The true picture of the past flits by.  The past can be seized only as an image which flashes up at the instant when it can be recognized and is never seen again.  "The truth will not run away from us": in the historical outlook of historicism these words  of Gottfried Keller mark the exact point where historical materialism cuts through historicism.  For every image of the past that is not recognized by the present as one of its own concerns threatens to disappear irretrievably.  (The good tidings which the historian of the past brings with throbbing heart may be lost in a void the very moment he opens his mouth.)
           The second sentence of the passage summarizes Walter Benjamin thought on history.   He is simply saying that the past can not be relived nor re-witnessed.  History only comes up as an image, whether it is in our head or through pictures.  Gottfried Keller, who believes in the ideology of historicism, says that our history is very important to us.  I understand it to mean that if people do not look at our historical past as incidences that concern us presently, then we might as well forget about it.  There is no point discussing history unless we are looking at it with seriousness.           

"Pain disregards for our system of values greatly increases its hold on life. The emperor who, when urged to remove himself from the line of fire, responded by asking whether one had ever heard of an emperor falling in battle, exposed himself to one of those errors to which we all too willingly succumb. No human situation is secure against pain. Our children's tales close with passages about heroes who, having overcome many dangers, live out their lives with peace and happiness. We hear such assurances with pleasure, for it is comforting for us to learn about a place removed from pain. Yet, in truth, life is without any such satisfying end, and it is evident by the fragmentary character of most great novels, which are either incomplete or crowned by an artificial conclusion. Even Faust closes with this sort of contrived literary device."

            The short narration of the emperor being asked to withdraw himself from war, describes people who make rash decisions out of pride or the fear of being hurt.  His following statement, says that pain can not be avoided.  The emperor was trying to avoid the hurt of quitting, however, he would probably suffer a greater pain if he were to be defeated in the war.  It was hard for me to comprehend the first statement.  I understood it to mean that people are deceiving themselves when they try hard to avoid encounters with pain.  Ernst Junger is informing his reader on the bitter truth of reality. He says that life does not have any satisfying ending.  We tend to base the purpose and outcome of our lives on what we see and hear from others.  Junger concludes that no one really knows the outcome of our lives and therefore it is not possible for us to be fully content.

1. Junger's thesis is very well supported.   To my understanding, Junger feels we should pay less attention to painful experiences since they are inevitable.  However, no human being can completely ignore pain.  Our brains are built to respond to pain, both physical and emotional.  One can only pretend to be completely care free.  In reality, pain is apart of what shapes our lives and it is also the reason why joyful moments are worth living.
2.Post-liberal refers to an era in which technological and only certain types of knowledge is forced on you.  someone else or a group of people have control over how you live daily.  The way you progress will now be the way in which you are trained to progress.
3.  Junger describes photography as the cruelest way to view horrifying life experiences.  This is because photographs are not selective of what they capture.  They are different from paintings and imaginations which are formed by man.
5. Submission to totalitarian authorities protects an individual from pain because such authorities give promises of a better future regardless of the present condition.

 

"Whoever wants to engage in politics at all, and especially in politics as a vocation, has to realize these ethical paradoxes. He must know that he is responsible for what may become of himself under the impact of these paradoxes."
     I understand this quote to be a piece of advice.  Max Weber's statement is directed towards anyone who wishes to obtain any political power.  Max Weber spoke of several problems people in politics face, but more so problems that they inflict on the society.  He is saying that not one man change the way politics is done, rather politics will change any individual who chooses to involve himself in it. 
        I chose this quote because I feel it is a very crucial statement in the essay.  He is giving the bitter truth of politics.  This quote is warning people not to try and be a political hero by attempting to reverse the violent and forceful nature he describes politics to be.  Politics will always be corrupt, therefore whoever is entering politics for whatever reason needs to understand the ethical paradoxes as Weber mentioned that they will be involved in.  

1 How would you compare Rath/Lola to Siddhartha/Kamala?

One comparison I was able to draw between the Rath/Lola relationship and Siddhartha/Kamala is the adverse effect the women had on the man.  They both degraded their man's status.  Kamala caused Siddhartha to start gambling and Lola turned Rath from a prestigious professor who initially looked down on her profession, to a clown.  

2. Is Lola an emancipated woman or "totally impassive?"

I perosnally believe that no one can be completely impassive.  However in the film, Lola's role depicts that of a very impassive woman.  It was hard to tell at the beggining whether she was really attracted to professor rath or if she had alterior motives.  She seemed to be less concerned about the students Rath initially approached her about.  She also seduced Rath and ruined his career, despite the fact the she was with other men in the movie.      

3. What is the significance of the clown?

The clown represents the lowest class of people in society.  They are ridiculed for their profession.  As we can also see, they had no control over themselves.  each time the door opened, they were being yelled at.  

