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NEW LIBRARY MATERIAL September 2020 - February 2021

Bibliography

Sorted by Call Number / Author.

011.7 F

Fadiman, Clifton, 1904-1999. The new lifetime reading plan / : the classical guide to world literature, Revised and expanded. 4th ed. New York : HarperCollins Publishers, 1999, c1997.

155.2 G

Gladwell, Malcolm, 1963-. David and Goliath : underdogs, misfits, and the art of battling giants. First edition. Goliath : "Am I a dog that you should come to me with sticks?" -- The Advantages of Disadvantages (and the Disadvantages of Advantages). Vivek Ranadiv©♭: "It was really random. I mean, my father had never played basketball before." ; Teresa DeBrito: "My largest class was twenty-nine kids. Oh, it was fun." ; Caroline Sacks: "If I'd gone to the University of Maryland, I'd still be in science. -- The Theory of Desirable Difficulty. David Boies: You wouldn't wish dyslexia on your child. Or would you? ; Emil "Jay" Freireich: "How Jay did it, I don't know." ; Wyatt Walker: "De rabbit is de slickest o' all de animals de Lawd ever made." -- The Limits of Power. Rosemary Lawlor: "I wasn't born that way. This was forced upon me." ; Wilma Derksen: "We have all done something dreadful in our lives, or have felt the urge to." ; Andr©♭ Trocm©♭: "We feel obliged to tell you that there are among us a certain number of Jews.". This book uncovers the hidden rules that shape the balance between the weak and the mighty and the powerful and the dispossessed. In it the author challenges how we think about obstacles and disadvantages, offering a new interpretation of what it means to be discriminated against, or cope with a disability, or lose a parent, or attend a mediocre school, or suffer from any number of other apparent setbacks. He begins with the real story of what happened between the giant and the shepherd boy (David and Goliath) those many years ago. From there, the book examines Northern Ireland's Troubles, the minds of cancer researchers and civil rights leaders, murder and the high costs of revenge, and the dynamics of successful and unsuccessful classrooms, all to demonstrate how much of what is beautiful and important in the world arises from what looks like suffering and adversity. -- From book jacket.

170 H

Haidt, Jonathan, author. The happiness hypothesis : finding modern truth in ancient wisdom. Paperback edition. "The Happiness Hypothesis is a book about ten Great Ideas. Each chapter is an attempt to savor one idea that has been discovered by several of the world's civilizations--to question it in light of what we now know from scientific research, and to extract from it the lessons that still apply to our modern lives and illuminate the causes of human flourishing. Award-winning psychologist Jonathan Haidt shows how a deeper understanding of the world's philosophical wisdom and its enduring maxims--like "do unto others as you would have others do unto you," or "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"--can enrich and even transform our lives."--Back cover.

171 K

Kohn, Alfie. The brighter side of human nature : altruism and empathy in everyday life. New York : Basic Books, c1990.

305.5 W

Wilkerson, Isabel, author. Caste : the origins of our discontents. First edition. The man in the crowd -- Toxins in the permafrost and heat rising all around -- The arbitrary construction of human divisions -- The eight pillars of caste -- The tentacles of caste -- The consequences of caste -- Backlash -- Awakening -- Epilogue: A world without caste. "In this brilliant book, Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Beyond race, class, or other factors, there is a powerful caste system that influences people's lives and behavior and the nation's fate. Linking the caste systems of America, India, and Nazi Germany, Wilkerson explores eight pillars that underlie caste systems across civilizations, including divine will, bloodlines, stigma, and more. Using riveting stories about people--including Martin Luther King, Jr., baseball's Satchel Paige, a single father and his toddler son, Wilkerson herself, and many others--she shows the ways that the insidious undertow of caste is experienced every day. She documents how the Nazis studied the racial systems in America to plan their out-cast of the Jews; she discusses why the cruel logic of caste requires that there be a bottom rung for those in the middle to measure themselves against; she writes about the surprising health costs of caste, in depression and life expectancy, and the effects of this hierarchy on our culture and politics. Finally, she points forward to ways America can move beyond the artificial and destructive separations of human divisions, toward hope in our common humanity. Beautifully written, original, and revealing, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents is an eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of America life today."--.

305.8 W

Williamson, Joel. A rage for order : Black/White relations in the American South since emancipation. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 1968. Full ed.: published as The crucible of race. 1984. Traces the history of race relations, examines changing public attitudes, and tells the stories of those involved in Civil Rights movement.

305.9 P

Pipher, Mary Bray. The middle of everywhere : the world's refugees come to our town. First edition. Cultural collisions on the Great Plains -- The beautiful laughing sisters-an arrival story -- Into the heart of the heartland -- All that glitters ... -- Children of hope, children of tears -- Teenagers--Mohammed meets Madonna -- Young adults--"Is there a marriage broker in Lincoln?"-- Family--"A bundle of sticks cannot be broken" -- African stories -- Healing in all times and places -- Home-a global positioning system for identity -- Building a village of kindness. Offers the tales of refugees who have escaped countries riddled by conflict and ripped apart by war to realize their dream of starting a new life in America, detailing their triumph over adversity.

306.4 P

Pollan, Michael. The botany of desire : a plant's-eye view of the world. Random House trade pbk. ed. New York : Random House, 2002. Desire : sweetness, plant : the apple (Malus domestica) -- Desire : beauty, plant : the tulip (Tulipa) -- Desire : intoxication, plant : marijuana (Cannabis sativa x indica) -- Desire : control, plant : the potato (Solanum tuberosum). Focusing on the human relationship with plants, the author of Second nature uses botany to explore four basic human desires, sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control, through portraits of four plants that embody them, the apple, tulip, marijuana, and potato. Every school child learns about the mutually beneficial dance of honeybees and flowers; the bee collects nectar and pollen to make honey and, in the process, spreads the flowers' genes far and wide. In The botany of desire, Michael Pollan ingeniously demonstrates how people and domesticated plants have formed a similarly reciprocal relationship. In telling the stories of four familiar species that are deeply woven into the fabric of our lives, Pollan illustrates how the plants have evolved to satisfy humankind's most basic yearnings. And just as we've benefited from these plants, the plants have done well by us. So who is really domesticating whom?.

307.1 I

Immerwahr, Daniel, 1980-. Thinking small : the United States and the lure of community development. First Harvard University Press paperback edition 2018. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 2015. Preface: Modernization, development, and community -- Introduction: Actually existing localism -- When small was big -- Development without modernization -- Peasantville -- Grassroots empire -- Urban villages -- Epilogue: What is dead and what is undead in community development?.

323.60973 I

In the hands of the people : Thomas Jefferson on equality, faith, freedom, compromise, and the art of citizenship. First edition. New York, NY : Random House, 2020. "Thomas Jefferson believed in the covenant between a government and its citizens, in both the government's responsibilities to its people and also the people's responsibility to the republic. In this illuminating collection, a project of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, #1 New York Times bestselling author Jon Meacham has gathered Jefferson's most powerful and provocative reflections on the subject, drawn from public speeches and documents as well as his private correspondence. Still relevant centuries later, Jefferson's words provide a manual for U.S. citizenship in the twenty-first century. His thoughts will re-shape and revitalize the way readers relate to concepts including Freedom: "Divided we stand, united we fall." The importance of a free press:"Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter." Public education: "Enlighten the public generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body & mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day." Participation in government: A citizen should be "a participator in the government of affairs not merely at an election, one day in the year, but every day.""-- Provided by publisher.

324.6 P

Terborg-Penn, Rosalyn. African American women in the struggle for the vote, 1850-1920. Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1998. Revisiting the question of race in the woman suffrage movement -- African American women in the first generation of woman suffragists : 1850-1869 -- African American woman suffragists finding their own voices : 1870s and 1880s -- Suffrage strategies and ideas : African American women leaders respond during "the nadir" -- Mobilizing to win the vote : African American women's organizations -- Anti-black woman suffrage tactics and African American women's responses -- African American women as voters and candidates -- The nineteenth amendment and its meaning for African American women. This study of African American women's roles in the suffrage movement breaks new ground. Rosalyn Terborg-Penn draws from many original documents to take a comprehensive look at the African American women who sought the right to vote. She discovers numerous Black suffragists previously unknown. Analyzing the women's own stories, she examines why they joined the woman suffrage movement in the United States and how they participated in it - with white women, Black men, as members of African American women's organizations, or simultaneously in all three. Terborg-Penn further discusses their various levels of interaction and types of feminist philosophy. Noting that not all African American woman suffragists were from elite circles, Terborg-Penn finds representation from working-class and professional women as well.They came from all parts of the nation. Some employed radical, others conservative means to gain the right to vote. Black women, however, were unified in working to use the ballot to improve not only their own status, but the lives of Black people in their communities. Drawing from innumerable sources, Terborg-Penn argues that sexism and racism prevented African American women from voting and from full participation in the national suffrage movement. Following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, state governments in the South, enacted policies which disfranchised African American women, with many white suffragists closing their eyes to the discriminatory acts. Despite efforts to keep Black women politically powerless, Terborg-Penn contends that the Black suffrage was a source of empowerment. Every political and racial effort to keep African American women disfranchised met with their active resistance until Black women achieved full citizenship.

326.80922 B

Brands, H. W., author. The zealot and the emancipator : John Brown, Abraham Lincoln and the struggle for American freedom. First Edition. Pottawatomie -- Springfield -- Harpers Ferry -- The telegraph office. "What do moral people do when democracy countenances evil? The question, implicit in the idea that people can govern themselves, came to a head in America at the middle of the nineteenth century, in the struggle over slavery. John Brown's answer was violence--violence of a sort some in later generations would call terrorism. Brown was a deeply religious man who heard the God of the Old Testament speaking to him, telling him to do whatever was necessary to destroy slavery. When Congress opened Kansas territory to slavery, the eerily charismatic Brown raised a band of followers to wage war against the evil institution. One dark night his men tore several proslavery settlers from their homes and hacked them to death with broadswords, as a bloody warning to others. Three years later Brown and his men assaulted the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, with the goal of furnishing slaves with weapons to murder their masters in a race war that would cleanse the nation of slavery once and for all. Abraham Lincoln's answer was politics. Lincoln was an ambitious lawyer and former office-holder who read the Bible not for moral guidance but as a writer's primer. He disliked slavery yet didn't consider it worth shedding blood over. He distanced himself from John Brown and joined the moderate wing of the new, antislavery Republican party. He spoke cautiously and dreamed big, plotting his path to Washington and perhaps the White House. Yet Lincoln's caution couldn't preserve him from the vortex of violence Brown set in motion. Arrested and sentenced to death, Brown comported himself with such conviction and dignity on the way to the gallows that he was canonized in the North as a martyr to liberty. Southerners responded in anger and horror that a terrorist was made into a saint. Lincoln shrewdly threaded the needle of the fracturing country and won election as president, still preaching moderation. But the time for moderation had passed. Slaveholders lumped Lincoln with Brown as an enemy of the Southern way of life; seven Southern states left the Union. Lincoln resisted secession, and the Civil War followed. At first a war for the Union, it became the war against slavery Brown had attempted to start. Before it was over, slavery had been destroyed, but so had Lincoln's faith that democracy can resolve its moral crises peacefully"--.

328.73 M

Meacham, Jon, author. His truth is marching on : John Lewis and the power of hope. First edition. Overture: the last march -- A hard life, a serious life -- The spirit of history -- Soul force -- In the image of God and democracy -- We are going to make you wish you was dead -- I'm going to die here -- This country don't run on love -- Epilogue: against the rulers of the darkness. "John Lewis, who at age twenty-five marched in Selma and was beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, is a visionary and a man of faith. Using intimate interviews with Lewis and his family and deep research into the history of the civil rights movement, Meacham writes of how the activist and leader was inspired by the Bible, his mother's unbreakable spirit, his sharecropper father's tireless ambition, and his teachers in nonviolence, Reverend James Lawson and Martin Luther King, Jr. A believer in hope above all else, Lewis learned from a young age that nonviolence was not only a tactic but a philosophy, a biblical imperative, and a transforming reality. At the age of four, Lewis, ambitious to become a preacher, practiced by preaching to the chickens he took care of. When his mother cooked one of the chickens, the boy refused to eat it--his first act of non-violent protest. Integral to Lewis's commitment to bettering the nation was his faith in humanity and in God, and an unshakable belief in the power of hope. Meacham calls Lewis "as important to the founding of a modern and multiethnic twentieth- and twenty-first century America as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and Samuel Adams were to the initial creation of the nation-state in the eighteenth century. He did what he did--risking limb and life to bear witness for the powerless in the face of the powerful--not in spite of America, but because of America, and not in spite of religion, but because of religion"--.

333.95 W

Wilson, Edward O. A window on eternity : a biologist's walk through Gorongosa National Park. First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition. Prologue: The Search for Eternity -- The Sacred Mountain of Mozambique -- Once There Were Giants -- War and Redemption -- Dung and Blood -- The Twenty-Foot Crocodile -- The Elephant Whisperer -- The House of Spiders -- The Clash of Insect Civilizations -- The Log of an Entomological Expedition -- The Struggle for Existence -- The Conservation of Eternity. "E.O. Wilson, one of the most celebrated scientists in the United States, shows why biodiversity is vital to the future of Earth and to our own species through the story of an African national park that may be the most diverse place on earth, in a gorgeously illustrated book"--. "The remarkable story of how one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world was destroyed, restored, and continues to evolve--with stunning, full-color photographs by two of the world's best wildlife photographers. In 1976, Gorongosa National Park was the premier park in Mozambique, boasting one of the densest wildlife populations in all of Africa. Across 1,500 square miles of lush green floodplains, thick palm forests, swampy lakes, and vast plains roamed creatures great and small, from herds of wildebeest and elephant to countless bird species and insects yet to be classified. Then came the civil war of 1978-1992, when much of the ecosystem was destroyed, reducing some large animal populations by 90 percent or more. Due to a remarkable conservation effort sponsored by an American entrepreneur, the park was restored in the 1990s and is now evolving back to its former state. This is the story of that incredible transformation and why such biological diversity is so important. In A Window on Eternity, world-renowned biologist and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward O. Wilson shows why biodiversity is vital to the future of the Earth, including our human population. It is in places like Gorongosa in Africa, explains Wilson, that our own species evolved. Wilson takes readers to the forested groves of the park's watershed on sacred Mount Gorongosa, then far away to deep gorges along the edge of the Rift Valley, places previously unexplored by biologists, with the aim of discovering new species and assessing their ancient origins. He treats readers to a war between termites and raider ants, describes 'conversations' with elephant herds, and explains the importance of a one-day 'bioblitz.' Praised as 'one of the finest scientists writing today' (Los Angeles Times), Wilson uses the story of Gorongosa to show the significance of biodiversity to humankind"--.

340.092 S

Sligh, Clarissa T., artist. Transforming hate : an artist's book. First edition. "This book evolved from a project for which I folded origami cranes from pages of white supremacist books for the exhibition, Speaking Volumes: Transforming Hate ... I was trying to look at what it was like for me to turn hateful words into a beautiful art object. What actually evolved from that exploration helped me understand more fully the many levels of oppression and violence at the intersections of race, gender, class and sexual orientation." --inside front cover.

