an “artistic theme-park” where tourists can visit and see the once thriving artistic community. His writing suggests that he still believes that San Francisco is still an artistic and unique city, however it lacks the unique people that once thrived there (“without artists”). Just as Ginsberg accuses America for giving itself over to the worship of oil and industries in Part II of “Howl”, Ferlinghetti agrees that contemporary artists and poets only create for the industry and not the love of it. Sharing in Ferlinghetti’s fear of “corporate monoculture,” Ginsberg’s “Howl,” written in what many consider blunt and profane language, clearly displays the poet’s frustration with America’s commercialism. His use of exclamation marks at the end of every statement overwhelms the reader with his emotion. Despite different uses of language, Ginsberg and Ferlinghetti write about a similar topic: the conflict of loosing the unique American artist/poet.

Question: What caused Ferlinghetti to think that “corporate monoculture” had taken over San Francisco’s artists? What was his reasoning, other than the age of Beat Poetry to be over with? Is he just a stubborn old man stuck in his ways? (which is what is sounds like to me from Professor Wilson’s encounter with him…)