West Georgia College Review, Vols. 20-23

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WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

REVIEW

Published by
WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

A Unit of the University System of Georgia
CARROLLTON,

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WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Volume XX

May, 1990

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2011 with funding from

LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation

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http://www.archive.org/details/westgeorgiacolle2023unse

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REVIEW

Volume XX

TABLE

OF

CONTENTS

May, 1990

Anti-Melodramatic Realism and Narrative Ambiguity
in Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock
by Glenn D. Novak and Myles P . Breen 1

Cryin' the Jazzy Blues and Livin' Blue Jazz: Analyzing the Blues and Jazz
Poetry of Langston Hughes
by Patricia E. Bonner 15

The Scepticism of T.S. Eliot

by Karen Csengeri 29

The Wander Confronts Home: A Pattern of Storytelling in
Southern Fiction
by Randy J. Hendricks 35

The Georgia Revenue System: A Comparative Analysis

by Richard D. Guy nn and Le land V. Gustafson 43

Abstracts of Master's Theses and Specialist

in Education Projects 57

Copyright 1990, West Georgia College
Printed in the USA
(ISSN 0043-3136)

Published by
WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Maurice K. Townsend, President
John T. Lewis III, Vice President and Dean of Faculties

Learning Resources Committee
F. Marie Guynn, Chairperson

Charies Beard
J. Micheal Crafton
Nanette Griffith
Ben Kennedy
Wayne B. Kirk

Lewis Larson

George McNinch

Jack R. Pingry

Bobby Powell

Kenneth F. Sapp

Joann P. Sanders

Martha A. Saunders, Editor

Jeanette C. Bernhardt, Associate Editor

Joanne R. Artz, Assistant Editor

Kenneth J. Bindas, Assistant Editor

The purpose of this publication is to provide encouragement for faculty
research and to make available results of such activity. The Review, published
annually, accepts original scholarly work. West Georgia College assumes no
responsibility for contributor's views. The style guide is MLA Handbook,
Second Edition. Although the Review is primarily a medium for the faculty of
West Georgia College, other sources are invited.

The abstracts of all master's theses and educational specialists written at i
West Georgia College are included as they are awarded.

ANTI-MELODRAMATIC REALISM AND

NARRATIVE AMBIGUITY IN PETER WEIR'S

PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK

by Glenn D. Novak* andMyles P. Breen*

The traditional melodramatic form has impressed itself so deeply upon the
modem popular film that producers and directors have generally been less than
eager to explore divergent narrative modes. In spite of the fact that melodrama
has enjoyed a rather negative reputation throughout the years, the viewing
tastes of film audiences around the world, relying heavily upon the Hollywood
export from D.W. Griffith to George Lucas, have tended to dictate the use of
screenplays full of conventional melodramatic devices. From Birth of a Nation
to Star Wars we observe these devices as not only existing but literally
governing the dramatic action of the film. The characteristics of the "well-
made" play, as promoted and practiced by Eugene Scribe in the middle of the
nineteenth century, are evident in varying degrees in the vast majority of com-
mercially-successful American entertainment films.

The Melodramatic Form: Traditional American Film

In terms of dramaturgy, melodrama is defined as "a play characterized by
extravagant theatricality, subordination of characterization to plot, and pre-
dominance of physical action" ("Melodrama"). One of the most basic and
important elements of the well-made play (and, particularly, of melodrama) is
the clear exposition of situation and character identity. We are informed during
the course of the typical film through dialogue, narration, setting, costume,
flashback, or a combination of these ingredients that we are observing action
among certain delineated characters operating within a given set of circum-
stances in a particular locale. The level of sophistication of the script and the
degree of technical virtuosity within the film become inconsequential consid-
erations within this context. The Great Train Robbery, Citizen Kane, and Dirty
Harry have this much, if little else, in common. Each receives a clear exposition
of a situation and characters to serve the viewer as he travels along the varied
routes of story progression. The viewer never is confused as to where he is, what
is happening, or to whom.

The melodramatic underpinning of the typical American film is further
manifested by its reliance upon cause-effect relationships and a logical pro-
gression of complications. This adherence to a rising plane of action has
become de rigeur and is an element which permeates both the large and small
viewing screens. The obstacles which confront Charles Foster Kane in his

* Assistant Professor of Mass Communication, West Georgia College

* Professor of Communications, Charles Sturt University

1

pursuit of power and fame become increasingly formidable in strength or in
moment in a manner not unlike the obstacles which might confront lesser
mortals like James Bond or Philip Marlowe.

In the melodrama, the characters do not develop, and good and evil
personified do battle in a manner as codified as the morality play. The
traditional narrative film, of course, has succeeded in camouflaging its ancestry
in this respect by a measured and subtle mixing of both good and bad in its
central characters. Thus, in a film like Bonnie and Clyde, we realize that the
central characters, though killers and outlaws, are capable of some concession-
ary kindness; even in the bad there is some good. Nonetheless, the villains in
the film melodrama, however likable, are punished in the end. The heroes,
frequently at some expense to their own characters or ideals, are triumphant.
The film-going public is not happy with a ending where there are no winners,
only losers. The villains, whether as protagonists or antagonists, as Butch
Cassidy or as Darth Vader, must be punished. Melodrama gives the viewer not
the real world, of course, but the world in which he would like to live.

The melodramatic film is not necessarily violent, although it is in the realm
of violence that a crucial component of melodrama emerges: catharsis. Al-
though there are many theories involving the relationship between film and
catharsis, some employing the term in quite contradictory contexts (Bell 74),
the most conventional interpretation of the term today relies on translations of
Chapter VI of Aristotle's Poetics and leads us into the realm of purgation or
purification for the audience. It is during the resolution of the film melodrama
that this process presumably takes place, allowing the viewer a sense of release
at seeing the conflict terminated, the problem solved, and the evil outdone by
the good. A master of heavy-handed film violence, Sam Peckinpah has come
to typify the director who, with such films as Straw Dogs and The Wild Bunch,
believes almost obsessively in the power of and need for catharsis.

Opposing Melodramatic Form: The Art Film

Certainly not all films adhere to the formula of film melodrama. There are
examples of films, both American and European, which resemble melodrama
very little if at all. The point is that, over the years since Hollywood has
dominated the world motion picture industry, the vast majority of commer-
cially-successful entertainment films have embodied many if not all of the
traditional trappings long associated with melodrama. Although released and
billed under different guises westerns, adventure, science-fiction, suspense
an analysis of the dramatic action, characters, and resolution will generally
reveal these films to be variations and specializations of a basic melodramatic
mode.

Opposing this traditional melodramatic mode has been the art cinema: film
emanating from, though not exclusively limited to, European film makers

2

willing to experiment with alternative narrative forms and unusual production
techniques. Freed from the burdens of regaining costly studio investments
through a commercially-oriented production and distribution system that is as
old as Hollywood itself, these foreign producers, writers, and directors have
been able for several decades to make the kinds of films that are important or
interesting to them, often regardless of conventional estimates of profit poten-
tial. While art films may or may not make a profit, it is often more important
to the film maker that they meet with critical acclaim.

It is the art film which represents the antithesis of the conventional
melodrama. The nature of the narrative in the art film takes on existential
dimensions that provide the viewer with a shifting reference point from which
he views the action. Self has explained this aspect:

The classical narrative film functions through the authority of a
central point-of-view character, but the art film obscures the locus
of narrative voice. It is like a detective story in which there is no
detective, no surrogate to solve the mystery presented to the
viewer's curiosity. (75)

To extend this analogy back to the realm of a specific film, the viewer is no
longer permitted to "tag along" with the reporter in Citizen Kane, interviewing
Mr. Bernstein, Jed Leland, and Susan Alexander. Rather, the viewer alone must
be confronted with the mystery of Rosebud, perhaps meeting a vast myriad of
characters in the way he crosses paths with Fellini's friends and associates in
8j- , receiving what may be important, extraneous, or misleading information
along the way, and never knowing into which of the three categories it may fall.

A deliberate distortion of the time frame, as seen in Resnais' Last Year at
Marienhad, is another aspect of the art film, and one which completely rejects
all vestiges of melodramatic propriety. Self points out that "temporal continuity
no longer oversees the straight-forward drive of the cause-effect chain but is
subordinated to the perplexing aberrations of character psychology" (75). To
attempt to understand an event in the art film via analysis of cause-effect
relationships is often a futile effort; what the conditioned viewer has learned to
expect in this regard from his associations with the classical narrative film must
be discarded in favor of psychological interpretations.

Of all the differences between the art film and melodrama, perhaps the most
vivid and important is the way each presents resolution. The melodrama, and
the typical American film in general, makes the comfortable if outlandish
presupposition that for every problem there exists a solution, for every
apparently inexplicable situation there exists an explanation, for every mystery
there exists a revelation of facts. When the film has ended we are left with the
distinct impression that a conclusion has been reached, that some kind of point

has been made. The value or concreteness of the point varies considerably
between such extremes as Meet John Doe and Dr. Strangelove; nevertheless,
the films come to an end, the problems that arose have been dealt with, and the
audience has perceived that, once again, a conclusion, however contrived or
pessimistic, has been drawn from all the preceding comphcations.

The art film disdains such a simplistic attempt at resolution, placing the
viewer in the role of "game-player for whom meaning is not given but half
perceived and half created" (Self 77). The art film is at home in a world full of
cryptograms, comfortable with unmotivated complications and problems
without solutions. The typical American film-goer is not quite sure what to
make of the concluding mime sequence in Antonioni's Blow-up. The denoue-
ment in Hiroshima Mon Amour refuses to tie up the loose ends created during
the earlier parts of the film. The question of what actually becomes of the young
Antoine in Truffaut's The 400 Blows, ending as it does on the freeze frame
close-up of the boy 's face as he reaches the sea, is a question without an answer,
not altogether satisfactory to an audience conditioned by melodramatic for-
mula to receive answers. It is sl French Connection without the warehouse raid,
an Agatha Christie mystery sans Hercule Poirot's final explication of the crime
details and murderer's identity.

Ambiguity in the Narrative Form: Picnic at Hanging Rock

Occasionally a film will emerge which appears to manifest qualities of both
the typical melodramatic thriller and the art film. Subjected to closer scrutiny,
however, such a film refuses to be categorized clearly as either. The 1975 film
by Australian director Peter Weir, Picnic at Hanging Rock, is a case in point.

Unlike Weir's first major film, the black comedy The Cars that Ate Paris
( 1 974), which received considerable critical acclaim but failed at the box office
(Pike and Cooper 354), Picnic at Hanging Rock became one of the most
financially successful of the crop of Australian feature films of the '70's. In
Adelaide, a city which, through its biennial Festival of Arts, lays claim to being
the cultural capital of Australia, Picnic outgrossed the much-publicized Acad-
emy-award nominees of the period. Godfather II and Chinatown (Page 4). Shot
on a budget of only $480,000, Weir's film grossed over $2 milUon worldwide
during its first two years of release, and ranks near the top of the all-time list
of Australian films (Burstall 48). In the United States, the film was moderately
successful when distributed in two or three major cities, grossing a half million
dollars in a thirteen week period, before being relegated to distribution on the
16mm circuit (Variety).

Unlike other commercially successful films from Australia such as Tim
Burstall's /4/v/n Purple (1973) and Bruce Beresford's The Adventures of Barry
McKenzie (1972), Picnic relies neither on sex nor comedy for its appeal.

Neither does it derive from a tradition of documentary realism such as Donald
Crombie's Caddie (1976) or Ken Hannam's Sunday Too Far Away (1975),
other highly successful Australian films. Even Weir's later films seem to bear
little resemblance in terms of style or structure to Picnic at Hanging Rock. The
Last Wave (1977), while possessing an interest in Aboriginal culture and
supernatural occurrences, relies heavily upon special effects and dream se-
quences to advance the plot. His Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living
Dangerously (19S3), both deserving of the high praise they received, incorpo-
rate traditional narrative methodologies to tell action stories firmly rooted in
historical fact. Picnic at Hanging Rock neither derives from Weir's earlier
work nor foreshadows his immense film successes to follow.

The appeal of Picnic at Hanging Rock rests with its ability to apparently tell
a story that possesses melodramatic potential without adhering to the tradi-
tional narrative mode associated with melodrama. The audience becomes
engulfed in a world and a situation that seem to be ideally suited to the
application of the basic principles of melodrama clear exposition of situation
and character, a rising plane of action, complications that advance the plot and
lead to a climax but the film clearly and steadfastly refuses to make sense for
us of its vast complexity of detail, refuses to allow us any penetrating
understanding of its central characters or their motivations. In its paucity of
morality-directed clues and in its failure to adhere to a cathartic resolution to
its central question. Picnic at Hanging Rock becomes an enigma rooted in
ambiguity. And ambiguity, not unfamiliar to the art film audience, is quite
incompatible with traditional melodrama.

An Unsolved Mystery

Picnic at Hanging Rock tells the story of a group of schoolgirls at Appleyard
College, an elite finishing school for girls in a rural area of Victoria. It is St.
Valentine's Day in 1900, and the girls are to spend the day on a field trip to
Hanging Rock, a sacred Aboriginal ground formed by a volcanic eruption
centuries ago, and located on the edge of the Australian bush. Accompanied on
their trip by Mile, de Poitiers (Helen Morse), the French teacher, and Miss
McCraw (Vivean Gray), the mathematics teacher, the girls are driven in the
school coach the several miles distance to the strange and awesome monolith
that is Hanging Rock.

During the course of the picnic, four girls ask permission from Mile, de
Poitiers to do a bit of exploring around the rock, despite stem warning that
morning from the principal, Mrs. Appleyard (Rachel Roberts). Permission is
granted, and the four girls leave the group near the base of the rock, where their
classmates are taking their perfunctory naps and their chaperones are engaged
in reading. The leader of the group appears to be Miranda (Anne Lambert), a
delicate, fair-haired beauty much admired by her peers and teachers. Her three

friends are Marion (Jane Vallis), the intellectual of the group; Irma (Karen
Robson), and Edith (Christine Schuler), the youngest of the adventurers. It is
Edith who turns back after seeing her friends venturing dangerously behind a
craggy rock. Reaching her classmates and chaperones in a state of hysteria,
Edith serves only as an incoherent reminder that the other three girls are still
high upon the Rock. A search party is formed, and Irma is found a week later,
a victim of amnesia. The other two girls are never found. Miss McCraw, who
also ascended the Rock in search of the girls at some point during the day's
event, is also lost forever. Although explanations are earnestly sought, little
evidence is gathered, and the mystery of what happened on Hanging Rock on
Valentine's Day 1900 is never resolved. The audience, like the girls' class-
mates resuming their studies in school, or like the local police, frantic for a
solution, is left frustrated and forced to speculate. Weir raises many questions;
he offers no answers. And those clues that do emerge and which might point
toward even a tentative explanation seem, in the end, to trigger only more
unanswerable questions.

Realism and Verisimilitude

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a film wherein verisimilitude is high, despite what
for the American audience is admittedly an exotic setting. One reviewer has
described the Rock as a "monolith that dominates all other images on the screen
in precisely the same way it looms above objects in its surrounding country-
side it is the focal point for the world around it, the measure for everyone and
everything in view" (Roginski 22). The bush is shown to be both an idyllic and
a hostile natural environment against which the girls cast a poignantly delicate
shadow, intruders from a world of order and civilization that somehow react
kinetically to the hidden energies of unmolested nature. Although the environ-
ment is perhaps alien to American and European audiences, it represents a
primeval view of the bush to which many Australians can emotionally relate.

Picnic is a realistic film with realistic characters. As such it is difficult to read
any allegorical interpretations into the character's actions, or to deduce any
meaningful generalizations from their predicaments. Unlike Bergman's Sev-
enth Seal or Antonioni's Red Desert, Picnic presents us with characters that
neither represent an idea nor serve to embody a dialectical principle. The
characters become real people about whom the audience is encouraged to care.
Weir neither moralizes nor allegorizes.

It is precisely this under ;ing of and empathy for the characters in the
film which lay the founda' for the audience's perceptual disorientation
midway through the film. Up iC point where the girls disappear on the Rock,
the viewer has been skillfully \ided down a narrative pathway reminiscent of
conventional melodrama. M Appleyard takes on the dimensions of the
villainess early in the film in a ^cene wherein she keeps one of the girls, Sara

(Margaret Nelson), an orphan attending the school through the often delinquent
support of an unseen guardian, from attending the picnic with her friends
because of tardiness. Sara, in turn, with her dark eyes and brooding expression,
radiates a sense of resentment that seems to foreshadow revenge. Mile, de
Poitiers, all grace and charm, seems to exude the qualities of patience and
kindness that might typify the conventional melodramatic heroine. The Hon.
Michael Fitzhubert (Dominic Guard), a young Englishman visiting his aunt
and uncle in Victoria, who also happens to be on a holiday outing at Hanging
Rock on the day the girls disappear, seems to the unsuspecting viewer to
possess the attributes of the hero. Blonde, intelligent, well-educated and well-
mannered, Michael must be the one to solve the mystery and to reunite the girls
with their schoolmates.

Director Weir, however, has other things in store for his viewers. If we have
managed to delude ourselves into thinking this tale would unfold and resolve
itself in line with typical melodramatic conventions, the more fools we. The
first forty minutes of the film do not resemble that which the educated film-goer
knows as "art cinema." That lack of resemblance, however, does not mean that
the viewer should expect a traditional mystery drama. There is a middle ground,
an area between realism and imagination, a sort of narrative Twilight Zone.
And it is this area which Weir and his cinematographer, Russell Boyd, have so
successfully and memorably exploited.'

Illusory Detail

Picnic at Hanging Rock eschews melodrama from several standpoints.
Based on a 1967 novel by Australian writer Joan Lindsay, the film has been
called "supernatural" by some critics (Burstall 54; Houston 149), a horror film
by another (Roginski 25). Others saw science fiction elements present in the
depiction of the Rock as another time zone (Dawson). Still others speculated
as to the film's actual historical basis (Wells 313), a concern sparked by the
film's opening subtitles claiming the story was based on an actual, if undocu-
mented, event. Regardless of its classification within a genre. Picnic must
clearly be regarded as the antithesis of conventional melodrama.

In the area of detail, we see a considerable difference. Whereas the film
melodrama tends to introduce detail as a means of advancing, complicating, or
defining the plot of the film, Weir interjects into his microcosm of the
Australian bush a plethora of detail, much of which has very little to do with the
dramatic structure of his film. The opening sequence of Picnic, for example,
thrusts the viewer into a kaleidoscopic inspection of ornate and delicate
Valentine's Day cards, prominently displayed in the girls' rooms. The viewer
is disposed to feel that perhaps these cards will somehow prove to be important
later in the film, providing clues to the motivations or identities of suspected
molesters. But the cards provide no such clues at all, being merely the trappings

of young girls' romantic dreams. The characters of the college gardener, Mr.
Whitehead, and Tom, the handyman, are introduced but briefly developed. Can
we assume that they may later prove to be important to the unravelling of the
mystery, much as a maid or butler, characters scarcely noticed in an Agatha
Christie story, emerge as powerful forces in the resolution? They, like the
valentines, and like the minor events during the coach ride through a nearby
town enroute to Hanging Rock, are details to which we never return. To impart
meaning to them in terms of plot advancement or resolution is to fall into the
trap which the traditional melodrama has so earnestly been setting for decades.
Waldo Lydecker's gift to Laura in the classic American detective film, Laura,
is a minor detail that provides an important clue to the entire mystery: the curio
cabinet can, and does, contain a gun. The detail of the jeweled stickpin worn
by the fair-haired killer in Hitchcock's Frenzy becomes the potential shred of
evidence that might link him to his most recent victim. And in Peckinpah's
Straw Dogs the interesting but apparently inconsequential gift of the bear trap
takes on crucial dimensions late in the film as Dustin Hoffman employs it in
self-defense. The details are introduced without apparent relation to the story
line; later, we find them to be important. In Picnic at Hanging Rock, however,
we find them to be as we often find detail in real life to be: interesting, appealing,
but often without consequence.

Unfathomable Characters

The characters in Picnic at Hanging Rock, perceived initially perhaps as
shallow and predictable, gradually begin to emerge as deep and unfathomable
as they interact with one another and with the mystery which touches them all.
Here are people who defy easy categorization as good or evil, competent or
reckless, guilty or accusatory. Mrs. Appleyard's overriding concern for the
survival of her school becomes justified in the wake of its apparent disintegra-
tion. Mile, de Poitiers manifests a weak and vulnerable side as she returns to the
college with the news of the disappearances. Michael rises to the occasion as
he desperately searches for the girls but returns from the Rock both physically
and spiritually broken. He seems unable to comprehend his own impotence and
less able to cope with the tragedy than he had been prior to his rescue attempt.
Our initial expectations of these characters have not been met.

Of all the characters in Picnic, it is perhaps the character of Albert (John
Jarratt), the young coachman for Michael Fitzhubert's aunt and uncle, who is
the most difficult to deal with from a traditional melodramatic standpoint. Our
first encounter with him is under a shade tree beneath the vast expanses of
Hanging Rock. He is arrogantly drinking from a bottle of beer, tempting his
young companion, Michael. When they see the four girls in the distance,
walking on stones to cross a shallow pond, Albert makes a lewd remark about
one of the prettier ones, but is scolded by his upper-class friend. The viewer is

8

apt to make a judgment about the lad from this scene. Within a purely
melodramatic context, this boy would represent the repugnant. If anyone were
to be placed under suspicion later in the story, he would rank high on the list.
Yet, his character is complex and ambiguous. While his presence in the film
does advance the plot, it advances it in a direction that serves only to perpetuate
the mystery and negate our original suspicions. Later, it is Albert who is
responsible for finding the girl, Irma, barely alive in a crevasse in the Rock, and
for bringing her back down for medical treatment.

Shifting Emphasis

A traditional melodramatic structure would approach the notion of a
mystery with a degree of consistency lacking in Picnic at Hanging Rock. The
perspective would remain constant: despite an occasional subplot (the wrong
person is arrested and struggles to vindicate himself) or divergence into
irrelevant romantic escapades (the detective is sidetracked by a beautiful
woman in league with the criminal), the focus of concern remains on the
solution of the mystery. It is this continuing gathering of evidence, despite
difficult odds, offering a final resolution to the puzzle, that provides the impetus
for the entire story.

Peter Weir has rejected this approach in his film. In an interview in the
Spring of 1976, he stated:

What I attempted, somewhere towards the middle of the film, was
gently to shift emphasis off the mystery element which had been
building in the first half and to develop the oppressive atmosphere
of something which has no solution: to bring out a tension and
claustrophobia in the locations and the relationships. We worked
very hard at creating an hallucinatory, mesmeric rhythm, so that
you lost awareness of the facts, you stopped adding things up, and
got into this enclosed atmosphere. I did everything in my power to
hypnotize the audience away from the possibility of solutions.
(Dawson)

It is perhaps in this respect more than in any other that the film clearly sheds
any vestiges of quasi-melodramatic form. A mystery without a solution is, for
the viewer accustomed to solutions, however contrived, a rather unpleasant
experience. Even more unpleasant is a mystery without sufficient clues for the
viewer to even imaginatively speculate as to solutions. Completely intolerable
to these audiences, however, is a mystery which gradually abandons even a
pretense of concern for a plausible outcome. In Weir's shift of emphasis away
from the puzzle and away from the conundrum of solving it, and toward the
effects of the event upon the remaining characters, he has created a narrative
schism than neither melodramatic convention nor art film theory can ade-
quately bridge.

9

The audience cannot be much faulted for its lingering concern about the
girls' disappearance. But after one last extensive search of the Rock by police,
villagers, and dogs, no further attempts are made. The effects of the event linger
on and dominate the world of both the Fitzhubert group and Appleyard College.
Sara's morbid preoccupation with Miranda, now presumed to be dead, in-
creases until it dominates the young girl's every thought. Michael displaces his
unrequited love for Miranda, only a vision in his mind, upon her close friend,
the rescued Irma, but she proves an unsatisfactory substitute for an ideal.
Enrollments dwindle at the college as parents respond to the incident by
withdrawing their daughters, forcing Mrs. Appleyard to become reclusive and
alcoholic. She, in turn, seeks vengeance upon Sara, whose guardian is behind
on tuition payments for the girl, by announcing to her that she will be returned
to the orphanage from which she came. The next morning the gardener finds
Sara dead in the greenhouse, a victim of a fall from the heights of the college
building. The effects of the incident at Hanging Rock, an event which, late in
the film, seems to have happened a long time ago, have touched the lives of the
principal characters in different and somehow inexplicable ways.

Certainly one of the most unusual post-disappearance scenes in the film
occurs when Irma, fully recuperated from her traumatic experience on the Rock
and about to depart the school to join her parents in Europe, bids farewell to her
classmates. The amorphous quality of the film's narrative structure and its
willingness to relate but not explain is profoundly evident as we see Irma enter
the school's "Temple of Gymnastics," where her classmates are sullenly
exercising. Because Weir has chosen not to share with the audience any of the
girls' personal conversations or private speculations regarding the tragedy, we
are totally unaware of their feelings toward the one survivor. Our past
associations with melodramatic conventions, as typified by the predictable
expressions of relief expressed by a welcoming group of relatives after a daring
escape or rescue effort, have put us in a frame of reference which is shattered
by the girls' reactions. The classmates greet her with accusatory stares of
silence and hatred, then descend on her with unmerciful violence. While the
gym teacher stands by observing impartially. Mile, de Poitiers alone seems to
save the girl from destruction. The ambiguity of motive in this scene represents
a blatant break with traditional melodramatic forms. Why are the girls not
happy to see her? What is the terrible nature of their frustrations that dictate
such collective antagonism? The audience is again left to speculate, presented
with a powerful event but no logical reason for it.

Themes Relevant and Irrelevant

There are multiple layers of meaning to many of the events and encounters
in Picnic at Hanging Rock. Because the actual plot is really quite simple and
straightforward, the genuine fascination of the film lies in its nuances and

10

overtones as various themes are explored, implied, developed, or discarded.

Certainly the film has ideological implications running in concentric circles
around the main events. Set in 1900 at an elite private school for girls, the film
introduces us to characters from both the privileged and working classes, and
repeatedly contrasts their values and habits. The wealthy live a life of 'eisure
and grace, their every whim immediately tended to by a servant. Even the
primitive austerity of Hanging Rock does not shatter this important class
distinction: gloves are worn, tea is served, propriety is observed. The overtones
of the class struggle are implicit for the audience who knows from the hindsight
of ninety years that this way of life had to perish. Michael and Albert make an
earnest attempt to bridge the gap and become friends as they are drawn into the
mystery of the Rock; the gulf is impossibly wide, however, and the rich boy and
poor boy revert finally to the accepted ways of their respective social strata.

The human side of the policeman in charge of the investigation is depicted.
The townspeople are angry at the local constabulary when the mystery remains
unsolved, and kick up a din outside the policeman's house while his wife,
obviously trying but unable to understand the situation, presents him his
supper. In this dilemma, there are no sides to be taken.

There is standard dramatic irony in the film. Toward the end we learn, almost
in passing, that Albert is the brother that Sara has talked about in her
conversations at the college. In an almost Dickensian scenario, the two have
been living near each other, one the life of the privileged, the other as a servant,
but had never met. Sara was the only girl kept from going on the picnic. Her
apparent suicide at the film's end is an ironic comment upon her inability to
cope with the idea of being excluded from the "exclusive" Appleyard College,
an appropriate name for what one critic has aptly observed to be "a hot-house
Eden," whose "blossoms would not survive in natural settings" (Roginski 22).

An interesting undercurrent of mysticism runs through the film, offering
perhaps some directions toward interpretation. Shortly after arriving at
Hanging Rock, the school chaperones and driver notice that their watches have
stopped, certainly not a novel device for informing the audience of a break in
temporal reality. Later, as the girls are ascending the Rock, Miranda informs
us by means of a voice-over that "what we see and what we seem are but a
dream; a dream within a dream." While looking down on the people far below,
another girl, Marion, remarks cryptically that "a surprising number of human
beings are without purpose, though it is probable that they are performing some
function unknown to themselves." Shortly before the girls disappear, we hear
sounds of a search party, suggesting to some that the film implies a "time warp"
(Pike and Cooper 367). When the three girls finally do vanish, before the eyes
of the terrified Edith, they do so in a majestic slow-motion sequence that takes

11

them gradually into a narrow crevasse from which they do not reappear. Edith
is later unable to describe the event, and when Irma is found she tells nothing
of her experience. The audience is plagued by the unanswered question of
whether she really cannot remember or simply does not wish to relate to the
world what she has experienced.

The mystical element is restored near the end of the film when Albert relates
a dream to Michael. He dreamed about his long-lost sister during the last night
of her life, and it was a dream that foreshadowed depression and suicide. The
audience is left to make of this what it will.

The intimations of eroticism in Picnic at Hanging Rock represent yet
another recurrent theme that defies exegesis. There is a suggestion of an
incipient amatory relationship between Sara and Miranda as the film opens,
their friendship ingrown and reinforced by a social environment that precludes
external contact. One critic has stated that "the ambiguity of the girls'
relationship is a touchstone for the emotional bonding of the inhabitants of
Appleyard" (Roginski 22); the relevance of this relationship to the central
mystery of the film, however, is never made clear.

Hanging Rock itself becomes a symbol of human sexuality, its peaks
resembling giant phalluses, its hidden depths suggesting an instinctual world
of primitive sensuality. Although enroute to the Rock Miss McCraw grants
permission for the girls to remove their gloves, it is not until the actual ascent
of the Rock that the adventurous foursome begin to awake to the powers of the
primordial surroundings. Pausing to rest on a barren plateau high above the rest
of the world, Miranda slowly removes her shoes and stockings in a scene that
strongly suggests a woman not only entranced but eager to surrender. To what
we never learn.

This theme of ambiguous sexual abandon reaches almost excruciating
proportions soon thereafter when, in a scene between Edith and Mile, de
Poitiers, we learn that the hysterical girl, descending the Rock, had glimpsed
Miss McCraw on the way up, apparently searching for the tardy girls. Miss
McCraw, Edith explains amidst some embarrassment, was in her bloomers.

There is an evident preoccupation among the college staff regarding the
possibility of sexual molestation to the girls. The examining physician,
perplexed at the general lack of physical harm done to either Edith or Irma, is
quick to reassure Mrs. Appleyard that both girls are "quite intact." Once again,
an absence of clues of even an intelligent suspicion is the dominant residue
of the entire mystery.

12

Results of Ambiguity

To an American audience. Picnic at Hanging Rock was an art film, destined
to play at offbeat cinemas in large metropolitan areas before circulating among
college cine clubs, various public television stations, and later, specialized
cable networks.- The film's ambiguity, evasiveness, and apparent disinterest in
solving the central mystery clearly place it outside the cinematic mainstream.
American audiences are puzzled by films which deviate from the traditional
narrative style and which refuse to adhere to prescribed formulas associated
with a genre. Picnic resembles a suspense film without a cure for its generated
anxiety, a mystery without a criminal or even an authenticated crime, a thriller
without any positive focus on the thrill. Director Weir has commented upon the
notion of what we may call, for lack of a better term, "antimelodramatic
realism":

My only worry was whether an audience would accept such an
outrageous idea. Personally, I always found it the most satisfying
and fascinating aspect of the film. I usually find endings disap-
pointing: they're totally unnatural. You are creating life on the
screen, and life doesn't have endings. It's always moving on to
something else and there are always unexplained elements. . . .
There are, after all, things within our own minds about which we
know far less than about disappearances at Hanging Rock. (Dawson)

Like those things in our minds, the disappearances at Hanging Rock linger
with the audience long after the film has ended, or perhaps more accurately, has
not ended.

NOTES

'In order to lend the film an ethereal look, Boyd shot all of the footage with a net over the lens, dyed
yellow. See "The 'New Vintage' Cinematographers of Australia Speak Out," in American
Cinematographer 51 (Septemher 1976): 1038.

^The film's most recent television screening on a non-premium service was on the Arts &
Entertainment cable network in March of 1988. The unedited videotape version of the film has
recently been withdrawn from distribution by Vestron Video.

WORKS CITED

Bell, Philip. "Some Problems in the Interdisciplinary Study of Cinema the Case of 'Cartharsis.'"
The Australian Journal of Screen Theory 2 (1977): 62-76.

Burstall, Tim. "Triumph and Disaster for Australian Films." The Bulletin (September 24, 1977):
48-54.

Dawson, Jan. "Picnic Under Capricorn." Sight and Sound 45.2 (1976): 83.

Houston, Penelope, and Richard Roud. "Cannes 76." Sight and Sound 453 (1976): 148-50+.

"Melodrama." Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. 1 98 1 ed.

13

Page, David. "The Australian Film Industry." Australia Now 6 (1976): 4-6.

Pike, Andrew, and Ross Cooper. Australian Film 1900-1977. Melbourne: Oxford University
Press, 1980.

Roginski, Ed. "Picnic at Hanging Rock." Film Quarterly 32.4 (1979): 22-26.

Self, Robert. "Systems of Ambiguity in the Art Cinema." Film Criticism 4 (1979): 74-80.

Vanm' (August 22, 1979): 9.

Wells, Jeffrey. "Picnic at Hanging Rock." Films in Review 30 (1979): 312-313.

14

CRYIN' THE JAZZY BLUES AND LIVIN' BLUE JAZZ:

ANALYZING THE BLUES AND JAZZ POETRY OF

LANGSTON HUGHES

by Patricia E. Bonner*

Langston Hughes' harmonious fusion of poetry and music produced an
exciting and provocative new poetic style and art form that sang the blues and
crackled with the fire of jazz. Hughes, who began a tradition which incorpo-
rated blues and jazz into poetry, created new styles and techniques for old
themes and existing structures. He translated the sweet melancholy spirit of the
blues and the spirited improvisation of jazz into poetry. Many analyses of
Hughes' blues and jazz poetry do not examine this poetry with an amalgama-
tion of cultural, musical, and literary elements. This paper will examine the
breadth of Hughes' task in merging not just blues and jazz music, but the
African-American experience with written poetry.

Firmly embedded in the reality of black life in America, James Mercer
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was one of the most prolific, influential, and
perhaps best known of modem African- American writers. In his early volumes
of poetry, Hughes clearly established his connection with black music and
exposed his life-long triangular love affair with black life, black music, and
poetic ar^Ebony magazine, in its May, 1982, issue recognized the effects of
Hughes' involvement:

He was the poet of the people, of black people. He had the colors,
curses, dreams, and tribulations of black people in his blood, and
he talked their talk, rhymed their rhythms and sang their blues in
a language that spoke to all people of all ages. He had known rivers,
ditches, dives; had known hustlers, winos, dreamers. . . .

Hughes was a poet for all people, lettered and unlettered, urban and rural,
young and old. This deep social awareness remained with him throughout his
career and was in part responsible for the depth and longevity of his blues and
jazz poetry.

Although blues and jazz music are basic roots of Hughes' "musico poetry,"
an examination of each will be necessarily brief. Primarily, this is a study of the
poetry and not the music, which has been studied in depth many times by
musicologists. The focus on blues and jazz here will be thorough enough,
however, to provide the essential background necessary to an understanding of
the music.

In Langston Hughes and the Blues, Stephen Tracy notes that the term

*Assistant Professor of English, West Georgia College

15

"blues" refers to a number of separate entities an emotion, a technique, a
musical form, and a song lyric (59). A fit or the "blue devils," from which the
term "the blues" derives, refers to a mood of despondency which anyone can
experience. Under this definition, the blues can refer to a range of separate
physical and emotional hardships that cause a mood characterized by a
temporary emotional low that can be displaced by a solution to the specific
problem (Tracy 59). However, Tracy makes a distinction between blues
emotion, black blues, and living the blues:

... for African- Americans, as Franklin Rosemont pointed out, the
blues [is] "a way of life," differentiated from the generic emotion
because of the peculiar circumstances of African- American exis-
tence in the United States. A particular misery and sadness, a
particular blues, unites African-Americans whose common heri-
tage in Africa, slavery, and a theoretical freedom often pro-
vides a bond. . . . That bond implies neither an African-American
singlemindedness of attitude nor purpose in ways of dealing with
the oppressive system; rather, it implies a shared need to deal with
the tension created by America's theoretical democracy in conflict
with a systematic network of racist attitudes that were. . .often
granted the authority of law. (59-60)

The blues is the black rumble of discontent. It is a music about black life and
the sheer gut capacity to survive in an extreme situation of oppression. The
blues invites black people to embrace the reality and truth of black experience
and to express "the laments of Negroes over hard luck, 'careless' or unrequieted
love, broken family life, or general dissatisfaction with a cold and trouble-filled
world" (Cone 5 ). As a form of expression, the blues is certainly much more than
a statement of personal misery. Richard Wright explains the dual nature of the
blues: "Many knew that their hope was hopeless, and it was out of this that the
blues was bom, the apex of sensual despair. A strange and emotional joy is
found in contemplating the blackest aspects of life" (Gayle 214). For as sad as
the blues may be, there is sometimes something humorous about them even
if it's the kind of humor that "laughs to keep from crying." Moreover, at its base,
the blues song is a sort of exalted or transmuted expression of criticism or
complaint, the creation or singing of which serves as a balm or antidote. A
singer in a Louisiana prison declared: "Whenever you sing the blues just right,

why you feel like a million, when you may not have a dime That's the best

part of my life, is the blues" (Courlander 124).

Another aspect of the blues is its lyrics. Often though not always, the blues
has a three-line stanza. There is an original statement which is repeated,
possibly with a slight word change or an added expletive, followed by another
statement that supplements or rounds out the first. A blues song may consist of

16

a series of stanzas which embellish or develop (or repeat) the theme put forward
in the first stanza. They offer more details of the story or reflect upon it, relying
upon contrasting metaphors and images:

Woke up this morning feeling sad and blue,
Woke up this morning feeling so sad and blue.
Didn't have nobody to tell my troubles to.

I've got the blues, but I'm too dam mean to cry,
I've got the blues, but I'm too dam mean to cry.
Before I'd cry I'd rather lay down and die.

An element of rhyming will appear in many blues songs. Sometimes the
rhyme is determined by local speech dialect and is not readily apparent when
written. In this case, the rhyme appeals to the ear, though not the eye. For
example, "Radio" may be rhymed with "more" ("mo"'), and "line" with
"Cryin".

Most present day blues analyses classify blues into three categories: country
or rural blues, city or "classic" blues, and urban blues. The city blues is the basis
of Hughes' blues poetry. City blues was sung mainly by women in the 1920s
and 30s to the accompaniment of a piano or orchestra. Langston Hughes heard
many of the city blues singers, and their musical blues experience found its way
into his poetry.

The other type of music examined is jazz. No common definition of jazz has
been reached; it resists dictionary definition. In Shadow and Act by Ralph
Ellison, jazz is seen as the most eloquent expression of idea-emotions through
the technical mastery of instmments (189). Though a nebulous term to define,
most musicologists and scholars agree that jazz is a style of music marked by
improvisation, inspired by the uplift of intensely rhythmic playing and by an
individual approach to instmmental and vocal tone and to rhythmic articulation
(Ulanov 10). Its style is also generally characterized by attempts at creative im-
provisation on a given theme (melodic or harmonic), over a foundation of
complex, steadily flowing rhythm (melodic or percussive) and harmonies. Jazz
improvisation consists almost entirely of creating new melodic pattems and
variations to fit the given harmonic foundation or theme that usually has a
melody of its own (Ostransky 45-49).

Jazz's most striking feature is its exotic sound, produced not only by the
kinds of instmments used in the jazz orchestra, but also from the manner in
which these instmments are played. Little attention is paid to "correct"
intonation, for example, or to obtaining exact pitches because this would
interfere with the freedom inherent in jazz.

Of paramount importance to Hughes' blues and jazz poetry is the examina-

17

tion of blues and jazz as musical parallels of the African- American experience.
How blues and jazz merged into poetry are part of a full, well-rounded
statement on African- American literature and black music as important ele-
ments of black life in America. Black life was the blues, and its bittersweet joy
was jazz. Hughes' blues and jazz poetry would be the mirror in which the mass
of black people could find their song, their poetry, their experiences and their
spirit.

Cryin' the Jazzy Blues: Analyzing Hughes' Early Blues Poetry Blues
Experience

The blues experience in Hughes' blues poems becomes a metaphor for many
experiences of the masses of poor black people all over America. In his blues
poems, however, the setting will usually be urban America, frequently Harlem,
New York, during the 1920s. The lives of all poor black people were not
characterized by the blues, yet the blues was a real and constant aspect of many
of their lives. Their experiences are dominated by a struggle to survive: piecing
together the landlord's rent, trying to find one of the menial jobs within
prescribed social limitations, trying to scrape up enough money for food,
clothes, and in some instances, liquor, and dealing with the humiliations that
the color of their skin evoked. Their experiences are also characterized by
personal struggles such as unrequieted love, domestic violence, sexual despair
and broken relationships. An excerpt from the poem "Badman" is an example:

I'm a bad bad man

Cause everybody tells me so.

I'm a bad, bad, man.

Everybody tells me so,

I take ma meanness and ma licker

Everywhere I go.

I beats ma wife an'
I beats ma side gal too.
Beats ma wife an'
Beats ma side gal too.
Don't know why I do it but
It keeps me from feelin' blue.

Another aspect of the blues experience is clearly seen in an excerpt from the
poem "Misery":

Play de blues for me.
Play de blues for me.
No other music
'LI ease ma misery.

Sing a soothin' song.

18

Said a soothin' song.

Cause de man I love's done

Done me wrong.

Can't you understand,
O, understand
A good woman's cry in'
For a no-good man?

The term blues experience also includes the good times gleaned from the
struggle with being black and poor and trying to survive in America: rent
parties, dancing, singing, partying in jook joints, clubs, or in a person's
livingroom, drinking liquor, eating barbecue and potato salad; in short, wallow-
ing in the occasional but softer seams of poverty. The blues experience, then,
becomes a conglomeration of authentic personal experiences. It becomes the
story about what it is to be a poor black man and woman in America. Blues
songs, the songs of these black people, become Hughes' poetic medium for
describing this blues experience.

Blues People

Blues people are those who share the blues experience. Though Hughes
wrote for and about all common black people, most of the characters in his blues
poems are the masses of poor Negroes who lived in Harlem, New York, during
the 1920s. It is important to note that most of these Negroes were transplants
from the South who went in search of a freer life and better job opportunities
in the North; yet, for most of the poor, black migrants, the North became a
tarnished dream tainted by the facts of a daily existence carved out for them.
Jobs were still wearisome and laborious. Though many of them had come out
of the fields, they now went inside steel factories, garment factories, automo-
bile factories, meat packing factories and their slaughter houses (Lewis 1 08-9).
They once again donned a maid's or butler's or chauffeur's uniform to cook,
clean, mop, and drive; consequently, one predominant means of expression for
these people was the blues.

Hughes' poetic characters sing of the weariness of hard living. Some want
to leave the cold, impoverished North for an idealistic life in the South. This is
seen in an excerpt from the poem "Po' Boy Blues":

When I was home de
Sunshine seemed like gold.
When I was home de
Sunshine seemed like gold.
Since I come up North de
Whole damn world's turned cold.

Some want to leave the brutality of the South for what they feel will be a

19

better life in the North. Still others are portrayed as having been tragically
damaged by a life governed by racism. Hughes' characters sing the blues for
many different reasons.

Though these blues people complain and frequently talk about dying, they
nonetheless live. One is led to believe that the reason they continue to survive
is because they sing the blues. The major character in one of Hughes' blues
poems entitled "Misery" calls the blues a "soothin' song." Singing them is
therapeutic; they ease the suffering and make miserable situations tolerable. It
is important to remember that the blues songs are not just sad songs; they have
a sweet, balmy melody and appeasing power. It is interesting to note that in
some blues poems, Hughes even includes elements of jazz. In these poems, one
can feel the paradoxical nature of the blues. Shouts and enthusiastic responses
will appear, offsetting the gloom and forlorn hope of the singers. An excerpt
from the poem "Blues Fantasy" is an excellent example of this mixture:

My man's done left me,
Chile, he's gone away.
My good man's left me,
Babe, he's gone away.
Now the cryin' blues
Haunts me night and day.

HEY! . . . HEY!

Weary,

Weary,

Trouble, pain,

Sun's gonna shine

Somewhere

Again.

I got a railroad ticket.

Pack muy trunk and ride.

Sing'em sister!

Got a railroad ticket,

Pack my trunk and ride.

And when I get on the train

I'll cast my blues aside.

Laughing,

Hey! . . . Hey!

Laugh a loud.

Hey! Hey!

Singing the blues saved emotional lives.

20

Blues Setting

Harlem, New York, the location of most of the settings in Hughes' early
blues poetry, turned black around 1916. These blues settings are primarily
cabarets, tenement houses, jook joints, stoops, and cafes. During the 1920s,
jazz and blues music, entertainment, and pleasure cabarets gave Harlem a
festive atmosphere and reputation, cloaking the rumble of the hard life lived by
its residents. Hughes heard the festivity and the melancholy. He looked beyond
the gay exteriors of Harlem into the lives of its people. As a result, the Harlem
in Hughes' blues poems laughs and cries. Harlem becomes a microcosm
representative of any poor, black community in America.

Blues Themes

Hughes' blues poems were written as thematic blues. That is, they maintain
a single coherent theme throughout the song or tell a story in the manner of
many recorded professional blues singers (Tracy 184). Hughes' blues themes
are drawn from the varied experiences and feelings of the black people in his
blues poetry which will be the same themes that appear in blues songs. Blues
themes in Hughes' poetry express gradations of pain, misery, remorse or
disappointment, varying from a high intensity to a dull, soothing ache. Many
themes deal with discrimination, sickness, poverty, loneliness, infidelity,
sexual longing, satisfaction and regret, bad treatment by one's mate, jealousy
and homelessness. Also, these themes may have humorous overtones and
undertones; nevertheless, many blues themes will ultimately expose the true
feelings of their people in a melodic protest about a dis-satisfying condition,
they will provide the central ordering point for Hughes' blues poems.

Blue Notes

Within the basic form of the blues, there are what is known as "blue notes,"
which are the notes that provide the basis of the construction of a minor
sounding melody for a blues song. A minor melody makes a song sound darker,
heavier or more melancholy. It is said that blue notes are in the cracks between
the keys and that they can be sung, but not played by the piano. The implication
here is that blues notes carry a different quality than other notes because they
seem to echo human feelings and emotions.

Obviously, Hughes did not have the advantage of "blue notes" to give his
poems a bluesy tone; however, he had the force and energy of words. He was
a composer who was a master at squeezing out every ounce of connotative
power. Many of Hughes' words and combinations of words carried tonal
qualities similar to those of blues music. As a result, his version of blue notes
became "blue words," atmospheric words. For example, the word "croon" in
the following line calls up connotations of blues emotion: "And far into the
night he crooned that tune." To the reader who was familiar with the blues
experience, to his ear, he would hear the long sounding word that mimicked the

21

tone of a bluesy wail. Moreover, blue notes brought spontaneous blues conno-
tations. Blues listeners would come into contact with the blues spirit or blues
experience. Those who were not familiar with the blues could receive the
implications of melancholy words, images, and tones or could infer blue moods
through dark humor. The reader should always be able to feel and experience
a blues poem by Hughes through his use of the blues form or variations of it,
and from the "blue words" which conjure up images and feelings associated
with the blues experience.

Blues Language

Here I sit

With my shoes mismated.
Lawdy-mercy!
I's frustrated!
"Bad Morning"

The language in Hughes' blues poetry is the language of masses of poor
black people. It follows in the tradition of what Stephen Henderson calls "soul
talk" and "beautiful talk" (87). Blues language is rich in connotation and
imagery. Its occurrence reaffirms the fact that Hughes was attempting to
convey realistically the spoken word because within these words are the
emotions of the black masses; therefore, he used the words which come out of
the mouths of his blues people. Varying the use of beautiful talk, sometimes
Hughes would alternate between standard English and black dialect. At other
times he would use standard English for descriptive sections and reserve black
dialect for dialogue. At still other times, he would compose his entire poem in
black dialect. Never divorcing his blues poems from their people, Hughes
wrote in their language. His characters sang in the language of the blues.

Blues Performers/Singers

Hughes had seen and heard most of the popular city blues singers like "Ma"
Rainey, Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Gladys Bentley and Ivie Anderson. In the study
of his early blues poems, the blues performer or blues singer cannot be
neglected because Hughes' blues poems sought to reproduce the collective
blues musical experience. Hearing the blues sung on records and seeing the
blues singers perform their songs had a definite impact on Hughes. "Ma"
Rainey, for example, was noted for her use of burlesque and humor in her blues
shows and singing Hughes incorporated humor in some of the characters that
sing his blues poetry. Also, he particularly liked the heavy, gruff, and masculine
voice of Gladys Bentley; and some of his female blues personas present a
similar, powerful, and forceful tone.

Incorporating the blues poems allowed Hughes successfully to transform
the aura of the blues song, blues singer, and their performances into poetry.

22

A common history binds tiie blues performer and his audience. The singer
consciously assumes his role as a black man or woman singing to and for people
of his own color. The blues and its singers draw their audience into the reality
of blackness. They sing about real-life tragedies and disappointments and
sometimes find the humor in these adverse situations. The blues singer
personalizes an experience which is then grabbed up by the folk and becomes
the possession of the folk. Frequently one can hear a blues audience respond to
the truth that the blues singer is giving with "sing it, sister," "tell the truth," or
"go 'head." Therefore, the blues singer has to be aware of the conditions of his
people. Blues singers must be a part of the conditions of their people, and digest
their experiences so that they can voice them authentically in song; therefore,
blueswomen and men are like watchdogs of the community, singing stories
about the hard lives of their people. In this way, blues singers become
storytellers and speakers for their people. Hughes translates their songs to story
poems. His poems become written records of the feelings, moods and experi-
ences of the masses of African-Americans

On the whole, the blues analysis clearly outlines the literary, social, and
musical components that make up the world of Hughes' blues poetry. Any
cogent analysis of his blues poetry must include the correlative components
that merge life, history, music, folk tradition, and poetry. So close to the reality
of black life in the 1 920s, Hughes' blues poetry reproduces the blues experience
in America.

Livin' Blue Jazz: Analyzing Hughes' Jazz Poetry

If blues can be seen as a melodic metaphor for the misery in the lives of
common black people, jazz, then, is the sound of their laughter, a laughter that
dances, cries, and sings tunes that heal the riffs made by the blues. Weekend
doses of jazz helped to wash out bitterness caused by suffering and kept the taste
for living in their mouths. Hughes, an eye-witness to the hard lives of common
black people and a participant in that life, recorded their battle with the blues
in his jazz poems. He recorded their lives. Hughes' allegiance to creating real
life portraits of common black folk would be the foundation of his jazz poetry,
just as it was the basis of his blues poetry. For Hughes, jazz was "one of the
inherent expressions of Negro life in America" ("The Negro Artist" 1 ). As such,
it was the sound and the beat of black life, and it bore a striking resemblance
to many of the emotions and movements of black people. In this way, jazz
constituted a state of life and a state of mind. It voiced and symbolized the life
of black America during the 1920s. During this period, "jazz had become the
privileged channel for expressing the rebellion of modem man, especially the
Negro, against the straightjackt of an inhuman industrial and commercial
civilization that cut him off from the realization of his highest aspirations"
(Wagner 402). The noise of black life, black thoughts, and black dreams

23

sounded to Hughes like a jazz rumble. This rumble would poetically symbolize,
paradoxically, a freedom experienced and, simultaneously, sought after by
common black people. It would stand for their individual and collective
expressiveness. With his finely tuned ear, Hughes did not have to strain to hear
the roots of jazz, the blues. For him, within jazz music, jazz poetry, and black
life, there was an almost imperceptible blue and melancholy quality lurking. He
said in a letter to Carl Van Vechten, "There seems to be a monotonous
melancholy, and animal sadness running through all Negro jazz that is almost
terrible at times" (Rampersad 111). The sadness Hughes heard would lead him
to ask, "Does a jazz band ever sob?" This question shaped Hughes' poetic
vision and ear, leading him to capture the range of emotion and movement in
jazz music.

At the same time, Hughes recognized the functional nature of jazz, which
was two fold in his jazz poetry. First, he believed that the spirited nature of jazz
was most often a reaction against the blues, therefore a protective survival
mechanism. But this mechanism worked only for periods of times when a
person, if possible, could temporarily distance himself from the blues or the
weariness acquired through hard living. This close relationship shared between
blues and jazz is necessarily interdependent as they work together to sustain
living. Secondly, for Hughes, jazz is a form of protest, of rebellion. Joy,
laughter, and the blare of Negro bands would be the method of protest against
the condition of their lives. Hughes' jazz poems would see revolt lodged in their
dancesteps and their highspiritedness. These two functions of jazz would
dominate the content and theme of much of Hughes' jazz poetry. From them
Hughes would fashion a fresh and modem style, jazz poetry, which coexisted
with the blues.

An essential element of jazz music is improvisation. Hughes, therefore,
practiced "poetic improvisation" in his jazz poetry. He aligned his poetry
stylistically, closely to jazz music. Improvising around standard forms, Hughes
designed a verse which flowed freely like jazz music. Through variation and
typography, the lines of his jazz poetry were at varying times smooth, uneven,
erratic, and varied in speed and movement much like the melodies of jazz
musicjMore than using language to convey only information, he made use of
/'the^^usic"oflanguage: standard and dialect. He chose words for sound as well
I as for meaning, and he used sound as a means of reinforcing meaning.

The jazz poetry of Langston Hughes is based upon the same principles used
in this study to analyze his blues poetry, since Hughes' blues and jazz poetry
are viewed as literary translations of the music and the African-American
experience. Hughes poetically transferred the jazz experience into jazz poetry.
The term "the jazz experience" captures Hughes' artistic poetic perspective.
His mission was to record the "jazz" he saw in black people and in the black

24

man's experience in America. His focus would fall on the high-spirited
emotion and movement of the black people associated with jazz; but, he would
penetrate this facade to expose the lingering sadness seemingly inherent in the
joy of jazz and in the happiness of the black masses. Paralleling the blues
experience, the jazz experience is the story of release, escape, and revolt in the
tune of jazz. A general definition of the elements of the jazz experience
incorporated into jazz poetry will be presented briefly.

Jazz People, Settings and Performer

The people of Hughes ' jazz poetry are blues people. The settings in Hughes '
jazz poetry will reflect the bluesy quality of black life; however, the nightclub
scenario will be different. The people will not be going to blues clubs, but to
jazz clubs or cabarets. No longer will they be going primarily to share their
troubles, but they will be going to forget them. The cabarets were filled with the
music of jazz and dance rather than with the bluesy moaning and bittersweet
melancholy of blues song. Popular jazz clubs like "Cotton Club," "Barron's,"
"Leroy's," and "Small's" rocked with the fiery music of jazz. Bands, starring
such famous musicians as Joe "King" Oliver, Fletcher Henderson, Louis
Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Coleman Hawkins, blared a music that
inspired spontaneous movement and release. Their performances poured
music into all of their listeners. Performers would disappear into the music,
surrendering to its power and movement. Hughes includes the exciting enter-
tainment quality of these performers in his jazz poetry through manipulation of
literary stylistic devices such as typography, tone, and diction as in an excerpt
from the poem "The Cat and the Saxophone (2 a.m.)":

EVERYBODY

half-pint,^

Gin?

No, make it

LOVES MY BABY

com. You like

liquor,

don't you, honey?

BUT MY BABY

Sure. Kiss me,

DON'T LOVE NOBODY

daddy.

BUT ME.

All of these elements are characteristic of Hughes' early jazz poetry.

"Jazzed" Language

Hughes' jazz people spoke like blues people. Most often, they spoke black

25

r

dialect; however, the popularity of jazz brought special connotations to some
words that have come to be associated with black, colloquial talk. Black dialect
was "jazzed up" by the hip and cool attitude attached to jazz music and jazz
musicians. New slang and colloquialisms appeared. For example, the jazz
musician who blows a horn and a "smooth" masculine man are referred to as
a "cat." Examples of other terms are "jazzers" and "sweet daddy." Such terms
were bom in the jazz atmosphere of the cabaret.

Jazz Music

Hughes filled his poems with reminders of jazz music and feeling by
emulating the instrumental and aggressive quality of jazz. Hughes ' jazz poems
contain a distinct, though many times unpredictable, style. He improvised
through manipulating stylistic devices such as form, tone, diction, and phras-
ing. For example, Hughes used continuous form where the lines of poetry
follow each other without formal groupings, the only breaks being dictated by
units of meaning. He also achieved a sense of improvisation with the use of run-
on lines where the sense of meaning flows over into two or several lines.

Hughes' use of sound and tone also helped to give his poetry the color and
temper of jazz. He employed such devices as onomatopoeia and phonetic
intensives to recreate certain sounds as well as euphonious and cacophonous
words like blues notes as in the phrase "jazz band sob." The tone of the blues
would also intermingle with the jazz spirit as in an excerpt from the poem
"Lenox Avenue: Midnight":

The rhythm of life

Is a jazz rhythm.

Honey,

The gods are laughing at us,

the broken heart of love.

The weary, weary heart of pain,

Overtones,

Undertones,
To the rumble of street cars.
To the swish of rain.

By the choice and arrangement of words, sounds, and tones, Hughes achieved
the erratic and motley musical quality associated with jazz.

Repetition, riffs, refrains and patterns can also be found in Hughes' jazz
poems. Themes or ideas begin, stop, and start again. The style of Hughes' jazz
poetry takes on the freedom and individual approach akin to jazz.

Jazz Themes

Though untraditional in style, Hughes' jazz poems contain traditional

26

themes. Many carry messages which reveal the mindset of the common black
people. These themes are drawn from their varied experiences and voice their
feelings about black life in America. Many of these themes are purely blues
themes dressed in jazz and covered with a thin facade of happiness. The poem
"Cabaret" exemplifies this mixture:

Does a jazz band ever sob?

They say a jazz-band's gay.

Yet as the vulgar dancers whirled

And the wan night wore away

One said she heard the jazz-band sob

When the little dawn was grey.

These types of jazz themes which echo the blues express dissatisfaction with
a hard, trouble-filled life and a fear of losing a mate or loved one. They also
express the joy and happiness of life despite any problems. Jazz themes, finally,
are accompanied by a tone of unbridled spirit and movement.

Hughes' jazz allows one to realize the vast scope of his poetic vision. Using
the poor black American's experience in the 1920s as his inspiration, Hughes
told of the joy and hardship in African-American lives through the kaleido-
scope of jazz. Jazz music, with its improvisational nature, became a metaphor
for African-American experience and provided strategies for coping. Seeing
jazz as untraditional, Hughes saw black life as necessarily untraditional.
Because of racism and economic inequity, the masses of black people impro-
vised in order to survive. Thy fought and laughed, they battled the blues, and
they battled by using the blues, and they endured.

In summary, examining the blues and jazz experience will give one a clearer
understanding of the world of Hughes' early blues and jazz poetry. His blues
and jazz poems are vivid indices to life, not just the lives of poor blacks, but to
the nature of people who suffer and survive. Hughes' portrayal of the "cryin'
blues" and "blue jazz," however, show that his primary concern was to portray
the tragic, yet beautifully inspiring existence of common black people all over
America. Today, his musico poetry is still inspiring and rings with voices
reminiscent of those in the past.

WORKS CITED

Cone, James H. The Spirituals and the Blues: An Interpretation. New York: The Seabury Press,
1972.

Courlander, Harold. Negro Folk Music, USA. New York: Columbia U.P., 1963.

Ebony Magazine, May 1982.

Ellison, Ralph. Shadow and Act. New York: Random House, 1953.

Gayle, Jr., Addison. Black Expression. New York: Weybright and Talley, 1967.

Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain," (Reprinted from "Nation," June

27

3, 1926, pp. 692-694) in The Langston Hughes Review." Providence: Afro- American Studies
Program, Vol. IV Number I, Spring 1985.

Lewis, David Levering. When Harlem Was in Vogue. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.

Onwuchekwa, Jemi. Langston Hughes: An Introduction to the Poetry, New York: Columbia U.P.,
1976.

Ostransky, Leroy. Understanding Jazz. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1977.

Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes: Volume I: 1902- 194 L New York: Oxford
University Press, 1986.

Tracy, Stephen. Langston Hughes and the Blues. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1988.

Wagner, Jean. Black Poets of the United States. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973.

28

THE SCEPTICISM OF T.S. ELIOT

by Karen Csengeri*

In June 1927 T.S. Eliot was received into the Anglican Church; and a year
later, in the preface to For Lancelot Andrewes, he described, for the first time,
his general point of view as "classicist in literature, royalist in politics, and
anglo-catholic in religion" (7). Eliot could not have realized when he wrote
these words that he was, at a single stroke, creating a false image of himself that
would lead to a whole series of false readings of his work. For all literary critics
since then have seen him in terms of this statement; and he has been described
consistently over the years, often by friend as well as foe, as "authoritarian,"
"conservative," "orthodox," "a moral absolutist." The general impression of
him that one gets from the critics is of a man who thought he knew all the
answers, who was settled, fixed and certain in his views.

It is my claim that Eliot was quite the opposite. He was a sceptic who
questioned the possibility of knowing anything for certain. In the following
pages I will describe his brand of scepticism and show how it permeated every
part of his life and work. Indeed, even his acceptance of society's traditions and
customs was, as we shall see, a direct result of his extreme sceptical view of the
world.

But first I should like to consider the word scepticism itself. It has been used
to describe a wide variety of attitudes that are not identical. In its widest sense,
scepticism can be described as a philosophical attitude that questions the truth
or reliability of all assertions and beliefs. The sceptic comes to doubt all theories
about the world because he finds all claims to knowledge to be wanting.

Early sceptics ranged from those who thought and tried to show that no
knowledge is possible, to those who thought that even this assertion was
unfounded. This second view is called Pyrrhonism and derives from the
legendary figure of Pyrrho of Elis (c. 360-270 B.C.), who is often spoken of as
the founder of scepticism. He and his disciples were relentless in their
examination of all claims to knowledge, believing that there is insufficient and
inadequate evidence for us to make any definite statement about the world
even the assertion that we cannot know anything. Pyrrho preached and
practiced a way of life consistent with his beliefs. We should, he said, neither
yearn to know things themselves, nor dogmatically defend any set of conclu-
sions about things. Instead, we should acknowledge our lack of comprehension
of things, suspend judgment, and content ourselves with living according to the
customs and conventions of society. This is how he himself is said to have lived.

But not all sceptics have been Pyrrhonists, and like other philosophical

* Assistant Professor of English. West Georgia College

29

doctrines, scepticism has been interpreted, used, modified, and indeed per-
verted in many different ways. Today we tend, for example, to associate the
word with an anti-religious sentiment. This was not always the case. In the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries scepticism was often used in support of
religion. The later scepticism of a Voltaire or Bertrand Russell, with its anti-
religious element, is not the same scepticism as was preached and practiced by
Pyrrho and his disciples. Eliot himself has described Voltaire's scepticism as
a ""limited" Pyrrhonism ("The Pensees of Pascal" 363). For while Voltaire and
Russell may have scrutinized the beliefs of others, they did not question their
own assumptions or point of view.

In 1935 Eliot described the sceptic in a Pyrrhonian way as:

the man who suspects the origins of his own beliefs, as well as those of
others; who is most suspicious of those which are most passionately held;
who is still more relentless towards his own beliefs than towards those of
others; who suspects other people's motives because he has learned the
deceitfulness of his own. ("Notes on the Way" 6)

It is a description of Eliot's own scepticism. For Eliot was quite relentless in his
probings into his own most passionately-held beliefs.

