"The Lonesome Death"

In my senior year of high school, I was required to listen to two albums, watch two movies, and read two books that had been from at least 2 decades ago. One of the albums I chose belonged to my father, and was a Bob Dylan cd that he recommended. Much to his dismay, I did not enjoy the cd, but I can definitely respect Dylan's work and the impact that he had on other musicians. The current event that he wrote about in his song "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is important to the time period, and I was shocked to read that her murderer only spent 6 months in jail. It is scary to think about how much of a problem existed between the white and black races in this decade. Although racism still happens, I cannot imagine living in a time where justice would not result from Caroll's murder. Dylan addresses this particular case, and applies it to the race problem as a whole.

Burroughs & Sanders

Both of these readings had very unconventional structures. I wasn't quite sure what a "yippie" was supposed to be referring to. A lot of Burroughs' article seemed to be about resisting authority, as he discusses cops in a violent situation. He also mentioned the Daughters of the American Revolution, which made me curious, because I know my mother and grandmother belong to this organization, and my mother has been talking about my joining as well. The "American dream" is also briefly addressed, which made me think about how at the time the article was written, in 1968, this dream had been turned upside down since its prominence in the 1950s. I wasn't able to make much sense of Sanders' poem, but like Burroughs, he addressed the violence of the police. Resistance to authority remains a theme throughout this section.

Che Guevara

Hoffman's letter which she claimed to have been written by Che Guevara, is certainly representative of his beliefs. I read The Motorcycle Diaries, and also watched the movie, and now that I make a connection between these and this letter, I realize how important he was as a part of counterculture. The way that he lived was almost nomadic--he really appreciated each day on his journey, and took many risks. This reminds me of Easy Rider, and also the hippie lifestyle, which seemed to be so carefree. At the same time, the shared causes that they were fighting for are so meaningful; freedom, health care, equal rights, broader horizons, individuality, more opportunities.