In "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men", all I could think while reading this story is what is wrong with this author. I often had a hard time following the story to the point that I lost interest, like a book that has been so badly written that you decide not to commit anymore of your precious time to reading it. The only real message I gathered from the story was a very unflattering portrait of men.
The second story "Signifying Nothing" was just bizarre, but I think I understood the point he was expressing. The dynamics of family is evident in this piece, while the content of why he was mad was just plain weird I understood that feeling of anger and why he cut himself off from his parents. I wondered while reading this story if the moment he suddenly recalled did not happen just as he pictured it which brought about the response from his father. Have you ever had a dejavu moment that seems so real but it wasn't and you have to convince yourself that it didn't really happen? I have had that feeling before, that intense feeling that I had seen an old friend again and we had resolved our differences, only to push further back in the recesses of my mind to remember we had not spoken to each since our disagreement.
I think in this story the ending was the most powerful, the author showed the power of a family to forgive and move on. The author shows that awkward moment and then someone makes a joke and everyone laughs and life moves on. As a member of a family with similar dynamics and being very close to each other there are times where we hurt the other one's feelings and the silent treatment is given for awhile. But with that same little awkwardness in our story and a silly or well placed comment we forgive and move on.
My letter from in class assignment
Dear
I wondered about your story, did you really remember the event or is there a possibility that you had a dejavu moment? Where it seems so real to you that it becomes real, I have had those moments myself. If you really thought it was true why didn't you bring it up in a joking manner first to test the waters to see how your father would react. Similar to your behavior in the resturant with the chicken, you could have said "Dad, I had this really bizarre recollection of this event happening when I was a eight...". Instead you bring it up in a confrontational manner and then seem surprised that your father looked at you like had taken leave of your senses. Maybe he didn't remember or maybe it never happened, some people sleep walk and do the most bizarre things.
What really bothered me was the childish manner in which you handle yourself for the next year. It really blows my mind that you choose not to talk to your father or your innocent mother (as she doesn't even know what happened) for a year. You cut them out of your life for an entire year for a brief memory that pops into your head that may or not not be true.
I think you owe your family an apology for your behavior but if you are unable to apologize because you truly believe the incident happened you should realize the importance of your family's love for you. You make sure you tell them how much you love and care about them. The simple fact is they were so happy to see you that they don't bring up the fact you cut them out of your life they just pull you back into their embrace without a word. This shows how important family is and the degree of the love your family has for you.
Sincerely,
Monica Schreiber
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
"Ironhead" and "Motherfucker" by Aimee Bender
I enjoyed both of Aimee Bender's stories that we read, of the two I enjoyed "Ironhead" the most because I could relate to the story as a parent. The love a good parent has for their child(ren) is all consuming at times; I have often wondered how parents are able to deal with the death of their child. I worked with two women that tragically lost their children within a short time of each other, one due to suicide and the other an only child died in a horrific car accident, I always wondered how they made it through everyday because I am not sure how I would survive if one of my children died.
In class assignment I chose to write a letter, unfortunately I wasn't feeling incredibly creative on Monday.
Dear Aimee,
I read two of your stories today, "Mother-Fucker" and "Ironhead", I enjoyed both stories for very different reasons. The "Mother-Fucker" brought initial feelings of rage towards the main character, I thought what a douche bag this guy was. As I continued to read the story my rage lessened as I realized the person he was helped the actress become the woman she became. If that makes sense. Sometimes we encounter people in our life that by their behaviour leave an impact that is sometimes positive and unfortunately sometimes not so positive.
The Second Story I read was "Ironhead", this story brought a great sense of sadness to me. At first I wondered if the pumpkin head couple referred to a racially mixed couple because their children were one more yellow and the other a dark orange (130). I have raised two children, one white and the other racial mixed, we have encountered many prejudices along the way. My son is blond blue eyed and my daugther is an exotic looking brunette with brown eyes, they stuck out as being different than other kids.
There were other references in your story that I wondered about like on page 129 when she told her boyfriend (he later becomes her husband) "I'm getting cooked", was this a reference to a biological clock ticking away? If that was the case it made me think that the third child born seven years later was a late in life baby that are at risk for downs syndrome. Downs syndrome children often have larger heads/faces than regular children, and can be bigger in size than other children, tying into the comment about the other kids assuming he was a tough guy (133).
When the child dies I feel this immense amount of sadness for his parents as they are burying their son and the people around them are being insensitive. I can almost hear others saying something as callous as it is for the best. Someone telling them that the death of their child was for the best because of his handicap could have the effect of being hit with an iron. One of my cousins has a son that was born with Spinal bifa, he has had a very tough life with many surgeries and hospital stays, but he has survived and today he is in his early twenties. I could not imagine telling his parents if he died that it was for the best.
The very last part of the story brings home what I often wondered about the two ladies I worked with, how do you keep moving on through life when you lose your child? Does the pain ever go away? For the Pumpkin heads it is very evident that the pain doesn't go away.
In class assignment I chose to write a letter, unfortunately I wasn't feeling incredibly creative on Monday.
Dear Aimee,
I read two of your stories today, "Mother-Fucker" and "Ironhead", I enjoyed both stories for very different reasons. The "Mother-Fucker" brought initial feelings of rage towards the main character, I thought what a douche bag this guy was. As I continued to read the story my rage lessened as I realized the person he was helped the actress become the woman she became. If that makes sense. Sometimes we encounter people in our life that by their behaviour leave an impact that is sometimes positive and unfortunately sometimes not so positive.
The Second Story I read was "Ironhead", this story brought a great sense of sadness to me. At first I wondered if the pumpkin head couple referred to a racially mixed couple because their children were one more yellow and the other a dark orange (130). I have raised two children, one white and the other racial mixed, we have encountered many prejudices along the way. My son is blond blue eyed and my daugther is an exotic looking brunette with brown eyes, they stuck out as being different than other kids.
There were other references in your story that I wondered about like on page 129 when she told her boyfriend (he later becomes her husband) "I'm getting cooked", was this a reference to a biological clock ticking away? If that was the case it made me think that the third child born seven years later was a late in life baby that are at risk for downs syndrome. Downs syndrome children often have larger heads/faces than regular children, and can be bigger in size than other children, tying into the comment about the other kids assuming he was a tough guy (133).
When the child dies I feel this immense amount of sadness for his parents as they are burying their son and the people around them are being insensitive. I can almost hear others saying something as callous as it is for the best. Someone telling them that the death of their child was for the best because of his handicap could have the effect of being hit with an iron. One of my cousins has a son that was born with Spinal bifa, he has had a very tough life with many surgeries and hospital stays, but he has survived and today he is in his early twenties. I could not imagine telling his parents if he died that it was for the best.
The very last part of the story brings home what I often wondered about the two ladies I worked with, how do you keep moving on through life when you lose your child? Does the pain ever go away? For the Pumpkin heads it is very evident that the pain doesn't go away.
"Capitan's Club" and "Sex Scenes from a Chain Bookstore" by Aryn Kyle
We review the "Sex Scenes from a Chain Bookstore" in class as group exercise, and the remaining story "Captain's Club" we needed to blog about the questions we had answered earlier in class for the "Sex Scenes...".
I enjoyed the "Captain's Club", I could understand as a mother where both Tommy and CJ were coming from in their relationships with their fathers. Both of my children have strained relationships with their fathers, because both act in similar ways to the fathers in this story. I will explore this further in my final essay, so on to the question.
What was the author saying about life and living through this story? I think he was addressing the difficulty of relationships, and often how the people we love the most hurt us the most without given it much thought. For Tommy though he had his mother and sisters, and it seemed liked they had a deep bond. But for CJ I think even his relationship with his mother was tough.
