Why is the novel so important?
In my humble opinion, novels teach us that we are not alone. Through narration we see into the minds of other people. Authors must have great empathy; setting their views aside in order to understand the characters they create. Their characters will represent real people.
Jane Austen not only pushed the boundaries of how society views women, but also men in her novels. This conversation connects to how we define "self." It is not something born in isolation. Self is defined from infancy through the context we are born into. There is no clean slate. Or is there? Sharon Olds investigates this idea in her poem "First Hour."
Directions: Read the following poem by Sharon Olds, and briefly respond to her complicated notion of self. Please use direct lines from the poem in order to explain how she made you feel about the idea of self.
First Hour
Sharon Olds
That hour, I was most myself. I
had shrugged
my mother slowly off, I lay there
taking my first breaths, as if
the air of the room was blowing me
like a bubble. All I had to do
was go out along the line of my
gaze and back,
feeling gravity, silk, the
pressure of the air a caress,
smelling on
myself her creamy blood. The air
was softly touching my skin and
mouth,
entering me and drawing forth the
little
sighs I did not know as mine.
I was not afraid. I lay in the
quiet
and looked, and did the wordless
thought,
my mind was getting its oxygen
direct, the rich mix by mouth.
I hated no one. I gazed and gazed,
and everything was interesting, I
was
free, not yet in love, I did not
belong to anyone, I had drunk
no milk yet—no one had
my heart. I was not very human. I
did not
know there was anyone else. I lay
like a god, for an hour, then they
came for me
and took me to my mother.
I think the poem focuses on a version of ourselves that we often forget. Of course, we often refer to ourselves as a collective of the experiences we’ve had, but the moment we are born, we are a different kind of self. We are a self that isn’t shaped yet by experience. We just exist. As Sharon Olds stated it, “I was most myself.” When we are first born, that is our first and only experience in the world in this particular state. The hour when you don’t even know what you are, where you are, and what will happen. I think that it’s really beautiful that this is such a pure sense of self, but the sad reality is that you don’t remember it. I also think that the sad reality is that this isn’t really your true self? In my opinion, you are made up of your experiences, your prejudices, your reality. This moment of self is in such a setting where you’ve had none of these things. I just think it’s a really interesting way to look at self but not the most realistic way, considering we are made up of so much. In the first hour, we are basically all the same. Maybe this is one part of the human existence that everyone shares, everyone experiences, and contributes to shaping them.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you really have a self at all before you've experienced anything.
ReplyDeleteUntil that begins, we're all the same.
DeleteI agree, as I state in my entry, I believe that racism and prejudice is taught, rather than inherited.
DeleteLater experiences can change you, at least until death.
ReplyDeleteWell I mean death does technically change you lol
DeleteTo a very large extent, I certainly agree with Sharon Olds. When people are first born, they usually come out as a clean sheet, free from any influences. The experiences later in life, like Owen said (above), are what changes a person. This clean sheet in the poem is referred to as "I was free, not yet in love ... no one had my heart". It's interesting how being oneself is referenced as being 'free', almost as if people are trapped and bound when they fall in love. Additionally, I found it interesting how Sharon Olds thought of a baby "like a god". Although they are powerless and defenseless, she compares babies to something else beyond humans despite the fact that most people think god to be a strong, almighty figure.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about the "god" part of the poem is very true, I find it funny that she compared babies to gods. Gods are all-knowing and babies have no knowledge whatsoever so it is funny that she represented them as being similar.
DeleteI know, right?
DeleteI think this shows that you are something before everything, and in her point of view, you are something that is great and pure before you are anything. I think she is saying that the experiences that we go through make us who we are, because she describes herself as a pretty perfect being, and nobody is perfect. When she says "I was not afraid. I lay in the quiet and looked, and did the wordless thought" it showed me that she was in a perfect state, because she laid in the quiet and alone, yet she was not afraid.
ReplyDeleteI believe the thing the author was trying to convey is that at birth she felt herself. This feeling gave her a sense of freedom as she says "I was free, not yet in love, I did not belong to anyone, I had drunk no milk yet—no one had my heart. I was not very human. I did not know there was anyone else." Being yourself is being free and not worrying about outside forces like other people. This sense of freedom also gave the the author a sense of empowerment and I believe that being yourself gives anyone a sense of empowerment "I lay like a god, for an hour, then they came for me and took me to my mother."
