Assignment: When have you experienced Ghosts in your lives? Think back on your lives. Look at the decisions and experiences. Where have voices from the past impacted your decisions? Have there been times when you could not tell if you believed something to be true, or that you were supposed to believe? Think about the news. Do you see ghosts "in between the lines of the newspaper"? In this blog space, please share these experiences. Begin your post with 1-2 direct quotations from Ghosts that match the feelings you are sharing, so we can see the direct parallels and engage with the text. I provided some moments from Act II, below, to help you get started. I look forward to your responses. Your post should be 300-400 words.
Quotations from Act 2
- Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.
- Yes--when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn.
- Oh, wait a minute!--now I recollect. Johanna did have a trifle of money. But I would have nothing to do with that. "No," says I, "that's mammon; that's the wages of sin. This dirty gold--or notes, or whatever it was--we'll just flint, that back in the American's face," says I. But he was off and away, over the stormy sea, your Reverence.
- It only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken! Don't you think so?
- At last he said: "There has been something worm-eaten in you from your birth." He used that very word… He said, "The sins of the fathers are visited upon the children." No other explanation was possible, he said. That's the awful part of it. Incurably ruined for life--by my own heedlessness! All that I meant to have done in the world--I never dare think of it again--I'm not able to think of it. Oh! if I could only live over again, and undo all I have done! [He buries his face in the sofa.]
- I only mean that here people are brought up to believe that work is a curse and a punishment for sin, and that life is something miserable, something; it would be best to have done with, the sooner the better…But in the great world people won't hear of such things. There, nobody really believes such doctrines any longer. There, you feel it a positive bliss and ecstasy merely to draw the breath of life. Mother, have you noticed that everything I have painted has turned upon the joy of life?--always, always upon the joy of life?--light and sunshine and glorious air-and faces radiant with happiness. That is why I'm afraid of remaining at home with you.
Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.
ReplyDeleteAdriana DeSantis
In correlation to this text from the passage, I have examined people that I know believe that there is a ghost in their house or that they are being followed around by spirits. As well, I also know people who do not believe in spirits or the afterlife. Throughout my 17 years of life, I have not encountered any ghosts, or I like to believe that I haven't. When I hear voices from my past, I often hear my own voice in my head as a guide for my future actions. My loved ones voices often exhibit themselves in my line of thought, as growing up you hear the same rules you have to abide by and the same things not to do. When you are out with your friends you always hear your mother's voice chime in, “Don’t do anything you would regret” and “ if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?”. I do not believe that I have had a moment in my life where I was presented with something that I could not tell if I believed it or not. There are moments in my life where I do not believe something because it is something exceedingly amazing of something that I have wanted. However, there has never been a moment in my life where I was presented with something that I truly did not believe.
ReplyDeleteAdriana DeSantis
DeleteJohn Marshall
ReplyDelete“Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth.”
When I explore the idea of ‘Ghosts’, this phrase helps me understand what true ghosts are. To have ideals from people who may or may not still be in your life today influence your thoughts and actions. I can’t recall of specifics of this happening to myself but, in general, I see this often with teenagers who are forced to go down paths in their lives because of their parents rather than following things that they truly believe is the fit for them. Parents are more worried about their kids not ending up on the side of the road rather than them hating the rest of their adult lives doing something that they don’t want to do.
“You are now over head and ears in Boards and Committees, and I am fighting my battle with ghosts, both within me and without.”
“Both within me and without” is a truly interesting description of how ghosts influence Mrs. Alving’s life because not only is she influenced by her own past and people that have come before her, but she is also heavily influenced by people in her life with their own ghosts like Manders. Most of his ideals regarding education and religion are based off of very long held beliefs without too much information that these things, in his sense, have benefited past people. He believes people should learn things for the sake of learning things and to make them think rather than learning things that intrigue them.
ReplyDelete“Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.”
I have had some experiences with ghosts but I have not imagined them physically or heard any around my house. The only time I can relate to hearing ghosts is when I hear voices in my head. Sometimes it could be my voice, and it could be voices that I have heard before or have never recognized. When I normally hear these voices, they would normally tell me what type of results would be good or bad if when I am deciding between 2 or more options that I have to decide on. But these voices that I hear sound like my Mom and my grandfather because she is always in my ear about certain things and making my own decisions. The thing I always hear her say when I am listening to these voices is “it is up to you”. Then sometimes I would hear my grandfather say “you gotta be smart”. I would normally hear these voices and ghosts in my head when I am making hard decisions like deciding which college to go to for example.