What is the most important passage?Why? I think the most important passage in the story was on page 108 "And all at once, Tommy knew exactly what the world required of him, what his purpose was, what he was supposed to do...". For me it seemed that Tommy understood his place in his relationship with his mother, sisters, CJ and even Tree, what he could do to make a difference. Life is about simple moments in time with no one moment defining us, it is the accumulation of all those moments that make us the person we are. We learn from our hurts, and what we are willing to let hurt us. My son would tell that he makes a conscious choice not to be the same person his father is, and my daughter would tell that she has learned that her father is hardwired to disappoint and that she should not take it personally.
I enjoyed the "Captain's Club", I could understand as a mother where both Tommy and CJ were coming from in their relationships with their fathers. Both of my children have strained relationships with their fathers, because both act in similar ways to the fathers in this story. I will explore this further in my final essay, so on to the question.
What was the author saying about life and living through this story? I think he was addressing the difficulty of relationships, and often how the people we love the most hurt us the most without given it much thought. For Tommy though he had his mother and sisters, and it seemed liked they had a deep bond. But for CJ I think even his relationship with his mother was tough.
What is the most important passage?Why? I think the most important passage in the story was on page 108 "And all at once, Tommy knew exactly what the world required of him, what his purpose was, what he was supposed to do...". For me it seemed that Tommy understood his place in his relationship with his mother, sisters, CJ and even Tree, what he could do to make a difference. Life is about simple moments in time with no one moment defining us, it is the accumulation of all those moments that make us the person we are. We learn from our hurts, and what we are willing to let hurt us. My son would tell that he makes a conscious choice not to be the same person his father is, and my daughter would tell that she has learned that her father is hardwired to disappoint and that she should not take it personally.
"Emergency" by Denis Johnson
"Emergency" was one of those stories about drug abuse that made me wonder if the author was taking drugs when he wrote it. I am finding it hard to blog on this story because I really did not care for the story. I loved someone that had a terrible drug problem and I find this story hard to deal because of the way the guys behaved, like it was acceptable to be in this drug filled stupor. The fact that they worked at a hospital and should have been taken care of their patients without the aid of drugs made it even worse.
"Me and Miss Mandible"
"Me and Miss Mandible" confused me at first, what was this guy doing in a classroom with 11 year olds? Had he been reincarnated or was he time traveling? As I read the story closer I realized that it was his disillusionment regarding his life. He felt he was being sent back to elementary school because he did something wrong at his job,"when I was first assigned to this room I wanted to protest...I have been betrayed again"(18), mentally we know that you can't be sent back to elementary school for a do over. But you can be treated like you were so stupid that you feel like you needed to be sent back. I had a very book smart boss like that, he would talk down to me like I was a child. I would find it so condescending and over time it ate away at my self confidence in myself, I started to feel like I was a stupid child.
A point that resonated in several parts of the story is the author felt that others were able to grasp the rules and play them to their advantage where he often feel out of place. "It took me a fantastically long time to realize what others grasped almost at once..." (19) and "they (meaning the students he was with the second time around) have a confidence in their ability to take the right steps and to obtain the correct answers". As I have traveled through my own life there have been times I have felt the same way. I would get so frustrated at work when I would work hard and give many extra hours all while watching my coworker spend most of her day with her cigarette and coffee cup in hand, and what I did was never quite enough for my boss.
I laughed the day I found out my ex-boss had been demoted, I know it sounds juvenile but I am ok with that. I can understand our main character's feelings when he decides not to tell the teacher his story about his position. "Here I am safe, I have a place; I do not wish to entrust myself once more to the whimsy of authority", this speaks VOLUMES to me. I like being back in school like a carefree twenty year old instead of being the responsible 45 year old that I am. But alas I must go back to work.....
A point that resonated in several parts of the story is the author felt that others were able to grasp the rules and play them to their advantage where he often feel out of place. "It took me a fantastically long time to realize what others grasped almost at once..." (19) and "they (meaning the students he was with the second time around) have a confidence in their ability to take the right steps and to obtain the correct answers". As I have traveled through my own life there have been times I have felt the same way. I would get so frustrated at work when I would work hard and give many extra hours all while watching my coworker spend most of her day with her cigarette and coffee cup in hand, and what I did was never quite enough for my boss.
I laughed the day I found out my ex-boss had been demoted, I know it sounds juvenile but I am ok with that. I can understand our main character's feelings when he decides not to tell the teacher his story about his position. "Here I am safe, I have a place; I do not wish to entrust myself once more to the whimsy of authority", this speaks VOLUMES to me. I like being back in school like a carefree twenty year old instead of being the responsible 45 year old that I am. But alas I must go back to work.....
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
"Real Estate"
When I read this story I felt a sense of sadness when our characters are thrust into changes that they don't want and are not mentally prepared for. Ruth knows her husband was a scoundrel and for the most part accepted it. When his last relationship fails he punishes Ruth by insisting that they move, which I could not help wondering if it was to punish Ruth for staying with him. Ruth was in despair, her husband was a scoundrel, her daughter had disconnected from her - empty nest syndrome, she has been battling cancer and Terrence throws the final blow "lets move". Terrence is a douche bag, he pushed her to make the change to a new house and then disconnects again forcing her to handle mayhem. I think she stays with him because she is resistant to change, I understand this because I am resistant to change at times at well. I lost my mind when my son's girlfriend moved my furniture around and hid my things, I would have liked to have done what Ruth did to Noel on her for quite awhile. Her putting everything in similar places in the new house as she had them in the old place does not seem odd to me, because I have done the same thing.....my cupboards and drawers in the kitchen are set up exactly the way my mother's were in the apartment below mine. I will have to say that I would not have tolerate Terrence's crap though, I have a low tolerance for bs.
I thought at some point the author was setting up Ruth and Noel's bylines in order for them to connect in a positive way as they were both in despair and struggling with the changes in their lives. Imagine my surprise when she kills him! I was like OMG. For Ruth this must have been the very last straw when she shot Noel, she had been trespassed upon and violated for the very last time. Sometimes we get to the point where we just cannot take anymore, she had been pushed around and pushed down repeatedly and then this man comes in her home to violate her one more time. How unfortunate for Noel that he broke that last straw and how fortunate for Terrence that she didn't turn around and shot his pansy butt too.
I thought at some point the author was setting up Ruth and Noel's bylines in order for them to connect in a positive way as they were both in despair and struggling with the changes in their lives. Imagine my surprise when she kills him! I was like OMG. For Ruth this must have been the very last straw when she shot Noel, she had been trespassed upon and violated for the very last time. Sometimes we get to the point where we just cannot take anymore, she had been pushed around and pushed down repeatedly and then this man comes in her home to violate her one more time. How unfortunate for Noel that he broke that last straw and how fortunate for Terrence that she didn't turn around and shot his pansy butt too.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Flash Fiction 2
I have truly loved the Flash Fiction stories; the stories are quick, meaningful and enjoyable. Even if there is one you don't like you haven't invested a lot of time reading it only to be disappointed. I have two stories of this group that I absolutely loved.
The first story "Snow" by Julia Alvarez, the story done first person was the tale of a little girl new to the country. She told of a favorite teacher who nurtured her first year of school, and her very first experience with snow. I loved this story because it brought me back to when I was young and my favorite teacher. I would be surprised if not all readers get that nostalgic moment when reading this story.
My favorite teacher was my fourth grade teacher, she encouraged the love of a good book. I remember to this day her reading C.S. Lewis's "A Loin, a Witch, and a Wardrobe", when she read the book I had this mental picture of the story as she read the story. I was so excited three years ago when this story was made into a movie, I was in love because the story was exactly how I had imagined it so many years ago. Somewhere in my library of books I have this book and I have both movies. My favorite story of all time.
The second story that I fell in love with was "Corners" by Sheila Barry, written in third person. I loved this story because of the emotion I felt when I read this story. As the reader I felt Jessie's pain, and that moment when you feel you can't breath because the pain is so intense. Then the moment they share that makes them laugh and helps the pain subsided.