We see this fairly early in, for example, his reading, while a student, of a
number of books and articles on religion and mysticism. This reading was not
part of the requirements for any of the courses he was taking; nor was it
apparently done to impress any of his teachers; it was part rather of his own
personal quest for truth, for what mysticism might reveal about the agonizing
mystery of life. His search was aimed at a mysticism that was religiously
orthodox, such as was practiced by St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the
Cross; but it was also sceptical and even scientific. The young T.S. Eliot wanted
to know whether it was all just a result of physical or mental disorder, and he
read widely in his desire to find out. He tried to read all the authorities in the
field, not only in English but in French and German as well, and irrespective
of whether they wrote favorably or unfavorably about it. He copied down
examples of mystical experience; he read the lives of the various mystics; and
he studied the psychology and pathology of mysticism. He read books that
approached the subject of religion and mysticism from a number of different
points of view, including the historical and scientific point of view by way of
anthropology. In a seminar given by Josiah Royce in 1913-1914 on the
comparative study of methods in science, Eliot chose as his topic of particular
study "The Interpretation of Primitive Ritual." It is almost as if he wanted to test
the basis of religious belief by examining the causes and development of
religion.

30

This early inquiry of Eliot's into the field of religion is important because
it illustrates his honesty of mind and dedication to truth. For Eliot's interest in
mysticism was not academic; he was not trying to fit mysticism into a
philosophical or anthropological system. Nor was he a dispassionate, impartial
or neutral observer. His interest was personal: he was searching for something
to believe in. Yet even when his own beliefs, prejudices and biases were
involved, he read and looked upon things with a questioning eye.

While he may have had a natural bent towards scepticism, Eliot's scepticism
developed out of his studies in philosophy. In the 1913-1914 Royce seminar,
for example, he uncovered a dilemma which is at the heart of the question of
knowledge and scepticism. In his paper on comparative religions Eliot pointed
out how uncertain were the facts and how much interpretation was read into the
data. He said that interpretation succeeded interpretation not because the older
opinions were refuted, but because the point of view changed. Harry T.
Costello, who attended the Royce class, has noted how "sceptical" Eliot was as
to whether any resolution could be reached. Eliot took up these questions of
point of view and interpretation several times during the course and later
renewed them in his dissertation on F.H. Bradley, where he finally came to the
Pyrrhonian conclusion that "Any assertion about the world. .."will inevitably be
an interpretation" (Knowledge and Experience 165). We cannot, in other
words, put our finger "upon even the simplest datum and say 'this we know'"
(151).

This view led him to become, like Pyrrho of Elis, even sceptical of
philosophy itself. In a letter of 1915 he claimed that "almost ever>' philosophy
seems to begin as a revolt of common sense against some other theory, and
ends. . . by itself becoming equally preposterous to everyone but its author"
(80). From his careful study of anthropology, sociology and philosophy, Eliot
now learned an important lesson that would change the course of his life and
work. He was, he saw, a relativist and referred to himself as such on a number
of occasions. The lesson of this relativism was, he wrote in the same letter: "to
avoid philosophy and devote oneself to either real art or real science" (81).
Which is just what he did: he gave up philosophy even though his dissertation
was praised by Josiah Royce and others at Harvard as the work of an expert.

But Eliot did not give up his scepticism with his philosophy: it continued to
be the basis of his intellectual life; and we see his sceptical attitude present in
all his adult life and work. We see it for example even in the extensive reviewing
he did when he was beginning his literary career. Not only was Eliot sceptical
about the various subjects he was reviewing philosophy, anthropology,
religion; but he was sceptical also about reviewing itself and about literary
criticism. All the issues and problems with regard to knowledge that he had
wrestled with in philosophy he now came to deal with in the field of literary

31

criticism: the nature and extent of our knowledge of things, point of view,
interpretation versus description.

In the very first essay in his first collection of literary criticism, published
in November 1920 as The Sacred Wood, he remarks on our inability to know
the world:

The vast accumulations of knowledge or at least of informa-
tion deposited by the nineteenth century have been responsible
for an equally vast ignorance. When there is so much to be known
. . . when everyone knows a little about a great many things, it
becomes increasingly difficult for anyone to know whether he
knows what he is talking about or not. (9-10)

Like F.H. Bradley, Eliot believed that all we ever have is the present fleeting
moment which we cannot pin down and objectify without changing the reality.
The world is too various for us to know; our attempts to grasp or fix it in our
minds falsify it. In fact, everything we do intellectually is an artificial construc-
tion and abstraction.

This is why he was so sceptical about interpretation: he saw it as leading
away from the thing being interpreted. He thought interpretation changes the
thing it is trying to explain, so that "Instead of insight, you get a fiction"
("Function of Criticism" 20). And indeed, nowhere in his literary criticism does
Eliot ever try to interpret or explain what an author really meant.

Eliot tried to work out how one could criticize a work of art without
interpreting it; this is one of the major themes in Sacred Wood. The answer he
thought lay in sticking as closely as possible to the facts. The chief task of the
literary critic is, he says in Sacred Wood, "the presentation of relevant historical
facts which the reader is not assumed to know" (96). This sort of labor is an
important part of criticism, more important than "any mere expression of
opinion" (124). Eliot took this up even more forcibly in "The Function of
Criticism" (1923), insisting that a critic must have a very highly developed
sense of fact. Indeed, he considered it to be the most important qualification of
a critic. "Interpretation" is for him only legitimate "when it is not interpretation
at all, but merely putting the reader in possession of facts which he would
otherwise have missed" ("Function of Criticism" 20). He goes so far as to
declare that "any book, any essay, any note in Notes and Queries, which
produces a fact even of the lowest order about a work of art is a better piece of
work that nine-tenths of the most pretentious critical journalism, in journals or
in books" (21).

Of course Eliot assumes that we are "masters and not servants of facts," and
that we know that the discovery of Shakespeare's laundry bills, for example,
would not be of much use to us. Yet here again, Eliot's scepticism shows

32

through when, after making this point, he quickly adds "but we must always
reserve final judgment as to the futility of the research which has discovered
them, in the possibility that some genius will appear who will know of a use to
which to put them" (21).

Another idea which Eliot introduced in Sacred Wood, and which became an
important part of his literary career is the idea of tradition. That Eliot should
have turned to tradition is a clear sign of his sceptical nature. For the sceptical
mind more often than not finds itself relying upon the conventional life of man;
the life of precedent, practice and tradition. He accepts the ordinary life because
he cannot find an absolute truth that satisfies him, yet he realizes that he needs
something to live by. Indeed, Pyrrho and his disciples offered conformity with
convention and custom as the only means of making life tolerable. How clear
thus becomes Eliot's attitude towards poets like Blake who spend so much of
their time constructing something to believe in instead of concentrating
attention on the problems of the poet. "The concentration resulting from a
framework of mythology and theology and philosophy is," in Eliot's view,
"one of the reasons why Dante is a classic, and Blake only a poet of genius"
(158).

That Eliot himself should have joined the Anglican Church is not surprising:
it was part of his acceptance of convention and custom. To be sure, Eliot
believed in and accepted the Christian faith; he based his whole adult life after
1927 on it. But his was not a blind, unquestioning belief. He knew something
of the history and development of religion; he knew that Christianity itself had
changed over the centuries; and he maintained a sceptical attitude towards it
even after his baptisrn. At the same time, he could see that religion was
somehow an integral part of man's life and essential to making life on earth
liveable.

Eliot approached everything from the point of view of scepticism. It is what
kept him in the 1930s and '40s from becoming embroiled in party politics. At
a time when so many others were beginning to see politics as the key to, or
foundation of, human life and thought, Eliot once again was concerned with
fundamental assumptions. Behind or beyond politics there were always for him
the questions: what is man? what is his destiny? Proponents of particular
political systems are presumptuous in assuming that they know the answers to
these questions; Eliot knew better. He realized how little we know. In the
Criterion of January 1937, he speaks of the danger of jumping to extreme
positions with regard to politics; we should not, he thought, take sides on insuf-
ficient knowledge; "we need," he says, "a constant reminder of how litde we
know, and how garbled that little is" (Commentary" 292).

33

Eliot's scepticism gave him a wisdom, an understanding of the world and
human affairs, unshared by any of his contemporaries. He was able to accept
the world and what it offered; he did not waste his energies trying to change
what cannot be changed. He truly was a man who "has profited by experience
to arrive at understanding, and who has acquired the charity that comes from
understanding human beings in all their variety of temperament, character and
circumstance" ("Goethe" 258). And, as Eliot himself pointed out, such men
hold diverse beliefs: "they may even hold some tenets which we find abhorrent;
but it is part of our own pursuit of wisdom, to try to understand them" (Ibid.).

WORKS CITED

Eliot, T.S. "A Commentary." Criterion XVI.63 (Jan. 1937): 289-93.

."The Function of Criticism. "Cn'ren'oA2lI.5 (Oct. 1923): 3l-42.RpL Selected Essays.

1932. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1964.
. "Goethe as the Sage." In On Poetry and Poets. 1957. New York: Farrar, Straus &

Giroux, 1973.

, Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy ofF.H. Bradley. New York: Farrar,

Straus, 1964.

The Letters of T.S. Eliot. Volume I: 1898-1922. Ed. Valerie Eliot. New York and

London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988.

. "Mr. Barnes and Mr. Rowse." Criterion VIII.33 (July 1929): 682-91.

. "Notes on the Way." Time and Tide (London) XVLl (5 Jan. 1935): 6-[7].

. The Pensees of Pascal." In Selected Essays. 1950. New York: Harcourt, Brace &

World, 1964.

. "Preface." In For Lancelot Andrewes. 1928. London: Faber and Faber, 1970.

. The Sacred Wood. 1920. London: Methuen, 1960.

. Smith, Grover (ed.). Josiah Royce's Seminar, 1913-1914: as recorded in the note-
books of Harry T. Costello. New Brunswick, 1963.

34

THE WANDERER CONFRONTS HOME: A PATTERN
OF STORYTELLING IN SOUTHERN FICTION

by Randy Hendricks*

In the fiction produced by modem Southern writers have appeared a number
of wandering figures representing a wide range of occupations and social class.
Laborers, businessmen, scholars, preachers and criminals come readily to
mind. Within this diversity, however, there are certain common features which
make it possible to speak in some ways of a figure of the Southern wanderer.
Eleanor Clark once said to her husband Robert Penn Warren, and one imagines
she said it at some point of exasperation. "You're just like Jews, you Southern-
ers." Reflecting on this statement later in the presence of an interviewer,

Warren said, "I think there's some truth in that There's a certain insideness

of the outsider" (Walker 257). I think both assertions can help us to understand
something about an abundance of modem Southem narratives which focus on
the exile from the traditional Southem community. Commonly in such stories
the wandering protagonist is ironically isolated because he has rejected the
tradition-minded community of his home, rejecting simultaneously the close-
ness, the insideness, of that community, which is itself isolated from modem,
American society. A common method for dramatizing this alienation of the
wanderer from the culture of his origin has been to bring the figure into
juxtaposition with characters who are isolated from American society. The
isolated figures, however, are somewhat insulated from any pain of isolation
by their embeddedness in an agrarian culture, the emphasized values of which
are usually permanence and fertility. Typically, the wanderer, as the more
worldly and articulate character, is seduced as a result of the contact with the
more isolated characters. The meeting is a reproach to the wanderer as it forces
him to confront his personal past, which is what he has been in flight from all
along.

Eudora Welty's first published story, "Death of a Traveling Salesman," is
a good case in point to begin with. The story's stmcture is dialectical as the
wandering figure, R. J. Bowman, an itinerant shoe salesman embracing modem
American culture and its physical rewards, is discomposed, in part because of
a recent bout with influenza and the strange palpitations of his weakened heart,
but also by the circumstance of being cast suddenly into a culture very different
from the one he has adopted for his professional life. After wrecking his car.
Bowman seeks help at a tenant farm house from a woman, who is referred to
simply as "the woman" throughout the story, and her husband Sonny.

The effect of this conflict of cultures is the ironic ineffectuality of the more

*lnstructor of English, West Georgia College

35

sophisticated character Bowman. First, he mistakes the couple as mother and
son and is shocked to learn that they are actually married and that the woman
is pregnant. Then, when Sonny responds to his offer to pay him for getting his
car back onto the road by saying, "We don't take money for such" (246),
Bowman is made uncomfortable because he doesn't normally function in a
world where there are such confusing concepts as unliquid services. His
professional life has been marked by his progressively putting up at larger
hotels, where, of course, service is bought. Finally, when Bowman offers
matches from his pocket to Sonny, both Sonny and his wife unconsciously
exclude Bowman from their community by preferring to "bory some fire" from
Redmond, the landowner, one of their own people (247). With this stroke Welty
makes it clear that Bowman and the couple are separated by more than the
differences in their social classes.

At the same time he is confronting this strangeness, however. Bowman is
also conscious of a link between the life inside the small house and his own past.
This link is achieved through Bowman's memories of his grandmother, all of
which have to do with comfort. She was a comfortable soul, we are told, who
had a large feather bed in her room that Bowman recalls with longing (232). A
very direct link between the woman in the tenant house and the grandmother
is made by the similarity between a "red-and-yellow pieced quilt" Bowman
sees on the woman's bed and a girlhood painting by his grandmother of Rome
burning, items which would suggest social distinction except that they suggest
human continuity in Bowman's clouded perception (238). Bowman is lulled
mentally by his sickness, by his memories, and by the comforts of the strange
house the fire, the plain meal, the couch in the dark living room and Sonny's
bootleg whiskey that tastes like the fire from the hearth. He is seduced by the
stillness and silence of the place. But for Bowman, "There was something like
guilt in such stillness and silence" (244).

Guilt for what? For not being on the road as a good salesman should be? Or
for having gone on the road in the first place? The answer isn't articulated by
Bowman, but the guilt he feels is definitely linked with the kind of life he is
confronting in the tenant farm house, hence with his grandmother and his own
past. Bowman's career has been an upwardly mobile flight from permanence,
and the fruitful marriage in this small house is a painful rebuke to that life. His
alienation is self-imposed and it is enhanced by his profession. It is, further-
more, symbolized by his recurring fear that the woman might be able to hear
the wild beating of his failing heart. Welty treats him as a tragic figure
ultimately. Bowman dies as he attempts to preserve his adopted, mobile way
of life by leaving all the cash he has on him under the lamp on the table and
starting our for his restored automobile, the major symbol of his way of life.

There is more than a little similarity between Welty 's story and Flannery

36

O'Connor's story "The Life You Save May Be Your Own." Central in both
stories is a defunct automobile which the wandering figure needs to get restored
to an operable condition in order to continue his flight. Another parallel to
Bowman's story is that O'Connor's Mr. Shiftlet, a one-armed itinerant carpen-
ter, comes onto an isolated farm where he is forced, eventually, to confront his
own past.

While O'Connor's treatment of the encounter of mobile and stable ways of
life is, at least at the level of characterization, of a more ironic vein than
Welty's the seduction is intentional and mutual in O'Connor's story rather
than accidental and one-sided the pattern of juxtaposing the cultures is very
similar.

While Bowman's movement away from his past is measured by his
gradually putting up at better hotels, Shiftlet's career is more diverse, though
still thoroughly modem and unagrarian. During his first meeting with Mrs.
Crater, the landowner in this case, a woman who is "ravenous for a son-in-law"
and who wants Shiftlet to marry her retarded daughter Lucynell ( 1 50), Shiftlet
delivers his resume: "He had been a gospel singer, a foreman on the railroad,
an assistant in an undertaking parlor, and he come over the radio for three
months with Uncle Roy and his Red Creek Wranglers. He said he had fought
and bled in the Arm Service of his country and visited every foreign land and
that everywhere he had seen people that didn't care if they did a thing one way
or another. He said he hadn't been raised thataway" (148).

Shiftlet's repeated references to the way he had been raised constitute a
dramatic irony in the exchange with Mrs. Crater since the reader knows his true
goal is to obtain the automobile parked in Mrs. Crater's shed. In fact, though,
there are several instances of verity behind the surface irony of the story.
Despite the fact that she is using Lucynell to bait Shiftlet, Mrs. Crater obviously
genuinely lover her daughter. And despite the fact that his main object is to get
the automobile, there is a kind of fertility in the union between Shiftlet and
Lucynell as he teaches her to say the first word she ever utters. The final irony
of the story is the realization on Shiftlet's part that the past, the way he had been
raised, if you will, has had its lasting effect. The realization engulfs Shiftlet after
he abandons Lucynell in a restaurant; absconds with the resurrected automo-
bile; and picks up a hitchhiker, a fellow wanderer who has just left home. A
reader of both stories may well remember Bowman 's guilt at what Shiftlet says
to the young hitchhiker. "'My mother was an angel of Gawd. He took her from
heaven and giver to me and I left her.'" To this the boy says, "'My old woman
is a flea bag and yours is a stinking pole cat!'" (156) By using the hitchhiker
in this late scene, O'Connor is able to suggest Shiftlet's past without having to
narrate his break with home explicitly. It is easy enough to make the connection
between the boy and a younger Shiftlet. Having, like the boy, rejected his past,

37

Shiftlet confronts the permanence of a life, perhaps an awful one, with Mrs.
Crater and Lucynell on the old woman's plantation; and though he never
seriously contemplates staying, the confrontation nevertheless causes a fusion
of past and present and the awakening of guilt similar to that Bowman suffers.
Ultimately, there is also the same sort of desperation to flee. The story ends with
Shiftlet in the automobile, alone again, racing a "galloping shower" into a city
with the suggestive name of Mobile (156). It should be noted that both
O'Connor and Welty accelerate the pace of the wandering figure at the end of
both their stories in passages which show them getting, in a sense, nowhere.

While the pattern of juxtaposing modem culture against an agrarian culture
largely accounts for the structure of Welty's and O'Connor's stories, the
pattern has also been incorporated into the more elaborate structures of the
novel. Faulkner used it in Light in August, in which he achieved a broad
juxtaposition of modem and agrarian cultures by setting the story of pregnant
and unworldly Lena Grove, who is more a quester than a wanderer and whose
career is reminiscent of an eighteenth century idea of the relationship between
host and traveler, against that of Joe Christmas, who to some minds figures as
the outsider in modem fiction.

Even within the experience of Christmas alone, Faulkner uses the seductive
pattern. Christmas is offered both permanence and a chance of fertility with
Joanna Burden. He rejects her because, like Bowman, his psychological make-
up demands a more direct way of dealing with people. He cannot live with the
complicating factors of human relations, love and kindness and pity, qualities
Christmas categorizes with his by-word as the "muck" of the world. Instead of
cash and personal salesmanship, which Bowman and to some extend Shiftlet
depend on, Christmas depends on violence. Early on, his life becomes a pattern
of rejecting shows of kindness for purely physical terms of relating to others.
McEachem, the harsh, zealot disciplinarian who hates Joe for his black
paternity, is preferable in Joe's mind to Mrs. McEachem and her show of
kindness because the punishment is in some way easier to understand. Later this
pattem of rejection is repeated with Joanna Burden, another outsider because
of her ancestry. As long as he has only a sexual relation with Joanna, Christmas
can live with her. It is when she brings such "muck" into their relationship as
the desire to have a child and then later shocks him by praying for him that the
terms of their living together begin to violate Joe's carefully preserved image
of what he is, an image which is seen most clearly in the following passage
describing the temptation and then his rejection of Joanna's offer:

Why not? It would mean ease, security, for the rest of your life. You
would never have to move again. And you might as well be married
to her.

38

But then he thought.

No. If I give in now, I will deny all the thirty years that I have lived
to make me what I chose to be. (232)

Like another tragic figure, Macbeth, Joe is doomed in a part at least by his
own self-creation. Despite the fact that he has in the past used his black paternity
to start fights, Christmas actually denies his origin until after he has murdered
Joanna Burden and after his grandfather comes into town and tries to incite a
mob against him. In the aftermath Christmas is tragic, perhaps heroic, as he dies
with an unfired pistol in his hand. This seems an act of acceptance of the
inevitable outcome of his self-creation. To die passively seems to be his only
recourse, just as earlier the only recourse he could see to remain alive and to
remain the self he chose to be was to murder Joanna Burden when she prays for
him and suggests their double suicide. The murder is a truly desperate act, but
it has its parallel in the less maniacal desperation of Bowman's leaving all his
cash behind him in Welty's story and Shiftlet's racing into Mobile at the end
of O'Connor's.

The final example of the pattern I would offer appears in Robert Penn
Warren's last novel A Place to Come To. The wandering protagonist and
narrator of the novel, Jed Tewkesbury, is a renowned scholar who travels,
studies Dante, writes, teaches, fights in a war, searches for love and friendship,
marries, suffers the loss of his wife to cancer, remarries, fathers a son, and gets
stabbed by a mugger. He is not short on worldly experience, but in back of
everything is his start in Dugton, Alabama, where he had the distinction of
being the son of Buck Tewkesbury, a drunkard who habitually brandished the
sword of an ancestor that had seen honorable service on the side of the
Confederacy and once while doing so knocked himself out by falling against
the hearth, an accident which represents the constant disturbance in the
Tewkesbury home. Finally, Buck Tewkesbury

got killed in the middle of the night standing up in the front of his
wagon to piss on the hindquarters of one of a span of mules and,
being drunk, pitching forward on his head, still hanging on to his
dong, and hitting the pike in such a position and condition that both
the left front and rear wheels of the wagon rolled, with perfect
precision, over his unconscious neck, his having passed out being,
no doubt the reason he took the fatal plunge in the first place.
Throughout, he was still holding on to his dong. (9)

The shame and anxiety caused by this paternity cuts Jed off from the
community of Dugton as he grows up. Eventually, however, he achieves the
kind of distance suggested by the amused perspective of the passage just
quoted. After he leaves home and wins recognition as a scholar, he even

39

entertains friends with a comic version of the story of his father's death,
complete with grotesque gestures for illustration. The story strikes his audi-
ences as wildly funny and, of course, too absurd to be true, even among most
of the circle of acquaintances in Nashville, a city which for a time maintains at
least the illusion of being not Southern in the novel.

It is the Cudworths, part of the circle of acquaintances in Nashville, who
offer the painful representation of the agrarian past for Jed. The Cudworths are
farmers (horse breeders) and Mrs. Cudworth is pregnant, a fact which the
couple relishes. Their stability and fertility contrast with the chaotic and
essentially sterile lives, including Jed's, revolving around them. Jed sees the
Cudworths as a dangerous force as they try to pull him into close friendship with
them, but he is also quite capable of self-analysis. "At their place," he says,

I had felt, now and then, a sense of unreality in their world, but now
... the awareness struck me that I had clung to that notion of the
unreality of their world simply because I could not face the painful
reality of their joy. The joy sprang from their willed and full
embracement of the process of their life in time, and I, God help
me, was in flight from Time. I could not stand the reporach of the
sight they provided. (252)

There are two other examples of fulfilled marriages and lives lived in time
in the novel. One is the second marriage of Jed's mother to Perk Simms back
in Dugton. The other is that between Rozelle Hardcastle, also from Dugton, and
a black man who for a time impresses the Nashville circle in the garb of a mystic
Swami but as it turns out actually has his origins in Dugton, too. As Rozelle
describes it to Jed, this martiage is, like that of the Cudworths, a return to an idea
of the past.

We've been martied a long time, Not old exactly, but definitely

slowed down. So, instead of ripping something off, sometimes we
just get to talking about some special time in the past. Or we talk
'Ole-Timey down home' talk, about Dugton High and what
happened .... And the longer we live with Wops and Dagos and
Wogs and Greasers and Frogs and even Limeys the more we
have a real Ole-Timey Confederate martiage, with the Stars and
Bars tacked on the wall above our bed. (367)

With this striking image Warren seems to suggest deliberately the in-
sideness of the outsider, the unusual union based on a felt sense of minority. Jed
is more successful than Bowman, Shiftlet or Christmas at reconciling himself
to the past he has rejected, but the pattern Warren uses to dramatize his problem
is nevertheless very similar to that used by Welty, O'Connor and Faulkner. And
one could provide other examples Walker Percy's The Moviegoer, for

40

example, has a storyline that follows the same basic pattern, and John Earth's
Sabbatical.

With the pattern established, however, it is time to consider reasons that,
among writers of such diverse backgrounds, temperaments, styles and con-
cerns, this pattern is so prominent. There are several possible explanations.
Certainly there is the influence of historical reality. The works were written
during a century which has seen a mass exodus from the rural South, and there
is among the writers a common perception of a region ' s loss of identity with the
loss of an agriculture and the emergence of an agribusiness. Also, like many
modem writers, these southerners have been influenced by the mythic method
as pioneered by James Joyce, T. S. Elliot and others. Apparent in these stories
is the influence of the Parable of the Prodigal Son for whom the return home,
at least in the King James version, was equated with a return to self. There is
also a perhaps obvious parallel to the seductions of Odysseus during his
wanderings.

What Southern writers have done with the recurrence of this narrative
pattern, however, is to, in a sense, tell a single story, the story of the problem
of home for the modem Southemer, who has at least the idea that he used to have
a home but is homeless now because of some change, perhaps some catastro-
phe. In just the selection of stories I have used here, home has some terrible
associations poverty, racism, ignorance, and zealous fundamentalism; and
there is also the sense of what John Crowe Ransom described as a phenomena
of the post-war South: that some people "were grotesque in their efforts to make
an art out of living when they were not decendy making the living" (16). But
love, when it exists, is inextricably and complexly interwoven with these
unflattering conditions and manners. These writers have in common the
perception of this dubious relation to the past. Thus they dramatize the reproach
and horror of the mral past to the wanderer in these stories. The idea of the rural
past is the Sirens' song against which the wanderer must stop his ears or bind
himself and keep the oars rowing.

WORKS CITED

Faulkner, William. Light in August. The Modem Library Edition. New York: Random House Inc.
1950.

O'Connor, Flannery. "The Life You Save May Be YourOv/n." Flannery O'Connor: The Complete
Stories. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971. 145-156.

Ransom, John Crowe. "Reconstructed but Unregenerate." /'// Take My Stand: The South and the
Agarian Tradition. Harper Torchbook Edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1962: 1-27.

Walker, Marshall. Robert Penn Warren: A Vision Earned. Glasgow: Barnes & Noble, 1979.

Warren, Robert Penn. A Place To Come To. New York: Random House, 1977.

Welty, Eudora. "Death of a Traveling Salesman." A Curtain of Green and Other Stories. New
York: Harcourt, Brace & World, hic, 1941.

41

THE GEORGIA REVENUE SYSTEM:
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

by Richard D. Guynn and Leland Gustafson*

Economic growth and the scope of economic activity in most states have
radically changed the public's concept of the responsibility of state govern-
ment. During the last thirty to forty years, state governments have expanded the
scope and improved the quality of numerous goods and services that they
provide their citizens. Rising state and local government expenditures and
revenues have been a common experience for state governments for several
decades, and this trend is expected to continue into the future. The state of
Georgia and other regional states have shown no exception to this trend. In light
of this past tendency toward increasing government spending, a reasonable
assumption is that the citizens of this mid-south region will continue to demand
state-financed services in greater quantity and improved quality. If additional
services are demanded, increased revenues will be required to finance the
expansion of government services.

Before addressing the need to raise additional revenues, it is essential to
examine the controversial issue concerning our current revenue system and the
belief by many individuals that state taxes are already too high. The facts about
whether a state is a high tax state or a low tax state are inconclusive.

Factors in addition to number and quality of services which may influence
a state's expenditures and thus its tax structure include characteristics of the
state such as its geographical area, urban versus rural population, and terrain.

It is also important to examine efficiency in utilizing available funds and the
effect of waste on government spending. A state is in constant competition with
other states as it attempts to attract business and individuals to locate within its
boundaries. Thus a state needs to examine how its tax structure and services
compare to those of surrounding states. This paper will attempt to examine
Georgia's tax structure and compare it to the tax structures of regional states
(Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee) that comprise the
Sixth Federal Reserve District as well as to national averages.

Scholars in public finance have yet to determine an ideal tax system and
expenditure level. Rather than attempt to describe an ideal system, this paper
will present descriptive data to answer the question, "Are Georgia's taxes too
high?"

Citizens of a state are the principal recipients of the goods and services
provided by that state. Typical governmental expenditures fall into the general

*Professors of Economics, West Georgia College

42

categories of education, public welfare, health and hospitals, highways, natural
resources, housing and community development and other minor areas.

States receive revenue from a variety of sources such as taxes, user fees,
trusts, intergovernmental transfers, charges and other miscellaneous sources.
Taxes are paid by residents and businesses as well as by non-residents. Tax data
are not reported by taxpayer category. Comparing state tax collections in one
state to those in another state is sometimes misleading because some taxes can
be shifted to non-residents and various sources can be used to different degrees.
Shifting taxes to persons and businesses out of state is possible in those states
which have a large tourist trade and those states which can rely heavily upon
extractive taxes. One problem that exists is deciding how broadly revenue
should be defined and which sources should be used for comparison purposes.
Although these problems occur, comparisons can be useful since alternative
data are not available.

Most of the comparisons in this study are based on 1987 data as reported by
the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Advisory Commission on Intergov-
ernmental Relations. While this is the most recent data available, it is recog-
nized that states may change their tax systems from time to time. Substantive
changes would alter the state's relative position when compared to other states.
Other variables such as the growth of the economy, population, and personal
income make comparisons difficult. To make this data more meaningful, it is
presented in terms of taxes per capita, taxe s per $ 1 ,000 of personal income , and
taxes as a percentage of income.

The Georgia State Tax System

Table 1 shows revenue sources for state and local government for Georgia
during 1986-1987. A significant amount of revenue comes from other levels of
government, mainly from the federal government, and is called intergovern-
mental revenue. During the 1986-1987 year, Georgia received almost 2.8
billion dollars from the federal government for various functions. This amount
was 14.7 per cent of the total state revenue. The remaining revenue was
generated by the state revenue system. Taxes accounted for 8.5 billion dollars
or 45.4 per cent of state and local governmental revenue. Current charges
accounted for the second largest source of revenue with collections slightly
over three billion dollars, 16. 1 per cent of total.

All states rely heavily upon taxes for revenue but not to the same extent. (See
Tables 2 and 3) During the 1986-1987 year, 48.1 per cent of all revenue
collected by all state and local governments combined in the United States
came from taxes. Other revenues, excluding intergovernmental revenues, were
generated by current charges (10.2%), miscellaneous revenues (9.5%), utility
revenue (5.5%) insurance trusts (12.7%), and liquor stores (0.4%). Compared

43

to the United States percentage distribution, all of the regional states collected
less than the national average from taxes. Florida collected 47.5 percent of its
total revenue from taxes. Georgia collected 45.4 percent. All of the other
regional states collected less than 40.0 per cent of their revenue from taxes.
Transfers from the federal government were higher than the national average
in all the regional states except Florida which received only 10.6 per cent of its
total revenue from this source. Revenues from current charges were higher in
all of the regional states than the national average. Georgia received the highest
in the region with 1 6. 1 per cent of its revenue from current charges which was
significantly above the national average of 10.2 per cent. Charges and miscel-
laneous revenue consist of nontax revenue of governments from their own
sources. Most of this revenue is for charges for current services and sale of
products in connection with government activities.

Miscellaneous revenue is slightly less important in Georgia than for all
states combined. Insurance trust revenue amounted to 9.3 per cent of Georgia's
revenue compared with 12.7 for all states. All of the regional states collected
a smaller percentage from interest from insurance trusts than was true for all
states combined. Interest from trusts varies from time to time because funds
from this source depend on interest rates, inflation, and the management of
funds. Revenue from trusts could continue to fall should interest rates continue
the downward trend established in recent years. Two states in the region,
Alabama and Mississippi, collected 1.3 and 1.7 per cent, respectively, from
state-owned liquor stores.

Table 4 shows the amount of taxes collected by Georgia and surrounding
states. In terms of tax revenue per person, all of the regional states were below
the United States average. Georgia with collections of $2,078 per person was
higher than any other regional state. Georgia is a high revenue state compared
with the regional states but relatively low compared with all states in that it
ranked 32nd among all states in terms of taxes per capita. Georgia was a high
revenue state within the region with $191 dollars per thousand dollars of
personal income but again ranked 32nd among all states. Two states, Florida
and Tennessee, were ranked much lower in this category.

Tables 5 and 6 show state and local government revenue per capita and
percentage distribution for the region. Georgia received the second highest
percentage of revenue from the property tax (25.3%) while Florida received the
highest (33.2%). Tennessee received the highest percentage (45.9%) from the
general sales tax while Georgia was last in the region with only 28.0 per cent
coming from the general sales tax and ranked last in the region with 4.5 percent
of its tax revenue from the motor fuels tax. One apparent feature of the Georgia
tax system was its strong reliance on the individual and corporate income tax.
These taxes accounted for 30.4 percent of total taxes while the low state in the

44

region was Florida with only 3.6 per cent from this source. The category "other
taxes" contributed a modest 10.9 per cent of tax revenue in Georgia compared
with 25.0 per cent in Louisiana. Because collections from this category include
receipts from several types of taxes, these figures are difficult to compare.
Louisiana collected a large amount from the severance tax while Florida had
fairly significant amounts from a combination of the death and gift, and
severance tax.

Property Taxes

The property tax continues to be a major tax for the U.S. system of local
finance and continues to be a major local tax in most states. This tax is expected
to continue to retain a central role in local finance. Although many people think
that property taxes are too high in Georgia, according to the most recent figures
from the Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental relations (ACIR), state
and local governments in Georgia ranked 32nd among all states in terms of the
tax effort index. (See Table 7) This measure reflects the extent to which a state
utilizes its tax base. Tax effort is also a measure of the spending of a state
relative to its capacity. A tax effort index of 32 indicates that Georgia is less
dependent on the property tax for revenue than the average state. Although
Georgia ranked low compared with all states, it ranked second to Florida in the
region in all categories shown in Table 7. Georgia collected 7 1 .3 per cent of the
national per capita revenue from the property tax . Another measure of compari-
son (See Table 8) is the use of effective property tax rates. The effective tax rate
is the tax liability taken as a percentage of the market value of the property.
Table 8 shows that Georgia placed 36th among all of the states and placed
second to Tennessee in the region. Georgia's effective property tax rate was
77.5 per cent of the national average. Thus Georgia appears to be a moderately
low property tax state when compared to all states but relatively high in the
region.

Individual Income Tax

A major revenue producer for most states is the personal income tax. These
taxes are frequently reported as per capita tax collection and taxes per $1,000
of personal income. A weakness in comparing per capita collections is that
these measures provide no indication of an individual's economic ability to pay
taxes. Another limitation is that both low and high populated states can have
relatively high per capita collections. An acceptable measurement of the tax
burden of a state is taxes per $1,000 of personal income since economists
frequently argue that all taxes are paid from income.

In 1980, none of the regional states ranked as high as the national average
in taxes per $1,000 of personal income (See Table 9). In 1980, Georgia ranked
37th in the U.S. and was the third highest in the region by this measure. By 1 985,
Georgia had fallen to 44th in the nation and was one of the four states in the

45

region that decreased in rank. From 1980 to 1985, Louisiana had increased its
tax effort in terms of taxes per $ 1 ,000 of personal income, from 96.8 to 109.3
percent of the national average. In 1985, it was the only state in the region that
ranked above the national average. Using this measure of tax effort, it could be
concluded that Georgia is not a high tax state.

Louisiana ranked the highest in the region (32nd) in 1980 while all the
regional states ranked well below the national average in terms of taxes per
capita.(See Table 10) Georgia ranked the second highest in the region when
measuring state taxes per capita as a per cent of the national average with 77.7
per cent. Geographical area and population appear to have little effect on the
amount of per capita state taxes collected. By 1985, little improvement had
been made in per capita tax collections. One state in the region, Mississippi,
showed a modest decrease in taxes per capita from 1980 to 1985. Georgia was
the second highest in the region in 1985 with an index of 80.7 or 20 per cent
below the national average. This represents an increase of 3.0 percent. None of
the midsouth states had a strong tax effort based upon a comparison of per
capita state-local tax revenue.

Business Taxes

Corporate management usually considers taxes paid by businesses when
determining new locations for industry expansion. High taxes in general will
adversely affect the location choice and consequently reduce the potential
economic activity, job opportunities and property values. Since states vary
widely in their taxation of businesses, it is difficult to make comparisons. Firms
in the extractive industries may be affected the most by property taxes and the
severance tax.

Thirty-four states in the United States levy a severance tax. A severance tax
is imposed distinctively on removal of products (e.g., oil, gas, minerals, timber,
etc). Georgia was the only regional state with no revenue from the severance
tax while Louisiana collected 13.1 percent of its revenue from this source. The
other regional states collected only a small percentage of their revenues from
the severance tax (See Table 1 1).

All of the regional states impose a corporate income tax. Georgia and
Tennessee received 8.4 and 8.3 per cent respectively from the corporate income
tax, which is a tax on corporations and unincorporated businesses measured by
net income. Sometimes this tax is called a "license" or "franchise" tax but is
included in government data as measured by net income. Comparisons among
sates are difficult because factors such as the tax rate and the methods by which
profits are measured vary. For example, in four of the regional states, the federal
tax base is used as the state tax base. Louisiana and Mississippi define their own
tax base. Each regional state has a different rate schedule. Hence, little can be

46

concluded from the examination of state corporate income tax. The state of
Georgia appears to be in Hne with many states concerning the use of the federal
tax base, the deductibility of income taxes, and tax rates.

Other state taxes imposed on businesses such as property taxes and occupa-
tion and business taxes were minor sources of revenues in all of the regional
states. Georgia collected 0.5 percent of its tax revenue from the occupation and
business tax, and 0.3 per cent of its total state tax revenue came from the
property tax in 1987 (See Table 1 1).

Sales and gross receipts taxes are imposed on sales of particular commodi-
ties or services as gross receipts of particular businesses (motor fuels, alcoholic
beverages, tobacco products, insurance companies, public utilities, etc.).
Georgia collected 14.1 per cent of its tax revenue from the selective sales and
receipts tax in 1987, the smallest percentage in the region. Four of the regional
states collected over 20.0 per cent of their tax revenue from this source.
Alabama collected the highest percentage (26.6 percent) in the region. Georgia
is clearly a low tax state in the use of selective sales and gross receipts taxes.
Two |-easons which account for comparatively low tax collection in this
category are Georgia's low tax per package on cigarettes and low tax on
gasoline.

General sales or gross receipts taxes are applicable with only specified
exceptions to all types of goods and services whether at a single rate or at
classified rates. Tennessee led the region with 77.3 per cent of its tax revenue
from this category. Georgia was the second lowest in the region with 32.7 per
cent coming from general sales and gross receipts taxes in 1987. Thus Georgia
was a low tax producer in this category within the region. Only Alabama with
27.4 per cent of its tax revenue from this source was lower than Georgia. In
1987, Georgia's state general sales tax rate was 3.0 per cent. Two states in the
region (Alabama and Louisiana) had a state wide rate of 4.0 per cent. The
highest rate (6.0) existed in Mississippi.

Tax Capacity and Tax Effort

As previously mentioned, it is difficult to make meaningful comparisons of
tax data from one state to another because tax rates and bases and the
combination of taxes levied are different. In recent years the Advisory Com-
mission on Intergovernmental Relations (ACIR) has developed alternative
methods of estimating the revenue raising ability of state and local govern-
ments. The Representative Tax System (RTS) and Representative Revenue
System (RRS) are methods developed by the ACIR for measuring the fiscal
capacity of each state. The RTS defines tax capacity as the dollar amount of
revenue that state and local governments would raise if they applied a
nationally uniform set of tax rates to a commonly used set of tax bases. The RRS

47

defines revenue capacity in a similar manner, but includes a number of nontax
revenue bases in addition to all the tax bases included in the RTS. Thus, the RTS
and RRS express fiscal capacity as the relative per capita amount of revenue a
state would raise if it used "representative" tax and revenue systems. Fiscal
capacity indicators are good measures of state governments' potential ability
to raise revenue. The index can be interpreted as a measure of how much a state
elects to utilize its potential revenue base relative to other states. For example,
if a state index is less than 100, the national average, then that state's fiscal effort
is less than the national average.

The fiscal capacity of the regional states as expressed by the RTS and RRS
is shown in Table 12. The RTS index of fiscal capacity for Georgia was 87 in
1986 giving the state a national rank of 38. Georgia's rank was the second
highest in the region but was 13 percent below the national average. Florida
ranked 49th in the nation and was 23 percent below the nation's average.

Table 12 also shows that when the RRS index is used, Georgia ranked 23rd
in the U.S. with an index only 1 percent below the national average. Two states
(Alabama and Mississippi) ranked above the national average in this category
with an RRS index of 102 and 109 respectively. The RTS measure of fiscal
capacity shows Georgia to be below average for the nation while the RRS index
of fiscal capacity shows it to be near (99%) the national average. Thus, this
fiscal capacity indicator demonstrates that Georgia approximated the national
average in the utilization of its potential revenue base.

Summary

The authors have attempted to provide a brief overview of Georgia state and
local revenues with attention to the issue: Is Georgia a high tax state?
Conclusions are as follows:

1 . Georgia collected a smaller percentage of its total revenue from taxes
than the U.S. average.

2. The state of Georgia is a high tax state in the region measured by taxes
per capita but ranked 32nd among all states. Georgia ranked low in the
region in the use of several taxes (general sales, motor fuels, severance,
and miscellaneous taxes). The state relied heavily on the personal and
corporate income tax.

3. The Advisory Commission on Intergovermental Relations Tax Effort
Index shows that Georgia had a tax effort index of 32 which was below
the national average for state and local governments. But the state was
the second highest in the region using the tax effort index. Georgia
collected 71.3 percent of the national per capita average from this tax.
The state's effective property tax rate ranked low nationally but high in
the region.

48

4. Income and property taxes paid by families are not high compared with
all states but collections are high for the region.

5. Georgia was the only state in the region with no revenue from extractive
taxes. However, only one regional state (Louisiana) had substantial
collections from this source.

6. Corporate income tax collections ranked Georgia first in the region in
terms of collections as a percent of total revenue.

7. Taxes on businesses such as property taxes and occupation and business
taxes were minor sources of revenue for all of the regional states.

8. Sales and gross receipts taxes were smaller contributors of total tax
collections in Georgia compared with the regional states, thus making
the state low in the region.

9. Georgia was the second lowest in the region with only 32.7 percent of
its total tax revenue from general sales and gross receipts taxes in 1987.
This comparatively small percentage indicates a weaker reliance on the
general sales and gross receipts tax.

10. Fiscal capacity indices are used to measure how much a state utilizes its
revenue base relative to other states. The RTS index developed by the
ACIR shows Georgia's tax effort to be high in the region but low among
all states. The RRS index shows that Georgia was near the national
average in terms of its ability to raise revenue.

The overall assessment shows that Georgia is a low tax state in most
categories compared with all states and comparatively high in most categories
when compared with the regional states. The tax effort or revenue effort index
is constructed by dividing actual taxes per capita by capacity per capita in each
state, and then multiplying by 100. An index above 100 means that the state,
compared with all others, is above average in the extent to which it exploits the
particular tax or revenue base. The state is below the national average in its
fiscal effort using the RTS and approximately the national average using the
RRS index.

49

Table 1
State and Local Government Revenue
from Major Sources, 1986-87 (Millions)

Source

Amount

Per cent of Total

Intergovernmental Revenue

(Federal Gov't)'

$2,756

14.7

Taxes

8,535

45.5

Current charges '

3,034

16.1

Misc. severance plus

interest ''

1,361

7.2

Utility revenue

1,365

7.3

Insurance trust '*

1,744

9.3

Total

$18,795

100.0

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census Government Finances in 1986-1987.

'Intergovernmental Revenue from Federal Government Intergovernmental revenue received by

a government directly from the federal government.

^Current Charges Amounts received from the public for performance of specific services

benefiting the person charged. Includes fees, assessments, and other reimbursements for current

services, rents and sales derived from commodities or services, gross income of commercial

activities, and the like.

'Severance Taxes imposed distinctively on removal of natural products (e.g., oil, gas, other

minerals, timber, etc).

Insurance trust A plan for compulsory or voluntary social insurance (insurance protection of

persons or their survivors against economic hazards arising from retirement, disability, death,

illness, unemployment, etc.).

Table 2

State and Local Government Revenue from Major Sources,

Selected States, 1986-1987 (Millions)

Inter

Current

Misc.

Utility

Insur

Liquor

State

Gov't

Taxes

Charges

Revenue

Revenue Trusts

Store Total

Alabama

1,742

4,440

1,762

969

998

1,058

140 11,110

Florida

3,668

16,412

4,613

3,885

2,593

3,365

34,537

Georgia

2,756

8,535

3,034

1,361

1,365

1,744

18,795

Louisiana

2,735

5,473

1,739

1,779

610

1,613

13,949

Mississippi

1,314

2,599

1,084

645

335

689

112 6,778

Tennessee

2,131

5,612

1,767

798

3,149

1,316

14,773

U.S.

114,996

405,150 86,199

79,820

46,477

106,615

3,333 842,589

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Government Finances in 1986-
1987.

50

Table 3

State and Local Government Revenue from Major Sources,

Percentage Distribution, 1986-87

Inter

Current

Misc.

Utility

Insur.

Liquor

State

Gov't

Taxes

Charges

Revenue

Revenue

Trusts

Store

Total

Alabama

15.7

40.0

15.9

8.7

9.0

9.5

1.3

100.0

Florida

10.6

47.5

13.4

11.2

7.5

9.7

100.0

Georgia

14.7

45.4

16.1

7.2

7.3

9.3

100.0

Louisiana

19.6

39.2

12.5

12.8

4.4

11.6

100.0

Mississippi

19.4

38.3

16.0

9.5

4.9

10.2

1.7

100.0

Tennessee

14.4

38.0

12.0

5.4

21.3

8.9

100.0

U.S.

13.6

48.1

10.2

9.5

5.5

12.7

0.4

100.0

Source: Calculated from Table 2

Table 4

State and Local Revenue for Georgia,

Regional States, and U.S., 1986

Revenue

Revenue

Per

Per $1,000

State

Person

Rank

Personal Income

Rank

Alabama

1,756

44

194

25

Horida

2,072

33

167

47

Georgia

2,078

32

191

32

Louisiana

2,016

37

178

10

Mississippi

1,649

50

170

19

Tennessee

1,684

49

142

46

U.S.

2,347

162

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Government Finances,
1986-87, Washington, D.C.

51

Table 5

State and Local Government Revenue, Per Capita,

Selective States, 1986-1987

Motor

Income

Total

General

Motor

Vehicle

Indiv.&

Other

State

Taxes

Property

Sales

Fuel

Licence

Corp.

Taxes

Alabama

1,088

124

328

72

29

269

265

Florida

1,365

453

459

81

33

50

290

Georgia

1,372

347

384

62

12

418

149

Louisiana

1,227

198

485

80

16

141

306

Mississippi

990

235

387

50

22

159

137

Tennessee

1,156

249

531

101

34

76

167

Sources: Calculated from table 5A

Table 5A

State and Local Government Revenue Selective States,

1986-1987 (Millions)

Motor

Income

Total

General

Motor

Vehicle

Indiv.&

Other

State

Taxes

Property

Sales

Fuel

License

Corp.

Taxes

Alabama

4,441

505

1.341

296

119

1,097

1,083

Florida

16,412

5,445

5,515

971

400

596

3,485

Georgia

8.535

2,161

2,387

387

74

2,598

929

Louisiana

5,473

882

2,165

357

73

630

1,366

Mississippi

2,599

616

1,016

132

58

418

359

Tennessee

5,612

1,207

2,576

489

165

367

809

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, Government Finances in 1986-1987

52

Table 6
Per Cent Distribution, State and Local Government Revenue,

1986-1987

Motor

Income

Total

General

Motor

Vehicle

Indiv.&

Other

State

Taxes

Property

Sales

Fuel

License

Corp.

Taxes

Alabama

100.0

11.4

30.2

6.7

2.7

24.7

24.4

Florida

100.9

33.2

33.8

5.9

2.4

3.6

21.2

Georgia

100.0

25.3

28.0

4.5

0.9

30.4

10.9

Louisiana

100.0

16.1

39.6

6.5

1.3

11.5

25.0

Mississippi

100.0

23.7

39.1

5.1

2.2

16.1

13.8

Tennessee

100.0

21.5

45.9

8.7

2.9

6.5

14.4

Sources: Calculated from table 5A.

Table?

Property Taxes, Tax Capacity, Tax Revenue,

Revenue Per Capita, Tax Effort Index and Rank, 1986

Revenue

Tax

Tax

Tax

Per

Effort

State

Capacity

Revenue

Capita

Index

Rank

Alabama

$1,282

$ 479

$118

37.4

50

Florida

5,604

4,794

411

85.5

29

Georgia

2,557

2,009

329

78.6

32

Louisiana

1,751

852

189

48.7

47

Mississippi

743

580

221

78.1

34

Tennessee

1,630

1,131

235

69.4

39

U.S.

463

100.0

Source: Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations {ACIR) State Fiscal Capacity and
Effort, 1987, Washington, D.C.

53

Table 8

Average Effective Property Tax Rates,

Regional States, 1986

State

Effective
Property
Tax Rate

Rank

Alabama

Florida

Georgia

Louisiana

Mississippi

Tennessee

U.S.

0.39

49

0.89

39

0.90

36

0.25

50

0.77

42

1.04

30

1.16

Source: Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Significant Features of Fiscal
Federalism, 1988, Vol. 1.

Table 9

Regional States Rank and Index Based

on Tax Revenue per $1,000 of Personal

Income, 1980 and 1985

1980

1985

Per Cent

Change

State

Rank Index

Rank

Index

Index

Alabama

43 84.5

45

87.3

3.3

Florida

50 77.2

49

80.7

4.5

Georgia

37 92.3

44

88.5

3.9

Louisiana

29 96.8

11

109.3

12.8

Mississippi

32 93.6

33

93.8

0.2

Tennessee

48 82.0

48

83.7

2.1

U.S.

25 100.0

23

100.0

0.0

Source: Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Re\auons,Measuring State Fiscal Capacity,
1987, Washington, D.C.

54

Table 10

Taxes Per Capita Rank and Index,

Regional States, 1980 and 1985

1980

1985

Per Cent

Change

Index

State

Rank

Index

Rank

Index

Alabama

50

65.7

49

67.6

2.9

Florida

42

76.0

39

80.6

6.0

Georgia

39

77.7

38

80.7

3.8

Louisiana

32

84.8

31

88.5

4.4

Mississippi

51

65.4

51

62.6

-4.3

Tennessee

48

66.3

48

67.9

2.3

U.S.

18

100.0

17

100.0

0.0

Source: Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations, Measuring State Fiscal Capacity,
1987, Washington, D.C.

Table 12

Regional States Representative Tax System

Representative Revenue System, Tax Effort Indes,

Revenue Effort Index and Rank, 1986

RTS

RRS

State

Index'

Rank^

Index

Rank

Alabama

86

41

102

16

Florida

77

49

84

48

Georgia

87

38

99

23

Louisiana

91

34

99

22

Mississippi

97

24

109

9

Tennessee

84

44

90

42

U.S

100

100

Tax Effort Index
' Revenue Effort Index

55

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WORKS CITED

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Measuring State Fiscal Capacity, 1987.
Wasiiington, D.C.

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. Significant Features of Fiscal Federal-
ism. 1988 Edition, Vol. I. Washington. D.C.

Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations. State Fiscal Capacity and Effort, 1986.
Washington, D.C.

U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. Govfr/iwf/irFmawfe.y/A; 7956-7957. Washing-
ton, D.C.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census, State Government Finances in 1987.
Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Census. State Government Tax Collections in 1988.
Washington, D.C.

56

ABSTRACTS OF MASTER'S THESES AND SPECIAL-
IST IN EDUCATION PROJECTS

THE EFFECT BETWEEN VOLUNTARY AND NON-VOLUNTARY

STAFF DEVELOPMENT ATTENDANCE ON THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF COOPERATIVE

LEARNING IN THE MIDDLE GRADE CLASSROOM

Diana Lee Rhan Adams
(EdS, Middle Grades, December, 1989)

Education has been on the firing line for the last two decades to improve
student performance on tests. An abundant amount of research has been written
about how poor our nation's educational system has become. Millions of
dollars have been spent to help improve the situation, yet the results seem to be
minor on the surface.

All across the country teachers are being encouraged and required to attend
workshops, in-service programs, and earn additional college credit to help add
new and fresh ideas to teaching strategies. Still students have not exhibited
results of all the money and instruction being afforded them.

Teachers are being tested in some states to ascertain if their teaching
knowledge is sufficient, and still there seems little evidence of improvement.
Yet, when new techniques come out there are no specific guidelines to evaluate
the effectiveness of the technique; all too often teachers feel their time is being
wasted on expensive programs that do not work.

This study was undertaken to determine if in-service workshops were more
beneficial when teachers volunteered to attend versus the benefit to teachers
who were required to attend.

A 12 question yes/no survey was administered to 19 teachers in four
counties of Northwest Georgia. The teachers were divided into two groups,
those who volunteered to attend a cooperative learning workshop in the Atlanta
area and those who were required to attend the workshop to see if there was a
significant difference in the implementation of cooperative learning between
the two groups.

While the results of this study showed that indeed there was no significant
difference in the two groups, it is felt by the researcher that a larger study sample
might have proven that there would be a difference betwen the study samples.
Also implied in the study is the need for a control group to be used to ascertain
more characteristic results.

57

A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF

THREE INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS

ON THE SPELLING ACHIEVEMENT OF TENTH

GRADE STUDENTS

Judy A. Aired
(EdS, Secondary Education, June, 1989)

This study was conducted in order to determine the effects of three specified
spelling instructional methods on the spelling achievement of lOth-grade
students in a north Georgia high school. Three sophomore general curriculum
classes at Murray County High School were used as the subjects of this study.
A specified instructional method Shaughnessy 's Error Analysis, Ward/Chit-
tenden Mulri-sensory Approach, and Do-or-Die Spelling was used with each
class over a five week period. Seventy-one students completed the project after
1 1 were eliminated due to absenteeism. All groups received spelling instruction
for a total of 50 minutes each week. The pretest/posttest and weekly spelling
tests were designed by the researcher. All groups received the same spelling
words for tests. A t-test was used to find the significance, and the .05 level of
significance was set as the level at which the null hypotheses would be rejected.
Results indicated that none of the instructional methods showed a significant
gain; therefore, the null hypotheses were not rejected.

AN ANALYSIS OF PERSONALITY FACTORS

AND PERCEIVED RESISTANCE

TO ORGANIZATION CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT:

A CORRELATION STUDY

Thomas Paul Anderson
(MA, Psychology, August, 1988)

This study attempted to add some clarity to the resistance via personality
debate as it applies to organizational change and development (OC&D)
workshops. Sixty students in an undergraduate management course were
administered 12 personality and attitude scales (PASs), viewed a video
presentation on the pros and cons of OC&D (including current reports by ABC
News 20/20), and completed a final questionnaire assessing willingness and
openness towards OC&D workshops. Subjects who completed no PASs were
significantly (p.< .01) more unwilling to participate. Machiavellianism and
Admiration for Status correlated significantly with unopenness at the .01 and

58

.25 levels respectively. It is suggested that these resistance factors, considered
by most OC&D practitioners to be situational, may be more closely associated
with individual personality than has previously been considered. How Machi-
avellian traits may be perpetuated within an organization, and how they may
be dealt with by the OC&D practitioner, are discussed. (Data included.)

TECHNOLOGIES: SUBSTITUTES FOR SELF-AUTHORITY

Jennifer Ann Augur
(MA, Psychology, June, 1987)

In an attempt to understand why the human being needs to be technological,
this thesis offers the response that it is in aversion to the anxiety produced by
the necessity of choice involved in self -authorization. Technological designs
mitigate subjective uncertainty by preconstituting the arena in which choices
can be made. Though the focus of this project is to discuss, from the perspective
of a "technophobic," a prejudicial negative aspect of the technological ability,
this aspect is kept in check by the Eastern philosophy of integration and is
related to the Myth of Sisyphus, a portrayal of human nature. A brief anthro-
pological inquiry is made into the evolution of the technological ability which
the author proposes to have occurred parallel to the development of self-
consciousness and with the inception of language. The study involves no
empirical data. All information was gathered from literature on the subject, and
the theory on which the paper is based is contrived in response to the author's
personal questions regarding her own self-authority.

A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF TWO METHODS OF
USING A FILM VIDEO WITH ROMEO AND JULIET

Teresa Anne Bennett
(EdS, Secondary Education, March, 1989)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether student achievement
and attitude would be significantly affected by the viewing of a film video of
Romeo and Juliet before or after classroom study of the drama during a four-
week study encompassing two ninth-grade language arts classes. The data

59

derived from the study were elicited from a content examination of the play and
an attitudinal inventory.

The two groups of students were given the following treatments within the
unit: students in Group A saw Franco Zefferilli's Romeo and Juliet after two
days of introduction, then read and studied the play closely. Students in Group
B saw the film video after reading and studying the play in class. Both groups
received identical classroom instruction with the exception of the scheduling
of the film video presentation.

The statistical analysis of the data revealed that Group B, video after, scored
significantly higher on the content examination. A significant difference in the
video-after group was noted in the following subsections: Background on
Shakespeare/Drama Technique, Plot Development, and Quote Recognition.
No significant difference in attitude was found between the two groups.
Conclusions from this study indicate that students should view a film of Romeo
and Juliet after close classroom study to attain maximum content retention.

A RESOURCE GUIDE FOR THE TEACHING OF
LOCAL HISTORY IN BARTOW COUNTY, GEORGIA

David Bishop
(EdS, Secondary Education, August, 1989)

The purpose of this study is to provide a resource guide for teaching the
history of Bartow County, Georgia. At the present time, there is no resource
guide available for that purpose.

This resource guide, which is to serve as a starting point for further research
to be done by students, contains an overview of the history of the area. It also
lists historic sites and homes with brief descriptions, historic markers, and
various museums and describes some of the important churches and cemeter-
ies. Other resources listed are depositories of information such as libraries,
government offices, and newspaper offices and a number of resource persons
with a working knowledge of various aspects of Bartow history.

60

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TELEVISION

VIEWING TIME AND READING

ACHIEVEMENT OF SECOND-, FOURTH-, AND

FIFTH-GRADE STUDENTS

Joy J. Shall Broome
(EdS, Middle Grades, December, 1988)

This research project was designed to determine the relationship, if any,
between the reading achievement and the amount of time spent viewing
television. A questionnaire was distributed requesting information about the
amount of television viewed. The number of viewing hours was correlated with
the score obtained by the student on the reading subtest of the Iowa Test of Basic
Skills.

The resulting Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was not
significant at the .05 level of significance. Therefore, the hypotheses stating no
significant relationship between the amount of television viewed and reading
achievement were not rejected at grade levels 2, 4, or 5. Further research was
recommended.

THE EFFECTS OF IMPROVED CHEMISTRY

LABORATORY FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT ON STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT IN SCIENCE

Dianna Holcomh Bryant
(EdS, Secondary Education, August, 1989)

This study was conducted to determine if improved chemistry laboratory
facilities and equipment have a positive effect on student achievement in sci-
ence. The 33 member control group (students enrolled in chemistry prior to lab
improvements) and the 30 member treatment group (students enrolled in
chemistry after lab improvements) consisted of college preparatory, first- year
chemistry students. Findings of the study were based on data collected from
chemistry yearly averages and science standard scores on the Iowa Test of
Basic Skills (ITBS). The data were analyzed using an analysis of convariance
and tables were prepared for chemistry means, ITBS science standard scores,
and sources of convariance. A probability level of .05 was selected to determine

61

significance. Science standard scores on the ITBS were found to be signifi-
cantly higher for the experimental group, and the null hypothesis was rejected
on this basis; however, chemistry yearly averages showed no significant
difference between the groups.

THE EFFECTS OF THE USE OF THE ELECTRONIC

HAND-HELD CALCULATOR

ON MATHEMATICAL COMPUTATION AND APPLICATION

ABILITIES OF SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS

Rita G. Carter
(EdS, Middle Grades, December 1988)

This project was conducted to compare mathematics achievement of sixth-
grade students who were allowed to use calculators to sixth-grade students who
were not allowed to use calculators. Two null hypotheses were written to
determine if there was a significant difference between these two groups of
students. One hypothesis evaluated students in the area of mathematical
computation and another hypothesis tested the differences in the area of
applications of mathematical concepts. The study was conducted during the
first semester of the 1988-1 989 school year at Purks Middle School and Cedar
Hill Middle School in Cedartown, Georgia. The experimental group was two
already formed classes at Purks Middle School: one was composed of students
of low to average ability in mathematics and the other was composed of
students of average to high ability in mathematics. The control group was also
two previously formed classes at Cedar Hill Middle School of the same ability
levels as the two classes chosen for the experimental group. None of the
subjects participating in the study were identified as special needs students.

The design chosen for this project was the nonequivalent control group
design. A pretest divided into computation and applications sections was
administered before instruction of the objectives selected by the researcher.
Selected objectives were found in Polk School District's Curriculum Guide and
in Merrill Mathematics 6 and dealt with whole number concepts and opera-
tions. Subjects in the experimental and control group were taught the same
objectives during the eight-week treatment period. The independent variable
was use of calculators by the experimental group. Use of calculators was
virtually unlimited during the course of the project for the experimental group,
while the control group was not allowed to use calculators. Following the

62

treatment period, a posttest was administered to all students. The posttest was
designed to be parallel to the pretest.

Pretests and posttests were scored and organized into raw data tables. The
statistic used was analysis of covariance. Posttest scores served as the depend-
ent variable and pretest scores as the covariate. Data were analyzed in the two
areas of computation and applications. With a level of significance set at .05,
data analysis showed no significant difference between the experimental and
control groups in either computation or applications.

The conclusions of this study were the same as conclusions drawn by the
research studies reviewed by the researcher in Chapter II of this paper. Middle
grades students who use calculators in mathematics classes do as well or better
as students who do not use calculators. Results of this study did not favor the
experimental group, but no significant difference was found between the two
groups. The null hypotheses were not rejected.

THE VALUE OF PRE-SCHOOL ENTRANCE

READINESS TEST SCORES AS PREDICTORS OF FIRST GRADE

READING PERFORMANCE

Myra Annette Clement
(EdS, Early Childhood, March, 1988)

Reading readiness and its correlation to reading achievement has been a
concern for those persons interested in the education of children for the past
three decades. Much emphasis has been placed on the concept of reading
readiness, with many pre-first grade teachers teaching only reading readiness
skills, rather than nurturing reading with natural pre-reading activities. In most
school systems, there is much emphasis placed on the results of readiness tests,
these being the placement of students in reading activities, and the prediction
of reading achievement shown by reading achievement tests. Therefore, the
purpose of this study was to compare the scores made on the Metropolitan
Reading Readiness Test given to students at the beginning of the 1986-1987
school year to the scores made on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Test given
to the same students at the end of the 1986-1987 school year.

63

A COMPARISON OF TWO APPROACHES TO READING

INSTRUCTION AND THEIR EFFECTS UPON THE READING

ACHIEVEMENT OF PRIMARY GRADE CHILDREN

Peggy Hinkle Colley
(EdS, Early Childhood, March, 1988)
In this study, two sets of reading achievement scores for first, second, and
third grade students were examined and compared in relation to the use of a
basal reading approach and Success in Reading and Writing for reading
instruction. Subjects were primary grade students in one school, who were
heterogeneously grouped in each class. There were 24 to 28 students in each
class, for a total of approximately 100 students per grade. There was no
significant difference in the two sets of reading scores, though there were some
differences in the subject areas that contribute to reading achievement, vocabu-
lary, spelling, and language.

THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER-CENTERED AND STUDENT-
CENTERED INSTRUCTION ON THE RESPONSES AND
ATTITUDES OF TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS
TO LITERATURE

Susan E. Collins
(EdS, Secondary Education, August, 1989)

This study was conducted to determine which instructional method, stu-
dent-centered or teacher-centered, had a greater effect on the responses and
attitudes of 53 12th-grade students in a unit of study on Romantic poetry in
British literature. Two college prep classes at Northwest Whitfield High School
in Tunnell Hill, Georgia, were the subjects for this four-week study. In the
student-centered class the students worked in small groups, selecting poems by
each writer, sharing responses, and making comments. In the teacher-centered
class the researcher selected works for study and led class discussions. At the
end of the unit, the students wrote an expository essay on a selected poem, took
a content test, and completed an attitude questionnaire. A t-test of independent
group comparison was performed on each measure to find whether there was
a significant difference. The .05 level of significance was set as the level at
which the null hypotheses would be rejected. Results indicated there was not
a significant difference between the two methods on the essay and content test;
therefore, the null hypotheses were accepted for these measures. There was a

64

significant difference between the two methods on the attitude questionnaire;
the null hypothesis was rejected for this measure. The student-centered group
did slightly better than the teacher-centered group on the three variables.

LA3AM0N'S BRVT: ARTHUR'S SECOND DREAM

Martha Dale Drummond
(MA, English, June, 1987)

King Arthur's second dream synthesizes a whole set of symbols which
Lawman adds to his version of Robert W ace's Roman deBrut. While his source
provides the impetus for his additions, Lawman goes far beyond Wace to create
a new poem. His method is to add these symbols at crucial points over the entire
tale so that they reach their full meaning in the dream.

Three of these symbols the hall, the moor, and the ocean furnish the
three settings for the dream's action. In addition to these major symbols, Law-
man develops those which actualize the events of the dream a fallen king, a
shattered family, broken arms, birds, a lion, and a fish.

The symbols combine to convey a world view of mutability tempered by
God's providence. The dream's message is that, though Authur's kingdom will
fall as all earthly kingdoms must, it will nevertheless one day become
revitalized. The dream forecasts civilization's dissolution, Authur's resultant
experience of despair, and his return.

LANGUAGE ARTS PERCEPTIONS FOR WRITING
INSTRUCTION PROCESS OR PRODUCT

Kay Eddleman
(EdS, Middle Grades, August, 1988}

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of language arts
teachers toward product and process instruction in writing in both their actual
and ideal practices. Sixty-two teachers in grades 4-8 participated in the study.
Thirty-three teachers answered a questionnaire about their actual composition
instructional behaviors, and 29 teachers answered the same questionnaire
about ideal behaviors for classroom writing instruction. The data obtained from

65

the questionnaires were used to test the hypotheses that there would be no
significant difference between the perceived actual process mean and the
perceived actual product mean as determined by the questionnaire and that
there would be no significant difference between the perceived ideal process
mean and the ideal product mean as determined by the questionnaire. The null
hypotheses were tested using t-test analyses at the .05 level of significance. The
t-test analyses for both comparisons were nonsignificant. For actual instruc-
tion, t = 1 .82, d.f. = 64, p > .05. For ideal instruction, t = 0.74, d.f. = 56, p > .05.

THE 27th GEORGIA INFANTRY
DURING THE CIVIL WAR

Mark G. Elam
(MA, History, June, 1989)

Historians have written many books on the major armies of the Civil War,
as well as the Corps, Divisions and even Brigades that made up these armies.
The regiment, however, has not received its fair share of attention. Being the
smallest element that manuevers as a unit on the battlefield, the importance of
the regiment is vital to the commander. These regiments, which usually started
the war at approximately one thousand men each, were cut down by the end of
the war to only a fraction of their original strength.

The 27th Georgia Infantry Regiment was one such regiment. It began the
war in September 1861 and fought throughout the war until after Lee's
surrender at Appomattox. It fought in the Peninsula Campaign, Antietam,
Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Morris Island, Olustee, Petersburg, Benton-
ville and many smaller battles before war's end. Not once did it break and in
every battle distinguished itself. Though the regiment fought on the losing side
and dispersed itself after the war to return home in defeat, it nonetheless could
be proud of its achievements through four long years of fighting.

66

THE EFFECTS OF PAIRED COMPUTER-ASSISTED

MATHEMATICS DRILL ON SIXTH-GRADE STUDENTS'

MATHEMATICS SKILLS ACHIEVEMENT

Paul Fontana
(EdS, Middle Grades, March, 1988)

This research was conducted to determine what effect the use of computer-
assisted instruction in mathematics has on the achievement of sixth-grade
students working in pairs.

Two sixth-grade classes at City Park School in Dalton, Georgia, participated
in the study. The two classes were randomly assigned to the experimental group
or the control group. Both groups were given a pretest before the start of the
mathematics unit, the addition and subtraction of fractions. Instruction for the
two classes was essentially the same with the exception of the computer-
assisted instruction, which the students did in groups of two. The control group
students did their practice work individually with paper and pencil.

The experiment was conducted over a six-week period, which included a
two-week break for winter holidays and a one-week school closure due to
inclement weather. Both groups received approximately one hour of instruc-
tion daily. The same material was covered and the same textbook was used.

The pretest and the post-test consisted of twenty questions each. They were
published by Harper and Row, the textbook publishers. The independent t-test
was used to compare the mean scores on the post-tests of the two groups.

Analysis of the data revealed that there was no significant difference
between the achievement of the students who received computer-assisted
instruction and the students who practiced individually with pencil and paper.

It was recommended that further research be conducted using paired
computer-assisted instruction under different conditions to determine whether
there are advantages other than achievement with computer-assisted instruc-
tion.

67

THE EFFECTS OF A UNIT OF STUDY ON THE CULTURAL

BIASES AGAINST IRANIANS OF A GROUP OF

SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS

Anna A. Franchini
(EdS, Middle Grades, August, 1989)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a unit of study on
the pre-existing cultural biases against Iranians of a group of seventh-grade
students.

The population of the study consisted of 1 97 seventh-graders in a metro-area
urban open-space middle school. The study was conducted from mid-February
to mid- April (the end of winter quarter to the middle of spring quarter) during
the 1988-1989 school year. A semantic differential of 1 Obi-polar adjectives in
a Likert scale arrangement and a 4-item agree -disagree checklist were admini-
stered during the regular daily Social Studies periods. The bi-polar adjective
pairs were hard-working/lazy, progressive/traditional, group-oriented/indi-
vidualistic, peace loving/war-like, intelligent/ignorant, artistic/unimaginative,
honest/sneaky, technologically advanced/backward, wealthy/poor, powerful/
weak. The agree-disagree statements were: I would... have an Iranian as a close
friend, live next door to an Iranian family, vote for an Iranian for U.S. Senator,
and associate with an Iranian personally only as a speaking acquaintance.

A 2X3 factorial analysis of variance was computed for the raw data derived
from the semantic differential. A simple frequency tally showing the percent-
age of change was computed for the agree-disagree checklist. For the analysis
of variance, the .05 level of significance was established as the level at which
the hypothesis would be rejected.

Results indicated that there was a statistically significant F ratio indicating
change in attitude for three of the attitude variables across the classes cell, and
for five of the ten variables in the pretest/posttest cells. Therefore, the null
hypothesis was rejected at the .05 level of significance for each of those
variables.

On the agree-disagree checklish survey, control group A moved in a positive
direction on all four items from the pretest to the posttest, control group B on
three of the four items, and the experimental group moved in a positive
direction on all four items but to a much greater degree than either of the control
groups.

Therefore, the study does give support to the hypothesis that a cultural unit
of study can have a significant effect in changing students' attitudes and
cultural biases.

68

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE ENCOUNTER
WITH A CATACLYSMIC TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARD

Phillip L. F he sen
(MA, Psychology, December, 1987)

This study utilizes a phenomenological approach to investigate the Uved
experience of the encounter with a cataclysmic technological hazard. Three
individuals living in rural settings were interviewed to obtain descriptions of
their experiences with the release of toxic substances from a neighboring
chemical company. The interviews were transcribed and restructured into
Individual Phenomenal Descriptions, which were then interrogated for imma-
nent meanings, contextual horizons, and other structural constituents of expe-
rience. This analysis yielded Individual Psychological Structure (IPSs), which
articulated the psychological significance of the phenomenon for each person.
An examination of the features and themes shared by the IPSs led to a five-
phased General Psychological Structure of the phenomenon. These phases,
which served to organize specific themes and psychological constituents, were
(a) Before Threat, (b) Emergence of Threat, (c) Real-ization of Threat, (d)
Acute Potentiality of Threat, and (e) After Threat. The General Psychological
Structure was found to hold for those situations in which persons (a) have not
previously experienced a cataclysmic technological hazard, (b) perceive them-
selves as living in a rural area, (c) are faced with a cataclysmic technological
hazard potential, (d) subsequently encounter the actualization of that hazard
potential through a singular incident, (e) live with the continued presence of the
hazard after the incident, and (f) finally witness the removal or curtailment of
the hazard. These findings are disciissed in terms of their implications for
identifying and classifying technological hazards and for their relevancy to
public policy, planning, judicial litigation, therapeutic practice and public
education.

THE CAMPUS DAY CARE DIRECTOR AND THE PROGRAM FOR
YOUNG CHILDREN: A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE

Beverly Ann Fulbright
(EdS, Early Childhood, June, 1987)

The purpose of this study was to examine and report court decisions
pertaining to certain aspects of the program of campus day care centers in
public institutions and the responsibility of day care directors in relation to the

69

court decisions and the statutes which relate to the court action. A standard
procedure for legal research was utilized in the compilation of the legal cases
for the study. The study was limited to the content of the program in three areas:
general consideration, religion, and patriotic exercises and to communication
about the program in relation to records of students and reporting child abuse.
The findings reveal that the courts do not have the power to make regulations
concerning the programs of day care centers. Unless it appears that the actions
of a day care director have been unconstitutional, illegal, or have been an abuse
of power, the courts will not interfere with the action or decisions made.

THE EFFECTS OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD ON CHICK
LIMBBUD FIBRO BLASTS IN CULTURE

Ronald Watson Griffith, Jr.
(MA, Biology, August, 1987)

Primary cultures of limb bud fibroblasts were established from six day chick
embryo limb buds and grown on a teflon substratum in chemically defined
serum-albumin free culture medium in a specially designed low volume culture
chamber with a small cross sectional area. Cell cultures were maintained for
seventy two hours and exposed to a steady DC electric field strength of
approximately 600 mV/mm for ninety minutes. Time lapse phase microscopy
studies show that the fibroblasts responded to the electric field, extending their
long axes, and some cells migrating in the direction of the cathode. Some cells
were observed to have extensive haloplasmic membrane and ruffling directed
toward the cathode (figure 1). Observations with the scanning electron micro-
scope showed typical stellate plating characteristics and fan shape of cells in
control cultures. Most cells which had been exposed to the electric field were
elongated, aligned parallel with one another, and perpendicular to the electric
field. Oriented cells also showed microspikes and lamellar processes extending
from their leading edge toward the cathode. In many cases these mocrospikes
spanned large cracks in the teflon substratum and many cells had actually
migrated over the cracks. The teflon substratum allowed easy removal of the
plastic embedded fibroblast monolayer. Cell cultures were labeled with Con-
canavalin A conjugated with ferritin in order to study differences in membrane
distribution along the cell periphery. Transmission electron microscope studies
of Con- A ferritin labeled cells revealed uniform cell membrane with very little
membrane debris surrounding the cells. Fibroblasts exposed to the electric

70

field, however, had large amounts of labeled membrane debris on their anodal
margin, suggesting migration in the direction of the cathode.

In summary a system was designed to effect changes in migration, elonga-
tion, and orientation by the use of an electromagnetic field. This system also
allows cell culture, electromatnetic field application, and preparation for
electron mocroscopy to be carried out in the same chamber.

SEVERE ASTHMA: THE MATRICES OF MEANING

Marsha V. Hammond
(MA, Psychology, August, 1988)

This study was undertaken to arrive at a more penetrative, comprehensive
understanding of the severe asthmatic's lived world. The prosaic, dualistic
approaches offer the severe asthmatic limited respite from the ravages of the
disease. A lifetime dependency on drugs with severe side effects is the only
hope that medically oriented treatments offer. Psychoanalytic treatment is
stalemated at the point where it transcribed the image of the asthmatic wheeze
into the symbol of a "cry for mother". Behaviorists and learning theorists have,
through the utilization of techniques of relaxation and desensitization, at least,
made the noble effort to introduce the asthmatic to therapies other than
medically approved ones, moving away somewhat from a drug-dependent
lifestyle. Severe asthmatics, though, are most thoroughly and penetratingly
limned through a phenomenological rendering of their lived world. Severe
asthmatics are caught up in a lived-world that is a trajectory with both perigean
and apogean moments. During a severe life-threatening attack, the severe
asthmatic is embedded at the perigean moment, from which there is no escape
and into which significant others do not easily pass. A phenomenological look
at the matrices of meaning of the lived world of the severe asthmatic will not
provide a cure, but it will make their world more comprehensible and acces-
sible.

71

A COMPARISON OF TWO METHODS OF TEACHING MAP
SKILLS AND PLACE KNOWLEDGE IN WORLD HISTORY

Bessie Henderson
(EdS, Secondary Education, March, 1988)

The difference in academic achievement between a group using textbook
maps and aids and a group using supplemental maps and map materials in two
world history classes was investigated. Two classes of tenth grade students
similar in composition in regard to sex and ability were used. The t-test was
computed for the pretest and the posttest. There was no statistically significant
difference in academic achievement between the group using the textbook
maps and aids and the group using the supplemental maps and map materials.
An attitudinal survey was administered to both classes at the conclusion of the
three-week study. Similar responses by both classes on the survey showed an
equal desire to use extra maps to enhance understanding of historical events.
Differences noted were in favor of the experimental group in regard to the use
of notes and maps over the use of just the textbook and in liking to study history.

A STUDY OF THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE

SUCCESSFUL TEACHING OF LOCAL HISTORY TO HISTORY

TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Laura A Henderson
(EdS, Secondary Education, June, 1988)

Today's student demands that learning be relevant to his needs and to
society. No longer can traditional methods suffice. This project was designed
to show, that through the use of traditional classroom methods of teaching,
history can be more relevant for the student of today.

After a thorough search of the related literature, it was found that here was
an abundance of techniques that can be used to make a traditional history class
come alive. A framework has also been established that can be used to find the
sources for local history in any locale. Included in this framework are an
extensive bibliography, which will allow flexibility in choosing the direction
that will help in any particular situation, and an appendix with several forms
that have been beneficial for field trips, the collecting of oral history and the
studying of one's family.

72

A COMPARISON OF ATTITUDES TOWARDS ACHIEVEMENT

IN MIDDLE GRADES GIFTED GIRLS: DOES

UNDERACHIEVEMENT IN GIFTED GIRLS HAVE ITS

INCEPTION IN MIDDLE GRADES?

Shanda Hickman
(EdS, Middle Grades, March, 1989)

This study was conducted to determine if attitudes towards achievement in
middle grades gifted females deteriorate as adolescence and its new identity
emerges. A total of 52 gifted females from grades 4,6, and 8 in Whitfield
County Schools were used in this study. Findings of the study were based on
data collected from an attitudes towards achievement questionnaire devised by
the researcher. This questionnaire consisted of one fill-in-the-blank question
and 10 forced choice questions. The data were analyzed using two-way Chi-
Square. Contingency tables were prepared separately for each forced choice
question. A probability level of .05 was established to determine significance.
Three of the 1 1 questions were found to be significant. The null hypothesis was
rejected for those questions only.

A DESCRIPTIVE EXPLORATION OF THE
IMPOSTER PHENOMENON

Judith Anne Norton
(MA, Psychology, June, 1987}

In their work with high achieving women, Clance and Imes ( 1 978) identified
a pattern of self-doubt which they named the imposter phenomenon, connot-
ing an inner sense of intellectual phoniness which persists despite objective
evidence of one's ability and success. This study analyses dialogal interviews
in order to examine the experience and meaning of the imposter phenomenon
for the individual. Participants were six self-described imposter phenomenon
sufferers. The empirical, descriptive methodology used provides a basis for
contextualizing the relative significance of themes which emerge from the
analysis of the data, as well as for evaluating the pertinence of the traditionally
derived findings of previous research. The findings, although congruent with
Clance and Imes ' theoretical constructs, go beyond them in identifying how the
"imposter" experiences herself, others, and achievement situations. It was
found that the imposter phenomenon arises out of the interaction of polarized
thinking with a sensitivity to the critical evaluation of others, and an identifi-
cation with one's expressive rather than one's instrumental abilities.

73

SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT: A PSYCHOLOGICAL

PERSPECTIVE OF "SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT"

IN HUMAN BEINGS

David M.S. Kimweli
(MA, Psychology, March, 1989)

This paper explores the quest for "Spiritual Fulfillment" that I found to be
existing among many peoples of many cultures, of many walks of life and of
many ages and sexes. In a nutshell Human beings experience a "Spiritual
Emptiness" that cannot be fulfilled by riches, fame, sex, power, organized
religion, or academic pursuits it is a cry of the inner person to tap into the
world of the Spirit. Thus, this paper, therefore, will take "you" along with me
through the "Journey of Exploration" into the world of the Spirit, people's en-
counters with ghosts and people's exhibitions of "Spiritual highness" as
characterized by spiritual activities that leave no doubt as to the "presence of
a higher being" in the so-called "spiritually fulfilled" persons.

THE EFFECTS OF READING ALOUD ON STUDENT
INTERESTS AND ATTITUDES TOWARD READING

Nancy McLendon King
(EdS, Middle Grades, June, 1989)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of reading aloud on
student interests and attitudes toward reading. A total of 78 eighth-grade
students participated in the study, 41 in the experimental group and 37 in the
control group. The study was conducted for a nine-week instruction period.
Classes were 55 minutes in length. The control group received instruction using
tha basal reader and accompanying materials. The experimental group was read
to aloud from selected materials for the first 10 minutes of each class period.
Reading selections focused on a particular category of literature for each week.
Student response and discussion were encouraged and materials were available
for check-out. The Thomas H. Estes Reading Attitude Inventory was given to
the experimental and control groups at the close of the study. Scores obtained
from the test were used as data, and the t-test was applied.

74

The mean difference was calculated to test the first hypothesis at the .05
level of significance. The results showed there was no significant difference in
the two groups. A Reader Interest Survey was given to the groups as a pre-and
post-test. Percentages were calculated from responses and compared. The
experimental group showed an increase in reading for pleasure and read from
more categories at the end of the test period. Introducing titles and authors
seemed to play a major role in book selection.

A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE USE OF A TRADITIONAL

SURVEY TEXTBOOK AND HISTORICAL NOVELS IN

UNITED STATES HISTORY INSTRUCTION

Robert J. Lauer
(EdS, Secondary Education, August, 1987)

The differences in attitude and academic achievement between a group
using a traditional survey United States history textbook and a group using four
selected historical novels were investigated. Two classes of 1 9 1 1 th-grade high
school students of similar composition in regard to sex and ability were used.
General conclusions were drawn from a comparison of the attitudinal invento-
ries given at the end of the 12-week term. The t-ratio was computed at the five
percent level of significance for each of the unit tests and the summative test.
An analysis of variance was computed to verify the results of the t-ratio. There
was no significant difference in attitude between the group using the survey
textbook and the group using the historical novels. There was a statistically
significant difference in academic achievement of the group using historical
novels over the group using the survey textbook.

A COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL AND CRITICAL THINKING
METHODS IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION AND INSTRUCTION

Deborah H. Lee
(EdS, Secondary Education, June, 1988}

The purpose of this study was to determine whether tenth grade students
would show greater achievement in thinking and writing after having been
instructed in critical thinking methods than those students who were instructed

75

by traditional methods. A total of 44 students participated in the study, 24 in the
experimental group and 20 in the control group. The study was conducted for
a twenty-day instruction period, with class periods 50 minutes in length. The
control group was instructed by traditional methods using lecture, discussion,
and textbook activities in conjunction with the writing process while the
experimental group was instructed utilizing metacognition, prewriting clusters
and models, revision models, and student evaluation of the writing process and
product. The Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and expository essays
were written by both groups as pretests and posttests before and after the
instructional period. Scores obtained from these tests were used as data, and the
t-test was applied. The mean differences were calculated to test the hypotheses
at the .05 level of significance. The results showed that there was no significant
difference in the methods of instruction.

THE CELLULAR ALIGNMENT AND GLYCO-CONJUGATE

DISTRIBUTION OF NORMAL AND DYSTROPHIC MUSCLE IN A

WEAK ELECTRIC FIELD

Sharma Denise Lewis
(MA, Biology, August, 1988)

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of a weak
electromagnetic field on the behavior of normal and dystrophic muscle cells in
culture. Cultures of nine day old chick pectoral muscle were established in a
chemically defined serum-albumin free culture medium. Cells were grown for
one to twelve days on polylysine-coated-thermanox, and subsequently ex-
posed to a steady DC electric field of approximately 800 mv/mm at intervals
of one to three days in culture.

Time-lapse photomicroscopy studies showed that normal muscle cells
aligned perpindicular to the weak electromagnetic field after five days in
culture. Dystrophic muscle cells showed no reaction to the weak electromag-
netic field even after twelve days in culture.

Previous studies indicate that a cell surface glyco-conjugate may influence
cell behavior. This glyco-conjugate can promote cell adhesion to solid sub-
strate, promote cell migration in culture and can stimulate chemotaxis. Cell
cultures were labeled with Concanavalin A conjugated with flourescein
isothiocyanate (FITC) in order to study a cell surface glyco-conjugate.
Epiflourescent microscopy studies showed that a cell surface glyco-conjugate
was localized on the cathodic face in normal muscle, but not in dystrophic
muscle.

76

THE EFFECTS OF MODEL MANIPULATION, GENDER, AND

SPATIAL ABILITY ON POSTTEST ACHIEVEMENT IN A

CHEMISTRY UNIT ON MOLECULAR GEOMETRY

Christopher M. Lund
(EdS, Secondary Education, November, 1987)

The following study tested whether or not the use of molecular models
increased the posttest achievement of high school chemistry students following
a ten-day instructional unit on molecular geometry. The factors of spatial
ability, gender, and overall chemistry achievement were compared to posttest
achievement.

The sample included 60 first-year chemistry students at Marietta High
School. Instruments included the Survey of Object Visualization (Miller,
1955) to test spatial ability and the posttest on molecular geometry, developed
in consultation with Dr. William Lockhart, West Georgia College. First
semester grades were used as a measure of overall chemistry achievement.

Results showed that student manipulation of molecular models, during the
instructional period, significantly influenced the molecular geometry posttest
achievement scores of students, when considering the previous overall chem-
istry achievement. The use of molecular models during a ten-day instructional
period benefitted student achievement in a unit on molecular geometry. In
addition, posttest achievement was significantly influenced by the use of
models on the posttest. The use of molecular models on the posttest benefitted
student achievement scores on the posttest on molecular geometry.

Male students scored significantly higher on the molecular geometry
posttest than did female students. The gender of a student had an effect on the
molecular geometry posttest score of that student. The scores on the Survey of
Object Visualization (Miller, 1955) resulted in no significant influence on
posttest achievement and overall chemistry achievement. The spatial ability of
students had no effect on their overall chemistry achievement scores and no
effect on molecular geometry posttest achievement scores.

77

A GUIDE FOR THE COMPARATIVE STUDY OF
WORLD RELIGIONS

Daniel M. Lynch
(EdS, Secondary Education, March, 1988)

This project provides a comparative study of world religions which can be
used as a guide for teachers and students at the high school level. It can be
utilized in the teaching of a world religions course or used as a supplement in
a world history, and world cultural geography course. It is informative and
objective, structured so as to include an overview of the major religions:
Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and minor religions:
Shinto, Taoism, Confucianism, Jainism, Parsee, and Sikhism. A historical
treatment, a philosophical explanation of the beliefs, a description of rituals and
practices, and of organization, and examples of cultural influences have been
incorporated within each chapter of the religions.

READING ATTITUDES AND INTERESTS OF GIFTED AND
NONGIFTED MIDDLE-SCHOOL STUDENTS

Anne H. Manley
(EdS, Reading Instruction, August, 1987)

This study was designed to determine whether there is a significant differ-
ence in reading attitudes and reading interests between gifted and nongifted
middle-school students. Subjects used in this study were sixth-, seventh-, and
eighth-grade students from the Griffin-Spalding County School System in
Griffin, Georgia. The sample included 80 gifted students and 97 nongifted stu-
dents. Each subject was given the Rhody Secondary Reading Attitude Assess-
ment (Tullock-Rhody & Alexander, 1980) and the Reading Interest Checklist
(Heathington, 1979). The raw scores gathered from these instruments were
statistically analyzed using the t-test for independelit means. The first, second,
third, and fourth null hypotheses, which dealt with reading attitudes, were
rejected. The fifth, seventh, and eighth null hypotheses, which dealt with
reading interests, were also rejected. The sixth null hypothesis, which dealt
with the reading interests of seventh graders, was not rejected. The results of
the data indicated that gifted middle-school students have more positive

78

attitudes toward reading and broader reading interests than nongifted middle-
school students. The differences were statistically significant at the .05 level of
significance in all comparisons except reading interests among seventh grad-
ers.

A STUDY OF THE FACTORS AFFECTING MATHEMATICS
ACHIEVEMENT AND FEMALES

Paula L. Mauldin
(EdS. Middle Grades, December, 1 988)

This study was designed to determine if there is a significant difference in
mathematical performance in males and females. The subjects included all
1987-1988 seventh-grade students from Dodgen Middle School in the Cobb
County School System in Georgia. The total population used in the sample in
the comparison of achievement tests was 324, with 1 50 females and 1 74 males.
The accelerated grouping included 78 students, 35 females and 43 males. The
on-level sample consisted of 106 females and 111 males for a total of 217
subjects. The below-level group consisted of 27 subjects, with 8 females and
19 males. The sample used in the Sandman Mathematics Inventory Test con-
sisted of 62 females and 33 males for a total of 95 students.

Students who scored 140 or higher on the Otis Lennon Mental Abilities Test
and students who were placed in the learning-disabled classes were not
included in this study. Students who spoke English as a second language were
also not included.

The students were administered the Iowa Test of Basic Skills and the Otis
Lennon Mental Abilities in the spring of 1988 by their home-room teachers
over a three-day period. The tests were scored and analyzed at the College of
Education at the University of Iowa. The Sandman Mathematics Inventory Test
was administered to the same sample of students in the fall of 1988. The size
of the sample was greatly reduced due to regulations of prior written parental
approval set down by the Cobb County Board of Education.

The standard Test scores from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were used to
calculate the analysis of variance to determine if there was an over-all gender
difference in mathematics performance in seventh-grade students at Dodgen
Middle School, or if there was a gender difference on mathematical perform-
ance between the accelerated groups, the on-level groups, or the below-level

79

groups. Scores from the Sandman Mathematics Inventory Test were used to
calculate the analysis of variance for the areas of self-confidence and motiva-
tion toward mathematics performance.

The analysis did not result in statistically significant mean gain at the 0.05
level of significance in any of the hypotheses. Therefore, all of the null
hypotheses were not rejected. Conclusions, educational implications, and
recommendations for research were drawn from the results.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MICROCOMPUTER-BASED

LABORATORY VERSUS THE TRADITIONAL LABORATORY

APPROACH: A COMPARATIVE STUDY.

James A. Moore
(EdS, Secondary Education, March, 1989)

The main purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of a
microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) would improve achievement in high
school chemistry and physics classes studying temperature and heat more than
the traditional laboratory methods. Another purpose was to determine whether
the MBL met the needs of the concrete operational student more effectively
than the formal operational student. The study was conducted as a pretest-
posttest control group design. The posttests of the treatment and control groups
were compared by an analysis of covariance with the pretest scores as the
covariate. An assumption made in this study was that more concrete opera-
tional students would be in the chemistry groups, due to their younger age, than
in the physics groups. The subjects were chosen randomly from four chemistry
and three physics classes. The treatment groups carried out three investigations
of temperature and heat using an Apple He computer, interface, temperature
probe, and commercial software. The control groups performed the same
investigations in the traditional manner. The results of this research indicated
that the MBL did not function as effectively as the traditional method. The
MBL did generate greater gain in the chemistry classes than in the physics
classes. This finding tends to support the hypothesis that the MBL would help
concrete students more than formal reasoners. Why the physics treatment
group showed no achievement is unclear, but prior knowledge and the program
design might be responsible for this. It is suggested that further studies be
carried out using the MBL as an alternative to the traditional approach to
determine whether it can improve achievement generally in science education.

80

It is also recommended that the MBL be studied to determine whether it can
meet the needs of the concrete operational student specifically in other topic
areas. It is aso suggested that software be developed that takes into account
current educational theory so that the educational needs of the students can be
met by future applications of this new technology.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THREE METHODS OF SELECT-
ING PRACTICE EXERCISES IN ALGEBRA I

John D. Mosteller
(EdS, Secondary Education, December, 1987)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three methods of
selecting practice exercises upon student achievement and attitudes in an
Algebra I course. The three assignment methods were (a) assignment of only
exercises with answers provided, (b) assignment of only exercises without
answers provided, and (c) assignment of exercises with exactly half of the
answers provided. The subjects used were 51 mostly ninth-grade students
enrolled in three classes of a second semester Algebra I course. Each treatment
group one in each class was assigned practice problems using one of the
above methods of selection during a 13-day instructional unit on radicals.
Achievement was measured by an end-of-unit written examination provided
by the textbook publisher. Attitudes were measured by a student questionnaire
designed by the researcher. No significant differences in achievement were
found among the three groups. Student attitudes were significantly negative
toward method (b) and overwhelmingly positive toward method (c). Because
the effects of practice assignments were cumulative in nature, a study of longer
duration would be expected to show differences in achievement resulting from
the effects student attitudes have on achievement.

THE EFFECTS OF GRADE RETENTION ON STUDENTS' EIGHTH
GRADE GEORGIA CRITERION REFERENCED TEST SCORES

Gary H. Parrish
(EdS, Middle Grades, December, 1988)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of grade retention on
eighth-grade students' Georgia Criterion Referenced Test (CRT) scores.

81

The subjects were 17 students who had repeated the eighth grade at Temple
High School during a five-year period. The CRT scores of the subjects were
compared by the number of skills objectives achieved and by scale score on
both the reading and mathematics tests before and after repeating the eighth
grade. The t-test for paired observations was used to evaluate the results with
significance established at the .05 level.Evaluation of the research hypotheses
showed no significant difference in the number of objectives achieved on
reading or mathematics tests taken before and after the subjects repeated the
eighth grade. There was no significant difference in reading scale scores before
and after grade repetition. There was a statistically significant increase in the
mathematics scale scores following retention in the eighth grade.

These results appear to differ with those of similar studies. These differences
may be due to the use of dissimilar measurement instruments. Another factor
which may have had an effect on the comparison of this study with others is that
many of the former studies included subjects who were enrolled in remedial
programs specifically designed to improve the students' achievement while the
subjects of this study received no special remediation.

It is recommended that further research of this type be conducted with larger
samples. It is also recommended that in most cases remediation should be
attempted instead of retention.

EARTH INTEGRATION AS A MEANS OF PSYCHOTHERAPY

Mark Robert Pietrzak
(MA, Psychology, August, 1989)

Earth Integration as a Means of Psychotherapy is a work which draws
parallels between the disciplines of Humanistic Psychology and Cultural
Anthropology. Specifically, the work discusses Maslow's concept of self-
actualization and Native American Philosophy and the Sweatlodge Rite of
Purification.

82

THE EFFECT OF TRANSITIONAL PLACEMENT ON STUDENT

ACHIEVEMENT, WORK HABITS, AND SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL

DEVELOPMENT

LaVerne Kerns Pruitt
(EdS, Early Childhood, August, 1987)

The focus of this paper is on the effects of promotion, retention, and
transitional placement in early grades. The purpose of the review of literature
is to examine the areas of concern stated above and draw conclusions. Sources
used to gather information were published literature. The review concluded
that there is a need to assess alternative placement for low-achieving or
developmentally slow children whose skills are too advanced for kindergarten
but are not adequate for first grade. The study presented is an evaluation of the
effect of transitional placement on students' academic achievement, work
habits, and social/emotional development.

THE PORTRAYAL OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN SELECTED
YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

Peggy Delores Quarles
(EdS, Secondary Education, December, 1987)

Because teenage pregnancy is a tremendous problem in American society,
this researcher investigated ten selected young adult novels that dealt with this
particular social problem. The research questions to be dealt with were these:

1 . How is the pregnant teenager in selected young adult novels portrayed?

2. What are the characteristics of these pregnant teenagers?

3. What outcomes does each of the selected young adult novels present for

the pregnant teenager?

4. Do the ten selected young adult novels present patterns of the
backgrounds, attitudes, and situations of pregnant teenagers?

5. What message, concepts or ideas about teenage pregnancy does each of

the selected young adult novels offer?

A character analysis of pregnant teenagers in these novels dealt with such
topics as ( 1 ) age of the pregnant teenager, (2) her self-concept, (3) her parental
and peer relationships, (4) the situation leading to her pregnancy, (5) her

83

personal reaction to her pregnancy, (6) her reaction toward the father of the
baby, (7) her support system, and (8) pregnancy resolutions and consequences.

In reviewing the literature, the resarcher found that there are certain
common characteristics among the five million girls who are sexually active,
but most importantly, among the 600,000 who give birth to unwanted babies
each year. In reading the novels with the review of the literature in mind, the
researcher found that all of the reasons, common characteristics, and situations
which were apparent in the research were also apparent in the novels. Each
novel deals with some situations which can be supported by the research. For
example, the majority of premarital teenage pregnancies are unintended: this
was the case in all of the novels. Further, having a strong need to be loved, to
share, and to have a close continual relationship with someone is a character-
istic of adolescence. In six of the novels, this characteristic played a major part.

Research further indicates that teenagers fail to use birth control, which
suggests an attitude of it-can't-happen-to-me. That attitude was obvious in all
of the novels. And finally, the protagonists in these novels came from a variety
of social and economic levels, in keeping with the research, which indicates that
the problem of teenage pregnancy covers all social levels. A major difference
is that the novels portrayed the emotions of the people involved while the
research presented cold facts and figures.

As a result of this study, the researcher suggests five possible uses by
classroom teachers for these young adult novels. These five uses are as follows:

1. Group discussion of teenage problems.

2. Bibliotherapy for the sexually active boy or girl.

3. More understanding and tolerance on the part of the teacher.

4. A unit on birth control in sex education classes.

5. Peer counseling.

A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF WRITING IN
THE ALGEBRA II CLASS

Alice B. Robertson
(EdS, Secondary Education, August, 1989)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect on student achieve-
ment of writing a description of the method used to solve or to graph problems
in the analytical geometry unit of a second semester Algebra II class. The
subjects were 44 sophomores and juniors enrolled in two Algebra II classes

84

taught by one teacher. The experiment was conducted over a 7-week period.
Both groups received approximately 55 minutes of instruction daily and used
the same textbook (Nichols, Edwards, Garland, Hoffman, Mamary & Palmer,
1982). The pedagogical procedures were the same for the two groups except
that the experimental group wrote. Both groups were given a pretest and a post-
test to measure achievement. At a 5% significance level, the experimental
group showed greater achievement than the control group. Further research
was recommended because the group was small, the style of writing limited,
and the unit narrow in scope.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF QBE IN REDUCING THE PUPIL-
TEACHER RATIO IN THE PRIMARY GRADES

Katherine L. Scott
(EdS, Early Childhood, June, 1987)

The purpose of the study was to determine the extent to which the new
funding base provided in Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act was effective
in reducing the teacher-pupil ratios in grades 1, 2, and 3 in Walker County in
its first year of funding. Information concerning class size was secured from the
class registers of 1985-86 and 1986-87. Percentages of classrooms with each
of the following class sizes were determined: Below 20, 20-22, 23-25, 26-28
(with an aide), 29-30 (with an aide), 31-33 (with an aide). A comparison was
made of the two school years. The results showed that classrooms with
enrollment from below 20 to 25 increased by 1 8%, while those with enrollment
of 26 to 33 declined by 18%. The educational implications of the findings are
discussed.

A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY OF TEACHING STRATEGIES WHICH
ENCOURAGE HIGHER ORDER THINKING IN GEOMETRY

Sheila E. Smith
(EdS, Secondary Education, August, 1989)

The purpose of this study was to compile effective teaching strategies which
encourage higher order thinking in geometry. First, the differences in higher
order and lower order thinking skills were described. The van Hieles' "Model

85

of Geometric Thought" and Bloom's "Taxonomy of Educational Objectives"
were given as bases forjudging higher order and lower order thinking skills.
Second, teaching strategies primarily used in the teaching of geometry were
given. Emphasis was placed on questioning, problem solving, and computer
activities. Third, teaching strategies which encouraged higher order thinking
across the curriculum were discussed. Conclusions and recommendations
focused primarily on the need for teachers to determine the van Hiele levels of
students at the beginning of geometry courses. A commitment by all school
personnel was seen as imperative to the establishment of a climate conducive
to higher order thinking in the classroom.

TRANSCENDENTALISM IN LOUISA MAY ALCOTT'S LITTLE
WOMEN AND LITTLE MEN

Lydia Stevens
(MA, English, December, 1988)

Transcendentalism, an important idealistic philosophy of the nineteenth
century, is evident in the writings of many authors who were not an integral part
ot the Transcendental circle. Although Ralph Waldo Emerson was the most
notable spokesman for Transcendental theories, others were significant for the
application of the philosophy in everyday life.

Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May, was a staunch Transcendental
philosopher who practiced the tenets in almost every phase of his life. His
daughter Louisa, although exposed to Bronson 's ideas throughout her life,
never professed herself to be a Transcendentalist. Two of her most famous
novels. Little Women and Little Men, whoever, show that Miss Alcott did not
escape the influence of her father's beliefs and practices.

This thesis will explore the concept of transcendentalism in these two works.
The first chapter will deal briefly with the development of the philosophy of
Transcendentalism and the people who were contemporaries of Bronson
Alcott. The chapter will then narrow in scope to focus specifically on the
Transcendental beliefs that were adhered to and practiced by Bronson. His
ideas about education, the importance of family, and his philosophy of living
will be discussed.

The second and third chapters will focus on Little Women and Little Men,
respectively. Each of the chapters will utilize the background information
presented in the first chapter to form the basis for interpreting the aspects of
Transcendentalism present in each of the novels. My hypothesis is that Louisa,

86

while never a professed Transcendentalist, was greatly influenced by Tran-
scendentalism and used it as the basis for her life's philosophy; her beliefs were
then reflected in her novels.

While this hypothesis may never be proven conclusively, it is still worthy
of study because of the information it reveals about the author as well as the
sociocultural significance of her work. Miss Alcott's novels have been enjoyed
by a great number of readers, both young and old alike, yet a close study of her
fiction reveals a dimension extending beyond mere entertainment.

THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG POPULARITY, SOCIAL

SELF-CONCEPT, AND ACHIEVEMENT IN

SEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS

Gail H. Stewart
(EdS, Middle Grades, August, 1989)

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship among popularity,
social self-concept, and academic achievement in 37 seventh-grade students at
Roopville Elementary School in Carroll County, Georgia. Scores obtained
from the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were used to measure achievement. Social
self-concept was measured by the Piers-Harris Self Concept Scale. A sociom-
etric evaluation instrument (peer-rating scale) was used to measure popularity.
Standard scores from these instruments were used to calculate the correlation
coefficient as determined by the Pearson Product Moment Correlation.

No significant relationship was found to exist between popularity and social
self-concept, popularity and achievement, or self-concept and achievement.

THE EFFECT OF CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION ON POLITICAL
AWARENESS OF 7TH-GRADE STUDENTS

Martha J. Vaughn
(EdS, Middle Grades, August, 1989)

This study was designed to assess the effect, if any, that a unit on citizenship
education would have upon the political awareness of 7th grade students.

The subjects of the study were seventy-seven 7th grade students at Floyd
Middle School in Cobb County, Georgia. The students ranged in age from 1 1

87

to 1 3 with 43 girls and 34 boys in the group. There was one Vietnamese student,
one Saudi Arabian student, two Korean students, two black students, and 71
students were white.

A teacher-made pre-test of twenty-one fill-in-the-blank questions was used
to assess the student's prior political knowledge on September 2, 1988. The
same test was given after the treatment was administered on November 9, 1 988
as the post-test.

An analysis of covariance was performed to equate the pre-test scores. The
hypothesis was rejected at .05 level of significance.

From this study it was concluded that 7th-grade students who participated
in a citizenship education unit did not score higher on a test of political
awareness than those who did not participate in the unit.

It was recommended that further research be conducted on citizenship
education and political awareness with a larger number of subjects. Also
research needs to be done in which different communities and localities are
used.

THE CLERGY IN SELECTED YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

Anne H. Vaughn
(EdS, Secondary Education, March 1989)

The purpose of this study was to determine how clergy are characterized in
ten selected novels written for adolescents. The investigation focused on three
research questions:

1. How are the clergy characterized, i.e., positively or negatively as
compared to positive traits modified from the California Psychological
Inventory?

2. To what extent do the clergy influence the adolescent protagonists'
values?

3. What role do the clergy have in conveying the theme of the novel?

According to the literature, an adolescent is most influenced in developing
moral values by the family and other individuals. Adolescent fiction which
explores contemporary problems and moral questions can be helpful in values
discussions for young adults. Most young adult novels today ignore religion.
In works that do use religion, the clergy is sometimes stereotyped.

Twelve clergymen in ten novels were analyzed by an instrument for
personality inventory, based on traits which have wide applicability and relate
to favorable and positive aspects of personality. These traits are leadership

88

ability, ambition, sociability, self-confidence, integrity, tolerance, intelli-
gence, perceptiveness, sincerity, and dependability.

In most cases the clergy analyzed have positive personalities and exhibit the
personality traits at a high level. The traits on which the men consistently rated
high are leadership ability, sociability, and self-confidence. In 7 of the 10
novels another person, perhaps another clergyman, serves as a foil to highlight
the first clergyman's character. Several of the novels present moral dilemmas
which challenge the reader.

In the novels studied, all the clergymen influence the values of the
adolescent protagonists to some extent. The men who affect values most are
those related to the young adult as family. In all of the novels the clergyman
as a representative of his religion influences the book's theme. In half of the
novels the protagonist makes his conclusions about values as a positive result
of his interaction with the clergy. In the other novels the young person reacts
negatively to his interaction with the clergy.

A COMPARISON OF TEACHER PERCEIVED BURNOUT OF

CHATSWORTH ELEMENTARY TEACHERS AND

ETON ELEMENTARY TEACHERS

Rita Kehey-Wanen
(EdS, Middle Grades, August. I9H7)

This study was designed to compare the difference, if any, in teacher
perceived burnout of Chatsworth Elementary teachers and Eton Elementary
teachers.

The subjects in this study were the faculty members at Chatsworth Elemen-
tary and Eton Elementary, two elementary schools located in Murray County,
Georgia. Teachers of grades one through six were included, while kindergarten
teachers, special education teachers, and music, art, and physical education
instructors were not included. Forty classroom teachers of grades one through
six at Chatsworth Elementary and fourteen teachers of grades one through six
at Eton Elementary were asked to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory.

The Maslach Burnout Inventory was used to assess teacher perceived
burnout. The teachers at Chatsworth Elementary were asked to complete the
inventory on an in-service day in January, 1987. Fourteen Eton teachers were
asked to complete the Maslach Burnout Inventory in July, 1987.

The independent t-test was used to analyze the data on each of three
subscales, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplish-

89

merit. Two of three null hypotheses were not rejected at the .05 level of
significance. One null hypothesis was rejected as this study demonstrated that
at the .05 level of significance, a difference exists between the perception of
emotional exhaustion of Chatsworth Elementary teachers and the perception of
emotional exhaustion of Eton Elementary teachers.

From this study it was concluded that Eton Elementary teachers experienced
greater emotional exhaustion than Chatsworth Elementary teachers.

It was recommended that further research be conducted on teacher per-
ceived burnout in rural elementary schools and in large and small schools in the
same district.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SYNTAGMATIC THINKING
AND RIGHT HEMISPHERE PREFERENCE

Patricia M. Willisford
(EdS. Middle Grades, June, 1989)

The relationship between syntagmatic thinking and right hemisphere pref-
erence was studied with students in the sixth-(N=98) and eighth-grade (N= 106).
Your Style of Learning and Thinking and a P/S word association test were the
assessment instruments employed to group test the students. Results of a
Pearson r indicate that there was no confirmation of the relation with r= .08 at
p= <.05 level of significance. Implications from this study indicate there is not
a significant relationship of syntagmatic thinking and right hemisphere prefer-
ence. Results of the language total of the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills were used
with the hemisphere preference scores and the p/s scores to determine if there
was a difference between language ability and hemisphere preference. Com-
parison was made between high language ability and low language ability
scores, at both the sixth-and the eighth-grade level. No significant differences
were found although the higher language ability students had interestingly
greater syntagmatic response than the lower language ability students.

A STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF A DIRECTED READING

APPROACH ON ACHIEVEMENT IN FOURTH-GRADE

SOCIAL STUDIES

Sara Lynn Winkler
(EdS, Middle Grades, Aui^ust, 1988)

This research was conducted to determine the effect of a directed reading
approach on achievement in fourth-grade social studies. A directed reading

90

aproach is a method of teaching which directly teaches the reading skills needed
to increase comprehension of the content redd.

Thirty-five students at Tate Elementary in Pickens County, Georgia, partici-
pated in this study. The students were randomly assigned to two classes taught
by the same teacher for 50 minutes each school day.

The study was conducted for a nine-week instructional period during which
two units of social studies were taught. During the first unit of study, the first
class served as the control group, and the second class served as the experimen-
tal group. For the second unit of study, the first class was the experimental
group while the second class was the control. A variety of traditional teaching
methods were utilized in the control classes. In the experimental classes,
students were directly taught skills needed to help them comprehend the social
studies content read. At the end of each unit of study, the published test
accompanying the text was given to both classes.

Raw scores from the tests given were analyzed using an independent t-test
to compare the mean scores of the two groups. The data revealed that there was
no significant difference in the achievement of this small group of students
using the .05 level of significance. However, the difference in mean scores did
indicate a possible trend that a directed reading approach is a viable teaching
method. Further research is recommended.

RELATIONSHIP OF SELF-PERCEPTION OF READING SKILLS

AND SELF-CONCEPT WITH READING ACHIEVEMENT OF

SEVENTH GRADE STUDENTS

Sheron H. Wood
(EdS, Middle Grades, December, 1987)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students have an
accurate perception of their reading abilities and whether student self-concept
was affected by reading ability or class placement. The subjects were 121
seventh-grade students at Booth Junior High School in Fayette County,
Georgia, in May, 1987. A 25-item questionnaire was developed by the
researcher, and results were analyzed using analyses of variance and t-tests for
independent means. The .05 level of significance was established as the level
at which the null hypotheses would be rejected. The results indicated that basic
students did not view themselves as capable readers when compared with
advanced readers. However, basic and average students' reading self-percep-

91

tion skills were not significantly different. Further investigation showed that
reading perception skills were not a product of gender for basic, average, or
advanced level grouping. Self-concept appeared to be unaffected by students'
sex, gender, or class placement.

A PREDICTIVE VALIDITY STUDY OF THE MATH SUBTEST

OF THE TESTS OF ACHIEVEMENT AND PROFICIENCY

FOR NINTH-GRADE STUDENTS AS A PREDICTOR OF

SUCCESS ON THE GEORGIA BASIC SKILLS MATH TEST

James R. Yates
(EdS, Secondary Education, December, 1989)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the predictive validity of the
Tests of Achievement and Proficiency (TAP) in mathematics to the Georgia
Basic Skills Test (BST) in math. This study also examined whether the TAP is
a better predictor of the BST than the Georgia Criterion Referenced Test
(CRT). The CRT, TAP, and BST are required of all Georgia students in Grades
8, 9, and 10 respectively. The subjects were 58 students who had taken these
three tests in the previous three years while students at Temple High School.
The TAP scores of the subjects were correlated to their BST scores in math,
using a Pearson product moment correlation. Likewise their CRT scores were
correlated to their BST scores. The test results were dichotomized into groups
as dictated by State Board of Education guidelines for eligibility for remedia-
tion. These dichotomies were evaluated for their correlational coefficients as
found using an estimation method of the tetrachoric coefficient. These coeffi-
cients along with their t values were used to evaluate their statistical signifi-
cance at the .05 level of significance with respect to the following four null
hypotheses:

1 . There will be no significant correlation between students' 9th-grade math
TAP scores and their lOth-grade math BST scores.

2. There will be no significant correlation between students" 8th-grade CRT
scores and their lOth-grade BST scores in math.

3. There will be no significant correlation between the dichotomies of the
TAP (above the 25th percentile versus below the 26th percentile) and the BST
(passing versus not passing).

4. There will be no significant correlation between the dichotomies of the

92

CRT (above 201 versus below 202) and the BST (passing versus not passing).

Evaluation of the research hypotheses showed significant correlations for
all of the pairings of tests described above. Not only were all significant at the
.05 level, but all were significant at the .0 1 level as well. These findings indicate
that the continued use of the TAP and CRT as predictors for the BST is
warranted. It is recommended that further research of this type be conducted
with larger samples. It is also recommended that studies into the effects of
"early" versus "late" pre-test remediation be conducted for those students "at
risk" of failing the BST as indicated by their CRT or TAP scores.

A COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL AND VISUAL FORMS
METHODS IN ENGLISH COMPOSITION INSTRUCTION

Kathleen S. Yencha
(EdS, Secondary Education, March, 1987)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether seventh-grade students
from regular language arts classes would show greater achievement gain in
composition after having been instructed in exposition by visual forms meth-
ods than those students who were instructed by traditional methods. Sixty-one
students participated in the study. Thirty-three students formed the experimen-
tal group, and 29 students were in the control group. The study was conducted
during a 15-day instructional period during which time both groups were
instructed in basic paragraph and essay development. Class periods were 55
minutes in length. The control group was instructed by traditional methods
using lecture, basic textbook information, and worksheet activities. Only the
experimental group included the use of "Hub and Spokes," "S-curve," and
pyramid visual forms as illustration of the structure of paragraph and essay
development. No visual forms were used by the control group. Personal essays
were written by both groups as pretest and posttest writing samples before and
after the 15-day instruction period. Scores obtained from these tests were used
as data to test the null hypothesis which stated that there would be no significant
difference in the writing achievement of students instructed by visual forms
methods as opposed to instruction by traditional methods. The null hypothesis
was tested using the Analysis of Variance at the .05 level of significance and
was not accepted since the mean gain score of the experimental group was 1 .0,
from pretest to posttest, whereas the mean gain score of the control group was
1 0.0 from pretest to posttest. The difference between the two means resulted in
a ratio of F( 1 , 56) = 4.29, p < .05.

93

t

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+ ZP lt,3t. T=l]. 51

V^EST GEORGIA COLLEGE

^^R0)iev)

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Published by

West Georgia College

A Unit of the University System of Georgia

Carrollton, Georgia

Volume XXI May, 1991

Published by
WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Maurice K. Townsend, President
John T. Lewis III, Vice President and Dean of Faculties

Learning Resources Committee
George McNinch, Chairperson

Charles Beard Wayne B. Kirk

Kenneth J. Bindas Lewis Larson

Siegfried Karsten Paul Masters

John Keedy Michele Masucci

W. Benjamin Kennedy Bobby PoweU

Richard Prior

Martha A. Saunders, Editor

Jeanette C. Bernhardt, Associate Editor

Joanne R. Artz, Assistant Editor

Kenneth J. Bindas, Assistant Editor

The purpose of this publication is to provide encouragement for faculty
research and to make available results of such activity. The Review,
published annually, accepts original scholarly work. West Georgia College
assumes no responsibility for contributor's views. The style guide is MLA
Handbook, Second Edition. Although the Review is primarily a medium for
the faculty of West Georgia CoUege, other sources are invited.

The abstracts of all master's and educational specialist's theses written at
West Georgia CoUege are included as they are awarded.

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

#

Jtyeyii

evtew

Volume XXI May 1991

TABLE OF CONTENTS

"A Woman's Place Is in the . . ."

by Christopher M. Aanstoos and Deborah Atkinson 1

"Neither Out Far Nor In Deep": Frost's Use of A
Traditional Metaphor

by C. Hines Edwards, Jr 6

Non-Traditional Casting: Crossing Boundaries into the Classroom

i by Pauline D. Gagnon 11

Virginia Henderson - Beloved Visionary

by Kathryn Grams 22

An Appreciation of Buddist and Christian Art: A Comparison of a
T'ang Kuan-yin and Henry Setter's Madonna

by Cecilia Jan 30

New Interpretations of the French Revolution

by W. Benjamin Kennedy 48

Connie Mack Comes to Martinsville

by Kenneth W^. Noe 56

Abstracts of Master's Theses and Specialist

in Education Projects 62

Copyright 1991, West Georgia College
Printed in the USA (ISSN 0043-3136)

t

"A Woman's Place Is in the..."

l^y Chris Aanstoos* and Deborah Atkinson**

The women's movement aims to liberate women and men from the
straight] acket of narrow sexist roles. Standing against this revolution, we
still fmd a reactionary vision of women's place in the contemporary social
order. In this paper, we offer a profile of this regressive viewpoint, and
examine its place in the unfolding drama of society's coming to terms with
gender.

The term "society," though an abstraction, does refer to concretely lived H
spheres of consensus about the meanings we share. These meanings, so
important to the formation of our social order, usually remain highly
implicit. Yet they can be glimpsed in the images that constitute our social
discourse. Of course, to fully comprehend these images, we must also
consider who produces and propagates them, and in whose interest. For late
twentieth century America, these cultural images are formed largely by the
mass media, and especially by television, on behalf of the giant corporations
that sponsor (and own) the television networks. Within television's realm
itself, the most carefully crafted vehicles of these images are advertisements.
Per unit of time, they are far more thoughtfully constructed and presented
than the programs (which, from the owner's viewpoint, are essentially filler
to attract and keep the audience tuned for the advertisements). In that sense,
advertisements can be viewed as the ultimate carriers of our culture's socially
disseminated meanings.

A phenomenological analysis of advertisements offers an opportunity to
deconstruct these images, and comprehend the nature of their discourse.
While we hold that such an analysis of any advertisement would be fruitfully
revealing, one in particular captured our attention, one that seems especially
to call for an explication of the implicit meanings displayed by its images.
This advertisement's image of the role of women offers us a particularly
regressive revision of the social order. In a subtle yet powerful way it
fundamentally reverses the generally accepted direction of gender relations,
while cloaking itself in the guise of progressive, even feminist, images.

This commercial, which appeared frequently on a variety of programs
during the month of October 1987, lauds the headache relieving virtues of
Anacin. Yet it also extols other, culturally more controversial, virtues. It

'Associate Professor of Psychology, West Georgia College

" Doctoral Student in Psychology, California School of Professional Psychology

begins with a thirty-ish couple entering a vacant house, apparently one they
are considering purchasing, or have just purchased, and are planning to
occupy. It is a weU-made older house, with such tastefiil features as
hardwood floors, carved moldings, and weU-lit airy rooms - the sort of house
with appeal to the "yuppies" represented by this very styHshly dressed couple.
The woman (Wife) strides forward purposefully, standing tall, leading the
way. She in particular is sharply attired, in a fashionably weU tailored
expensive business suit, and is carrying a briefcase. The man (Husband),
following in her wake, notices a room off to the right of the entry foyer. The
room, seen through its doorway, looks very sunny, warm, and cheerful. The
Husband energetically teUs his Wife that this room "could be the nursery."
The tone of his voice suggests there is something contentious at stake here.
Its subdued vehemence includes an echo of previous unresolved conversations
on the subject. And indeed, the Wife curtly responds, with a touch of pique
rising in her voice, "or a study." The husband can't hold back any longer, and
begins (obviously once again) to whine that he wants to begin having
children. The Wife angrily snaps back "and what about my promotion? I've
told you that my career is important to me." The Husband sulks "but I'm
getting older. I want to get our family started." The Wife exasperatedly
replies "I want to get rid of this headache." The scene then shifts to a visual
image of the Anacin package, while a narrator (a male voice) explains that
it will effectively get rid of headaches, that it will provide the needed "strong
relief." Then the scene shifts back to the couple in the house. The properly
medicated, now smiling Wife docilely agrees with her Husband that the
room would indeed make a good nursery.

In thirty seconds, the television audience is presented a surprisingly
iprofound and striking image of gender relations. We are witnesses, indeed,
Ito the most intimate variation of gender relations, that between spouses, and
at a most crucial time, when discussing their future life plans. But just how
are these gender relations imaged?

One is struck, at the very beginning of the advertisement, by the apparent
progressivity involved in casting the Wife as a serious careerist and professional
jin her own right. She wears the executive business suit, she carries the
briefcase, she has just received the big promotion, she values her career more
highly than having children. In fact, the advertisement apparently even goes
I so far as to actually reverse the usual stereotype: it is the husband who yearns
,to get on with having children and who resents the interruptions of the
business world into the traditional unfolding of this familial temporality.
His emotionalism is contrasted with her logic.

Interestingly, it is only after the stereotyped roles have been switched that
their superior/inferior relationship manifests itself clearly. With a poignancy
unnoticed in their traditional contexts, we can learn something crucial about
our social norms once they are taken out of their usual context. Then they
no longer fade into a background of embedded familiarity, but stand out
starkly, portraying those who assume them as either powerful or demeaning.
By reversing gender stereotypes, the advertisement could be used to expose
their artificially confining social imbalances. Unfortunately, viewers are not
helped to reach this insight, for the next sequence radically undermines its
very possibility.

The Wife is revealed as having a headache; she is dis-eased by events. Her
rapid promotion into a serious place in the formerly male Business World
has left her psychologically wounded. One could read that scene in a quite
different way, of course. One could say that it is her whining, unsupportive
Husband who has given his Wife her headache. But that is clearly not the
construction intended by this advertisement. The solution proffered to the
Wife is not directed at raising the consciousness of her unenlightened
Husband, but rather to medicate herself. Once sufficiently medicated, she
undergoes a dramatic transformation. She now accepts, without argument
or resentment, her Husband's perspective on what her priorities ought to be.
It is 1987, but the theme is old and long familiar: the liberated woman who
is medicated into submission, not merely with her consent, but with her
delight at the result. This modern day lobotomy utilizes a double edged
surgical tool; its viewers are likewise lobotomized. They too are lulled into
thinking this commercial has a happy ending. They fail to see it within its
historical context.

This atavistic depiction of gender relations undermines the feminist
viewpoint that has gained greater social acceptance over the past two
decades. Rather than encouraging the liberation of women and men from
confinement in sexist roles, its revisionist stereotype preys upon the feminist
advance in order to imply the opposite conclusion. It images the liberated
woman as so compulsively driven to achieve in the traditionally male domain
that she has lost touch with her allegedly fundamental responsibility (to raise
children). Her recent hard won "promotion" to equality in the work force
is no satisfying substitute; instead she suffers headaches. Fortunately for her
(and for society), the corporate sponsor has the solution: proper medication
will facilitate the realignment of her priorities, and thereby dissolve the
headache of liberated life.

Bhbbhi

Put most starkly, the underlying message of this advertisement is that
women, for their own good, should get out of the work place and back where
they belong: making babies. This advertisement is not merely selling a
product; it is selling an ideology. The advertisement itself lasted only a
month, certainly a short time for one that was so memorable (an informal
poU of ours indicated it had been striking to a wide range of viewers).
Perhaps it met with unanticipated objections. Unfortunately, it was not a
solitary aberration. Its message is also imaged in other current vehicles of
social discourse, in even more virulent forms. Three recent best selling
movies focus on unmarried women as their central characters, and in each
case, image her as sad, bad, or mad.

The biggest seller. Fatal Attraction, is also the most negative. Its central
woman character, after a weekend affair with a married man, is abandoned
by him. From another perspective, we might be treated to a story sympathetic
to her plight, and critical of the man's callousness. But in Fatal Attraction
there is no mistaking who is being set up for the audience's antipathy. The
woman has the audacity to call the man at his home, to disturb his nice,
domestic life (never mind that she has become pregnant by him) . Eventually,
she goes completely off the edge, in an orgy of violence that ftilly justifies
those who would preen "I told you she was a bitch." In fact, when the
husband's loving wife kills this madwoman in order to re-establish their
ruptured domesticity, the viewers are relieved to see in her success the
triumph of Good over Evil.

In Someone to Watch Over Me wt are Hkewise treated to the same specter
of a good married man nearly brought to ruin by involvement with a single
woman. An attractive woman tempts a New York poHce officer, assigned
to protect her from an anonymous threat, into becoming sexually involved
with her. Once again, this "other woman" is portrayed as a selfish home
wrecker, while the man is portrayed as a dedicated husband helplessly lured
beyond his limits. In Baby Boom, we see another unmarried woman in a most
pathetic light. She is consumed with her career and uninterested in children.
When she has a baby foisted on her by the death of a relative, she initially
is so unloving toward it that she leaves the baby in the cloakroom crying all
through dinner at a fancy restaurant. In this case, the woman is "saved" from
her impoverished "maternal instinct" by the baby, whom she eventually gives
up her career to raise. Needless to say, she soon gets involved with a man as
well (when he silences her last whimpering assertion of a career interest by
forcing his kisses on her). Indeed, as the film draws to its conclusion, she is
offered a fortune to return to work, and blithely turns it all down in order to
carry on with her newfound joy of domesticity.

While these movies were made in the late 1980's, the early 1990's have,
if anything, shown an even more disturbing angle on this trend. Now
women are depicted as the targets of extremely brutal violence simply for
initially responding to the advances of men. Not only are they murdered,
they are stalked, hunted down, confined in dungeons, even skinned, in such
popular current films as Sleeping with the Enemy and The Silence of the Lambs \
and the hookAmerican Psycho. Given the reality of violence against women,
we do not mean to imply it should be hidden in the mass media. And
certainly we would not want to see any form of censorship. Nevertheless,
when the nature of these depictions appears more salacious than educational,
we ought to ponder their social significance. For example, the New York
Governor's Task Force on Bias-Related Violence recently found teenagers
emphatic about their antipathy for women and their view of them as
legitimate targets for attack. And the incidence of rape in the United States
in 1990 showed the sharpest increase in the past twelve years.

As Berger and Luckmann (1966) have shown, social constructions do not
remain merely privately held, mental attitudes; they become externalized
objectivations, projections cast outward and subsequently internalized as
objective reality. Social discourse and social reality encircle and propagate
each other. Because of that dialectic process, scholarly researchers need to
carefully examine and deconstruct these social constructions. The mass
media's new image of single women as profoundly negative if not threatening
reflects a resurgent reactionary undercurrent of social discourse about the
gender relations. When the media presents an ideal image of a woman as
being one whose only valid goal is to become a housewife and mother, we
have arrived at a fundamental turn away from the feminism of the 1960's and
early 1970's. We are not suggesting that a woman's interest in having
children is in any way a deficiency (both of us are parents ourselves).
However, when it is imaged as their expected role and the sign of their
psychological well being, we see in this image an old ideology, an old wine
all the more insidious for its fancy new bottle.

WORK CITED

Berger, P.L., and T. Luckmann. The Social Construction of Reality. Garden City, NY: Doubleday,
1966.

SUuuii

Neither Out Far Nor In Deep

The people along the sand
All turn and look one way.
They turn their back on the land.
They look at the sea all day.

As long as it takes to pass
A ship keeps raising its huU;
The wetter ground like glass
Reflects a standing gull.

The land may vary more;
But wherever the truth may be
The water comes ashore,
And the people look at the sea.

