Let's Get Down To Business: Literary sources for English 201 Essay

Annotated Bibliography

Leland, John. Hip: the History. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Print.

I’ll use this text as the main guide for comparing and contrasting between the multiple literary texts that I will mention in my essay.  I’ll use specific examples Leland had researched and determined to be hip as well as his own opinions in terms of defining what "hip" is. 

Quinn, Daniel. Ishmael. New York: Bantam/Turner Book, 1995. Print.

This novel exemplifies many ideas Leland mentions in his book regarding the subject of hip.  Although there are great examples Daniel Quinn illustrates throughout his novel, I will only focus on some of the major themes.  One theme is born when Ishmael, the protagonist, challenges the narrator with the idea that the ultimate challenge humans face is accepting the responsibility of what species to displace, and which to kill in protection of the first and that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil wasn’t only to test humans self-control.  Quinn also comes up with new terms and definitions when describing certain types of people: The Takers and Leavers.  There are additional terms I will mention and ultimately compare this section of the essay with the beginnings of hip when the slaves used irony in their communication, signifying, and Leland’s mention of “love and theft.”

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Johnny Depp. Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, 2003. Film.

I’ve already begun to formulate the similarities between the main character, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Leland’s definition of a trickster by using specific quotes from the first Pirates of the Caribbean film.  I will concentrate on this main character and his interactions with the communities and situations he becomes involved with. 

"Desiderata." Custom Crests, Logos, and Coats of Arms Design Services. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. <http://www.fleurdelis.com/desiderata.htm>.

I will attempt to make a smooth transistion into the next example of my essay when I begin to analyze the tattoo located on the back of Captain Jack Sparrow.  “Desiderata,” written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920’s, is a poem telling the reader how to attain happiness.  I will use this literary text for multiple uses in my essay. It will be a way to describe one of the characteristics of a Trickster.  Maybe Captain Jack Sparrow uses this tattoo as a piece of writing to bring enlightenment to the masses.  It’s also similar to the ethos Walt Whitman wrote in 1855 as the preface to Leaves of Grass.  I will pull apart sections and compare Walt Whitman’s ideas he was trying to convey as well as Leland’s connection between nonconformity and hip. 

Redheaded Woman. Dir. Jack Conway. Perf. Jean Harlow, Chester Morris and Lewis Stone. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1932.

Depending on the length and how in depth I can be with the previously mentioned literary texts, I may also write about certain scenes and dialogue in the 1932 film, Redheaded Woman.  This movie is included in the Pre-Code era that inspired the freedom of the genre and is a great example of Leland’s ideas of “hip detachment,” and the post-World War I genre of "having nothing to lose."