4. How is chaos thematically represented in the film?

Chaos is thematically represented each time Rath lost his temper.  He gets angry at his students for being entertained at the night club.  At one point he slaps all the of his students for the offense of one.  He is also filled with rage when he catches Lola kissing another man.  He went as far as attempting to choke her to death.   

5. How would you interpret the overall meaning of the film?

        One way in which I interpreted the film was that even the smartest most prestigious people can fall from glory.  Rath looked down on the profession of Lola and her peers, but he ended up falling to the hands of Lola.  I can also see them trying to convey a message against hypocrisy.  Rath forbided his pupils not to visit the nightclub, yet he continued to visit Lola till he got very comfortable there.  If you are a hypocrite, you will eventually be exposed and your shame will be great.    

6. Why did I compare Rath to the  Haussmann painting/montage? Would you suggest a better comparison?

You compared Rath to the painting because just like the painting, Rath's brian is very routined and boring.      He is in a chair with so much weight one him, that he probably could even get up.   

1.  Siddhartha was seeking spiritual fulfillment. At the time, Siddhartha was considering living the lifestyle of Samanas, which his fater was highly opposed too.  Siddhartha did not leave out of dislike for his father.  His father was a religious leader.  His father would have probably kicked him out eventually even if he did not leave.  His father as a religious leader would be ashamed that his own son was switching to another lifestyle.  Siddhartha felt conviction when he was breaking the news of his departure to his father.

2. One reason why Herman Hesse would be interested in Eastern philosophy and religion is because they offered oa way of life.  They were guidlines that many people followed in their every day life.  At the time, Hesse was very rebellious.  Hedid not believe in rules or guidelines for living.  As a writter, he probably deemed it necessary to know what he is condeming.   


4.   In religion, rivers are very symbolic.   In Siddhartha, the images of the river represent knowledge and wisdom. Normally, the river represents peace, serenity and the presence of a holy spirit.  This is true for christianity and islam.   But two which seem to be the most important and powerful are the closely related idea that time is not real and The Oneness of All Experience; and that knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom.

 When Siddhartha is sitting by the river, he is asked by Vasudeva what he has learned from the river, and Siddhartha tells him that he has learned that time is not real. He also explains to Govinda how the rock is not just a rock now and maybe something else later.  That means for that very point in time, the rock could not be two different things.  He then asked Govinda to kiss him on the forehead.  That was  a gesture which I did not really understand.  However, from these two parts of the book we can see that Siddhartha turned to the river for enlightenment and to increase his knowledge.  


8.

Vasudeva, is the one that helped Siddhartha find what he was looking for.  When Siddhartha met Vasudeva after leaving his family, he felt an energy that embodied wisdom and enlightment.  Vasudeva was very knowlegable.  He was not arrogant at all about his wisdom or the knowlege he possed. He was the one that showed Siddhartha how much wisdom the river had to offer.  At one point Siddhartha was convinced that he will never be able to reach enlightment, Vasudeva was able to convince him not commit suicide.  Vasudeva always told Siddhartha to consult the river for wisdom.    In this book, I would say   Vasudev was like a gaurdian angel for Siddhartha.

10.  Siddhartha has a lot of respect for Buddha.  Buddha taught a system for attaining enlightenment. His disciples then teach others to follow this system. However Siddhartha chose to find enlightment on his own using his personal experiences.  He applies what he learns from the river and heeds to the words of Vasudeva.

The Dada Manifesto

        In the Dada Manifesto, Hugo Ball said "I don't want words that other people have invented. All the words are other people's inventions. I want my own stuff, my own rhythm, and vowels and consonants too, matching the rhythm and all my own."  With this statement, Ball was trying to suggest that forms of art and expression are much more creative when they are original.  The less you borrow from other peoples ideas, the more creative your idea is.  He He takes creativity to an extreme by believing that one should make up a word and apply it however they feel.  I believe Hugo meant this for every form of art.  He believe that true creativity is when you invent rather than form ideas based off other artist creations.  
         I chose this quote because as a scientist, musician and a person that loves to dream big, I deem it important to create thingss that have never been seen or heard of.  Inventors are always remembered.   
       I agree with Ball to an extent.  For art in General I believe it is necessary to create a piece that can not be traced back to another artist or another piece. Great poets, literature writers, musicians, artist should have pieces that are well distinguished from any other piece.  However, in my opinion it is a little extreme when you attempt to create words as he described it.  I like how he made reference to dada as a universal word, but he later talked about calling objects that already have names , a word completely different.  Perhaps he was trying to point out a concept which I do not clearly understand, but I feel that art is useless if people can not decode or understand it properly..