They cannot look out far.
They cannot look in deep.
But when was that ever a bar
To any watch they keep?

Complete Poems of Robert Frost
(New York: Holt, 1949), p. 394.

"Neither Out Far Nor In Deep":
Frost's Use of a Traditional Metaphor

by C. Hines Edwards, Jr. *

Nearly all discussions of Frost's "Neither Out Far Nor In Deep" revolve i
around line 10: "But wherever the truth may be." Critics of the poem havej
generally been concerned with whether the people in the poem are capable
of determining where the truth lies. With their backs turned to the land so
that they look at the sea aU day, the people in the poem are usually interpreted
as ignoring the present realities of the human condition in favor of searching
for a final metaphysical understanding of it. Hence, James L. Potter could
say that "Mankind is pictured turning its back on its normal or ordinary life,
the land, and persistently looking out to sea, as if it were the source of
knowledge" (131). Critics are divided as to whether this endeavor is
worthwhile. Laurence Perrine sees the tone of the poem as one "of
admiration for man's perseverance in the effort to add to a stock of
knowledge which can never be complete." R.W. StaUman, however, thinks
that Frost "ridicules the human mind for its absurd metaphysical quests . . . for
its blind persistence in seeking beyond the horizon at the neglect of present
realities" (247). Almost all agree that the people on the shore are engaged
in a futile attempt to grasp some great truth. In the words of Roberts W.
French, "The watch is maintained continuously, as though people were
waiting for an imminent sign; but there is no sign, only the overwhelming
indifference of an unresponsive nature" (160).

The situation of the people in the poem observing nature may be
analogous to our situation as readers observing the poem. While their
concern is with nature, ours is with nature's opposite, art. Thus, if nature wiU
not yield truth to the people, perhaps art will yield it to us. And the truth
of art is to be found in our analysis of the images in the poem. Almost all
critics touch upon two of these images without exploring either for full
meaning. Both these images are firmly grounded in the literary tradition
Frost was writing in, and both were fliUy utilized by writers of the previous
generation with whom Frost was familiar.

First, the contrast between the land and the sea to indicate the contrast
between earthly human life and eternity had been in common use since
Wordsworth presented it that way in lines 161-167 of "Ode: Intimations
of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood" (Noyes 329).

'Professor of English, West Georgia College

MmRm

Among American poets this image was used most importantly by Whitman
in poems like "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" and "Out of the Cradle, Endlessly
Rocking." The latter poem relies upon the fusion of land and sea at the shore
to indicate the dual nature of man as both body and soul, matter and mind.
Poe's "Annabel Lee" uses the same image for the same purpose. In fiction,
as Clark Griffith notes, Melville made excellent use of it in Moby Dick (31-
32). Certainly Frost was aware of this widely-used traditional metaphor.
The difference between his poem and those of the earlier poets is that for
Wordsworth and Whitman nature did yield the truth they were looking for,
whereas, as most critics note, it apparently does not for the people in Frost's
poem.

Second, mirrors in literature have always served as sources of truth.
Among American authors of the generation prior to Frost, two significant
examples come to mind, Hawthorne and Whitman. When Hester Prynne
in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter sees her reflection in a suit of armor in the
governor's hall, it expresses the grotesqueness of her social condition (106).
And when Parson Hooper in "The Minister's Black Veil" catches sight of
himself in a mirror, what he sees is so refined a horror his own evil nature
that he "never willingly passed before a mirror, nor stooped to drink at a stiU
fountain" again {Twice-Told Tales 48). When Whitman looked over the
railing of the boat crossing Brooklyn ferry, he saw himself reflected in the
water as a god, the truth he was trying to make his readers understand about
themselves (161). In Frost's poem "The wetter ground hke glass / Reflects
a standing guU." Several critics have pointed out that this mirror image is the
key to the poem without fiiUy showing what it opens up.^ When this image
is taken in conjunction vdth the sea and land image, it indicates that the truth
about the human condition lies not in the sea nor on the land alone but in.
the conjunction of the two, the "wetter ground." People who turn again to
land, seeking this truth only in their physical nature (materialists) will be just
as disappointed as those who "look at the sea all day," seeking it only in their
spiritual nature (idealists). As Alexander Pope recognized, man is
paradoxically "Placed on this isthmus of a middle state / ... In doubt his
Mind or Body to prefer" (125).

The intervention of the naturalistic view of nature between the earlier
Romantic poets and Robert Frost prohibited Frost from deriving fundamental
optimistic truths about our spiritual being from the natural world. For
characters in Stephen Crane's "The Open Boat" and Jack London's The Sea
Wolf, for instance, nature in the form of the sea presents not a benevolent,
optimistic suggestion of our godliness but rather a threat of our utter

extinction or at least a suggestion of utter indifference to our fate. In Frost's
most famous poem about the sea, "Once by the Pacific," the sea does
threaten the destruction of the habitable world {Complete Poems 314).

Previous commentators have undoubtedly been correct in arguing that
the attempt of the people in the poem to derive a desirable metaphysical
truth from the sea is futile, because for Frost the Romantic metaphor must
ultimately fail. However, we must distinguish between the situation of the
people in the poem and our own as readers of the poem. Though we cannot
maintain the nearly two-century-old attitude of the Romantics, we still
require some means of suggesting the relationship between the One,
represented by earlier writers as the fluid sea, and the Many, represented by
the more varied land. Reading line 10, "But wherever the truth maybe," with
a certain emphasis on wherever may suggest to us that the truth we seek does
not lie in nature at all. Indeed, the reflection of the guU on the water-glazed
sand invites us to interpret the poem so that we may find in it a truth that
the people in the poem cannot find in the sea. While nature for the post-
naturalist merely threatens our material existence, for Robert Frost our
ability to function in the realms of art assures us of our spiritual being. In
the creation and contemplation of art we may discover an aspect of ourselves
that the natural world is powerless to suggest. Like the Romantics, Frost
insists on viewing man as an incongruous combination of body and soul,
matter and mind. Unlike the naturalists of his own time and slightly earlier,
he cannot view man as merely an animal subject to natural laws, moving only
toward annihilation. Nor can he, like some of the earlier Romantics, view
man's spiritual nature as being his only reality. Thus for Frost the people in
the poem commit the Romantic error. Those who would have them turn
back to the land commit the naturaUstic error. As the guU (animal nature)
is reflected in the sand (the suggestion of a counterpart to animal nature), we
should find in the mirror image the clue to understanding the poem. Hence,
if we approach the poem as a work of art, understanding its place in the poetic
tradition and its use of certain poetic devices, we can derive for ourselves the
truth that the people in the poem seem to miss.

NOTES

'See, for instance, Griffith 31, Stalknan 248, and Lepore 216. Hall says that "The reflected 'gull'
functions like the mirrored image in the well in 'For Once, Then, Something,'" but she does not explain
the fiinction of the mirror (119).

WORKS CITED

French, Roberts, W. "Robert Frost and the Darkness of Nature." n^. /?ff. 1978. Rpt. in CnV/ca/
Essays on Robert Frost. Ed. Philip Gerber. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1982.

Frost, Robert. Complete Poems. New York: Holt, 1949.

Griffith, Clark. "Frost and the American View of Nature." y^w^nV^w Quarterly 220 (1968): 21-27.

Hall, Dorothy Judd. Robert Frost: Contours of Belief. Athens: Ohio UP, 1984.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Vol 1 of The Centenary Edition. Ed. William Charvat et
al 20 vols. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 1974.

. Twice - Told Tales. Vol. 9 of The Centenary Edition.

Lepore,D.J. "Robert Frost The Middle Ground." Eng.Jour. 53(1964): 215-216.

Noyes, Russell, ed. English Romantic Poetry and Prose. New York: Oxford, 1956.

Perrine, Laurence. "Frost's 'Neither Out Far Nor In Deep.'" Explicator 7 (1949): 46.

Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Man. In The Best of Pope. Rev. ed. Ed. George Sherbum. New
York: Ronald, 1940.

Potter, James L. Robert Frost Handbook. University Park Pennsylvania State UP, 1980.

Stallman, R.W. "The Position of Poetry Today." Eng.Jour. 46(1957): 241-251.

Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass. Ed. Harold W. Blodgett and ScuUey Bradley. New York;
Norton, 1965.

10

Nontraditional Casting:
Crossing Boundaries Into The Classroom

by Pauline D. Gagnon*

Nontraditional casting is the buzzword of the American Theatre. It is
"the practice of casting ethnic, female, or disabled actors in roles where race,
ethnicity, gender or physical capability are not necessary to the character's or
play's development" (Davis and Newman Intro). Established as policy by
Actor's Equity Association (AEA) in 1986, the nontraditional casting
project fought against traditional casting practices and challenged the
predominately all-white pattern of American stages. By 1990, the issue had
erupted in Europe, with a tumultuous debate between the AEA and
producer Cameron Mackintosh over casting decisions in the Broadway-
bound production. Miss Saigon. The controversy centered on the fact that
the leading role of a Eurasian engineer was to be played by the British actor
Jonathan Pryce, who is white, when the production moved to New York.
AEA refused to negotiate a contract based on Mr. Pryce's appearing in the
role he had originated in the London production. AEA had little choice but
to implement the policy it so ardently supported. The debate sizzled
following cries of censorship and artistic freedom, topics which touched an
already sore wound within the American artistic community. Still, by the
end of 1990, Variety was covering the nontraditional casting crisis by
questioning, "Is Broadway a temple of artistic tolerance or an ivory tower of
white chauvinism?" (Alexander 57).

Herein lies a broader message: Could the same be said of our institutions
of higher learning? Is academia a "temple" of cultural, racial and sexual
tolerance? Can we as educators learn to transfer some of the valuable lessons
of nontraditional casting into the classroom? Whether one agrees with its
ramifications or not, nontraditional casting represents a new way of thinking,
a thought process perhaps long overdue for use in academic classrooms.

I teach nontraditional casting in its most obvious application in my
theatre courses. But as an educator, I have also discovered its implications
in a more macrocosmic sense. Theatre production is a group process like any
other. We give information, define terms, collaborate, set goals, assign tasks
and assume responsibilities. The process of developing a stage presentation
involves interpersonal dynamics akin to those of the living room, the

'Assistant Professor of Theatre, West Georgia College

11

classroom and the boardroom. Studies continue to show us that, nationally,
our boardrooms are predominately male (Heidrick and Struggles C2).
There remains a similar pattern in the American Theatre and the American
University system. However, the slow but steady increase of minorities and
women in positions of power is a rather nontraditional course. Concurrent
research pointing to gender-specific management styles concludes that
"Female executives. . . tend to lead in nontraditional ways: by sharing
information and power" ('Women's Leadership" B6). Does this mean
change ahead for the traditional management styles of the marketplace?
"Roles" so long dominated by men are being cast in nontraditional ways. In
the theatre community, the issue of nontraditional casting brought
discriminatory practices to the forefront. In the marketplace, women and
minorities wiU soon be in positions also to confront traditional styles and
challenge dominant norms. In a 1990 special issue "Women: The Road
Ahead," Time magazine referred to changes in the workforce as the
"Revolution in the Workplace," noting that women and minorities will
reach majority status in the work force by the year 2000 (Castro 52).

But have we, as educators, prepared them for this role? Do too many of
us continue to pattern our teaching styles after those of our mentors, who
undoubtedly learned from traditional pedagogical patterns? Clearly, we
need to approach classroom dynamics in a more nontraditional manner to
incorporate the changes ahead for all of us. In this sense, implications of
nontraditional casting in the classroom are immense.

As a stage director, I have always taken a special interest in the various
aspects which determine which roles my students play in a production. The
precepts of nontraditional casting have given me an exhilarating sense of
freedom for artistic expression. Exploring issues of nontraditional casting
has also served as a valuable platform for educating my theatre majors on
issues of race, class, and gender. My job requires the art of teaching as well
as the art of creating theatre, and I have begun to see more clearly how I cast
"roles" outside of productions. I now question my tendency to "cast" the
diverse group of nonmajors sitting in my drama survey courses in traditional
and stereotypical "roles." I have come to realize that the dynamics which face
me in that arena are far more complex than any single theatre production I
direct.

I catch myself all too often traditionally casting my students based on the
color of their skin, their gender, or even their first exam grade. I must force
myself to experiment with nontraditional teaching methods since I know I
can aU too easily slip into the "role" my own predominately white-male

12

professors exhibited throughout my undergraduate and graduate career.

Most importantly, I am willing to admit to these reactions though many are

not.

In 1989 The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on a study conducted

by Daniel Fallon and Frank B. Murray entitled "The Reform of Teacher

Education for the 21st Century." The study concluded that "By the 21st

century, 40 percent of the nation's pupils will be minorities, while 95 percent

of their teachers wiU be white" (Watkins A42).

Another crucial point was made by Jacqueline J. Irvine:
The majority of white teachers have one set of cultural objectives, while
minority students bring to school a different set of objectives. . . When
teachers and students are not in tune culturally, communication is !
poor. This hinders education. . . Future teachers must be bicultural, i
bilingual, and bicognitive." (Watkins A41)

I stand before my students as a white, middle-class female and acknowledge

that my own experiences often fall short of the multipHcity of faces which

surround me.

Vocabulary and Applications
In the establishment of the nontraditional casting project, certain

categories were developed for the practitioner to understand more ftiUy how

to apply its principles creatively. Four basic methods or types of nontraditional

casting were defined as

1) Cross-cultural Casting - the entire world of the play is translated to
a different cultural setting.

2) Societal Casting - ethnic, female or disabled actors are cast in roles
they perform in society as a whole.

3) Blind Casting - aU actors are cast without regard to their race,
ethnicity, gender or physical capability.

4) Conceptual Casting - an ethnic, female or disabled actor is cast in a
role to give a play a greater resonance (Davis and Newman Intro.)

When I first started incorporating these categories into theatre class
lectures, I noticed that nontraditional casting definitions sparked initial
confiision, then wonderftilly heated debates. I have since found them usefiil
mainly in presenting a framework for discussion. It seems to me a paradox
that the basis of nontraditional casting be defined by "types" since "type" is
what the practice itself so opposes. Still, the categories provide a base
vocabulary from which to start.

The concept of cross-cultural casting most successftilly transfers to the
classroom environment. To me, utilizing cross-cultural casting in a theatre

13

l^ina

production can create a celebration of multi-ethnicity. It focuses on the
positive by exploring the richness of differences and inspiring curiosity and
understanding of various cultures. In the application of this concept in the
classroom, the diverse cultural backgrounds of students are fully acknowledged
and identified by the teacher. While institutionalized forms of oppression
are likev^^ise acknow^ledged, members of both the privileged and oppressed
segments aspire to understanding. An example of application in traditional
classrooms foUows:

1) CarefiiUy edit out all white-male authors from the regular reading
list. Do the same for all books which solely focus on an Anglo-Saxon
perspective.

2) Consider what is left after the editing process.

3) Create a new multicultural list.

It is interesting how difficult this exercise can be, and how simple it has
been to carry on the traditional "classics" which were required reading during
one's graduate career. This cross-cultural exercise benefits everyone. The
attempt to vaHdate the presence of multi-ethnic perspectives within a
discipline encourages students to do the same. We have to accept the
traditional expectations students have of their teachers and that we are
indeed "role models." Since the academic realm has yet to ftiUy provide for
multi-ethnic diversity among faculty, current educators as "role models"
must be willing to acknowledge the problems this environment can create
for students from diverse cultures. In spring of 1990, West Georgia
College's Institutional Research Report noted a 16% minority enrollment
(Barnes Memorandum). My basic survey course. Drama Appreciation,
often averages a higher percentage, with 10 to 15 minorities in a class which
normally totals 50 students. A cross-cultural pedagogical approach inspires
me to incorporate the minority perspective in lecture, reading, and video
materials. I do not allow the majority make-up of my students to dictate
topic perspectives.

I beheve this approach has actually heightened the learning experience
for everyone. I have replaced the traditional showing of William Inge's Bus
Stop with Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. It came as no surprise to me (or
to any one of my students) that none of the white students had previously
seen the film and every black student had. But what was ultimately most
surprising to everyone was that Lee's film spoke to the concerns of people
of aU races. Most importantly, cultural misconceptions became apparent
when several white students stated that they had not seen the film when it
was first released because they thought it was a "black" movie. In aU sincerity,

14

they assumed it would have nothing to do with them. As a theatre educatoi
I could relate similar misconceptions to reasons that contemporary students
do not flock to theatre performances. The multicultural perspective of Lee's
film integrated into subsequent lecture material with positive results.

Current educators no longer face mirrors of themselves. In many ways,,
it is the traditional white-male professor who is most responsible for creating;
a new classroom environment which allows for the celebration of diversity.!
In whatever discipline, establishing a consistent practice of cross-cultural;
references will more fully prepare our students for what truly awaits them.'

Societal casting works in a similar fashion in its application to traditional
academia. It is best applied on the more interpersonal level during one-on-
one sessions with students. Special assignments and advising are two
situations where an educator can question traditional "casting" of male,;
female, and minority students.

1) Carefully avoid giving assignments which place students in
traditional roles. (I once caught myself assigning all my female students;
research into fabric prices; male students into lumberprices for a production I
budget project.)

2) Encourage discussion of gender and race when advising the
"undecided" student.

Many of us are responsible for advising those students who have not fully
committed to a particular course of study. True societal casting takes into
account the huge variety of professions available to all of us in a multiracial
society. Students' perception of themselves in society has been formed by
misconceptions in media and their own upbringing. To ask them directly
if they feel their race or gender restricts their ability to succeed in certain
fields slaughters sacred cows. It enables the student to make an educated
decision.

As the director of a theatre program, I require each of my students to
work in the scene shop eight hours per week. In addition, students are
required to function as area heads in one of the many different positions in
production (e.g. costumes, properties, scenery, lighting). My attempt is to
shift them around as much as possible so each of them develops a keen
understanding of options. In casting, as a director and educator, I cast the
best actor for the role and the best role for the actor. I take into account the
physical and emotional challenge needed by each student and try to provide
the best possible script for that purpose. Societal casting in the traditional
classroom, through cross-cultural referencing, does the same thing.

Blind casting is a term I like the least. Still, its implementation in the
classroom could be the most valuable lesson of all. We should try to see

IS

beyond the "roles" our students play to us on all levels. Students give us hints
of themselves in the classroom cliques of sorority, fraternity, black, white
sisters/brothers as much as what their physical differences in gender, race,
and age tell us. I find myself all too quickly casting students based on what
/see and what /test. Am I allowing clumps of segmented circles to remain
within their safe micro-environments? Is my lecture material composed of
information they all can relate to and own? Here are some areas for
considering how a blind approach might be beneficial in the classroom:

1) Does the instructor draw conclusions about students'
intellectual capacity based on what they look like?

2) Does the instructor cast a student's potential in the course based on
the first test grade alone?

It might be useful to experiment with different ways to avoid the above
reactions. Try a few times not matching the face with the letter grade at the
top of the first quiz. Above all, fight against traditional assumptions of the
relationship between race and class to academic readiness.

For me, blind casting simply means all students start the class with a
solid A. It also means I provide unbiased material and help them realize that
their roles in society are inconstant. It is said that ancient Oriental historians
always left blank pages in their history books for events they did not know.
Blind casting in the classroom allows us to maintain the same respect for
what we really do not know about our students.

Conceptual casting is truly the most creative of the types of nontraditional
casting. It combines the understanding of cross-cultural and societal casting
with the assumption of a blind approach. Its correspondence to pedagogy
can be invigorating.

1) Break down the large survey course into smaller groups, but in a
carefully planned manner. Provide for experimental groups to serve as mini
"case studies" (i.e. aU-female groups/all-male groups followed with white
males as minorities, all-minority groups).

2) Discuss the above processes with students on a consistent basis (I
set aside ten minutes at the start of the class following each group process
experience).

3) Ask students to examine more carefiiUy their "roles" in the diverse
group processes and how they might fiinction differently depending on the
make-up of the group.

4) Encourage students to adjust their roles for fiature group
experiences.

16

l]

e

The technique ofbreaking down large classes into small groups is not all that
nontraditional. Educators have known its value for a long time. But the
value is enhanced by an experimental and experiential approach, rather than
the traditional haphazard method of counting out numbers or grouping
alphabetically. How group dynamics are shaped by the make-up of the
group becomes more apparent to everyone when varieties are discussed. Just
as conceptual casting in the theatre can "give the play greater resonance,"
conceptual casting in group assignments provides experiential learning in
the course (Davis and Newman Intro).

If educators reaHze the impact of future dynamics in the workforce, they
can provide valuable tools to contemporary students. Like scripts, individual
disciplines do not always respond well to any kind of nontraditional
approaches. But the true value lies in an attitude educators can maintain in
whatever discipline: let our differences be something we talk about.

Nontraditional Methods in Teaching: A Checklist

The flip side of using any of the approaches mentioned so far is the
tendency to defer to the "token" minority. This occurs when the only female,
or the only minority, will be singled out to express the views or opinions of
an entire gender or race. This practice perpetuates the notion that people's
only strengths are what they "represent" within the group. A good educator
can foresee the ramifications of this practice, facilitate discussions accordingly,
and discourage its use in small groups.

Through the years, having utilized many of the principles of
nontraditional casting in my classrooms, I have also become more conscious
of many other "traditional" teaching habits which might counteract my
goals. The following is a list of questions educators may want to consider
in order to utilize fuUy the benefits of nontraditional techniques:

1) When was the last time the instructor critically reviewed lecture
material for nondiscriminatory languages.-^

2) Do required textbooks use nondiscriminatory language?

3) Does lecture and reading material include potentially racist or sexist
material? Does the instructor address this in class?

4) Does the instructor encourage cross-cultural reading?

5) Does the instructor encourage more creative interaction among
students?

6) Are examples in lectures based on a solely Anglo-Saxon
perspective?

17

7) Does the instructor stereotype in the classroom or during meetings
mth students? (i.e. "typical male," "typical female")

8) Has there been an attempt to incorporate discussion of gender or race
into lecture material?

9) Does the instructor facilitate classroom discussions carefully, not
allowing certain students consistently to dominate conversations?

10) Does the instructor set nondiscriminatory norms and
expectations in the classroom?

Every student situation is unique and takes a great deal of consistency
on the part of the educator to maintain a nondiscriminatory attitude. Some
examples from my own experiences come to mind.

1) One female directing student was having trouble with her
female lead in a studio production of the sentimental, two-character love
story, The Sea Horse. The male actor had created a charming, lovable and
sensitive character quite true to the text. The actress had it a bit tougher. Her
character was a tough-as-nails fighterwho was to turn very "soft and sensual"
at the end of the play. The director was getting advice from everyone on how
important it was for the female to emerge as a sex kitten at some point near
the crisis. Her actress did a fine job portraying the strong-willed characteristics,
but the director felt she was never fully able to draw out the "necessary" soft
qualities.

In our post-production discussion, I asked my student why she had felt
it was so necessary for the female character to exhibit a traditional (and
stereotypical) female trait. Why, for instance, did she not instead, by
observing the direction and limitations of the actress, allow her to fully
characterize a dominant, strong-willed, even "macho" approach in her
passionate turn- around at the crisis? The director had assumed that a
female's change of heart could only occur with a soft-spoken, sensual action.
Since the male actor's strength seemed to be more feminine, and the female
actor's work, masculine, why not use it? In this case, gender was being
observed in a traditional manner. The gender of each actor was actually
taking priority over individual instincts and artistry. A feminist approach to
textual analysis and characterization might have solved her "problem."

2) Following the casting of a production of The Taming of the Shrew I
was directing many years ago, a black student I had cast in the role of Grumio
came to my office. He told me he was declining the role because he felt
strongly opposed to playing a servant. In retrospect, I must say I did not
jhandle the situation very well. My response was comprised mainly of how
he should aspire to more professional behavior and be willing to accept a

18

variety of roles since they are often few and far between in the entertainmen
business.

I now realize my response invalidated a sincere belief on his part. He hac
every right to feel that way and I avoided the real issue by not really hearing i
what he was saying. As an educator, I had a responsibility to this student tha
I might not have in professional productions. In all sincerity, my casting o
him as Grumio was based on his comic skills. At the same time, my castin^j
struck a moral chord and limited his personal aspirations. I now beUeve his
decision was ethically and morally correct and my response inappropriate

Conclusion

It is only within the last year that I have begun to accumulate more
formal data on my use of nontraditional methods with a wider variety olj
students. But I do realize my material is simple and does not warrantj
generalized or statistical conclusions. Still, singular student responses are!
interesting and some fascinating consistencies have begun to appear. j

At the beginning of the quarter, I make certain at least two group
projects occur within the first three weeks of class. The group projects
typically deal with lecture material, where I assign each group a specific task,
usually focused on defining terms by using examples (i.e. view a picture of
a production from the book and determine atmosphere, mood). Following
the discussion of group responses, I ask students to answer three questions
on a blank sheet of paper, with only their gender noted at the top:

1) Describe your participation style in the groups. Passive? Active?
Leader? Follower?

2) Do you feel your style is gender or race related?

3) Do you feel your style is affected by the make-up of the group?
Because I want the experiential quality of the process to be unbiased, I

am careful to avoid suggestive remarks. Students are more apt to respond
"yes" to all of the above if they feel that is what the teacher wants. During
the past year, almost all students responded similarly to the above questions
with few exceptions: "No, my participation level does not change;" "I am
assertive no matter what group I am in;" "I rarely let the dynamics of the
group affect me."

The tone is fairly consistent with the above. Still, some interesting
conditional and contradictory remarks appear as well: "My participation
does not change, but our topic probably would have been different if guys
were in the group;" "I don't think it will change me because those people wiU
still ignore my suggestions;" "The make-up of the group does not effect [sic]
me in this class. Later in life gender will probably effect [sic] me."

19

The survey courses I teach have a rich physical and intellectual diversity.
These are the courses vv^hich academics like to use for statistical studies since
they provide such a vv^ide range of majors and class-levels.

True, the responses are undoubtedly affected in some w^ay throughout
the term as I began to point out in more detail concepts of group process. I
have them experiment with style and consensus decision-making versus
majority decision-making. Most students are unaw^are of the process of
consensus. It is difficult for them to grasp the concept that everyone's
opinion must be canvassed and discussed vs^hen preparing a group decision.
Consensus takes a very long time and requires extra class time for group
projects. I usually allow^ each group two class periods when they are required
to complete a task through consensus. I think students have mainly been
exposed to completing group projects through majority decision-making.
This practice counteracts the importance of recognizing the minority voice.
The process of consensus sets valuable groundrules. It requires students to
speak their mind and encourages those who normally remain passive to
speak up when they reaUze their views must be represented in the fmal
decision.

I also ask students to look closely at how their style might intimidate
other persons in the group, and suggest adopting new styles to insure that
everyone's voice is heard. The student who normally takes on a leadership
role in group processes has been traditionally taught that this is a positive
characteristic. But it must be pointed out that oftentimes an overly active
participant dominates the conversation, keeping other participants from
discussing their ideas. On the other hand, the normally passive student can
frustrate the group with his or her consistent silence. Both styles, active and
passive, must be adjusted in relation to make-up of the group and students
are encouraged to monitor themselves carefully.

I also make recommendations concerning physical setup, body language,
and task assignments. When assigned a group project, students will usually
pay Httle attention to how they have set themselves up physically. They
barely turn their chairs around and rarely make certain they are seated in an
arrangement where each member can see the others. Physical setup is of
utmost importance and it is valuable to make certain that desks are cleared
of unessential papers and that groups sit in a circle facing one another. I also
urge students not to allow the same students to volunteer to be note-takers
or spokespersons. Group project groundrules in my classroom require the
no student ftinction in the same "role" twice.

20

By the end of the term, group process terminology is easier to grasp anc
the thinking has drastically changed. This past year, at the end of the
quarter, 100% of the students canvassed from my survey course agreed than
their level of group participation was affected by the make-up of a given
group. Perhaps my favorite response was this one, to a question appearing
at the end of my evaluation form: Did the questions and remarks about]
group process lead you to a better understanding of the "role" you tend to
take when working in groups? "Definitely. It helped to make us realize how
well we work not only in groups but in other parts of society."

Luckily, for me, the use of group process and nontraditional methods in
my theatre survey courses integrates nicely with the material. I have often
found that students are able to comprehend how important collaboration is
to the complexity of putting on a production. Their own experiences in
groups provide them personal insight into the unique relationships between
different kinds of theatre artists. The sensitivity of a rehearsal session, the
artistic understanding between the designer and director become more
apparent when each student has experienced a corresponding situation.

But the added benefit of nontraditional methods is that students gain a
truer understanding of themselves. They learn to evaluate their interpersonal
skills and acquire a sensitivity to other personal styles. Besides an
"appreciation" ofany number ofdisciplines they encounter in academia, they
are more equipped to deal with the diversity of group processes which awaits
them.

WORKS CITED

Alexander, Max. "Frustrated Actors Give City An Earful." Variety 17 Dec. 1990: 57.

Barnes, Edward B. Memorandum to Ms. Jackie Michael. 13 July 1990. West Georgia College
Institutional Research Report: Spring Enrollment Information.

Castro, Janice. "Get Set: Here They Come!" Time Fall 1990: 52.

Davis, Clinton Turner, and Harry Nevmian. Introduction. Beyond Tradition. New York Non-
Traditional Casting Project, Inc., 1988.

Heidrick and Struggles, Inc. Chart. "Faces in the ^ozrdioom." Atlanta Journal and Constitution 23
Jan. 1991: C2.

Watkins, Beverly T. "Colleges Urged to Train Future Schoolteachers to Deal With Expected
'Influx' of Immigrants." The Chronicle of Higher Education 13 Dec. 1989: A41-42.

"Women's leadership different, study says." Atlanta Journal and Constitution 24 Oct. 1990: B6.

21

Virginia Henderson - Beloved Visionary

by Kathryn Grams*

Virginia Henderson was not sure she really wanted to be a nurse when
she entered the Army School of Nursing in 1918. The United States was
involved in World War I, and she wanted "to do something to help either
the sick people in this country" or those returning "maimed by the war"
(Safier 116). She soon became fascinated with her new experiences,
however, and acknowledged that "I loved nursing from the day I went into
it" (Safier 118). Now, more than 70 years later, Miss Henderson is the
world's most beloved nurse, and because her writings have been translated
into more than 25 languages, she is also the world's most widely read nurse.
She has been awarded at least eight honorary doctorates and was the first
recipient of the International Council of Nurses' Christianne Reimann
Prize in 1985 (Campbell 12). Fulton describes her as a "theorist, prophet,
poet" and considers her to be an "effective leader gifted with more than
ordinary insight" (1).

Virginia Henderson has had an enduring and significant influence over
the development of nursing in the last 30 years. She was the first nurse to
develop a succinct and widely accepted definition of nursing. While on the
faculty at Yale University, she served as editorial director of a four- volume
annotated index of aU nursing literature published in English between 1900
and 1960. And herwritings on the relationship of nursing practice, research,
and education have made a major contribution to nursing as an emerging
professional discipHne. Virginia Henderson is respected and loved by nurses
everywhere for her scholarship, compassionate practice, warmth, wit, and
vitality (the majority of her works were written after the age of 65). Her
contributions can also be appreciated for their value and insight by those
outside the nursing profession.

A Definition of Nursing

In 1958, Virginia Henderson was asked by the Nursing Service
Committee of the International Council of Nurses to prepare a small
pamphlet on basic nursing practice to distribute to the nations of the world.
Published in 1961, it represents the "crystallization" of her ideas:

'Assistant Professor of Nursing, West Georgia College

22

The unique function of the nurse is to assist the individual, sick or well
in the performance of those activities contributing to health or it;
recovery (or to peaceful death) that he would perform unaided if he hac
the necessary strength, will, or knowledge. And to do this in such a wa)
as to help him gain independence as rapidly as possible. {ICN Basic
Principles 3)
Henderson continues to expand her definition by explaining that the nurse
initiates and controls this function. As part of a team the nurse also helps
the physician and other members carry out the treatment program. Henderson i
emphasizes, however, that the patient remains at the center of this effort, noti
the nurse or the physician.

Assisting patients with their daily patterns of living or those activities
that they normally perform without assistance becomes the primary
responsibility of the nurse. Henderson {Nature of Nursing 16-17) identifies
the 14 basic components of nursing care that help the individual perform the
following activities: 1) breathe normally; 2) eat and drink adequately; 3)
eliminate body wastes; 4) move and maintain desirable postures; 5) sleep
and rest; 6) select suitable clothes dress and undress; 7) maintain body
temperature within normal range by adjusting clothing and modifying the
environment; 8) keep the body clean and well groomed and protect the
integument; 9) avoid dangers in the environment and avoid injuring others;
10) communicate with others in expressing emotions, needs, fears, or
opinions; 11) worship according to one's faith; 12) work in such a way that
there is a sense of accomplishment; 13) play or participate in various forms
of recreation; and 14) learn, discover, or satisfy the curiosity that leads to
normal development and health and use the available health facilities.
"These components must be considered as part of the definition of nursing
to appreciate the essence of Henderson's thoughts" (Furukawa and Howe
55).

It is Henderson's beUef that helping patients meet their basic needs
requires knowledge and skill based on the biological and social sciences.
While the needs are common to all human beings, their satisfaction varies
infinitely from one person to another. And it is in this attention to the
patient's individuality that nursing becomes both an art and a complex
service. She writes that the "assessment of patients' needs demands among
other things, sensitivity, knowledge and judgment and that the modifying
of nursing procedures, even simple ones, according to the individual needs
of the patient often requires a high degree of competence" (ICN Basic
Principles 42).

23

MMIHHi

Beliefs about Persons

Henderson recognizes the unique and holistic nature of human beings
when she states, "mind and body have come to be inseparable in my
thinking" {Nature of Nursing 11). The fundamental needs identified in the
14 components ofbasic nursing care reflect the interdependence ofbiological,
psychological, sociological, and spiritual aspects of living, and she "arrives at
the inescapable conclusion" that all nurses must know how to care for the
total person (Harmer and Henderson vi). To consider any of the needs to
the exclusion of the others is to negate this wholeness (Adams 25).

Henderson also beUeves that every individual strives for and desires
wholeness and independence. If a basic need is not satisfied, the individual
is not whole or independent. And persons who lack the necessary strength,
will, or knowledge to attain or maintain their wholeness or independence
require assistance from nursing (Harmer and Henderson 4).

I Beliefs about Health

The wholeness and independence discussed above are central to
Henderson's concept of health. "Health is equated with independence on a
continuum that has iUness equated with dependence" (Runk ScQuillin 89).
An individual's position on this continuum is determined by the ability to
perform the 14 components ofbasic care. Conditions such as age, emotional
state, intelligence, cultural and social states, and nutritional or general
physical factors are always present and affect health. Persons wiU seek to
maintain or achieve their desired health if they have the required knowledge,
will, or strength (Henderson ICN Basic Principles 3).

Henderson ("Health is Everybody's Business" 33) believes that health
is the right of aU the world's citizens and that nursing should focus more on.
health promotion than on the care of the sick. Persons of different cultures
attach varying degrees of importance to health, and it is her opinion that
persons in the United States do not appear to consider health to be of
primary importance ("Concept of Nursing" 115-116). Her hope for the
future health of the people of the world rests in the ability of nurses and other
health care workers to place emphasis on "health education, on helping those
they serve to be self-reliant, on prevention of disease and on providing living
conditions world-wide that make health possible for all peoples" ("Nursing
Yesterday and Tomorrow" 907).

24

II

Beliefs about Environment

A student experience at the Henry Street Visiting Nurse Agency in New
York City prompted Virginia Henderson to re-evaluate the effectiveness ol|
the hospital environment. After seeing the sick return to their homes
following hospitalization, she began to realize that the "seemingly successful
institutional regimen often failed to change the patient's way of living that
sent him to the hospital in the first place {Nature of Nursing 10). She writes,
Too often it [ the hospital] places a person in a setting where shelter
from the elements is almost the only fundamental need that is ftilly
met. In most hospitals the patient cannot eat as he wishes; his freedom
of movement is curtailed; his privacy is invaded; he is put to bed \n\
strange nightclothes, that make him feel unattractive as a punished |
child; he is separated from the objects of his affection; he is deprived j
of almost every diversion in his normal day, deprived of work and!
reduced to dependence on persons who are often younger than he is, j
and sometimes less intelligent and courteous. {Nature of Nursing 11- '
12)
Virginia Henderson believes that the nature of nursing care received by
the patient is affected by the environment in which the nurses practice. She i
calls for hospital administrations to promote humanistic nursing practice i
through the development of democratic decision making, decentraHzation
of authority, opportunities for professional equality and accountability in
practice, research, and education, and patient-centered assignment rather
than task-centered assignment ("Preserving the Essence" 258).

Beliefs about Nurses as Practitioners and Researchers

Henderson describes the nurse as an independent practitioner who is
able to make independent judgments about nursing care. She helps patients
perform the 14 components of basic nursing care until they are able to
perform them independently. The nurse acts as a substitute for what
patients lack in completeness, wholeness, or independence. As she so
eloquently states.

She must, in a sense, get "inside the skin" of each of her patients in
order to know what he needs. She is temporarily the consciousness of
the unconscious, the love of Hfe for the suicidal, the leg of the amputee,
the eyes of the newly blind, a means of locomotion for the infant,
knowledge and confidence for the young mother, a "mouthpiece" for
those too weak or withdrawn to speak, and so on. (JCN Basic Principles
4)

25

Nursing is intimate, demanding, rewarding, complex, and continuous.
"No worker but the nurse can and will devote himself or herself consistently
( day and night to these ends. In fact, of all medical services nursing is the only
one that might be called continuous" (Henderson Nature of Nursing 17).
Nursing requires a listening ear and the constant observation and analytical
interpretation of behavior. It involves a partnership and a mutual
understanding in which the nurse assesses and responds to the patient's
individual needs.

Virginia Henderson's description of nursing as a humanistic art and
science reflects contemporaiythought about nursing practice. Her discussions
of wholeness and completeness and the inseparable nature of mind and body
are not unlike the discussions of today about holistic nursing practice. She
believes that only through clinical practice can nursing preserve its essence.
Virginia Henderson has long recognized nursing's need to develop a
distinct body of knowledge and insists that nursing research be an integral
part of nursing practice. She believes that if nursing is to develop as a science,
it must utilize scientific inquiry as a basis for knowledge development, for
problem solving, and for practice (Henderson Nature of Nursing). She
argues that

Unless one believes in the "born nurse" or in the assumption that a
nurse acts under the orders of the physician who wiU design the
methods she uses, there seems to be no reason why she should not
subject her practice to the same type of analysis that characterizes aU
comparable occupations. (33)
According to Henderson, nursing must, therefore, impose upon itself the
responsibility of designing and validating its own methods.

As a beginning student of nursing Henderson realized that nursing was
too often "entrenched in routines without rhyme or reason" {Nature of
Nursing 32). Students learned by imitation and were taught with little
reference to underlying scientific principles. In her continuing education as
a university student, however, she acquired an appreciation for the role of
inquiry in the practice of a profession; and by 1938, she had published her
first research study (Hawthorne et al.). The purpose of the study was to
devise a method for the manipulation of the canopy of an oxygen tent so that
the prescribed amount of oxygen would continue to be delivered while
morning care was being given to a patient in the tent. The results of this
experiment are no longer relevant for nursing practice, but its focus on
nursing care delivery is.

26

In 1966, Henderson defined research as "structured, systemati(
investigation designed to answer a question, throw light on a theory, or solv( ,
a problem" {Nature of Nursing ?>?>) and observed that the majority of nursing j
research focused on the characteristics of nursing and nurses, not nursing
practice. In a guest editorial for Nursing Research in 1956, she asks, "Wh)
is it . . . that in our field, studies on the nurse outnumber studies on tht
practice of nursing more than ten to one?" ("Research in Nursing Practice'!
99). Her response to the question is that research support for nurses ir;
advanced education was often from the fields of education and social science!
and that nurse researchers were frequently more involved in education and
administration than in practice. The profession also had to direct most olj
its energies toward recruitment, selection, preparation, and distribution oij
nurses and did not attempt to become a partner with the physician in clinicajj
research.

Current nurse researchers Bennet and Wrubel (6) state that Henderson'
created a new research tradition when she encouraged clinical nurses to!
develop knowledge through the practice of nursing. They agree with the!
intimacy of this clinical research-practice interaction model and seek toj
establish it as a viable approach to the development of nursing knowledge
today. Although the discipline has made progress in the advancement of
clinical nursing research, Henderson's beliefs continue to be instrumental in
the emergence of nursing's latest theoretical developments.

Virginia Henderson as Visionary

What is Virginia Henderson's vision of nursing and why does it
continue to be so influential today? She offers a vision of nursing that is'
"beyond petty territoriality" and that focuses on all nurses working together'
for world health. In her review of an international conference on primary]
health care, she chastises nurses for citing "their ability to fit into a prescribed !
framework and follow the techniques and procedures of care" as a strength.
Instead, Henderson calls it a weakness. It is her opinion that nurses must;
"not fit into bureaucratic structures," but "rock the boat" and effect change
for positive leadership.

I believe that health workers, particularly nurses, are more keenly
aware of human needs and human suffering than are most people. We
should therefore be in the forefront of those who work for social justice,
for a healthful environment, for access to adequate food and shelter,
clothing, and universal opportunities for education and employment,
realizing that all of these as well as preventative and curative health care
are essential to the well-being of citizens. ("Conference Report" 85)

27

Virginia Henderson has provided nursing with powerful leadership and

jTfLS clearly a beloved visionary. She is individualistic, artistic, and has a

delightful sense of humor; and she has a keen mind and is full of vitality and

nergy, even at 93 years of age. Current nursing leaders recognize her

wisdom and speak of how she has inspired them and influenced their choices

(Schorr 6c Zimmerman 81, 253, 263, 314). Wherein does this power lie?

Her words are powerfiil. She uses clear, concise, and simple language,
deploring "jargon". Her definition of nursing is read and used all over the
world. As she states, "Anyone can understand it." There is wisdom and a
common-sense approach in her writings, and she values independence and
critical thinking.

j Virginia Henderson is also willing to speak up about her beliefs and
concerns, even when it is unpopular to do so. As a risk taker who often
opposes the dominant view, she has long told physicians about the role of the
nurse; she has called for clinical research as essential to practice;she has called
nurses the health workers of the world and has challenged them to recognize
health and independence as a right of all people the world over; and she has
spoken up for humaneness and concern in a world of increasing technology.

In 1969, Henderson published an article describing her personal concept
of excellence and identified nurses who, in her opinion, qualified as
excellent. She described what made them excellent: innovation, achievement,
insight, compassion, skill, knowledge, fidelity, and endurance ("Excellence
in Nursing" 2133-2137). She has described herself.

Virginia Henderson prefers to think of herself as primarily a practitioner
of nursing (Safier 115) and suggests that being a researcher, educator, and
scholar are all subordinate to the essential role of practitioner. The beauty
of nursing from her perspective is its "combination of your head, your hands
and your heart. But if these components are separated, the beauty is lost and
the satisfaction of helping another human b eing with a very intimate aspect
of their [sic] life is destroyed" (Alderman 17).

WORKS CITED

Adam, Evelyn. To Be a Nurse. New York; W.B. Saunders, 1980.

Alderman, Charlotte. "A Model for Nursing." Nursing Times 83.41 (1987): 17-18.

Benner, Patricia, and Judith Wrubel. The Primacy of Caring: Stress and Coping in Health and Illness.
Menlo Parle Addison-Wesley, 1989.

Campbell, Cate. "Virginia Henderson: The Definitive Nurse." Nursing Mirror 16.26 (1985): 12.

Fulton, Jane S. "Virginia Henderson: Theorist, Prophet, Vott." Advances in Nursing Science 10
(1987): 1-9.

28

Furukawa, Chiyoko Y., and Joan K. Howe. "Virginia Henderson. "A^rj<n^ Theories: The Base for
Professional Nursing Practice. Ed. J.B. George. Englewood Cliflfs: Prentice-Hall, 1980. 49-
72.

Harmer, Bertha, and Virginia Henderson. Textbook of the Principles and Practice of Nursing. 5th ed.
New York: Macmillan, 1955, 1960.

Hawthorne, Margaret, et al. "Oxygen Therapy: A Study of Some Aspects in the Operation of an
Oxygen Tent." American Journal of Nursing 38 (1938): 1203-1216.

Henderson, Virginia. "Conference Report Countdown to 2000: A Major International Confer-
ence for the Primary Health Care Team, 21-23 September 1987, London." Journal of Advanced
Nursing 14 (1989): 81-85.

"Excellence in Nursing." American Journal of Nursing 69 (1969): 2133-2137.

"Health is Everybody's Business." Canadian Nurse 67.3 (1971): 31-34.

ICN Basic Principles of Nursing Care. London: International Council of Nursing, 1961.

"Nursing Yesterday and Tomorrow." Nursing Times 76 (1980): 905-907.

"Preserving the Essence of Nursing in a Technological Kgc.^ Journal of Advanced Nursing 5
(1980): 245-260.

. "Research in Nursing Practice When?" Nursing Research 4 {1956): 99.

. "The Concept of Nursing." Journal of Advanced Nursing 3 (1978): 113-130.

. The Nature of Nursing: A Definition and its Implications for Practice., Research, and Education. New
York: Macmillan, 1966.

Runk, Judith, and Stephanie QuiUin. "Henderson's Definition of Nursing." Conceptual Models of
Nursing: Analysis and Application. Eds. Joyce Fitzpatrick and Ann Whall. Bowie: Robert J.
Brady, 1983. 87-100.

Safier, Gloria. "Virginia Henderson: Practitioner." Contemporary American Leaders in Nursing: An
Oral HistoTy. Ed. Gloria Safier. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977. 115-133.

Schorr, Thelma, and Anne Zimmerman. Making Choices, Taking Chances: Nurse Leaders Tell Their
Stories. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby, 1988.

29

nn

An Appreciation of Buddhist and Christian Art:

a Comparison of T'ang Kuan-yin and Henry

Setter's Madonna

by Cecilia O. Jan*

A work of art is both the product of a cultural tradition and the
expression of an individual artist. The artist is truly free only in his
iconological expression, for the composition (including the subject) and the
iconography are determined by the culture. These restrictions are necessary
if the art is to have a meaning and content that give it lasting value. This
paper looks at two sculptures, one from the Buddhist and one from the
Christian tradition. Because both are religious works, the subject and
iconography are more carefully defined than would be true for secular works.
Both are solid, three-dimensional objects, of stone and wood. Both are
intended to be an aid to meditation or prayer and are valued not for
themselves, but for the spirit, the thought, the "presence" which resides
therein.

A critic evaluating any work of art uses criteria which originated in a
religious sphere. As religious values decline, aesthetic values gain autonomy
in a process of secularization, but the religious concepts and connotations
tend to persist, and an understanding of the aesthetics of secular art is aided
by tracing their religious roots (Ledderose 165). As applied to these two
works, the religious roots continue to be of primary importance in aesthetic
evaluation.

The difficulty in attempting an aesthetic evaluation of a work of
religious art has been discussed by many critics. Roger Fry thought that
religious belief was a danger to the value of art as art. He wrote that "in
proportion as the image is sacred, the quality of it as art is irrelevant" {Last
138). But the problem of quality is not with the art, nor with the patron, but
with the requirements of religious art. Eric Gill (43) asked.

What is the reason . . . that things in churches, things . . . which
obviously minister to mental needs alone are usually bad? It cannot
be that people deliberately do inferior work when it is church work;
that people who buy things for churches deliberately buy what they
know is bad. No, the reason is that people have a much lower standard
of quality in ecclesiastical than in secular art.

*Ph.D. in History, Florida State University

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Images help people imagine deities in which they believe but cannot see.
Images for religious instruction can be masterpieces, but there are also a great
number of artistically insignificant ones whose only justification is that they
serve the ends of religious instruction. Etienne Gilson looks at the aesthetic
value of the end product and believes that "all true works of art are essentially
religious, whereas all the works that present themselves as works of art but
are not can be said to be (whatever they may represent) areligious" (261, 262,
n. 28). In contrast, Ananda Coomaraswamy believes that to understand a
work of art, "to identify our own consciousness with that upon which the
thing itself originally depended for its being" ("Medieval Aesthetic I" 35, n.
9), we have to see it as a means, ordered to a given end. Otherwise,
Coomaraswamy says ("Medieval Aesthetic 11" 77), we are Hke a traveler
who, on finding a signpost, "proceeds to admire its elegance, to ask who
made it, and finally cuts it down and decides to use it as a mantlepiece
ornament." He continues his argument: "That may be aU very well, but can
hardly be called an understanding of the work; for unless the end be apparent
to ourselves, as it was to the artist, how can we pretend to have understood,
or how can we judge his operation?" We need not know who made the work,
but we do need to answer the questions "What was it for?" and "What does
it mean?" To do that we have to understand the symbols which are the
universal language of art, and symbols in combination form an iconography,
and iconography is art, the art by which the actual forms of things are
determined {Christian 40-41, 78-79).

The Buddhist image we are considering is in the Cleveland Museum of
Art, and is identified as a Standing Kuan-yin, AD 687, gray limestone, about :
five feet tall, and reportedly from Pai-ma-ssu, Honan. Because the statue
was not signed, we can avoid the aesthetic pitfalls of the question "Who?"
and go on to the "What?" and "Why?" In order to do this, we turn to the
elements of iconography which were first articulated in India, modified on
the way to China, and further modified after several centuries in China.

The historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, was born about 563 BC into the
princely clan of Sakyas, on the border of Nepal. His personal name was
Siddhartha, his surname, Gautama. After being made aware of the suffering
of man, he determined to renounce the world in order to effect salvation
from the cycle of reincarnation. After fleeing his father's capital, he first tried
asceticism; then found Enlightenment through meditation or yoga, an event
which took place under the Bodhi Tree. He devoted the rest of his life to
helping others achieve Enlightenment. He taught the first sermon at
Sarnath, when metaphorically he first began to turn the Wheel of the Law.

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The Eightfold Path, which was open to all, was one of moderation, without
extreme asceticism or the onerous ritual of Brahmanic tradition. He
achieved final Nirvana in his eightieth year (Rowland, Art and Architecture
53-54).

Right after the death of Gautama Buddha, the ideal was the monastic
life, restricted to a few who might achieve Nirvana. Gradually there was a
shift to the idea that there was reward by worship, and with this the devotion
to the person of the founder, leading to his being regarded as a particular kind
of being, not an ordinary man, but a god. No longer was the Buddha
considered to have become completely extinct upon achieving Nirvana, but
he had returned to his place as the Lord of Paradise, there to await the souls
of the faithful. By the time of King Asoka (272-232 BC) the goal of the
Buddhist layman was already that of everlasting reward in Paradise (Rowland,
Art and Architecture 54-56). The worship of bodily relics began during
Asoka's reign, but no anthropomorphic images date from that time. We do
have Buddhist inscriptions carved on pre-existing works, by order of Asoka,
similar to St. Patrick's carving Christian sentiments on pagan monuments
in Ireland (67, n. 8).

The symbolic forms used in Buddhism during the first five centuries
were aniconic, a symbolic image which did not claim to present a likeness to
the eye, but only to an idea. The symbolic forms were used because Buddha
was considered a reforming sage, and like a prophet he was embodied in his
message, and to "see" his word was to see him (Moore 142). The earliest
examples of Buddhist iconography were borrowed from Hindu iconography
already in use. For convenience, we can group them under four headings:

1) Birth. The chief symbol is the lotus, which rises from the navel of
the Waters at the dawn of a creative cycle. The lotus is the Earth, any one
plane of being, a platform of existence, whereon and whereby existence is
established firmly amidst the sea of possibility. The image of a voyage across
the sea of life is reflected in the terms Hinayana and Mahayana, Lesser and
Greater Voyage (Coomaraswamy, Elements 17-20 and n. 37). The heart of
the lotus represents the center of the universe. The stalk represents
detachment from the world, allowing the lotus to open out above the
contaminated water like the Buddha rises above ordinary humanity (21).

2) Enlightenment. The main symbol is the Bodhi (Wisdom) Tree,
under which the Buddha meditated and attained Enlightenment. Sometimes
an empty throne in front of a tree refers to the event (Moore 145).

3) Teaching. The wheel of eternal law (Dharma) which the Buddha
turned when he preached the first sermon at Sarnath is the symbol (Moore

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143). The wheel should be conceived in the manner of a gyroscope,
revolving simultaneously in an indefinite number of planes, but still with a
motionless center. Instead it usually looks like a chariot wheel, existing in
only two dimensions, but representing the Universe in its entirety. He who
sits on the nave of the wheel, and himself remains unmoving while he sets
and keeps it spinning, is the ruler of the world (Coomaraswamy, Elements
26-27).

4) Burial. The burial mound or stupa (it becomes a pagoda as the symbol
moves geographically eastward) is the sepulchral and reliquary monument
to the Buddha. The ashes of the Buddha were interred in this manner. The
stupa was seen as the body of the Buddha; if it contained relics, it was
animated by the Buddha's continuing presence (Moore 145-146).

The idea of the stupa as a container is closely tied to the function of a
sculpture as a vessel fuU of the immanent divine (Rawson 17-18). A
sculpture is an adequate visual form when it gives evidence of the content of
space by its convexly curved surface, with hoUows serving only as the meeting
places of convexities and appearing as smooth linear channels. (98) Indian
sculpture of all periods is "additive" in the sense that the body is not
conceived as a biologically functioning unit, but is composed of so many
parts individually fashioned according to manuals of artistic procedure and
mechanistically joined to form a symbol; it is not a realistic, anatomically
natural representation of a deity (Rowland, Art and Architecture 46, n. 14).
The Indian concept would be modified in contact with other art traditions,
and with changes in the requirements of the philosophy.

The shift from aniconic to iconic images occurred from the first century
BC to the first century AD. The reasons included the idea of devotion,
bhakti, directed towards the person of the Buddha worshipped as Lord and
redeemer; the permanent homes available to receive images at Buddhist
centers; and the development of Mahayana Buddhism, in which the teacher
became a sacred person. The devotion and veneration of the Hinayana
changed in Mahayana to the Buddha seen as the embodiment of an absolute i
world principle, a personification of highest truth, wisdom and goodness.
This made the Buddha, and other saintly figures, available in time of need
(Moore 147-148).

Mahayana Buddhism included the concept of the Bodhisattva, the
personification of the Buddha's virtues and powers. The Bodhisattva have
attained Enlightenment, but renounced the goal of Nirvana in order to
minister eternally to allaying the sufferings of all creatures. The most
popular Bodhisattva is Avalokitesvara (Chinese, Kuan-yin; Japanese,

33

Cannon), the Lord of Compassion. He is recognizable by the image in his
leaddress representing the Buddha Amitabha, regent of the Western
'aradise. (Amitabha supposedly fathered the Bodhisattva spiritually when
. white ray of light came from his right eye in a moment of earnest
neditation [Moore 163]). He is usually represented as standing to one side
)f the historical Buddha Sakyamuni, who is considered a temporal
nanifestation of a universal and eternal Buddha {Kovfhnd, Art and Architecture
16-57).

Gandhara, in the Peshawar Valley in Northwest India, saw the first
epresentation of the Buddha in anthropomorphic form, in the first century
\D. The sculptors, trained in the Roman Near East, took the Hellenic
nodels, made them more abstract, and added the Buddhist laksana or magic
narks appropriate to a Buddha: elongated earlobes; definition of the Urna
)r "third eye" between the brows; and the ushnisha, or cranial protuberance,
)ut this latter was disguised by the adaptation of the top-knot of the Greek
un-god. The robes were those of Imperial Roman statues (Rowland, Art
2nd Architecture 126-127), but represented in terms of sharp ridges instead
Df the classic naturalistic treatment of them as a weighty, voluminous
jubstance (Rowland, Comparisons 42-46).

The aniconic symbols were modified for the new anthropomorphic
mages. The lotus becomes a throne upon which the Buddha sits or stands.
The Bodhi Tree becomes the symbol of the Buddha attaining Wisdom. The
Wheel is relegated to the pedestal as an indication of the event of the First
Sermon, and also appears on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands as
laksana, marks of the Buddha (Coomaraswamy, Elements 39). The position
Df the hands, mudra, gives other clues as to the event portrayed. The abhaya
mudra, with the right hand raised, palm out, is the assurance, or blessing
gesture (Lee 100); for a pair of Bodhisattva flanking a Buddha, the left hand
of one might be raised as a mirror image of the other.

Buddhism was introduced into China in the first century AD. Prior to
the coming ofBuddhism, there was a complete absence of anthropomorphism;
the human figure was shown in its everyday social appearance, never as the
vehicle for ideal conceptions. "The nearest thing to an idol which the
Chinese could place on their altars was a holy saucepan, for the sacred
bronzes are only glorified household utensils" (Fry, Last 107). The Gandhara
style of anthropomorphism spread into the Yellow River area of north China
by the trade routes through Central Asia. It also spread into India proper,
where the aesthetically beautifiil Hellenic forms were modified by the Indian
ideal, which started with abstract spiritual concepts which then had to be

34

transformed into physical shapes. The art of Mathura, in the second centu:
AD, shows a feeling for the presence of the inner breath, of a Buddha whic j
had already passed beyond Nirvana. The Buddha is usually represente
standing directly frontal, with the robe undulating obliquely across the heaA-
body, giving a feeling of movement and the swelling expansiveness of th
form beneath (Rowland, Jrt and Architecture 149, 153, 209). The art of tt
Gupta period (320-660) had less columnar rigidity, a body slightly broke
on its axis giving a certain litheness; robes without folds which complete]
reveal the body underneath (Rowland, Art and Architecture 233); and
delicate radiant majesty giving the impression of withdrawal from thj
phenomenal world, the eyelids half closed in introspection, experiencing {
vision by deep meditation (Moore 152). The Mathura and Gupta style'
entered China by the sea routes to the southern courts at Nanking.

If there was no tradition of religious iconography in Chinese art, ther
was the concept of the withdrawal of sages from society, and the appreciatio
of landscape as an aid in meditation. This was used by monks like Hui-yiia
(334-417), who founded the White Lotus Society on Mount Lu in 402 an
who used the ingrained appreciation of nature as an aid to realization, jus,
as he would focus the minds of his congregation on the images of Buddh
(Bush 148). Tsung Ping (375-443) studied on Mount Lu with Hui-yiiar,
and wrote an Essay on Landscape Painting, in which he turned the lesson tha
wandering in the landscape was an aid to meditation into his own belief tha
a replica of a landscape could serve the same purpose if its proportions wer
correct (Bush and Shih 21-22). He discusses painting not as an art form iij
itself, but as a means to an end, the achievement of Enlightenment (Busl
146).

Another who studied on Mount Lu was Tai Yung (378-441), thi
younger son of an illustrious family of professional recluses, landscapi
enthusiasts, and Buddhist devotees, known for skiUs in calligraphy, painting,
lute-playing, and especially known as Buddhist sculptors and painters (Busl i
138, 140). Apparently at this time it was quite acceptable for a scholar alsc
to be a sculptor. Tai Yung was especially praised for his fine judgments o
the proportion of Buddhist images (140), and his father Tai K'uei (d. 396)'
was said to have created the first satisfactory Chinese standards in Buddhis
art. Even the masters, however, did not always achieve the ultimatt
identification of creator and creation. An icon that Tai K'uei painted foi
processional use was criticized thusly: "In spirit these are stiU very vulgar, fo^i
my lord has not yet extinguished [his own] worldliness" (qtd. in Soper:
"Life-Motion" 179, n. 3).

35

While the paintings of this period have all disappeared, sculptures have
urvived. Those of the third and early fourth centuries show the sculptor's
nabUity to use anatomy and the drapery covering to reveal the inner
lumanity of the Buddha's person and mission. Folds of garments are
exaggerated into ornamental shapes, and the proportions of the body are
idjusted, probably in the hope of increasing the psychological effect through
distortion. There may have been some incompetence on the part of the
culptors, but the later development of sculpture shows that not all aberrations
3f form were mistakes (Watson 76-78).

The earliest large group of sculptures can be found at Yiin-kang, near the
Wei capital of Ta-tung, in northern Shansi. The cave temples in these
sandstone cUffs are little more than hollowed out spaces for the enormous
in-situ images. The essentially linear treatment not only accorded with
Chinese tastes, but also was probably a result of the sculptor following a
drawing on the wall. In the sculptures carved at Yiin-kang from about 460-
495, we can see modifications of the Indian tradition which had probably
taken place in the South a century earlier. For example, the sanghati, the robe
with a bare shoulder, was considered immodest by the Chinese, and was
modified to cover both shoulders. This was then used by the Wei sculptors
(Soper, "South" 57-58).

When the capital was moved to Lo-yang in 495, new caves were begun
at Lung-men. The dense gray Hmestone made more details in carving
'possible, perhaps better serving the Chinese interest in linear rhythms. The
Lung-men style was a purely frontal image, with a slightly squared face,
almond eyes, the neck like a truncated cone, pleated skirt, and cascades of
flat drapery folds over the dais (Sickman and Soper 97, 101). The
combination of calligraphic hne and shapes so abstract as to negate any
suggestion of corporeal reaUty was well suited to the idea of the imported
Buddhist divinities as strange magical spirits promising all kinds of benefits,
spiritual and material. The immateriality of the statue was expressive of the
unknowable nature of the deity, an abstract being incapable of representation,
revealed in symbolical rather than human shape (Rowland, Comparisons 54-
55).

The collapse of the Wei in 534 ended large scale patronage until after
reunification in the 580s. During this period the Guptan style arrived, with
its superabundance of power and mass and apparent simpHcity. The
forceftilly modelled body and semi-transparent draperies influenced Chinese
sculptors away from the bodiless look and toward bulkier silhouettes. But
the Guptan style was not copied exactly. The left hand does not always hold

36

the free end of the robe; it is sometimes turned into a position mirroring thi :
abhaya mudra, but upside-down (Soper, "South" 102, n, 149). The Chinesi ;
sculptors attempted to indicate a body beneath the garments. The India |(
love of luxuriant plant growth became in China a greater attention to detai i
ropes of pearls, intricate chains, and ornate crowns on the Bodhisattvas. Ye
the break from the static calm, the attempt to bring the stone to life, wa
always tempered by a reticence, an understatement, a dominance of desig:
and pattern over naturalism. Chinese sculpture never approaches th^i
sensuous exuberance of India (Sickman and Soper 111-112). Roger Fry i!
even more emphatic about the differences. He says that "the linear rhythni
of Chinese art is peculiarly continuous and flowing. It is never so flaccid a!
Hindu rhythms . . ." ("Aspects" 73).

The reunification of China under the Sui (579-618) and T'ang (618
906) allowed imperial patronage on a large scale, including that of th(
Emperor T'ai-tsung (r. 627-649) who sponsored the pilgrimage of the pries;
Hsiian-tsang (c. 602-664) to India from 629-645 and the building o
temples to house the sutras and images he brought back. The Kuan-yir
dates from AD 687, during the reign of Empress Wu Tse-t'ien (r. 684-705^
(Grousset 177, 181, 183, no. 13). This sculpture in the round is thti
culmination of imported styles and Chinese taste; it presents a unified ancj
worldly approach, with all parts fused into a whole, the forms flowing into!
one another. 'T'he combination of a sinuous and sophisticated voluptuousness,:
together with the direct, even realistic observation of nature, is what makes
the T'ang style" (Lee 155).

The Kuan-yin (Figure I) has the figure of Amitabha in the headdress;
the lotus flower base raises the figure above the murk of ordinary humanity.
The eyes have the half-closed look of meditation. The drapery reveals the!
form of the body beneath, as do the necklace and flowing scarves. The rightj
hand holds the end of the drapery, typical of the Gupta style, rather than
extending the palm downward to mirror the blessing gesture that was
probably the form of the missing left hand. The drapery flows over the feet,
but does not conceal the slightly forward movement of the left foot. The
gentle sway of the s-curve which results animates the figure, without
detracting from the fact that it is a deity. The fuUness of the hand and the
stomach are lingering traces from the Gupta, but the face is Chinese. This
becomes the T'ang style, a standard which wiU last for many centuries.