343.730 I

Internet law. Amenia, New York : Grey House Publishing, 2020.

345.73 C

Carter, Dan T. Scottsboro : a tragedy of the American South. Rev. ed. Fourth printing. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, 2007.

349.41 H

Honor©♭, Tony, 1921-2019. About law : an introduction. Reprint: 2013. Law -- History -- Government -- Property -- Contracts and treaties -- Crimes -- Torts -- Forms and procedures -- Interpretation -- Justice -- Does law matter? -- Glossary.

363.73 P

Pollution. New York, NY : Grey House Publishing, 2020.

371.102 A

Agarwal, Pooja K., author. Powerful teaching : unleash the science of learning. First edition. Introduction -- Discover the power behind power tools -- Build a foundation with retrieval practice -- Empower teaching with retrieval practice strategies -- Energize learning with spacing and interleaving -- Engage students with feedback-driven metacognition -- Combine power tools and harness your toolbox -- Keeping it real: use power tools to tackle challenges, not add to them -- Foster a supportive environment: use power tools to reduce anxiety and strengthen community -- Spark conversations with students about the science of learning -- Spark conversations with parents about the science of learning -- Powerful professional development for teachers and leaders -- Do-it-yourself retrieval guide -- Conclusion: unleash the science of learning.

512 G

Algebra. 2004. New York : Springer Science+Business Media, 2004.

575.1 A

Arney, Kat, author. How to code a human. Meet your genome -- Our genetic journey -- How do genes work? -- Under attack! -- Who do you think your are? -- People are not peas -- Genetic superheroes -- Turn me on -- Sticky notes -- The RNA world -- Building a baby -- Wiring the brain -- Compatibility genes -- X and Y -- The viruses that made us human -- When things go wrong -- Human 2.0. "How to Code a Human takes you on a mind-bending journey through the world of the double helix, revealing how our DNA encodes our genes and makes us unique. Covering all aspects of modern genetics from the evolution of our species to inherited diseases, "junk" DNA, genetic engineering and the intricacies of the molecular processes inside our cells, this is an astonishing and insightful guide to the code of life"--Back cover.

598 S

Sibley, David, 1961- author, illustrator. What it's like to be a bird : from flying to nesting, eating to singing -- what birds are doing, and why. How to use this book -- Introduction -- Portfolio of birds -- Birds in this book -- What to do if... -- Becoming a birder. Explore more than two hundred species, and more than 330 new illustrations by the author, in this special, large-format volume, where many of the primary illustrations are reproduced life-sized. While its focus is on familiar backyard birds -- blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees -- What It's Like to Be a Bird also examines certain species that can be fairly easily observed, such as the seashore-dwelling Atlantic Puffin. David Sibley's exacting artwork and wide-ranging expertise bring observed behaviors vividly to life. And while the text is aimed at adults -- including fascinating new scientific research on the myriad ways birds have adapted to environmental changes -- it is nontechnical, making it the perfect occasion for parents and grandparents to share their love of birds with young children, who will delight in the big, full-color illustrations of birds in action. -- back cover.

613.6 C

Bushcraft Illustrated: a visual guide. New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, Inc. (Adams Media: imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2019.

638.1 B

Michael Bush. The Practical beekeeper. Nehawka, Nebraska : X-Star Publishing Company, 2004-2011. V. 1 - The Practical Beekeeing Naturally; V.2 - Intermediate Beekeeping Naturally.

660.6 D

Druker, Steven M., author. Altered genes, twisted truth : how the venture to genetically engineer our food has subverted science, corrupted government, and systematically deceived the public.

709.2 A

Atalay, B©ơlent. Math and the Mona Lisa: : the art and science of Leonardo da Vinci. New York, NY : Smithsonian Books in association with HarperCollins Publishers, 2006. Leonardo was one of history's true geniuses, equally brilliant as an artist, scientist, and mathematician. Following Leonardo's own model, Atalay searches for the internal dynamics of art and science. He provides an overview of the development of science from the dawn of civilization to today's quantum mechanics. From this base, Atalay offers a view into Leonardo's restless intellect and modus operandi, allowing us to see the source of his ideas and to appreciate his art from a new perspective.

741.5 G

Greenberg, Isabel. The encyclopedia of early earth : a graphic novel. First American edition. Love in a very cold climate -- Part 1. The land of Nord. The three sisters of Summer Island ; Beyond the frozen sea ; The gods ; The odyssey begins -- Part 2. Britanitarka. Summer and winter ; Creation ; Medicine man ; The storytellers ; Creation ; Dag and Hal ; The old lady and the giant ; The time of the giants ; The children of the mountain ; The long night ; Dead towns & ghost men -- Part. 3. Migdal Bavel. Migdal Bavel ; The mapmaker of Migdal Bavel ; The bible of Birdman: Genesis ; Bible of Birdman, book of Kiddo: The great flood ; The tower of Migdal Bavel ; The palace of whispers ; The gods #2 -- Part 4. The South Pole. The gods #3 -- Appendices. A brief history of time ; The Nords ; Hunting and fishing ; The 1001 varieties of snow ; The invisible hunter ; Britanitarka ; Birds & beast from early Earth ; The moonstone ; The plucked firebird of Hoo. "Chronicles the explorations of a young man as he paddles from his home in the North Pole to the South Pole. There, he meets his true love, but their romance is ill-fated. Early Earth's unusual and finicky polarity means the lovers can never touch"--Publisher's website.

808.1 G

How poetry can change your heart. San Francisco, CA : Chronicle Books, 2019.

808.5 E

Franklin, Sharon. Essentials of speech communication. Evanston, Ill. : McDougal Littell, 2001.

808.53 H

Hanson, Jim. NTC's dictionary of debate. Lincolnwood, Ill., USA : National Textbook Co., c1990.

808.53 W

Strategic debate. Textbook. Columbus, OH : Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, 2006.

810.8 B

Lepucki, Edan, author. The best American nonrequired reading 2019. This anthology presents a selection of short works from mainstream and alternative American periodicals published in 2019, including nonfiction, screenplays, television writing, fiction, and alternative comics.

815 R

Representative American speeches, 2019-2020. Amenia, New York : Grey House, Publishing, 2020. "Selected from a diverse field of speakers and venues, this volume offers some of the most engaging American speeches of the year. Distinguished by its diversity, covering areas in politics, education, popular culture, as well as trending topics in the news, these speeches provide an interesting format to explore some of the year's most important stories."-Publisher.

909.09 D

Davis, Jack E., 1956- author. The Gulf : the making of an American sea. First edition. Prologue : history, nature, and a forgotten sea -- Introduction : birth -- Part one. Estuaries, and the lie of the land and sea : aborigines and colonizing Europeans. Mounds -- El golfo de M©♭xico -- Unnecessary death -- A most important river, and a "magnificent" bay -- Part two. Sea and sky : American debuts in the nineteenth century. Manifest destiny -- A fishy sea -- The wild fish that tamed the coast -- Birds of a feather, shot together -- Part three. Preludes to the future. From bayside to beachside -- Oil and the Texas toe dip -- Oil and the Louisiana plunge -- Islands, shifting sands of time -- Wind and water -- Part four. Saturation and loss : post-1945. The growth coast -- Florida worry, Texas slurry -- Rivers of stuff -- Runoff, and runaway -- Sand in the hourglass -- Losing the edge -- Epilogue : a success story amid so much else. Significant beyond tragic oil spills and hurricanes, the Gulf has historically been one of the world's most bounteous marine environments, supporting human life for millennia. Based on the premise that nature lies at the center of human existence, Davis takes readers on a compelling and, at times, wrenching journey from the Florida Keys to the Texas Rio Grande, along marshy shorelines and majestic estuarine bays, both beautiful and life-giving, though fated to exploitation by esurient oil men and real-estate developers. Davis shares previously untold stories, parading a vast array of historical characters past our view: sports-fishermen, presidents, Hollywood executives, New England fishers, the Tabasco king, a Texas shrimper, and a New York architect who caught the "big one". Sensitive to the imminent effects of climate change, and to the difficult task of rectifying the assaults of recent centuries, this book suggests how a penetrating examination of a single region's history can inform the country's path ahead. --.

910.92 I

Inskeep, Steve, author. Imperfect union : how Jessie and John Fr©♭mont mapped the West, invented celebrity, and helped cause the Civil War. Aid me with your influence -- The equal merits of differing peoples -- The current of important events -- Miseries that attend a separation -- I determined to make there a home -- The manifest purpose of providence -- A taste for danger and bold daring adventure -- The Spaniards were somewhat rude and inhospitable -- I am not going to let you write anything but your name -- Do not suppose I lightly interfere in a matter belonging to men -- We pressed onward with fatal resolution -- Jessie Benton Fr©♭mont was the better man of the two -- We thought money might come in handy -- All the stupid laurels that ever grew -- Decidedly, this ought to be struck out -- He throws away his heart. "Steve Inskeep tells the riveting story of John and Jessie Fr©♭mont, the husband and wife team who in the 1800s were instrumental in the westward expansion of the United States, and thus became America's first great political couple John Fr©♭mont grew up amid family tragedy and shame. Born out of wedlock in 1813, he went to work at age thirteen to help support his family in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a nobody. Yet, by the 1840s, he rose to become one of the most acclaimed people of the age -- known as a wilderness explorer, bestselling writer, gallant army officer, and latter-day conquistador, who in 1846 began the United States' takeover of California from Mexico. He was a celebrity who personified the country's westward expansion. Mountains, towns, ships, and streets were named after him. How did he climb so far? A vital factor was his wife, Jessie Benton Fr©♭mont, the daughter of a powerful United States senator. Jessie wanted to play roles in politics and exploration, which were then reserved for men. Frustrated, she threw her skill and passion into promoting her husband. Ordered by the US Army to map the Oregon Trail, John traveled thousands of miles on horseback, indifferent to his safety and that of the other members of his expeditions. When he returned home, Jessie helped him to shape dramatic reports of his adventures, which were reprinted in newspapers and bound as popular books. Jessie became his political adviser, and a power player in her own right. In 1856, the famous couple strategized as John became the first-ever presidential nominee of the newly established Republican Party. The party had been founded in opposition to slavery, and though both Fr©♭monts were Southerners they became symbols of the cause. With rare detail and in consummate style, Steve Inskeep tells the story of a couple whose joint ambitions and talents intertwined with those of the nascent United States itself. Americans linked the Fr©♭monts with not one but three great social movements of the time -- westward settlement, women's rights, and opposition to slavery. Theirs is a surprisingly modern story of ambition and fame; they lived in a time of globalization, technological disruption, and divisive politics that foreshadowed our own. The Fr©♭monts' adventures amount to nothing less than a tour of the early American soul"--.

940.54 S

Sledge, E. B. (Eugene Bondurant), 1923-. China marine. Oxford University Paperback, 2003. Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, c2002. China Marine 1 -- Epilogue: I Am Not the Man I Would Have Been 149.

940.54 T

Terkel, Studs, 1912-2008. "The good war" : an oral history of World War Two. New York : New Press, [1997.

943.36 H

Hunt, Irmgard A. (Irmgard Albine), 1934-. On Hitler's mountain : overcoming the legacy of a Nazi childhood. First Harper Perennial edition. 2006. On writing a childhood memoir -- pt. 1. 1906-1934 : the P©œhlmanns. Roots of discontent ; In search of a future -- pt. 2. 1934-1939 : Hitler's willing followers. The rituals of life ; "Heil Hitler" ; Ominous undercurrents ; Meeting Hitler ; Gathering clouds -- pt. 3. 1939-1945 : war and surrender. Early sacrifice ; Learning to hate school ; Lessons from a wartime friendship ; A weary interlude in Selb ; Hardship and disintegration ; War comes to Berchtesgaden ; The end at last -- pt. 4. 1945-1948 : Bitter justice, or, Will justice be done? Survival under the Star-spangled Banner ; The curse of the past ; Escape from darkness. The author provides an account of her life growing up in Berchtesgaden, a Bavarian village at the foot of Hitler's mountain retreat, discussing a childhood encounter with the Nazi leader, and shedding light on why ordinary Germans, including her parents, tolerated and even supported the Nazis.

951.04 M

Mitter, Rana, 1969- author. Forgotten ally : China's World War II, 1937-1945. First U.S. Edition. The path to war: As close as lips and teeth : China's fall, Japan's rise ; A new revolution ; The path to confrontation -- Disaster: Thirty-seven days in summer : the outbreak of war ; The battle for Shanghai ; Refugees and resistance ; Massacre at Nanjing ; The battle of Taierzhuang ; The deadly river -- Resisting alone: "A sort of wartime normal" ; Flight into the unknown ; The road to Pearl Harbor -- The poisoned alliance ; Destination Burma ; Hunger in Henan ; States of terror ; Conference at Cairo ; One war, two fronts ; Showdown with Stilwell ; Unexpected victory ; Epilogue: The enduring war. "For decades, a major piece of World War II history has gone virtually unwritten. China was the fourth great ally, partner to the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain, yet its drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue remains little known in the West. In this emotionally gripping book, made possible through access to newly unsealed Chinese archives, Rana Mitter unfurls the story of China's World War II as never before and rewrites the larger history of the war in the process. He focuses his narrative on three towering leaders -- Chiang Kai-shek, Mao Zedong, and the lesser-known collaborator Wang Jingwei -- and extends the timeline of the war back to 1937, when Japanese and Chinese troops began to clash, fully two years before Hitler invaded Poland. Unparalleled in its research and scope, Forgotten Ally is a sweeping, character-driven history that will be essential reading not only for anyone with an interest in World War II, but also for those seeking to understand today's China, where, as Mitter reveals, the echoes of the war still reverberate"--.

952 J

Takada, Noriko. The Japanese way : aspects of behavior, attitudes, and customs of the Japanese. 2nd ed. Chicago : McGraw-Hill, c2011 . Abbreviations and contractions -- Addresses and street names -- Arts and crafts -- Asking directions -- Bathing and bathhouses -- Body language and gestures -- Borrowed words and acronyms -- Bowing -- Brand names and brand-name goods (burando-hin) -- Business cards (meish) -- Calendar -- Cherry blossoms and flower viewing -- Compliments -- Conversation -- Crime and safety -- Dating and marriage -- Death, funerals, and mourning -- Dialects -- Dining out -- Dinner invitations -- Directness -- Discussion and consensus -- Dress -- Drinking -- Driving -- Earthquakes -- Education -- English-language study -- Family -- The Jag and the national anthem -- Flowers and plants -- Food and eating -- Footwear -- Foreigners -- Gender roles -- Geography -- Gifts -- Government -- Hellos and good-byes -- Holidays and festivals -- Honorific speech (keigo) -- Hotels and inns -- Housing and furnishings -- Humor -- The Imperial family -- Individuals and couples -- Introductions and networking -- Karaoke -- Leisure (rgli) -- Letters, greeting cards, and postal services -- Love and affection -- Lucky and unlucky numbers -- Male/female speech -- Money -- Mt. Fuji -- Music and dance -- Myths, legends, and folklore -- Names, titles, and forms of address -- Numbers and counting -- Oriental medicine -- Pinball (pachinko) -- Politeness and rudeness -- Population -- Privacy -- Reading material -- Religion -- The seasons -- Shopping -- Shrines and temples -- Signatures and seals -- Social structure -- Sports -- Table etiquette -- Telephones -- Television/radio/movies -- Thank-yous and regrets -- Theater -- Time and punctuality -- Tipping and service charges -- Toilets -- Travel within Japan -- Vending machines -- Visiting private homes -- Weights, measures, and sizes -- Working hours -- The written language -- "Yes" and "no" -- "You first" -- Zoological calendar.