I have a brother and sister that I share this bond with, there have been many times in each of our lives that our pain has been so intense that we have had that feeling that we can't breathe. One of us will get the other two going with a memory or a laugh, my grandmother had one of those snorting laughs that my brother could imitate perfectly.
The first story "Snow" by Julia Alvarez, the story done first person was the tale of a little girl new to the country. She told of a favorite teacher who nurtured her first year of school, and her very first experience with snow. I loved this story because it brought me back to when I was young and my favorite teacher. I would be surprised if not all readers get that nostalgic moment when reading this story.
My favorite teacher was my fourth grade teacher, she encouraged the love of a good book. I remember to this day her reading C.S. Lewis's "A Loin, a Witch, and a Wardrobe", when she read the book I had this mental picture of the story as she read the story. I was so excited three years ago when this story was made into a movie, I was in love because the story was exactly how I had imagined it so many years ago. Somewhere in my library of books I have this book and I have both movies. My favorite story of all time.
The second story that I fell in love with was "Corners" by Sheila Barry, written in third person. I loved this story because of the emotion I felt when I read this story. As the reader I felt Jessie's pain, and that moment when you feel you can't breath because the pain is so intense. Then the moment they share that makes them laugh and helps the pain subsided.
I have a brother and sister that I share this bond with, there have been many times in each of our lives that our pain has been so intense that we have had that feeling that we can't breathe. One of us will get the other two going with a memory or a laugh, my grandmother had one of those snorting laughs that my brother could imitate perfectly.
Flash Fiction 1
I enjoyed this group of stories, they were quick and drove home at home without a ton of words. I liked "Daydream" by Roberta Allen and "Flu" by Stuart Dybek for different reasons.
"Daydream" was written in first person, the narrator was riding in the car with her sister and her sister's husband and they are careening down the mountainside. But she had separated herself from what was happening in the car and had escaped into her own world. Haven't we all been in a similar position that is so uncomfortable that we have escaped into our own world rather than deal with the world we are in.
The second story "Flu" was written third person, omniscient. I liked this story because it was cute. The author captures that moment when two people really see each other for the first time. Faye had just come back to work after being out sick, her illness had burned away her rough edges leaving behind a soft vulnerbility. Aldo was mesmerized by Faye's appearance, which led to a conversation possibly because Faye had been secluded at home for so long and craved human interaction or it was destined to be. Which ever it was when I finished reading the story I got that warm fuzzy feeling.
"Daydream" was written in first person, the narrator was riding in the car with her sister and her sister's husband and they are careening down the mountainside. But she had separated herself from what was happening in the car and had escaped into her own world. Haven't we all been in a similar position that is so uncomfortable that we have escaped into our own world rather than deal with the world we are in.
The second story "Flu" was written third person, omniscient. I liked this story because it was cute. The author captures that moment when two people really see each other for the first time. Faye had just come back to work after being out sick, her illness had burned away her rough edges leaving behind a soft vulnerbility. Aldo was mesmerized by Faye's appearance, which led to a conversation possibly because Faye had been secluded at home for so long and craved human interaction or it was destined to be. Which ever it was when I finished reading the story I got that warm fuzzy feeling.
Friday, November 12, 2010
"The Man from Mars" and "Death Constant Beyond Love"
"The Man from Mars" by Margaret Atwood and "Death Constant Beyond Love" by Gabriel Marquez were odd stories about perverse behaviors by older man to younger girls. Each one comes away with a twist, the stories expose insecurities and pain that the main character was feeling.
"Death Constant Beyond Love" Senator Sanchez who was a very happy man until he found out he was dying and only had a short time to live. His pain and feelings toward his impeding death color the story. The author has painted this picture of cheerful parade but behind the imagery of the parade was the stark existence and despair of the people living there. But not just their despair it was also the Senator's disillusions that are evident. His impeding death made him less sympathetic to their plight after all he was the one dying not them, Senator Sanchez's promises were empty and meaningless like his promises of rain machines, portable breeders and oil of happiness to make things grown. His earlier interactions with Nelson Farina were ones of disdain and refusal to help Nelson get a false id in order to travel about - as Nelson was a wanted man - one got the impression that Senator Sanchez had been a man of good character. But when he sees Nelson's young daughter he changed his tune he was willing to help Nelson in order to have access to his daughter. The author makes the reader question whether or not Senator Sanchez would have made the same decisions were he not dying, that Laura was this beautiful flower in his stark existence. Like the rose he tried to preserve coming across the desert.
"The Man from Mars" was an odd story about a older Japanese man - that we don't get until later in the story -that is obsessed with following Christine, a young college student. Christine is plain ordinary girl from a good family, but she doesn't feel particularly exciting or beautiful. The author tells us this about Christine for us to understand why Christine might not have initially done anything about his following her, it made her feel attractive. The author gives us details about the stalking and Christine's feelings, but we don't know the stalker's feelings in this story.
The plot in this story was two fold, the conflict between Christine and her stalker, as well as the conflict within Christine.
"Death Constant Beyond Love" Senator Sanchez who was a very happy man until he found out he was dying and only had a short time to live. His pain and feelings toward his impeding death color the story. The author has painted this picture of cheerful parade but behind the imagery of the parade was the stark existence and despair of the people living there. But not just their despair it was also the Senator's disillusions that are evident. His impeding death made him less sympathetic to their plight after all he was the one dying not them, Senator Sanchez's promises were empty and meaningless like his promises of rain machines, portable breeders and oil of happiness to make things grown. His earlier interactions with Nelson Farina were ones of disdain and refusal to help Nelson get a false id in order to travel about - as Nelson was a wanted man - one got the impression that Senator Sanchez had been a man of good character. But when he sees Nelson's young daughter he changed his tune he was willing to help Nelson in order to have access to his daughter. The author makes the reader question whether or not Senator Sanchez would have made the same decisions were he not dying, that Laura was this beautiful flower in his stark existence. Like the rose he tried to preserve coming across the desert.
"The Man from Mars" was an odd story about a older Japanese man - that we don't get until later in the story -that is obsessed with following Christine, a young college student. Christine is plain ordinary girl from a good family, but she doesn't feel particularly exciting or beautiful. The author tells us this about Christine for us to understand why Christine might not have initially done anything about his following her, it made her feel attractive. The author gives us details about the stalking and Christine's feelings, but we don't know the stalker's feelings in this story.
The plot in this story was two fold, the conflict between Christine and her stalker, as well as the conflict within Christine.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
"Three Million Yen" and "The Hitchhiking Game"
"Three Million Yen" and "The Hitchhiking Game" were both written in third person omniscient point of view. Both stories the setting is Media res, and appear to start in the middle of things, Kenzo and Kiyoke are on the way to meet someone but stop at mall and amusement park to kill time. The other couple are on their way to Banska Bystritsa on vacation. Both sets of characters are young couples beginning their lives together, in the first story "Three Million Yen" the author gives us the names of the two young people, but suspiciously the names are not given in the "The Hitchhiking Game".
The other of "Three Million Yen" has given us elaborate imagery and incredible details. The mood in the beginning of the story is bright and cheerful, the reader gets caught up in the story of the young couple having fun at the mall and the amusement park but then as they get on the amusement ride it starts to become "dark". Kenzo appeared to relish the fact that Kiyoke was frightened by the ride, her fright makes him aroused. What I thought was curious in this story is when they meet the woman and sneak off in the night that the author implies what they did, the author doesn't tell the reader outright that they have performed sexual acts if front of rich old woman. When he picks back up with Kenzo and Kiyoke walking home the details are back, what was once bright and welcoming is now dark with despair.
"The Hitchhiking Game" is also about a young couple, the games they play are of a different nature. The "game" Kenzo and Kiyoke played they were trying to better themselves for the future and they were playing the game united this was not the case with the young couple in "The Hitchhiking Game". The game the couple in this story played preyed on their insecurities and weaknesses that ultimately destroy the relationship.
