Mmm…The Raven

By Ritty Samreth

Once upon a gloomy winter day, playing Farkle on my Facebook page.

Over and over until I beat my friends and improve my score.

I kept on rolling, my score was spurring, suddenly there came a purring,

at my leg was something fury, fury pacing my bedroom floor.

“I know you’re hungry, so am I” I muttered, nudging it across the floor-

it then went sniffing at my front door.

I suddenly heard a sound of flapping, followed by a gentle tapping,

and in came a raven, scurrying through the doggy door.

Recovering from my shock, I equip my slingshot with a rock,

bring the weapon to full cock, lock aim at the bird upon the floor.

Direct hit!  The raven lay limp atop my hardwood floor.

I bested the fowl creature before it could squawk “Nevermore”!

I have no time to quote a bird; to converse with it is just absurd.

No drive to insanity or bursts of profanity, for this fowl is no more.

I plant myself back in my chair, at my monitor I determine to stare.

My cat cries in despair, I yell “Pesky, Lenore! Your dinner is upon the floor!”

“Have your fill and do not dare distract me anymore!”

I turn back to my game only to find that I’ve been outscored.

I’ll just have some Red Bull and a cup of coffee, then we’ll see if my “friends” can top me.

All-time-record wait no more, here comes FarkleMaster234.

Meta-commentary

I’ve attempted to create a parody that reflects the style, voice, and theme of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”. In my parody “Mmm…The Raven” I’ve mimicked the same rhyme scheme used in the original (ABCBBB) as well as internal rhymes within the lines.  Poe’s original work opens with “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary/Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore” (l. 1-2).  Right away Poe establishes the tone and his emotional state of mind. I wanted to maintain a little of the Gothic feel or at least include a line or two that would reverberate back to the original work.  The opening lines of “Mmm…The Raven”, “Once upon a gloomy winter day, playing Farkle on my Facebook page/Over and Over until I beat my friends and improve my score” (l. 1-2).  I’ve tried to capture a little of Poe’s Gothicism by mentioning “a gloomy winter day”, I feel that in a parody, comedic tone dominates all others, but it’s also important to inject substantial traces of the original piece in order to maintain connectivity.  Those familiar with the global phenom known as Facebook have at one point or another been introduced to several applications featured on the social networking site. Farkle is a simple game; it consists of 6 dice and 10 rounds to accumulate the highest score.  It’s been known to consume a person’s day and draw out an obsessive behavior from users.  In the line “I bested the fowl creature before it could squawk ‘Nevermore’” (l. 12) of “Mmm…The Raven” I’ve used an allusion to reference back to Poe’s original “The Raven”.  The term “fowl” is interchangeable with “foul” in this line, and although a raven is not typically thought of as a food I wanted to use this as an indicator of what lies ahead.  The main character of “Mmm…The Raven” assumes that this is the same raven that infiltrated the chamber and mind of Poe.  Not only does he hope to once and for all exterminate this vermin, but found a way to feed his cat.  Killing two birds with one stone, by killing one bird with one stone. This also adds a little more darkness to the parody.

The theme of “The Raven” is the dwelling upon grief and its cause of one’s own mental anguish.  I decided to pan out and take a broader approach on this theme, showing how obsession and addiction can affect one’s life in different degrees. In both the parody and original work, Lenore is the source of the main character’s anguish or troubles.  In “The Raven” she is the reason for Poe’s grief; her death is slowly squeezing the life-force from him.  In “Mmm…The Raven”, Lenore is the hungry cat, viewed by the main character as “pesky” and “distracting”.  The feelings for Lenore in these two poems lie on separate ends of the spectrum, but are still connected in their influence on the characters.

Romanticism and Gothicism share ties in certain aspects, one element that I feel crosses over into both genres as defined in Professor Lilia Melani’s website; “Introduction to Romanticism” is the “importance of the individual, the unique, even the eccentric” (Melani).  Whether its Romanticism that focuses on the light or Gothicism that focuses on the morbid or dark, the characters are far from center.  In “The Raven” and “Mmm…The Raven” there is evidence of actions based on emotion and the absence of reason.  Professor Lilia Melani also defines a trait of Romanticism to be “greater attention to the emotions as a necessary supplement to purely logical reason” (Melani).  In “Mmm…The Raven” the addicted Farkler did what Poe should have, but he’s also remains oblivious of his own obsession.