972.81 P

Proskouriakoff, Tatiana, 1909-1985. Maya history. First edition. Foreword / Gordon R. Wills -- Tatiana Proskouriakoff, 1909-1985 / Ian Graham -- Introduction / Rosemary A. Joyce -- 1. The Earliest Records: (A.D. 288-337) -- 2. The Arrival of Strangers: (A.D. 337-386) -- 3. The Maya Regain Tikal: (A.D. 386-435) -- 4. Some Ragged Pages: (A.D. 435-485) -- 5. Expansion of the Maya Tradition: (A.D. 485-534) -- 6. A Time of Troubles: (A.D. 534-583) -- 7. Recovery on the Frontiers: (A.D. 583-633) -- 8. Growth and Expansion: (A.D. 633-682) -- 9. Toward a Peak of Prosperity: (A.D. 682-736) -- 10. On the Crest of the Wave: (A.D. 731-780) -- 11. Prelude to Disaster: (A.D. 780-830) -- 12. The Final Years: (A.D. 831-909) -- 13. The Last Survivals: (A.D. 909-938). The ruins of Maya city-states occur throughout the Yucatan peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, and in parts of Honduras and El Salvador. But the people who built these sites remain imperfectly known. Though they covered standing monuments (stelae) and public buildings with hieroglyphic records of their deeds, no Rosetta Stone has yet turned up in Central America to help experts determine the exact meaning of these glyphs. Tatiana Proskouriakoff, a preeminent student of the Maya, made many breakthroughs in deciphering Maya writing, particularly in demonstrating that the glyphs record the deeds of actual human beings. This discovery opened the way for a history of the Maya, a monumental task that Proskouriakoff was engaged in before her death in 1985. Her work, Maya History, has been made ready for press by the able editorship of Rosemary Joyce. Maya History reconstructs the Classic Maya period (roughly A.D. 250-900) from the glyphic record on stelae at numerous sites, including Altar de Sacrificios, Copan, Dos Pilas, Naranjo, Piedras Negras, Quirigua, Tikal, and Yaxchilan. Proskouriakoff traces the spread of governmental institutions from the central Peten, especially from Tikal, to other city-states by conquest and intermarriage. And she also shows how the gradual introduction of foreign elements into Maya art mirrors the entry of outsiders who helped provoke the eventual collapse of the Classic Maya. Fourteen line drawings of monuments and over three hundred original drawings of glyphs amplify the text. Maya History has been long awaited by scholars in the field. It is sure to provoke lively debate and greater understanding of this important area in Mesoamerican studies.

973.04 A

Asian Americans : the movement and the moment. A wide-ranging collection of essays and material which documents the rich, little-known history of Asian American social activism during the years 1965-2001. This book examines the period not only through personal accounts and historical analysis, but through the visual record--utilizing historical prictorial materials developed at UCLA's Asian American Studies Center on Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Filipino, and Vietnamese Americans. Included are many reproductions of photos of the period, movement comics, demonstration flyers, newsletters, posters and much more.

973.0496 D

W.E.B. DuBois. The Souls of Black Folk. BIGFONTBOOKS.COM.

973.7 B

Barney, William L. Battleground for the Union : the era of the Civil War and Reconstruction, 1848-1877. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice Hall, c1990.

973.9 I

Imani, Blair, author. Making our way home : the Great Migration and the Black American dream. First edition. Separate but equal: Reconstruction-1919 -- Beautiful -- and ugly, too: 1920-1929 -- I, too, am America: 1930-1939 -- Liberty and justice for all: 1940-1949 -- Trouble ahead: 1950-1959 -- The time is in the street, you know: 1960-1969 -- All poer to all the people: 1970-1979. "A powerful illustrated history of the Great Migration and its sweeping impact on Black and American culture, from Reconstruction to the rise of hip hop. Over the course of six decades, an unprecedented wave of Black Americans left the South and spread across the nation in search of a better life--a migration that sparked stunning demographic and cultural changes in twentieth-century America. Through gripping and accessible historical narrative paired with illustrations, author and activist Blair Imani examines the largely overlooked impact of The Great Migration and how it affected--and continues to affect--Black identity and America as a whole. Making Our Way Home explores issues like voting rights, domestic terrorism, discrimination, and segregation alongside the flourishing of arts and culture, activism, and civil rights. Imani shows how these influences shaped America's workforce and wealth distribution by featuring the stories of notable people and events, relevant data, and family histories. The experiences of prominent figures such as James Baldwin, Fannie Lou Hamer, El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (Malcolm X), Ella Baker, and others are woven into the larger historical and cultural narratives of the Great Migration to create a truly singular record of this powerful journey"--.

973.9 L

Longley, Kyle, author. LBJ's 1968 : power, politics, and the presidency in America's year of upheaval. A nation on the brink: the State of the Union Address, January 1968 -- Those dirty bastards, are they trying to embarrass us? The Pueblo Incident, January-December 1968 -- Tet: a very near thing, January-March 1968 -- As a result, I will not seek re-election: the March 31, 1968 speech -- The days the earth stood still: the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., April 1968 -- He hated him, but loved him: the assassination of Robert Kennedy, June 1968 -- The big stumble: the Fortas Affair, June-October 1968 -- The tanks are rolling: Czechoslovakia crushed, August 1968 -- The perfect disaster: the Democratic National Convention, August 1968 -- Is this treason?: the October surprise that wasn't, October-December 1968 -- The last dance, January 1969 -- Conclusion.

974.7 F

Feldman, Deborah, 1986-. Unorthodox : the scandalous rejection of my Hasidic roots. 1st Simon & Schuster trade pbk. ed. 2020. New York : Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2012. Traces the author's upbringing in a Hasidic community in Brooklyn, describing the strict rules that governed her life, arranged marriage at the age of seventeen, and the birth of her son, which led to her plan to leave and forge her own path in life.

975.7 B

Ball, Edward, 1959-. Slaves in the family. Paperback edition. Journalist Ball confronts the legacy of his family's slave-owning past, uncovering the story of the people, both black and white, who lived and worked on the Balls' South Carolina plantations. It is an unprecedented family record that reveals how the painful legacy of slavery continues to endure in America's collective memory and experience. Ball, a descendant of one of the largest slave-owning families in the South, discovered that his ancestors owned 25 plantations, worked by nearly 4,000 slaves. Through meticulous research and by interviewing scattered relatives, Ball contacted some 100,000 African-Americans who are all descendants of Ball slaves. In intimate conversations with them, he garnered information, hard words, and devastating family stories of precisely what it means to be enslaved. He found that the family plantation owners were far from benevolent patriarchs; instead there is a dark history of exploitation, interbreeding, and extreme violence.--From publisher description.

975.7 B

Ball, Edward, 1959-. The sweet hell inside : a family history. First edition. Preface -- Part 1-The Master and His Orphans-Part 2-High Yellow-Porch 3 -Eyes Sadder Then the Grave-Part 4-Nigger Rich-Part 5-The Orphans Dancers-Part 6-A Trunk in the Grass-Notes-Permission and Photography Credits-Acknowledgments-Index. If. Recounts the lives of the Harleston family of South Carolina, the progeny of a Southern gentleman and his slave who cast off their blemished roots and achieved affluence in part through a surprisingly successful funeral parlor business. Their wealth afforded the Harlestons the comfort of chauffeurs, tailored clothes, and servants whose skin was darker than theirs. It also launched the family into a generation of glory as painters, performers, and photographers in the "high yellow" society of America's colored upper class. The Harlestons' remarkable 100-year journey spans the waning days of Reconstruction, the precious art world of the early 1900s, the back alleys of the Jazz Age, and the dawn of the civil rights movement.--From publisher description.

DVD Gre

The Great debaters. 2-disc collector's edition; Widescreen [ed.]. [New York] : Weinstein Company, c2008. Denzel Washington, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Whitaker, Jermaine Williams, Forest Whitaker, Gina Ravera, John Heard, Kimberly Elise, Devyn Tyler, Trenton McClain Boyd. Melvin B. Tolson is a professor at Wiley College in Texas. Wiley is a small African-American college. In 1935, Tolson inspired students to form the school's first debate team. Tolson turns a group of underdog students into a historically elite debate team which goes on to challenge Harvard in the national championship. Inspired by a true story.

F Alb

Albertalli, Becky, author. What if it's us. Told in two voices, when Arthur, a summer intern from Georgia, and Ben, a native New Yorker, meet it seems like fate, but after three attempts at dating fail they wonder if the universe is pushing them together or apart.

F Arc

Astral Traveler's Daughter. First Simon & Schuster Trade Paperback edition, April 2019. New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, Inc, 2019. "Last year, Teddy Cannon discovered she was psychic. This year, her skills will be put to the test as she investigates a secretive case that will take her far from home--and deep into the past in the thrilling follow-up to School for Psychics"-- Provided by publisher.

F Chi

Chiaverini, Jennifer, author. Enchantress of numbers : a novel of Ada Lovelace. "The only legitimate child of Lord Byron, the most brilliant, revered, and scandalous of the Romantic poets, Ada was destined for fame long before her birth. Estranged from Ada's father, who was infamously "mad, bad, and dangerous to know," Ada's mathematician mother is determined to save her only child from her perilous Byron heritage. Banishing fairy tales and make-believe from the nursery, Ada's mother provides her daughter with a rigorous education grounded in mathematics and science. Any troubling spark of imagination--or worse yet, passion or poetry--is promptly extinguished. Or so her mother believes. When Ada is introduced into London society as a highly eligible young heiress, she at last discovers the intellectual and social circles she has craved all her life. Little does she realize that her delightful new friendship with inventor Charles Babbage--brilliant, charming, and occasionally curmudgeonly--will shape her destiny ..."--Jacket.

F Chr

Christie, Michael, 1976- author. Greenwood : a novel. First U.S. edition. "It's 2038 and Jake Greenwood is a storyteller and a liar, an overqualified tour guide babysitting ultra-rich vacationers in one of the world's last remaining forests. It's 2008 and Liam Greenwood is a carpenter, fallen from a ladder and sprawled on his broken back, calling out from the concrete floor of an empty mansion. It's 1974 and Willow Greenwood is out of jail, free after being locked up for one of her endless series of environmental protests: attempts at atonement for the sins of her father's once vast and violent timber empire. It's 1934 and Everett Greenwood is alone, as usual, in his maple syrup camp squat when he hears the cries of an abandoned infant and gets tangled up in the web of a crime that will cling to his family for decades. And throughout, there are trees: thrumming a steady, silent pulse beneath Christie's effortless sentences and working as a guiding metaphor for withering, weathering, and survival. A shining, intricate clockwork of a novel, Greenwood is a rain-soaked and sun-dappled story of the bonds and breaking points of money and love, wood and blood--and the hopeful, impossible task of growing toward the light"--.

F Cle

Memoirs of Fanny Hill. Published by arrangement with Edito-Service S. A., Geneva, Switzerland. New York, NY : Peebles Press International Inc, 1973.

F Col

Andre's Reboot. Birmingham, AL : Stephen B. Coleman, Publisher, 2019.

F Def

Moll Flanders. Reprint. 2020. Columbia, SC, : August 12, 2020.

F Def

Defoe, Daniel, 1661?-1731. The fortunes and misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders ... A new edition.

F Fit

Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott), 1896-1940, author. The great Gatsby. Foreword to the seventy-fifth anniversary edition: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, and the House of Scribner ; Preface / by Matthew J. Bruccoli -- THE GREAT GATSBY -- The text of The Great Gatsby / by Matthew J. Bruccoli -- Publisher's afterword / Charles Scribner III -- FSF : life and career / James L.W. West III. Overview: The mysterious Jay Gatsby embodies the American notion that it is possible to redefine oneself and persuade the world to accept that definition. Gatsby's youthful neighbor, Nick Carraway, fascinated with the display of enormous wealth in which Gatsby revels, finds himself swept up in the lavish lifestyle of Long Island society during the Jazz Age. Considered Fitzgerald's best work, The Great Gatsby is a mystical, timeless story of integrity and cruelty, vision and despair. The timeless story of Jay Gatsby and his love for Daisy Buchanan is widely acknowledged to be the closest thing to the Great American Novel ever written.

F Jam

The Turn of the Screw, the Aspern Papers, and Two Stories. Barnes & Noble Classics, 2003; Intro. and notes by David L. Sweet. New York, NY : Barnes & Noble, 2003.

F Ora

Orange, Tommy, 1982- author. There there. First Vintage books edition. Here is a story of several people, each of whom has private reasons for travelling to the Big Oakland Powwow. Jacquie Red Feather is newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind in shame. Dene Oxendene is pulling his life together after his uncle's death and has come to work at the powwow to honour his uncle's memory. Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield has come to watch her nephew Orvil Red Feather, who has taught himself traditional Indian dance through YouTube videos and has come to the powwow to dance in public for the very first time. There will be glorious communion, and a spectacle of sacred tradition and pageantry. And there will be sacrifice, and heroism, and unspeakable loss.

F Pat

Patchett, Ann, author. The Dutch house : a novel. First edition. "Ann Patchett, the New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder, returns with her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go"--.

F Rob

Roberts, Nora, author. The awakening. First edition. "#1 New York Times bestselling author of the epic Chronicles of The One trilogy returns with the first in a brand new series where parallel worlds clash over the struggle between good and evil"--.

F Row

Rowling, J. K. Harrius Potter et philosophi lapis. Cover illustration first pub. 2015. London : Bloomsbury, 2003, ℗♭1997. Latin translation, Peter Needham, 2003. Rescued from the outrageous neglect of his aunt and uncle, a young boy with a great destiny proves his worth while attending Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry.

F Rus

Russell, Karen, 1981-. Swamplandia! 1st ed (Borzoi Book). New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Twelve year old Ava must travel into the Underworld part of the swamp in order to save her family's dynasty of Bigtree alligator wresting. This novel takes us to the swamps of the Florida Everglades, and introduces us to Ava Bigtree, an unforgettable young heroine. The Bigtree alligator wrestling dynasty is in decline, and Swamplandia!, their island home and gator wrestling theme park, formerly no. 1 in the region, is swiftly being encroached upon by a fearsome and sophisticated competitor called the World of Darkness. Ava's mother, the park's indomitable headliner, has just died; her sister, Ossie, has fallen in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, who may or may not be an actual ghost; and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, who dreams of becoming a scholar, has just defected to the World of Darkness in a last ditch effort to keep their family business from going under. Ava's father, affectionately known as Chief Bigtree, is AWOL; and that leaves Ava, a resourceful but terrified thirteen, to manage ninety eight gators as well as her own grief. Against a backdrop of hauntingly fecund plant life animated by ancient lizards and lawless hungers, the author has written a novel about a family's struggle to stay afloat in a world that is inexorably sinking.