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the most interesting poems I have ever read. She seems to believe that the only time we're truly pure is when we're straight out of the womb, which makes a lot of sense. It's the only time weren't affected by prejudices and opinions of others.
ReplyDeleteThere was one line that really caught my eye. It was "I lay like a god, for an hour, then they come and took me to my mother." That line reminded me of a poem I had recently read by the late Jim Morrison (singer of the band The Doors and a poet). It was called "Power". The poem has lines like "I can make the earth stop in its track" and "I can make myself invisible or small." Sharon's last line in the poem seemed as if she was hinting to some omnipotence that newborns have, and Morrison's poem seems to talk about someone who IS omnipotent. As if Morrison's poem is what the newborn would be thinking for that short period of time.
Now, I'm not saying these poems are connected in any way, shape or form. I just wanted to show how this poem impacted me and how it reminded me of the poem by Jim Morrison.
(Here is a link to the full poem. I'd highly recommend reading it.) https://hellopoetry.com/poem/74001/power/
Chloe Hanrahan
ReplyDeleteThe point I think Sharon Olds is trying to make is our true self is who we are before anything in the outside world has affected us. She is showing us everything before the babe truly interacts with anyone, “I was not afraid. I lay in the quiet // and looked, and did the wordless thought”. I picked up on was the phrase “wordless thought” because a baby can’t comprehend anything in the world, it doesn’t have the words, so can it truly comprehend that is a something, which should have a sense of self. But I disagree with Sharon. Who we are is who we have interacted with and what those interactions bred. If someone has a bad interaction with a clown when they are child, then it seems to be logical that they will be scared of them when they are an adult; that wouldn’t be part of their self and who they are without the scary interaction. Someone who messes up in front of the class, will probably have trouble speaking in public. These small tendencies are part of who we are. I liked Sharon’s poem it made me think of the memory I will never have “I had drunk // no milk yet—no one had // my heart. I was not very human. I did not // know there was anyone else. I lay // like a god, for an hour, then they came for me // and took me to my mother”. But I’m glad I don’t remember because my sense of self comes from whom I love, whom I hate, that I’m humane, and that I’m not a god, but a kid overthinking a poem :).
I totally agree. I would rather keep all my experiences and all my mistakes and regrets than lay in that limbo of being and not being yet. I also adore that line as well, "no one had / my heart."
DeleteThis poem makes me think that the first moments of birth are the most pure moments a person will ever experience. The lines “I gazed and gazed, and everything was interesting, I was free, not yet in love, I did not belong to anyone…” These lines prove the fact that when you are right out of the womb and brand new to the world, nothing holds you down and everything is fresh. The poem shows that in those moments of feeling completely pure, nothing affects you physically or emotionally and you can be at total peace. The poem also says “I was not very human. I did not know there was anyone else.” This line proves that once you are right out of the womb, all that you are conscious of is yourself and what your senses tell you. I believe this poem explains that once you pass through those initial moments of pure peace, you will be shaped into what the society and the experiences you go through (what Owen had said).
ReplyDeleteNikita Orbits
True but as people grow up, they begin to see who they really want to be as a person and express their individuality, with the influences of society and moments we experience in life.
DeleteIn this poem "First Hour" Sharon Olds is trying to portray how this was the only time in our lives we are all unconstrained and independent. You could point that out from the poem where she says, "That hour, I was most myself." In that first line Sharon was explaining how as we were first born we had no responsibilities and did not care about anything around us. We were just there existing. It seems to me that Sharon was describing how our first hour of life will always be distinct from the rest of our time living. She explains this by saying, "I hated no one," telling us how we did not even have a little hatred in our heart. We were just innocent . I don't read poems that often, but this one really intrigued me and I liked the way Sharon wrote this poem from the perspective of a baby. It's something new and I hope to keep reading stuff like this in the future.