The other of "Three Million Yen" has given us elaborate imagery and incredible details. The mood in the beginning of the story is bright and cheerful, the reader gets caught up in the story of the young couple having fun at the mall and the amusement park but then as they get on the amusement ride it starts to become "dark". Kenzo appeared to relish the fact that Kiyoke was frightened by the ride, her fright makes him aroused. What I thought was curious in this story is when they meet the woman and sneak off in the night that the author implies what they did, the author doesn't tell the reader outright that they have performed sexual acts if front of rich old woman. When he picks back up with Kenzo and Kiyoke walking home the details are back, what was once bright and welcoming is now dark with despair.
"The Hitchhiking Game" is also about a young couple, the games they play are of a different nature. The "game" Kenzo and Kiyoke played they were trying to better themselves for the future and they were playing the game united this was not the case with the young couple in "The Hitchhiking Game". The game the couple in this story played preyed on their insecurities and weaknesses that ultimately destroy the relationship.
"Disguised"
The story "Disguised" starts with a foreshadowing hook "When Temerl stood under the wedding canopy she surely did not know that in less than half a year she would be an abandoned wife". Temerl's husband Pinchosl abandons Temerl, he sneaks out one night and never returns. The author also gives us physical descriptions of Pinchosl "because he was small and slight" as well as behavioral tendencies "neither did he chase women. He barely looked at Temerl when he lifted the veil from her face on the wedding night". When the author gets to the climax in the story where Temerl finds Pinchosl dressed as a woman, the reader gets that "oh that makes senses moment".
The author has written this story in third person point of view, omniscient. He gives us a small view point of her mother and father when Temerl is determined to go look for Pinchosl, and even a small bit of Pinchosl's. But the majority of the story is in Temerl's view of what happened.
The plot of the story itself is the conflict between Temerl and Pinchosl, because Pinchosl abandoned her she was forbidden by law to move forward in her life. Pinchosl himself had moved on and was living as a woman with this lover and was seen as married by his community. Although I think the biggest conflict in this story was Pinchosl, his desire to keep his faith and please his family was at war with his love for Elkonah. He knew that God would ultimately punish him for living his faith as a woman with another man but he could not stop himself.
The author has written this story in third person point of view, omniscient. He gives us a small view point of her mother and father when Temerl is determined to go look for Pinchosl, and even a small bit of Pinchosl's. But the majority of the story is in Temerl's view of what happened.
The plot of the story itself is the conflict between Temerl and Pinchosl, because Pinchosl abandoned her she was forbidden by law to move forward in her life. Pinchosl himself had moved on and was living as a woman with this lover and was seen as married by his community. Although I think the biggest conflict in this story was Pinchosl, his desire to keep his faith and please his family was at war with his love for Elkonah. He knew that God would ultimately punish him for living his faith as a woman with another man but he could not stop himself.
"The Supper" and "The Drunkard"
"The Drunkard" by was written in 1st person point of view while the "The Supper" by Tadeusz Borowski was written as third person limited point of view. While I truly enjoyed "The Drunkard" and the ironic twist at the end of the story, the twist at the end of "The Supper" left me sickened.
"The Supper" begins with so much detail from the dark heavy night that is cold and damp, filled with human misery to the way he describes the Russian prisoners right down to the zippers on their clothes. The author gives incredible details until the point of when the climax happens, the execution of the prisoners. He leaves it to the imagination of the reader for a brief moment what was happening at the moment. It isn't until the last line of the story he leaves the reader with the image of starving Jewish prisoners eating the brains of the Russian prisoners. The imagery of the author tells this story.
In "The Drunkard" the author focuses on the characters of the story in order to put the story plot in place, he spends time developing and telling us about Father and his drinking issues. He uses Mr Dooley's death as an inciting incident in order to start the story off. Larry's mother who entrusts Father with their young son was the character in the story that needed to fix everything. Larry was the young child who Mother had entrusted to watch out after Father at the funeral of Mr. Dooley's funeral. Funerals being a catalyst for Father to start drinking again.
Choosing to tell the story through Larry's eyes gave the story an interesting twist, Larry feels that his mother has entrusted him to watch over his father but he feels that he was ineffective at changing his father's behavior. The author takes the opportunity to use the natural curiosity of a young boy to teach the father a valuable lesson. Larry drinks Father's beer and becomes intoxicated, forcing Father to do the walk of shame home with a drunk little boy that he was suppose to be watching. Father was blamed for filling his son with drink, his guilt forced him to go work without another drink. Larry is rewarded for being the Guardian Angel to his father, because Larry's actions caused his father to be riddled with guilt about the neglect of his son he stopped drinking.
"The Supper" begins with so much detail from the dark heavy night that is cold and damp, filled with human misery to the way he describes the Russian prisoners right down to the zippers on their clothes. The author gives incredible details until the point of when the climax happens, the execution of the prisoners. He leaves it to the imagination of the reader for a brief moment what was happening at the moment. It isn't until the last line of the story he leaves the reader with the image of starving Jewish prisoners eating the brains of the Russian prisoners. The imagery of the author tells this story.
In "The Drunkard" the author focuses on the characters of the story in order to put the story plot in place, he spends time developing and telling us about Father and his drinking issues. He uses Mr Dooley's death as an inciting incident in order to start the story off. Larry's mother who entrusts Father with their young son was the character in the story that needed to fix everything. Larry was the young child who Mother had entrusted to watch out after Father at the funeral of Mr. Dooley's funeral. Funerals being a catalyst for Father to start drinking again.
Choosing to tell the story through Larry's eyes gave the story an interesting twist, Larry feels that his mother has entrusted him to watch over his father but he feels that he was ineffective at changing his father's behavior. The author takes the opportunity to use the natural curiosity of a young boy to teach the father a valuable lesson. Larry drinks Father's beer and becomes intoxicated, forcing Father to do the walk of shame home with a drunk little boy that he was suppose to be watching. Father was blamed for filling his son with drink, his guilt forced him to go work without another drink. Larry is rewarded for being the Guardian Angel to his father, because Larry's actions caused his father to be riddled with guilt about the neglect of his son he stopped drinking.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
"The Piano"
Anibal Machado's story the "The Piano" was a delightful story that I enjoyed reading unlike the previous two stories we read. The author chose to begin with the setting of the story, which he did as medias res. We are immediately thrown into the story as the point Joao was trying to sell the piano, and it ends with an ironic twist.
The story is written in third person omniscient and the reader gets an understanding of the story through Joao and Rosalia. Joao though as the greater connection to the piano, it was like the piano was an old dear treasured relative. When he tried to give it to a relative while initially agreeing even they did not want to take this aging member of the family. Rosalia was in the position of giving Joao comfort for having to losing a cherished member of this family, but also being practical that they needed the space and the money for their daughter Sara's impending wedding.
The author has given the piano a life like existence in this story, the piano is the holder of joyful family memories throughout time, from when he was young and it belonged to his parents/grandparents, when his daughter was first learning to play a musical instrument. The piano's place in the family has caused some conflict as well "you're always against it, Rosalia".
As the story continues the author shows us Joao's despair when no one wants to purchase his cherished piano, and his family doesn't want it. Joao decides to give the piano a burial at sea. He gets help to move the piano to the ocean, and along the way his neighbors will ask where he was going with the piano. When he offers them the piano they are first say yes until they realize they must find an immediate home for the piano.
The piano has been tossed in the ocean and destroyed, which brings about another set of problems because the police believe he has thrown away more than the piano. His troubles don't end when he gets rid of the piano, now he has more questions to answer to. For Jaoa tossing the piano in the ocean was the same as having a burial at sea of dear family member. As the story comes twisting to an end the redheaded man who inquired many times about the piano had come to make an offer. Only adding to Joao's despair.
The story is written in third person omniscient and the reader gets an understanding of the story through Joao and Rosalia. Joao though as the greater connection to the piano, it was like the piano was an old dear treasured relative. When he tried to give it to a relative while initially agreeing even they did not want to take this aging member of the family. Rosalia was in the position of giving Joao comfort for having to losing a cherished member of this family, but also being practical that they needed the space and the money for their daughter Sara's impending wedding.