The Art of being like Ben

By Ritty Samreth

If I were asked to lay down my life’s accomplishments side by side, I trust that this line would circle the globe several times over.  It is, of course, only as a result of my desire to help my fellow man that I have been driven to successfully attain all of my many deeds.  My origins humble me, and I know that lady luck has bestowed upon me colleagues that have contributed greatly to my life’s success.  For the majority of my life I have observed the habits and behaviors of man, and based on my observations, I’ve come to the conclusion that I must devise a system that will allow for the improvement and progression of our species.  I fear that without my intervention human existence will decline at an accelerated rate and we will fall into oblivion.

After much thought, I’ve created a system designed to aid in the pursuit of Moral Perfection called “The Notebook”.  Some associates have conveyed their concerns regarding the name and a possible infringement upon a movie title, but these are two completely different mediums and quite frankly, I don’t care.  “The Notebook” consists of two categories; one is “Naughty” and the other “Nice”.  Yes I know, there is a fellow by the name of Santa Claus that has a “Naughty and Nice” list.  Let all who read this know, that Mr. Claus is nothing more than a marketing scheme created by a couple business partners and myself some years ago to ignite sales in our Toys-R-Us stores.  I see no need in perpetuating such lies as I am no longer a stockholder of the company. But, I’m drifting from the point!  Through the implementation of the “Naughty” and “Nice” program, one’s objective will be to note down the single action of the day that tips the scale in either direction. 

Since this is my creation, I only see fit that I demonstrate how the system works.  Below you will find a table illustrating the process. I have used gold stars to mark the nice days and sad faces to identify the naughty ones.  To the far right I have noted the deed that I felt held the most significance for determining the appropriate category.  Monday through Thursday are my days for self analysis, I leave the weekends free for important social obligations.  I feel this week was a success due to the fact that I have acquired only one sad face.  I am content with my standings and feel that many will see great improvements within themselves by following this guide.   

My ambition for this system is that it will extend out to the far corners of the world so that all may benefit from my genius.  It will be made available in variety of languages both in hard-copy and electronic format for 3 easy installments of $139.99.  TELL YOUR FRIENDS.  Paris Hilton is throwing a party in my honor, so I must cut this short.  Peace.  Franklin Out!

Meta-commentary

I’ve decided to parody Benjamin Franklin’s Autobiography and “The Art of Virtue” which was a device designed to help attain moral perfection.  Franklin was a man remembered for many things and his insatiable thirst for knowledge defined who he was.  Franklin’s Autobiography is considered the archetype for the “American Dream”, in David M. Larson’s short “Biography of Benjamin Franklin” he writes about Franklin’s “rise from obscurity to international fame, his transcendence of the bounds of class and rank” (Larson).  The Autobiography has also been called the original “Rags to Riches” story, I wanted to parody this with the “get rich quick” scheme and the flooding of infomercials that stream across our TV’s, advertising some sort of life changing product easily obtained through “simple payments. The parody “The Art of being like Ben” shares in the persona used in Franklin’s Autobiography.  “The Art of being like Ben” begins with an attempt at modesty, but the transparency of this façade is made quite clear in the lines that follow.  Franklin’s “The Art of Virtue” was comprised of 13 moral virtues, these consisted of; Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility.  A component of “17^th Century Enlightenment Thought” is that “Human beings can be improved through education and the development of their rational facilities” (Hooker).  This was Franklin’s “bread and butter”, to deepen one’s pool of knowledge is to equip yourself with a better comprehension of the world.  The fictional Ben Franklin also seeks improvement through self reflection, but clearly “The Notebook” cannot provide the necessary tools required for excavating anything useful.

There are many contrasting factors between the original and the parody, for example, we know that the real Benjamin Franklin puts great thought into all of his pursuits.  This system created by the fictional Franklin could have been put together by a child.  Also, the priorities are skewed.  Even though Benjamin Franklin enjoyed the company of friends, he still worked, and continued his passion for learning.  Fictional Ben’s work week consists of 4 days; he’s a socialite, instead of surrounding himself with those that provide intellectual stimulation he’s partying it up with Paris Hilton.  It’s interesting to think about how a person would be if they were placed in a different time period.  Would they remain true to who they are? Or would they allow the current society to mold them into someone completely different?  Both Benjamin Franklin and his contemporary alter ego sought to contribute to their fellow man, although one may have had different influences and motivations.