ReplyDeleteI find this poem really intriguing because it talks about a time before an individual develops such ideas as pride and prejudice and it more or less demonstrates mankind in it's most pure form. Why I feel this is because in many instances in this poem the speaker is referring to things they don't have. One quote that exemplifies this is "I did not belong to anyone, I had drunk no milk yet—no one had my heart." this shows that the author in their current state being just born. The "I had drunk no milk yet part" this can be taken literally because since they were just born they hadn't had milk in their life. While the phrase "I did not belong to anyone" and "no one had my heart" is more referring to relationships with other people and of course when you are fresh out of the womb you wouldn't have many developed relationships. As I mentioned earlier this was the human in it's most pure or neutral form. The reason I feel this is because as you grow and develop you take on ideas, such as pride and prejudice, and these ideas and beliefs you accumulate over your lifetime can affect your view on the world in either positive or negative ways. That's how I felt anyways comment if you disagree with anything I said or if you want anything clarified.
ReplyDeleteSharon Olds is describing in the simplest sense, the singleness of being just born. She looks back and tries to describe the time of infancy as an adult who desires to feel "free, not yet in love, I did not / belong to anyone, I had drunk / no milk yet—no one had / my heart." A newly born child is pure, untarnished by the world. Olds glorifies this small moment by claiming she was "like a god" before being brought to her mother. Her idea is paradoxical in that she says we are ourselves the most in that time, but self is shaped and contorts to everything we are exposed to. We are most ourselves but we are also least ourselves because we have nothing to ourselves in that time. Self is an enigma, so I won't go more into it as I am beginning to confuse myself. I appreciate and understand her notion that this time where we are undefined is good, we "hated no one" and we are unchained in a way. But I would have to disagree because I believe everything that happens to you influences you and morphs your self, your soul. When we were babies, we had no music that would make our hearts soar, no movies that moved us, no people that anchored or changed us. Maybe there are negatives to seeing the world and having these outside factors, but I see that as a type of ignorance more than purity of self. Also I really didn't like that line "her creamy blood." It's just,,, uegh. Otherwise, it's an interesting perspective that I've definitely agreed with in times of my life.
ReplyDeleteOlds claims that the first moments are childbirth is when one is most truly themselves as they haven't been influenced by anyone. I have a different view on what self is. Self is the analytical aspect that follows observation. The baby can only "lay in the quiet" and "[draw] forth the little sighs". The infant is not capable of having original responses to the environment. It is not unique in any way. I agree with Olds when she says "I was not very human" and I believe that being human is tied very closely to self. One's self is created by interacting with others and inheriting some of their ideas and actions. Without outside influences, there is no self.
ReplyDeleteThe self only really begins when the baby is born, and like always, no one is born racist, having prejudice against others, or hate in general. These are things they are taught, brought up with in their families. While I hated no one. I gazed and gazed, and everything was interesting, I was free, not yet in love, I did not belong to anyone, I had drunk no milk yet—no one had my heart. A baby, if awake in a mother's womb, then know nothing. These things all the way up to even our class is what is taught by previous classes and parental or guardian behaviors, as young children often look to older children and adults as role models.
ReplyDelete9/24/18
ReplyDeleteThe way we really define ourselves and others can sometimes be the most deadliest of weapons, but also as a blessing in disguise. And I think it's a really good point to know the most vulnerable time in your life is when you were given life into this world. Something that really rung with me was when you're vulnerable, you allow yourself to engage with others without hesitation and it changes your entire perspective on things. “I was not afraid. I lay in the quiet
and looked, and did the wordless thought, my mind was getting its oxygen direct, the rich mix by mouth. I hated no one. I gazed and gazed, and everything was interesting.” Personally, I don't think it should matter whether where or how you were born as an infant, to determine your “self.” What really matters is the kind of person you grow up to be and how you treat those around you. Just being honest to yourself and real with others is already showing that vulnerable side of yourself.
I found it very interesting how in this poem, the narrator say “I was most myself” during that first hour of living. Just after being born, we simply are existing and do not yet have any stresses or responsibilities. We are simply living and breathing in those moments. Yet I somewhat disagree with her notion that she was the most herself because our sense of self is created over time based on our decisions and experiences. The author also seems to be supporting this with the phrase, “I had drunk / no milk yet—no one had / my heart.” The world has not influenced a child so soon after birth, but life later creates situations which affect us and self is shaped. So just after being born, we have not yet experienced much and therefore cannot have create much of sense of self. However, later in the poem, she says “I was not very human,” it seems as if she could be saying that being so pure and innocent in those moments is not very human, since humans cannot be that once they have actually lived. Throughout this poem, Olds seems create a paradox, saying we are the most ourselves, but also not ourselves at all in those moments.