Growing up in a house with 3 girls, I have learned to love and appreciate pretty things in life. I have never been asked to take out the trash, mow the lawn or even fill my own gas tank. I am always told to be careful when I walk back to my car, and never to be alone at night.”Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.” I have the ghost of being a girl is someone who cooks and cleans the house constantly following me around my life. When I have dreams to have my own business and have a job of my own, but that is also seen as a dream that probably won't ever come true, because I need a man to help me achieve my goals and take care of me. My grandmothers purpose her whole life has been to take care of her house, her husband, the cooking and the cleaning, she had dreams of becoming a teacher but she met my grandfather before she was ever able to pursue that dream of hers. I have never asked her if she regrets never becoming a teacher, but in my grandfathers retired state, she says she has trouble finding a purpose in her everyday life. I love my grandparents, but I hope that they are able to push their ghosts away and allow me and my sisters to pursue our dreams, without finding a man to do it for us.
ReplyDeleteAfter reviewing the meaning of ghosts according to Ibsen in class I understand the play a lot better and can see situations like this everyday. It's hard for me to think of specific times where I have seen ghosts but honestly I can confidently say that I see ghosts everyday and everywhere. Many things we do today and the reason why we do the things we do all the time is because of both our own and society’s ghosts.”Ghosts! When I heard Regina and Oswald in there, it was as though ghosts rose up before me. But I almost think we are all of us ghosts, Pastor Manders. It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.” Myself and my family do many things in a certain way, whether it is the way we celebrate special occasions or completing our routines everyday, based on our so called “ghosts.” When it comes to society and different people’s ghosts I feel like I’m Mrs Alving in many situations, but not all of them. Especially in today’s world everything is evolving, whether its political, human rights, I could go on. The main point is everything is changing, jeopardizing different ghosts. I do not disagree with every traditional idea but I am not necessarily fine with all this modern change happening in society. Growing up with my old fashioned European traditions I have learned and evolved with those ghosts and that is what I am used to. These ghosts have passed on through generations in my family and are heard in my mind by loved ones dead or alive. They help me conquer life’s daily obstacles and future decisions(sometimes it’s just my mom yelling at me).Unfortunately these ghosts of mine can get into the way of other people’s ghosts but I’m also one hundred percent sure that happens with many other people. “Yes--when you forced me under the yoke of what you called duty and obligation; when you lauded as right and proper what my whole soul rebelled against as something loathsome. It was then that I began to look into the seams of your doctrines. I wanted only to pick at a single knot; but when I had got that undone, the whole thing ravelled out. And then I understood that it was all machine-sewn.”
ReplyDelete“It is not only what we have inherited from our father and mother that "walks" in us. It is all sorts of dead ideas, and lifeless old beliefs, and so forth. They have no vitality, but they cling to us all the same, and we cannot shake them off. Whenever I take up a newspaper, I seem to see ghosts gliding between the lines. There must be ghosts all the country over, as thick as the sands of the sea. And then we are, one and all, so pitifully afraid of the light.”
ReplyDeleteThinking about the ‘ghosts’ that live within each of us as well as the ones that infest the world around us, this quote hints at an important relationship to keep in mind. The parent-child relationship is vital in shaping young minds. I watch two children everyday after school, one boy who is introverted but scientifically and musically inclined, and a girl who is more sociable and interested in history and traveling. Their parents both graduated from Tufts, and their father is an engineer and both parents played instruments growing up. The boy thrives at home because they pay for them both to go to piano and trumpet lesson and encouraged them to sign up for band and after school clubs. The girl on the other hand, has such a busy schedule she is really unable to explore as much as, I believe, a young mind should in her topics of interest. It is sad to see how her parents instructions have restrained her into a path that was the one they led and not the one she wants to live.
“It only shows how excessively careful one ought to be in judging one's fellow creatures. But what a heartfelt joy it is to ascertain that one has been mistaken! Don't you think so?”
This quote is important to pay attention to because most people walk around with beliefs they did not create for themselves, but maybe someone in their life taught them to feel a certain way about. Like what types of clothes you should wear based on your gender, who you should date based on where you live, what jobs you should take depending on your education and race. On a smaller scale, in my own life I was signed up for soccer at a young age, and watched both my sisters play up until their senior year in high school and I was expected to do the same. My mom didn’t play soccer growing up and had no particular connection to it like my dad did, but when I told her I wanted to quit, she said, I could because I was a “Grygiel”. She didn’t understand the confusion on my face when I looked back at her to ask if she was serious, and it took her a year to realize that soccer was not a part of me.
- Regan Grygiel