The first three centuries of Christian art, however, needed little more
than aniconic symbols. After Christianity received imperial support and was
no longer a suspect minority, buildings, decorations, and images could

37

I evolve. One of the earliest symbols was a fish, which was already a religious

! lymbol in Judaism. The Greek letters IX YX served as an acrostic for the

Greek words which mean Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior, and recalled the

^arable of fishes and loaves, as weU as the Last Supper. The Chi-Rho, XP,

1 nonogram, which begins the name "Christos", becomes a trophy of victory,

md when placed over a cross ^ , a symbol of the resurrection (Moore 228-

229, 232). From Roman art, Christianity borrowed ceremonies of coronation

Emd investiture, adapting styles while rejecting its content (238-239). A

Dagan sarcophagus of the third century has a family of shepherds seated

before a small cottage. The shepherdess holds a young child in her arms.

This form was used by the first image-makers for Mary holding Jesus, where

rhey face each other. The two also were represented frontaUy, with the child

Dn the axis of the mother's body (Grabar 36).

The standard in the Eastern Church can be seen in a mosaic in the
irestibule of Hagia Sophia. Mary and the child are enthroned, with
Constantine holding a model of Constantinople, which he founded in 330,
standing to one side, and Justinian holding a model of Hagia Sophia, which
tie built in 537, standing on the other side. Mary is the protectress of
Constantinople, and she holds Jesus, whose right hand is raised in blessing.
The Second Council of Nicaea (787) limited the use of icons. Statues were
aot permitted; paintings had to be flat, with natural light and shadow
Dmitted. They were not intended to be realistic, but a reflection of the
divinely-wrought originals. The Madonna had two basic types, one more
severe, with Mary looking at the viewer and pointing with her hand to the
Christ child as a way of salvation; the other is a Virgin of tenderness, with
the child's face pressed affectionately to the mother's (Moore 244-252).
' The Western Church did not have a ban on three-dimensional images,
land therefore no specific theology of images. Icons were made not to reveal
natural beauty, but to recall theological truths and to be the vehicles of a
[Spiritual presence. The "Enthroned Virgin with the Christ Child" is an early
imperial motif, as seen in the mosaics of St. Maria Maggione, Rome, sixth
century. Romanesque art of the eleventh and twelfth centuries added a new
vitality of barbarian art to the Mediterranean tradition. In the French
Romanesque, Mary was seated on a throne, with her own lap a throne for
the Christ child (Moore 258-259). Gothic cathedrals had walls and
windows which told stories. Later Gothic cathedrals were named Notre
Dame, indicating a devotion to the Virgin Mary. The Madonna and Child
are depicted with increasing humanism and tenderness. The majesty and
dignity of Mary as Queen of Heaven is balanced with the warmth and sweet

38

playfulness of the maternal image. But always, the honor paid to the imagj
is referred to the thing represented (Moore 262-263). In the Renaissance';
artists created works for patrons which sometimes had a religious subjecl':
but they were not necessarily religious works for the worship and edificatioi^
of people in the church (Moore 265). 1

There is no knowledge of what Mary actually looked like, not the colo!!
of her hair or eyes, or her height. There was no representation made durin|!l
her life. She has to be portrayed as different from ordinary women; th'
portrait has to have spiritual grace, even as each work is a self-portrait of th ;;
artist and his age (Cronin 103). Thirteenth-century mystics, like St. Francil
(1182-1226), extolled the Madonna and aU the beings of the sacrec
hierarchy as intercessors, completely human embodiments of compassion
and immanently accessible. The idea that the beauty of proportion an<
harmony in a material image is a guide to the apprehension of the fma
perfection of God had parallels in the art of Gandhara in the second to fourtl*
centuries (Rowland, Comparisons 46-47).

Christian art during the first thirteen centuries used symbolism t<
explain the theology. Mary was seldom alone, not a particular person, bu
the personification of queenliness. She was intended to appeal to the mind
not the senses. During the fourteenth century there was a shift to tendernes:j
and emotion. The emphasis passes from the transcendent to the human. Irl
the Renaissance, it becomes a portrait, an illusion of actual living personsi
The danger inherent in the shift is that by giving a specific age, coloring and
expression to Mary, she may deteriorate into a mere burgher's wife (Cronir'
33-44). In the Italian Renaissance, Mary's spiritual grace is suggested bi
physical beauty. Leonardo uses the smile to keep the mystery, indicating ar'
inner process beyond our comprehension. Michelangelo portrays youthfu
Virgins, but gives the contrast between youthful beauty and the awarenes;
of suffering to come (66, 71, 74).

The modern artist faces fiirther difficulties. Few Impressionists anc
Post-Impressionists painted Madonnas, because most believed thai
Christianity was a dying religion. One who was successful was Pau
Gauguin (1843-1903), who painted la Orana Maria in 1891. The Mothei
and Child are taken from the Tahitian surroundings, but the figures
emerging from the background, angels in Tahitian dress, are taken from i
frieze of the Javanese temple of Barabudur (of which Gauguin had i
photograph), rather than real life. ReHgious art remains dependent or
traditional reHgious vocabulary which is more often found in other religiouj
art than in real life. Gauguin was able to combine the life-giving awe stil

39

j( lourishing in pagan cults with Christian art (Cronin 134-136). In sculpture,

J ienry Moore (1898-1988) was successflxl in expressing Mary's grace not

(hrough physical beauty, but through what he called "some touch of

II jandeur (even hieratic aloofness) which is missing in the everyday 'Mother

nd Child' idea." He often uses Horton stone, which has an aU-pervading

mity of texture, color, size and hardness which persists even across the

brms, suggesting unity of Mother and Child (Cronin 138-140).

There is no "art for art's sake" when creating a work of religious art.
'orm plus content must be interrelated. Henry Setter (1929- ) says that
Disdain for iconographic expression has marred some recent sculpture.
Sculpture needs a soul, an expressed spirit" (Setter brochure). This feeling
:an be seen in his statue originally titled Throne of Christ and now called Seat
'f Wisdom. (1978-1986). The title and form reflect iconographic and
)ractical considerations: The Litany of Loretto refers to Mary as the "Seat
)f Wisdom"; and the statue was to be mounted on a wall in an entrance
laUway, and could project minimally into the space. The sculptor considered
I chair hanging on the wall or Mary perched on some kind of wall shelf to
)e unsatisfactory. Also Mary was to be thought of as the "Throne of Christ",
ind a throne is self-supportive (Setter to Sibbing).

The Seat of Wisdom (Figure II) is composed of three woods, walnut for
he darkest color, mahogany for the middle color, and cherry for the lightest.
The laminated finish gives a rich glow to the natural wood colors of the forty-
;ight inch statue. The influence of modern abstract techniques can be seen
in the work, but they are not used merely for aesthetic reasons. The
ijimplicity of the work there is no crown for Mary, no halo, no jewelry, no
separate throne gives a sense of detachment and awareness that removes
the work from an ordinary "Mother and Child" statue. The child is on the
front axis of the mother's body, although off-center. Both figures look
forward, eliminating the "Virgin of Tenderness" feeling that results when
the figures look at each other. The statue was meant to be seen in the round,
and the use of the colors of the wood was careftiUy planned to provide
changing mood as the viewer circles the work. From the right side, the
lighter wood gives a feeling of lightness and serenity. When the viewer
circles to the figure's left, the child is visible, and the darker wood lends an
air of resignation, a knowledge of what wiU happen in the ftiture. The future
events are further seen in the facial features and proportions of the child.
These are not childlike, but are those of an adult, in spite of the size of the
child in relation to the mother, and the fact that the child's body is still so
much a part of the mother's body. The work was commissioned by a

40

religious order of men, but was rejected on the grounds that it did not hav(
the signs which indicate a Madonna, not even a separate throne. Th(
patrons were unable to see beyond the outward form to the inner spirit whicli
animates the work. To the artist the word "Madonna" means "more than j
simpering maiden in a conventional attitude of the church-furniture shop'
(Gill 176). The sculpture is presently in the Marian Library of the Universit)
of Dayton.

The aesthetic experience of the viewer of any work of art depends on hiij
"empathy" with the work (Arnheim, "Worringer" 54), but what one does ir|
the next step of appreciation varies greatly. Rudolf Arnheim believes thai
unless the analyst has intuitively grasped the aesthetic message of the work
of art, he cannot hope to deal with it intellectually as a work of art. He says.
Historians and critics can say many useful things about a painting
without any reference to it as a work of art. They can analyze its
symbolism, derive its topic from philosophical or theological sources
and its form from models of the past; they can also use it as a social:
document or as the manifestation of a mental attitude. AH this,
however, can be limited to the picture as a conveyor of factual
information and need not relate to its power of transmitting the artist's
statement through the expression of form and subject matter.
("Concerning" 31)
Coomaraswamy takes the opposite approach. He says,
An understanding of the ontology is essential . . . for the student of "art"
. . . must realize that a work of art cannot be "understood" or rightly
"valued" or "criticized" apart from the form which is its raison d'etre.
Content is not post factum, but causafaciendi\ the significance of things
weU and truly made is with respect to the end for which they are made.
As religious art is never an end in itself, but always a means of
communication, it can only be called "good" or "bad" in so far as it
actually expresses and conveys a given "idea"; rational judgment of a .
given work can only be based on a comparison of the substance with j
its determining form. How then can one who ignores the idea of form |
embodied in a work of art be qualified to "criticize" it? All that such i
a one can do is to say that he knows nothing of art, but knows what he i
likes. {Elements 51) |

Buddhism is the "form" of Buddhist art, so an understanding of
Buddhism is not only necessary for a rational interpretation of the iconography
in which the logic of the work is expressed but also is a prerequisite to
"aesthetic experience" (Coomaraswamy, Elements S\-S2). The same should

41

\ oe applied to Christian art. Without an understanding of the ultimate
e :ontent, it would be like attempting the study of a mathematical papyrus
mthout the knowledge of mathematics (Coomaraswamy, Christian 48), or
listening to the recitation of a text or the chanting of a hymn without
understanding the words. The latter might be an artistic performance, but
'it is the content that gives rise to the iconography, whether this be visual or
/erbal" (Coomaraswamy, Elements 35). The traditional artist had to be in
possession of his art, which is knowledge rather than sentiment. We forget
that sensation is an animal property, and knowledge distinctly human; and
that art, if thought of as distinctly human and particularly if we think of art
as a department of the higher things of hfe, must likewise have to do much
more with knowledge than with feeling. We ought not, then, as Herbert
Spinden so cleverly puts it, to "accept a pleasurable effect upon our unintelligent
nerve ends as an index of understanding" (qtd. in Coomaraswamy, Christian
74). "Aesthetic contemplation cannot be taught; all that can be done is to
break down the barriers that stand in the way of reaUzation" (Coomaraswamy,
Transformation 199, n. 51).

St. Augustine said that the business of Christian eloquence is "to teach,
in order to instruct; to please, in order to hold; and also, assuredly, to move,
in order to convince" (qtd. in Coomaraswamy, Christian 104). This goal was
lost sight of by many modern artists, who attempted to create works which
were artistically valid as objects in themselves. Yet if it no longer represents
anything, then the activity of the artist is essentially the technical process of
the craftsman (Venturi 198-199). The identification of the artist with his
creation was recognized by Dante, who said that "he who would paint a
figure, if he cannot be it, cannot draw it" (qtd. in Coomaraswamy,
Transformation 176, n. 6). In the same manner, the Buddhist artist was
required to be that which he was commissioned to represent. Only insofar
as we can again be the same, can we begin to understand his operation
(Coomaraswamy, Elements 58).

The Kuan-yin and Madonna have both been taken out of the context for
which they were intended, making it difficult for the viewer to get past
contemplation only in the aesthetic sense and see them as a means to a
religious end. We do not know the name of the sculptor who created the
Kuan-yin; we do know the Madonna's creator. Both works are abstract in
their treatment of forms in response to the requirements of their respective
iconographies. Henry Setter has avoided the pitfall of some modern abstract
artists who use the abstraction in their work to communicate private
associations of ideas rather than the natural correspondences of things to

42

principles. Here abstraction is not used to withdraw from the world, but t< <
penetrate to its essence. The conviction shown in this work did not meet thtl p
current requirement of Christian art, which suffers under a "Saint-Sulpici
sentimentality" (Cronin 156). Eric Gill comments, "Art is not the clergy'
business; but religion is, and it is primarily a religious movement tha
modern art exhibits. It is a movement away from frivolity and hypocrisy anc
flattery . . ." (63). He finds it odd that artists, who are usually accused o
sensuality, are in the position of preaching asceticism and discipline to th(
clergy, while the clergy, the advocates of puritanism and other-worldliness
are the most abject patrons of the loose and undisciplined and sentimenta
(38).

"Art is . . . the crystallisation of a state of mind in images'
(Coomaraswamy, "Art" 240). It is a property of the artist, a kind oJ
knowledge and skill by which he knows, not what ought to be made, but how
to imagine the form of the thing that is to be made, and how to embody thi^ ,
form in suitable material so that the resulting artifact may be used
(Coomaraswamy, Christian 68). Gilson says that as soon as they begin to
create, "men go straightway not to that which is more useful or more obvious,
but to that which is noble, more beautiful, and therefore more important."
He believes that "it is more important to create a being whose justification
is in itself than to turn out endless clever images of such beings" (283). This
being must have integrity, "when the artist has succeeded in imparting
existence to a fully constituted being"; harmony, "the mutual adaptation of
the parts of the work of art and their over-aU agreement with the whole are
conditions necessarily required for its unity"; and claritas, not clearness or
lucidity, but "the kind of property of a beautiful thing that one often
expresses in saying that it 'radiates a light of its own'" (Gilson 192).

Religion can survive without art, and in spite of the industrialized
ugliness of the churches, Gilson (296) stresses that when Christian artists are
called upon to celebrate the glory of God "by co-operating, in their modest
human manner, with the work of creation, it becomes imperative that their
own works be things of beauty. Otherwise these works would not truly be,
and the artists themselves would contribute nothing," Beauty is not the same
thing as truth, but is the means by which truth is made apparent as such
(Coomaraswamy, "Medieval Aesthetic 11" 66). Beauty is the radiance of
things made as they ought to be made (Gill 245), and both these works
satisfy the iconographic requirements of their respective beliefs. Ching Hao
(c. 870-930) insisted that the ultimate criterion of good painting is truth, not
necessarily outer appearance, but the presence in the work of art of inner

43

^reality or spirit (Loehr 89). Some images appear to us as exact likenesses of
E living things and are yet themselves devoid of life, while some images give
E us a strong illusion that they possess a life of their own. If art is going to affect
s us, it is not the subject itself, but only the power of a numinous presence. The

art leads us to the vision, and when we reach that, the iconography of the art

has achieved its end.

WORKS CITED

Arnheim, Rudolf. "Concerning An Adoration." Ne-wEssayson the Psychology of Art. Berkeley: U of

California P, 1986. 3-10.
. "Wilhelm Worringer on Abstraction and Empathy." New Essays on the Psychology of Art.

Berkeley: U of CaUfomia P, 1986. 50-62.
Bush Susan "Tsung Ping's Essay on Landscape Painting and the 'Landscape Buddhism' of Mount
Lu." Theories of the Arts in China. Eds. Susan Bush and Christian Murck. Princeton:
Princeton UP, 1983. 132-164.
Bush, Susan, and Shih Hsio-yen. Comps., Eds. Early Chinese Texts on Painting. Cambridge:

Harvard UP for tiie Harvard-Yenching Institute, 1985.
Coomaraswamy, Ananda K. "Art and Craftsmanship." Rupam I (1920): 4-5. ^^X. \n Refelections on
Art: A Source Book of Writings by Artists, Critics, and Philosophers. Ed. Susanne K. Langer.
Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins P, 1958. 240-242.
. Christian and Oriental Philosophy of Art. New York; Dover PubUcations, 1956.
-. Elements of Buddhist Iconography. 2nd. ed. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1972.
. "Medieval Aesthetic, Part L" ^r/5//^ri 17 (1935): 31-47.
. "Medieval Aesthetic, Part IL" Art Bulletin 20 (1938): 66-77.
-. The Transformation ofNature in Art. 1934. New York: Dover PubUcations, 1956.
Cronin, Vincent. Mary Portrayed. London: Darton, Longman 8c Todd, 1968.
Fry, Roger. Last Lectures. 1939. Boston: Beacon, 1962.
-. "Some Aspects of Chinese Art." Transformations: Critical and Speculative Essays on Art. 1927.

Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries, 1968. 67-81.
Gill, Eric. Beauty Looks After Herself 1933. Freeport, N.Y.: Books for Libraries, 1966.
Gilson,Etienne. Painting and Reahty. Princeton: Princeton UP for the BoUingen Foundation,

1957.
Grabar, Andre. Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins. Princeton UP for the Bollingen Series,

1968.
Grousset,Rene. Chinese Art and Culture. 1951. Trans. Haakon Chevalier. New York: Grove,

1959.
Ledderose, Lothar. "The Earthly Paradise: Religious Elements in Chinese Landscape Art."

Theories of the Arts in China. Eds. Susan Bush and Christian Murck. Pnnceton: Pnnceton UP,
1983. 165-183.
Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. Englewood CUffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1964.

44

Loehr, Max. The Great Painters of China. New York Harper &, Row, 1980.

Moore, Albert C. Iconography of Religions: An Introduction. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977.

Rawson, Philip. Indian Sculpture. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1966.

Rowland, Benjamin. The Art and Architecture of India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain. 1967. New York:
Penguin Books, 1977.

. Art in East and West: an Introduction Through Comparisons. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1954.

. The Art of Central Asia. New York: Crown, 1974.

Setter, Henry. Brochure, n.d., n.p.

Setter, Henry, to Brother Paul Sibbing, Director, Society of Mary, Alumni Hall, University of
Dayton; Letters dated July 15 and July 21, 1979.

Sickman, Laurence, and Alexander Soper. The Art and Architecture of China. Baltimore: Penguin
Books, 1971.

Soper, Alexander. "Life-Motion and the Sense of Space in Early Chinese Representational Art."
Art Bulletin 39 {194%): 167- 187. Rpt. In Chinese Art. New York Garland, 1976. 14:115-
137.

. "South Chinese Influence on the Buddhist Art of the Six Dynasties Period." Bulletin of the

Museumof Far Eastern Antiquities 32 il960):47-130. Rpt. In Chinese Art. New York Garland,
1976. 14:31-114.

Venturi, Lionello. History of Art Criticism. Rev. ed. 1936. Trans. Charles Marriott. New York
E.P. Dutton, 1964.

Watson, William. Style in the Arts of China. New York Universe Books, 1975.

45

FIGURE I

Standing Kuan-Yin, China, T'ang Dynasty (dated 687 AD)

The Cleveland Museum of Art,

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund, 66.364

46

FIGURE II

Seat of Wisdom

Henry Setter

Marian Library, University of Dayton

47

New Intrepretations of the French Revolution

by W. Benjamin Kennedy*

In the aftermath of the bicentennial year of the French Revolution it is
Derhaps appropriate to take a look at exactly what new meaning the
nomentous events in France between 1789 and 1799 actually have. There
A^as a veritable flood of new books, articles and conferences on the Revolution
n 1989. In France and America, too, for that matter there also was a
^reat spate of celebrations, conferences, exhibits, and coUoquia, all
acknowledging the great event. This paper is a brief summary of new ideas
about what the French Revolution means to people in this time.

This paper examines understandings of the Revolution from two
perspectives: first from the perspective of the professional historians, and,
second, from the point of view of the French people themselves. To examine
the first perspective, one must take a look at the now superseded Marxist
interpretation of the French Revolution and at the new, sometimes troubling,
historical explanations that are taking its place. To look at the second, the
peoples' view, one must examine how the French themselves celebrated the
bicentennial of their revolution in 1989. And, finally, the paper concludes
with some personal reflections about what the French Revolution means
now, more than two hundred years after the great event.

As Americans have been reminded each evening on the NightlyNews
for more than a year, incredible events in Germany, Eastern Europe, and the
Soviet Union show that Marxism as an ideology is dying, or already dead.
But Marxism as a way of illuminating and interpreting history died some
time ago, and it died quite early as a way of explaining the events of the
French Revolution.

Marxist historians such as Georges Lefebvre, Albert Soboul, and
several others saw the French Revolution as a classic "bourgeois"
revolution. As this class struggle thesis goes, the "rising bourgeois" of 18th
century France, taking advantage of a chaotic situation in a hierarchical
society and "feudal" country, tamed a monarchy, destroyed an aristocracy,
bridled the church, instituted liberal political reforms, created a bill of rights
and constitution, and set in motion a free enterprise economy, all to their
own benefit. The lower classes, peasants and city artisans, benefitted from
the revolution only as much as the bourgeois leadership permitted them to.

'Professor of History, West Georgia College.

48

and only so long as their protests seconded the aims of a middle clas
revolution. The bourgeoisie endured the Reign of Terror and outlastec
Robespierre and the terrorists to establish their own dominance in the post
Thermidor Directory and under the dictatorship of Napoleon. If nothing
else, the French Revolution was a truly social revolution, stemming
predominantly from economic causes, which brought to power at th<j
expense of nobles, clergy and king, a new, dominant middle class. (Lefebvre
passim.; Soboul passim.)

The class struggle thesis to describe the French Revolution was broughi
into question in the mid-1960's and early 1970's by what the French ofter
call the "Anglo-American" revisionists, in particular, Alfred Cobban of the
University of London, Elizabeth Eisenstein from American University, anc
George Taylor of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. In hijj
"Myth of the French Revolution," Cobban suggested that the real leaders ojj
the agitation in France in 1789 were NOT traditional bourgeois capitalists.!
but rather "notables" who were entrenched members of the French sociaJ)
system, both noble and non-noble. As for "feudalism," it was efifectiveljil
dead long before the events of the French Revolution. (Cobban passim.)i
Eisenstein, in a famous article, used Lefebvre's own evidence to demonstrate
that liberal nobles (like Lafayette) and liberal clergy (like the Abbe Sieyes)j
were the true spokesmen for the common people or Third Estate in thej
spring and summer of 1789 (Eisenstein 77-103). And Taylor, in an articlq
devastating to the Marxist theorists^ proved conclusively that 80 per cent ofi
the wealth in 1 789 France was non-capitalist wealth, much of it in the handsi
of nobles and middle class who really had a lot in common and were not classj
enemies (Taylor 469-496). So, you might ask, how could a people have as
capitalist, "bourgeois" revolution in a country that really was not quitej
capitalist yet? or the class struggle between groups that reaUy did not!
consider each other enemies? The Marxist designation "bourgeois" to|
describe the French Revolution, said Taylor, was now outmoded. For, he;
wrote, the French Revolution was "a political revolution with social
consequences, not a social revolution with political consequences" (Taylor
491).

Historians on both sides of the Atlantic now generally agree on their
disenchantment with the Marxist model as a way of explaining the French
Revolution, but do not necessarily agree on exactly what kind of political
revolution took place in France in 1789 and after. Views on that aspect of
the French Revolution have splintered into several different approaches.
And, in a conservative era when revolutions of all sorts seem suspect, much

49

ss)f the present interpretation of the French Revolution is critical, negative,
^dmd questioning of w^hether the French Revolution made a positive
t- :ontribution to the course of western history.

Probably the most powerful view of the Revolution today is that of

I Francois Furet, head of the School of Advanced Studies in the Social

f Sciences in Paris. Ten years ago, Furet published his Penser la Revolution

t Francaise, translated as Interpreting the French Revolution. Furet's

jnderstanding of the French Revolution relies in great part on the ideas of

Alexis de TocqueviUe, the 19th century French writer, who examined the

Dalance between liberty and equality in two great works, Democracy in

America and The Old Regime and the French Revolution. TocqueviUe was one

Df the first to warn that the ultimate aim of liberty, which promotes the free

lindividual above everything else, is not necessarily compatible with the

purpose of equality, which would insist that everyone be treated alike.

Furet suggests that it was Rousseau's idea of equality that triumphed in
the revolution of 1789 and after and it was a radical egalitarianism, that

I reduced all men to the lowest common denominator, that advanced the good
of the nation or group over individual rights. As Rousseau said in his Social
Contract, those who would not conform to the "freedom" guaranteed by the
(general will or society as a whole must be "forced to be free." To Furet the
icalling of the Estates-General in France in 1789 was critical, for when the
Iprivileged groups, nobles and clergy, tried to monopolize political power for
themselves, those who spoke for the Third Estate used the language of
radical, Rousseauian equality to bring the eUtes down and advocate ultimate
political power for all. Once the principle of equahty was introduced into the
maelstrom of Revolution, there was no stopping it, though various "moderate"
groups (such as Feuillants, Girondins) tried unsuccessfiilly to do so. The
Terror was a frenzy of levelling gone mad; to Furet and his followers, the
guillotine was more than figuratively "equality's razor." After Thermidor
and the fall of Robespierre, competing special interests triumphed over the
drive for equal representation in government. This Napoleon Bonaparte
was able to exploit by offering himself both as "king" to control the new
privileged and as "democrat" to elevate himself as true successor of the
Revolution.

Furet's interpretation of the French Revolution is completely political
and ideological, to the entire exclusion of social history. He discusses the
ideological edifice of egalitarianism completely without relating it to the
people and events it was supposed to be affecting. Like some other theorists
of the new "political culture" history, Furet assumes ideas have a life of their

50

own. And, as a twentieth century advocate of traditional liberalism, he faults ;
revolutionary equality for undermining what liberty might have achieved in,
1789-1799.

Perhaps second to Furet in reputation among French scholars is Michelj
Vovelle, who is the fifth scholar in the last century to hold the Chair of the
History of the French Revolution at the Sorbonne. Vovelle and his
colleagues hosted the World Congress on the Image of the French Revolution
in Paris in the summer of 1989 for six days before Bastille Day. It included
papers from all over the world in marathon sessions. Vovelle, like Lefebvre
and others, holds to the Marxist view that the French Revolution was
predominantly a bourgeois event, but he also attempts to explain the
complexity of the great upheaval in accordance with some of the ideas of the
Ftench Annaks school. (This group of French historians, dating from the
1920's, has sought to understand social history in the broadest possible
context, especially concentrating upon an understanding of ^mentalite
collective" or the collective mentality of a whole people.) In his Fall of the
French Monarchy., 1878-1792, (translated in an English version in 1984),
Vovelle explains the structure of French society, government and
administration during the five revolutionary years in which Louis XVI's
government fell apart. Each social group is analyzed and examined; each
political faction is described and related to others with whom it interacted.
Classes move and structures rise or fall, but the people do not seem to
breathe. Louis XVI, whose collapse is being explained, does not even appear
as an identifiable personality. One important element the book does
concentrate upon is the counterrevolution and popular reaction to it.
Vovelle points out that popular rumors of counter-revolutionary plots had
substance in actual threats and events. Revolutionary violence, then, was
often defensive, seeking to preserve what the revolution had accomplished
and striking down those who stood in the way of accomplishing even more
(Vovelle 146-199, 229-230). ;

Vovelle, then, actually sees the French Revolution accompHshing
something the end of monarchy, aristocracy, the rule of privilege, the
beginning of the era of the popular man. But he cuts off the story before the
Revolution reaches its most destructive stage and thus does not measure the
most puzzling and difficult aspect of the French Revolution, the persistent
current of violence throughout the event.

Revolutionary violence and its senselessness take center stage in the
most popular book on the French Revolution pubUshed in the United states
in 1989, Citizens, a Chronicle of the French Revolution, written by Simon

51

ichama of Harvard University. A product of Oxford University and the
mpressionistic history of the revolution of the renowned British scholar,
lichard Cobb, Schama returns to the revolution some of the drama, power
.nd excitement of the great event that other historians have bled away from
But, at the same time, Schama puts forth some new ideas about the
evolution with which several experts strongly disagree. He finds nothing
)articularly valuable in the revolutionary legacy. Louis XVI he portrays as
in Enlightened Despot who had already set France on the road to
nodernization and change. The Revolution disrupted that process, and did
[;o in a terrible bloodbath. Violence was endemic to the revolution from
he start. Schama sees the Reign of Terror in 1793-1794 as "1789 with a
ligher body count" (Weber 32). He, however, makes no distinction
between the essentially spontaneous violence of revolutionary crowds who
ittacked the BastiUe and other bastions of privilege and the planned,
;ontrolled violence of the government-sponsored Terror. Nor does he
iccept as valid the explanations that violence took place because of
revolutionary conditions. Schama simply raises the question is any
Dolitical principle worth killing for?

In his review of Schama's book for the New York Times Book Review,
Eugene Weber sums up the essence oi Citizens. The author "denounces the
:entral truth of the Revolution, its dependence on organized killing ... to
[attain political ends . . . Violence was no aberration, no unexpected skid off
the highway of revolution: it was the revolution its motor, and, for a
whUe, its end" (Weber 1). While one can agree that violence is central to the
revolutionary event, one can still wonder if it should be condemned in any
and all circumstances. How can one make a revolution without violence or
the threat of it? No established order wiU surrender its monopoly of power
willingly, and no entrenched regime will accept genuine, fundamental
revolutionary change without being forced to do so. And, of course, once
violence becomes the means for effecting change, it can become habit-
forming, even self-perpetuating. That is what happened in the Terror. So,
yes, violence was central to the Revolution. Where Mr. Schama errs is in his
assumption that the violence of the revolution accomplished nothing
worthwhile.

The most important work pubhshed recently on the French Revolution
(1984) is Politics, Culture and Class in the French Revolution, by Lynn Hunt,
formerly of Berkeley, now at the University of Pennsylvania. Hunt develops
the main outhnes of the French Revolution as a "political revolution with
social consequences" which George Taylor called for 20 years ago. And she

52

sees the French Revolution as leaving behind an important legacy. Through
the development of revolutionary rhetoric (a new kind oflanguage compelling
people to action), the use of symbols, images and festivals (w^hich brought
home the meaning and direction of the revolution to large groups of people),
the French Revolution created an entirely new^ politics. But it was a
distinctly French or European kind of poUtics, not the sort Americans are
used to. Hunt writes, "Politics was not an arena for the representation of
competing interests. It was rather an instrument for reshaping human
nature, making citizens out of subjects, free men out of slaves, republicans
out of the oppressed" (Hunt 49). And, just as important, the revolution
created a new political class, who, despite the ups and downs of revolutionary
poUtics, were to be entrenched in every French regime thereafter. One of
the most interesting features of Hunt's work is her study of the geography
of political behavior in the Revolution and afterwards. The way people votedjl
in France during the revolutionary years 1792-1798 for left, right, or
center persisted in France through the 19th and into the 20th centuries.!
So, Hunt writes, "democratic republicanism was the most important outcome!
of the Revolution, both in terms of its immediate impact and its long-term)
influence" (Hunt 224). I

It is hard to imagine France not being a Republic and a democracy just
as it would be impossible for any one to imagine America not being a
Republic and a democracy. So the two systems are the same, although the
two peoples arrived at them by way of different historical experiences and
through the application of different ideas and traditions. Americans take
their political system for granted, as the French do theirs. Perhaps because
the system is so well established now, historians both French and!
Americans enjoy the luxury of taking a hard and sometimes harsh look at j
the revolutionary events which created it.

Now a word or two about how the French people interpret their'
Revolution, or at least how they celebrated the 200th anniversary of the event i
in 1989. Paris in 1989 was fiiU of tee-shirts, some quite irreverent, |
acknowledging the great upheaval. Hot- sellers, too, were liberty caps,
revolutionary cockades, and even miniature guillotines. The government of
Francois Mitterand went all out to celebrate Revolution's 200th birthday,
beginning with a solemn re-enactment on May 5th at Versailles of the
opening of the Estates-General and ending on August 26th with a gigantic
choral concert ( 1 0,000 voices) to celebrate the bicentennial of the Declaration
of the Rights of Man. Also architectural memorials were dedicated: the
"Peoples' Opera" at the Place de la Bastille and the gigantic "Arc de la

S3

defense," a new modern arch (and office building) constructed on a straight

Ijds to align with France's older Arc de Triomphe. It was there that
vlitterand hosted the Big Seven in a summit meeting on Bastille Day
veekend in 1989, with President Bush and other world leaders in attendance.

July 14 was the big day. Hundreds of thousands of people crowded along
he Champs Elysee to watch the traditional military parade. Most saw only
he tops of kepis as soldiers marched by or the turrets of tanks as they
umbled between the ranks of packed humanity. Everyone did see, however,
he Mirage fighter jets in formation as they roared above the parade route
It low altitude, leaving a trail ofblue, white and red behind. A second parade,
I truly international salute to France's revolution, was held on the evening
)f July 14th, complete with skating Russian bears, twirling Mexican
iamenco dancers, and the Florida A&M band moonwalking backwards
iown the Champs Elysee in honor of France's hberty.

Museums, cities, even small towns aU got in on the show. There were
displays and exhibits about the Revolution in several places in Paris of
:ourse, but also in such provincial places as Bayonne in the Pyrenees and
L,ille near the Belgian border. On October 25, 1989 the film, ''La Revolution
Franfaise: Les Annees Lumieres" {The French Revolution: The Enlightened
fears) was released to the theaters. Directed by Robert Enrico and Richard
Heffron, it teUs the story of the Revolution, much the way Simon Schama
does, through the lives of its main participants Louis XVI, Lafayette,
Meeker, Mirabeau, Danton, etc. But it also emphasizes that the Revolution
ichieved something important making all men free and equal before the
aw, guaranteeing to all the rights of Hfe, liberty, property, and resistance to
oppression. These were important accomplishments, and most of the
Deople of France recognize them as such, despite the critical evaluations of
the Revolution that historians have made in recent times.

During the week of the Bicentennial, the magazine L'Express, the
French equivalent to Time or Newsweek^ published its lead story about the
Revolution and its legacy. Interestingly, a little over half of the French
people polled by the weekly thought Louis XVI should NOT have been
executed (yet the same people would not at all be in favor of the restoration
3f a monarchy). As for revolutionary violence. Frenchmen in general
thought the Terror was necessary and a result of threats to the revolution's
achievements, something historians have been saying for 100 years. Only
3ne-third felt the Terror was the result of political excess or attachment to
a particular revolutionary dogma (Duhamel 68-70).

54

What, then, can one conclude about understanding the French
Revolution in light of the new interpretations that have appeared in the las
few years and the celebratory events of the Bicentennial? As a starting poin
the French Revolution can be described as a period of "sudden an'
accelerated historical change, accompanied by violence, which broughj
about lasting poHtical and social results." France, the free world, indeec;
western society has been the beneficiary of those results: the rights of mari
constitutional government, a now well-established system of democratij
republicanism that Americans, as well as the French, hold valuable and wanl
to preserve. As a matter of consistency this generation cannot enjoy thj
results of the Revolution without recognizing that the process that createc;
those results was valuable and important, too. So, despite Furet'j
handwringing about the totalitarian tendencies of egalitarianism and Schama'j
deep disapproval of revolutionary violence, the Revolution's achievement^
stand. They have always been a mixed blessing, but for humanity they ar
a blessing nonetheless.

WORKS CITED

Cobban, Alfred. "The Myth of the French Revolution." Aspects of the French Revolution. New
York: George Brazillier, 1968.

Duhamel, Olivier. "Les profs d'histoire: des archeo-robespierristes." L'Express 7-13 juiUet 1989:
68-70.

Eisenstein, Elizabeth. "Who Intervened in 1788? A Commentary on The Coming of the French
Revolution." American Historical Review! 1 (1965): 77-103.

Furet, Francois. Interpreting the French Revolution. New York: Cambridge UP, 1981.

Hunt, Lynn. Politics, Class and Culture in the French Revolution. Berkeley: U of California P, 1984.

Lefebvre, Georges. The Coming of the French Revolution. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1947.

Schama, Simon. Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1989.

Soboul, Albert. The French Revolution 1 789-1 799: From the Storming of the Bastille to Napoleon.
New York: Vintage, 1975.

Taylor, George V. "Non-Capitalist Wealth and the Causes of the French Revolution." American j
Historical Review 72 (1967): 469-496.

Vovelle, Michel. The Fall of the French Monarchy, 1787-1792. London: Cambridge U P, 1984.

Weber, Eugene. "Violence Made It Happen." New York Times Book Review 19 March, 1989: 1, 31-
33.

55

Connie Mack Comes to Martinsville

by Kenneth W. Noe *

Since the publication of C. Vann Woodward's Origins of the New South
n 1951, southern historians have been fascinated with what Woodward
:alled the "paradox" of the postbellum south. Like the Roman god Janus,
he south had two faces, one facing towards the future and the other gazing
lit the past. Southern believers in the "New South" creed eagerly sought out
lorthern industrialists in an attempt to remake the south in the capitalist
lorthern image. At the same time, however, they clung tenaciously to
;ertain aspects of southern culture, notably white racial superiority. The
esult was ambivalence and dissonance.

Historical study of those points of contact between northern and
southern culture not only help round out the definitions ofboth cultures, but
dso sharpen our views of the New South. One of the most promising
livenues for studying the clash of cultures is sports history, particularly
Daseball, which is inherently a northern sport. The Puritans developed
'town ball," sometimes called "the New England game," from English
antecedents. It remained a solidly "Yankee" pastime until the American
iCivil War, when northern soldiers introduced the sport in the south. The
jgame quickly took root in southern soil. The civic and commercial rivalries
that already existed between neighboring towns and villages quickly
metamorphosed into hard-fought contests on the diamond between teams
sponsored by the same local business and professional leaders who preached
the gospel of the New South. Teams initially consisted of amateurs, but as
professional leagues developed in the north, southern teams moved to
professional or semi-professional status. Denied a major league franchise
until the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta in 1966, southerners generally
divided their loyalties between northern major league clubs and the local
minor league franchises. Minor league baseball was widely popular, peaking
in the years immediately following World War II. In 1946, forty- two minor
leagues operated nationally. Three years later, the number had grown to
fifty-nine, and paid attendance topped forty million fans (Fischer 148-151;
Obojski 333-334).

One of the more successfiil southern minor leagues was the Class C
Carolina League, which opened for business in the Piedmont region of

'Assistant Professor of History, West Georgia College

56

North Carolina and "southside" Virginia in 1945. Martinsville, Virginia, :
thriving textile and fiirniture manufacturing center, and a fertile ground fo ;
investigating the New South, obtained a charter membership in the league
despite earlier failures with professional baseball. In 1921 and again in 1928
Martinsville fielded teams in the Class D Blue Ridge League. In 1934, twc
local businessmen and boosters, James English and Fred Woodson, snarec
one of Branch Rickey's many St. Louis Cardinal affiliates and entered th(
Class D Bi- State League. English soon acquired sole control of the tearr:
nicknamed the Marts, and moved it to a field across town named for tht
owner. In 1939, a group of local businessmen who organized as tht
Martinsville Athletic Association took over the team. The association rar
the team through 1941 but puUed out at season's end, citing the negative
effect of Daylight Savings Time on lightless English Field, which causec
attendance and interest to dwindle (HiU 52-53; Historic Views 151-152).

Martinsville's post-war baseball renaissance had its origins in the north
specifically Philadelphia. In that city, the fans of Connie Mack's Athletics
had endured another second division finish in 1945, the ninth in nine years,
With attendance falling off, the major league baseball industry shifted
marketing strategies in order to promote the team. The idea was to focus on
Mack rather than on his woeful club. Thus, a process of myth-making
began. Mack was portrayed as baseball's patriarch, a tail, gaunt man in a blue
suit and high, stiff collar, waving his players into position with his scorecard.l
He was revered as a legend, though quietly blamed at the same time for the
A's demise (Cleveland 48-49). In Red Smith's words, Mack had become:
"this glorious old guy who has been baseball's high priest and patriarch, one
of its sharpest businessmen, certainly its own indestructible myth" (Smith
117). I

Mack himself was unwilling to fade into mythology. He hoped to return
his team to the top. The inability to sign quality players, however, consistently
stymied him. Increasingly, other teams signed the cream of the baseball crop
and hid it in the vast Rickeyesque farm systems, with the Cardinals taking
the lead. Mack disparingly called these systems "chain stores" (Cleveland
51). Eventually, however. Mack concluded reluctantly that if he was to
compete, he would have to create a chain store of his own. Under the
direction of Arthur Ehlers, Philadelphia's farm system expanded into the
east, midwest, and especially the south, staying close to the areas producing
the highest percentage of prospects in hopes of cutting expenses. Philadelphia
either bought teams outright or entered into working agreements with local
business groups. At this point Martinsville determined to snare an Athletics

57

aranchise. In December 1944, the Athletics and the powerful Hooker-

Jassett Furniture Company signed a five-year agreement to field a team in

cjhe fledgling Carolina League. In April 1945, Heinie Manush, a future HaU

f Famer, arrived from Florida to pilot the Martinsville Athletics. Under his

lirection, the A's finished third in the eight-team league. The future looked

)romising. The team fell to sixth in 1946, however, and the following year

jiit bottom {Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 10 Apr. 1945; 19 Mar., 7 Dec,

^949).

Attendance declined with the team's fortunes. Hoping to revive
nterest, Hooker-Bassett and other local businessmen pleaded with Mack to
)ring his big leaguers to Martinsville for an exhibition game, possibly as
^Philadelphia played its way to Pennsylvania at the conclusion of spring
raining. In 1946, Mack agreed to bring the major league club to Martinsville
!)ver the All-Star break, only to cancel. In January 1948, the two sides
eached a new understanding. The Philadelphia A's would meet the farm
lands on April 15 at EngUsh Field as part of an exhibition tour of all the
\thletics' southern affiliates. Other games were scheduled for Atianta and
Moultrie, Georgia; Lexington, North Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland
[Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 12 Jan., 25 Feb., 19 Mar., 1948).

Martinsville's 1948 Athletics began arriving in late March. The team's
lew manager, chubby, cigar-smoking Eddie Morgan, was the first. A
former St. Louis Cardinal and Brooklyn Dodger, Morgan had previous
panagerial experience in the area. Several days later, Philadelphia scout Jim
|Poole, Martinsville's manager in 1939, arrived to assist Morgan. Rain
shortened early workouts. The town formally welcomed, and marketed, its
team on April 3 at a meeting of the Touchdown Club. Mack- autographed
aasebaUs were given away, and a film on the 1946 World Series was shown.
The publicity campaign was in fiill swing {Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 30
Mar., 1, 3 Apr., 1948).

The town grew excited. Tickets, available at the Martinsville Sports
Shop and the Club Billiard Parlor among other locations, sold briskly. J.
Clyde Hooker and A. Frank Hooker of Hooker-Bassett arranged a
welcoming luncheon at the town's swankiest restaurant and night club, the
Club Martinique. Anticipation turned to apprehension, however, as the
weather turned rainy just as the team left West Palm Beach, Florida, and
headed north. Rain washed out the exhibition in Lexington, and Martinsville's
game seemed threatened as well. On the evening of April 14, Ehlers drove
to Martinsville. Mack remained in North Carolina with the team {Martinsville
Daily Bulletin, 15, 16 Apr. 1948).

58

Thursday, April 15, dawned with skies clearing. The game would go on
About 10:30 a.m., Mack and the team arrived in town. Traveling with th^
Athletics was Al Simmons, perhaps the best player ever to wear th^
Athletics' white, blue-trimmed uniform. In the lobby of the downtowi]
Henry Hotel, Mack held court. Much of the conversation concernec;
Mack's recent, weU-publicized footrace with the Washington Senators
elderly owner, Clark Griffith, in Orlando {Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 15, 1(1
Apr. 1948).

The party retreated to the Club Martinique. W.R. Broadus introducecj
Mack to three hundred weU-wishers as "a credit to baseball [and] to the
nation," asserting that introducing the legendary Connie Mack was as grea ;
an honor as introducing a governor or a United States Senator. Broadus alsc
introduced the team. War hero Lou Brissie drew especially rousing cheen;
from the crowd {Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 16 Apr. 1948).

After receiving the gift of a cured Virginia ham. Mack took the podium i
Noting that Clark Griffith had recently named an all-time all-star team ,
Mack announced that for the first time ever, he would do the same. The
spirit behind the Orlando sprint led Mack to name the Chicago Cubs' Jocj
Tinker, Johnny Evers, Frank Chance, and Harry Steinfelt as the greatest
infield unit ever to play. He continued that the Boston Red Sox outfield oi(
Harry Hooper, Tris Speaker, and Duffy Lewis was the best outfield unit,
Christy Mathewson, ChiefBender, Bob Groves, and Rube Waddell anchored
the pitching staff. Bill Dickey and Mickey Cochraine shared honors behind
the plate. Mack reminisced, and ended his talk by predicting a Carolina;
League championship for Martinsville {Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 15, 16j
Apr. 1948). j

A crowd of 1700 gathered that evening at English Field for the game.j
Philadelphia started Billy De Mars at shortstop, Barney McCosky in leftj
field, Elmer Valo in right field, Rudy York at first base. Hank Majeski atj
third base, Don White in centerfield, Herman Franks at catcher, Skeeter
Webb at second base, and Phil Marchildon on the mound. Having finished
19-9 in 1947, Marchildon was the ace of the staff. Morgan countered with
George Wright at third base, Bill Woods in centerfield. Bo McLaughlin in
right field, Morgan himself at first base, George Meskovich at second base,
Steve Melaga in left field, Elton Jackson at shortstop, Joe Kratzer behind the
plate, and John Herbik pitching. Herbik was Martinsville's top prospect
{Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 9, 16 Apr. 1948).

The game was never a contest. The terrified Herbik walked six straight
batters before Morgan replaced him with pitcher Bill Harris. Herman

59

j'ranks greeted the reliever with a double. Martinsville came to bat down 6-
' ). Franks and Rudy York added home runs in the second inning to increase
' he Philadelphia run total to nine. Martinsville scored twice, only to see the
^ najor leaguers hit three home runs in the fifth inning, pitcher Marchildon
' litting one. Bill Dietrich and then Bob Savage pitched in reUef, throwing
^ bur innings of scoreless ball. The final score of the rout was Philadelphia
' L7, Martinsville 2 {Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 16 Apr. 1948).

Mack and his Athletics boarded the team bus right after the game and
' 3egan the long trip to Baltimore, their next stop. In his pocket, Mack carried
1 fairy stone from nearby Fairy Stone State Park, a gift from Martinsville
realtor and booster H. A. "Heck" Ford. Fairy stones supposedly bring good
iuck. Perhaps Mack's did, for the 1948 Athletics went on to finish in fourth
Iplace, their best showing since 1933, and Martinsville finished second. The
luck did not last long, however. In 1949, the Carolina League moved up a
notch to Class B. Unable to compete, Martinsville slipped back in the pack.
Attendance fell off, much to the chagrin of the Philadelphia front office. In
December 1949, Ehlers announced that the A's were pulling their franchise
out of Martinsville and moving it to the more promising Fayetteville, North
Carolina. Martinsville went without professional baseball for forty years
{Martinsville Daily Bulletin, 25 Mar., 16 June, 7 Dec. 1949).

Martinsville was not alone, for the minor league boom was ending. The
new medium of television meant that fans could stay comfortably at home
and watch major league games. Television nearly killed the minor leagues.
Attendance in 1952 was only half that of three years before. As for Connie
Mack, his luck dried up too. By 1950, the A's were back in the cellar. Mack
surrendered control of the team to his sons Earle and Roy, then watched in
horror as they sold the team to Kansas City interests in 1954. In 1972, when
the Athletics finally won a pennant, the flag flew in Oakland, California, a
continent away from Philadelphia and Martinsville (Smith 17; Lieb 259,
270).

The Martinsville Athletics' game with the Philadelphia parent club was
one of the major events in the town's cultural history, although it since has
been forgotten. The real significance of the contest, however, has less to do
with local history than it does with the scholarly possibilities opened up for
a better understanding of the New South. Martinsville was hardly alone;
dozens of southern cities had similar experiences. A scholarly study of the
phenomenon, focusing on the reactions of the players, fans, and writers as
they intermingled, would provide a fascinating comparative look at southern
culture, one in which sport was and is of supreme importance. Including the

60

post- World War II racial integration of the major and minor leagues as
factor would increase the value of such a study. Louisville, Kentucky
hostile reaction to Jackie Robinson has been chronicled often, but wha
about the experiences of other, later black players in smaller southern towns'
All in all, a serious examination of major league exhibition games in mine
league southern towns could provide a fresh vantage point for understandin;
the culture of the New South.

WORKS CITED

Cleveland, Charles B. The Great Baseball Managers. New York; Thomas Y. Crowell, 1950.

Fischer, David Hackett. Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America. Nevs^ York; Oxford UP,
1989.

Hill, Judith Parks America. A History of Henry County Virginia. Baltimore: Regional, 1976.

Lieb, Fred. Baseball As I Have Known It. New York: Coward, McCann and Geohegan, 1977.

Martinsville Daily Bulletin. 10 Apr. 1945; 12 Jan. 1948; 25 Feb. 1948; 19 Mar. 1948; 30 Mar. 1948;i
1 Apr. 1948; 3 Apr. 1948; 9 Apr. 1948; 15 Apr. 1948; 16 Apr. 1948; 18 Feb. 1949; 19 Mar.
1949; 25 Mar. 1949; 16 June 1949; 7 Dec. 1949.

Martinsville and Henry County: Historic Views. Winston-Salem: Hunter, 1976.

Obojski, Robert. Bush League: A History of Minor League Baseball. New York Macmillan, 1975.

Smith, Red. The Red Smith Reader. New York: Random House, 1982.

Woodward, C. Vann. Origins of the New South, 1877-1913. History of the South Series, Vol. 9.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1951.

61

ABSTRACTS OF MASTER'S THESES AND SPECIALIST
IN EDUCATION PROJECTS

A COMPARATIVE STUDY

OF TWO METHODS

OF INSTRUCTION IN GEOMETRY

David Amick
(EdS., Secondary Education, August 1990)

The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement and attitudes
3f students using traditional methods of teaching secondary geometry to the
ichievement and attitudes of students learning in small groups. The subjects
:onsisted of 42 tenth-and eleventh-graders enrolled in two classes of a
second quarter geometry class taught by the researcher. Both groups
received the same lecture from the researcher each day. The experimental
^roup then worked on an assignment in small groups consisting of three
students each. The control group worked on the same assignment as a class
^roup. This method of instruction was used over a four- week period.
A.chievement was measured by an end-of-unit examination constructed by
the researcher. No significant differences in achievement were found among
the two groups. Attitudes were measured by a student questionnaire
designed by the researcher. There was no significant difference in the means
for the attitude responses for the two groups.

The researcher discovered that (1) strict monitoring of the groups by the
instructor and (2) careful selection of group members were two factoi-s
essential to the successful implementation of the group work.

The recommendations for future research from this study are that (a)
some type of motivational factors should be used to ensure participation by
all group members; (b) further studies should be conducted to find out what
type of student benefits the most from small-group instruction; and (c) a
pre-experiment as well as a post-experiment survey should be administered
to determine whether the two types of instruction affected the students'
attitude toward geometry.

62

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TELEVISION VIEWING i
AND RECREATIONAL READING HABITS
OF MIDDLE GRADE STUDENTS

Anna H. Bond
(EdS., Middle Grades Education, August 1990)

Many parents and educators have become concerned that televisioi
viewing may be related to the recreational reading habits of children. Tb
purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship existe(
between television viewing and the recreational reading habits of middl
grade students. This study focused on two areas of concern: televisioi
viewing time and recreational reading time, and the frequency of bool
selection based on television programs.

The subjects were 174 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade homeroon
students at Tiger Creek Elementary School in the Catoosa County Schoo
System during the 1989-1990 school year. The students were representative
of the majority of students in the fourth, fifth, and sixth grades in Catoosi
County, the population to whom the results were generalized. All student
documented television viewing time and recreational reading time for ;
period of 15 days using the Leisure Activity Log. One hundred fifty students
revealed their attitudes toward recreational reading on the Recreational
Reading Survey.

Three null hypotheses were stated concerning television viewing time
and recreational reading time. It was stated that there is no significant
relationship between time spent viewing television and time spent in
recreational reading for middle grade students, middle grade male students,
and middle grade female students. The level at which each null hypotheses,
would be rejected was established at .05. Results concluded that a significant!
relationship did not exist between television viewing time and recreational!
reading time for middle grade students, middle grade male students, and
middle grade female students. These findings were supported by past
research.

The second area which was investigated concerned frequency of book
selection based on television programs. Students responded on the,
Recreational Reading Survey whether or not they selected books based on i
television programs. A null hypothesis stated there is no difference between j
the frequency of selection of books based on television programs and the!
frequency of selection of books not based on television programs for middle

63

^rade male students. The level of significance at which the hypothesis would
3e rejected was established at .05. A chi square analysis confirmed that
Tiiddle grade male students were not more likely to select books based on
:elevision programs. This finding was contrary to the results of much past
research. The final null hypothesis stated that there is no difference between
:he frequency of selection of books based on television programs and the
Frequency of selection of books not based on television programs for middle
yrade female students. The level of significance at which the hypothesis
ivould be rejected was estabUshed at .05. Results from a chi square analysis
:oncluded that middle grade female students were more likely to select
30oks based on television programs. This finding was supported by past
research.

The results of this study provide interesting insights for educators and
Darents of middle grade students. Research must continue to investigate any
factors which may be related to the recreational reading habits of middle
^rade students. The results of the study encourage educators in the Catoosa
bounty School System to implement programs which promote recreational
reading during the school day.

THE PORTRAYAL OF FEMALES IN REQUIRED

PROSE READINGS

FOR IITH GRADE AMERICAN LITERATURE CLASSES

IN COBB COUNTY, GEORGIA

Patricia Sutton Burgess
(EdS., Secondary Education, March 1991)

The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of female
:haracters presented in required selections (short stories, novels, and dramas)
studied by 11th grade English students in Cobb County, Georgia.

The works of American literature were analyzed using The California
Psychologicallnventory (CPI)w\i\ch measures personality traits of leadership,
imbition, sociability, self-confidence, integrity, tolerance, intelligence,
Derceptiveness, sincerity, and dependability. Because of its gender fairness
rhis instrument is widely used and generally accepted. The investigation
Focused on five research questions:

1. What percentage of prose selections in the material used in the
A^merican literature class deals with female characters as opposed to male
;haracters?

64

ij

This study found 13 (23.2%) of the prose selections feature fema
characters of significance.

2. What percentage of authors of selections in the American literatu
anthology is male? female?

Of the 165 authors represented in the works studied, 130 (78.8%) ha^
male authors and 35 (21.2%) have female authors. i**

3. How are females portrayed in an American literature anthology an|
supplementary required readings in prose selections short stories, novel}
and drama? f i

According to the literature, the female character is portrayed as
depiction of the society of which she is a part, with a varied range c
personality descriptions reflecting the position and attitude of the tim
period.

4. Are female characters presented differently in required readings b
male and female authors?

The male author portrays the female as below average (30%), abov
average (26%), average (25%), superior (17%), and without developmen
(3%). The female creator depicts the female superior (27%), average (27%) ^
below average (20%), above average (25%), and without development (3%i

5. Are females portrayed differently in required readings of Americai
literature according to genre?

According to the limited sample for this study, the female is presentee
by the short story as slightly below average, by the novel as above average
and by the drama as superior.

The conjunction of this limited sampling is that the female is picturec
outside poHtically, economically, spiritually, and mentally, however, she i;
an accurate reflection of the society of which she is a part.

TO WHAT EXTENT DO SELECTED ADOLESCENT

NOVELS PRESENT KUBLER-ROSS'S

FIVE STAGES OF ACCEPTING DEATH?

Terijean Carter Byrd
(EdS., Secondary Education, December 1990)

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected young adult novels to
determine to what extent they portray the stages of accepting death as
presented by Kubler-Ross. The study focused on four research questions:

65

1 . Whose death does each protagonist face his own or that of a family
lember of friend? What is the cause of death?

2. WTiat is the age, the sex, and the relationship of each protagonist to
lie person who is dying (or who has died)?

3. To what extent do the major characters in each of the novels
/cemphfy each of the stages in the process of dealing with death as identified

ity Kubler-Ross?

4. To what extent does the protagonist have and/or provide a "support
ystem" in the novel? Who or what agency or institution helps him. How
s this support provided?

Each novel was analyzed to answer these questions. The results of the
tudy indicated that all stages were reflected in the novels. The stages were
landled in much the same way as Kubler-Ross indicated. Two (depression
md acceptance) were illustrated to a high degree while two (denial/isolation
ind anger) were represented somewhat less intensely. One stage (bargaining)
vas rated significantly lower than the other stages because most protagonists
n the novels were not facing their own deaths as were persons in Kubler-
Ross's study. The results indicate that the novels would be worthy of
dassroom study and as a part of a school curriculum.
I The protagonists' ages ranged from 13-20. Causes of death were varied:
disease, accidents, and suicide. Protagonists faced the deaths of friends and
family members as well as their own deaths. The sex of protagonists was
fairly evenly distributed six females and four males; death victims included
six males and six females. Because novels are diversified, effective, and have
literary merit, they are appropriate for use in a regular classroom setting.

The imphcations suggest that teachers may use these novels for class,
group, or individual reading; for classroom projects; and for motivating
students to read other works by the same author. Material on analyzing
novels and on analyzing the stages in accepting death and support systems
could be converted to instructional guides to be used for death education.

Recommendations follow: analyze other young adult novels to determine
the extent to which they treat death, analyze other genres to determine the
extent to which the stages exist, and analyze the effect of reading literary
works dealing with death on students' attitudes toward death.

66

THE THERAPEUTIC VS^LDERNESS EXPERIENCE

John Stephan Cockerham
(MA, Psychology, August 1990)

A qualitative study explores effective modes of psychological growth ir
youth at risk by examining wilderness programs in comparison to urbar
treatment facilities. Literature is reviewed including related texts anc
journal articles on outdoor programming, and autobiographical accounts o:
modern shamanic practices. A survey of organizational dynamics anc,
referral opinions from community professionals completes thcj
multidimensional assessment. The conclusions present recommendations
and perspectives on wilderness therapy.

THE CHRIST EVENT AS A PARADIGM

FOR THE

INDIVIDUATING EGO

IN THE

TWELVE STEPS OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS

JoeN. Culpepper
(MA, Psychology, December 1990)

In this paper, analytical psychology, self-psychology, and object relations
theory, are used to illuminate, from a developmental psychological perspective,
the Christ event as a paradigm for the individuation process implicit within
the twelve steps of AlcohoHcs Anonymous. The goal of this approach is to
provide a "listening perspective" which might be useful as a therapeutic tool
to certain individuals. Perhaps the most usefUl application of this "Hstening
perspective" will be to assist the Christian-oriented psychotherapist in
monitoring the interactions between chemically addicted patients within a
thirty-day inpatient treatment program designed to prepare its patients for
participation in Alcoholics Anonymous after discharge.

The traditional Christian images cited in this paper hope to provide the
Christian-oriented psychotherapist with the tools to assist the patient in his
or her work on the twelve steps. The Christian images and concepts are not
mtended to be taught to the patient population. Their flinction, as presented

67

n this paper, is expressly to provide a "listening perspective" for the
Ilhristian-oriented psychotherapist. The "listening perspective" is intended
o be a specific way of viewing the twelve step process, yet not one that is
intagonistic to the flindamental principle of allowing the patient to accept
:he God of his or her understanding.

THE IMPACT OF DEATH EDUCATION

ON DEATH ANXIETY

IN ADOLESCENTS

Jan Elizabeth Daniel
(EdS., Secondary Education, December 1990)

The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of a 10-day unit on
death and dying on death anxiety among high school students enrolled in an
elective psychology class. The study also evaluated the relationship between
death anxiety and the sex of the subjects. A total of 57 subjects were in the
experimental group and 48 were in the control group. The research method
used was the pretest- treatment-posttest with the control group receiving no
treatment. The Templer Death Anxiety Scale was used to measure death
anxiety in both the pre- and posttest. Results showed that the high school
students had moderately high death anxiety. The female subjects' death
anxiety was significantly higher than that of male subjects. The death
anxiety of the subjects did not significantly increase or decrease as a result of
participating in a death and dying unit. Possible reasons for the outcome and
suggestions for future research are included in the study.

GALVANOTAXIS OF LEUKOCYTES

Joseph H. Douglas, III
(MS, Biology, March 1991)

Aggranulocytes (monocytes) exposed to an Electric Field (EF) migrated
toward the anode. Monocytes for these experiments were from one human
volunteer and were isolated on a Mono-Poly/Histopague step gradient. The
Monocytes were placed in an EF chamber constructed of a gelatin-coated

68

glass slide (3" X 1") onto which was placed a No. 1 coverslip (2.2 cm squanj
on supports cutfrom No. 1 coverslips (0.6cmX2.2 cm). The voltage range
from v/cm to 12 v/cm. Temperatures maintained during electric fiel
exposure were 30 C and 40C. The behavioral response of monocytes in th
EF included migration toward the anode and morphological change Ji
characteristic of Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) undergoing
tactic response. The morphological changes included polarization of th
cell, formation of a uropod at the trailing edge, and a lamellapod at th
leading edge. Prehminary evidence indicated the rate of monocyte migratio
is temperature dependent and proportional to the strength of the EI
Methods of analysis used in these experiments with respect to galvanotaxi
provided conflicting results suggesting a need for uniformity in galvanotacti
measurements.

A CORRELATIONAL STUDY OF SELECTED

FACTORS WHICH RELATE TO SUCCESS

IN EIGHT-GRADE ALGEBRA I

Vivian Gunn Dunn
(EdS., Secondary Education, August 1990)

Selecting students for placement in eighth-grade Algebra I is a curren
problem for the middle schools in Coweta County. This study was designee
to identify factors which will predict success in eighth-grade Algebra I, ar
measured by the final grades in the course. i

The subjects were 185 students who completed an eighth-grade Algebn
I course at O.P. Evans Junior High School in Coweta County. The Algebn
I grades of these students were correlated with five selected factors: tht
sixth-grade Criterion Referenced Test mathematics scores, the seventh-
grade mathematics grades, the seventh-grade Iowa Test of Basic Skills
mathematics scores, teacher recommendation numbers which ranged from
1 to 100 from the seventh-grade mathematics teachers, and total scores
which were weighted averages of the listed factors.

A Pearson correlation coefficient was determined for each factor and a
stepwise regression analysis was done on the Macintosh SE Apple computer
to determine the optimal combination of factors which produced the highest
correlation coefficient. Then five simple regression analyses and six multiple

69

regression analyses were done on the computer to see if fewer data sets would
produce results close to the one obtained by the stepwise regression analysis.

The seventh-grade mathematics grade was found to be significantly
correlated with the Algebra I grade with a correlation coefficient of .57.
Several combinations of factors were found to be significantly correlated
with the Algebra I grade; however, the optimal combination was the
iseventh-grade Iowa Test of Basic Skills mathematics score, the seventh-
Igrade mathematics grade, and the sixth-grade Criterion Referenced Test
mathematics score with a correlation coefficient of .61 with the Algebra I
grade.

An analysis of variance was computed for the seventh-grade mathematics
grades by the Algebra I grades. This showed a significant relationship
between the variation in the seventh-grade mathematics grade and the
variation in the Algebra I grade. A significant relationship between the
variation in the combination of the Iowa Basic Skills mathematics score, the
Criterion Referenced Test mathematics score, and the seventh-grade
mathematics grade was also shown to exist. The seventh-grade mathematics
grade accounted for 33% and the optimal combination accounted for 37%
of the variance in the Algebra I grade.