ReplyDeleteI find this poem to be very interesting and I agree with Sharon Olds's idea of self but also disagree. When she says "That hour, I was most myself." I do not agree with her. I feel like you are your 'self' when you have your own opinions on things and you have knowledge of your surroundings and life. She says she is most her 'self' in the first hour of her life, but in this first hour you have no ideas or opinions or knowledge of anything, you are just looking around you and you have no character or personality yet. So I do not agree that as a newborn you are most your 'self'. However it is interesting because I think as we grow older we don't really become our 'selves' because everything that we learn is from others around us so we have our own opinions on some things but not everything. Also our personalities as we grow older are greatly influenced by the people around us like our parents.
ReplyDeleteI also loved the wording and language in this poem, my favorite part was, "The air
was softly touching my skin and mouth,/entering me and drawing forth the little/sighs I did not know as mine.". This was my favorite because it captures the innocence of a baby so well by saying the "sighs I did not know as mine".
I also think it's very true that "self" is something you grow into and is based off of your personality and events that shaped you. When you are first born you haven't truly grown into yourself yet.
DeleteI will actually have to agree with you in the fact that when Sharon says "That hour, I was most myself," it is not necessarily true and you can be 'your' self when you form your own opinions and speak up about the things that you believe in.
ReplyDeleteI thought Sharon Olds "First Hour" was a beautiful way of explaining how innocent a person is when they are born. The line "I hated no one" shows that when you first enter the world you've experienced no prejudice or ugliness in people.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem could be more then just a baby being born. I think its a rebirth during people's lives. Like when someone starts a new job or they move to a new city. They feel alone and like they aren't going to get supported, they haven't gotten anyones help. I got this idea from the line, "I had drunk/ no milk yet—no one had/ my heart." You feel alone and scared when you make big changes in your life, like a baby that has just been born. We don't know that we have someone supporting us because we simply haven't met the, yet. Going off of what Sydney said, I disagree when you look at it from the point that I'm seeing. When we start fresh and starting to meet new people, we can be ourselves and meet people who accept us for ourselves. We can be born over and over again and we start new lives in the one that we have already.
ReplyDeleteI think the fact that the baby is having such adult thoughts shows reincarnation. The baby knows things like what oxygen is. It also shows how the baby is being exposed to this new life. They are being exposed to so many stimuli and new experiences. I could imagine how overwhelming it is. It also touches on the innocence of a baby. They don't know what love is.
ReplyDeleteI think this poem is very interesting and the thought that the 1st hour of when the baby is the most important and I have never thought of it like that. We are all so affect by everything around us good or bad that you never remember I time when you were not. They don't get told this is your mother or father and he or she loves you.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sharon Olds' poem argues how a person is most them self when they are first born. However, I believe that when people, myself included, are born, they are nearly identical; no individuality and no actual sense of self. The way I see it, individuality comes from how people are formed based off of outside influences and factors. We are shaped by our losses or successes, what we do, and how we act; not by what we are set as. We can be genetically superior to all others, but ultimately be nothing if you do nothing.
ReplyDeleteI really like this poem. A lot of people seem to disagree with the notion that we are our most self in the first moments of life. In my opinion, this is true. Before we know anything, before we know what we like and don't like, is when we are purely ourselves. As soon as we begin to interact with the world, we start to change. We conform to be like the people around us. It is a tribal instinct that we seek acceptance. Some might say that we are all the same the moment we are born, but I would argue that with the fact that we are all biologically different. Even our minds work differently from one another. I don't believe in reincarnation, but I believe there is a before. I'm not sure exactly what, but when we are first born we may have an understanding of that divine idea.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to define self. I'm going to have to think about this for a while. Maybe join philosophy club.
The author was most herself in the first hour of her life because she was just discovering the five senses that make up a human. It’s cool how the author describes her first experiences through her own senses. For example, she heard herself “drawing forth the little sighs I did not know as mine.”; she felt her first touch, “the air was softly touching my skin and mouth”; she smelled her mother, “smelling on myself her creamy blood”; she looked around, “I gazed and gazed, and everything was interesting”; but had not tasted anything, “I had drunk no milk yet”. It was this last line that made me realize she talking about her own birth. I was grossed out by the reading, “creamy blood” and that imagery it depicts. She expressed her idea of self from the baby’s point of view like she was already an adult who didn’t feel love or hate.
ReplyDelete