F Sha

Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. The young lions. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 2000.

F Tol

The Hobbit. 75th Anniversary. The text of this edition is based on edition published by HarperCollins Publishers in 1995. Bilbo Baggins, a respectable, well-to-do hobbit, lives comfortably in his hobbit-hole until the day the wandering wizard Gandalf chooses him to take part in an adventure from which he may never return.

F Tow

Towles, Amor. Rules of civility. A chance encounter with a handsome banker in a jazz bar on New Year's Eve 1938 catapults Wall Street secretary Katey Kontent into the upper echelons of New York society, where she befriends a shy multi-millionaire, an Upper East Side ne'er-do-well, and a single-minded widow.

F Wat

Watson, Ren©♭e, author. Piecing me together. Tired of being singled out at her mostly-white private school as someone who needs support, high school junior Jade would rather participate in the school's amazing Study Abroad program than join Women to Women, a mentorship program for at-risk girls. "Acclaimed author Renee Watson offers a powerful story about a girl striving for success in a world that too often seems like it's trying to break her. Jade believes she must get out of her poor neighborhood if she's ever going to succeed. Her mother tells her to take advantage of every opportunity that comes her way. And Jade has: every day she rides the bus away from her friends and to the private school where she feels like an outsider, but where she has plenty of opportunities. But some opportunities she doesn't really welcome, like an invitation to join Women to Women, a mentorship program for "at-risk" girls. Just because her mentor is black and graduated from the same high school doesn't mean she understands where Jade is coming from. She's tired of being singled out as someone who needs help, someone people want to fix. Jade wants to speak, to create, to express her joys and sorrows, her pain and her hope. Maybe there are some things she could show other women about understanding the world and finding ways to be real, to make a difference.".

F Wil

Williams, Katie, 1978- author. Tell the machine goodnight. Pearl's job is to make people happy. Every day, she provides customers with personalized recommendations for greater contentment. She's good at her job, her office manager tells her, successful. But how does one measure an emotion? Meanwhile, there's Pearl's teenage son, Rhett. A sensitive kid who has forged an unconventional path through adolescence, Rhett seems to find greater satisfaction in being unhappy. The very rejection of joy is his own kind of "pursuit of happiness." As his mother, Pearl wants nothing more than to help Rhett--but is it for his sake or for hers? Certainly it would make Pearl happier. Regardless, her son is one person whose emotional life does not fall under the parameters of her job--not as happiness technician, and not as mother, either.-Amazon.

SC D

The Daniel Defoe Collection : The Life and strange surprising adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner; The farther adventures of Robinson Crusoe; A journal of the plague year; Moll Flanders. South Carolina, USA, : August 2020.

SC L

Link, Kelly, author. Get in trouble : stories. Random House trade paperback edition. The summer people -- I can see right through you -- Secret identity -- Valley of the girls -- Origin story -- The lesson -- The new boyfriend -- Two houses -- Light. A collection of short stories features tales of a young girl who plays caretaker to mysterious guests at the cottage behind her house and a former teen idol who becomes involved in a bizarre reality show.

SC P

Packer, ZZ. Drinking coffee elsewhere. 1st Riverhead trade pbk. ed. New York : Riverhead Books, 2004, ℗♭2003. Brownies -- Every tongue shall confess -- Our Lady of Peace -- The ant of the self -- Drinking coffee elsewhere -- Speaking in tongues -- Geese -- Doris is coming. Discovered by The New Yorker, Packer "forms a constellation of young black experience"* whether she's writing from the perspective of a church-going black woman who has a crisis in faith, a young college student at Yale, or a young black man unwillingly accompanying his father to the Million Man March. This universally appealing collection of short fiction has already established ZZ Packer as "a writer to watch.".

SC S

Sedaris, David, author. Calypso. First edition. When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, David Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it's impossible to take a vacation from yourself. Sedaris sets his powers of observation toward middle age and mortality, that vertiginous moment when your own body betrays you and you realize that the story of your life is made up of more past than future.

SC S

Sedaris, David, author. Let's explore diabetes with owls. First Back Bay paperback edition, June 2014. From the perils of French dentistry to the eating habits of the Australian kookaburra, from the squat-style toilets of Beijing to the particular wilderness of a North Carolina Costco, we learn about the absurdity and delight of a curious traveler's experiences. Whether railing against the habits of litterers in the English countryside or marveling over a disembodied human arm in a taxidermist's shop, Sedaris takes us on side-splitting adventures that are not to be forgotten.

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laboratorioautoral · 5 years

Text

Continuation to the last Dark Jon Prompt

This one is dedicated to @circe1fanatic and it’s M rated for a reason. If you are looking for cute couples and healthy relationships, you better check somewhere else. You’ve been warned.

The journey back North was worst than she had anticipated. Not because of the weather, nor the company, but because for most of the time Arya was afraid of what she would find once she reached Winterfell.

After seeing Robb’s mutilated body being paraded in front of traitors, her mother being thrown in the river and all the butchery of the Red Wedding, to have hope of finding what remained of her family had a tasted of doom.

Gendry tried to keep her spirits up, at leas while they were south of the Neck. He didn’t like the cold weather or the snow, but to Arya those were good old friends.

They managed to reach Winterfell’s gates at the same time that the blizzard took over the land. It was a good omen or at least a very fortunate coincidence. Arya doubted Gendry would survive another night in the wild, especially with such a harsh weather.

As expected, the guards tried to prevent her from entering the castle, but with Nymeria and Gendry by her side Arya’s will was not to be ignored. The she-wolf was an evidence of her identity, or at least too damn wild and ferocious to convince the guards that staying on her mistress way wasn’t a good idea.

They were taken inside the Great Hall by servants that Arya didn’t remember. There was a fire waiting for them and as Arya removed her gloves to warm her hands by the fireplace, she looked directly at one of the guards.

“Tell His Grace of my arrival.” Arya said with the confidence only nobility could afford. “Have the cookers preparing us something to eat as well.”

“And who should I announce?” The guard looked at her with a hint of disdain. If Nymeria had entered the hall with them, that stupid man would never dare to speak to her like that.

Arya’s left hand rested on Needle’s hilt, letting it show that she wasn’t someone to be disrespected.

“Lady Arya Stark of Winterfell, younger daughter of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark.” She said in a deadly cold tone. “If you don’t want my brother to have you hanged, than you better be fast about it.”

Arya wasn’t sure if it was her tone of threat or the sight of the sword what made the man’s face get pale. The only thing she knew what that at the mention of her name, the guard run and disappeared into the dark hallways as if he was running for his life.

As she waited, Arya’s heart started to beat as fast as a war drum. She felt suddenly anxious and self-aware. Her hands tried to make her hair somewhat presentable without much success. Gendry looked at her and considered a mockery, but in the end he remained quiet. It wasn’t his place to interfere with her family’s matters.

The white wolf arrived first. Ghost was now a monstrous beast as big as a horse and he wasn’t pleased with the smell of strangers. Arya suspected that Nymeria’s smell was to blame for his defensive position. He wasn’t used to be around other wolves.

From the dark hallways Jon emerged. It took her a second to recognize him under the full beard, heavy furs and long hair pulled back as her father used to wear. He was no longer a green boy with snow melting in his hair. Something about his face was cold and hard like the Wall itself, but as soon as his eyes scanned her face, something in him softened and Jon opened his arms to receive her.

Arya couldn’t tell for how long they remained like that; holding each other as if they were too afraid to wake up and find out it had all been a dream. His smell, his warmth, the feeling of his fingers running through her hair were enough for her to believe that it was all real.

“Welcome home.” Jon said and his voice warmed her inside like a cup of mulled wine would have done.

“I’ve missed you so much.” They said it at the same time and Arya wished that moment to last forever.

She couldn’t have dreamed of anything sweeter than their reunion, but as soon as Jon let go of her and his eyes noticed Gendry’s presence in the hall, Arya saw a sudden change in her brother’s eyes.

Jon straightened his back and his eyes became cold. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword as if he was convinced that Gendry was somehow a threat to be eliminated. That man in front of her was not Jon Snow. That was the King in The North and he didn’t like strangers walking into his house, or staying by her side.

Later that day, when they were finally alone, Arya decided to give Jon an explanation.

“He is a friend.” She said as Jon handed her a horn of strong ale. “We’ve met when I escaped King’s Landing. When I returned to Westeros, I found him at an in half way to the North. He insisted to escort me.”

“Then I suppose I should thank him for his services.” Jon said soberly as he avoided to look her in the eyes. “He will have silver and a horse in the morning.”

“I didn’t promise him silver.” Arya replied and Jon finally looked at her. He seemed like a man that had been informed of a robbery in his property. “I said you would give him a position in the household. He is a talented blacksmith. Those can be quite handy in war time.”

“I’ll see what use I can have for him.” Jon tried to smile. “I won’t let his services to House Stark go unrewarded.”

Jon honored his word, even if he made it no secret that he despised Gendry. Arya couldn’t tell why he was acting like that, but she hadn’t been the only one to notice Jon’s odd behavior.

Bran was friendly enough and it brought an unexplainable joy to her heart to see her little brother again. Although that was a moment for celebration and happiness, Arya soon learned that a great deal of bitterness and distrust had poisoned Bran and Jon’s relationship. All because of the Throne and the right to be called King.

“He usurped us.” Bran once told her. “Open your eyes! I refuse to believe you to be this naive!”

“What would you have me do?” Arya argued with exasperation. “He claimed Winterfell back and he has Robb’s will. I don’t see what can be done to change this and I’m not convinced it should be changed.”

“A will and a sword are not enough to suppress blood rights. I am Robb’s legitimate heir.” Bran insisted. “Your own rights are being affected by Jon’s intransigence.”

“I do not care for the throne or the title.” Arya said it but deep down she knew Bran to be right. “He has the experience and the acceptance of other lords.”

“Than you will see Rhaegar’s son usurping us, suppressing our lineage and do nothing about it?” Bran’s anger brought to surface a secret he had been keeping to himself. A secret that could bring the Seven Kingdoms down and change everything for the Starks.

For a while Arya wondered if Jon knew about it. She observed him closely to find an answer and after a while it became clear that although Bran had told him about Rhaegar and Lyanna, Jon was trying to live as if that meant nothing.

Targaryen or not, Jon carried himself as a true born Stark and Arya believed it to be a source of stability for the North in a way Bran wouldn’t be able to provide. However, as the time passed the tensions between Jon and Bran became more evident and potentially dangerous. Arya couldn’t tell if the problem between them was solely because of their dispute, of if there was something else.

Bran wasn’t the only one Jon was antagonizing. Gendry complained more than once about how the King in the North treated the blacksmith with despise. Only when Jon determinate that Bran and Gendry should be sent to the Dreadfort for reasons that made little to no sense to her, Arya realized that she would have to intervene.

Arya was convinced that Jon wouldn’t be swayed by reason, politics or even a sense of duty towards her father’s memory. Arya didn’t like the part she was about to play, but her love for Bran and her loyalty demanded for her to take action.

She entered the Lord’s Chambers with a bitter taste in her mouth. In another time that would be unthinkable. Arya would never have the need to argue with Jon in order to defend Bran’s right to stay in Winterfell, but those days were long gone. If they were to survive the war that would soon reach their gates, they would have to stay together as a pack and for it to happen Arya would have to embrace her role and position as the voice of reason.

The alpha female. A leader in her own right.

There was a deliberate innocence to her moves and voice that night, in a way that made Arya sound like someone else entirely. It was just another role and another face for her to wear and it was far from being the most unpleasant one.

Jon bought the lie as Arya sat on his bed as she used to do when they were children. His eyes, always so hard, cold and distrustful, were tender and warm just for her. His voice as he called her “my dear” was condescending, but still...The way Jon talked to her was a demonstration of her own power inside the northern regime. At that moment Arya was convinced that it would be only a matter of time for her to convince him of letting Bran stay.

A few kisses and hugs, nostalgic conversation and the trust that had always been so strong between them would be enough to make Jon realize the extension of his mistakes. Arya was sure that she had the upper hand in their little power play, but the way he talked so closely to her ear; how he embraced her and kissed her neck; should have been enough of a warning that Jon was not only enjoying the game, but also preparing the board for his final move.

“I have something more suitable in mind.” Jon said without Arya realizing how near her tights his hands were. “I could make you Lady of Winterfell officially.”

Was that it? He was truly offering her a tittle? Was it an attempt of buying her loyalty in the matter, or just Jon trying to dissuade her from that argument?

A part of her was tempted by the idea of holding the title that once belonged to her mother, but Arya let her feelings for him to blind her for the deep true behind that offer.

“How?” When Arya noticed his hand on her tight it was too late. In a blink of an eye, Jon slid his hand between her legs to touch her in an indecorous way as he kept kissing her neck. “What…?”

Arya was suddenly dizzy and confused. She didn’t know what to do or how to react to Jon’s sudden display of dominance and...Lust.

A million thoughts crossed her mind in a blink of an eye. She could scream or try to fight him, but who would come for her? Who would dare to go against the King in the North? Maybe Gendry could be that stupid, but he was outside the castle, in his own room by the forge. Even if Gendry interrupted that moment, Jon would have him beheaded for the audacity.

“I’m in need of a Queen.” He said with his voice low, deep and dark. “I also need to put an end to those who question the legitimacy or my rule, but the main reason for it is that I can’t stand the idea of another man laying hands on you, so I’ll just make official what we have always known to be true.” His fingers sank withing her, making a little sound of surprise escape her mouth. “You are mine and I’m yours. It have always been like this, but I’m afraid my blood now demands more from you than just hugs and kisses on my cheek. I’ll have you, Arya; and I want that boy gone once he is reminded that you belong to me and no one else.”

Arya couldn’t breathe for a moment. Her nails sank in his tights and her whole body got tense. Jon’s left arm kept her pressed against his chest and Arya could feel his erection rubbing against her ass as his fingers moved inside her.

“Just relax, my love.” He whispered to her before kissing her cheek. “I want for both of us to enjoy.”

She closed her eyes and thought about Mercy and all the faced she had worn. Her mind took her back to Braavos and the courtesans pleasure barges in the canals. Arya had seen men touching those exquisite creatures like that. Her naivety had once make Arya dream of how would feel like to be kissed, touched, and worshiped like those women, but she would never have the beauty for it.

The resistance in her slowly faded. Jon took her earlobe into his mouth and played with it. Arya tilted her head back and let it rest against Jon’s shoulder. There was a sense of impotence to that moment, but there was also a part of her that didn’t want Jon to stop. It was like a dream inside a dream. Something she might have fantasized when she was alone and feeling deprived of any kind of love.

His nose traced her neck and every now and then Jon would leave open mouthed kissed and bites on her skin. His arm became more of a support to her languid body than a rope to keep her from moving. Jon’s fingers made sinuous movements inside her and as Arya relaxed they became more fluid and pleasant. Her ass kept rubbing against his cock and every now and then Jon would growl and breathe with difficulty. Eventually Jon decided he had enough of that.

He pushed her to bed, making her lay flat on her stomach. She saw him remove his clothes as she tried to get up from bad. Before Arya could move away, Jon was already back. His body covering hers as body remained trapped between his arms.

