May 07, 2020

Series 02, Episode 03: Hopes and Existential Dreams

44 minutes

In this third episode of the series, I look at chapters 9-14 of Morrison's Beloved, in conjunction with just some fantastic Harlem Renaissance poems, the dreams of Americans, and the problems with an existential view of freedom for those who aren't nearly as free. Some references in here to T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men," Gatsby, Death of a Salesman, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Absurdism, and the philosophies of Søren Kierkegaard.

Resources:

T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men"

James Weldon Johnson's "Brothers-American Drama"

Georgia Douglas Johnson's "Smothered Fires"

Langston Hughes' "Dream Variations"

Langston Hughes' "Let America Be America Again"

Absurdist Existentialism, 'Cheat Sheet'

Søren Kierkegaard, 'Cheat Sheet'

...more