The author has given the piano a life like existence in this story, the piano is the holder of joyful family memories throughout time, from when he was young and it belonged to his parents/grandparents, when his daughter was first learning to play a musical instrument. The piano's place in the family has caused some conflict as well "you're always against it, Rosalia".
As the story continues the author shows us Joao's despair when no one wants to purchase his cherished piano, and his family doesn't want it. Joao decides to give the piano a burial at sea. He gets help to move the piano to the ocean, and along the way his neighbors will ask where he was going with the piano. When he offers them the piano they are first say yes until they realize they must find an immediate home for the piano.
The piano has been tossed in the ocean and destroyed, which brings about another set of problems because the police believe he has thrown away more than the piano. His troubles don't end when he gets rid of the piano, now he has more questions to answer to. For Jaoa tossing the piano in the ocean was the same as having a burial at sea of dear family member. As the story comes twisting to an end the redheaded man who inquired many times about the piano had come to make an offer. Only adding to Joao's despair.
"In the Penal Colony" and "The Thirst"
Our stories for this selection are "The Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka and "The Thirst" by Ivo Andric both of these stories have similarities in the characters and the development of the characters themselves. The point of view in both stories is third party omniscient, where the reader is allowed to see the story through more than one character in the story. In both stories there is one character who is witness to an injustice being done to another, what the character does or does not do tells the story. When we see an injustice being done do we step in, or do we look the other way?
What I felt after reading both of these stories is that two of characters in the story had a total lack of respect for the life of another human being. The commander in "The Thirst" was only concerned that he would be seen as a hero for capturing Lazar, it did not matter to him that Lazar was dying from the wound in his chest he still ordered Lazar to not be given any water or food. Lazar was a non person. The commander slept soundly in his bed while the prisoner, Lazar laid dying in the commander's basement crying out from delirium. While we get a small picture that Lazar was not a nice man, we also know that they had been at war. In "The Penal Colony", the officer was so fascinated by the machine that he disconnects with what is happening to the condemned man. The fact that the condemned man did not know that he was being sentenced to death, or that he been sentenced shocks the explorer but to the officer he is only upset that explorer might delay the execution by asking too many questions.
While the point of view of the explorer and the wife show a different side of the events. Both characters question whether they should get involved with the grievous injustices being done to the two prisoners. If they were to get involved, what exactly could they do? The explorer , in "The Penal Colony" points out he is not part of the penal colony or even the county it belongs to, so who would listen to him. While the wife, in "The Thirst" feels she doesn't have the right to wake her husband to tell him to stop the torment of the prisoner.
In the "The Penal Colony", we know very little about the explorer, and that is by design because the focus is the officer. The officer is unraveling as his place at the penal colony is changing, it drives him to take his own life in the machine. While the wife in "The Thirst" who we first see as this young woman that her only concern is how her bedroom looks at the beginning of the story, becomes a woman struggling to understand what is right and just in a world that is not always just.
Of all the stories we have read thus far I think these two are my least favorite, at the end of each story I felt sickened by the human depravity. I had the same feeling with the "The Shawl", it left this emptiness.
What I felt after reading both of these stories is that two of characters in the story had a total lack of respect for the life of another human being. The commander in "The Thirst" was only concerned that he would be seen as a hero for capturing Lazar, it did not matter to him that Lazar was dying from the wound in his chest he still ordered Lazar to not be given any water or food. Lazar was a non person. The commander slept soundly in his bed while the prisoner, Lazar laid dying in the commander's basement crying out from delirium. While we get a small picture that Lazar was not a nice man, we also know that they had been at war. In "The Penal Colony", the officer was so fascinated by the machine that he disconnects with what is happening to the condemned man. The fact that the condemned man did not know that he was being sentenced to death, or that he been sentenced shocks the explorer but to the officer he is only upset that explorer might delay the execution by asking too many questions.
While the point of view of the explorer and the wife show a different side of the events. Both characters question whether they should get involved with the grievous injustices being done to the two prisoners. If they were to get involved, what exactly could they do? The explorer , in "The Penal Colony" points out he is not part of the penal colony or even the county it belongs to, so who would listen to him. While the wife, in "The Thirst" feels she doesn't have the right to wake her husband to tell him to stop the torment of the prisoner.
In the "The Penal Colony", we know very little about the explorer, and that is by design because the focus is the officer. The officer is unraveling as his place at the penal colony is changing, it drives him to take his own life in the machine. While the wife in "The Thirst" who we first see as this young woman that her only concern is how her bedroom looks at the beginning of the story, becomes a woman struggling to understand what is right and just in a world that is not always just.
Of all the stories we have read thus far I think these two are my least favorite, at the end of each story I felt sickened by the human depravity. I had the same feeling with the "The Shawl", it left this emptiness.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant
"The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant is a incredible story about the negative impact of one's pride and selfishness. The story is written in third person omniscient point of view, as the narrator gives us a glimpse into Monsieur Loisel's thoughts not just Mathilde's. For me Monsieur Loisel is the hero in the this story because he tries so hard to make his wife happy within his means. He is excited to show Mathilde the invitation to the Minister of Education's ball, but he is puzzled when she is angry with him for getting the invitation. He is heartbroken when Mathilde cries because she doesn't have a dress for the party, so he gives up the money he has been saving for a gun. A gun that he probably would have used long after the party had come and gone. He continually tries to make Mathilde happy. When Mathilde loses the necklace she borrowed from Jeanne, Loisel looks for the necklace for hours while Mathilde stays at home. He replaces the necklace, but in order to do that he must use all of his money (18000 francs) and borrow the rest (another 18000 francs), some of the money he had to borrowed was from people who charged extremely high interest rates. He has to work very hard to pay off the necklace that Mathilde had to have for one night.
Mathilde on the other hand, is a self centered woman who lets her pride not only ruin her but her husband as well. When Mathilde "from the very first she played her part heroically" and she works along side her husband to pay the debt, you get the impression that she has grown as a person. That is until she encounters her friend Jeanne in the park, she tells Jeanne "Yes, I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows...and all on your account". Just when you think the character has grown she turns around and blames her friend for her misfortune. What if her pride hadn't gotten in the way and she wore flowers that night like her husband suggested? Or if she waited for him to hail a cab, instead of hurrying him out into the street because she did not want to be seen in her usual outer garments? Or lastly, if she had just gone to Jeanne and explain the clasp on the necklace broke, and she lost the necklace. If she had simply gone to Jeanne she would have been able to replace the necklace for five hundred francs not 36,000 francs, she would have saved her husband and herself so much anguish.
The irony of this story is that Mathilde wanted so much more, and because she did not want to appear poor for one night she pushed them into further poverty for the next ten years.
Mathilde on the other hand, is a self centered woman who lets her pride not only ruin her but her husband as well. When Mathilde "from the very first she played her part heroically" and she works along side her husband to pay the debt, you get the impression that she has grown as a person. That is until she encounters her friend Jeanne in the park, she tells Jeanne "Yes, I've had some hard times since I saw you last; and many sorrows...and all on your account". Just when you think the character has grown she turns around and blames her friend for her misfortune. What if her pride hadn't gotten in the way and she wore flowers that night like her husband suggested? Or if she waited for him to hail a cab, instead of hurrying him out into the street because she did not want to be seen in her usual outer garments? Or lastly, if she had just gone to Jeanne and explain the clasp on the necklace broke, and she lost the necklace. If she had simply gone to Jeanne she would have been able to replace the necklace for five hundred francs not 36,000 francs, she would have saved her husband and herself so much anguish.
The irony of this story is that Mathilde wanted so much more, and because she did not want to appear poor for one night she pushed them into further poverty for the next ten years.