Jon tore her nightgown apart so he could have access to her breasts. He grinned with dark satisfaction before claiming her mouth. His hands parted her legs to accommodate his body between them.

Her hands tried to push him away for a moment. Jon allowed her bit of space so she could breathe. His body still kept her in place as she looked at his face.

There was a cold acceptance, entwined with need she couldn’t quite describe inside his eyes. That was wrong, wasn’t it? Even if he was Rhaegar’s son and not her blood brother, they still grew up together.

“This is wrong.” She whispered to him as if she was trying to convince both of them.

Jon seemed to ignore her argument as he entwined his fingers with hers and kissed her neck until Arya felt dizzy and numb by his scent. This blissful sensations were suddenly replaced by the pain as Jon entered her with a swift movement.

Arya bit his shoulder and her eyes were filled with tears as her body tried to adjust to the unexpected intrusion. Jon stood very still for a moment as she tried to recover her breath. When his hips started to move again Jon tried to be gentle.

She couldn’t tell for how long the pain lasted. It could have been a minute or an hour, but after a while Arya could no longer feel it. Her hips moved along with his and there was this wild frenzy taking all over her body. Her skin was on fire and at every thrust Jon sent her closer to the edge of her conscience until sheer pleasure took her body like a mighty force, like a gift from the gods.

The night passed and every time Jon’s hands reached for her Arya felt a bit of her humanity being taken in a way not even the House of Black and White have managed.

He was making a statement of his claim. Just like the title and the throne, Jon wasn’t willing to surrender anything. He was making it plain for anyone to see that she belonged to him as well.

When Arya woke up in the morning on the Lord’s Bed, Jon was nowhere to be seen. She was suddenly confused, shocked and embarrassed. She thought of Bran, of Rickon, Robb and their father for a moment. She thought about Sansa and her mother as well. That made her feel nauseous, but despite of the discomfort between her legs, Arya tried to convince herself that it had all been a dream. It was the blood on the sheets and what remained of her nightgown what put an end to those illusions.

Arya grabbed her robe from the floor and dressed it before leaving the room as fast as her intimate discomfort allowed.

She hid inside her room for hours without having the courage to look at her own reflex in the exquisite copper mirror that Jon had given her a couple of weeks before. Arya wasn’t sure if she could face Bran after that night. She wasn’t even sure if she could face Jon. Just the thought of it was enough to get her shaky and at the verge of tears.

After hours, or maybe minutes, a servant knocked at the door and announced that her presence was required at the courtyard.

At the courtyard Arya noticed the unusual agitation of men and horses. It had snowed all night and the floor was all white and if it wasn’t for the harsh winter and her own desolation, Arya would say that it was a beautiful white day.

Bran had been placed in a wheelhouse with the Stark banner painted on it. Arya went to the window and held his hand.

“No! No. No! You can’t go!” She said exasperated as she tried to open the door of the wheelhouse to get him out of it. “I won’t allow it! Get my brother out of this shit right now!” Arya commanded to the guards was slowly gathered around them.

“I doubt there’s much we can do now.” Bran answered bitterly as he held her hand. “It won’t be forever. As soon as Jon is convinced that I’m no longer a threat or that he needs my abilities more than he fears them, I’ll be back.”

“To the Seven Hells with it! You are the rightful Lord of Winterfell! He can’t do it with you!” Arya said as tears of anger and deception took over her mind.

A rough strong hand touched her arm and she turned her face to look at Gendry standing by her side. He was dressed in his warmest clothes and carried his hammer on his back. He put her back on the floor and looked at her with sad blue eyes.

“He already did.” Gendry declared soberly. “I’m not stupid to believe that this has anything to do with him honoring the promise you made me. I’m thankful for the forge, the wage and the safe home, but I know damn well that it will be either this or my head on a spike for daring to look your way.”

“You can’t go.” Arya declared. “Let me talk to Jon. I’ll convince him to let both of you stay.”

“He can’t afford bend to your will now, sister.” Bran’s voice sounded bitter. “If last night didn’t make him change his mind, now that the sun is shinning and he has laid his claim on you...He can’t afford giving in to your caprices. Not without having his authority questioned. You are still a true born Stark of Winterfell and the key to the North.” He turned his face so he wouldn’t look at her crying. “I’ll try to forget what you did. I know you fought for my interests as much as you could. Marry him before he gets a bastard in you and before death, fire and blood reaches this gates.”

Arya had no words to answer to Bran’s accusations. Before she could say anything she felt an arm around her shoulders and a thick cloak covering her. That was Jon’s way of reinforcing his authority and remember all those who were watching the scene that Arya was his.

“You don’t have to worry about it.” Jon said in a cold and sober tone. “Take the time to think about what it’s best for this land and our people. Both Eddard and Robb would agree that I’m the best choice, given the circumstances.”

“I doubt they would like you for bedding my sister just to prove a point.” Bran snapped back, making Arya cover part of her face in shame.

“You better go now. I won’t have you insulting me and my future wife another time.” Jon hit the wood of the wheelhouse to give sign for the party to start moving.

As they moved out of the courtyard, Arya tried to run to them, but Jon had her locked within his arms before she could give three steps ahead.

#jon x arya #jonarya #jon and arya #jon/arya #dark jon #bitterness all around #I'm going to hell by toboggan after writing this one #if you didn't get it #this is a dark fic

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thelawyerthatwaspromised · 6 years

Text

How Jon Completely Took Control of Dany in Season 7

“Do you know how many times that monster has been the difference between life and death for our rangers? Your uncle included. Like it or not, we need men like Craster.” ~ Jeor Mormont to Jon Snow

With this exchange as the premise to the entire post, I’d suggest not reading any further if you believe political!Jon permanently sullies Jon Snow’s character. The nice part is that the contents of this post are almost assuredly true regardless of whether Jon has romantic feelings for Daenerys or not. I happen to think he does not, but the way in which Jon consciously and deliberately influenced Dany’s behavior is a gigantic enough topic that it warrants a closer look.

Essentially, I’m going to show you why the overarching narrative of the entire back end of Season 7 revolves around Jon incrementally exerting more and more control over Dany to the point where she’s completely surrendered almost all decision making power to him.

First, I think it’s instructive to get a glimpse of what I believe is an extremely important lesson Jon learned along the way about dealing with those you might really not approve of in service of a larger objective:

[more under the cut]

In Season 2, idealistic and naive Jon gets his first lesson on difficult relationships from Jeor Mormont’s dealings with Craster. Craster verbally berates Jeor constantly. He insults his daughters/wives. He challenges the manhood of every ranger there. Jon hates him - and he foolishly lets it show. Jon is surprised to find out that Jeor lashes out at him for being a loudmouth.

“Jon”, Jeor essentially says, “you have to shut your mouth. This isn’t about Craster being a jerk. I don’t care if he’s a jerk. If I don’t care, then you shouldn’t care. What we’re doing is more important. If you want to lead, you have to learn how to follow.” Another double meaning to this, I think, is Jeor telling Jon that their mission is more important than whether Craster stupidly thinks himself higher and mightier than Jeor. Let Craster think what he wants, because we need his shelter and we need his food and if I humor him, we get that.”

This is only re-affirmed when Jon learns that Craster is sacrificing his children to the WW’s. Jon tells Jeor that Craster is a monster. And Jeor says, well, we need this monster. It sucks, but we need this monster to survive.

How does this lead me to Jon manipulating Dany? Well you might already have an idea but I’ll walk you through what I see is a very very clear process Jon goes through as he figures out how to “speak” to her. For the record, I don’t think Jon views Dany like she’s a Craster-level monster. That’s stupid, so don’t bother jumping to that conclusion. My theory is that Jon is using lessons from what he’s experienced, like with Craster, to get what he wants out of Dany.

First step: the “sizing up” phase

Listen, Jon’s really uncomfortable in these situations. Everyone knows it. And it’s not that he’s intimidated by anyone. He’s stared down literally hundreds of people that want to kill him and refused to blink. Jon is uncomfortable with the formal setting and being viewed as if he is something special and uncomfortable that he’s made a decision in coming to Dragonstone that he knows could be a huge mistake. Just look how it starts.

Immediately, Jon displays some maturity in playing nice. He gives an ever-so-genuine smile to Missandei. I honestly believe that in this moment, Jon already regrets coming. But, the toothpaste is already out of the tube...so he’s got a job to do.

I’ve seen it theorized that Jon is simply in awe of Dany. That his looks are one of wonder and intense attraction. I’m utterly convinced this couldn’t be further from the truth. First, the power move by having Missandei tell Jon to surrender his weapons to the Dothraki gives a terrible vibe. Then, Drogon conveniently does a fly by right over Jon and Davos’ heads. No one else seems alarmed - and I think it’s a subtle clue that they knew it was going to happen. Everything about this first meeting is meant to make Jon feel small.

Like, even the camera work is designed to make him seem small from Dany’s perspective. Except Jon sizes up Dany and doesn’t back down.

Does this look like someone intimidated at this point?

Does this look like a man in awe and filled with attraction? Or a look of terror that he’s made a huge mistake and he realizes that Dany is everything he feared she would be? My vote is the latter - and I think this look tells that story a thousand times over.

Jon is NOT behaving like political!Jon in this moment. That’s why I strongly suspect that it was a change in approach that led to Jon’s success. This is Jon in his few moments of honesty during Season 7..and I have to say it was pretty glorious.

Jon’s pretty pissed at the end of this exchange..and his ship is seized and he’s forced to stay on Dragonstone despite his wanting to leave. (There’s a word for his status here, but I’m not sure what it is)

Jon has his talk with Tyrion that I’ve re-capped before - and the idea of political!Jon is born.

Phase #2: Behave as an equal and an ally rather than an adversary

Again we see Jon approaching Dany but this time attempting to mend the damage of their first meeting (which is what they’re both acknowledging in this scene)

Dany tries very hard to build a connection with Jon. He doesn’t answer when she tries to prod him on losing two brothers. And then she jumps right back into her belief that the North belongs to her.

Just look at how irritated Jon is behaving. It’s simple to see when you don’t take things at face value. This is right after Dany is asserting for the second time that the North belongs to her. Jon is agitated. Jon is not in love.

The very next scene they have together is Jon setting up a one-on-one and personal encounter with Dany in the dragonglass cave out of nowhere. And he’s clearly and intentionally initiating physical contact with her.

WHAT OF THEIR INTERACTIONS SO FAR HAVE TOLD US THAT JON WOULD BE ROMANTICALLY INTERESTED IN DANY!?

The dragonglass cave is a setup. He’s trying to make it very personal for her to convince her that they can be allies. The idea that Jon actually is attracted to Dany at this point is incredibly less likely than the idea that Jon is intentionally trying to make himself seem attractive to her.

And again, it just doesn’t work, as we know.

This is the look Jon gives when Dany asks him if the survival of his people is more important than his pride. It’s a dead stare. This isn’t love. This isn’t attraction. When he found out his play didn’t work - his practiced longing stares ceased and we got these looks.

Again, staring down Dany. Not intimidated or in awe. He’s seemingly no closer to getting her to commit than the second he landed on shore. He learned that her allowing him to mine the dragonglass was a play, again, to get him to bend the knee.

She simply will not allow him to be her equal. If she doesn’t believe him about the Night King, then this is all a facade for her to get him to bend the knee. If she does believe him, then he now knows she’s still prioritizing his bending the knee to doing the right thing.

Now he’s learned two things: she IS prone to his advances but ONLY if he also guides her to believe that he fits into her fantasy of being extraordinary and the dual fantasy of having an extraordinary warrior man to be at her side serving her.

Step #3: the pivotal moment where Jon truly becomes pro-active

THIS IS THE MOMENT. There’s absolutely no reason why Jon would just walk up and pet Drogon here except for the sole reason of having a Quentyn Martell moment with Dany.

Afterall, the last time they spoke, she AGAIN demanded that he bend the knee. The ONLY way he can get her on board is by influencing her. Jon is absolutely insane if he is doing this simply because he really wanted to pet Drogon.

It’s not because he likes Drogon either...

He literally scoffs at Dany calling them her children and her belief that they are beautiful. He very quickly feels like he has to correct himself, because his arrogance is showing again and he remembers that he cannot speak without a filter. Oh and he lies his ass off again 2 seconds later, for the “Jon can’t lie!” crowd...

Look at how genuine his smile is again!

What’s important to understand is that there’s still been NO personal connection made between Jon and Daenerys until this point. Dany is incredibly impressed by Jon’s demonstration - and that’s all it really was...a deliberate attempt at impressing her by Jon which clearly succeeded.

Dany puts herself out there and basically begs Jon to give her a heartfelt goodbye. This is what she gets...yeesh. Notice how Tyrion sees the whole thing...

So Jon is going on this death mission. He lives, but Viserion dies.

What does Dany care about more than anything? Her self-importance and being “extraordinary”. What is directly tied to that? Her dragons. She lost a dragon. Jon is scared shitless as soon as he wakes up that this means Dany is going to be too angry and/or heartbroken to help.

So JON APOLOGIZES. Are you kidding me? Then we see Jon assert control over Dany. This is the most aggressive he’s ever been about it (and, ironically, when he is physically at his weakest).

After apologizing, Jon seizes Dany’s hand. I say “seizes” because he literally reaches up and gives her no choice but to take his hand. She’s clearly mourning and this is his attempt at re-asserting his influence over her.

Dany pretty quickly pulls her hand away.

Jon does his absolute best at providing her with prolonged eye contact. If you’ve ever tried giving heart eyes to someone; it’s because you really want to focus their attention on YOU.

Ok, body language alert. A long pause, and swallowing before saying something means he’s not excited to say the words coming out of his mouth. Or that he’s incredibly nervous. What have we seen thus far that would cause Jon to be NERVOUS about expressing love to Dany? Is there any explanation besides Jon believing Dany is a holy Goddess that Jon is unworthy to speak with? I believe the better explanation is he’s playing the part that he knows he has to play and he’s making sure every word is measured.

Tips for anyone who wants to be a trial lawyer: if your witness is on the stand...breathes heavily before speaking...and pauses every 2 to 3 words when saying something...the jurors are going to believe they’re lying. Except this slow...monotone...rhythmic....pattern...is....played....to....be.....romantic.

But suddenly, the guy who stood up to every single foe along the way is now reduced to meek and mild ole’ bashful Jonny boy when expressing feelings to Dany? Sorry if I’m not buying what he’s selling. Here’s the thing: this works as visual clues for the audience...but what actually matters is the impact on Dany.

And she’s absolutely infatuated with Jon at this point.

Ha! It’s cute how he mentions that he’s severely injured so he can’t bend the knee after apologizing profusely 2 minutes ago for even going on the mission that Dany green-lighted and Tyrion thought up. I also love how he breaks eye contact AND bonus points for starting his exaggerated smirk.

Dany expresses doubt of her unworthiness. But NO. She CAN’T suddenly think she’s unworthy. That’s the entire play that Jon has built this act around. She’s extraordinary, and he is too, just not as extraordinary as her. Her self-doubts HAVE to be erased.

To this point, Jon has not ONCE expressed ANY belief that Dany is a good queen or an effective ruler. He’s expressed that she’s potentially magical and that she is supposedly a good person. And now we are, again, to believe that Jon is now of the opinion that she definitely should hold ruling authority over his home. Is this really what he thinks? Or...

