The Nineteenth Century gives me real insights into human and social issues that are still current in the 21st century.

Throughout my exploration into the 19^th century, particularly through engaging with my blogs, I have gained great insight into social issues that prevailed during the time. the most prevailing issue was the severe consequences of industrialisation and technological advancements. The impact of this issue therefore had a detrimental impact on human beings. Henceforth, this resulted in a number of human issues. However, the most prevalent was the indoctrination of a utilitarian mindset and therefore the rejection of emotion due to the overbearing social matters. Unfortunately, the issues are still current within the 21^st century and perhaps have even further developed.

Within my critical blogs in particular, I deeply explored the social issue of industrialisation and the problems this caused for human beings. This can first be recognised in my blog titled ‘A letter to Dickens’ found here: https://thebestofliterature.art.blog/2020/04/27/a-letter-to-dickens/. In this blog I discussed how Dickens’ novel hard times, encapsulates how industrialisation lead to a utilitarian based society and therefore forced human beings into rejecting emotion to submit to a confined society. I discussed a scene from the book where Cecilia is asked to describe a horse however she could not name the facts of the horse such as the number of its teeth (Dickens 7). This highlights the way in which human beings were forced to adapt to a “fact, fact and fact!” based society and reject any other original thought (Dickens 10). Although in our modern-day society, we are actually encouraged to be creative, the mentality that we must follow the “facts” is still enforced through the media. Delving into the issues from the 19^th century made me realise how negative the media can be on the human condition, especially during the current pandemic. Furthermore, these ideologies are also captured in my blog ‘An Extensive Landscape Near Paris’ found at this link: https://thebestofliterature.art.blog/2020/04/16/an-extensive-landscape-near-paris/. Here I explore Hubert Roberts painting illuminating the importance of nature and rejecting social expectations. Through vast green and yellow landscapes as well as purple and white hues in the sky, Roberts is able to capture the sublime essence of nature. Three people sit upon a hilltop, painting the beauty they are witnessing in front of them. In creating a painting where the appreciation of nature is so profound, Roberts encapsulates how people of this time should be rejecting social constructs and turning to nature where they can heal their human issues. This idea is one in which should be indoctrinated into our modern day society as well are we are still so fixated on social constructs.

My creative blogs also demonstrate the issues that occurred in the 19^th century and still remain relevant today. In my blog ‘Wise Passiveness’ I discuss how Wordsworths poem ‘Expostulation and Reply’ illuminates the way in which people do not sit with their own thoughts in nature, rather they are consumed by social expectations and technological advancements. My blog can be found at this link: https://thebestofliterature.art.blog/2020/03/16/wise-passiveness/ Wordsworth argues that by sitting in a “wise passiveness” within nature, one can gain wisdom and knowledge not hindered by society (Wordsworth lines 24). This ideology remains relevant to the 21^st century as we are still so incredibly swept away by societal expectations evident through technology, leaving us flawed as humans. Moreover, my blog titled ‘Nan and Pops Garden’ further highlights how industrialisation and technological advancements have forced human beings to neglect nature despite it withholding many healing qualities. In this blog I delve into my own experience within my nan and pops garden and discuss how embracing myself in nature allows me to personally heal when faced with a challenge: https://thebestofliterature.art.blog/2020/03/09/nan-and-pops-garden/. However, alike that of the 19^th century, we live in a society that does not care for the environment the way we should, rather we are more focused on technological advancements. In turn, this has created a number of human issues for us that we struggle to deal with.

Exploring social and human issues of the 19^th century has opened my eyes to the problems that have carried over from that period into our own. We are still so fixated on technology, adhering to social expectations and rejecting the powers of nature. These social issues have manifested a number of human issues that we are still dealing with today.

Works Cited

Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Proofed by David Price. 1854.

Wordsworth, William. Expostulation and Reply. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol 2  (eight edition), edited by Stephen Greenblatt, New York: Norton, 2006.