Friday, October 8, 2010
"The Best Girlfriend You Never Had", "You're Ugly Too", and "Proper Library"
This group of stories brings to mind that country song "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places"; the song could summarize the theme of this group of stories. In the "Proper Library" by Carolyn Farrell the main character in this story is a young gay black man living in a the inner cities, he is torn by his love for Rakeem and his mother's desire for him to "be someone". This story is written first person point of view, so we only know what Lorrie is telling us. The second story "You're Ugly Too" by Lorrie Moore, is the story of Zoe, a college professor, that has difficulties with relationships, she is more at ease communicating with her mailman and cab driver than her students or men. This story is written in third person limited point of view. The last story, my favorite of this group, was "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" by Pam Houston, the main character of this story is Lucille who is looking for approval from her father and dating men that are not good for her. This story is written in the first person point of view, with the information we have about our author it is art imitating life.
Our first story "Proper Library" our main character Lorrie was trying to deal with his own sexuality while being tormented by the community around him His story is still relevant today to many young men who could relate to Lorrie. All one has to do is turn on the tv or computer to hear about the young men who ended their lives because they could no longer handle the torment. Lorrie is trying to be the good son to his mother by going to school everyday even though he was abused by the other students even one of the teachers. For his mother it was important that her son gets an education and passes the city wide tests, but she also saw the outside forces pulling at him. The children are the positive love that Lorrie feels because they love Lorrie for who he is, it is an unconditional love. He is someone who loves and pays attention to them when they otherwise might be neglected by the adults in their world. Rakeem was the bad boy in this story who keeps pulling Lorrie away from school and his family. He understood Lorrie's sexual orientation because of his own, but he was not strong enough to endure what Lorrie was at school so he kept trying to pull Lorrie away from school.
The second story "You're Ugly Too" is an awkward story about a college professor, Zoe, who was so out of sync with the rest of the world. She was bright enough to be a college professor but she lacked the social skills needed to relate to her students, colleagues, and others. The story spoke of awkward moments between her and her students, where one moment she was singing and offering her beverage to another where she was ridiculing a student. Her closest friends were the mailman and the cab driver, because they expected nothing from her whereas others thought she should conform to a "normal" set of standards. Her sister tried to set her up with someone she knew, and the encounter is awkward and painful. All I could say was OMG when Zoe gave this poor man a shove almost catapulting him over the balcony. The story reminds me of the current tv show "Big Bang Theory", the four nerdy guys who are extremely intelligent but have trouble relating to simple everyday relationships. I feel sad for Zoe because of her inability to socialize in a manner that is considered the norm for her colleagues and others, because of her problem she was unable to develop relationships. She becomes so paralyzed that she was unable to even decide on furniture for her home, she would pick pieces and then return them because they did not feel right.
The last story "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" is the story of two friends, Lucille and Lee, who should be together but they are each in love with someone else. Lucille tells us she loves Lee, everyone loves Lee but he loves Quinevere, and Quinevere loves someone else who doesn't return her love in the same way either. Gordon loves Lucille, in an obssesive way that becomes oppressive to Lucille. Both Gordon and Lucille have issues with their parents, Gordon having run away from home at young age with the desire to be more than his immigrant parents this has caused a rift between him and his family. His mother came when he won his first teaching award, she was in the audience but did not stay to see him face to face. Lucille's issues with her family are not of her doing, but those of her alcoholic parents. They were so dysfunctional when on a family trip, Lucille was stopped by a cop for numerous traffic violations. The cop felt so sorry for Lucille he let her off with a warning because he could not punish her anymore that she was already being punished.
Lucille was so desperate for the acceptance she was not getting from her father, because of those emotion she allowed Gordon to become very controlling in her life. They had been asked to leave places because of his behaviour and jealousy. What I thought was incredible was that Lucille had been in some real dangerous positions but she was more afraid of not being loved than being mugged. My favorite part of the story was the homeless man that she stepped over while fighting with Gordon, he told her he did not want her money he only wanted to see her smile. She gave him all the money in her wallet. The irony of all the misplaced love in this story is Lee's mugger who makes Lee swear to God that he will call his girlfriend and tell her he is ok.
Our first story "Proper Library" our main character Lorrie was trying to deal with his own sexuality while being tormented by the community around him His story is still relevant today to many young men who could relate to Lorrie. All one has to do is turn on the tv or computer to hear about the young men who ended their lives because they could no longer handle the torment. Lorrie is trying to be the good son to his mother by going to school everyday even though he was abused by the other students even one of the teachers. For his mother it was important that her son gets an education and passes the city wide tests, but she also saw the outside forces pulling at him. The children are the positive love that Lorrie feels because they love Lorrie for who he is, it is an unconditional love. He is someone who loves and pays attention to them when they otherwise might be neglected by the adults in their world. Rakeem was the bad boy in this story who keeps pulling Lorrie away from school and his family. He understood Lorrie's sexual orientation because of his own, but he was not strong enough to endure what Lorrie was at school so he kept trying to pull Lorrie away from school.
The second story "You're Ugly Too" is an awkward story about a college professor, Zoe, who was so out of sync with the rest of the world. She was bright enough to be a college professor but she lacked the social skills needed to relate to her students, colleagues, and others. The story spoke of awkward moments between her and her students, where one moment she was singing and offering her beverage to another where she was ridiculing a student. Her closest friends were the mailman and the cab driver, because they expected nothing from her whereas others thought she should conform to a "normal" set of standards. Her sister tried to set her up with someone she knew, and the encounter is awkward and painful. All I could say was OMG when Zoe gave this poor man a shove almost catapulting him over the balcony. The story reminds me of the current tv show "Big Bang Theory", the four nerdy guys who are extremely intelligent but have trouble relating to simple everyday relationships. I feel sad for Zoe because of her inability to socialize in a manner that is considered the norm for her colleagues and others, because of her problem she was unable to develop relationships. She becomes so paralyzed that she was unable to even decide on furniture for her home, she would pick pieces and then return them because they did not feel right.
The last story "The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" is the story of two friends, Lucille and Lee, who should be together but they are each in love with someone else. Lucille tells us she loves Lee, everyone loves Lee but he loves Quinevere, and Quinevere loves someone else who doesn't return her love in the same way either. Gordon loves Lucille, in an obssesive way that becomes oppressive to Lucille. Both Gordon and Lucille have issues with their parents, Gordon having run away from home at young age with the desire to be more than his immigrant parents this has caused a rift between him and his family. His mother came when he won his first teaching award, she was in the audience but did not stay to see him face to face. Lucille's issues with her family are not of her doing, but those of her alcoholic parents. They were so dysfunctional when on a family trip, Lucille was stopped by a cop for numerous traffic violations. The cop felt so sorry for Lucille he let her off with a warning because he could not punish her anymore that she was already being punished.
Lucille was so desperate for the acceptance she was not getting from her father, because of those emotion she allowed Gordon to become very controlling in her life. They had been asked to leave places because of his behaviour and jealousy. What I thought was incredible was that Lucille had been in some real dangerous positions but she was more afraid of not being loved than being mugged. My favorite part of the story was the homeless man that she stepped over while fighting with Gordon, he told her he did not want her money he only wanted to see her smile. She gave him all the money in her wallet. The irony of all the misplaced love in this story is Lee's mugger who makes Lee swear to God that he will call his girlfriend and tell her he is ok.
"The Way We Live Now" and "Janus"
In the 80's the disease AIDS and HIV the virus that caused AIDS captured headlines everyone's attention. The lack of knowledge regarding how it was spread caused panic everywhere. The original belief was that it was spread through homosexual behavior, that was soon to change when more than just the gay community were HIV positive. Ryan White, a 13 year boy, becomes the face of AIDS, when in 1984 Ryan contradicted AIDS through a blood transfusion. He will be one of the driving forces for people to realized that not just gay men were at risk. Ryan White's case will change the laws regarding donated blood, in 1985 a law was passed that required all blood to be tested for HIV. New laws will also be enacted to ensure equal rights for people with AIDS, they could no longer be evicted or fired because they have AIDS. The 80's was also a time where women are showing up more in the workplace and commanding better pay than they had in previous decades. We were coming into our own, but sometimes money, prestige and a successful husband were not enough to fill our lives. We were looking for more, just have material possessions was not enough.