“Do you want to lead one day? Then learn how to follow.”

Here is the absolute KEY SHOT for me this scene. Dany takes Jon’s hand again. His gravitational pull has her in his grasp.

And then she tries to pull her hand away...except...Jon physically grips her hand and will NOT let her go. I think this is more symbolic in nature, but this is a glaring demonstration that Jon is acting practically aggressively towards Dany while appearing passive (is passive-aggressive seduction a thing?) and he physically will not allow her to pull away from him.

Jon know he has her hooked but he still has to keep up appearances. How symbolic that Jon then clearly pretends to go to sleep when Dany tells him he should rest. Then we get a glimpse of real!Jon...who is clearly agonizing over this entire situation. What I wouldn’t give for Jon to have a thought cloud above his head in this last shot.

Step #4: Public declaration and assert dominance publicly

This sounds like Jon is the subject of an Animal Planet special.

The Declaraction

Jon is put on the spot by Cersei. He publicly declares his personal loyalty to Dany, which would seemingly torpedo the entire purpose of the wight hunt. Stupid honest Jon! Look how sad he is...except it had the exact effect he would have wanted; Dany is visibly turned on by his display. Look at what happens. She seeks him out to offer him at least a measure of consolation after her initial rebuke of him.

Dany then launches into more personal exposition (to which Jon has STILL never reciprocated with any personal stories of his own). Jon is observing Dany here. Call this love I suppose, but she’s talking about how wonderful and glorious the dragons were. We KNOW Jon doesn’t agree with this assessment.

Then she laments that they were ever locked away in “here”. Jon looks with what I would judge to be concern. But it’s a long pause AGAIN. Jon is so carefully deciding what to say next. Dany just expressed her fear of being ordinary yet again. So what does Jon say?

Jon identifies what Dany needs to hear. “You’re not like everyone else” and “your house isn’t gone”. This is Jon trying to make Dany feel like her specialness transcends the dragons. Dany, unfortunately, feels like her dragons DEFINE what makes her special. Her arc in Meereen (where she tried to lock the dragons away and was failing miserably) only confirmed that for her.

Oh look, another smile that we are to believe is romantic but one that looks exactly like all the other sarcastic smirks Jon’s given leading up to this point and one made after Jon states that he believes the world is going to end because they couldn’t get the ceasefire with Cersei. This is definitely a light-hearted moment for Jon.

Asserting Dominance

Jon pitches the idea of sailing together. Again - he fails to make eye contact except at the end of his sentence but he makes immediate and direct eye contact with Dany, knowing the effect he has on her.

Jorah had just gotten done making a very reasonable point that it’s safer to fly North and that sailing is unnecessary and more dangerous.

We get a “moment of truth” series of looks where Dany is choosing publicly whether to side with Jon’s proposal or Jorah’s proposal. Tyrion has given up even trying to exert influence at this point. His words to Jorah on the beach “our queen needs you now more than ever” serve as a warning to Jorah that he can see the growing influence of Jon over Dany.

This is essentially the crescendo for the season. Jon wants to get Dany alone so he can continue to be the only voice she hears and the only eyes she gazes into. Do you think this is romantic? I sure as hell don’t - in fact it’s very very dark. But this is how it’s presented. The moment where Dany decides...

Everyone in the room knows what this moment means....except Dany. She sort of gets it...she’s clearly uncomfortable with the looks she receives after making her decision...but it’s SOOOO obviously painting Jon’s reaction.

Jon just received good news. Why does he look so dejected about it? If he honestly believed it was the right thing to do for Dany - there would be no shame on his face. This is a look of shame. Very interestingly is the last bit where I believe Jon changes his gaze from Dany over to Jorah who offers this thousand-mile stare...

And there it is. Jon Snow, the Northern Fool just showed everybody in Dany’s inner circle that HE is calling the shots. Perhaps he doesn’t WANT them to know this yet outright, but his actions have made it eminently clear exactly who is in charge.

The scene following this one immediately?

Jon “confessing” to Theon that not everything he does is good or honest, despite what it might look like on the outside.

Jon’s completely manipulated Dany into doing exactly what he wants her to do. His groundwork from Season 7 is what will allow for dissension within team!Dany and will ultimately leave her heartbroken to learn that Jon has been pulling the strings the entire time.

Are you still holding out hope that Jon is desperately in love with Dany?

“It may seem that way from the outside ... but I promise you friend, it’s not true.”

#anti daenerys #anti targaryen #anti jonerys #anti j0nerys #Political Jon theory #political jon meta #jonsa politics #jon x sansa #jonsa #actuallyjonsa

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fortunatelylori · 5 years

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NCW has recently made a couple of references to not judging. Once in regards to shot of him in the broken tower and then again in regards to his relationship with Cersei. "I think most people have at least been attracted to someone you shouldn’t be." Likening it to having a forbidden attraction to your bf's gf. Basically saying we don't get to chose who we're attracted to and it's based on circumstance. GRRM on one hand seems to normalize incest attractions (saying yes, it can happen)

but on the other denounces it as wrong and unnatural (demonstrated in reactions to Jaime and Cersei and the children of these relationships). So my take away, by normalizing the attraction and denouncing the actions he’s saying it’s ok to be attracted but you just can’t do anything. Is that what you take from that also? Jaime and Cersei are definitely foils for Jonsa so they have to be similar but do opposite. By NCW’s statements it really seems possible we see just how similar these foils are,

either by admission to each other or conversation with others (Sam, Davos or Brienne) who notice and they confirm. They love their sibling. Just like Jaime/Cersei. But unlike them realize they can’t act on it. There will be some element of the original outline where this will be used as angst before they find out the truth. Though unlike in the books I don’t imagine it will last more than an episode. I think it’s just used to establish the real nature of their feelings before reveal. Thoughts?

Hey, nonnie!

Incest is a very thorny subject. I’ve actually been interested in this topic for years, spent quite a while researching it and it’s always looked to me to be about the last social taboo our society still places on people. By that I mean that incest is such a hot topic that it can place people in jail that don’t really belong there: as in adult people engaging in consensual sex who do jail time because their sexual partner also happens to be their sibling/offspring etc.

So it’s difficult to really ascertain what GRRM’s actual views on the subject are because our interpretation of the subject will always color our own views. Personally, my views on incest are fairly liberal in that I do think consensual incest between adults should be decriminalized. On the other hand, because of the genetic dangers of incest, particularly multi-generational incest, I also don’t think it’s a practice that society should encourage. So while I’m very strongly against the Targareyens practicing incest as norm, my views on the Jaime and Cersei relationship are not as strongly negative.

My main problem with the Jaime/Cersei relationship isn’t even the incest. It’s the toxicity of the relationship, how they feed each other’s worse impulses and how the relationship ends up making both of them miserable and act out like monsters. In a previous post, I compared their relationship to the relationship of the main characters in Lunes de fiel by Pascal Bruckner: a relationship where both characters end up crippled and disfigured at each other’s hands because of the toxic, co-dependent behavior they both engage in. That’s kind of how I see the Jaime/Cersei relationship and why I believe that Jaime is the Valonqar.

I’m not sure that GRRM’s message about Jaime/Cersei is that their biggest “sin” is having given in to their attraction. I tend to think it has more to do with the Lannister family dynamic and Tywin. All the Lannister children are traumatized and crippled emotionally by their father. They also lose their mother when they’re very young (Tyrion is just an infant) so they never get a positive parental figure that can actually teach them how to love properly. And I think that’s the biggest issue with all of them: they simply don’t know how to love in a healthy way and that leads to Jaime and Cersei’s sexual relationship, a relationship marked by an intense desire to control and posses, a dynamic of envy on Cersei’s part that causes her to want to keep Jaime tied to her in some way to make sure he never gets Casterly Rock and also that she can profit off of his “talents” with a sword, talents she desperately wants for herself. Jaime, on the other hand, allows himself never to develop as an individual and dedicate his life to Cersei’s goals and desires because, I think, he just finds it hard to figure out who he is and what he wants for himself. It’s also a way of avoiding responsibility, something that is highlighted by him pushing Bran out of a window:

Jaime: The things I do for love.

He uses his love for Cersei as an excuse that allows him to avoid taking responsibility for his actions, independent of how heinous they are.

Also, the Lannisters, under Tywin’s leadership, engage in their own brand of “exceptionalism”. It isn’t as institutionalized as the Targareyens but they still view themselves as above other people and great houses. Tywin goes to war to protect the family name when Tyrion is taken prisoner by Catelyn, even though he reviles his youngest son, because:

Tywin: He’s a Lannister. He might be the lowest of the low but he’s one of us.

This message that Lannisters are simply better than everyone else is something all of Tywin’s children, including Tyrion, internalize and it’s something that might flatter their ego but it also isolates them from the rest of the world.

So in essence, Tywin creates the perfect environment for incest to occur between Jaime and Cersei.

One more thing I wanted to touch on from your ask is this:

wrong and unnatural (demonstrated in reactions to Jaime and Cersei and the children of these relationships)

Because of what we know about the genetic problems caused by incest, it’s easy to assume that Jofferey is the way he is because of Jaime and Cersei being siblings. But I’m not sure that’s the case. I actually think if genetics are truly at fault for Jofferey being a psychopath, that has more to do with who his grandfather and his mother are than the fact that he’s the product of incest.

I don’t think this has been touched upon very often, but book Cersei is, herself, a sociopath. As a teenager she threw her friend down a well to her death, as an adult she watches the torture of an innocent man and through that process, convinces herself of his guilt even though she knew he was innocent when she threw him in the cell.

For his part, Tywin engages in extreme forms of violence that he excuses as necessary acts of war.

I’m not sure Jaime contributed that much to Jofferey’s condition.

In conclusion, the way I see the foil dynamic between Jaime/Cersei and Jonsa is exclusively on a narrative level, where you have two siblings engaging in incest vs. two people who aren’t siblings who are afraid of engaging in incest. But aside from that narrative structure, I don’t actually think Jonsa and Jaime/Cersei have much in common in terms of their relationship or the reasons why they end up in those relationships.

As for this:

admission to each other or conversation with others (Sam, Davos or Brienne) who notice and they confirm.

A lot of people are discussing this issue, as in who will notice the Jonsa vibes, who will Jon/Sansa confess to, etc. That to me is superfluous and I’m not really interested in it. I’d much rather have Jon and Sansa confess their feelings to each other, than going around talking to other people about it.

Of course that by virtue of the faux-incest structure, angst and a repression of feelings is part of the journey towards the reveal that Jon and Sansa are not actually brother and sister and as such are free to enjoy their love. However, I’m not really sure just how much of that we’ll be getting because the writers have been playing with the romantic undertones in their scenes for 2 seasons now so they might forego further angst and just jump straight to the reveal. I don’t think it’s really going to work that well because the way they wrote the scenes left a lot of room for ambiguity but I can see them doing that.

We’ll just have to wait and see, I guess.

Thanks for the ask!

#jaime x cersei #jonsa #lannicest vs. jonsa #incest theme in GOT #house lannister

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cometsweepandleonidsfly · 5 years

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By Maureen Ryan | Apr 24, 2019 4:08 PM EDT

There are four more episodes to come before Game of Thrones airs its series finale, but I feel confident in stating that we've witnessed the HBO drama's finest hour. For my money, the best episode of the HBO drama is the most recent installment, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms." In fact, I think it's valid to compare it to one of the best ever episodes of Mad Men, "The Suitcase."

Both hours were what TV critics pray to see: The culmination of years of work spent getting to know truly specific characters as well as their dilemmas and their emotional lives. And this is one of those times that the larger scale of Game of Thrones worked in its favor.

In "The Suitcase," one of the greatest episodes of any TV show ever, there was a tight and extraordinarily fruitful focus on one relationship. Through a rollercoaster of a day shared by Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss), viewers experienced an incredible range psychological states and fraught and funny moments: Friends squabbling and laughing, co-workers commiserating, a stressed boss yelling at an understandably resentful underling, and finally two human beings who've seen each other at their lowest moments and care about each other deeply anyway.

I wouldn't put "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" in quite the same category as that classic Mad Men installment, but the fact that the hours have a lot in common is very much a mark in the HBO show's favor. It's also a little surprising. I don't have a long personal list of "Best Game of Thrones Episodes," because the show's often pretty amorphous and sprawling. Given how many places and people a typical episode has to deal with, most episodes — even the good ones — come across as more a collection of stuff than a carefully curated hour with a strong and clear theme. "A Knight of Seven Kingdoms" was different: It absolutely did not feel like one slice of a 10-hour movie. It was its own rich and intimate thing.

Thanks to the show's large ensemble, we saw the episode's ideas about redemption and connection play out among an array of varied characters, most of whom we've come to love or at least like. And like many of the best episodes of TV, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" didn't just tell an involving story with people we care about, it restated and dove deeply into the show's core questions. Are compromise and growth possible? Should good people even bother trying to fight a constant tide of evil? What do you prioritize when presented with conflicting loyalties? Should you just give in to the darkness in your fight to survive, or is it possible to believe in even a battered form of hope?

It's not a spoiler to say that Westeros will not survive as it was, no matter what happens in the enormous battles to come. But by learning as much as they have — by demonstrating that people can change — the episode kept alive the idea that Westeros is worth saving, possibly (though I won't shed a tear for the racist and sexist characters that bite the dust).

Sometimes Game of Thrones is a little too binary for my taste, but in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms," it allowed for a middle ground between its "you win or you die" options, which have been best exemplified by sweet, naive Ned Stark (Sean Bean) and heartless, power-obsessed Cersei (Lena Headey). But maybe there's another way: Combine the best qualities of the people around that fireside — Tyrion's (Peter Dinklage) cleverness, Davos' (Liam Cunningham) practicality, Brienne's (Gwendoline Christie) steadfast courage, Tormund's (Kristofer Hivju) unpretentious directness, Podrick's (Daniel Portman) reliable empathy, and Jaime's (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) ability to disown his previous arrogance and cruelty — and you have a roadmap to what a new Westeros could be. If anyone survives the clash to come, if enough people remember that that true strength is not simply a matter of deploying brute force, maybe there's hope for this benighted land yet.

Of course, Game of Thrones, like Mad Men and so many other prestige dramas before it, is more interested in the redemption of a privileged man than the patience of a put-upon woman. But that doesn't make the Jaime-Brienne relationship, as brought to life by Nikolai Coster-Waldau and Gwendoline Christie, any less fascinating on screen. When the story began, Jaime asked for too much from the world — and got it. Brienne, on the other hand, steeled herself to not want almost anything, but she got even less than that.

But that power dynamic, like so many others in Westeros, has been reversed. Just as Don Draper learned a lot from his former secretary, Jaime realized just being in a room with Brienne was a gift he probably didn't deserve.

In this episode, Jaime (among other formerly swaggering men) was the supplicant. And if rejected, he would have left, or accepted his death. If Sansa (Sophie Turner) had told Theon (Alfie Allen) to leave, he would have. No rage, no tantrums. How weird and yet welcome it was to see their arrogance replaced by humility — and the script by Bryan Cogman strongly indicated that, if Westeros is to survive, that kind of mature, considered behavior should become the norm, not the exception.