CRITERIA FOR IDENTIFICATION OF

AT-RISK STUDENTS FOR CVAE AND

PROJECT SUCCESS PROGRAMS

I Judy I. Gait

(EdS., Physical Education and Recreation, December 1990)

Historically, there has been no uniform system in the public schools in
Georgia for selecting students for at-risk programs. Selection of these
students has been inconsistent, and almost 60 percent of educators referring
students to at-risk programs have had no formalized written procedure for
^electing students for referral.

Based on the mandates of the Carl Perkins Vocational Act and
information provided by the Coordinated Vocational Academic Education
(CVAE) and Project Success Coordinators, a form was developed to provide
a standard instrument to use in selecting students in the state for these
programs. The Student Referral Form was designed for use by educators

70

concerned with at-risk children in large and small, rural and urban school
systems.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TELEVISION

VIEWING HOURS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

IN EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS

Patricia Hall Jones
(EdS., Middle Grades Education, December 1991)

This research project was designed to determine the relationship, if any.
between academic achievement and the amount of time spent in front of a
television. A television viewing log was kept by each of the 38 students in
the study. Included in the sample were 11 boys and 27 girls from a ruraJ
community in Carroll County, Georgia. The mean number of viewing
hours was correlated with the scores obtained by the students in reading and
mathematics on the Georgia Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT).

The hypothesis that there would be no significant relationship withi
reading was not rejected with a resulting Pearson product-moment correlation:
of -.27. The hypothesis that there would be no relationship with mathematics
was not rejected since the resulting correlation was -.002 for that area
Further research was recommended.

THE EFFECT OF ASSERTIVE DISCIPLINE

TRAINING ON SCHOOLW^DE

DISCIPLINE

James Larry Lee
(EdS., Middle Grades Education, June 1990)

This study was designed to determine the effect of a properly implemented
Assertive Discipline program on schoolwide discipline.

Subjects for the study were the referral records of teachers at Pointe
South Junior High School. The referral records of teachers who did not use
Assertive Discipline during the 1988-1989 school year were the control

71

group. The referral records of those same teachers who used Assertive
Discipline during the 1989-1990 school year were then considered the
2xperimental group.

The discipline records from 1988-1989 were compared to discipline
records from 1989-1990. The study lasted for one 12- week grading period
each year. The number of office referrals during this time frame were
compared. The data were calculated using the analysis of covariance which
resulted in a statistically significant reduction in the number of referrals at
the .05 level of significance. Therefore the null hypothesis was rejected. A
secondary hypothesis that teacher attitudes about discipline would not
improve was also not supported by the data. The results of the survey
indicated that teacher attitude about discipline had improved. Therefore
the secondary null hypothesis was rejected. Conclusions, educational
implications, and recommendations were drawn from the results.

A COMPARISON OF THE NORM-REFERENCE TEST

(ITBS) SCORES OF MIDDLEGRADE STUDENTS WHO

W^RE RETAINED IN THE SIXTH GRADE AND THOSE

SOCIALLY PROMOTED TO THE SEVENTH GRADE

Flora M. Lindsey
(EdS., Middle Grades Education, June 1990)

The purpose of this study was to compare the Iowa Test of Basis Skills
mathematics computation and reading comprehension scores of students
who were retained in the sixth grade with the students socially promoted to
the seventh grade during the 1988-1989 academic year.

The population for the study was the students in the sixth and seventh
grade classes at Greenville Elementary School in Greenville, Georgia. This
study involved students retained in the sixth grade and those socially
promoted to the seventh grade during the 1988-1989 academic year. A
sample size of 28 students was obtained. It included 15 students retained in
the sixth grade and 13 students socially promoted to the seventh grade.

To determine the students' yearly achievement, the Iowa Test of Basic
Skills, Levels 12 and 13, Forms G and J, for mathematics computation and
reading comprehension were used. For this study, the results of these tests
are reported as gain scale scores and gain grade equivalents for each area.

The data on the scale scores and grade equivalents for each of the two
tests were compared, using the standard deviation and t-test for non-
72

independent sample. The stated null hypotheses were evaluated using the
.05 level of significance.

The null hypotheses were rejected for the scale scores and grade
equivalent scores on the mathematics computation section of the ITBS,
since the t- values exceeded the table t- values for the degrees of freedom at
the .05 level of significance.

No significant difference was found between the grade equivalent scores]
nor the scale scores on the reading comprehension section of the ITBS.

ASSESSMENT OF THE LITTLE TALLAPOOSA RIVER

FISH COMMUNITY USING THE INDEX OF

BIOTIC INTEGRITY

Gregory Lee McKibben
(MS, Biology, December 1990)

A survey was made of the distribution of the fishes in the Little
Tallapoosa River in Carroll County, Georgia. Thirty-two species of fish
from nine families were collected. The majority of the fish collected were
from the families Cyprinidae, Centrarchidae, and Catostomidae.i
Representatives from the families Amiidae, Cottidae, Cyrinodontidae,
Poeiliidae, Ictuluridae, and Percidae were also collected.

Data collected in this study were compared to data collected in 1974
using an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) designed specifically for the Little
Tallapoosa River. The IBI values were also compared to Shannon- Wiener
Diversity Index (SDI) values. Both systems were used to measure biological
recovery from earlier physical degradation (channelization). Sites that had
been channelized earlier were rated as poor for both 1974 and 1987-1989.
Biological recovery has not taken place in the channelized sections of the
LTR. The quality of unchannelized sites has improved since the 1974 study.

73

EFFECTS OF DIVORCE
ON THE SELF-CONCEPT OF CHILDREN

Carol Shaw
(EdS., Middle Grades Education, December 1990)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether students' self-
oncepts are significantly affected by divorce. The subjects were 112
tudents at ViUa Rica Middle School in CarroU County, Georgia, in
October 1990. The 112 students were divided into groups of 43 seventh
praders, 2S sixth graders, 22 fifth graders, and 22 fourth graders. The
:hildren were interviewed by the researcher in order to determine family
tatus. The Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale was administered,
ind the hypothesis was tested using analysis of variance. The .05 level of
ignificance was established as the level at which the null hypothesis would
)e rejected. The results (F = .01 , P = .05) indicated that there is no
lignificant difference between the self-concept scores of children whose
)arents are divorced and those who reside within an intact family structure.
X was recommended that ftirther research be conducted on the possible
effects of divorce on children. One avenue of direction that might reveal new
mplications would be to consider both short-term and long-term effects,
rhis type of study, however, would involve tracking the children for a period
)f years.

THE EFFECTS OF AN ELECTRIC CURRENT ON
POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES

Pamela Yockey Stevenson
(MS, Biology, June 1990)

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) exposed to an Electric Field
EF) migrated towards the anode. PMNs for these experiments were from
)ne human volunteer and were isolated in a Mono-Poly/Histopaque step
gradient. The PMNs were placed in an EF chamber constructed of a
relatin-coated glass slide (3" X 1") onto which was placed a No. 1 coverslip
^2.2 cm square) on supports cut from No. 1 coverslips (0.6 cm X 2.2 cm).
rhe voltage ranged from 4 V/cm to 16 V/cm. Temperature during

74

]

preparation of the PMNs for electric field exposure ranged from C to 3
C . The behavioral response of PMNs in the EF included migration towar
the anode and morphological changes characteristic of PMNs undergoim
a tactic response. The morphological changes included polarization of th
cell, formation of a uropod at the trailing edge and a lamellapod at th
leading edge. PreHminary evidence indicated the rate of PMN migration i '
proportional to the strength of the EF. At 4 V/cm, PMN migration wa fi
observed to be approximately 1 jim / minute, while the rate of migration a
8 V/cm was 12 jim / minute. At 16 V/cm, the rate of PMN migratioi
decreased to 1 |ain / minute. This is in contrast to the chemotactic respons W
for PMNs where the rate of migration is independent of the stimulu
strength.

THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS READING CHILDREN'S

LITERATURE ALOUD

ON UPPER ELEMENTARY STUDENTS' READING

ATTITUDE AND READING ACHIEVEMENT

Kathie L. Vickers
(EdS.y Middle Grades Education, June 1990)

This study was conducted to investigate the correlation between teachen
reading aloud to students and the effect on students' reading achievemeni
and reading attitude. Specifically, the study investigated the effect oJi
teachers reading aloud fifteen minutes per day on upper elementary schooJi
students' reading achievement and reading attitude. Thirty-five third-j
graders and thirty-seven fifth graders from one Coweta County elemental}';
school were used in this study. Findings of the study were based on dataj
collected from the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Test and Lewis' Reading)
Attitude Inventory for Low Level Reading Ability. Analysis of variance wasi
used to compare the reading achievement scores and reading attitude scores
of the control and experimental groups in each grade. A probability level of
.05 was established to determine significance. Analyses of the data resulted
in an F ratio for the areas of attitude, total reading, comprehension and
vocabulary for both third- and fifth-grades. Analysis of the reading attitude
data for the third-grade resulted in an F ratio with a probability of .35.
Analysis of the total reading data for the third grade resulted in an F ratio

75

idth a probability of .44. Analysis of the comprehension data resulted in an
1 '' ratio with a probability of 27. The analysis of the vocabulary data resulted
n an F ratio with a probability of .66. These indicate there were no
ignificant differences. The null hypotheses for third-grade were not
ejected. Analysis of the attitude data for fifth-grade resulted in an F ratio
vith a probability of .55. Analysis of the total reading resulted in an F ratio
vith a probability of .64. Analysis of the comprehension data resulted in an
^ ratio with a probability of .29. Analysis of the vocabulary data resulted in
in F ratio with a probability of .72. These indicate there were no significant
iifferences. The null hypotheses for fifth-grade were not rejected.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INELIGIBLE STUDENTS

AND THE ROLE OF SOCL\L STUDIES IN

CAUSING THEIR STATUS

JackR. Whelessjr.
(EdS.y Secondary Education, August 1990)

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of
students, ineligible and chronically ineligible, to participate in extracurricular
activities and to determine whether or not these characteristics make them
different from other students in their high school. In addition, the study
sought to identify the role that social studies played in causing their status
IS compared to the other subjects in the curriculum. Percentages of variables
3n which data were collected were used to compare the ineligible sub-groups
to the school population and to each other. It was concluded from these
:omparisons that ineligible students do differ from the overall population in
regard to race, gender, age, and ability grouping and that science and English
kvere more responsible for causing students to become ineligible than were
social studies.

76

WALKING YOUR TALK:

PATHWAYS TOWARD WHOLENESS THROUGH

PERSONAL RITUAL

RhodaAnn Williams
(MA, Psychology, March 1991)

In addition to agreeing with the assumption that our humannes
contains the seeds for awakening to the full dimensionality of our experience!
I embrace the notion that today, significant numbers of people are, like me|
seeking to explore the range of their sensory, intuitive, and inteUectu
capacities and to live at the level of their maximum potential. Anothe.]
assumption, given considerable attention in Parts I and II of this paper, ia
that getting beyond the range of ordinary, everyday functioning require
knowing what obstacles are in the way. My contention is that many of thes
obstacles are embedded in the rational, objective, analytical, linear structure
of thought and perception handed down to us by our culture, constituting
what is called the "dominant paradigm."

The perspective of this paper is that for many individuals, self-created
"personal rituals" can be transforming experiences, pathways leading to a
way of living that is more ecstatic, more expansive, more integrated, more
whole. My vision is that through the practice of personal ritual one may
move into that deeper dimension of being called for by Levin, sought for by
so many, and needed so urgently in our time.

77

I

' ^PJ^

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

evtew

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

+ ZP lt,3b '^i^^ 25

Published by

West Georgia College

A Unit of the University System of Georgia

Carrollton, Georgia

Volume XXII

May 1992

Published by

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Maurice K. Townsend, President
John T. Lewis III, Vice President and Dean of Faculties

Learning Resources Committee
Kenneth J. Bindas, Chairperson

Charles Beard
James Gay
Sonia Grace
Siegfried Karsten
Ceciha Lee

Paul Masters
George McNinch
Bobby Powell
Richard Prior
Seaton Smith

Francesca Taylor

Martha A. Saunders, Editor

Jeanette C. Bernhardt, Associate Editor

Joanne R. Artz, Assistant Editor

Kenneth J. Bindas, Assistant Editor

The purpose of this publication is to provide encouragement for
faculty research and to make available results of such activity. The Review,
published annually, accepts original scholarly work. West Georgia
College assumes no responsibility for contributors' views. The style guide
is MLA Handbook, Second Edition. Although the Review is primarily a
medium for the faculty ofWest Georgia College, other sources are invited.

The abstracts of aU master's and educational speciaHst's theses written at
West Georgia College are included as they are awarded.

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Volume XXII May 1992

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Atwater McComber's Keys to Incompetent
Management: A Satire?
by Frank R. Hunsicker 5

The Anti-Secessionist Rhetoric of John Bright

by Glenn D. Novak 9

The "Landscape of the Subconscious" as Revealed in
Becquer's El Ray o de Luna (The Moonbeam)
by Bella Romain 23

Abstracts of Master's Theses and Specialist in

Education Projects 27

Copyright 1992, West Georgia College
Printed in the USA (ISSN 0043-3136)

Atwater McComber's Keys to

Incompetent Management:

A Satire?

by Frank R. Hunsicker^

Atwater McComber is a management consultant renowned throughout
the world for his knowledge of incompetent managers. Over the years he
has consulted with some of the most successful failures known to society.
His list of clients boggles the imagination; while he denies it, some suggest
he advised Ford to build the Edsel. Others suggest he may have advised
both Czar Nicholas and Gorbachev. More recently there is suspicion he
was involved in selecting Debbie Norvill for the Today Show.

McComber is not what one would describe as a typical consultant. He
attended Cambridge, Columbia, University of Chicago, and an unobtrusive
university in the South, but never received a degree. That never appeared
to bother him. He was such a sociable individual that his credentials were
immaterial.

At the time we talked last year, he had just reached his sixtieth year,

and although he was grey and balding, he still could wrinkle his mustache

I while recalling those he felt were the most incompetent managers he had

met. He seemed to enjoy recounting the keys to their failure. Each of

them had endearing characteristics with which most of us can identify.

When asked how he became involved with incompetent managers, he
repHed that it was simply a matter of supply and demand. He stated that
libraries and bookstores are stocked with titles on how to be a successful
and competent manager. There are even books telling the manager how
to dress. Further, he said, the universities and colleges are spewing out
many graduate and undergraduate students schooled in the keys to
successful management. Yet when talking to students, employees, and
managers, McComber discovered that most of those charged with the
management responsibihties were actually incompetent managers. He
knew an opportunity when he saw it. Incompetent management was an
untapped market which fit his capabiUties. He referred to these people in
the rather harsh term "Stincm," which literally means "stupid incompetent
manager". The Stincm had all the opportunities to learn the best way to

*Professor of Management, West Georgia College

5

manage, but insisted on managing the wrong way. Atwater McComber
became a consultant to the Stincms, thereby insuring their continued
success or failure depending on one's interpretation.

McComber was most enthusiastic about sharing the knowledge he
had gained over forty years dealing with Stincms. It was against this
background that the first chapter of his oral history was documented. Our
conversation focused on three hypothetical clients he believed represented
the three most typical Stincms. They were Marvin Mumbler, Sam Small,
and Frannie Flogger.

Marvin Mumbler knows the key to success is indecisiveness, and he
openly practices it. Decisions mean that someone wins and someone loses;
therefore if no decision is made, no one wins and no one loses. Mumbler
ignores plans and planning since they deal with uncertainty and risk as well
as some level of commitment. Setting goals suffers a similar fate in
Mumbler's eyes. He does not set goals because goal setting requires some
level of commitment, or even worse, blame if not achieved. If required to
set goals, he sets them at an easily achievable level to make failure all but
impossible. Responsibility is delegated, but authority on any decision is
retained by Mumbler, who doesn't like to make decisions. Subordinates
cannot be trusted; consequently, limiting their ability to make decisions
is an effective control leaving them with the responsibility and blame, but
no authority to achieve success. Mumbler protects the incompetents who
work for him in order to avoid some nasty conflicts and related decisions.
He usually survives in organizations because he never really does anything.
Therefore, his boss never fmds a reason to fire him.

McComber became more enthusiastic as he described Sam Small,
who was a firm advocate of deception as the real key to successful
incompetence. Small's favorite quotation is from the Chinese philosopher,
Sun Tzu, who said, "All warfare is based on deception." To Small,
management is warfare with everyone. He neither trusts nor wastes time
talking with his subordinates, since such discussions might make them
think he was friendly. He always bypasses intervening supervisors and
goes directly to the workers, thereby keeping the supervisors uninformed.
He is never consistent in making decisions so that subordinates are unable
to predict what he is thinking. He takes action without worrying about
the need for information. He also never considers the longterm impact of
a decision. Feedback from his subordinates is either ignored or not sought,
since they are not to be trusted. Lack of feedback also keeps the
subordinates off balance which is critical to keeping them confused and

unable to believe they are needed. He likes to send them nasty notes and
memos to keep them alert to the fact he is in charge. He keeps copies of
all these notes and the repUes for possible future reference. One of his
favorite approaches is to build a false aura about the organization. He
focuses attention on those activities which people outside the organization
see and ignores the internal factors. McComber likes to call this the
eggshell concept, because it is hard on the outside and soft on the inside.
Small usually survives in organizations because he works for people like
Mumbler. He is so deceptive that managers are unable to fmd a good
reason to fire him.

McComber was most impressed by Frannie Flogger, who really
epitomizes a Stincm. Fear is the key to her successful incompetence.
Flogger openly talks about the poor attitude of her people and makes
examples of individuals to deter others from making mistakes. She loves
to crucify people for mistakes and beHeves it is balderdash to think people
should be treated in any humane way. One of her favorite tactics is to tell
her people they will be fired if they make another mistake. She relishes
using the boss's name to emphasize a point, although the boss has no
knowledge of the situation. Planning is not her major interest. For
example, she writes and posts the weekend work schedule on Friday so her
crew can't make any personal plans. McComber refers to this as the fast
food supervisor concept. She loves to set ridiculous deadlines such as
requiring a report Friday afternoon even though she wiU be out of town
until the following Wednesday. When hiring new employees, she prefers
to put them to work without training and guidance. Then she can correct
them in her own delicious way as they make mistakes. One of her favorite
quotations is "You won't hear from me unless you make a mistake." People
who work for her confirm that she does not tell them when they did a job
well, but that they know they are in trouble if she says she wants to talk to
them. However, when her unit does perform well, she always takes credit
and grants them the blame for mistakes. She usually survives in an
organization because of the perception of upper management that leaders
should be tough task masters. Outright theft or moral turpitude are often
the only reasons for releasing the Floggers of the world.

When McComber finished his discussion, he seemed at peace with
himself as he watched his pipe smoke curl up to the ceiling. He then
explained how the Stincms got that way. They are not ignorant. In fact,
a higher than average intelligence is the only apparent commonality of the
three Stincms. They do, however, have a major flaw in their learning skills,

since they learn only half of a subject. McComber cited an example to
illustrate the point. In 1957, Douglas McGregor wrote "The Human Side
of Enterprise," which is considered one of the classics in management
literature. The Stincms read the first half of the article emphasizing the
"Theory X" attitude toward people and never even skimmed the last half
of the article about "Theory Y" which provides the more modern attitude.
"Theory X" suggests people are indolent, indifferent, resistant, and not
very bright. Since Stincms are reasonably intelligent individuals, they also
usually slept through the last half of the pedestrian monotone lectures in
our citadels of higher learning. If they had stayed awake they might have
learned some of the competencies. They even read one of the outdated
books, suggesting proper business attire.

McComber suggested indecisiveness, deception, and fear as the three
major keys to incompetence. There are others, but in the time allotted, he
felt these were the most important. He referred to them as the three horses
of incompetence and suggested most Stincms ride at least one.

There is an unproven rumor that USA Today approached McComber
to proclaim an annual Stincm Award for presentation to the most
incompetent manager of the year. McComber said this was not a good
idea because he was semi-retired and not interested in the increased
demand for his services resulting from the award. He was also concerned
since others had not followed his lead into this area of opportunity. He
feared new Stincms would be unable to fmd enough consultants to aid
them in their quest for incompetence.

Many feel that Atwater McComber will become a legend in his own
time if he focuses his energy on writing about his experiences. He stated
that the rough draft of his book. Keys To Incompetent Management, should
be complete by 1993. He noted that new examples of incompetence,
occurring every day, are dating his work before it can be completed.
However, he earnestly continues to believe indecisiveness, deception, and
fear, the three horses of incompetence, will endure.

WORKS CITED

McGregor, Douglas M. "The Human Side of Enterprise." The Management Review 47
(November 1957): 22-28, 88-92.

Tzu, Sun. The Art of War. Trans. Samuel B. Griffith. New York; Oxford UP, 1963.

The Anti- Secessionist Rhetoric of
John Bright ,

by Glenn D. Novak}

Much interesting light can be shed upon the attitude of Victorian
England toward the American Civil War by a careful examination of two
speeches by the British reform orator, John Bright. While Bright
addressed himself to a great many issues of considerable significance
during his lifetime, among them being the Anti-Corn Laws, free trade,
disestablishment of the Irish Church, the Crimean War, reform of
franchise laws, and India, his seven speeches regarding America and her
great internal conflict, delivered between 1861 and 1867, provide us with
an eloquent recorded frameworkwithin which we can both analyze British
feeling toward the American North and South and systematically assess
the qualities of Bright's oratorical craftsmanship. This article examines
the general characteristics of Bright's rhetoric, as represented by two of his
speeches on the American Civil War, within the context of popular British
sentiment toward the United States immediately after the Emancipation
Proclamation. The two speeches examined in detail are "Slavery and
Secession," delivered at Rochdale, February 3, 1863, and "Mr. Roebuck's
Motion for Recognition of the Southern Confederacy," delivered in the
House of Commons, June 30, 1863. The complete texts of these speeches,
as revised by Bright, plus the texts of Bright's other five speeches
concerning America, are found in volume one oi Speeches on Questions of
Public Policy by John Bright, M.P., edited by James E. Thorold Rogers.

British Sentiment During the Civil War

Despite the British government's issuance of its Proclamation of
Neutrality shortly after the outbreak of the American Civil War, strong
anti-Unionism had developed in England due to ideological alignments
and economic considerations. The wealthy and influential members of
British society identified strongly with the aristocratic "gentlemen" of the
secessionist South. While the South favored free trade polices, the North
still was employing protective tariffs, a device utterly repugnant to the
English ministry and merchant class. Moreover, the Union blockade of
important Southern ports had severely affected the export of cotton to

*Associate Professor of Speech, West Georgia College

9

England, whose textile mills were beginning to slow down as early as 1 86 1 .
Finally, a sense of jealousy over the unprecedented growth and power of
the United States had created sympathy for the South in many an English
mind, which viewed the Civil War as a struggle on the part of the South
for its rightful independence from a tyrannical Northern government
possessed by ideas of grandeur and imperialism. There was, in fact, a
"persistent argument in British establishment circles that it would be 'a
good thing' if the United States could be subdivided" (Reid 237). The
Northern industriaHsts were providing stiff competition for the British
merchants, and hopes were running high that a group of independent
republics would emerge as a result of the War between the States.

In total opposition to these widespread sentiments, John Bright, aged
fifty, stood firm and fast. Deeply concerned that the United States should
abolish slavery and thereby rid itself of the only blot upon its national
character, he viewed the war "plainly as God's instrument for the destruction
of slavery" (Ausubel 121). Although he fuUy accepted Lincoln's position
that the war was being fought not to abolish slavery but to preserve the
Union, Bright nevertheless saw the question of slavery, its perpetuation or
its abolition, at the very root of the entire conflict. Long before the
Emancipation Proclamation, he implored his friends in America to press
for just such a measure in order to bring the true issues of the war into focus
(Ausubel 121).

Meanwhile, public sentiment in England was running very much pro-
South, largely due to editorializing by the most influential publications in
the land. The vicious anti-Unionism of The Times, Punch, and other
publications infuriated Bright. It was, in fact, beyond his understanding
"how any honest man could allow The Times into his home" (Ausubel
122). Furthermore, he was revolted by the frequency and force of the
many gleeful and outrageous pubhc speeches made by the British enemies
of the North.

The event that was to infuriate both the people and the ministry of
England, and to represent the single most important incident leading to
a near-declaration of war on the United States by England, was the Trent
affair in November of 1861. The incident involved the illegal seizure by
U.S. Naval Captain Charles Wilkes, of two Confederate agents, Manson
and ShdeU, from the British ship Trent in international waters (Mills 2:
228).

Bright gave an important speech on the American Civil War as a
result of this incident. In a speech delivered at Rochdale on December 4,

10

1861, he condemned unequivocally the irresponsible action taken by
Wilkes, but he also went on to state that this type of international dispute
would best lend itself to peaceful arbitration rather than to threats of war.
He also condemned the attitude of T/^^ Times, whose position was that the
outrage was a deliberate plan to pick a quarrel with England. In the speech
he also praised certain conditions of life in the United States, namely
education, inventions, low taxes, the secret ballot, a small military
estabhshment, democratic suffrage, and the humane treatment of criminals.

While England readied herself by voting a million pounds for war and
sending reinforcements to Canada (MiUs 2: 229), Bright wrote a series of
letters to his friend Charles Sumner, the chairman of the United States
Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, cautioning him about the
strength of England and suggesting to him that "one war at a time was
enough for the North" (Ausubel 123). In December 1861, Lincoln's
Cabinet, realizing England would not compromise, accepted her demands
and released the two Southern envoys. It is said that "it was Bright's
influence more than any single cause which prevented war at this crisis"
(Mills 2: 231).

It was during the Trent affair, incidentally, that Bright earned the
dubious honor of being called by The Times (December 6, 1861) the
"devil's advocate," because he always took a position opposite that of the
majority and championed an unpopular cause; in favoring the North, he
again tried to "pour cold water upon the general enthusiasm" (Strother
206).

Despite the successful resolution of the Trent affair, anti-Unionist
sentiment in England still ran high in 1862. Bright wrote to Mr. P. Perit,
President of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, on
April 4, 1862, that "Notwithstanding much misapprehension and some
recent excitement, I am sure that an overwhelming majority of the people
of the United Kingdom wiU rejoice at the success of your government, and
at the complete restoration of your Union" (Leech 168). It is evident,
however, that "working-class opinion was not at first so markedly favourable
to the North as Bright like to claim" (Read 169). He would still have to
win them over to his side by some moving and persuasive oratory.

T\\t Alabama, a Confederate raider built in Britain, began in 1862 its
long and infamous career of destroying Union ships (Ausubel 129). This
fact did much to cause resentment on the part of the North toward an
England that was supposedly neutral. Bright could understand this
resentment and said so in a speech delivered at Birmingham on December

11

18, 1862. Having considered the facts of the case with regard to the
Alabama^ Bright "did not so much blame the language that had been used
in America in reference to that matter" (Smith 2: 92). It would seem there
was yet another side to be conciliated.

The year 1863 was important for three reasons: tht Alabama was sunk
by the Union; increased supplies of raw cotton reached England from
India; and on January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation went into
effect. The significance of these events should not be underestimated.
With the Alabama gone, the North had an old wound healed. The
breaking of the cotton famine made it easier for the cotton operatives in
the industrial and textile centers of England to favor the North despite its
cotton blockade (Read 228). And, with the firm and unequivocal
identification of the North with the abolition of slavery, popular opinion
in England began to swing around to Bright's position, for the Secession
Question was seen "to be subordinate to this deeper one of slavery"
(Johnson 160).

Bright's dream had come true with the Emancipation Proclamation,
Although America was stiU deeply entrenched in war, the cause of the
North had been clearly ennobled. With a new sense of purpose and
righteousness, with a profound sense of moral fortitude, John Bright
began the year of 1863 ready to deliver some of his most moving and
eloquent words.

Specific Audiences and Occasions

Bright's speech of February 3, 1863, was delivered at a meeting held
in the Public Hall, Rochdale, Lancashire. The meeting had been called
by the mayor, Mr. G.L. Ashworth, who was complying with a requisition
signed by many citizens (Robertson 400), for the express purpose of
passing resolutions of thanks to a group of New York merchants and
citizens for their sympathy with the sufferings of the unemployed and
underemployed cotton textile workers of Lancashire and for their generous
contributions to the funds for their relief (Ausubel 130). The Lancashire
textile industry had been virtually paralyzed as a result of the Northern
blockade of Southern ports, and the workingmen of Rochdale had
undergone considerable economic depression. Bright's own private
fortune was seriously impaired by the generosity of his firm to its workmen
for whom it could find little employment (Vince 108). He was thus in a
position to speak most eloquently on the subject of relief and to express his
gratitude with tact and sincerity. The end of the war was not yet in sight;

12

it was difficult to estimate how much longer the condition in Lancashire
would last. The increase in the supply of cotton from India had not yet
begun, nor did Bright expect it to begin soon or suddenly. He knew that
the quality of Indian cotton would be poor because "it was even more
adulterated than it had been in previous years" (Sturgis 55). Thus, the
crisis in Lancashire, however temporary, represented to Bright vivid proof
of the "past and present misgovernment on India" (Sturgis 55), a subject
on which he had spoken most vehemently in the House of Commons
between 1853 and 186L

The audience for Bright's speech of June 30, 1863, was the House of
Commons. The occasion was a reply to a proposal by John Roebuck, the
Member for Sheffield and a notorious xenophobe, that England recognize
the Southern Confederacy. Such a motion, introduced six months after
the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect, represented the eagerness
of some elements in British society to "help the South before it was too
late" (Ausubel 137). Prior to the discussion of Roebuck's motion, a debate
had arisen on the advisability of constructing in British ports ships of war
for Confederate service, in direct contravention of the Foreign Enlistment
Act and the current British policy of neutrality. Bright spoke out
vehemently against such a plan, citing the construction o( tht Alabama as
an example of a cold, unfriendly neutraUty (Smith 2: 109-10).

Roebuck then presented his motion on the recognition of the
Confederacy. He had earlier shown himself to be a bitter enemy of the
American North, and in his attempt to pressure the House into adopting
his motion, he said that his great fear was that the South would estabhsh
its independence without B ritish cooperation . He stated he was determined
to do everything he could to prevent the reconstruction of the Union.
Because of Lord Palmerston's absence from the House, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, Mr. Gladstone, spoke in defense of the government's
poHcy. He stated that, while he certainly was very eager that the war in
America should soon end, he did not think that recognition of the South
would accomphsh this, but that such recognition by the British government
would indubitably produce much reaction in the North (Smith 2: 104).

Bright was infuriated by Roebuck's proposal. His attack on Roebuck's
motion is considered "one of the most devastating that he made in the
course of his career the more so because he despised Roebuck as a vain,
jealous, and spiteful man" (Ausubel 137). Although Roebuck's speech

13

received considerable rebuke from all parts of the House, it was generally
agreed that Bright's scathing satire caused Roebuck to withdraw his
motion (Robertson 403).

A Closer Look at Content

Bright makes his purpose immediately clear in his introduction to his
speech at Rochdale, February 3, 1863, "Slavery and Secession." He states
that he has no doubt that the assembled body will agree completely to the
resolution expressing gratitude to the New York merchants for their
generous contributions to the relief fund:

I feel as if we were in our places to-night, for we are met for the

purpose of considering, and, I doubt not, of agreeing to a

resolution expressive of our sense of the generosity of the

merchants of New York, and other citizens of the United

States, who have, in the midst of so many troubles and such

great sacrifices, contributed to the relief of that appalling

distress which has prevailed, and does still prevail, in this

county. (227)

Bright next considers at some length the common ties between

America and England. Sturgis has commented that Bright considered the

United States a "colony" of Great Britain in that it "carried on the

traditions of democratic government and the use of the English language"

(182). Vince agrees that it is apparent that Bright's "affection for America

was based on consciousness of the ties of a common blood and a common

language" (107). In this context. Bright points out in an extended

comparison between the two countries several examples of meaningful

similarities, most notably language, literature, and laws. With regard to

language. Bright states: "I can understand the pleasure with which an

Englishman lands in a country three thousand miles off, and finds that

every man he meets speaks his own language" (228). His discussion of

literature is interesting as he compares the two countries:

And if we followed a little flirther, and asked them what they
read, we should find that they read all the books that we read
that are worth reading, and a good many of their own, some of
which have not yet reached us; that there are probably more
readers in the United States of Milton, and Shakespeare, and
Diyden, and Pope, and Byron, and Wordsworth, and Tennyson,
than are to be found in this country. (229)

14

Bright says the following of the laws in America: "If we leave their
literature and turn to their laws, we shaU find that their laws have the same
basis as ours, and that many of the great and memorable judgments of our
greatest judges and lawyers are of high authority with them" (229). The
conclusion which Bright draws from this comparison is that the hostility
and jealousy on the part of the British is entirely unwarranted; in fact,
Europe as a whole is indebted to America as both an example and a refuge
for its vast numbers of emigrants (230-31).

The remainder of the speech focuses upon the Civil War as a struggle
over the issue of Negro slavery. Bright discusses most eloquently how the
narrow issue can be applied to slavery in Brazil and Cuba, and he extends
this discussion further to encompass the broad issue of the freedom of //
men of // races (234). He next mentions the cause of the war as resting
squarely with the South (236); he explains his fears of the possible
reopening of the slave trade from Africa (236-37); he discusses the
deliberate attempts of the South to withhold cotton from England in order
to force her to take sides, a contention he supports by mentioning that
Southern envoys are now trying to meet with Queen Victoria (238-39).
Bright moves toward a conclusion by showing that England is the only
country in Europe trying to violate Northern blockades. He cites
examples of mass meetings of workingmen being held in England to show
a strong opposition to the Confederacy (239-41). His conclusion is strong
and emotional as he restates the need to oppose the South and to wish for
a Union victory:

From the very outburst of this great convulsion, I have had but
one hope and one faith, and it is this that the result of this
stupendous strife may be to make freedom the heritage forever
of a whole continent, and that the grandeur and the prosperity
of the American Union may never be impaired. (243)
The main ideas in Bright's speech in the House of Commons, June 30,
1863, on "Mr. Roebuck's Motion for Recognition of the Southern
Confederacy," are more numerous and involved than those of his earlier
speech at Rochdale. This speech has been called "one of the fmest displays
of almost impromptu oratory ever listened to in the House of Commons"
(Smith 2: 104).

Bright begins by expressing his shock at Roebuck's proposal to
recognize the Southern Confederacy. Then, by quoting Roebuck with no
sHght touch of sarcasm. Bright launches into a vigorous personal attack on
the man. By comparing Roebuck's present attempts to enlist the diplomatic

15

assistance of Napoleon III of France to Roebuck's former antipathy
toward the French Emperor, Bright skillflilly demonstrates his opponent's
hypocrisy and absurd, contradictory position. Speaking of Roebuck,
Bright says that

... he comes here to-night with a story of an interview with

a man whom he describes as the great ruler of France tells us

of a conversation with him asks us to accept the lead of the

Emperor of the French on, I will undertake to say, one of the

greatest questions that ever was submitted to the British

Parliament. But it is not long since the hon. and learned

Gentleman held very different language. I recollect in this

House, only about two years ago, that the hon. and learned

Gentleman said: "I hope I may be permitted to express in

respectflil terms my opinion, even though it should affect so

great a potentate as the Emperor of the French. I have no faith

in the Emperor of the French." On another occasion the hon.

and learned Gentleman said, not, I believe, in this House, "I

am still of opinion that we have nothing but animosity and bad

faith to look for from the French Emperor." (269)

Bright next begins his logical investigation of the substance of

Roebuck's proposal and systematically refutes the advisability of the

measure on three substantive grounds. He states that England has no

commercialmttTtst in recognizing the Confederacy because of the inherent

disadvantages to slave-grown cotton (274-75). Further, England can

have no political interest in doing so because a reunited America that

eventually adopted the aggressive tendencies of the Confederacy would

indeed present a serious international threat (275-77). Finally, England

has no wora/interest in giving its approbation to the South for, in so doing,

it would clearly be recognizing the morality of slavery (277-79). In this last

contention, the speech is considered unusual, for it is one of the very few

in which Bright referred to his private life. In recalling the fate which

awaited children born to the Negro slaves of America, he filled the House

with a moving eulogy of domesticity, confessing that his greatest moments

of joy had come, and would surely continue to come, from his associations

with his precious children (279).

Bright concludes his speech with a consideration of the legal status of
the Emancipation Proclamation, stating that England cannot both accept
its legality and at the same time recognize the antagonistic doctrines of the
South (279-80). His final words are an emotional plea to his audience and

16

to God that England will take no part in sanctifying the immoral position
of the Confederacy (282-83).

Structure

Bright's organization in both speeches is topical. There is a basic two-
part construction in each. For example, in the Rochdale speech, the first
part is devoted primarily to an examination of the common bonds between
America and England. Sub-topics here are the language, literature, and
legal systems, as well as some emigration data. The second part of the
speech concerns itself with an in-depth consideration of the American
Civil War, with special focus on the causes of the war. Other topics
considered here are the slave trade, the issue of cotton, and the problems
involved with the violation of Northern blockades.

A similar division into two main parts is seen in Bright's reply to
Roebuck. The first part of the speech consists mainly of a series of
devastating personal attacks upon the character and logical consistency of
Roebuck. A short transitional portion separates this part from the next;
it is here that Bright briefly analyzes his opponent's motives in proposing
the measure. The second main division encompasses the remainder of the
speech and consists ofbrilliant examples of reflitational logic. Here Bright
considers in depth the commercial, political, and moral interests in his
country, as well as the legal status of the Emancipation Proclamation. The
focus in this second part is upon issues rather than upon the character of
his opponent.

Both of these speeches are alike in that Bright uses very short
introductions. He states what his purpose is in rising to speak and seems
impatient to get right to the heart of the matter. He wastes httle time and
few words in his opening remarks.

His conclusions are also quite short, consisting of one or two paragraphs.
They are laden with emotion but seem to grow out of the logical supports
earlier established in the body. His conclusions summarize his main
points and contain urgent pleas to his audience to act wisely and carefully
with regard to the Confederacy.

Bright's use of transitional sentences is direct and forthright. In the
Rochdale speech he moves from the emotionaHsm of the slavery issue into
a logical consideration of the causes of the war: "Now, let us look at two
or three facts, which seem to me veiy remarkable, on the surface of the case,
but which there are men in this country, and I am told they may be found
even in this town, who altogether ignore and deny" (236).

17

Bright prepares his audience for fUture topics in a similar way in the
Roebuck speech. The transition from the personal attack on Roebuck to
the thoughtful consideration of the proposal before the House is
accomplished in a clear and simple manner: "I now come to the
proposition which the hon. and learned Gentleman has submitted to the
House, and which he has already submitted to a meeting of his constituents
at Sheffield" (271). Later in the speech, Bright makes the transition from
his emotional discussion of children born into slavery to an important
topic of legal dimensions: "I have not heard a word to-night of another
matter the Proclamation of the President of the United States" (279).
He then takes this issue into detailed consideration.

Bright's internal summaries are generally brief and tend to relate the
issue being discussed to the personal lives and interests of his audience. An
outstanding example of this technique occurs in the Rochdale speech
when he concludes his discussion of the evils of slavery by calling upon the
feelings of his listeners: "You come, as it were, from bonds yourselves, and
you can sympathize with them who are still in bondage" (240).

Skillful Use of Pathos

Bright employs pathetic appeals masterfully in these two speeches. It
has been said by one ofhis contemporaries that "the prevailing characteristic
of his oratory is pathos, which sometimes deepens into touching
melancholy" (Robertson 563). It was impossible for him to speak on the
subject of the Civil War without becoming emotionally involved himself,
because "the secession of the Southern States, and the appeal to arms made
by Lincoln, brought into conflict two of Bright's strongest antipathies
his hatred of war, and his hatred of slavery" (Vince 105).

The pathetic appeals which one fmds in these speeches can generally
be classified into one of four categories fear, shame, patriotism, or pity.
While Bright generally employs these appeals more freely during his
conclusions, which are basically pleas to behave in a certain way, they also
appear frequently in other parts of the speeches. Only a few examples need
be given to demonstrate the power of these appeals.

The section of the Rochdale speech wherein Bright extends the
slavery issue from the Negro to the case of all men is an excellent example
of an appeal to fear: " . . .the freedom of white men is not safe in their
hands" (234). He later quotes Mr. Stephens, the Vice-President of the
Southern Confederacy, to reinforce his ideas and appeal to fear again, this
time in relation to the welfare of England: "Mr. Stephens . . .says:

18

There will be revolution in Europe, there will be starvation there; our
cotton is the element that will do it' "(238).

Speaking of the emigrant from England to America in the same
speech, Bright appeals to a sense of shame or inferiority: " . . .he has there
advantages which the people of this country have not yet gained, because
we are butgradually making our way out of the darkness and the errors and
the tyrannies of past ages" (231).

Bright felt a sense of pride in being an Englishman. He thought it
especially appalling that Englishmen, with their proud tradition of culture
and freedom, could possibly consider supporting the cause of the South in
the Civil War. There appear in the speeches several appeals to patriotism
or to a sense of what it means to be an Englishman: "I should think, as an
Englishman, that to see that people [Americans] so numerous, so powerful,
so great in so many ways, should be to us a cause, not of envy or of fear,
but rather of glory and rejoicing" (228). Speaking of the American
government. Bright again appeals to the EngHsh spirit of freedom and
equality as he reRites Roebuck's arguments: "With such a Government, in
such a contest, with such a foe, the hon. and learned Gentleman the
Member for Sheffield, who professes to be more an Englishman than
most Englishmen, asks us to throw into the scale against it the weight of
the hostility of England" (281).

Bright's love for both England and the United States is apparent in the
emotional plea with which he concludes the Roebuck speech:

I have not said a word with regard to what may happen to
England if we go into war with the United States. It will be a
war upon the ocean, every ship that belongs to the two
nations will, as far as possible, be swept from the seas. But
when the troubles in America are over, be they ended by the
restoration of the Union, or by separation, that great and free
people, the most instructed in the world, . . .and the most
wealthy, . . .will have a wound in their hearts by your act which
a century may not heal ....

In His hands are alike the breath of man and the life of
States. I am willing to commit to Him the issue of this dreaded
contest; but I implore of Him, and I beseech this House, that
my country may hft nor hand nor voice in aid of the most
stupendous act of guilt that history has recorded in the annals
of mankind. (282-83)

19

Bright's sense of pity toward the children of slave parents in the
American South has already been mentioned in connection with his deep
affection for his own children. Some of his most moving pathetic appeals
stem from this personal compassion. In the Roebuck speech Bright
discusses the fate of children born into slavery in the South:

Every year in the Slave States of America there were one
hundred and fifty thousand children born into the world
born with the badge and the doom of slavery born to the
liability by law, and by custom, and by the devilish cupidity of
man to the lash and to the chain and to the branding-iron,
and to be taken from their families and carried they know not
where. (278)

Evaluation and Conclusion

John Bright emerges as a brilliant Victorian orator when his speeches
are evaluated according to the six criteria of Thonssen, Baird, and Braden
(540-42). With respect to readability, the two speeches here in question
are both enjoyable and meaningful. Very little context is needed to
understand Bright's arguments and to appreciate his rhetorical skills. In
comparing the oratory of Bright and Gladstone, one biographer stated
that "of the two, it is Bright whose speeches can be read with greatest
pleasure, though that, perhaps, is no test of oratory" (Trevelyan 383). It
is, however, an excellent test of both long-term endurance and validity as
well as popular acceptance and meaningfulness.

In addition to reading well, both of these Civil War speeches exhibit
fme qualities of artistic craftsmanship. Bright uses logical, pathetic, and
ethical supports deftly to weave a powerful fabric of persuasive oratory.
His listeners were impressed with his sense of purpose and freedom from
personal motives; they were awed by a series of irrefutable arguments
supported by examples, authority, and statistics; and they were caught up
gently but firmly into the painful issues of war and slavery by moving
emotional appeals. All this was couched in a simple yet literary kind of
language, rhythmical but unadorned, vivid but never theatrical.

Little needs to be said with regard to the honesty and integrity of the
orator. Even Bright's most vehement opponents "respected him for an
honesty of purpose which did not hesitate to put principle before class
interest" (Baylor 161). Expanding upon this respect, O'Brien phrases it
very well: "Bright was more than a great orator. He was a great moral force.
Indeed, the distinguishing characteristic of his speeches is perhaps rather
their moral strength than even their oratorical grandeur" (254).

20

In terms of immediate response, both of these speeches were profoundly
effective. Bright's audience at Rochdale was extremely enthusiastic about
signing the resolution of thanks to the merchants of New York. His
response to Roebuck's motion evoked widespread condemnation of the
original proposal and deepened his listeners' antipathy toward the
Confederacy (Smith 2: 109). Roebuck promptly withdrew his motion.

Bright's vision regarding future trends was uncanny. His speeches are
exemplary by this standard. Near the end of his long and significant career
as a statesman, " . . .men began to reflect that John Bright had been right
about Free Trade, right about Crimea, right about the American Civil
War, and right about the Franchise" (Trevelyan 387).

Finally, the long-range effectiveness of Bright's oratory must be
considered. Without doubt, his position on the conflict in America in
1863 had a most profound impact upon contemporary British public
opinion. It also served to draw England and America closer together.
Loren Reid states: "The list of British speakers who have spoken on
American affairs should include, along with Pitt, Burke, and Fox, at the
time of the Revolution, and ChurchiU, at the time of World War II, the
name of John Bright, for his courageous support of America at a critical
juncture midway in her history" (243).

Bright's liberal ideas, forged in logic and tempered by a lasting
humanitarian sentiment, were the agents which changed and shaped the
attitudes of both the unemployed cotton worker at Rochdale and the
sophisticated members of the House of Commons. One scholar writes:
"History, the tough test of time, has deemed Bright's position on the great
issues of the Victorian age just, wise, and true" (Fisher 157). In imparting
to his listeners this justice, wisdom, and truth, Bright's oratory is equalled
by few and surpassed by none. William Robertson, writing of John Bright
in 1883, six years before the orator's death, pays an insightful tribute to a
man who had lived his life according to his family's personal precept, "Be
just and fear not." He says of Bright: "He looks abroad with the eye of a
poet, with the minuteness of a naturalist, and the comprehensiveness of a
historian; and the intelligence he gleans he devotes for the benefit of
mankind" (243).

21

WORKS CITED

Ausubel, Herman. John Bright: Victorian Reformer. New York: John Wiley, 1966.

Baylen, Joseph O. "John Bright as Speaker and Student of Speaking." The Quarterly Journal of
Speech 41 (1955): 159-68.

Bright, John. "Mr. Roebuck's Motion for Recognition of the Southern Confederacy." Speeches on
Questions of Public Policy by John Bright, M.P. Ed. James E. Thorold Rogers. 2 vols. London:
Macmillan, 1869. 1: 269-83.

. "Slavery and Secession." Speeches on Questions of Public Policy by John Bright, M.P. Ed.

James E. Thorold Rogers. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1869. 1: 227-43.

Fisher, Walter R. "John Bright: .' Hawker of Holy Things."' The Quarterly Journal of Speech 51
(1965): 157-63.

Johnson, D.C. Pioneers of Reform. New York: Burt Franklin, 1968.

Leech, H.J., ed. The Public Letters of the Right Hon. John Bright. New York: PCraus Reprint, 1969.

Mills, J. Travis. /o^w Bright and the Quakers. 2 vols. London: Methuen, 1935.

O'Brien, R.B. John Bright: A Monograph. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1911.

Read, Donald. Cobden and Bright. New York: St. Martin's, 1968.

Reid, Loren. "John Bright: Spokesman for America." Western Speech 38 (1974): 233-43.

Robertson, William. Life and Times of the Right Hon. John Bright. London: Cassell, 1883.

Rogers, James E. Thorold, ed. Speeches on Questions of Public Policy by John Bright^ M.P. 2 vols.
London: Macmillan, 1869.

Smith, George Barnett. The Life and Speeches of the Right Hon. John Bright, M.P. 2 vols. London:
Hodder and Stoughton, 1881.

Strother, David B. "John Bright: The Devil's Advocate." The Southern Speech Journal 2A (1959):
201-09.

Sturgis, James h.John Bright and the Empire. London: Athlone, 1969.

Thonssen, Lester, A. Craig Baird, and Waldo W. Braden. Speech Criticism. 2nd ed. New York;
Ronald Press, 1967.

Trevelyan, George M. The Life of John Bright. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1913.

Vince, C.A.John Bright. Chicago: Herbert S. Stone, 1898.

22

The "Landscape of the Subconscious"*

as Revealed in

Becquer's El Ray o de Luna (The Moonbeam)

by Bella RomairT

Although Gustavo Adolfo Becquer ( 1 836- 1 870) is thought of primarily
as a Spanish romance-writer and poet, Becquer also can be viewed as a
forerunner of the Surrealist movement. With his short stoiy, The
Moonbeam, Becquer achieves what was to become a basic surrealist aim:
that of representing what Horst de la Croix and Richard Tansey term "the
ambiguity and contradiction of waking and dreaming experience taken
together" (828). Becquer, who was also a painter of nebulous, dream-like
landscapes (Schwartz 202), successfliUy paints a vivid word-picture of a
surrealist landscape, depicting an exploration of the realm of the unconscious
and a poignant search for the unattainable. The edges of reality begin to
blur from the very first, as the narrator confesses his ignorance of whether
the story is fact or fiction: "I do not know if this is history that appears to
be a story, or a tale that seems to be history . . ." (Becquer 251).

For Becquer, outer reality mirrors the inner reality of a dream.
Tangled and overgrown brush in the physical landscape, for example,
reflects a tortuous mental state. He also chooses images rich in archetypal
symbolism, such as the moon and water. Even the time of night at which
his protagonist Manrique sees "the woman of his dreams" is exactly
midnight, the hour of bewitchment. Most significant, however, is his
choice of the bridge which Manrique crosses in pursuit of his dream-
woman. The bridge indicates his passage into the realm of the oneiric, the
subconscious, or the unconscious, whatever term one might choose; as
Marie-Louise von Franz has said, "There are a thousand names" (25).

Manrique's pursuit of the "woman of his dreams" can be viewed more
specifically as a search for the anima, which Carl Gustav Jung described
as "a personification of the unconscious" {Psyche and Symbol 1)1)6). Time
and again, Becquer offers up images which emphasize not outer reality but
rather the surrealist inner realm of the unconscious. For example, when
Manrique spends hours in front of the fireplace, "immobile and with his

*Term coined in Gardner's Art Through the Ages (795).
**Graduate Student, Psychology, West Georgia College

23

eyes fixed on the firelight" (Becquer 251), he is in a trancehke state that
approximates unconsciousness. The image of the moon reinforces this
focus on the unconscious. Marie-Louise von Franz indicates that the
moon "symbolizes a man's feminine nature" (168), his anima. And as
Carlos Rojas has pointed out, among its several meanings, "la luna" - the
moon - in Spanish also means the glass of a mirror (156). Thus, w^hen
Manrique remains "for an entire night staring at the moon ... or at the
stars" (Becquer 251), the dreamer is "looking at the deeper constellations
. . .of his own personal life" (Franz 168).

The overgrown landscape, with "the vegetation, abandoned to itself'
(Becquer 252), and numerous trees "whose top growths touched and
became intertwined amongst themselves" (252) reflect Manrique's
condition of psychological introspection. Manrique glimpses his "unknown
woman" only "after crossing the bridge . . . [and when] it struck midnight
on the dot . . . [and] at the same instant in which [he] penetrated into the
gardens" (Becquer 252) - only when Manrique has crossed the bridge to
the unconscious realm and penetrated to the center of his innermost being.

As Jung has demonstrated, the unconscious speaks in a language
different from our conscious articulation - a language that is difficult to
interpret {Man and His Symbols 43). Even as Manrique pursues his
"mysterious woman," he is convinced that he has heard her murmur some
words, "but [in] a foreign tongue . . ." (Becquer 252).

When Manrique loses sight of the elusive woman, he climbs to a high
point on some rocks along the border of the river, commenting, "perhaps
from this height I will be able to orient myself in order to continue my
wanderings across this confused labyrinth" (Becquer 252). But on a boat
heading across the water towards the opposite bank, Manrique is certain
he has spied "the woman that he had seen, the woman of his dreams, the
realization of his. . . hopes" (Becquer 253). Manrique now wanders
through streets that are "narrow, dark, and winding" (253). The sequence
just described affirms Jung's assertion that "the dreamer, thirsting for the
shining heights, [has] first to descend into the dark depth, and this proves
to be the indispensable condition for climbing any higher" {Man and His
Symbols 19).

Manrique's projection and personification of his dream-woman, with
her blue eyes, long flowing tresses, and diaphanous attire, become so
convincing that we begin to see with Manrique what John RusseU calls
"that which is not there, and yet is most vividly present . . ." (192). The
dream-woman whom Manrique determines to be "beautiful as the most

24

beautiful of my dreams . . . that is a fellow spirit to my spirit, that is the
complement to my being" (Becquer254) is obviously, in Jung's words, "the
replica of [his] own unknown face" {Psyche and Symbol^).

What Kessel Schwartz has said of Becquer himself may also be used
to describe Manrique: "Unable to relate clearly to the real world, in
constant pursuit of . . . [a] goal indefinable and unattainable . . . [he]
searched for his essential vision" (213). Manrique is impelled to journey
ceaselessly in his quest for the anima; according to Erich Neumann, the
anima "drives, lures, and encourages the male to all the adventures of the
soul and spirit . . . the transformative character [of the anima] sets the
personality in motion, produces change and ultimately transformation"
(33-34). Pursuing the anima, Manrique experiences what Jung calls a
"whole-hearted yearning that strives towards the treasure hard to attain
..." {Symbols of Transformation 331).

When Manrique pursues his dream-woman, his anima, and crosses
the bridge to the unconscious in his quest, he is seeking to become
connected to "the deepest reaches of his being" (Franz 148). As Robin
Robertson so eloquently describes it,

the integration of the personal contents of the Anima. . .

[would] enable a man to accept his feelings as a part of him.

Such a man feels a sense of rootedness, of meaning; he is able

to relate equally to the world outside him and the world inside

through his deepest feelings. (134)

But the treasure is not to be his; for Manrique, the alluring seductress, the

anima, remains elusive, and he falls prey to "destructive illusion" (Jung,

Man and His Symbols 178). He succumbs to the danger expressed by

Marie-Louise von Franz:

The dream world is beneficent and heahng only if we have a
dialogue with it, but at the same time remain in actual life. We

must not forget living As soon as one begins to ignore outer

life. . . then the dream world becomes dangerous It can suck
us away from reality and spin us into a neurotic or even
psychotic unreality (16).
Manrique has thus existed in a state of unreality. The shock and utmost
upheaval that he experiences occur when the light of reality pierces his
dream-world, when he realizes that "the woman of his dreams" is no more
or less than "a ray of moonlight" - a moonbeam (Becquer 254), and this
bit of self- illumination is too much for him to confront.

25

To the end, the distinction between the unreal and that which we
think of as real remains unclear as Manrique looks upon the world and
utters:

. . . women . . . glory . . . happiness . . . All lies, vain phantasms
that we create in our imagination and clothe according to our
desire, and we love them and we run after them. For what? For
what? Only to encounter a moonbeam. (Becquer 254)
With this story, Becquer presents what would become the dilemma
posed by the surrealists: the difficulty of distinguishing between the real
and the unreal, between sanity and madness. Is Manrique mad? Or has
he suddenly regained his judgment? It may be that Manrique is afflicted
with a painful sanity as he recognizes that the world around him reflects
Edgar Allan Poe's assertion that "all that we see or seem/Is but a dream
within a dream."

WORKS CITED

Becquer, Gustavo Adolfo. "El Rayo de huna.." /Into/ogia genera/ de /a literatura espanol. Ed.
Angel del Rio and Amelia A. de del Rio. New York: Holt Rinehart Winston, 1967.

De La Croix, Horst, and Richard G. Tansey, eds. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. 7th ed. New
York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1980.

Franz, Marie-Louise von. The Way of the Dream. Ed. Eraser Boa. Toronto: Windrose Films,
1988.

Jung, Carl Gustav. Man and His Symbols. Trans. R.F.C. Hull. Bollingen Series 20. Princeton:
Princeton UP, 1974.

Psyche and Symbol. Ed. Violet S. de Laszlo. New York: Doubleday, 1958.

Symbols of Transformation. Trans. R.F.C. HuU. Bollingen Series 20. Princeton: Princeton

UP, 1976.

Neumann, Erich. The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype. Trans. Ralph Manheim.
Bollingen Series 48. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1974.

Robertson, Robin. C.G.Jung and the Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious. American Univ.
Studies Ser. 8. New York: Peter Lang, 1987.

Rojas, Carlos. El mundo mitico y mdgico de Picasso. Barcelona: Planeta, 1984.

R\isst]\.,]o\\n. The Meanings of Modem Art. New York: Harper & Row, 1981.

Schwartz, Kessel. "Becquer and Hypnogogic Imagery: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation."
Symposium il {19^2,): 202-15.

26

ABSTRACTS OF MASTER'S THESES AND SPECIALIST
IN EDUCATION PROJECTS

The Effects of Family Structure on
Academic Achievement

Carol Rogers Acree

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

March 1991

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between
family structure and academic achievement in 88 sixth-grade students at
Central Middle School in Carroll County, Georgia. Scores obtained from
the Iowa Test of Basic SkiUs were used to measure achievement. Two
groups were estabUshed, Group A (intact families) and Group B (not
intact families), and a t-test was used to test the hypothesis.

A significant relationship was found to exist between altered family
structure and lower academic achievement scores.

The Effects of the Use of the Calculator

on Mathematical Computation Abilities

of Ninth-Grade Pre-Algebra

and Algebra Students

Donna B. Bojo

EdS, Secondary Education,

March 1991

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the use of
calculators on ninth grade students' retention of basic computational skills
as it applied to Pre-Algebra and Algebra classes. The study was conducted
during the second semester of the 1990-91 school year. The control group
consisted of two Pre-Algebra classes and the experimental group consisted
of one Pre-Algebra class and one Algebra I class.

Three nuU hypotheses were written that evaluated students in the
areas of computation, attitudes, and self-concepts. Pretests and posttests
were given that assessed these three areas.

27

Calculators were not allowed on the pretest or the posttest. During
the six-week treatment period, both groups received traditional instruction.
Use of the calculator was allowed during the project for the experimental
group only.

Analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. With a significance
level of .05, data analysis showed no significant differences between the
experimental and control groups in computation, attitude, and self-
concept. The nuU hypotheses were not rejected.

The conclusions of this study were the same as conclusions drawn by
the research studies in Chapter II. Students who use calculators in
mathematics classes do as well or better than students who do not use
calculators.

A Correlation Study of Attitudes Toward Geometry

and Proof-Writing Ability for Geometry

and Advanced Algebra Students

Carol B. Brinson

EdS, Secondary Education,

March 1991

The purpose of this study was to assess high school geometry and
advanced algebra students' attitudes toward geometry and their ability to
write deductive proofs, and to determine the relationship between these
two factors.

The population included in the study consisted of 81 geometry
students (38 male and 43 female) and 35 advanced algebra students (15
male and 20 female).

During the spring semester of the 1990-91 school year each student
was given an Aiken attitude survey, adapted to geometry, using a five-
point Likert scale. Also administered was a 10-item proof-writing test.
This test, developed by the researcher, consisted of proofs similar to those
found in standard geometry textbooks.

A comparison was done between attitudes toward geometry and
proof- writing ability using the Mann- Whitney U-test. All nuU hypotheses
were tested at the .05 level of significance.

28

No significant difference was found in the attitudes toward geometry
or the proof-writing ability between male and female students in any of the
groups.

No significant difference was found in the attitudes toward geometry
for the geometry and advanced algebra students. However, there was a
significant difference in their proof-writing ability.

The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was computed
to determine if a significant relationship existed between attitudes toward
geometry and proof-writing ability. All null hypotheses were tested using
the .05 level of significance.

A significant correlation between attitudes toward geometry and
proof-writing ability was found to exist for all geometry students, as well
as for the subgroups of male and female geometry students.

Even though a correlation did exist far the advanced algebra students
it was not significant at the .05 level.

The Relationship Between Parent
Involvement and Reading
Attitude and Achievement

Angelyn R. Brock

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

August 1991

This research study was conducted to determine if a relationship
existed between parent involvement and reading attitude and achievement.
The sample consisted of Chapter I students in the sixth, seventh and
eighth grades at Stewart Middle School during the 1990-1991 school
year. Parents of Chapter I students at Stewart Middle School were
encouraged to get more involved at the school by participating in parent
groups, attending school functions, communicating more with the teacher,
and reading at home with their child every day. Students and parents were
given a reading attitude survey form to be filled out in the Fall of 1990 and
then again in the Spring of 1991 to see if there were more positive attitudes
toward reading. The Iowa Test of Basic SkiUs was given to the students
in the spring of 1991. The reading achievement score was compared to the
ITBS from the spring of 1990 to see if there were any significant reading
achievement gains.

There were no significant positive attitude changes from parents or
students on the reading survey nor were there any significant reading

29

achievement gains according to the t-test at the .05 level of significance.
Therefore, more parent involvement did not affect the reading attitudes
of parents or students, nor did it raise reading achievement scores in the
Chapter I class at Stewart Middle School.

Improving Reading Comprehension of

Inner City Fifth Graders

Through Parent Workshops

Barbara Louise Copney

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

December 1991

The purpose of this study was to determine if inner city fifth-grade
students who have home tutoring exhibit greater reading comprehension
than fifth-grade students who do not. Twenty subjects participated in the
study. The pretest-posttest control design was implemented. Using the
reading comprehension subtest of the Metropolitan Achievement Test to
measure reading achievement, and the t test technique to determine
whether or not the two groups (experimental and control) were statistically
different due to treatment, the results of this study found no significant
difference between the reading achievement scores of the two groups.

An Historical Record of the Development
of the Human Growth Hormone

Susan M. Dupuy

EdS, Physical Education and Recreation,

December 1991

This research was conducted to provide an historical record of the
development of the human growth hormone (hGH). The study was
conducted to illustrate the use and abuse of hGH effects on various
populations in society. Four people directly involved with hGH were
interviewed including a child treated with hGH, the parent of the child
undergoing hGH treatment, a pediatric endocrinologist, and the Director
of the Growth Foundation in Acworth, Georgia. The review of literature
served as a secondary source, and the interview process was a primary

30

source. A timeline was provided to show stages of the development of
hGH.

Although hGH maybe very reliable and safe when used as replacement
for a deficiency, the results of this study indicated that hGH is a powerful
hormone with great potential for abuse, particularly as a performance-
enhancing aid. Although other positive uses may emerge for hGH in
addition to adding inches in height and rejuvenating tissue, it is premature
to claim that hGH can retard the aging process. Longitudinal studies on
the effects of hGH will be needed to provide more reliable information
about the long term effects of the hormone.

Hemisphericity and Its Impact on Reading

Achievement

in Third, Fifth, and Eighth Grade Students

at McGarity Elementary School and

RB. Ritch Middle School

Melissa Ezzell

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

June 1991

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between
reading achievement and hemispheric preference among third, fifth, and
eighth-grade students. The Style of Learning and Thinking{SO\^NT)yv2iS
used to assess hemispheric preference. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS)
was used to assess reading achievement. It was hypothesized that a larger
number of students showing a preference for right-hemisphere processing
would score below the 40th percentile on the vocabulary and comprehension
subtests of the ITBS than those showing a preference for right-brain or
integrated processing. The results of the study did not support this
hypothesis. It was further hypothesized that a greater number of boys 11
years of age and under would show a right-brain dominance than would
boys over the age of 11. The results of the study seemed to support this
hypothesis. However, the results were questionable because the eighth-
grade sample was not random. The study also investigated the correlation
between hemispheric preference and reading scores.

