Chapter 2?

I hit a wall in my first long argument, so I terminated it. It was a good decision--looking at a blank page on my computer screen allowed me to make a leap into discussing crowds and considering them as manifestations of ideology that didn't seem as appealing at the end of a 17 page argument. I think it might because I just didn't want to write a transitional paragraph, but either way it gave me space to introduce contemporary American politics.

As manifestations of ideas, crowds have a sinister power, in part because they erase individuality. Ignoring the human element allows movements to adhere to grandiose notions of justice, or promulgate vacuum-sealed morality. In short, they ignore human needs in search of an ideal. Warren makes this pretty obvious in his fiction, and his narrators offer anecdotal evidence of the destructive potential this gives the crowd. I've looked a couple of the crowd scenes, and I'm struck right now by the necessity of a leader to channel that energy into change, but also by Warren's interest in the physicality of the crowds. I think he sees a strange combination of the vulgar body and the pure ideal. I haven't quite worked out how this is significant yet, but I do know the more I read Warren the more terrified I am by the awesome potential in the Middle East for transformation--which could work worlds of good or undermine the stability of the globe.