Think about how utterly bizarre the episode's central scene would have seemed seven or eight years ago: A Wildling (Tormund) made a suggestion that a Lannister who'd abandoned his noble family endorsed, as another Lannister (one who serves a Targaryen) looked on. Tormund's wild and utterly sensible idea: What if status was determined by an actual meritocracy? Sitting with those who no longer considered themselves his betters, his idea was met with zero resistance. Jaime, the former golden boy of Westeros, proudly knighted a woman — one whom just about everyone dumped on in the early seasons of the show.

By that quiet fireside, we saw how far everyone had traveled — not just geographically. The men and women gathered at Winterfell have begun to learn from each other. A few of them can almost trust each other (at least some of the time). But more than that, many of the characters — most of them men — have learned that power unaccompanied by humility is often a toxic force in society. Sam (John Bradley) talked to Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) about having learned from his father what it was to be a man. Part of what Sam and others have learned is that it's fine to give away what doesn't work for you, whether it's a sword or the idea of that all power must be enforced by constant oppression.

Jaime not only not didn't insult Brienne, he asked if he could serve under her. He opened himself up to rejection and ridicule; he was sincere, which is simply not done in the world of the Lannisters. Jorah made tentative suggestions to Dany (Emilia Clarke), the woman whom every man used to feel free to lecture at length. The Hound (Rory McCann) couldn't tell Arya (Maisie Williams) how much she means to him, but asking her to talk to him was as close as he could ever come.

And then there was Tormund himself. He supplies welcome comic relief (and his devotion to Brienne walks a fine line between funny and creepy). But he — one of the "lowest" people in the original Westeros social order — has never had a problem recognizing the quality of Brienne's fighting or the depth of her character. Jaime could learn a thing or two from men like Tormund and women like Brienne. And Jaime has.

We often laud Game of Thrones' battle episodes, which are undeniably engaging, but this hour was, to me, far more powerful and moving than any explosion or "big death." TV often uses death as a cheap escape hatch, rather than have characters do the hard work that change requires. But the core of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" involved characters displaying their personal growth, their willingness to discard old ways of thinking, and their willingness to be vulnerable and honest.

Tyrion acknowledged his missteps. Jaime apologized to Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright), knowing full well any words he said would be inadequate. Sansa and Dany aired out differences of opinions without deciding they had to go to war right then and there (they might, but they both know making some kind of deal will be better for their people, if they survive). Theon and Jaime weren't the only ones who wanted to atone for their past mistakes; even Davos tried to help out however he could. If all he could do was serve soup, he'd do it.

And if Jaime had to listen to several characters list just a few of his serious crimes, he'd listen. His face and body language seemed to say that if one of the people confronting him decided to lop off his head, it would be no more than he deserved. You can't change and truly atone until you listen and learn, and that's the path Jaime took. He's a far cry from the entitled, Bran-throwing jerk we met in the first season.

The one person who hasn't changed much is Brienne, who has always expected to be ridiculed, misunderstood, and marginalized, and who tries her best to do the right thing anyway. She's not a perfect person — let your employee have a drink already! — but she's been true to herself from day one. She didn't try to be more like the heedless noblemen of the arrogant Westeros elite. These men, over time, have tried to become more like her.

And the thing that makes Jaime's gratitude toward her an absolute heart-melter is that he knows — he really knows — that he will never deserve her mercy or her friendship. But he's grateful for both.

There are no doubt many memorable scenes and moments to come in the next few weeks. But this kind of thing represents Game of Thrones at its best. When it gets small and leans into everything we've come to know about conflicted characters and what they've been through, those moments are actually huge and enormously moving. As Brienne and Jaime looked at each other while he knighted her, they truly saw each other in their souls (and the whole thing was better than sex, which Game of Thrones often gets wrong anyway). Even in bizarre or terrifying circumstances, connection was possible. "A thing like that," as Pete Campbell might say.

It's hard to know if anything any of us have done in life makes any difference. It's hard to trust people, and it can be excruciating to hope that your openness or willingness to change might lead to a better life and not just pain and embarrassment. It was hard for Brienne to walk over to Jaime and kneel before him. I've re-watched that moment so many times because Christie's performance is simply phenomenal. Brienne wanted to hope Jaime's offer was real, and yet she didn't dare hope. Did she? You can see all of those feelings of doubt, resolve, and pride play over her face. Even as part of her wondered if this was one more cruel joke from a world — and a man — who had once thought of her as a ridiculous nobody, she put her faith in what would happen next. And this time, she was right to hope.

Jaime truly saw her in that moment, and she saw him, just as Tyrion can see his brother clearly, and Sansa perceives the penitent man that has emerged from the wreckage of Theon's life. Peggy put her hand on Don Draper's hand in "The Suitcase" to tell him that she saw him, and that she would stay.

In those moments, those people — in Westeros and on Madison Avenue — were not the sum of their worst actions. They were choosing to reveal themselves to each other, in all their flailing misery and unexpected glory, and thus give their lives meaning, at least until the next disaster.

"We're all going to die," Tormund said. "But at least we're going to die together."

#yup #game of thrones #got #mad men #a knight of the seven kingdoms #the suitcase #back when it seemed as if the series could end excellently #brienne of tarth #jaime lannister

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trinuviel · 6 years

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Winterfell’s Daughter. On Sansa Stark (part 6)

This is the sixth part of my analysis of Sansa Stark’s character in Game of Thrones. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5) and it concludes the analysis of Sansa Stark’s season 1 arc. This is where the story takes a turn against the Starks and where Sansa’s life becomes a nightmare.

LIFE IS NOT A SONG

In my last post, I showed how Sansa’s illusions about chivalry, court and love were restored after they had been undermined by the vicious behavior of Joffrey, Cersei and the Mountain. In the very same episode as Joffrey mendaciously woo Sansa with pretty words and a pretty necklace, Ned falls out with Robert over Daenerys Targaryen and decides to break off Sansa’s betrothal to Joffrey and leave King’s Landing (ep06). Unsurprisingly, Sansa doesn’t react well when Ned tells her and Sansa that they’ll return to Winterfell.

Sansa: I can’t go. I’m supposed to marry prince Joffrey. I love him and I’m meant to be his queen and have his babies.

This is where Ned utters this oft-quoted line:

Sansa: I don’t want someone brave, gentle and strong. I want him! He’ll be the greatest king that ever was, a golden lion, and I’ll give him sons with beautiful blonde hair.

Arya: The lion is not his sigil, idiot. He’s a stag, like his father.

Sansa: He is not. He’s nothing like that old drunk king.

Out of the mouth of babes… Sansa unwittingly gives Ned the key to the mystery that his predecessor Jon Arryn was investigating: The true parentage of Cersei Lannister’s children. Sansa sounds like a complete ninny-hammer in this scene. Once again, she’s got her head in the clouds, imagining herself the star of a Westerosi fairytale. I have already mentioned that it is a shame that the show has erased existence of the songs and romances that are part of the cultural fabric of Westeros because this literature informs Sansa’s views on romance and chivalry. This literature therefore serves as a context for her ideals and her behaviour. Let’s have a look at how part of the exchange between Sansa and Ned plays out in the book:

“Father, I only just now remembered, I can’t go away, I’m to marry Prince Joffrey.” She tried to smile bravely for him. “I love him, Father, I truly do, I love him as much as Queen Naerys loved Prince Aemon the Dragonknight, as much as Jonquil loved Ser Florian. I want to be his queen and have his babies. […] We’ll be ever so happy, just like in the songs, you’ll see…” (A Game of Thrones, Sansa III)

Sansa isn’t facing the reality of her relationship with Joffrey but is rather desperately trying to make it fit the shape of the stories she loves so much. However, Sansa doesn’t understand that the songs she loves so much leaves out or stylizes all the hardship and suffering that the characters go through. She thinks that Aemon the Dragonknight defending the virtue of Queen Naerys against slander is terribly romantic – and it is. However, she doesn’t understand is these epic romances that she adores dilute the grief, suffering and horror with pretty words and ear-catching verse. Sansa’s life may become the subject of songs and stories, but not in the way that her younger self imagined. It is a common theme in the books: that romanticism erases the suffering, the blood and the grief of the people and events that are immortalized in stories and songs. Life is not a song, but it can become the subject of songs: “We are all just songs in the end. If we are lucky”. Young Sansa wanted to live in a song – and she just might get her wish, but in the worst way possible.

THE LION’S “MERCY”

As noted above, Sansa’s little outburst about that “old drunk king” leads Ned to discover the truth: that Joffrey is the offspring of Cersei and Jaime Lannister’s incestuous affair. However, his handling of this explosive secret is disastrous. Not only does he inform Cersei that he knows her secret but he does so before getting his daughters safely out of King’s Landing. Thus, when Cersei acts against Ned and slaughters his household, both Sansa and Arya are targeted by the Lannister soldiers. Syrio Forel delays the attackers to facilitate Arya’s escape and Septa Mordane tries to do the same for Sansa though it fails. This unarmed woman stares down a bunch of soldiers with bloody swords, knowing that it most likely means her death and she doesn’t flinch. It is perhaps one of the bravest acts I’ve seen on the show.

Sansa is captured by the Hound and she is now completely alone and isolated in King’s Landing. Ned is in the Black Cells, Arya has escaped and the rest of the Stark household are dead. It is a frightened girl that is summoned before Cersei and the remainder of the Small Council (Varys, Pycelle and Baelish). They pull a good cop, bad cop routine in order to coerce Sansa into writing a letter to Robb Stark at Winterfell, begging him to travel to King’s Landing to bend the knee to Joffrey.

Varys: Your father has proved to be an awful traitor, dear.

Pycelle: King Robert’s body was still warm when Lord Eddard began plotting to steal Joffrey’s rightful throne.

Sansa: He wouldn’t do that! He knows how much I love Joffrey. He wouldn’t. Please, Your Grace, there’s been a mistake. Send for my father. He’ll tell you – the king was his friend.

On the surface, this reads like a very self-absorbed thing to say – and it is, to a certain extent. However, it also shows that Sansa believes that her father would never hurt her intentionally. In her mind, her father would never hurt her – he knows she loves Joffrey – losing Joffrey would hurt her – ergo: Ned would never work against Joffrey because it would hurt her. It is a superficial way to approach this whole situation but it also reveals that she has complete faith in her father’s love for her.

Maester Pycelle: She’s a sweet thing now, Your Grace, but in 10 years who knows what treasons she may hatch?

Sansa to Cersei: No I’m not. I’ll be a good wife to him, you’ll see. I’ll be a queen, just like you (oh, the irony!), I promise. I won’t hatch anything.

Cersei, Varys, Pycelle and Baelish manipulate her skillfully.

Baelish: The girl is innocent, Your Grace. She should be given a chance to prove her loyalty.

Cersei: Little Dove, you must write to Lady Catelyn and your brother. The eldest – what’s his name?

Sansa: Robb.

Cersei: Word of your father’s arrest will reach him soon, no doubt. Best it comes from you. If you would help your father, urge your brother to keep the King’s Peace. Tell him to come to King’s Landing to swear his fealty to King Joffrey.

Sansa: If I could see my father, talk to him…

Cersei: You disappoint me, child. We have told you of your father’s treason. Why would you want to speak to a traitor?

Sansa: I only meant that… What will happen to him?

Cersei: That depends.

Sansa: On… On what?

Cersei: On your brother. And on you.

Sansa is led to believe that Ned’s fate rests on her slender shoulders. She thinks that her father’s life is dependent on her actions, which most likely provides the impetus for the next action she undertakes. Sansa publically pleads for her father – on her knees in front of the Iron Throne.

It is unclear whether she does this of her own accord or whether Cersei and the Small Council are in on it. Regardless, it is a lovely piece of heartfelt theatre and it shows that Sansa quickly has become familiar with the conventions of the royal court as she is exploiting the system of the king petitions publically.

Sansa: All I ask is mercy. I know my lord father must regret what he did. He was King Robert’s friend and he loved him, you all know that he loved him. He never wanted to be Hand, until the King asked him. They must have lied to him, Lord Renly or Lord Stannis or somebody. They must have lied!

Joffrey: He said I wasn’t the king. Why did he say that?

Sansa: He was badly hurt. Maester Pycelle was giving him Milk of the Poppy. He wasn’t himself. Otherwise he never would have said it.

Once again, Sansa demonstrates her complete faith in her father’s innocence and honour. Most likely, she knows nothing about what really happened and tries to come up with her own explanation. She ends her plea with an appropriation of the language of Courtly Love:

Notice how her language changes at this point – it becomes formal, stylized. She is speaking a sentence that could come straight from one of the chivalric romances that she likes so much. Here she appeals to the conventions of Courtly Love whereby the lover should fulfill his lady’s wishes. Joffrey, in turn, knows this language and responds in kind:

Joffrey: Your sweet words have moved me. But your father must confess. He has to confess and say that I’m the king – or there’ll be no mercy for him.

However, where Sansa uses the language of Courtly Love in good faith, Joffrey operates in bad faith. Just as he did in the scene where he gifted her a necklace. To him the language and conventions of Courtly Love are empty words and gestures whereas they are very meaningful to Sansa. She has yet to understand that truth and honour are rare commodities at court. Here deceit and double-speak reigns supreme.

When the time comes, Joffrey’s mercy turns out to be no mercy at all! However, Sansa isn’t the only person who is blindsided when Joffrey calls for Ned’s head. Cersei, Varys and Pycelle’s reactions show that they, too, have been blindsided by Joffrey’s demand.

Sansa breaks down, screaming desperately for them to stop. She has to be restrained by an armed knight before she faints at the sight of her father’s headless body.

Unlike Arya, who is shielded from the sight of her Ned’s death by Yoren, Sansa is forced to watch her father die. This is the moment when the scales finally fall from her eyes. Throughout the season, Sansa has been willfully blind about Joffrey. It isn’t necessarily because she’s stupid but rather because she has constantly been told not to trust her own instincts. She was also purposely mislead by gestures and words designed to appeal to her romanticism. However, her final disillusionment is incredibly brutal and traumatic.

“HE CAN MAKE ME LOOK AT THE HEADS; BUT HE CAN’T MAKE ME SEE THEM”

Joffrey takes Sansa to the battlements of the Red Keep to show her the severed heads of her father and his household.

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I have chosen to title this section with a quote from the book because it encapsulates how Sansa adopts a strategy of passive resistance in the face of the emotional abuse that Joffrey inflicts on her. What does this distinction between “looking” and “seeing” mean? To look means to direct one’s gaze at something (what is being looked at). To see can mean the same thing but it can also imply to understand, recognize or comprehend something. So what does this mean in relation to this scene between Joffrey and Sansa? It could refer to Sansa’s tendency to compartmentalize and supress things that are traumatic to her. Let’s have a look at the passage that follows the quote above:

Sandor Clegane took the head by the hair and turned it. The severed head had been dipped in tar to preserve it longer. Sansa looked at it calmly, not seeing it at all. It did not really look like Lord Eddard, she thought; it did not even look real. “How long do I have to look?” Joffrey seemed disappointed. – A Game of Thrones, Sansa VI

The way that Sansa disassociate “looking” from “seeing” can be read as both a coping mechanism and a form of passive resistance. The whole situation is incredibly traumatic for her – her father was murdered before her eyes and she is alone among people she cannot trust. On top of that, she has to contend with Joffrey’s vicious nature. He only brought her to the battlement to enjoy her anguish. Sansa refuses him that pleasure by not giving any outward reaction.