The results showed a positive correlation between right-hemisphere
dominance and both vocabulary and comprehension scores among third

31

graders. There also appeared to be a positive correlation between
integrated processing and comprehension among eighth graders. No
significant correlations were found between hemispheric dominance and
either vocabulary or comprehension scores among fifth graders.

The Effect of Whole Language Instruction

on Reading Achievement of

Second Grade Students

Noble Colvin Fillet

EdS, Middle Grades and Reading Education,

August 1991

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a significant
difference in reading achievement of students taught reading using a
whole language philosophy compared to students taught using a basal
approach.

Twenty-one second-grade students in an intact classroom served as
the experimental group and twenty-one second-grade students in the
same school were the control group. The experimental group was taught
reading by using the whole language philosophy. The control group was
taught reading by using the traditional basal approach. Treatment was
during the 1990-1991 school year. The same pretest and posttest were
administered to both groups.

Raw data were collected and calculated from the area of reading of the
Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The data were analyzed using an independent
t-test. The data revealed that there was no significant difference between
the experimental group and the control group.

The Effect of Ability Grouping on Mathematics
Achievement of Sixth-Grade Students

Gayle Galloway

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

August 1991

This research study was conducted to determine the effect of ability
grouping on mathematics achievement of sixth-grade students. A causal-
comparative study was used because aU data were collected after the fact.

Two sixth-grade classes (1989-1990 and 1990-1991) at West Fannin
Middle School in Fannin County, Georgia, were involved in the study.

32

The 1989-1990 group (Group 1) was ability grouped for the entire school
year, and the 1990-1991 group (Group 2) was heterogeneously grouped
for the entire year, with the exception of the Chapter 1 mathematics
students.

The two groups' fifth-grade mathematics sections of the Iowa Test of
Basic Skills were used as pretest scores, and their sixth-grade mathematics
sections of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were used as posttest scores.

A one-tailed t-test for independent means was used to analyze the
data. The mean gain percentile score of the ability grouped class was
significantly higher than the mean gain score of the heterogeneously
grouped class.

Considering that ability grouping is so controversial and that research
into the area is so contradictory, further research is recommended.

A Comparative Analysis

of the High School Grade Point Averages,

SAT Scores, and College Grade Point Averages

of College Students Identified as Having a Learning

Disability, College Students in the Developmental

1 Studies Program, and Regular College Students

Joanne H. Green
' EdS, Special Education,

August 1991
The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the high school
grade point averages. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, and college
grade point averages of identified students with learning disabilities,
students in the Developmental Studies Program, and regular students
who attended West Georgia College from fall quarter of 1980 through fall
quarter of 1988. For each of the variables, high school grade point
averages. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, and college grade point
averages, a one way analysis of variance was computed to test for significant
differences among the three groups. No significant quantitative differences
existed among the three groups on the variables high school grade point
averages, verbal scores on the Scholastic Aptitude (SAT) scores, freshman
grade point averages, and sophomore grade point averages. On the SAT
math scores statistically significant [F(2.72-2.75,p< .05] , differences existed
among the three groups: students identified as having a learning disability,

33

students in the Developmental Studies Program and regular college
students. The mean scores of the groups were 378.8 (learning disabilities),
386.0 (developmental studies), and 439.2 (regular) students. Scheffe
comparisons of the three groups were computed to determine the sources
of the differences in the mean scores among the groups. The mean SAT
math score of students with learning disabilities differed significantly at
the .05 level from the mean of the regular college students. There
appeared to be no significant differences between the scores of students
identified as having a learning disability and students in the Developmental
Studies Program, or between the scores of the regular college students and
Developmental Studies students on the SAT math scores.

The Effects of an Adventure
Program on Depression

Angela C. Griffin
MA, Psychology
December 1991

A pilot study was done assessing the effects of a 2 day adventure
program on depression. Theories of depression used were those of Beck,
Rush, Shaw, and Emery (1979) stating that depressed cognitions manifest
themselves through cognitive triads, schemas, and cognitive errors, and
Seligman and Beagley's (1975) theory of learned helplessness. The ropes
course in a wilderness area was the intervention chosen to address the
problem of depression. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was the
instrument used to assess subjects' level of depression before and after the
2 day experience and at a 12 week foUow-up. Subject sampling was small,
including 4 female and 2 male participants. Subjects participated in 14
ropes course activities, goal setting, and processing exercises. Results
indicate that the pre/posttest was significant (t=-5.15;p<.004)
demonstrating a substantial decrease in subjects' depression immediately
following the experience. FoUow-up posttest results were significant (t=-
2.52;p<.042) demonstrating maintenance of the initial posttest results.

34

The Effect of Whole Language Instruction

on the Reading Attitudes of

Third Grade Students

Gail Brooks Harden

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education

June 1991

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of whole
language instruction on the reading attitude of third grade students.

The students participating in the study were third-graders from Sand
Hill Elementary School, Carroll County, Georgia.

The study was conducted for five weeks. The control group was using
Scott Foresman Basal Reading Systems. The experimental group was
taught reading using whole language.

The Estes Reading Attitude Scale wa.s administered at the beginning of
the study and again at the end of the five-week period. A non-
independent t-test was used to determine differences between the
experimental and control groups.

The data revealed that there was a significant difference in reading
attitude between the two groups. The .02 level of significance was
reached, leading to the conclusion that whole language instruction does
have a positive effect on reading attitude.

The Effect of Spatial Visualization Training

on Spatial Ability and Achievement of

High School Geometry Students

Den n is Fred Hembree

EdS, Secondary Education,

June 1991

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a two week
unit of spatial visualization training on the spatial visualization and
achievement of high school geometry students. Sex differences in spatial
ability and achievement were compared for those receiving training.

Spatial visualization ability was measured using the Space Relations
subtest of the Differential Aptitude Tests. Achievement was measured
using a test on area, surface area, and volume constructed by the researcher.

35

The spatial visualization training consisted of the activities from the
Middle Grades Mathematics Project: Spatial Visualization.

No significant differences were found between the control group and
the experimental group in spatial visualization ability or in achievement.
There were no significant differences between male students and female
students within the experimental group, either in spatial visualization
ability or achievement.

This study suggests that physical models used in the presentation of
geometric concepts are just as effective in increasing spatial visualization
ability of high school geometry students as is a two week unit designed
specifically for that purpose. This study also suggests that male students
and female students are equally capable in both spatial visualization ability
and in achievement.

A Study of the Effects of Semantic Mapping on

Reading Comprehension of Eighth- Grade

Social Studies Students

Frances Yeargan Hitchens

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

December 1991

Semantic mapping is a way to present material in a visual manner that
the students have already read from the textbook. Content area teachers
need to be just as concerned about the reading comprehension of their
students as they are about the actual content they are teaching. If students
do not understand their textbooks, there is no way they will be able to
progress in school. As students move through the grades, the textbook
becomes even more important. This study involved two eighth-grade
social studies classes with 25 students in each class for a six week time
period. The experimental group was exposed to semantic mapping; the
control group was not exposed to semantic mapping. The analysis of
covariance was calculated on the test scores using the pretest as the
covariate and the posttest as the variable. The .05 level of significance was
used to reject the null hypothesis. On the posttest scores there was no
significant difference in the adjusted mean scores. Semantic mapping was
just as effective as the traditional question-answer method used in the
control class.

36

Computer- Assisted Instruction
in High School Chemistry:
A Comparison of Methods

Larry William Jarrett
EdS, Secondary Education,
August 1991
This study compares the achievement of students taught by computer-
assisted instruction to the achievement of students taught by conventional
classroom methods. Two experiments were done. In the first experiment,
achievement from a four day tutorial type program related to the behavior
of gases was compared to achievement from classroom methods. T-
analysis of post-treatment test results showed no significant difference in
achievement between the two methods. In the second experiment,
achievement from a one day laboratory simulation of an acid-base titration
was compared to achievement from a hands-on titration. In this experiment
Chi-square analysis showed significantly greater achievement from the
hands-on method. Attitudinal assessments related to computer-assisted
instruction were generally favorable.

Handmade Paper Books Influenced by
19th - and 20th - Century Masters

Marsha L. Krout

MED, Art Education,

August 1991

For many centuries artists and writers have been looking at the works
of master artists for both inspiration and technique. I have studied and
reviewed the lives and works of eight nineteenth-and twentieth-century
artists and have created a series of one-of-a-kind artist books which were
influenced by these artists' styles, philosophies and techniques.

I have chosen to make handmade books as a way to present my works
because the paper pieces can be bound together in an intimate form. My
objective is that the viewer experience each book by feeling the texture of
the paper, seeing the subtle color variations and discovering how the
different binding styles fit the piece. Handmade paper is an appropriate
medium for these works because of its adaptability to different styles and
techniques.

This project, which attempts to pay homage to the works of past artists
by reflecting ideas which transcend the barriers of time and media, is

37

actually an effort to reach contemporary artists. As an art teacher, I feel
a great need to show that art created today can be linked to that of the past,
and that we can learn much from studying the works of the past masters.

The Correlation Between Reading Attitude and

Reading Achievement of Fifth-Grade Students

at Mountain View Elementary School

Nancy Williams Lance

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

June 1991

This study was designed to determine whether or not a significant
correlation exists between reading attitude and reading achievement in the
fifth-grade population at Mountain View School in Rossville, Georgia.
The sample of 33 subjects was given the Elementary Reading Attitude
Scale (McKenna 8cKear, 1989); and these scores, along with total reading
scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, were analyzed. The Pearson r
correlation technique was used to compute the correlation coefficient.
The results of this correlation, tested at the .05 level of significance,
indicated that there is no significant correlation between reading attitude
and reading achievement. It was concluded that a student's reading ability
does not affect his or her feelings about reading.

The Effect of the Integration of Reading

and Writing Instruction on

Reading Comprehension

Skills of Primary

Level Children

Michele Saunders McLemore

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

December 1991

Educators for many decades have strived to answer the question "Why
can't Johnny read?" This question is generally followed by another, "Why
can't Johnny write?" The response to these questions should be Johnny
will learn to read when he writes and will write when he learns to read.

38

Researchers past and present seek to determine the most productive
manner to teach reading and writing. For many years these two areas of
the curriculum were taught as separate entities, independent of each other.

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of an integrated
approach of reading and writing on comprehension skills. The instrument
used in this study was the Brigance Diagnostic Comprehensive Inventory
of Basic Skills. This instrument may be used by a regular classroom
teacher and is designed to determine a student's level of achievement in
various areas. The instrument is easily understandable, easily adaptable
and simplistic.

Forty-two first grade students from two classrooms comprising the
experimental and control groups were given the Oral Reading, Reading
Comprehension and Writing Sections of the Brigance both as pretest and
posttest. The subjects attended an urban elementary school in the city of
Atlanta.

The results of this study showed that indeed there was a significant
difference in the performance of the experimental group and control
group. However, it is felt by the researcher that a more lengthy study
would have provided more accurate and precise results.

The Relationship

of Parental Attitudes and Reading Achievement

of Fourth- Grade Chapter 1 Students

O'Livia B. Meeks

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

August 1991

This study investigated the relationship of parental attitudes toward
reading and the reading achievement of fourth-grade students in the
Chapter 1 reading program. A survey questionnaire was used to determine
parental attitudes toward reading. The reading-comprehension section of
the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills was used to measure students' reading
achievement. The Pearson Product-Moment Correlation technique was
used to determine the relationship between parental attitudes toward
reading and the reading achievement of the Chapter 1 students. The
results of this study found no correlation between the two variables.

39

An Identification of Factors Which May Deter

College Preparatory Students From Electing

to Take Additional Science Courses

D. Bruce Murdoch

EdS, Secondary Education,

December 1991

This study focused on several factors which may deter high school

students in a college-preparatory program from electing additional course

work in science beyond what is minimally required for graduation from

high school or for admission to college. The factors addressed in the study

are delineated in the following four research questions:

(1) Is there a difference by gender between students who choose to
continue in science and those who choose not to continue in science?

(2) Is there a difference by stated interest in science between students
who choose to continue in science and those who choose not to continue
in science?

(3) Is there a difference in family background between students who
choose to continue in science and those who choose not to continue in
science?

(4) Is there a difference in student perceptions of prospective teachers
between students who choose to continue in science and those who choose
not to continue in science?

The subjects were 640 students randomly assigned by computer to
academic biology and chemistry classes at two large, comprehensive high
schools in the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. Subjects were
administered a survey by their current instructors designed to generate
data as to factors which may affect their science course enrollment
decisions. Returned surveys were sorted based on whether subjects did or
did not intend to take additional science. Data were then analyzed in light
of the research questions and T-Tests were performed where appropriate
to determine if survey responses differed significantly between those who
intended to take more science and those who did not.

Of the factors delineated in the research questions, gender appeared
to be most important. Nearly 81% of the males in the research sample
intended to take additional elective science versus just over 75% of the
females. T-Test results at the .05 level of probabihty for the science
interest, family educational background and teacher subscales of the

40

survey indicated no significant differences in responses between students
' who intended to take more science and those who did not.

The Relationship Between Student Absences

and Reading Achievement

in the Seventh Grade

Judith L. Nolin

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

August 1991

This research study was conducted to determine if a relationship
existed between student absences and reading achievement. The sample
consisted of students who were in the seventh grade during the 1989-1990
school year. The raw data were collected during the 1990-1991 school
year. The raw data were the number of student absences during the school
year and the students' percentile rank on the reading subtest of the Iowa
Test of Basic Skills.

The Pearson product moment correlation showed no significant
correlation. Therefore, the hypothesis stating that no relationship exists
between the number of student absences and reading achievement scores
on the loiua Test of Basic Skills was not rejected.

} The Effect of Study Guides on

Geometry Achievement at
the High School Level

I LynndaN. Owens

EdS, Secondary Education,

August 1991

This research was conducted to determine what effect the use of an

interactive study guide had on the achievement of high school geometry

students. The effect on achievement of high-abiUty, low-ability and

average- ability students was also compared.

Four classes of geometry at Ringgold High School in Ringgold,
Georgia, participated in the study. Two classes were chosen as the
experimental group and two as the control group. Both groups were given
a pretest prior to a three-week unit on right triangle relationships. Both
groups received traditional instruction with the exception of a study guide

41

which required the use of relationships demonstrated in the unit. A
posttest was given at the end of the unit.

The study guide was developed by the author in conjunction with
seven other mathematics teachers. Achievement was measured using tests
in the supplementary materials of Geometry^ published by Houghton-
Mifflin. Students were classified as high-ability, low-ability, and average-
ability using the Test of Achievement and Proficiency.

There was a significant difference in the achievement of the
experimental group which received the study guide and the control group
which did not. No significant difference was found between the high-
ability experimental and control groups or between the low-ability
experimental and control groups. There was significant difference in the
achievement between the average-ability experimental and control groups.
This study suggests that study guides can be an effective method of
improving achievement in geometry, especially for average-ability students.

The Correlation Between the Number of Hours of

Video Game Play and the Level of Computer

Anxiety in Eighth- Grade Students

Elaine Anita Patterson

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

August 1991

The main purpose of this study was to determine if a higher rate of
video game play leads to a lower level of computer anxiety in eighth-grade
students. Gender was also examined as it related to total playing time and
to the level of computer anxiety.

A video game playing log was kept for a period of four weeks and a
computer anxiety scale was given to obtain the level of computer anxiety.

It was determined that there was no significant correlation at the .05
level between the level of computer anxiety and the total video game
playing time, although the expected negative relationship did occur.

A / test was employed to ascertain that there was no difference in the
anxiety level according to gender. By using a / test it was also determined
that males spend more time playing video games than do girls.

42

The Relationship Between Sixth- Grade Students*

Attitudes Toward Reading and Their

Overall Academic Average

Brenda C. Payne

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

March 1991

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significantly
positive correlation between sixth-grade students' attitudes toward reading
and their overall academic average. The study was done during the 1990-
1991 school year with 76 students at West Fannin Middle School located
in extreme North Georgia. The students' attitudes toward reading were
measured by the Estes' Reading Interest Inventory. A numerical score was
assigned to each student based on responses to the attitudinal survey.
Then that score was correlated to each student's midterm academic
average, which was the mean of the student's reading, mathematic,
English, science and social studies grades.

The results of the Pearson product-moment correlation showed a
significant positive correlation between sixth-grade students' attitudes
toward reading and their overall academic average. The correlation of the
entire group was .52, while the correlation of girls' scores was .53, and boys'
scores showed a correlation of .48. At the .05 probability level, the results
indicated that there is a relationship between students' attitudes toward
reading and their overall academic average.

A Study of the Effect of

Organizational Climate on

Teacher Morale

Gwendolyn Parrott Phipps

EdS, Middle Grades and Reading Education,

August 1991

The subjects involved in this study were teachers from Northwest

Georgia. Each participant was given an Organizational Climate and

Morale Inventory. From the 250 participants, 183 completed the

questionnaire.

Six null hypotheses were stated:
1. There will be no significant correlation between organizational climate
scores and teacher morale scores.

43

2. There will be no significant difference in the morale scores among the;
five age classifications of teachers listed on the questionnaire.

3. There will be no significant difference in the morale scores among the
four classifications of teaching experience.

4. There will be no significant difference in the morale scores of elementary,
middle, and secondary teachers.

5. There will be no significant difference in the morale scores and the three
classifications of school size.

6. There will be no significant difference in the morale scores among
teachers who hold different types of teacher certificates.

Results of the study indicated that there was a significant correlation
between organizational climate and teacher morale. There were, also,
significant differences in morale among teachers who were between the
ages of 50-59, teachers who had taught 11 years or more, teachers who
taught in elementary schools, and teachers who taught in schools with 500
or fewer students. There was no significant difference in morale among
teachers with different types of certification.

Further research is needed to determine if the time of the school year
is a deciding factor. A comparison study between middle grade schools
may help bring into focus ways to improve middle grade teachers' morale.
Further study as to the relationship of elementary teachers and of teachers
in schools of 500 or fewer students should be made.

Edwin Arlington Robinson*s Musical Images

Kaye M. Rawls

MA, English,

August 1991

Edwin Arlington Robinson had the distinction of winning the

Pulitzer Prize three times for his poetry, which is best known for the short

character sketches such as "Richard Cory" and "Minver Cheevy." The

purpose of this paper, however, is to explore the use of musical imagery in

many of the early lyrical verses such as "Credo," "L'Envoi," "Ballade of

Broken Flutes," "The Dead Village" and "Octaves" as well as three longer

poems. The musical imagery serves as a metaphor to connect Robinson's

cosmology to each work. His theology is illustrated by musical images as

a metaphor for the universe, which is a creative offspring of the hand of

God, the master artist.

44

Although Robinson was tied to no dogmatic principles, his faith in the
goodness of the universe was apparent. This was not to say he did not find
the world that man had created a hellish existence. The early poems work
through Robinson's belief in a universe of unexplained dimension and
magic. The silence of death is prematurely felt, however, by those
spiritually inadequate to "hear" the music of the spheres. This musical
metaphor serves Robinson in his portrayal of a free-will universe in which
humans are responsible for the spiritual "songs" they sing.

The first part of this study deals with the shorter poems, and attempts
to divide the use of imagery into categories of music: magic, heavenly,
hellish and silent. The second part applies these various categories to three
longer worlcs: "Captain Craig," The Man Who Died Twice, ^nd Amaranth.
These three works explore the theme of redeemed failure of the artist, who
serves as a human model for that which is spiritually attainable by mortal
man. Robinson's anti-materialism is a major sub-stratum of the theme of
redeemed failure. The composer Fernando Nash, as well as Captain Craig
and Fargo, both "artists," move through the world destitute but redeem
their seemingly hapless existences through artistry. This work will show
how Robinson's use of musical imagery illustrates this larger theme.

The Effect of Special Instructional Assistance

on Reading Achievement

of First-Graders

Sue H. Rickenbaker

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

June 1991

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the Special
Instructional Assistance (SIA) program on the reading achievement of at-
risk first-graders. The SIA program included an in-class or augmented
model, language development strategies, an activity-based curriculum,
and a parental component.

Fifty-four remedial first-graders who received SIA support from
September until March were compared to 30 remedial first-graders who
did not receive SIA instruction. The reading portion of the Iowa Test of
Basic Skills (ITBS) was used as a pretest and posttest. The difference in
the mean National Percentile Rank (NPR) gain was compared using the
t-test. A significantly statistical difference of .0007 gave strong support

45

for the positive impact of the SI A program for early intervention for at-
risk first-graders.

Changes in Scores

on Selected Fitness Tests

in Middle Grade Students

Deprived of Preinstruction Exercises

Robert H. Smithy II

EdS, Physical Education and Recreation,

August 1991

The investigation was conducted to examine changes in hamstring

and low back flexibility, abdominal strength and endurance, and upper

body strength in middle grades students in regard to the presence on

absence of eight-to-ten minutes of daily preinstruction exercises (PIE) for i

six weeks. The sit-and-reach test (SR), the timed sit-up test (SU), and the

bench press maximum test (BP) were administered to 394 subjects three

times at six week intervals toward the end of the 1990-91 school year.

During the last six weeks, the control group continued the PIE followed

by physical education class. Treatment group 1 also was in physical

education but was deprived of the PIE. Treatment group 2 received

neither PIE nor physical education. The results of the paired t test analysis

indicated that both treatment groups significantly decreased in SR and SU

performance during deprivation with some grade and gender exceptions.

I Results of the BP analysis revealed no significant decreases in any group.

Additionally, blacks, especially girls, performed noticeably higher on the

BP than whites.

A Quasi- Experimental Research Project Using

an Algorithmic Approach to Teaching Logical

Thinking and Reasoning Skills

Betty Charlene Grizzard Storey

EdS, Secondary Education,

June 1991

The purpose of this study was to determine if the process of learning
algorithm or flowchart design would make a difference in the logical

46

-easoning ability of high school students and if there would be a significant
jdifference in their attitudes toward logical reasoning tasks and thought
brganization. The subjects were 37 sophomores and juniors enrolled in
two formal geometry courses taught by the researcher. The two groups
received the same geometry instruction. The treated group received a 30
minute instructional activity for 5 consecutive days dealing with algorithm/
flowchart design and refinement. Both groups were tested at the end of
the 5 -day lesson. At a 10% significance level, there was no significant
difference between the treated group and the control group in their ability
jto reason and think logically. However, at the 5% significance level, there
iwas a significant difference in the attitude of the treated group. Those
[students seemed to feel they were more relaxed with reasoning. The group
size was small and the instructional period was short. Further research is
recommended.

A Quasi- Experimental Study of

the Effects of Writing on

Content Understanding

James Raiford Storey

EdS, Secondary Education,

August 1991

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of writing on

the achievement of students studying a unit on graphs and linear equations

in an Algebra I class. The treatment was conducted over a 15-day period.

The same pedagogical procedures were used in the experimental group

and the control group with the exception that the experimental group

wrote. Both groups were given a pretest which was analyzed using the

Sign test and a post-test analyzed using the Wilcoxson Rank Sum test. At

the 0.05 level of significance the experimental group showed no greater

gain that did the control group.

47

A Comparative Study of Bartow County

Elementary Students Qualifying for Gifted

Program Placement on the 1979 O-LSAT and

1989 O-LSAT and Analysis of Student

Characteristics

Catherine L. Strickland

EdS, Middle Grades Education,

August 1991

This thesis reports the results of a descriptive study designed to
examine mental ability scores and dominant characteristics of gifted
children in a rural area. The primary purposes were 1) to compare scores
from the fifth and sixth version of the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test
to determine whether the percentage of students qualifying was less on one
version than another, 2) to determine whether the majority of those who
qualified were native Georgians, 3) to identify dominant characteristics of
gifted children and compare the results to previous research, and 4) to
develop a profile of the gifted child in the gifted program in Bartow
County. The results indicate that a smaller percentage of students
qualified on the sixth version of the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test
when compared to the fifth version. Results indicated that a smaller
percentage of native Georgians qualified on the sixth version when
compared to the fifth version of the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test.
Dominant traits identified include incidence of divorce in family, residence
in other states, birth order, family size, educational levels and occupations
of parents, and first reading age. Also included was an analysis and
discussion of the reading and mathematics achievement levels that third-
graders, fifth-graders, sixth-graders, and eighth-graders had scored on
the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. The study found that 80.8% of the students
were living with their natural parents, 48.5% were firstborn children, 70%
of the students came from two or three children families, mothers were
better educated than fathers, parental educational levels were more
comparable to those of the 70's than of the 80's, and 47.5% of the students
could read before entering public school. Recommendations include
continued study of the trends found by this study as well as investigation
into reasons why students are not qualifying on the new version of the
Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, lack of minorities in the gifted population

48

in Bartow County, and possible inservice for parents of gifted students due
to educational level of parents.

In Search of
The Nature of Reality

Charles W. Winstead, III
MA, Psychology,
December 1991

The following thesis discusses the fluid state of our perception of the
nature of reality. Our changing perception of the nature of reality is
examined by looking at the way in which new ideas are assimilated into
society. Historical examples are given which show how this assimilation
has been accompHshed in the past. The ideas of Newton's Deterministic
Mechanics and Hiesenberg's Quantum Mechanics are briefly presented.
Current trends in society which seem to represent the integration of
Quantum Mechanics into an everyday consciousness are looked at in how
they are applicable to the model presented of how the perception of reality
changes.

The physics of Isaac Newton and Werner Heisenberg and the
philosophical background for their theories are looked at in terms of the
effect these theories have had on our society. These examples are used to
develop an understanding of how ideas are accepted into a society's
paradigm. Through this process, it is hoped that we may come to an
understanding of how our society will react to a new scientific paradigm.
Quantum Mechanics,

49

The Effect of Remediation on
First Grade Reading Achievement

Ann Rodger s Wright

EdS, Reading and Middle Grades Education,

June 1991

This study was done to investigate reading methodologies, whole
language and drill and practice, that can be used in a remedial first-grade
classroom. The study was carried out from January through March of the
1990-1991 school year in the Pike County Elementary School. This study
sought to examine reading intervention techniques that may influence
early literacy development. The effects of the reading methods were
measured by comparing the achievement of the driU and practice group
with that of the whole language group. The achievement was measured
using the Reading Recognition and the Reading Comprehension subtests
of the PIAT-R. The /-test at the .05 level of significance was used to
analyze the results. The statistics indicated that there was no significant
difference in the achievement of the children using whole language and
those using drill and practice.

50

) ^

^^^ +ZP lfe.3t, 1=13 23

West Georgia college

evtew

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Published by

West Georgia College

A Unit of the University System of Georgia

Carrollton, Georgia

Volume XXIII May 1993

DATE DUE

|iKl IlltJ^t^ffll"'^^^

*

DEMCO, INC. 38-2971

Published by

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Maurice K. Townsend, President
Don N. Smith, Vice President and Dean of Faculties

Learning Resources Committee
Kenneth J. Bindas, Chairperson

Charles Beard Javier Hasbun

Bruce Bird Lee Jan

Ben deMayo Cecilia Lee

Jim Gay George McNinch

Sonia Grace Seaton Smith
Francesca Taylor

Martha A. Saunders, Editor

Jeanette C. Bernhardt, Associate Editor

Joanne R. Artz, Assistant Editor

The purpose of this publication is to provide encouragement for
faculty research and to make available results of such activity. The Review,
published annually, accepts original scholarly work. West Georgia
College assumes no responsibility for contributors' views. The style guide
is MLA Handbook, Second Edition. Although the Review is primarily a
medium for the faculty ofWest Georgia College, other sources are invited.

The abstracts of all masters' and educational specialists' theses written at
West Georgia College are included as they are awarded.

WEST GEORGIA COLLEGE

Volume XXIII May 1993

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Early Georgia Banking

by Carole Scott 5

Samson Agonistes: The "Scourge of God"

by Mary Rose Kasraie 19

I

Whistling in the Dark: Robert Frost's Modernist
Quest for Meaning

by WiUiam S. Doxey 29

Abstracts of Master's Theses and Specialist in

Education Projects 35

Copyright 1993, West Georgia College
Printed in the USA (ISSN 0043-3136)

Early Georgia Banking

by Carole E. Scott

Great Britain's policy was for its American colonies to be provided
with banking services by the Mother Country. Therefore, there were no
banks in the thirteen colonies until they gained their independence. The
first of these banks were located in the more commercialized northern
states.

Because of the primitive nature of the very early Georgia economy,
the absence of domestic banks was no great problem. However, as
Georgia's economy grew in size and complexity, a need arose both for
domestic banks and local banks, which were willing to lend to the more
risky of Georgia's borrowers than were out-of-state banks. (Local banks
were also desired by Georgia depositors.)

Banks were needed because trade and manufacturing and, therefore,
the people's well-being are quite constrained in the absence of banks. If
there are no banks, businesses must either be financed by their owners or
with money obtained directly from other people. So long as this is the case,
there will be relatively few businesses, and they will be relatively small.
This situation exists because a single entrepreneur's "pockets" are relatively
"shallow" and only a few other people will directly provide his or her
business with money. However, many people will provide money to an
entrepreneur if they can do so by depositing it in banks which then lend
it to the entrepreneur.

In the antebellum period banking differed significantly from today's
chiefly because all paper moneywas privately-issued banknotes redeemable
in specie (high specie-content gold and silver coins) and all paper money
was issued by state-chartered banks. (Checks did not become a popular
form of money until late in the nineteenth century.) Some state
governments, including Georgia's, had their own banks.

By the 1830s Georgia's economy had evolved to a level that made
banking an essential service. Even after a few banks were established, need
for them is made clear by periodic complaints in the press that cotton was

'Professor of Economics, West Georgia College

in the fields, but there was a lack of money to move it to market. Banks
were the only source of these needed flinds.

Although antebellum Georgia's banking system compared, in terms
of the soundness of its banknotes, well with newer southern states, it did
not compare so well to those of its fellow, older seaboard states. It was
probably known best prior to the Civil War for its wildcat banks. Widely
disliked in Georgia, wildcats were banks which were primarily engaged
not in serving the Georgia market but in providing currency in distant
states where, because they forbade banks from being established, there
otherwise would have been too little money to meet the needs of trade.
(States which would not charter banks did so primarily because they
believed banks inevitably overissued currency and, therefore, caused
inflation.)

In 1839, Georgia and New York were the first two states to pass free
banking laws, which provided applicants with an automatic bank charter
once they met certain provisions. In Georgia free banking coexisted with
chartering by an act of the state legislature. Only two, short-lived banks
were chartered under the free banking law.

The objective of free banking laws was to take politics out of bank
chartering, protect depositors, and limit currency creation. Safety wise,
the major difference between the free banks and other banks was that the
State held bonds and mortgages these banks owned which it would
liquidate if they failed to redeem their banknotes. The amount of
banknotes they could circulate was limited by the value of bonds and
mortgages they deposited with the State. Other banks' circulation was
limited by the size of their equity capital, and their liabilities, excluding
deposits, could not exceed three times their equity capital. (If a bank or
any other business is not bankrupt, assets equal the sum of liabilities
(debts, obligations) and equity capital. Banknotes and deposits accounted
for the great majority of antebellum banks' liabilities.)

Invariably, Georgia's wildcat banks were controlled by one or a few
men. Relatively lax charter provisions may account for the fact that wildcat
banks set up shop in Georgia. The Atlanta Bank's charter, for example,
did not, as was typical, require that subscription books for its stock (equity
capital) be opened at several sites across the State, and that after being open
for thirty days without obtaining enough subscriptions, the remaining
stock be disposed of in any way the commissioners wished {Georgia Laws

1851-1852,35-39). These provisions were designed to assure there would
be a number of owners, each of whom had voting rights proportional to
their share of the total stock outstanding.

AJuly 10, 1858, article in the Augusta CbronicIeandSentine/iMstrdites
cause for the widespread ill will towards wildcat banks. In it, readers were
told that the wildcat Exchange Bank had 2,000 shares of stock outstanding,
of which its president who, it noted, had only recently established
residence in Georgia owned 1,920. The Chronicle and Sentinel 2irticle
also said it would consider his bank worthy of credit and confidence only
when a majority of its stock was in the hands of responsible citizens of
Georgia. "So long," the Sentinel concluded, "as it was owned and
controlled by one man, him or anyone else [sic], we should proclaim it to
the world that it was unworthy of confidence."

One of the more noteworthy Georgia wildcat bankers was George
Smith. Smith was an important note-issuing private banker who began
his operations in the Midwest with his own money and funds raised in
Scotland (Redlich 63-64). In 1853 he purchased a controlling interest in
the Bank of Atlanta, and he added the Interior Bank of Griffin to his
banking chain two years later. Much of these banks' currency was sent
north to fiU a void caused by Wisconsin's prohibition against any business
issuing currency and Illinois' tying of banknote issue to bonds deposited
with the state (Knox 727-728)^ Smith's plan to control finance in the
Illinois- Wisconsin area was fought by an alliance of banks in this region
which collected Smith's banknotes and took them to Georgia for
redemption. Some banks were forced into this alliance by being threatened
with a run unless they cooperated. Smith retaliated by threatening these
banks with runs (Gara 385-388).

The charter for the establishment of the wildcat Atlanta Bank was
granted on January 27, 1852. Shortly thereafter, subscription books for its
stock were open. After eight months, not a share of stock had been
subscribed to. In March of 1853 George Smith appeared on the scene and
subscribed, according to one source, to the entire stock issue (Harrison
70). The bank was not popular with the public, and Georgia's General
Assembly (state legislature) investigated it but found nothing to substantiate
the pubUc's distrust. The Bank, it said, was reported to redeem its
banknotes with a promptness unsurpassed by any other bank.

Like many Georgians, the editors of The Journal of Commerce in New
York complained that this bank's purpose and possibly that of the Bank
of Columbus too ^was to circulate currency far from home (Harrison 70-
71). Georgia's U.S. Senator Alexander H. Stephens told a midwesterner
that the Atlanta bank was a "d d swindling concern and ought to be
burnt up that is regarded with universal distrust and suspicion in Geo,
and that if a run shd [sic] be made upon it would have to go by the board"
(Heath 387). In 1857, Smith, reportedly by then a millionaire, gave up,
liquidated his American businesses, including the Atlanta Bank, and
returned to Scotland (Heath 390).

According to data in Augusta's Chronicle and Sentinel, on December
14, 1853, the ration of specie to circulation and deposits for the Atlanta
Bank was 23.2, and its ratio of capital to circulation plus deposits was 61.9.
The data gathered by the Secretary of the Treasury in 1876 indicated that
these ratios for all Georgia banks in 1853 respectively 24.7 and 65.2
were about the same. For all the banks, however, circulation (banknotes)
was only 2.56 times deposits rather than the 619.3 times recorded by the
Atlanta bank.

Because banknotes often circulated outside the immediate vicinity of
the banks which issued them, a need existed for a method to convert these
notes into specie or local bank deposits. As a result, in the larger trade
centers there were exchange and commission brokers who would purchase,
usually at a discount, notes issued by banks in other cities and towns. The
first such business was established in 1786 (Dillistin 2). Newspapers
sometimes published lists of these discounts, which became higher as the
reputation of the bank became less sound. Discounts were also published
in special publications issued for the purpose of identifying both discounts
and counterfeits, which were numerous. (These were called counterfeit
detectors and banknote reporters.)

Discounts on Georgia banknotes found in Congressional documents,
banknote reporters, and newspapers suggest that, on the average, Georgia
banks were neitherparticularly sound nor exceptionally unsound. However,
on the average, Georgia's banknotes were consistently considered to be
inferior to South Carolina's, which had the best reputation in the South.
The banknotes of the Bank of Charleston sometimes were traded
throughout the United States and abroad at par, that is, at no discount.

Despite its being illegal for them to do so, various merchants,
railroads, and cities sometimes issued paper money. By agreeing to accept
them in payment of taxes, cities expected their notes to circulate only
briefly. (This also served to get them into circulation.)

To keep specie in circulation, the State forbade banks from issuing so-
called small notes: banknotes denominated five dollars or less. Typically
merchants issued small notes to deal with a lack of specie to make change
for customers. Railroads sometimes gave tickets in change which circulated
as money.

From 1839 to 1854 VanCourt's Counterfeit Detector and Banknote List
rated the banknotes of thirteen Georgia banks as being worthless. ^ In its
December 1858 issue, twenty- five Georgia banks were reported as being
either "frauds, broken, or closed banks." ^ Only two banks were so listed
for each of the Carolinas and three in Virginia. Over one hundred were
listed in more populous New York. Most failed banks closed during
business downturns in the early 1840s and in the late 1850s.

The depression in the late thirties and early forties, which led to a
cessation of specie redemption throughout the nation, was accompanied
by high discounts for Georgia banknotes. In 1857 a general suspension
of specie redemption by Georgia banks caused discounts on their banknotes
to escalate. (When only some banks refused to redeem, two types of
currencies existed, and Gresham's Law bad (overvalued) currency drives
good (undervalued) currency out of circulation came into play.
Redeemable currency is undervalued.)

To prevent, hopefully, any failures when specie was relatively short,
Georgia banks would get together, they said, for the community's benefit
and agree to refuse to redeem their bills. This was illegal, but, rather than
force the banks to close, after the fact the General Assembly would
sanction the action.

At other times, banks' behavior toward one another was less benign.
Newspapers during this period periodically contained complaints about
banks organizing runs on their peers. Augusta banks were said to
profitably play exchange broker in the interior by presenting the notes of
Bank A to it in exchange at a discount for the notes of Bank B; then
presenting them to Bank B at a discount for the notes of Bank C; and so
forth. (Exchange brokers were men who bought out-of-town banknotes

at a discount from local residents and took them for redemption in
economical, large quantities to the banks which issued them.)

A letter of Georgia Governor Herschel V.Johnson, dated October 19,
1857, reveals why state legislatures would pass laws legalizing banks'
suspending specie redem.ption until some future date when it was expected
that the supply of specie would be sufficient to meet the demand.
Suspension, Johnson wrote, is an expedient, not a remedy. Without the
spirit of forbearance and confidence, only the banks will benefit from
suspension, since they can "postpone paying their debts their bills
which are not bearing interest and by the use of their specie and other
available means, to speculate in Exchange and screw down the produce
market to specie prices." He did not then anticipate this taking place,
because he trusted that those who own and direct banks were "patriotic,
high-toned and liberal minded Gentlemen, who would scorn to use their
power to oppress the people, while they are asking tolerance at the hands
of the peoples' representatives." He explained that the only "effectual
remedy, for the purpose of the times, will be found in the industrial
resources of the country. Nothing but ' the sweat of the brow' can pay debts
and equalize exchanges."

Henry Schultz's experience suggests why Georgia passed a law
allowing banks to refuse to redeem notes presented by other banks and
required that individuals swear that they were not redeeming notes for
someone else. Schultz, a European immigrant who seems to have spelled
his name Shultz, built a toU bridge across the Savannah River at Augusta,
and, with a partner, established the Augusta Bridge Bank. By promptly
redeeming its bills, this bank is said to have achieved a wide circulation in
the South.

Other Augusta banks engaged in a struggle with this bank, and the
other banks won the struggle by presenting more bills than the Bridge
Bank could redeem. As a result, Shultz lost all his Augusta property,
including the bridge (Clark 111-12)."* Embittered by his experiences in
Georgia, he moved across the Savannah River to build a new town,
Hamburg, South Carolina, which would capture Augusta's trade.
(Hamburg drew little business from Augusta, and it eventually disappeared.)

Shultz seems to have accounted for half the recognized antebellum
bank failures in South Carolina. Unable to organize a bank under the
provisions of a charter issued by the legislature of the State of South

10

Carolina, Shultz organized a generally ignored bank in 1 824 which did not
meet these provisions. It was unable to redeem its notes in specie and
probably closed its doors in 1826. Subsequently another charter was
granted for a bank in Hamburg, and a second short-lived Bank of
Hamburg was opened in 1835.

After the 1820s the fortunes of Charleston had begun to decline as
Savannah and Augusta cornered much of the business of the South
Carohna "up country" (interior) and the rapidly growing Georgia "up
country". It was hoped that the development of Hamburg by Shultz and
the construction of a railroad line to connect Hamburg with Charleston
would enable Charleston to regain its former dominance of the western
trade, but it did not.

In large part Georgia's success was due to its laying more railroad track
and completing the first railroad, the State-owned Western and Atlantic,
to connect the Southeast with the Midwest. Also, the City of Augusta,
pressured by local teamsters, forbade the construction of a railroad bridge
over the Savannah River. This meant that shipments to and from
Charleston through Augusta had to be unloaded into wagons and hauled
across the river. Going through Augusta was unavoidable because
Charleston was unable to finance an alternative route to the Midwest
through the difficult North Carolina and Tennessee terrain.

After the Revolutionary War, through confiscation of Loyalists' land,
sale of public land, taxation, and receipts from the federal government,
Georgia's state government accumulated a surplus. Banking was very
profitable; therefore, the State decided to invest its surplus in banks. From
this investment a surplus accumulated. At this time there was a movement
advocating that the State make loans to the people. Observing that the
establishment of the entirely state-owned Bank of the State South
Carohna, which made loans on real estate, had eliminated the need for
taxes, Georgia's legislature decided to estabhsh a similar institution.

In 1828, a bill establishing the Central Bank was passed. A bank of
circulation, it was to lend to the people at more favorable terms than they
could obtain elsewhere despite the fact lending rates for other banks were
Umited by law. (Another type of bank, banks of deposit, did not issue
banknotes.)

The Central Bank's capital consisted of the funds in the State
Treasury, State-owned stockin other banks, debts owed the State, receipts

11

from public land sales, taxes, and the dividends from the banks the state
jointly owned with private investors. (The State bought stock in Georgia's
first four banks, one of which did poorly and was abandoned by its private
owners. Subsequently, it failed.) The Central Bank's banknotes were
supposed to be backed one-hundred percent by specie or notes of specie-
paying banks, and its loans were to be distributed by counties on the basis
of their population (Freeman 4-8). Privately-owned banks, of course,
were guided by profit and loss considerations in deciding how much to
lend in each county.

Starting in 1835, the General Assembly began spending in excess of
revenues, resulting in a diminution of the Central Bank's capital. At the
same time, the Bank was having trouble collecting its loans. When the
federal government failed to complete the promised distribution of its
surplus, the politically-motivated bank borrowed funds in New York it
was unable to repay in order to make promised loans (Freeman 19, 23, 25).

A special legislative committee investigating the bank reported that it
was grossly mismanaged and that the provisions of its charter were not
being carried out. The committee recommended that its charter be
revoked (Freeman 27). The Whigs claimed that the Central Bank's
currency had been depreciated and the Bank thrown into debt by the
Democrats using it to buy the votes necessary to keep them in power
(Heath 215). In 1842, arrangements were made for the closing of the
deficit-ridden bank (Freeman 30). Many years were required to wind up
its affairs.

In a classic work, Milton Sydney Heath claims that Georgia's first two
bank failures in 1832 were caused by "bad management and flagrant
violation of the laws rather than economic conditions" (210). The first of
these failures was the Bank of Macon. Less than two years before it closed
its doors, it was praised by a resolution passed by the General Assembly,
which said that it had conducted its affairs in a manner deserving of
approbation and the confidence of the public (Govan 36).

The report of a legislative committee investigating the subsequent
failure of the Bank of Macon found that fraudulent statements had been
made by the bank to the Governor. Its charter had been violated by
making a man not a stockholder president of the bank and by allowing two
directors and the cashier to make discounts (loans), rather than the
required nine directors. Frequently the Bank of Macon's cashier made

12

discounts (loans) on his own authority. (Banks said that what they did was
buy from a customer his promissory note. What was paid for this note was
less than the customer promised to pay at a future date to redeem it.
Therefore, loans were called discounts.)

Before the Bank of Macon failed, its board of directors ceased to exist,
but a large number of notes were discounted during this period. It violated
its charter by lending too much to a single individual or partnership. Some
of these loans went to directors of the bank. (Today these are called insider
loans. Often the terms on such loans are unduly lax.) The Bank of Macon
circulated more banknotes than was allowed. Its bookkeeping was so poor
that the committee had to rely on the printer who printed the bank's notes
to estimate the bank's circulation. Ultimately, all the bank's capital was
withdrawn, and it operated without capital (Georgia 1838, 375-389). It
failed shortly after being purchased by New York interests.

The last president of the Bank of Macon was shot and killed over his
apparently not uncommon reflisal to open the failed bank's books for
pubhc inspection. His assailant was acquitted (Bibb 165). While others
involved in these violations were successflilly sued by the bank's receiver
for thousands of doUars owed the bank, the Minutes of the Bibb County
Superior Court and other sources indicate that nobody was prosecuted.

The officers of the Bank of Macon were not the only people to take
banking laws lightly. In the letter book of Georgia Governor George W.
Crawford there is a letter written on July 29, 1844, in which he explains
that "the note is to be given so as to avoid as I presume the prohibition in
the Charter of the Bank [the Bank of Hamburg, South CaroHna] against
dealing in stocks other than those of South CaroHna" (Johnson). (At that
time the word stocks was used to refer to debt securities. The State of
Georgia was borrowing $30,000 from the Bank of Hamburg.)

Abundantly clear is that the State of Georgia failed to exercise
sufficient control over its banks to assure that they obeyed the law.
Banking was a political football and a business many people felt strongly
and very differently about. The State's own bank, the Central Bank,
appears to have been destroyed by political infighting and irresponsible
state financing. That only two, small, short-lived banks were chartered
under the reform-minded free banking law was apparently due to two
facts: it was easy to get a regular charter from the General Assembly, and
regulations governing these banks were more favorable than those governing

13

free banks. Closely held banks like the wildcats, whose average life span
was relatively short, seem to have been largely operated as money-
producing machines for insiders.

Although as today's Federal Reserve System proves by being very
profitable for the U.S. Treasury viewing banking as a source of substantial
revenues was not unreasonable, Georgia was not able to make banking a
significant source of state revenue. (The Federal Reserve System is the
United States' central bank. It is a government bank which, urdike the
State of Georgia's antebellum Central Bank, is not also a commercial bank
competing with other commercial banks. All banknotes today are issued
by the Federal Reserve.)

The only antebellum Georgia banks to survive over the long run were
the largest ones, which were not closely held and were located in the State's
largest markets: Savannah and Augusta. Self-dealing and too small a
market characterized up country banks. Also handicapping them was the
fact that loan diversification, which reduces risk, is essential for a bank, and
one serving only a small market cannot diversify its loans much simply
because a small market provides a bank with only a relatively few
borrowers. (If a bank makes only a few loans, then the bank may go under
if only one loan is defaulted. If, say, it makes a thousand loans, it can easily
survive the default of one.)

The State's largest banks were located in the low country (coastal)
cities of Augusta and Savannah because this was the center of the State's
wealth. Besides their size, another advantage they had over their smaller
up country competitors was that in the normal course of business they
acquired a large quantity of the banknotes of up country banks. Low
country banks accumulated up country banks' notes because, due to the
fact up country planters were chronically indebted to Augusta and
Savannah merchants, the up country was a net debtor region. (Up country
planters often paid off their debts to low country merchants with the
banknotes of up country banks.) The possession ot up country banknotes
gave these large low country banks the power to pressure or harm up
country banks by threatening or actually demanding redemption.

Large banks are generally sounder banks because they can obtain a
higher degree of diversification in their loan portfolios. (In addition to
lending to fewer borrowers because fewer borrowers are available, a
smaller bank cannot make as many loans of a given average size as can a

14

larger bank because it has less money to lend, and this, too, increases its
risk.)

Because of the greater survival potential of the low^ country's large
banks, antebellum Georgians considered their banknotes safer than those
of up country banks. As a result, people held on to Augusta and Savannah
notes; consequently, the notes remained in circulation. Up country banks'
notes, on the other hand, would be returned "home" for redemption.
(Wildcats' remote location vs^as supposed to, but seemingly did not,
counter this tendency.) This practice made it difficult for the up country's
small banks to make money and become large banks. Also, they faced
competition from branches and agencies of low country banks in the up
country.

Compared with today's banking system, the performance of Georgia's
antebellum banking system is unimpressive. However, such a comparison
is not fair. Such a comparison is like comparing today's trains with
antebellum trains. It also is not reasonable to evaluate Georgia's antebellum
banking system in a vacuum. How efficiently and effectively did other
types of Georgia businesses, its State government, and banks in other
states conduct their affairs?

Georgia's antebellum banks seem to have been "cut from the same
cloth" as other contemporary institutions. While its banking system
seems to have been superior to those of states like neighboring Alabama,
it certainly was not one of the nation's best. However, financial difficulties
after the collapse of Georgia's banking system at the end of the Civil War
and its slow recovery because relatively few national bank charters were
issued in the South suggest that Georgia's flawed banking system playing
an important role in the substantial economic grov^h of the State in the
antebellum period. (The chartering of banks by the federal government
was begun in the North during the Civil War, and state-chartered banking
temporarily almost disappeared.)

15

Notes

' Smith owned a bank in Illinois, but since this state required, unhke Georgia except in the case
of free banks, that a bank deposit with the state securities equal to the circulation, circulation was
restricted, pp. 727-728.

^ The Georgia banks whose notes were branded worthless were Augusta Bridge Company, Bank
of Darien, Bank of Macon, Belfast Mining Company, Chattahoochie Rail Road and Banking
Company [sic], Columbia Bank, Farmers Bank at Chattahoochie [sic]. Merchants and Planters Bank
(Augusta), Monroe Rail Road and Banking Company (Macon) [sic], Ocmulgee Bank (Macon),
Phoenix Bank (Columbus) [sic]. Planters and Mechanics Bank (Columbus), and Western Bank
(Rome).

' The Georgia banks reported to be frauds, broken, or worthless banks were August Bridge
BankingCompany, Bank of Hawkinsvi lie. Bank of Macon, Bank of Columbus, Bank of Darien, Bank
ofMilledgeville,BankofSt. Mary's (Columbus), Belfast Mining Company, Central Bank of Georgia,
Chattahoochie Rail Road and Banking Company [sic], Columbus Bank, Commercial Bank of
Macon, Exchange Bank (Brunswick), Farmers Bank of Chattahoochie [sic], Insurance Bank of
Columbus, Merchants' Bank (Macon), Merchants and Planters Bank (Augusta), Monroe Rail Road
and Banking Company (Macon) [sic], Ocmulgee Bank (Macon), Planters and Mechanics Bank
(Columbus), Phoenix Bank (Columbus) [sic], Ruckersville Banking Company, Wahoo Bank
(Coweta), and Western Bank (Rome).

* Shultz's career is covered in some detail in Bonner, James C, and Lucien E. Roberts, Studies in
Georgia History and Government. Athens: U of Georgia P, 1940.

16

Works Cited

Augusta Chronicle and Sentinel. West Georgia College Library.

Bibb County Courthouse. Minutes of the Bibb County Superior Court. Volume I. Macon.

Clark, W. A. The History of Banking Institutions Organized in South Carolina Prior to 1860.
Columbia: The Historical Commission of South Carolina, 1922.

Dillistin, WiDiam M. Bank Note Reporters and Countefeit Detectors, 1826-1866. New York: The
American Numismatic Society, 1949.

Freeman, Lorimer Bassett. "The Central Bank of Georgia." Thesis. University of Georgia,
1928-1929.

Gara, Larry. "The War Against Georgia Wild Cats." Georgia Historical Quarterly 40.4(1956):
383-390.

Georgia Laws 1851-1852, Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia Passed in Milledgeville
at a Biennial Session. Macon, 1852.

Georgia State A.rc\\\vts. Journal of the House of Representatives 1832. MilledgeviUe, 1838.

Govan, Thomas Payne. Banking and Credit System in Georgia, 1810- 1860. New York: Arno
Press, 1978.

Harrison, Joseph. "Banking in Georgia, Its Development and Problems." Citizens and Southern
National Bank (Savannah), 1968.

Heath, Milton Sydney. Constructive Liberalism, The Role of the State in Economic Development in
Georgia to 1860. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1954.

Johnson, Herschel V. Letter book. Microfdm of his letters and those of other governors. West
Georgia CoUege Library.

Knox, John Jay. A History of Banking in the United States. New York: Augustus M. KeUey, 1969.

Redlich, Fritz. The Molding of American Banking, Men and Ideas. New York: Johnson Reprint
Corporation, 1968.

VanCourt's Counterfeit Detector and Banknote List. Microfilm, Free Library Company, Philadel-
phia.

17

Samson Agonistes:
Scourge and Minister of God

by Mary Rose Kasraie

I do repent; but heaven hath pleas'd it so
To punish me with this, and this with me,
That I must be their scourge and minister.
(//m/^/III.iv. 173-75)

Chorus: Living or dying thou hast flilfill'd

The work for which thou wast foretold

To Israel, and now li'st victorious

Among thy slain self-kill'd

Not willingly, but tangl'd in the fold

Of dire necessity {Samson Agonistes 1661-1666^)

Samson Agonistes,]o\in Milton's closet drama published in 1671, is a
tragedy in the Greek style based on the story of Samson in Judges 13-26.
Samson, portrayed as a brutal fighter and womanizer, is given the task of
freeing the Israelites from the Philistines. After a career of brutal fighting,
and eventual capture by the Philistines, Samson flilfills the divine purpose
of his life when he pulls the palace walls down on the Philistines. Milton,
however, transcends and amplifies the Biblical story, and his Samson
becomes a far more complex character than the Samson of Judges. He
becomes a suffering human being, aware of his faults, struggling both to
rejuvenate his faith in God and to fulfill the divine purpose in his life. But
does Milton's Samson also become a scourge and minister of God?

When Samson Agonistes opens, Samson is blind, despondent, and
imprisoned by the Philistines who are preparing to celebrate his capture
with a pubhc feast and a day of thanksgiving to their God, Dagon. Samson
bewails his helplessness: "Why was my breeding order'd and prescrib'd/ .

' Instructor in English, West Georgia College

' all quotations from Samson Agonistes are from the Hughes edition; only lines will be given henceforth.

19

. ./ Design'd for great exploits; if I must die / Betray'd, Captiv'd, and both
my Eyes put out" (30-33). Samson's desperation and his helpless anguish,
given voice in the solitude of his prison, suggest not only a descent into
suicidal despair, but also a lack of faith and a questioning of God's vv^ill.

In order to elevate himself from inactive despair to purposeful action,
Samson must unquestionably reaffirm his faith and also find the answ^er
to "Why?" or his death w^ill resemble an act of suicidal desperation. The
reader, too, must answ^er "Why?" or ultimately fail to accept that, although
Samson's actions prior to his imprisonment were undeniably brutal,
savage, and unable to achieve freedom for the Israelites, Samson's actions
are just, and so, too, is his death: all are part of the ordained purpose of
Samson's life. It is Milton's emphasis on the divine purpose of all
Samson's actions and reactions that suggests Samson's brutality is condoned
by God and Samson's death is a just punishment ordained by God, serves
His glory, and fulfills His command laid on Samson at birth. In other
w^ords, I would suggest that Samson represents a scourge and minister of
God.

I base my interpretation of Samson, the "scourge and minister of
God," in part on Frank Kermode's "Introduction to Hamlet" in the
Riverside Shakespeare: "scourge and minister: the agent of heavenly justice
against human crime. ' Scourge' suggests a permissive cruelty . . . , but ' woe
to him by whom the offense cometh'; the scourge must suffer for the evil
it performs" (Evans 1169nl75). But, Kermode's analysis does not
differentiate between "scourge" and "minister," a distinction unnecessary,
he believes, to explain Hamlet's actions. However, due to Samson's
extreme brutality, the distinction is necessary in order to explain how
Samson can be both a "scourge" and a "minister."

According to Fredson Bowers' "Hamlet as Minister and Scourge," the
"scourge" is selected by God to be a human agent to punish crime. In
addition, "it was standard belief [of the Elizabethans] that for this purpose
God chose for His instruments those who were already so steeped in crime
as to be past salvation. . . . only a man already damned for his sins was
selected. . ." (85). I would suggest that in the process of acting as the agent
of heavenlyjustice, Samson inevitably sins beyond Kermode's "permissive
cruelty" and becomes "so steeped in crime as to be past salvation."
Nevertheless, I would also suggest that he is not past salvation, for his
divine purpose in life is to save the Israelites from the Philistines, a deed

20

worthy of salvation and a deed worthy of a "minister of God." However,

in order to Rilfill his divine purpose in life, he must repent his sins and

unequivocally affirm his faith in God and in the rightness of God's plan.

He must become God's "minister" on earth. As Bowers explains, a

minister of God, in contrast to a scourge, is an agent who

directly performs some good a retributive minister may visit

God's wrath on sin but only as the necessary fmal act to the

overthrow of evil, whereas a scourge visits wrath alone, the

delayed good to rest in another's hands. (86)

Samson is to be the "agent who directly performs some good," a prerequisite

for a "minister of God," for it is Samson's actions that free the Israelites

from the PhiUstines. As a result, since Samson is both the agent whose

brutal actions of "wrath alone" failed at first to fulfill his divine purpose in

life and the agent whose final actions lead to the "overthrow of evil," he can

be considered both "scourge and minister of God."

The Book of Judges portrays a brutish, not overly-wise Samson who
relies solely on his superior physical strength to carry out God's commands.
According to Northrop Frye, however, "it is extraordinary to see how the
wild berserker of the Book of Judges has been so tamed by Milton . . ."
(218): but Samson has not been "tamed," and he is not a "wild berserker."
He is a despairing prisoner seeking to determine the purpose of his
existence and the magnitude of his sins in order to fulfill his destiny and
become the "scourge and minister of God" whose barbaric and superior
strength alone can cause the downfall of the Philistines. Admittedly, there
is no sign of either the "scourge of God" or the "wild berserker" in the
Samson who bewails his defeat and, most importantly, his loss ot sight.
Significantly, Samson must be lifted from the depths of inner despair in
order to develop and focus on his inner wisdom: the former man of action
can resume the active purpose of his existence only when he gains the
wisdom to act, even in , and despite of, his debilitating blindness. When
he does act, he will become the "minister of God" whose brutality
represents the only way to defeat the Philistines. At the same time, as the
"scourge of God," Samson must be brutally punished and, paradoxically,
his punishment must result in the fulfillment of God's directive since, like
Hamlet, Samson is "a man who has acted properly under a discipline
higher than [man's]" (Kermode 1140), that discipUne being God's
command.

21

Samson Agonistes emphasizes the necessity for Samson to regain his
faith; it also emphasizes the deciding role of God in determining the
course of events. Both Samson's faith and his divine purpose in life are the
cornerstones of Samson's characterization as the scourge and minister of
God. In part there is Samson's conviction that he alw^ays acted under
God's directive; however, he must also accept responsibility for his faults:
"Yet stay, let me not rashly call in doubt / Divine Prediction; what if all
foretold / Had been Rilfill'd but through mine own default" (43-46). To
do so, he must first recognize that physical strength alone is insufficient
to carry out God's will:

But what is strength without a double share

Of wisdom? Vast, unwieldy, burdensome,

Proudly secure, yet liable to fall

By weakest subtleties, but made to rule,

But to subserve where wisdom bears command. (53-57)
Samson's crucial recognition during his imprisonment without wisdom,
strength alone is useless to carry out God's will represents the crucial
step in his final receptivity to God's command. Thus, while the scourge
and minister of God must be wise and must possess sufficient wisdom to
recognize, like Hamlet, that "There's a destiny that shapes our ends"
(V.ii.lO), it is not necessary for Samson to understand more than that he
is destined to carry out God's will, at whatever cost. The process of gaining
the wisdom finally to carry out God's will occurs only after Samson's
discourse with the chorus and his three visitors.

The chorus retells details of Samson's brutality and describes his
superior strength and the divine purpose of his birth. Now, however,
Samson's wavering faith must be restored. The process of Samson's
regeneration begins with the arrival of the chorus, but Samson must first
have experienced profound spiritual and literal darkness in order for him
to be receptive to the chorus and its "apt words [with] power to swage / The
tumors of a troubl'd mind" (185-86). Only the chorus can help him learn
that he is not helplessly doomed to total darkness, not "exil'd from light;
/ As in the land of darkness yet in light, / To live a life half dead, a living
death, / And buried; but O yet more miserable" (98-101). From the
chorus's discourse he understands that he must learn "of [his] own
experience not by talk" (187-188) in order to distill his experiences, begin

22

his regeneration, and take the necessary steps to annihilate the Philistines
and fiilfill God's commands.

He begins to assess his experiences in his discourse with the chorus
regarding Dalila and his failure to keep his word to God. He compares
himself to a "foolish Pilot" who "for a word, a tear/ Fool, having divulg'd
the secret gift of God / To a deceitful woman" (199-203). Yet he attempts
to qualify his fault by shifting part of his culpability to the wiles of "a
deceitful woman." The chorus's reply, "Tax not divine disposal" (210)
suggests that the results of Samson's alliance with Dalila are undoubtedly
part of divine plan and should not be questioned. Hence, Samson's
marriage was in accordance with God's directive, and so, too, the tragic
consequences. His fault, however, lay in the fact that he broke his word
to God. Samson's later discourse with Dalila expands the reader's
understanding of the conditions of his marriage, but here the chorus
focuses on the most important aspect of their relationship: Dalila, like the
woman of Timna, maneuvered Samson into the potentially fatal violation
of his oath. Thus, by highlighting the significant aspects of Samson's life,
the chorus forces him to assess his actions past and future. And, the
chorus also reminds him, in spite of his pervasive brutality, his "permissive
cruelty," he failed to secure "Israel's Deliverance,/ The work to which [he]
was divinely caU'd (225-26).

The chorus frequently dispenses common sense and religious guidance,
greatly contributing to Samson's developing ability figuratively to lighten
the darkness of his mind and receive the final divine inspiration. The
chorus reminds Samson that "Just are the ways of God, / And justifiable
to Man" (293-94). The words serve in part to add a greater dimension to
the chorus's previous warning to Samson; the chorus also reminds Samson
that those who doubt "by their own perplexities involv'd /They ravel more,
stiU less resolv'd,/ But never find self-satisfying solution" (304-306). An
aspect of this idea that neither God nor God's will can be completely
defined in human terms was first encountered during Samson's opening
soliloquy when he says that "I must not quarrel with the wiU / Of highest
dispensation, which herein / Haply had ends above my reach to know"
(60-62). But it is primarily the chorus's repetition and amplification of
fundamental concepts of faith, especially the clear statement that God's
ways are "just" and "justifiable to man," so significant to Samson's task as
"scourge of God," that enable Samson to rebuild his confidence in his faith

23

and discover the means to achieve his ordained purpose. Without
Samson's absolute faith in the divine purpose of his Hfe, his brutality w^ould
definitely warrant calling him a "wild berserker," for his actions could not
be excused by the necessity for him to flilfill God's commands.

At this point, with the burgeoning regeneration of Samson's faith, his
father, Manoa, enters the scene. He, too, doubts God's purpose: "Alas!
Methinks whom god hath chosen once /To worthiest deeds, if he through
frailty err,/He should not so overwhelm,..." (367-370). Yet, in the
increasing strength of his faith, Samson rejects his father's false comfort,
refuses to fall into despair and accepts all responsibility for violating his
oath. What disturbs his father more, however, is the fact that Samson's
capture provides the Philistines with reason to praise their false god, "and
God, / Besides whom there is no God, compar'd with, / Disglorified,
blasphem'd, and had in scorn" (440-442). And once again Samson
acknowledges his fault: It is "[his] chief affliction, shame and sorrow, /
The anguish of [his] soul" (457-458). Even though Samson prophesies
God's ultimate triumph (465-471), and in the process reaffirms his faith,
he says, "let me here, / As I deserve, pay own my punishment; / And
expiate, if possible, my crime, / Shameful garrulity . . ." (488-491). Most
importantly, as the conversation continues, his father tries again to offer
Samson hope and ways "to avert / [God's] further ire" (519-521). Yet,
Samson, like Hamlet, knows there is no escape from punishment and he
must still fulfill his destiny. Until then, Samson is vulnerable to the depths
of suicidal despair: "This prayer yet remains, might I be heard / No long
petition, speedy death, / The close of all my miseries, and the balm" (649-
651). Ironically, death will be a "balm" the "scourge and minister of
God" will slaughter the Philistines, be justly punished in death and thus
fulfill his divinely appointed destiny.

