A bunch of posts (aka 2) in one- 12/13/08

1) "As to honest John Bull, I shake him heartily by the hand, assuring him that I love his jolly countenance, and, moreover, am lineally descended from him; in proof of which I allege my invincible predilection for roast beef and pudding."

2) "Far from this; I love the nation, as being a nation of right merry fellows, possessing the true secret of being happy; which is nothing more than thinking of nothing, talking about anything, and laughing at everything. I mean only to tune up those little thingimys, who represent nobody but themselves; who have no national trait about them but their language, and who hop about our town in swarms, like little toads after a shower."

3) "His conversation was to me a perpetual feast; I chuckled with inward pleasure at his whimsical mistakes and unaffected observations on men and manners, and I rolled each odd conceit 'like a sweet morsel under my tongue.' "

4) "I so far gained his confidence, that, at his departure, he presented me with a bundle of papers, containing, among other articles, several copies of letters, which he had written to his friends at Tripoli."

While reading the third letter of Salmagundi, I came across these passages. I think that, when read alone, they present a key problem Irving is trying to expose.
The first passage presents the conflict; the narrator has a negative opinion of the stereotypical person they are conversing with, yet they act happy to be around them. The colloquial and pleasing diction (heartily, jolly, invincible, etc.), camouflages the macrocosm that all people are too opinionated of people who are content with living a good life.
The second passage progresses the macrocosm of the problem; that society is empty and ignorant, while true problems are occurring. Again, the positive diction hides the negative conflict arising, because of society. The toad simile is a nature motif that is excessively brought up in this letter. Nature is a pure, beautiful thing in existence. By using this motif, Irving contrasts society to show that it appears to have a beautiful exterior, but corrupt interior.
The third passage is basically identical to the first one. The progression of societies fakeness is accelerated.
The fourth passage (which I am slightly taking out of context for the purpose of the explanation), indirectly answers the rhetorical question Irving is asking his readers. Although the narrator is still acting fake, he is rewarded with a possession. By not being real, the narrator gained respect and trust. Does he receive happiness, though? Does he receive pride for being a decent person? No. The narrator symbolizes societies problems with exposing their true colors and, potentially, being hurt. By not being ourselves, we will always be rewarded, but we will never be happy.

**This post is long, but it also makes up the one I missed last week.

Post #2 11/21/08

"Our intention is simply to instruct the young, reform the old, correct the town, and castigate the age; this is an arduous task, and therefore we undertake it with confidence."
-Selections from Salmagundi

This quote is a metaphor that relates to the overall "newspaper" motif of the first letter of Salmagundi. The speaker is a self-acclaimed "journalist" who thinks he knows how to fix societies problems, which is displayed in the quotation above. As the selection progresses, though, it's revealed that the diction the speaker uses is over exaggerating the point that the staff at the newspaper knows better than everyone else does. Although the imagery and diction are depicting a newspaper office setting, it is indirectly reflecting the conflict of the human mind. People will act confident, like the newspaper office, so they can get praise that they feel they're worthy of, or that they just want so they don't feel so under appreciated. The conflict presented in this piece between any person and their mind displays that everyone has a feeling of emptiness inside of them.

Post #1 11/17/08

"Nothing is more intolerable to an old person than innovation on old habits. The customs that prevailed in our youth become dear to us as we advance in years; and we can no more bear to see them abolished than we can to behold the trees cut down under which we have sported in the happy days of infancy."

- Letter II from Letters of Jonathan Oldstyle, Gent.

When I first read this excerpt from the letter, I believed that the narrator was wise and trying to convey a problem that existed (and still does) in society. As the letter progresses, though,I realized that Oldstyle is a symbol of the average person today. The letter first foucuses on his  family and the `Squire having very elaborate and rich things. The diction describing these things supports this idea- Barbara's possessions are described with words such as high, enormous, long, etc. All of these words are accepted to have a positive connotation (the bigger, the better). The `Squire has a relatively similiar situation. Although Oldstyle desires for a simplistic life, he also gets caught up in the progression and change of time. This passage as a whole displays the irony Oldstyle faces in the letters. His ironic (Oldstyle, although he has adapted to the new styles quite easily,) and generic (Jonathan- as typical as a name can be,) name symbolizes his desire to keep old custom, but how society's quick pace to advance to bigger and better things stops him. The "tree cut down" symbolizes how society no longer protects him from things being the same. Because of society, Oldstyle has allowed his greedy desires to possess him, just like everyone else. And he doesn't even realize it.