"Janus" by Ann Beattie is a woman who has everything but still feels empty, she obsesses over a bowl that is somehow the symbol of her life. This story is written in third person limited point of view. "The Way We Live Now" by Susan Sontag is the story of man dying of AIDS, the story behind the story is the gathering of his friends and how they feel about their friend, his illness, and their own fears about the disease. This story is written in third person omniscient, we get the insight from numerous friends, even some through here say.
The main character in "Janus" is Andrea, she is a successful realtor who is married to a successful stockbroker. They had been together since graduate school where times were tough, and as they both become successful they gathered many things to make up for when they couldn't. But the pleasure of owning new things was no longer there. The bowl was something the husband barely noticed and he was instructed to keep his keys out of it. She on the other hand is obsessed with the bowl, she brings it into her clients' homes when she is showing their houses. One time she forgot to take the bowl out of the house with her, she drove back to the house upset about leaving it behind. She compared it to someone leaving their child behind in a strange city.
She becomes so obsessed with the bowl she feels the only reason that she is so successful is because of the bowl. This bowl is always empty and I can't help feeling that Andrea is too, she has everything but has nothing. Where she once confided in her husband she now excludes him, she had a lover but he left her when he realized she was incapable of deciding what or who she loved. This story left me feeling empty, but I also pitied the main character because even though she had collected possessions and was successful her life didn't make her happy.
"The Way We Live Now" is the story of a group of friends gathering around their mutual friend who is dying from AIDS. While in the beginning they were able to put aside their differences in order to give a united front for their friend, soon old issues of jealousy come out. They are concerned about their friend's health but there is also concern about their own health. Stephen is obsessed with whether or not he had a good doctor, and if he was taking care of himself. Max ends up in the hospital with a complication from the virus, and the friends are concerned about telling their friend about Max's declining health. Quentin becomes the gate keeper telling people when they can come visit, even controlling when the man's mother can be there. The interesting twist to this story is how they all compete to be the better friend, like somehow it will make a difference.
The end of story brings us to the man's diary. Ellen picked up his diary to take a peek, she was alarmed not by what she read but how it was written. The diary starts with a strong pen but towards the end was less legible and drifted along the page. His life was fading like the strokes of the pen in this diary. Ursula and Stephen were only concerned with his being alive, if he was still writing in the book he was still alive.
"Janus" by Ann Beattie is a woman who has everything but still feels empty, she obsesses over a bowl that is somehow the symbol of her life. This story is written in third person limited point of view. "The Way We Live Now" by Susan Sontag is the story of man dying of AIDS, the story behind the story is the gathering of his friends and how they feel about their friend, his illness, and their own fears about the disease. This story is written in third person omniscient, we get the insight from numerous friends, even some through here say.
The main character in "Janus" is Andrea, she is a successful realtor who is married to a successful stockbroker. They had been together since graduate school where times were tough, and as they both become successful they gathered many things to make up for when they couldn't. But the pleasure of owning new things was no longer there. The bowl was something the husband barely noticed and he was instructed to keep his keys out of it. She on the other hand is obsessed with the bowl, she brings it into her clients' homes when she is showing their houses. One time she forgot to take the bowl out of the house with her, she drove back to the house upset about leaving it behind. She compared it to someone leaving their child behind in a strange city.
She becomes so obsessed with the bowl she feels the only reason that she is so successful is because of the bowl. This bowl is always empty and I can't help feeling that Andrea is too, she has everything but has nothing. Where she once confided in her husband she now excludes him, she had a lover but he left her when he realized she was incapable of deciding what or who she loved. This story left me feeling empty, but I also pitied the main character because even though she had collected possessions and was successful her life didn't make her happy.
"The Way We Live Now" is the story of a group of friends gathering around their mutual friend who is dying from AIDS. While in the beginning they were able to put aside their differences in order to give a united front for their friend, soon old issues of jealousy come out. They are concerned about their friend's health but there is also concern about their own health. Stephen is obsessed with whether or not he had a good doctor, and if he was taking care of himself. Max ends up in the hospital with a complication from the virus, and the friends are concerned about telling their friend about Max's declining health. Quentin becomes the gate keeper telling people when they can come visit, even controlling when the man's mother can be there. The interesting twist to this story is how they all compete to be the better friend, like somehow it will make a difference.
The end of story brings us to the man's diary. Ellen picked up his diary to take a peek, she was alarmed not by what she read but how it was written. The diary starts with a strong pen but towards the end was less legible and drifted along the page. His life was fading like the strokes of the pen in this diary. Ursula and Stephen were only concerned with his being alive, if he was still writing in the book he was still alive.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
"Gesturing", "Where I'm Calling From","The Shawl"
For all that the 70's was a magical time of being a young child, the 80's was that that time I grew up and realized freedom of choices often come with consequences and life is not always fair. I started the decade at 14 and finished at 24, with a lifetime of growing in between. I spent the early part of the 80's in high school and a good part of the rest of that time in the Navy. I was stationed in Washington, DC when they first opened the Vietnam Memorial Wall, and all I can say about the experience of walking the wall was heart wrenching sadness. It is a feeling I will never forget. In October 1983, one of the first terrorist attacks - the bombing of a Marine barracks in Beruit killing 241 Marines. 1986 I watched in horror with my shipmates the Space Shuttle Challenger exploding right after take off, at the very moment it was happening. Many years later I will be watching tv and will witness the Space Shuttle Columbia explode as it reenters the earth's atmosphere, they were broadcasting reentry when they realized something had gone terribly wrong. I remember watching the Iran-Contra affairs senate hearings with many of my other shipmates. We all cheered when Oliver North told them "I must have shredded my memory banks", in sarcastic reference to the shredding of confidential documents. In 1989 while watching World Series we got "snow" on the screen, and moments later they broadcast that San Francisco was hit by a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake destroyed parts of the San Francisco bay bridge and killed 63 people. The magnitude of what we saw on television while it was happening was incredible in this decade.
Our stories for this decade "Gesturing" and "Where I'm Calling From" shows the changing of relationships and the consequences of our choices. While "The Shawl" was about the choices that Rosa was forced to make due to situations beyond her control with consequences of life and death. In John Updike's "Gesturing", the husband is faced with his wife's decision to end their marriage. This story was written in third person with a limited point of view, so we only know his view of their marriage. The second story, is Raymond Carver's "Where I'm Calling From", the narrator in this story must face the consequences of his alcoholism while watching two other men face their consequences. This story was written in the first person point of view. The last story "The Shawl" by Cynthia Ozick is a sad and painful story about two women and a baby during the Holocaust. This story was written in the third person omniscient point of view, we get Stella's point of view in the first paragraph only, the rest of the story is Rosa's.
"Gesturing" shows the changing dynamics of family, where once the wife would have stood idly by while her husband had an affair this wife finds a lover of her own. Additionally, she has decided to go it alone and sends her husband away because she can. He is faced with finding an apartment in Boston, and starting his life again. He is caught between his lover and his wife that I feel he still loves. A carving in his window "with this ring I thee wed" from previous tenants irritated him, not so much as it marred his view as it was a reminder of who he had been. While he settled in to that everyday routine of his life there was still that connection to his wife. "The motion was eager, shy, exquisite, diffident, trusting: he saw all its meanings and knew that would never stop gesturing to him, never; though a decree come between them, even death, her gesture would endure, cut into glass". They have simply falling out of line with each, it was easier to quit than work at what they had once had.