Upon Manoa's departure, Dalila arrives and presents Samson with
false hope for his release, and attempts, she says, "in some part to
recompense/Myrashbutmoreunfortunate misdeed" (746-747). Samson
rejects her offer, recognizing it is another form of imprisonment and
another deterrent to his divine mission. The rest of her argument attempts
to excuse herself. Based in part on her false concept of their shared
weakness, it is summarily dismissed by Samson, for "All wickedness is
weakness: that plea therefore / With God or Man will gain thee no
remission" (834-835). And it is he who broke his word to God. StiU,

24

Samson does admit his fault but attributes its cause to God who "sent her
to debase me, / And aggravate my folly" (999-1000). However, in his
exchange with Dalila, there exists no despair or yearning for death.
Therefore, despite some doubt expressed during Samson and Manoa's
discourse, Samson's faith is restored, and he has begun to rise from the
depths of his misery and rebuild his faith.

Before Samson's regeneration is complete, his final visitor must test
him and reveal Samson's returning strength. Similarities between Harapha
and Samson exist at least the similarities between the portrait of the
sighted, brutish Samson and his visitor. Each rehed on brute force to
succeed, and each achieved his identity through his strength. Harapha has
heard much of Samson's "prodigious might and feats" (1083) but regrets
that they had not "tried/ Each other's force in camp or Hsted field" (1086-
1087). And Samson replies boldly and in kind, with no trace of the
despairing, helpless prisoner: "The way to know were not to see but taste"
(1091). As the exchange continues, each reveals his excessive pride.
Ultimately, Harapha's pride is false pride and will not allow him to accept
the enslaved prisoner's challenge. But Samson's pride as he issues the
challenge is a necessary adjunct to his superior strength and resides in his
trust in God who gave him his strength only "while [he] preserv'd these
locks unshorn, /The pledge of [his] unviolated vow" (1143-1144). Most
important to the characterization of Samson as a scourge and minister of
God is Samson's recognition that "All these indignities, for such they are
/ From thine, these evils I deserve and more, /Acknowledge them from God
inflktedon me/Justly. . . "(1167-1170, my italics). Here, Samson not only
fully admits his faults, but also admits the justness of aU that has happened.
In addition, his encounter with Harapha not only reveals the return of his
strength, it also give him the inner wisdom to open his mind to receive
God's inspiration for he "begins to feel / Some rousing motions" (1381-
82). Thus, with his faith regenerated and his strength restored, the
scourge of God proceeds to the spacious "Theatre" and, with "eyes fixt fast
he stood, as one who pray'd, / Or some great matter in his mind revolv'd"
(1637-38), then puUs the columns down on all within. As both the cause
of brutal death to untold numbers and of his self-immolation, Samson
fiilfiUs his fiinction as the scourge and minister of God and accepts his just
punishment, "tangl'd in the fold / Of dire necessity" (1665-1666).

25

Samson's characterization, plus Milton's amplification of the Biblical
tale, portrays Samson not only as a tragic hero, but as a scourge and
minister of God. The facts of Samson's brutality are undeniable, both
from the Book of Judges and from the chorus's recapitulation of Samson's
past, including the deaths of the men of Askalon, the thousand slain by the
Jaw of the Ass, and the many thousands of Philistines slain at the
conclusion. As the "scourge of God" Samson's actions are brutal,
"delivered with wrath alone"; they are "steeped in crime" (Bowers 85, 86).
But Samson's annihilation of the Philistines, brought on by his self-
immolation, filfills the requirements for a "minister of God" his actions
produce good results. In addition, the chorus, the visitors, and Samson
himself have clearly established his fmally unwavering faith, his
acknowledgement of his sins, and his fervent belief in the justness of his
mission. And he must repent and does. It is Samson's renewal of faith
that elevates his brutality from that of a "wild berserker" to one whose
activities are even more than those of purely a scourge and minister of God,
for Samson's unwavering faith elevates his activities into a glorious
affirmation of the tightness of God's plan and suggests the possibility
for his salvation. Thus, as the brutal agent of heavenly justice against
human crime, Samson clearly represents a scourge and minister of God
and one whose unwavering faith reaffirms the ultimate rightness of God's
plan to annihilate all those responsible for human crime.

26

Works Cited

Bowers, Fredson. "Hamlet as Minister and Scourge." PMLA 70 (1955): 740-749. Rpt. in
Twentieth Century Interpretations of HAMLET: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. David
Bevington. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1968. 82-92.

Evans, G. Blakemore, et al, eds. The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton, 1974. 1141-1197.

Kermode, Frank. Introduction to Hamlet. The Riverside Shakespeare. G. Blakemore Evans, et al.
eds. Boston: Houghton, 1974. 1135-1140.

Frye, Northrop. Spiritus Mundi: Essays on Literature, Myth, and Society. Bloomington: Indiana
UP, 1976.

Hughes, Merritt Y., ed. John Milton: Complete Poems and Major Prose. New York: Odyssey, 1957.
549-593.

27

Whistling in the Dark: Robert Frost's
Modernist Quest for Meaning

by William S. Doxey

Literary Modernism began around 1900 when many authors started
questioning the 19th century beHef in Progress through science-technology
which, they beUeved, was laying waste to traditional religious and
philosophical value systems. They interpreted the disasters of WWI as
proving their assumption was correct.

As with all literary -isms, Modernism was characterized by a search for
meaning. However, since the bases of belief seemed to be totally
discredited, fresh value sources, as well as new poetic forms, were sought
in order to reveal to the individual and society some purposefiil meaning
of life. Although my focus is on Robert Frost, a brief look at four of his
Modernist contemporaries reveals other attemps to solve this problem.

In "Hugh Selv^n Mauberley" (1919), Ezra Pound excoriates those
who caused the war as he recalls the young men who "walked eye-deep in
helL/believing in old men's lies, then unbelieving/came home, home to a
lie . . ." and says, "There died a myriad. And of the best, among them,/For
an old bitch gone in the teeth,/For a botched civilization."

Both Pound and T.S. Eliot serached for meaning in memorable works
of Europe and Asia. Ehot, at the end of "The Waste Land" (1925)
which he summarizes in the fourth to the last line(#431) as "fragments I
have shored against my ruins" quotes from the Upanishads, "Datta.
Dayadhvam. Damyata./Shantih shantih shantih" ("The peace that passes
all understanding.") Carrying this quest a step flirther, perhaps to the
brink, or over, Franz Kafka examined, in precise detail, a generahzed state
of confusion in which one cannot even determine what is wrong ("Der
Verwandlung [The Metamorphosis]," 1915, Der Prozess [The Trial],
1915, Das Schloss [The Castle], 1922).

Regardless of the direction in which each author looked, the Modernist
writers' quest for meaning appears rather paradoxical; for their medium for
exploration and communication was language, which, having been misused

*Professor of English, West Georgia College

29

so flagrantly to advance the Great, Glorius, and Noble causes of WWI,
was suspect.

Thus, for example, mA Farewell to Arms {1929), Ernest Hemingway's
Frederick Henry muses that "I was always embarrassed by the words
sacred, glorious, and sacrifice and the expression in vain. . . . There were
many words that you could not stand to hear and finally only the names
of places had dignity" (NY: Scribners, 1957; pp. 184-85).

But words such as they are are the writer's stock in trade. In "The
Figure a Poem Makes" (1939), Frost speaks of poetic language having "a
wildness whereof it [the poem] is spoken," and says, "Our problem then
is, as modern abstractionsts, to have the wildness pure; to be wild with
nothing to be wild about."

This "nothing" is perlexing. Is it nihilism; is it nothing because there
is nothing nada about which to speak; or is it nothing because there is
no way to speak of something which is primarily sensed or felt? Frost goes
on to say that a poem "begins in delight and ends in wisdom. . .", "is a
clarification of life," and "is a momentary stay against confusion." The
initial delight," he adds, "is in the remembering of something I didn't
know I knew" ("The Figure a Poem Makes").

The point of this brief examination of a few of Frost's poems is to
suggest that Frost dealt with the ennui of the Modernist dilemma not by
looking backward or Eastward, nor by succumbing a la Kaflca to hopeless
resignation, but rather by metaphorically externalizing his feelings of
doubt and despair in such a way that they became less depressing, fearflil,
and perhaps self-destructive, simply because he could "recognize" or at
least confront them. I liken his process to that of a person walking by a
graveyard on a moonless midnight who "whistles in the dark" to give
himself the courage to take the next step.

An early indication of Frost's Modernism may be seen in "Mowing"
(1913), an Italian sonnet in which the persona hearing his scythe "whispering
to the ground," asks, "What was it whispered?" and responds, "I knew not
well myself," going on, after two "perhaps," to say that "Anything more
than the truth would have seemed too weak/To the earnest love that laid

the swales in rows " The answer, finally, is that "The fact is the sweetest

dream that labor knows." This "fact" seems as important as details to
Kafka, as allusions to Pound and Eliot, or as place names to Hemingway.
There is, after all, something to be perceived; it remains for one's

30

consciousness to give it a meaning. A subjective response perhaps, but
there is something tangible, the mower and the mowing.

If I seem to be reaching, consider another poem dealing with field
labor, "A Tuft of Flowers" (1906, 1913), in which a solitary worker, who
must turn hay cut at dawn by one long gone, expresses his loneHness by
saying, "And I must be, as he had been alone,/ 'As all must be,' I said
within my heart,/' Whether they work together or apart.'" The next line
begins with "But," a word Frost frequently uses to show a change in mood
and a consequent move towards meaning. The random flight of a butterfly
leads the worker's eye to a "tall tuft of flowers . . ./The scythe had spared/
Beside a reedy brook the scythe had bared." The worker decides that "The
butterfly and I had Ut upon ... a message from the dawn" which causes the
worker to feel that "henceforth I worked no more alone." The imagined
companionship of the earlier and now absent laborer is expressed in the
last two lines: "' Men work together,' I told him from the heart,/' Whether
they work together or apart.'" This reassuring conclusion serves as "a
momentary stay against confusion" by providing a meaning from within
the persona based upon what he wishes were fact, but which is not. Thus,
his whistling in the dark gives comfort and makes his day's work less
lonely.

One of the most discussed of Frost's poems is "The Road Not Taken"
(1915, 1916) which concludes with the cryptic "I took the one less
travelled by,/And that had made all the difference." Perhaps, but a close
reading reveals that the roads are virtually the same. What this seems to
convey is that since to live is to make choices seen to be good or bad
later and that since each choice excludes its alternative, the persona has
convinced himself, because he tells "this with a sigh/. . . ages and ages
hence," that he made the best choice for his life at that time. What is done
cannot be undone, so the meaning here seems to be that one must live as
though his judgment were correct, regardless.

"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" (1923) is the most widely
anthologized of Frost's poems, probably because its apparent resolution of
doubt in a lovely nature setting seems uplifting. As a Modernist poem,
however, it is interesting because the reader comes to feel that this poetic
account of the persona's interrupted night journey must mean something
important or it cannot be poetry, regardless of meter, rhyme, and form.
Does "night" equal death? What is "the longest night of the year"? Can

31

the "little horse" really "think it's queer" or anything else? And can he "ask
if there is some mistake"? There are also two hnes which are as beguilingly
ominous as the Song of the Sirens, though they are descriptive: "The only
other sound's the sweep/Of easy wind and downy flake." They suggest
that if this is a poem, then the persona is sorely tempted to deal with his
"longest night of the year" by wandering off into the snowy woods, lying
down, and drifting off into the same fmal sleep of "After Apple-Picking"
(1914). Even though he allows that "The woods are lovely, dark and
deep," he resists this fatal tempatation by reminding himeself that "I have
promises to keep/And miles to go before I sleep, /And miles to go before
I sleep." While the repetition of line 13 as line 14 closes the rhyme scheme
nicely, it also suggests a teeth-gritting determination remindful of the "I
will make it, damnit, I will!" of one whistling his way past a cemetery.

In "Once by the Pacific" (1926, 1928) Frost focuses upon a fate of
universal destruction before oblivion when "God's last Put out the Light
was spoken." After personifying waves and clouds, shore and cliff, the
persona says, "It looked as if a night of dark intentAVas coming, and not
only a night, an age./Someone had better be prepared for rage." The
someone is not identified; however, he, or aU of us, wiU suffer because
"There would be more than water broken" before the end. If there is "a
momentary stay against conhision" in this poem, it seems to be the rather
cynical idea that everyone will suffer and perish, that if everyone loses,
there are no losers. This whistling in the dark is as unsettling as the sound
of fingernails scraping a blackboard.

"Tree at My Window" (1927, 1928) is, among other things, a
wonderful personification by means of which the persona finds solace in
the "companionship" of a "Vague dream-head lifted out of the ground/
And thing next most diffuse to cloud" whose ". . .light tongues talking
aloud/Could not be profound." But just as he has seen the tree "taken and
tossed" by storms, he imagines that so too the tree," . . . if you have seen
me when I slept," has seen him when he "was taken and swept/And aU but
lost." The whistling in the dark which gives meaning is found in the
persona's assertion that fate knew what she was doing when she brought
their "heads together" because the tree is "so much concerned with outer"
while his is concerned "with inner . . . weather."

"Acquainted with the Night"(1928) might well be a graveyard poem
in that the persona describes a nocturnal wandering through "rain" beyond

32

"the furthest city light." He has "looked down the saddest city lane ..."
and "passed by the watchman on his beat/And dropped my eyes, unwilling
to explain" his wandering. He hears from "far away an interrupted cry,"
but it was "not to call me back or say goodbye." Finally, the persona
observes "One luminary clock against the sky" perhaps the moon that
"Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right," suggesting that there
is no solution in heaven, on earth, with others, or within himself for his
unnamed despair. The indecision of the next-to-last line is a whistling in
the dark because if". . . the time was neither wrong nor right," there is no
demand for action; life goes on and with it perhaps the possibility of hope.

Snow is "falling and night falling fast" at the beginning of "Desert
Places" (1934, 1936), in which the persona's view of nature leads him to
observe that "The loneliness includes me unawares." The degree of
loneliness verges on the terrible: "And lonely as it is, that lonelinessAViU
be more lonely ere it wiU be less "; it will be as total as "A blanker
whiteness of benighted snowAVith no expression, nothing to express."
Had the poem ended here, the effect would have been devastating enough;
but as though whistling in the dark for courage to face the cosmic nothing,
the persona looks inward, saying, "They cannot scare me with their empty
spaces/Between stars on stars where no human race is, " because "I have
it in me so much nearer home/To scare myself with my own desert places."
Perhaps there is a certain satisfaction, and meaning, to be gotten by
shaking one's puny fist at the universe.

By using the phrase "whistling in the dark" I mean to praise rather than
condemn Frost; for it seems to me that rather than looking into the "mind
of the past" for meaning, or clinically describing confusion, he confronted
the details of life and metaphorically spoke of the feelings that they stirred
in him. Literally or figuratively shaking one's fist at the unknowable forces
of the universe may be futile, but it indicates the presence of blood, bone,
sinew, and gritty human determination to endure, if not to prevail. Thus,
each of his poems remains readable, for as he said of the poem "It can
never lose its sense of meaning that once unfolded by surprise as it went"
("The Figure a Poem Makes").

33

ABSTRACTS OF MASTER'S THESES AND SPECIALIST
IN EDUCATION PROJECTS

The Effects of Peer Tutoring on

Spelling Achievement of

Second-Grade Students at Tyrone Elementary

Eleanor Alb ea

EdS, Reading Instruction

August 1992

The purpose of this study was to determine if a tutorial program would
be effective in improving the spelling achievement of second-grade
students at Tyrone Elementary School.

The sample for this study consisted of second-grade students at
Tyrone Elementary School, Fayette County, Georgia. Two homerooms,
grouped heterogeneously, were selected one for the control group and
one for the experimental group. Each group has approximately 18
students. The school's population is approximately 350 students,
predominantly Caucasian, from middle income families in the Tyrone
community. Most students come from a two-income family, with the
majority of the parents working outside the county.

To determine if peer tutoring affects spelling achievement, students
in the experimental group were paired by teacher discretion, a low achiever
with a higher achiever. Peer tutoring instruction was given by the
researcher to the experimental group. A spelling list of ten words was
given to both groups. The word lists were from Fayette County's
recommended spelling list in the reading test, The Literature Experience,
by Houghton Mifflin Publishers. Pre- and post-tests were given weekly
to both the experimental and the control groups. All ten words were
tested. In the control group, the homeroom teacher called the words to
the whole group. For the experimental group, the tutors called the words
to their tutees.

Scoring for the weekly spelling tests was on a 100 point system. The
averages of these scores were used as the measure of success. For the

35

analysis, t-tests, with a .05 level of significance, were used. The analysis
of data obtained for the second grade students at Tyrone Elementary
School showed that the null hypothesis was rejected at the .05 level of
significance, in favor of the control group.

"Delight into Sacrifice":

Voices of Devotion, Service, and Praise

in THE TEMPLE of George Herbert

Sonja Smith Bagby

MA, English

June 1992

George Herbert, poet and Anglican priest, wrote poems which he
directed to certain readers and for purposes particular to each audience.
The poems are addressed to his congregations, to the readers of his poetry,
his extended congregation, to God, and sometimes to all three
simultaneously. The poet wrote poems of devotion to God, poems of
edification and instruction to other Christians, poems to attract readers to
Christianity, and poems through which all men could praise God.

Herbert uses the rhetorical strategies of shifting voices and audiences
in his poetry to gain the attention of the intended audience and to persuade
this audience to accept the message in his poems.

The varied meanings of the poems can be defined in experiential terms
according to the audience the poems are directed towards. The reader's
reactions to Herbert's intentions in a poem are partially responsible for the
poems' interpretations.

36

Birth and Blessing:

A Curriculum Guide for Prenatal Education

For Use by Parish Nurses in Enhancement of

Psychological Growth During Transition to

Parenthood

Carol Elaine Watkins Boyd

MA, Psychology

August 1992

A curriculum was developed to present readiness activities for
facilitation of parents' prenatal awareness of and engagement with the
psychological and spiritual issues which present most uniquely during the
childbearing life transition. The activities are designed to be used by
parish nurses in a church-related setting. Evaluation of the curriculum
guide consists of the responses of a ministerial panel and a representative
of the Parish Nurse Resource Center, who assessed the guide for
appropriateness for the church setting, correlation with accepted pastoral
counseling principles, and compliance with established parish nursing
practice standards. The holistic foundation of the Birth and Blessing
curriculum is recognized as potential benefit to the psychological and
spiritual growth of childbearing parents.

A Qualitative Study Profiling Abusive and Neglectful

Parents Using Authentic Department of Family

and Children Service Cases

John Michael Bringuel

MA, Psychology

June 1992

Thinking of children, we have many different images maybe images
of our own children or children whom we have had experiences with in the
past. Most of our images are of energy- filled, flin-loving beings who are
born into this world with no choice of parents or choice of environment.
All children initially look up to their parents or caregiver as their role

37

model and hero. Children are like gigantic sponges, absorbing life's
experience as they grow. Their daily experiences become their own with
which they interact and relate to others. When children are mistreated in
one form or another by a caretaker, they feel betrayed or unloved. They
are often angry and confused, and have mixed feelings about themselves
and their caretaker. Child abuse and neglect can occur as a part of this
mistreatment. Therefore, abused and neglected children grow into
mistrustful, confused, and hard-to-love adults. Many of them have
wounds that never heal, and they end up conducting their everyday
existence in our prisons and jails. The number of inmates in our prisons
who report having been abused and neglected as children is staggering.
Not every child who is abused and neglected ends up in jails or prisons.
Many of them you may have had contact with in your life. You could
possibly be working with one or even could be married to one of these
formerly mistreated children.

Who were these children's parents? Where did they come from?
Prevention, not crisis intervention, needs to be the focus of state and
federal money. To identify, educate, and take action on behalf of these
children are the keys to amending the problem of child abuse and neglect
in yesterday's, today's, and tomorrow's world. Identification of those who
abuse and neglect will be the focus of this thesis.

Rape From the Rapist's Point of View

Jeffrey T. Coalson
MA, Psychology
December 1992

This study investigated the experience of rape from the viewpoint of
the rapist. Two convicted rapists and three professionals who counsel sex
offenders were interviewed to gain information on rapists. Excerpts from
published narratives were also used.

Different ways of viewing rape were discussed as well as looking at the
question of the influence of culture on rapists. Several common elements
of rapists are listed and discussed. The need for continuing work with the
rapists is discussed.

38

The Effects of Collaborative Teaching

on Academic Achievement

and Attitudes of Middle School Students

Jimmy Earl Coggins

EdS, Middle Grades Education

December 1992

Special education and at-risk students have often been treated as
second-class citizens through isolationism or denial of real-life experiences.
In order to bring the classroom within the grasp of all students, collaborative
teaching has risen as a possible alternative. It has been felt that all students
have the right to be taught in the same classroom along vv^ith team
classmates. The nature of this research was to determine if collaborative
teaching raised self-esteem by promoting a more positive attitude for all
students and, in turn, by enhancing their academic achievement.

The subjects were 50 seventh-grade students at Booth Middle School
in Peachtree City, a division of the Fayette County System. The students
were representative of the majority of seventh graders from other middle
schools within the system.

Three hypotheses were stated concerning the results of collaborative
teaching. The first stated that there would be no difference in response
selection on the total added score of the Student Survey on Cooperative
Instruction within the collaborative learning group. Results concluded
that a significant difference did occur. These findings were supported by
past research and by the significant results of a Chi square analysis.

The other two hypotheses dealt with academic achievement. It was
proposed that there would be no significant difference in achievement test
scores between the collaboratively and traditionally taught classes. The t-
test for independent samples was calculated for the composite score of the
NCE. The t-value of 1.147 was not significant at the .05 level and the
science scores of the ITBS subtest with a t-value of .273 proved not to be
significant at the .05 level. Both null hypotheses were rejected as the
collaborative group had significantly higher means in both measures.

The results of this study provided useful insights for educators and
parents of middle school students. The results should encourage educators
to implement a program of collaborative teaching in order that all students
may be educated in the least restrictive environment, which is the regular

39

classroom. Research should continue to investigate this program for
further analysis of academic achievement.

Virtual Reality and Dynamic Psychology

Daniel Denby Davenport III

AlA, Psychology

June 1992

The acceleration of biological and cultural factors will push humanity
into a new dimension of experience within the next twenty years. This new
dimension has been aided by the computer as an experimental tool to view
dynamic systems. The existing structure of our global culture is as lacking
as the wornout economics of communism and capitalism; we need to
awaken and educate our youth toward the two main obstacles we face,
mutation and migration. Virtual Reality is the first application able to
approach this task. Through an understanding of biological and
psychological concepts as well as literary history, we can achieve our goal
of understanding our archaeology and teleological aim. This thesis will
outline these factors and suggest possible areas for further investigation.

Revolution to Recognition
Russian-American Relations: 1917-1933

H. Manning Dreyer, Jr.
MA, History
August 1992

In 1780, the infant United States of America earnestly desired
recognition by Russia under Catherine the Great, and assistance from that
great power in America's struggle with Great Britain. The former British
colonies misinterpreted a determined declaration by Catherine in that
year in favor of freedom of the seas and armed neutrality to be a Russian
rebuke to the English. Francis Dana, an American emissary sent to plead
America's cause with Catherine, was completely ignored for two years
until he gave up in disgust and returned home. Dana was accompanied by
fourteen-year-old John Quincy Adams who spoke French, the court

40

language of the time, and who acted as interpreter and secretary for Dana.
Twenty-seven years after his first visit to the Russian court, John Quincy
Adams was received by Alexander in 1809 as the first American envoy to
the Imperial court.

The positions of 1780 were reversed in 1917. A new power ruled in
Russia, and it needed recognition by the United States, now a first rate
world power and an industrial giant, to confirm its status as a legitimate
government. For many reasons which will be addressed in this thesis, the
United States was reluctant to accord this recognition. It was not until
1933, when most of the reasons for refusing recognition were no longer
pertinent, that the United States finally extended recognition to Soviet
Russia during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This thesis
proposes to examine the relations between the two nations during the
years from 1917 through 1933 which culminated in the diplomatic
recognition of the Soviet Union by the United States.

An Investigation of the Viewing Choices of Middle-
Grade Children with Disruptive Behavior

Bonnie B. Eder

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

This study was conducted to investigate the viewing choices of
middle-grade children with disruptive behavior and the viewing choices
of normal middle-grade children. A total of 102 middle-grade students
from sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in Gordon County, Georgia, were
studied.

A survey was used to obtain data on the viewing choices of disruptive
students and normal students. These data were then analyzed using a Chi-
Square. A probability level of .05 was established to determine significance.
It was found that there was no significant difference between the violence
ratings of television shows of the disruptive group and the normal group
when cartoon programs and prime-time programs were combined.

It was found that normal middle-grade students watch more cartoon
type violence than disruptive students, but not at the estabhshed .05
significant level.

41

It was also found that disruptive middle-grade students watch more
"real life" violence on television than "normal" students, but again not at
the established .05 significant level. Any differences between the television
viewing choices can only be viewed as insignificant and perhaps due to
chance.

The Effect of Sustained Silent Reading
on Reading Attitudes of Seventh-Grade Students

Joan Frances Flowers

EdS, Reading Instruction

June 1992

Fifty-six seventh-grade students from a rural middle school who had
previously been randomly assigned to two different seventh-grade level
teams participated in a ten-week experimental study designed to determine
the effect of daily Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) on student attitudes
toward reading. One class was a control group and the other was an
experimental group. The Estes Reading Interest Inventory (1971) was
used as a pretest and a posttest to measure a score on attitudinal factors.
For ten weeks the control group received 54 minutes of regular basal
textbook instruction. For ten weeks the experimental group devoted a
daily 15 minutes of its regular 54 minute basal textbook reading period to
Sustained Silent Reading. Differences between the pretest and posttest
for both the control and experimental groups were calculated. Then
unpaired t-tests were performed on the resulting data. Results indicated
a significant difference in growth in reading attitude between the
experimental and control groups; also between the experimental girls and
control girls. Results also indicated, however, no significant difference
between the experimental boys and control boys or the experimental boys
and the experimental girls.

42

The Impact of a Near-Death Experience
A Personal Transformation

Michael J. Freeman

MA, Psychology

June 1992

This thesis makes an inquiry into whether or not an individual who
had a near-death experience (NDE) was affected in similar ways that other
known researchers in the field have determined. These researchers have
found similar aftereffects among experiencers such as new values, behefs,
and feelings about life, death, relationships, religion and spirituality, and
psychic phenomena.

The study was based primarily on thirteen in-depth interviews and
supported with additional data from forty-six questionnaires, of which
both the interview and questionnaire were composed by Kenneth Ring
(1984, 271-98). The interview focused on the near-death experiencer's
(NDEr's) own understanding of the experience and consists of four
sections: a life changes questionnaire, a religious beliefs inventory, a
psychic experience inventory, and a future scenario questionnaire. In
obtaining the sample for this research, I executed various methods such as
accessing a nationally based networking list ofNDErs from an organization
called The International Association for Near-Death Studies (lANDS),
placing ads in two local community oriented newspapers, leaving business
cards at various New Age bookstores, and making an announcement
regarding my research at a local conference on parapsychology.

This research reveals that the NDE does impact individuals who have
NDEs by effecting change in many ways. These NDErs felt there was a
reason for their experience, which usually required growth and change,
from the way they were leading their lives prior to their experience. These
NDErs developed a new sense of purpose of Hfe and underwent job and/
or interest changes. They seemed to develop greater sensitivity, tolerance,
and insight about themselves and toward others. They look at themselves
and their relationships with others more honestly. These NDErs fmd a
new spirituality that includes a closeness with God but seems to transcend
the doctrines of organized religion. They report an increase in psychic
phenomena, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, extra-sensory perception,
synchronicity, precognition, deja vu, and out-of-body experiences. Some

43

report personal flashforwards and/or prophetic visions. Most of the
NDErs in this study indicate a decrease in the fear of death as a result of
their NDE. These findings do seem to corroborate with those of other
known researchers in the field, which conclude that the NDE affects an
experiencer in such a way that it leads to a personal transformation.

Psycho textualism: Towards a View of Text as

Psychological Symbol with an Application

to the Writings of Ludwig Wittgenstein

Dennett Howe Gordon

MA, Psychology

June 1992

This thesis consists of two parts. The first seeks to lay out a form of
textual criticism, called "psychotextualism", which approaches the text as
an implication of its author's psychological investments, regardless of the
author's intentions. The second intends to provide an example of
psychotextual analysis focused on the writings of philosopher Ludwig
Wittgenstein. Both texts, this psychotextual critique and Wittgenstein's
work, implicate each other mutually in the process of the study. As
Wittgenstein's philosophy is psychologized, so is that psychology
philosophized.

The Effect on Achievement and Attitude of the

Cooperative Learning Approach to Teaching

Social Studies to Sixth-Grade Students

Dorothy Welch Hamrick

EdS, Middle Grades Education

June 1992

This study was designed to determine the effect, if any, the cooperative
learning approach would have on social studies achievement and attitude.

The subjects were 87 sixth-grade students divided into four groups,
two high-ability and two low-ability, in the Polk County School System.

44

During the 12 week instructional period the experimental groups were
taught social studies using the cooperative learning approach, while the
control groups received traditional instruction.

The pretest/posttest format was used. For social studies achievement,
the sixth-grade test from the text. The World Past and Present was used.
The pretest and posttest for social studies attitude was based on the
Button Scale (Stright's Modification) Self-Evaluation Inventory.
Achievement testing for all groups was administered by the investigator
and the social studies attitude test for all groups was administered by the
school counselor.

The Analysis of Covariance was used to analyze the data with .05
being the level of significance at which the null hypotheses would be
rejected. The significance of the F-ratio in social studies achievement for
the high-ability groups indicated no significant difference, while the F-
ratio in achievement for the low-ability groups did indicate a significant
difference. The Analysis of Covariance for both the high-and-low-ability
groups indicated a significant difference in attitude, with the experimental
group having the higher mean. Therefore, three of the four null hypotheses
were rejected.

The results of this study indicated that cooperative learning is a
strategy that is worthy of consideration by educators. It was recommended
that further research be conducted using cooperative learning.

The Effects of Cooperative Learning on
Achievement and Social Interaction

Rise Haw ley

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cooperative
learning on the achievement and attitudes of seventh-grade students in
English.

The study included approximately 100 seventh-grade students from
Mundy's MiU Middle School located in Jonesboro, Georgia. The subjects
were all students on the 7A team which is one of three teams at the
seventh-grade level.

45

Both groups, the control group and the experimental group, spent
four weeks receiving instruction on a pronoun unit. Both groups had the
same textbook, spent the same amount of time in class, completed the
same assignments, and received instruction from the same teacher.

The control group received traditional instruction without any
cooperative learning or cooperative structures. The experimental group
used Student Team Learning and cooperative structures to learn the same
information as the control group. Both groups were given an achievement
pretest that was designed by the textbook publisher, Macmillan, and a pre-
attitude survey that was designed by the researcher to determine the
students' attitudes toward English. At the conclusion of the four-week
unit, both groups were given an achievement posttest and a post-attitude
survey.

The t-test was then used to determine whether the two means were
significantly different on both the achievement and the attitude tests.
Since the groups were not equal on the attitude survey, the analysis of
covariance was then used.

Data collected from the students was identified by numbers and not
by the students' actual names to ensure confidentiality.

Both cooperative learning and traditional instruction are components
of today's educational setting. This study was an attempt to determine
which teaching strategy is most beneficial to the students specifically
student achievement and student attitudes.

The Effect of Ability Grouping on Students'

Attitudes and Achievement at

Marietta High School

Judith E. Hofecker

EdS, Secondary Education

August 1992

A current trend in the American educational system is a movement
away from the practice of grouping students according to abihty. In light
of these reforms, this study sought to compare students' attitudes in
homogeneous and heterogeneous groupings and to determine whether a
relationship existed between attitudes and achievement. Through responses

46

obtained from an attitudinal survey, a comparative analysis was conducted
on the attitudes of high school social studies students. Data collected on
variables such as gender, race, reading comprehension scores and
attendance, provided additional elements for comparison. The results
concluded that few significant differences existed between groups. The
majority of the students favored some form of grouping, with preference
for middle or high-ability placement. Student achievement was also
comparable. A few significant differences were found among students
currently grouped in low, as compared to high, ability classes.

The Deming Management Method:
Its Application in Secondary Economics

Craig B. Humphrey

EdS, Secondary Education

June 1992

In recent years, the field of social studies has been the subject of
criticism. Much of this criticism centers around the perception that the
curriculum is not as vital as that in other fields. The impact of a student-
centered classroom management model based on the philosophy of W.
Edwards Deming was tested as a possible solution to this problem. The
model allowed students the freedom and responsibility to make important
decisions about their own education. In weekly meetings with the
instructor, student team leaders planned the following week's lessons,
prepared and graded tests, and carried out community-based research.
The control group was instructed using standard lecture-discussion
pedagogy. Differences in achievement and attitude between the
experimental and control groups were slight.

47

Ralph Waldo Emerson: Bard of the Spirit

Nicola Juricak
MA, English
August 1992

Ralph Waldo Emerson began his public life as a Unitarian minister
in 1826. He had been reared in the growing liberalism of his father's
religion and educated at Harvard Divinity School. He entered the
ministry because of love of oratory and a sense of public responsibility.
However, within two years Emerson no longer found the professional
ministry suited to him, either theologically or philosophically. Not
knowing what lay before him, he abandoned his profession in order to
realize the self that was struggling to emerge, free from ecclesiastical
restrictions. In the process, he became one of America's most original and
influential thinkers. Many of Emerson's mature ideas evolved during his
brief career as a Unitarian minister and the writing of 178 sermons. This
paper will examine the ideas of some of these sermons, identifying
Emerson's early theological influences as well as the seeds of his mature
Transcendentahst philosophy.

A Comparison of Attitude with Achievement of
College Students in Freshman Core Science Classes

Andrew John Kay

EdS, Secondary Education

June 1992

This study correlates the attitude and achievement of a freshman core
of non-major science class and compares it with a similar correlation of a
freshman core science major class. In this experiment content knowledge
was assessed using a difference in pre- and post-test. This difference was
then correlated with attitude, which was evaluated using an attitude
instrument. Analysis ofvariance showed no significant difference between
the science major and non-major groups for the attitude variable with
content score. There was a slightly positive correlation between attitude
and achievement for non-majors and a slightly negative correlation
between attitude and achievement for majors. To evaluate a second
hypothesis content knowledge was similarly assessed and the same attitude

48

instrument was applied to a freshman science major class. No correlation
was significant at the 99% confidence level.

The Effects of Gender Bias on the Interests of and
Achievement in Science for Females

Michelle L. Lane

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between
gender bias and the interest towards and achievement in science for
females. Students from the third-, sixth-, eighth-, and tenth-grade classes
of the CarroUton City School System participated in this study. Scores
obtained from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills, the Tests of Achievement
and Proficiency, the Draw- A- Scientist Test, and the Science Attitude
Survey were used to measure achievement and interest. Males and females
were compared at each grade level for achievement and interest towards
science.

A significant relationship was found not to exist between males and
females and their achievement in science. In terms of interests towards
science, girls showed a higher interest in science at the third-grade level,
males showed a higher interest in science at the sixth-grade level; and
eighth- and tenth-grade males and females showed the same level of
interest towards science.

The Effects of Mental Practice vs. Physical

Practice on Throwing Accuracy

in Third Grade Students

Bonnie Elizabeth Little

EdS, Physical Education and Recreation

August 1992

This study was conducted to examine the effects of mental practice
combined with physical practice versus mental practice alone or physical

49

practice alone on a throwing accuracy test for third grade students.
Ninety-nine third graders participated in the study. Subjects were given
an identical pretest and posttest. The test administered was a modified
version of the AAHPERD Softball Skills Test for Underhand Pitching.
Five days after the pretest, subjects were assigned to one of four treatment
conditions. Group 1 received physical practice only. Group 2 received
mental practice only. Group 3 received a combination of physical practice
and mental practice. Group 4 was the control group and received no
practice during the treatment phase. Subjects in Groups 1, 2 and 3
received daily treatment for a period of four weeks. The posttest was
administered five days after the end of the treatment period. Results of the
analysis revealed no significant change in accuracy scores between treatment
conditions from pretest to posttest. In addition, there were no gender
differences.

The Effect of Repeated Reading on the

Comprehension and Reading Attitude of

Remedial Readers

Jeanette H. Mize

EdS, Reading Instruction

August 1992

This study was conducted to determine the effect of repeated reading
on the comprehension and reading attitude of remedial readers.

The 39 students used in the study were third-graders at Summerville
Elementar}^ School in Chatooga County, Georgia. A quasi-experimental,
nonequivalent control group design with a pretest and posttest was used.

An end of the unit test of the Unit Skills Tests manual of On the
Horizon, Silver Burdett and Ginn form A was used as a pretest and posttest
for both groups. A ten-item reading attitude survey was given as both the
' pretest and posttest for the two groups.

A one-tailed t-test for independent means was used to analyze the
data. The mean gain score for the experimental group was significantly
higher than the mean gain score of the control group. The t-test indicated
that Group 2 students using repeated reading scored significantly higher

50

than Group 1 using the regular instructional method. Therefore, the
research hypotheses were supported.

Ernest Hemingway s
Sexual Confusion

Raymond B. Murray

MA, English

June 1992

The sensitive, emotional, feminine side of Ernest Hemingway's
personality is always overshadowed by his masculine image of swashbuckling
bravado, an image which he took great pains to cultivate. But the truth of
the matter could be that Hemingway's chest-beating machoism is a
coverup for emotions and sensibilities which he considered womanly. He
felt he had to hide and suppress his "feminine" emotions because he knew
how strong they were. He could not let the world know that the sensitive
side of his personality could be stronger than the "masculine" side of his
psyche, so he masked his feelings with "masculine activities" such as
fishing, hunting, warring, womanizing, drinking, cock fighting, buU
fighting, skiing, hiking, and courting danger at every turn.

Hemingway also seems confused about what was considered feminine
and what was considered masculine. Certainly his youth spent in Oak
Park, Illinois, gave him very few clues. He was bombarded by many
contradictory messages. He was dressed as a girl far longer than the
ordinary baby-gown stage. He was often referred to as a girl by his mother.
He and his older sister MarceUine sported similar androgynous haircuts
almost until puberty. His mother was an obvious vessel of fecundity and
nurturing motherhood, but she was also the first woman to ride a bicycle
in the town. She also had an almost ever-present female companion
named Ruth Arnold. His father taught him how to hunt and fish, but
seemed a milquetoast inside the confines of his own home. Dr. Hemingway
cooked and helped clean the house, while Mrs. Hemingway hunted and
designed the house in which Hemingway grew up. Hemingway rebelled
against what he considered feminine, but he became fascinated and later
obsessed with the part of him that was "womanly," and he evidently
remained personally unsure about which was which.

51

This thesis will explore Hemingway's sexual confusion both in his life
and in his work. The first chapter will examine Hemingway's extremely
sensitive nature as noted by friends, acquaintances, and critics throughout
his career. Chapter Two will focus on his relationship with his parents,
particularly his mother, and how that relationship inflicted a severe
psychological wound upon Ernest.

Chapters Three and Four, respectively, will deal with Hemingway's
obsession with character traits that identify gender and with his fascination
with androgynous characteristics. My hypothesis is that cross-sexual
characteristics enthralled Hemingway most of his life.

The fifth chapter will look at Hemingway's handling of sex in his work
and his life, specially the relationship between the two, while the sixth
chapter will point out that the author's viewpoint is often decidedly
feminine. These two chapters highlight the idea that Hemingway's
perceived masculinity was often a facade.

The Garden of Eden is discussed in Chapter Seven. An examination
of this posthumously published novel reveals the great extent of
Hemingway's fascination with the idea that a man could be feminine and
a woman masculine. The novel seems to say that if one goes against one's
nature, the result is tragic. My hypothesis is that a study of Hemingway's
last published novel makes one admit the possibility that Hemingway may
have been much more feminine in his work and in his actions than has
been previously believed.

Certainly this hypothesis will never be proven and may not be
embraced by many Hemingway scholars and students. However, it is an
hypothesis logically deduced after examination of a great compendium of
facts. These facts reveal much about Hemingway, and that is enough to
make this study worthwhile.

52

I

The Effects of an Electric Field on the Growth

Cones of Cultured Neurons from

Six Day Old Chick Embryos

Elissa Tijuana Purnell

MS, Biology

December 1 992

Neurons, when exposed to an Electric Field (EF) grew toward the
cathode. The neurons in this experiment were isolated from the spinal
cords of six day old white leghorn chicken embryos. The spinal cords were
cultured using Hank's balanced salt solution, trypsin, and serum albumin-
free insulin supplemented media. The neurons were plated on a Satorius
cellulose nitrate filter that was secured within a modified Boyden chamber
(4 cm X 2.7 cm x 2.3 cm and 2.8 cm), for exposure to an EF. The cells were
incubated at 37_C for at least 20 hours before the EF was applied. The
voltage ranged from V/cm to 18 V/cm, with durations of 3 hours to 16
hours. Pulsed or constant fields were applied by passing a current into
buffer wells which then transmitted the current via agarose bridges to the
chambers. A constant temperature of 37_C was maintained during the
electric field exposure. The processes of neurons exposed to an electric
field were found to grow into the filter in the direction of the cathode when
the pulsed EF had a strength of 9 V/cm.

Parent Involvement in Children's Early Literacy
During the Preschool Years

Brenda Barnette Ramage

EdS, Reading Instruction

August 1992

The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive program
that enabled parents to become aware of their responsibility to provide a
print rich environment for their child. The major component of this
program was the design and distribution of a pamphlet, that was specifically
targeted for those parents who are less likely to read to their infant or
preschooler. Pamphlets were placed in pediatricians' and obstetricians'

53

offices, the health department, and Family and Children Services in
Fayette County, Georgia.

Literature was reviewed to ascertain the importance of parental
involvement in the early literacy of preschool children and to determine
the cognitive ability of children from birth through age five. As indicated
in the research, a parent can help a child achieve many skills during these
years when the brain is growing so rapidly.

The Portrayal of Central Black Figures in Selected
Required Literature Textbooks

Sheryl Dodd Reddell

EdS, Secondary Education

December 1992

The purpose of this study was to examine the required textbook
selections in the literature curriculum for Marietta High School (Georgia)
to determine how central black figures were portrayed. The works
featuring central black figures in the Globe series (lower ability) and the
Prentice-Hall series (average and upper ability) were analyzed to answer
these research questions.

1 . What percentages of required readings deal with blacks as central
figures?

2. How are central black figures portrayed? For each, what is the
profile concerning (a) age and gender, (b) education , (c) socio-economic
status, (d) domestic life, (e) beliefs, and (f) character traits?

Results indicated that of the 281 prose selections in the two textbooks
series, 5.7% (16) featured central black figures. In the 14 works analyzed
(2 were repetitions), black characters included eight males and six females
of varied ages (nine adults and five children), with two from foreign
countries. The diverse situations in the works short stories, three
autobiographical excerpts from longer works, and speeches included
family situations, broken relationships, civil rights, and human dignity.

The educational level of the characters was not a significant element
in most of the selections. The socio-economic level was low for five of the
figures, middle for four, not mentioned for three, with none at the higher
level. Two were slaves.

54

Domestic situations varied with half revolving around a matriarchal
family; five did not indicate the domestic situations; one had a conventional
family structure; and one dealt with a patriarchal family.

The beliefs of the central black figures were largely positive in nature,
emphasizing hard work, equality, liberty, and family life. Personal traits
included kindness, generosity, poUteness, motivation, independence,
persistence, conviction, and dignity.

Conclusions indicated that the number of selections featuring black
figures was limited. However, those selections provided sufficiently
varied situations and character types to interest student readers and
provided positive role models for self-esteem and cultural identity.
Imphcations were that school systems, especially those with high black
enrollment, may need to increase the number of works depicting black
characters through supplementary material. Other textbooks should be
analyzed to determine the representation of blacks and other minorities.

A Study of the Effects of Prereading Strategies on
Achievement in Fifth-Grade Social Studies

Madge Marie Reetz-Marks

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

The purpose of this research was to measure the effects of prereading
strategies on achievement in fifth-grade social studies. The types of
strategies used included instruction in the structure of the prescribed social
studies textbook, semantic mapping of any background knowledge the
class possessed and of pertinent vocabulary, further discussion and use of
said vocabulary, and the Prereading Plan method for previewing the text
in which predictions and questions concerning the material studied were
formulated.

The subjects of this study were 40 fifth-grade students from Baker
Elementary School in the Cobb County School System of Georgia.
Students at Baker were randomly assigned to homerooms prior to the
beginning of the school year. One homeroom of 20 students served as the
control group while the other 20 from a different homeroom were the
experimental group. It is this latter group who received the treatment
described above before reading each of the lessons in the study.

55

Both groups were instructed in two units of social studies over an
eight-week period. Each group took the same nine pre- and post-lesson
tests as well as two culminating unit tests. All tests were constructed by
the researcher who also served as instructor to both groups. The face
validity of these tests was determined by the Learner Support Strategist
from Baker Elementary.

The gains between the pre- and post tests were calculated for all
students in both groups. A t-test was used to compare the averages of the
mean differences. A t-test was also used to compare the scores on the unit
tests. The data revealed that there was no significant difference in
achievement either on the pre- and post-tests given on the nine lessons,
nor in achievement on the two unit tests. Therefore, the null hypotheses
were not rejected.

It should be noted that the outcome of the study could have been
hampered by the different physical environments in which the two groups
operated. This hmitation was not foreseen by and was beyond the control
of the researcher.

Effects of Transformational Mnemonic Strategies

on The Factual Recall Performance

of Fourth Grade Students

Mary Lou Robinson

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

The purpose of this study was to determine if training in the
mnemonic keyword and pegword strategies would improve the immediate
and delayed recall of fourth-grade students. These strategies are memory
aids that help learners organize and transform material that is difficult to
remember into a form that is easier to encode and retain.

The research was conducted at Brown Elementary School injonesboro,
Georgia. Two heterogeneous, self-contained fourth-grade classes were
used as subjects. There were 27 students in each group. The study was
conducted in conjunction with the social studies and science curricula.

The experimental group was trained to use the keyword strategy to
facilitate recall of 26 states and capitals. They employed the pegword

56

strategy to learn the correct order of facts concerning the extinction of
dinosaurs. The control group learned the same material through drill and
rehearse methods.

The same posttests were administered to both groups. Raw data were
collected and analyzed using an independent t-test to dete'rmine if there
was any significant difference at the .05 level. The data revealed a
significant difference in mean gain between the students taught with
mnemonics and students taught by drill and rehearse methods.

Virtuous Reality:

Music as an Aid in the Induction of Lucid Dreams -

An Experiential Approach

Don Salmon

MA, Psychology

August 1992

The first section of this paper describes the theory on which the
experiment was carried out. Issues which are discussed include the use of
music and imagery as consciousness altering agents, the nature of dreaming,
the transition between different states of consciousness, and the nature of
ultimate, non-dual awareness.

The object of the experiment was to test the effectiveness of music as
an aid in maintaining a\Vareness of the transition from waking to dreaming,
while gaining more understanding of the actual experience of being
conscious in that transitional state. Subjects were taught to passively
observe spontaneously arising inner imagery while listening to music in a
state of deep relaxation. After an initial training period of several months,
they began to attempt to maintain the same state of passive awareness
during actual sleep onset.

Self-reports of the subjects were analyzed phenomenologically,
according to the experiential method developed by Professor James
Barrell. Techniques of Buddhist meditation were incorporated into both
the training period and the reports and analyses of the participants.

In the text, the names of the participants in the experiment have been
changed for the sake of their privacy. Wherever a statement appears which

57

is attributed to one of the participants, the reference is given simply to the
first name.

The Effects of Single-Parent Homes

on The Achievement and Behavior

of Seventh-Grade Students

Betty W. Sears

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

The loss of a parent, whether by separation, divorce, or by death can
be the most traumatic event in a child's life. The confusion, insecurity, and
guilt that children often feel with the loss of a parent can spiU over from
their home lives into their school lives. Educators have become increasingly
aware that students from single-parent households may have special needs
at school and require extra attention at times. This study focused on two
areas of concern: the effects of the single-parent home on achievement and
the effects of the single-parent home on behavior.

The subjects were 1 10 seventh-grade students at Taylor Street Middle
School in the Griffm- Spalding County School System during the 1991-
1992 school year. The Iowa Tests of Basic Skills scores in reading and
mathematics were used to determine achievement. Interviews were used
to determine family structure and a computer search was used to obtain the
behavior record for each student from the computerized discipline files of
the school.

Three null hypotheses were stated concerning achievement and
behavior. 1 1 was stated that there wiU be no significant difference between
students from single-parent homes and students from two-parent homes
in reading. The level at which the null hypothesis would be rejected was
established at .05. Results concluded that a significant relationship did
not exist between single-parent students and two-parent students. The
second null hypothesis stated that there would be no significant difference
between students from single-parent homes and students from two-
parent homes in mathematics. The level at which the null hypothesis
would be rejected was again established at .05. Results concluded no

58

significant difference between single-parent students and two-parent
students. Both findings were contrary to the majority of past research.

The final null hypotheses stated that there would be no significant
difference in the frequency of misbehavior between students from single-
parent homes and students from two-parent homes. The level of
significance at which the hypothesis would be rejected was estabHshed at
.05. A chi square analysis confirmed that single-parent students did not
misbehave more frequently than two-parent students. Again this finding
was contrary to the majority of past research.

The results of this study provide interesting insights for educators.
However, experience of living in a single-parent home varies greatly
according to a large number of factors. While statistics are helpful as at-
risk indicators, day to day dealings with students should be guided by the
circumstances of each individual student.

An Analysis of the Relationship Between

Recreational Reading and Reading

Comprehension Score

Connie C. Shelnutt

EdS, Reading Instruction

August 1992

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between
recreational reading and reading comprehension. There were three
hypotheses used in this study. The first was that there will be a significant
correlation between the number of minutes spent in recreational reading
and reading comprehension scores. Secondly, males' time spent in
recreational reading will be significantly correlated to their reading
comprehension scores. Lastly, there will be significant correlation between
the number of minutes females spent in recreational reading and their
reading comprehension scores.

The sample consisted of 96 third-grade students who were enrolled
in an elementary school in Fayette County, Georgia, in 1991-1992. Raw
data were collected during the school year. A recreational reading log was
kept by the students. The number of minutes read were correlated with
the reading achievement scores as measured by the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.

59

The Pearson moment correlation showed no significant relationship.
Therefore, the hypothesis that time spent in recreational reading relates
significantly to reading achievement was rejected. Further research was
recommended.

"Dreaming the Myth Onward:"

A Jungian Perspective of

Androgyny in the Novels of Alice Walker

Rae Smith

MA, English

June 1992

The works of Carl Jung and Alice Walker share a philosophical
approach to wholeness of self which Jung called individuation and Walker
calls "soul survival." The major concepts of both Jung and Walker suggest
a relationship between self-realization and androgyny. Androgyny is the
goal of Jung's individuation journey. Moreover, Walker's theme of
androgyny within individuals and relationships is the driving force behind
her work as well as the basis for its sustained value.

Androgyny is a basic theme within the mythology, religion, and
psychology of many cultures, and the mythical androgyne is a symbol of
unity. The relationship between psychology and androgyny was perhaps
best expressed by Carl Jung, who contended that in each human being
there exists, within the unconscious, the suppressed contrasexual nature of
the person, the animus or anima. He believed that the closer a person
comes to achieving conscious knowledge of his or her anima or animus, the
more able he or she becomes in forming meaningful relationships with
others. FuU realization of the contrasexual nature within oneself is the
second phase of the Jungian journey of individuation. The first phase is
conscious recognition of one's shadow, and the third phase of Jung's quest
is the realization of a whole self, androgyny.

In Walker's novels, androgyny is indistinguishable from the Jungian
concept of individuation. Walker's characters, male and female, who
reach their highest levels of growth in the maturation process of
individuation, invariably reach conscious realization of the archetypal
contents of the anima or animus, located within the portion of the psyche

60

defined as the unconscious. It is important to note that a character who
recognizes his anima or her animus is also the character who fmally is able
not only to resolve problems within himself or herself, but also to develop
the capability of achieving and sustaining mutually satisfying intimate
relationships with members of the opposite sex as well as with those of
same gender.

Alice Walker's novels, considered as a single body of work, follow a
progression similar to that in a Bildungsroman^ a portrayal of growth
toward human wholeness and maturity. The end result of the process,
androgyny, is the blending of the female and male polarities within one
person to form a whole being, a mature person. Before reaching
androgynous selfhood, one is able to love only selfishly; others are mere
reflections of oneself. Androgyny reached within oneself allows a person
to love beyond himself or herself, to become human. The four novels are,
in order of publication. The Third Life of Grange Copeland, 1970; Meridian,
1976; The Color Purple, 1982; and The Temple of My Familiar, 1989.

Walker approaches the theme of androgyny through characters
inhabiting varied socio-economic levels of society. The fact that most
major characters are black in no way affects the universal application of the
major theme, individuation to the level of androgyny, for "everyman" and
"everywoman." Nor does the novelist express racial or sexual bias in her
thematic approach to androgyny. Although Walker has been labeled both
racist and feminist, her major theme precludes prejudice since androgyny,
by its nature, cannot survive such a narrowing of perspective. The lasting
value of the novels is derived from the universality of the thematic appeal.

Job Satisfaction
As Perceived by Elementary Teachers

Suzette S. Walston

EdS, Middle Grades Education

December 1992

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of job
satisfaction as perceived by elementary teachers in three elementary
schools in suburban Clayton County, Georgia. The study also sought to
identify factors that cause the highest and lowest degree of job satisfaction
for teachers.

61

A total of 150 surveys were sent to the sample population. Teachers
were asked to rate 31 job factors on a five-point Likert scale. Returned
surveys totaled 116 for a 77% return. AU surveys received were usable.

Responses were analyzed and hypotheses were tested using the
Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). It was found that there were no
significant differences in job satisfaction scores among teachers of grade
levels Kindergarten, first and second; teachers of grade levels of three, four
and five; teachers of special education; teachers of other areas including
art, music, physical education, counseling, lead teachers and Hbrarians;
different levels of certification; varying years of experience; and age.

Specific job factors were isolated that caused the highest degree of job
satisfaction and the lowest degree of job satisfaction. The five factors
causing the greatest degree of positive job satisfaction and their averages
based on a five point Likert scale are as follows:

1. Relationship with students 4.47

2. Amount of time off from job 4.17

3. Feedback from students 4.11

4. Personal interaction with co-workers 4.09

5. Freedom to develop and use innovative

techniques on the job 4.05

The five factors causing the lowest degree of job satisfaction and their
averages from 116 responses on a 1 to 5 Likert scale are as follows:

1. Daily time available for planning 1.49

2. Daily time for breaks 1.57

3. Time spent on non-teaching clerical duties 1.91

4. Amount of pay received 2.00

5. Parental responsibility toward their

child's education 2.75

Teachers were asked if they would choose teaching as an occupation
if they had it all to do over again. Out of 116 responses 69 (59.5%) said
yes, 19 (16.4%) said no, and 28 (24.1%) were unsure.

62

Humor in

The Novels and Short Stories

of Ferrol Sams

Elizabeth L. Webb
MA, English
August 1992

The novels and short stories written by Georgia author Ferrol Sams
are excellent examples of how the contemporary Southern writer responds
to the post-modern world without losing his distinctively Southern voice
and sense of humor. In a post-modern world thickly populated by authors
who view the world as absurd and frequently satirize that world using only
the blackest of humor, seemingly devoid of hope for the betterment of that
world, Ferrol Sams stands out as rather old-fashioned. For one thing, he
still writes about traditional themes. Family, religion, community, place,
and the past all play a prominent role in his fictional works. He also writes
quite humorously, with much of his humor derived from traditional
sources. His use of exaggeration and oral storytelling to present humorous
and sometimes bawdy incidents is reminiscent of the humor of the Old
Southwest, while his pre-occupation with the accurate and detailed
depiction of the local characters and setting barkens back to the local
colorists. At times, especially in the short stories which are set later than
his novels, he does employ a certain black humor which points out
absurdities and incongruities.

In his use of humor, Sams resembles both Samuel Clemens and
William Faulkner. His use of Southwestern humor is strongly reminiscent
of the humor Faulkner employs, particularly in the Snopes trilogy, while
his characterization of the mischievous young protagonist in his three
novels and his frequent chronicling of boyish pranks remind one of Huck
Finn and Tom Sawyer.

Like many other contemporary Southern authors, Sams no longer
wrestles with the dark and defeated South, plagued by racism and filled
with violence. While these elements do have a place in his fiction,
particularly in his first novel, Sams is more concerned with the personal
journeys of his characters and the particular problems they face as they deal
with a rapidly changing world. He resists the temptation to call the very
structure of the world into question, recognizing instead that the world has

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become a place in which order and meaning are constantly being redefmed,
and where his characters must struggle to constantly redefine themselves
in relationship to that world.

Sams' three novels are Bildungsromanen chronicling the education of
a young Georgia farm boy, Porter Osborne, through high school, college,
and a world war. They are the story of his abandonment of his once firmly-
held religious beliefs and the development of his sexuality. Largely
because of the humor with which these themes are handled and the sense
of humor with which the character is endowed. Porter's doubt and
disillusionment do not give way to the typical twentieth century despair.

Resembling the novels, the short stories typically trace the education
of a character, and like Porter most of these protagonists are able to
overcome the challenges which confront them.

Sams' approach is an optimistic one. His characters, though confronted
with absurdity and disorder which threaten them, their world and their
beliefs, are somehow able to cope and even to triumph.

Charles Longstreet Weltner:
A New South Politician

Jennifer A. Wewers

MA, History

June 1992

This thesis examines Charles Longstreet Weltner as an example of the
generation of Southern politicians who came of age in the 1950's and the
1960's. These "New South" politicians were white, male, middle class,
urban, economically conservative, in favor of desegregation, but against
government intervention to the point that would force social interaction
with blacks. The idea was to create a South that more closely resembled
the rest of the nation economically and politically. The term "New South"
is most appropriately associated with the years 1880 through 1913;
however during those years, the South was for "whites only." By the
1940's, "New South" Southerners came to realize that for the South to
advance, it had to include blacks economically and politically.

Charles Weltner served as Congressman for Georgia's Fifth District
from 1962 until he resigned in 1966. During his tenure Weltner

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established himself as a leader in the struggle for Civil Rights by voting for
the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, 1965, and 1966. In 1966, he also
participated in Congressional investigation of the Ku Klux Klan. Later
that same year, Weltner resigned his position rather than support the
segregationist Lester Maddox for governor of Georgia.

The purpose of this thesis is to show that, while his actions indicate
a man dedicated to the struggle for human equality, Weltner's motivations
and philosophies were more out of a desire for the South to progress with
the rest of the nation than out of a want for equal rights.

To show how Weltner qualifies as a "New South" politician, the first
chapter discusses his background and the politics of his childhood in the
1930's. Chapter two concentrates on Weltner's education and legal career
in the 1940's and 1950's. Chapter three examines his political career from
1962 until 1964, including his votes for the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and
1965, and discusses his motivations in terms of a "New South" politician.
Chapter four covers Weltner's role in the Congressional investigation of
the Ku Klux Klan in 1966, and his vote for the Civil Rights Act of that year.
In addition, the chapter examines Weltner's withdrawal from his reelection
campaign rather than support Lester Maddox for governor. The Epilogue
surveys the remainder of Weltner's professional career and analyzes how
Weltner fits into the mold of a "New South" politician and how his
actions, while seemingly directed toward the advancement of human
equality, actually were for the advancement of his district, and the South.

Teacher Attitudes Toward Mainstreaming and

The Extent to Which Academic Adaptations

Are Made in Middle Grade

Mainstreamed Classrooms

DebraN. Willard

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

The purpose of this study was to determine the attitudes of CarroU
County teachers in grades four through eight toward the process of
mainstreaming and mainstreamed students, and to determine the frequency

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with which academic adaptations to curriculum, teaching methods, and
grading systems are made for middle grade mainstreamed students in the
regular classrooms.

A two-part questionnaire, which included the Mainstreaming
Questionnaire by Larrivee and Cook (1979) and the Classroom Adaptations
Questionnaire developed by this researcher, was given to a randomly
selected sample of 75 Carroll County teachers in grades four through
eight. Using a table of random numbers, 15 sample members were chosen
at each grade level. Using a probability level of .05, a test for analysis of
variance was used to evaluate the data.

In order to evaluate the Mainstreaming Questionnaire, members of the
sample were grouped according to the number of years of teaching
experience. Results showed that teachers having zero to five years of
teaching experience scored significantly higher on the attitudinal survey
than teachers having five to ten years teaching experience, and teachers
having more than ten years of teaching experience.

Data from the Classroom Adaptations Questionnaire were grouped for
analysis according to grade level taught. Results showed no significant
difference between the frequency of adaptations made for mainstreamed
students by fourth and fifth grade teachers and the frequency of those
made by teachers of grades six through eight.

The Influences of Student Use of Microcomputers for

Production of Graphs on the Interpretation of

Graphs by High School Chemistry Students

Herman E. Wood, Jr.

EdS, Secondary Education

March 1993

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of microcomputers
to aid students in the production of graphs of data provided to them or
collected by them would increase their ability to correctly interpret graphs.
Eight classes of Descriptive Chemistry were randomly designated as
either control or treatment groups, four of each group. Students were pre-
and post-tested with the Test of Graphing in Science (TOGS) (Mckenzie
ScPadilla 1984), a 26 item multiple-choice test for middle and secondary

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students. The treatment and control group accomplished the same
graphing tasks over a two week period. The overall mean increased for all
students. A significant increase in students' gain score between the
treatment and the control group was found, with the control groups' mean
gain score being higher. Males had a higher mean on the gain score,
though not at a significant level. Overall, the use of the computer seemed
to make very little difference in students' ability to interpret graphs.

A Comparison of the Achievement of Students
Taught Using the Success in Reading and Writing
Program and Students Taught Using a Literature-
Based Reading Program

Janet Camp Yarbrough

EdS, Middle Grades Education

August 1992

Recent studies provide a compelling argument for major changes in
the way schools teach reading. Studies have shown that only 40% of 17
year olds and young adults (21-25 years old) can read at the level at which
most high school textbooks are written. Further, 60% of the people who
are in high school or recently out of school cannot read materials on a level
of the New York Times or Newsweek. It is imperative that educators find
alternative approaches to reading instruction because, clearly, the needs of
our population in this age of technology and communication are not being
met.

This study was an effort to gain evidence of whether two reading
approaches would result in improved achievement in reading. The
reading achievement of students taught using the Success in Reading and
Writing program was compared to the reading achievement of students
taught using a literature-based reading program. The vocabulary and
reading sub-tests of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills were used to measure
student achievement. The subjects were 72 fifth-grade students at
Central Middle School in CarroU County, Georgia. Data regarding sex,
race, and reading and vocabulary achievement were collected, tabulated,
and analyzed using analysis of covariance.

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It appears from the study results that none of the ten comparisons
show a significant difference in achievement of students taught reading
using the Success in Reading and Writing program and students taught
reading using a Hterature-based reading program.

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