Sophie Turner conveys Sansa’s passive resistance perfectly through a stoic, emotionless countenance and an inflectionless, almost “dead”, quality to her voice. There’s even a subtle defiance in the manner in which she raises her head to look – at Ned’s head, at Joffrey. At some level, Joffrey knows that she’s resisting but he can’t put a finger on it and thus he’s rendered impotent. He doesn’t get the reaction from her that he wants. He wants her tears and she refuses to give them to him.

When she refuses to show her anguish, Joffrey tries another tactic: threats against her brother Robb.

However, this backfires as well when Sansa replies:

Then she coldly stares him down, daring him to challenge her. Joffrey is flustered, he even takes a step back! Then, as the coward he is, he orders Ser Meryn to strike Sansa. A grown man, wearing gauntlets, slaps her around and she doesn’t make a sound!

Immediately after this, the camera work shows the audience that Sansa ponders the ultimate act of resistance: killing Joffrey by pushing him off the battlements. She even starts walking towards him. The only reason Joffrey doesn’t die that day is because the Hound intervenes with the pretext of wiping the blood off her face. Sansa herself is completely prepared to die with him, as the book says: “All it would take was a shove, she told herself. […] It wouldn’t even matter if she went over with him. It wouldn’t matter at all.”

The scene ends with Sansa standing on the battlements, alone. She lifts her gaze one last time, looking up at her father’s head, whilst she fights to hold back her tears. This gaze, I’d argue, is different than the “look, don’t see” approach she adopted earlier. With this final look, she is committing the crime of her father’s murder to memory. She’s reminding herself never to be deceived by Joffrey and the Lannisters again. This time, she won’t close her eyes to the truth.

Sansa is often criticized for being a passive character in King’s Landing. Many think her weak because she doesn’t resist violently. However, it is mistake to confuse helplessness with weakness! About his sister Lyanna, Eddard said: “You saw her beauty, but not the iron underneath.” The same can be said of Sansa. Strength and resistance come in many forms. Sansa is not a violent person, she is not physically strong and she has no weapons training. It is ridiculous to expect her to fight off a bunch of armored soldiers. It would simply get her killed. Sansa’s resistance is more subtle and it is psychological rather than physical. The scene with Joffrey on the battlements shows how Sansa employs two different forms of resistance to Joffrey’s cruelty:

Active, verbal resistance where she talks back. That leads to a beating at the hands of the King’s Guard.

Passive resistance where she outwardly complies but refuses to let Joffrey enjoy her pain by schooling her face and her voice into an impassive countenance.

These two options are the forms of resistance that she continues to employ whilst she’s a captive in King’s Landing – and as the seasons progress, we see how she adjusts this resistance to more sophisticated and subtly manipulative forms.

#game of thrones #sansa stark #character analysis #winterfell's daughter

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theesoopap · 3 years

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THE GIVERS GIFT

The Myth of Giver Burnout

Years ago, Dutch psychologists studied hundreds of health professionals. They tracked the amount of

time and energy that the health professionals gave to patients, and asked them to report how burned

out they felt. A year later, the psychologists measured giving and burnout again. Sure enough, the more

the health professionals gave, the more burned out they became in the following year. Those who gave

selflessly had the highest burnout rates: they contributed far more than they got, and it exhausted them.

Those who gave average (matchers) and that that gave little (takers) were far less burned out.

But strangely, in another study, the Dutch psychologists found evidence that some health care

professionals seemed immune to burnout. Even when they gave a great deal of time and energy, they

didn’t exhaust themselves. These resilient health care professionals were otherish givers:(those that give for a define purpose) they

reported that they enjoyed helping other people and often went out of their way to do so, but weren’t

afraid to seek help when they needed it. The otherish givers had significantly lower burnout rates than

the matchers and takers, who lacked the stamina to keep contributing. This study pointed to an

unexpected possibility: although matchers and takers appear to be less vulnerable to burnout than

selfless givers, the greatest resilience may belong to otherish givers.

Part of the reason for this is illuminated in fascinating work by Northwestern University

psychologists Elizabeth Seeley and Wendi Gardner, who asked people to work on a difficult task that

sapped their willpower. For example, imagine that you’re very hungry, and you’re staring at a plate of

delicious chocolate chip cookies, but you have to resist the temptation to eat them. After using up their

willpower in a task like this, participants squeezed a handgrip as long as they could. The typical

participant was able to hold on for twenty-five seconds. But there was a group of people who were

able to hold on 40 percent longer, lasting for thirty-five seconds.

The participants with unusually high stamina scored high on a questionnaire measuring “other-

directedness.” These other-directed people operated like givers. By consistently overriding their

selfish impulses in order to help others, they had strengthened their psychological muscles, to the

point where using willpower for painful tasks was no longer exhausting. In support of this idea, other

studies have shown that givers accrue an advantage in controlling their thoughts, emotions, and

behaviors. Over time, giving may build willpower like weight lifting builds muscles. Of course, we

all know that when muscles are overused, they fatigue and sometimes even tear—this is what happens

to selfless givers.

In Utah, a seventy-five-year-old man understands the resilience of otherish givers. His name is

Jon Huntsman Sr., Back in 1990, Huntsman was negotiating an acquisition with Charles Miller Smith, who was the president

and CEO of a chemical company. During the negotiations, Smith’s wife died. Huntsman empathized

with Smith, so he decided not to push any further: “I decided the fine points of the last 20 percent of

the deal would stand as they were proposed. I probably could have clawed another $200 million out

of the deal, but it would have come at the expense of Charles’ emotional state. The agreement as it

stood was good enough.”

Was a CEO’s emotional state really worth $200 million to Huntsman? Believe it or not, this wasn’t the first time Huntsman gave away a fortune during a negotiation. Just four years earlier, in

1986, he made a verbal agreement with a CEO named Emerson Kampen. Huntsman would sell 40

percent of a division of his company to Kampen’s for $54 million. Due to legal delays, the contract

wasn’t written until six months later. By that time, Huntsman’s profits had skyrocketed: that 40 percent

of the division was now worth $250 million. Kampen called with a matcher’s offer to split the

difference, proposing to pay $152 million instead of the original $54 million. Huntsman was poised

to bring in nearly triple the original agreement. But he said no. The $54 million was good enough.

Kampen was incredulous: “That’s not fair to you.”

Huntsman believed in honoring his commitment to Kampen. Even though the lawyers hadn’t

drafted the original purchase agreement, he had shaken hands six months earlier on a verbal

agreement. He signed for the $54 million, walking away from an extra $98 million. What type of

businessman would make such irrational decisions?

In 1970, Huntsman started a chemical company that reigns today as the world’s largest. He has

been named Entrepreneur of the Year and earned more than a dozen honorary doctorates from

universities around the world. He’s a billionaire, one of the Forbes one thousand richest people in the

world.

As his deal-making choices show, Huntsman is also a giver, and not just in business. Since 1985,

he has been involved in serious philanthropy. He is one of just nineteen people in the world who have

given at least $1 billion away. Huntsman has won major humanitarian awards for giving more than

$350 million to found the world-class Huntsman Cancer Center, and made hefty donations to help

earthquake victims in Armenia, support education, and fight domestic violence and homelessness. Of

course, many rich people give away serious sums of money, but Huntsman demonstrates an uncommon

intensity that sets him apart. In 2001, the chemical industry tanked, and he lost a sizable portion of his

fortune. Most people would cut back on giving until they recovered. But Huntsman made an

unconventional decision. He took out a personal loan, borrowing several million dollars to make

good on his philanthropic commitments for the next three years.

Huntsman sounds like a classic example of someone who got rich and then decided to give back.

But there’s a different way of looking at Huntsman’s success, one that might be impossible to believe

if it weren’t backed up by Huntsman’s experience and by science. Maybe getting rich didn’t turn him

into a giver. What if we’ve mixed up cause and effect?

Huntsman believes that being a giver actually made him rich. In his giving pledge, Huntsman

writes: “It has been clear to me since my earliest childhood memories that my reason for being was to

help others. The desire to give back was the impetus for pursuing an education in business, for

applying that education to founding what became a successful container company, and for using that

experience to grow our differentiated chemicals corporation.” As early as 1962, Huntsman told his

wife that he “wanted to start his own business so he could make a difference” for people with cancer.

Huntsman lost both of his parents to cancer, and had survived three bouts of cancer himself. Curing

cancer is so deeply ingrained in Huntsman’s fiber that he has even prioritized it above his political

ideology. Although he worked in the Nixon White House and has been a longtime supporter of the

Republican party, Huntsman has been known to favor Democratic candidates if they demonstrate a

stronger commitment to curing cancer.

There’s little doubt that Huntsman is a skilled businessman. But the very act of giving money

away might have contributed to his fortune. In Winners Never Cheat, he writes, “Monetarily, the most satisfying moments in my life have not been the excitement of closing a great deal or the reaping of

profits from it. They have been when I was able to help others in need . . . There’s no denying that I

am a deal junkie, but I also have developed an addiction for giving. The more one gives, the better

one feels; and the better one feels about it, the easier it becomes to give.”

This is an extension of the idea that otherish givers build willpower muscles, making it easy to

give more, but is it possible that Huntsman actually made money by giving it away? Remarkably,

there’s evidence to support this claim. The economist Arthur Brooks tested the relationship between

income and charitable giving. Using data from almost thirty thousand Americans in the year 2000, he

controlled for every factor imaginable that would affect income and giving. He adjusted for

education, age, race, religious involvement, political beliefs, and marital status. He also accounted

for the number of times people volunteered. As expected, higher income led to higher giving. For

every $1 in extra income, charitable giving went up by $0.14.*

But something much more interesting happened. For every $1 in extra charitable giving, income

was $3.75 higher. Giving actually seemed to make people richer. For example, imagine that you and I

are both earning $60,000 a year. I give $1,600 to charity; you give $2,500 to charity. Although you

gave away $900 more than I did, according to the evidence, you’ll be on track to earn $3,375 more

than I will in the coming year. Surprising as it seems, people who give more go on to earn more.

Jon Huntsman Sr. may be on to something. Research shows that giving can boost happiness and

meaning, motivating people to work harder and earn more money, even if the gift isn’t on the colossal

scale of Huntsman’s. In a study by psychologists Elizabeth Dunn, Lara Aknin, and Michael Norton,

people rated their happiness in the morning. Then, they received a windfall: an envelope with $20.

They had to spend it by five P.M., and then they rated their happiness again. Would they be happier

spending the money on themselves or on others?

Most people think they’d be happier spending the money on themselves, but the opposite is true. If

you spend the money on yourself, your happiness doesn’t change. But if you spend the money on

others, you actually report becoming significantly happier. This is otherish giving: you get to choose

who you help, and it benefits you by improving your mood. Economists call it the warm glow of

giving, and psychologists call it the helper’s high. Recent neuroscience evidence shows that giving

actually activates the reward and meaning centers in our brains, which send us pleasure and purpose

signals when we act for the benefit of others.

These benefits are not limited to giving money; they also show up for giving time. One study of

more than 2,800 Americans over age twenty-four showed that volunteering predicted increases in

happiness, life satisfaction, and self-esteem—and decreases in depression—a year later. And for

adults over sixty-five, those who volunteered saw a drop in depression over an eight-year period.

Other studies show that elderly adults who volunteer or give support to others actually live longer.

This is true even after controlling for their health and the amount of support they get from others. In

one experiment, adults either gave massages to babies or received massages themselves.

Postmassage, those who gave had lower levels of stress hormones—such as cortisol and epinephrine

—than those who received. It seems that giving adds meaning to our lives, distracts us from our own

problems, and helps us feel valued by others. As researchers Roy Baumeister, Kathleen Vohs,

Jennifer Aaker, and Emily Garbinsky conclude in a national survey of Americans, “meaningfulness

was associated with being a giver more than a taker.”

There’s a wealth of evidence that the ensuing happiness can motivate people to work harder, longer, smarter, and more effectively. Happiness can lead people to experience intense effort and long

hours as less unpleasant and more enjoyable, set more challenging goals, and think more quickly,

flexibly, and broadly about problems. One study even showed that when physicians were put in a

happier mood, they made faster and more accurate diagnoses. Overall, on average, happier people

earn more money, get higher performance ratings, make better decisions, negotiate sweeter deals, and

contribute more to their organizations. Happiness alone accounts for about 10 percent of the variation

between employees in job performance. By boosting happiness, giving might have motivated Jon

Huntsman Sr. to work harder and smarter, helping him build up his fortune.

Huntsman is not the only influential businessperson who has come to view giving as a source of

energy. In 2003, Virgin mogul Richard Branson set up a council called The Elders to fight conflict and

promote peace, bringing together Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, and

other leaders to alleviate suffering in Sudan, Cyprus, and Kenya. In 2004, Branson launched Virgin

Unite, a nonprofit foundation that mobilizes people and resources to fight deadly diseases like AIDS

and malaria, promote peace and justice, prevent climate change, and support entrepreneurs with

microloans and new jobs in the developing world. In 2006, he pledged to donate all $3 billion of the

profits from the Virgin airline and train businesses over the next decade to fight global warming. In

2007, he offered a $25 million prize for innovations to fight climate change. Was this string of events

caused by a midlife crisis?

Actually, Branson was giving long before he became rich and famous. At age seventeen, a year

after starting Student magazine and five full years before launching Virgin Records, Branson started

his first charity. It was the Student Advisory Centre, a nonprofit organization that helped at-risk youth

with a range of services. He made a list of problems that young people faced, from unwanted

pregnancies to venereal disease, and convinced doctors to offer free or discounted services. He spent

many nights on the phone at three A.M. consoling people who were contemplating suicide. Looking

back, he notes that early in his career, he “had been interested in making money only to ensure

Student’s continuing success and to fund the Student Advisory Centre.” Today, giving continues to

energize him. The “thing that gets me up in the morning is the idea of making a difference,” Branson

writes, “to help safeguard our future on this planet. Does that make me successful? It certainly makes

me happy.”

These energizing effects help to explain why otherish givers are fortified against burnout: through

giving, they build up reserves of happiness and meaning that takers and matchers are less able to

access. Selfless givers use up these reserves, exhausting themselves and often dropping to the bottom

of the success ladder. By giving in ways that are energizing rather than exhausting, otherish givers are

more likely to rise to the top. In two studies of employees in a wide range of jobs and organizations,

psychologist David Mayer and I found that otherish employees made more sustainable contributions

than the selfless givers, takers, or matchers. Employees who reported strong concern for benefiting

others and creating a positive image for themselves were rated by supervisors as being the most

helpful and taking the most initiative.

Ironically, because concern for their own interests sustains their energy, otherish givers actually

give more than selfless givers. This is what the late Herbert Simon, winner of the Nobel Prize in

economics, observed in the quote that opened this chapter. Otherish givers may appear less altruistic

than selfless givers, but their resilience against burnout enables them to contribute more.

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