"Where I'm Calling From", the main character in this story is a divorced alcoholic quite like the author himself. This is his second stay at Frank Martin's rehabilitation house, the first time when his wife brought him to help get back on track. This time around his current girlfriend drops him off after they have drank themselves into a stupor. He meets Tiny and JP while he is there. Tiny has recently suffered from a serious seizure that was caused by withdrawals from alcohol and JP was brought by his wife's family when he could no longer work or drive, a non functioning alcoholic. JP's story is filtered through our narrator who tells about his great love for his wife and job, and the deterioration of his relationship with both his wife and his job. What is lost when alcoholism takes over their lives is the underlying theme here. JP loses the woman he loved from first sight, as well as the job he loved because of his drinking. Our narrator has destroyed his marriage, and his new relationship was on the rocks as well because of his drinking. Frank talks to the men about "if", "we can help you. IF you want help and want to listen to what we say". To me this story talks about choices and the choices we make, and the consequences we must accept because of those choices. Also, while there is help out there for addicts they must decide they want the help, you can not help someone who doesn't want your help. How far down is rock bottom?
The last story in this group tears at my heart, and I find it hard to go back and read again. "The Shawl" is the story of two woman and a baby that are being marched to a concentration camp and what happens to them while they are there. The baby, Magda, is hidden by the 14 year old mother, Rosa, under a shawl through out the story, both woman and the baby are starving to death. On this fateful day Stella steals the shawl from the baby. It leaves you wondering if Stella stole the shawl because it was previously told she was jealous of Magda or because the cold had become unbearable to her. Or in the end did her own self preservation become more important. Magda wanders out into the courtyard looking for her shawl and is found by the soldiers moments after Rosa sights her. They grab this small child and toss it into the electric fence killing her. Rosa is faced with hollering out to Magda to come back to her before the soldiers get her, but it would call attention to both of them and they would both be shot. After the baby has been murdered, she wants to scream out but again she risks being killed herself. The choices she must make at this point are life and death, does she try to rescue Magda and sacrifice both their lives or does she just watch in horror her death. This story truly saddens my heart.
Our stories for this decade "Gesturing" and "Where I'm Calling From" shows the changing of relationships and the consequences of our choices. While "The Shawl" was about the choices that Rosa was forced to make due to situations beyond her control with consequences of life and death. In John Updike's "Gesturing", the husband is faced with his wife's decision to end their marriage. This story was written in third person with a limited point of view, so we only know his view of their marriage. The second story, is Raymond Carver's "Where I'm Calling From", the narrator in this story must face the consequences of his alcoholism while watching two other men face their consequences. This story was written in the first person point of view. The last story "The Shawl" by Cynthia Ozick is a sad and painful story about two women and a baby during the Holocaust. This story was written in the third person omniscient point of view, we get Stella's point of view in the first paragraph only, the rest of the story is Rosa's.
"Gesturing" shows the changing dynamics of family, where once the wife would have stood idly by while her husband had an affair this wife finds a lover of her own. Additionally, she has decided to go it alone and sends her husband away because she can. He is faced with finding an apartment in Boston, and starting his life again. He is caught between his lover and his wife that I feel he still loves. A carving in his window "with this ring I thee wed" from previous tenants irritated him, not so much as it marred his view as it was a reminder of who he had been. While he settled in to that everyday routine of his life there was still that connection to his wife. "The motion was eager, shy, exquisite, diffident, trusting: he saw all its meanings and knew that would never stop gesturing to him, never; though a decree come between them, even death, her gesture would endure, cut into glass". They have simply falling out of line with each, it was easier to quit than work at what they had once had.
"Where I'm Calling From", the main character in this story is a divorced alcoholic quite like the author himself. This is his second stay at Frank Martin's rehabilitation house, the first time when his wife brought him to help get back on track. This time around his current girlfriend drops him off after they have drank themselves into a stupor. He meets Tiny and JP while he is there. Tiny has recently suffered from a serious seizure that was caused by withdrawals from alcohol and JP was brought by his wife's family when he could no longer work or drive, a non functioning alcoholic. JP's story is filtered through our narrator who tells about his great love for his wife and job, and the deterioration of his relationship with both his wife and his job. What is lost when alcoholism takes over their lives is the underlying theme here. JP loses the woman he loved from first sight, as well as the job he loved because of his drinking. Our narrator has destroyed his marriage, and his new relationship was on the rocks as well because of his drinking. Frank talks to the men about "if", "we can help you. IF you want help and want to listen to what we say". To me this story talks about choices and the choices we make, and the consequences we must accept because of those choices. Also, while there is help out there for addicts they must decide they want the help, you can not help someone who doesn't want your help. How far down is rock bottom?
The last story in this group tears at my heart, and I find it hard to go back and read again. "The Shawl" is the story of two woman and a baby that are being marched to a concentration camp and what happens to them while they are there. The baby, Magda, is hidden by the 14 year old mother, Rosa, under a shawl through out the story, both woman and the baby are starving to death. On this fateful day Stella steals the shawl from the baby. It leaves you wondering if Stella stole the shawl because it was previously told she was jealous of Magda or because the cold had become unbearable to her. Or in the end did her own self preservation become more important. Magda wanders out into the courtyard looking for her shawl and is found by the soldiers moments after Rosa sights her. They grab this small child and toss it into the electric fence killing her. Rosa is faced with hollering out to Magda to come back to her before the soldiers get her, but it would call attention to both of them and they would both be shot. After the baby has been murdered, she wants to scream out but again she risks being killed herself. The choices she must make at this point are life and death, does she try to rescue Magda and sacrifice both their lives or does she just watch in horror her death. This story truly saddens my heart.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
"How to Win", "Verona: A Young Woman Speaks", and "Roses, Rhododendron"
The "magical" 70's, being a young child and young teen through the seventies I watched much of this era unfold. I owned bell bottoms, hip huggers and clogs, and have since watched them come back to popularity again. As well as the Lava lamp and mood rings. I sat with my father and watched the very first Star Wars movie, and I must say the new Star War movies pale in comparison. I have witnessed the video game revolution from the first Atari video gaming system to the Wii, and I have to admit I have not improved my gaming skills in the last forty years. But with all things being equal I have also witnessed the worse of the seventies as well. I saw the disgraceful way Americans treated Vietnam veterans when they came back from war, most of whom did not choose to go to Vietnam. The importance of Martin Luther King's message will not be taught in schools during this decade, as well as the Korean and Vietnam wars.
The three stories that we read this time show the dynamics of a family. In particular the relationships between mother and child, with the father not being quite connected. In the first story, "Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" the father while present is the "Disney Dad" he showers his daughter with gifts and wants to show her museum and paintings, but with her mother she shares a "simple" moment that was true happiness. In the second story, "How to Win", the father is living outside reality while the mother is trying to cope with their son's autism. While he is living in denial, the mother is riddled with guilt because she feels they must have done something to deserve their son's autism. In the third story "Roses, Rhododendron", the father has ran off with his girlfriend leaving his wife and daughter behind. The mother in this story picks up and moves south to start an antique store on the whim of the Ouija board. The young girl develops a friendship with a young girl and her family that her mother becomes jealous of, and deals with that jealousy by talking badly about them.
"Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" by Harold Brodskey, a young girl and her parents are traveling to Salzburg for Christmas via the train stopping along the way. One gets the impression the story takes place right before WWII or shortly after, "the people had stern, sad faces, beautiful, unlaughing faces". The narrator tells the story in first person, through the eyes of the young girl. At this time in her life she felt loved, by her parents and by the strangers she encountered on her voyage, " I understood I was special. I understood it then." Her father indulged her with monetary items, he had saved for this special trip and splurged on her. He wanted to show her paintings and castles, but with her mother she shares a moment in the middle of the night on the train watching the mountains and the moon. Her father awakes, only to comment the scenery was "pretty" not really feeling the magnitude of what they were seeing and feeling. The story touches on the relationships between her and her parents, one on one, and how her parents relate to each other. While the love between adults have conditions, the love between a child and parent is unconditional. Her mother at times was jealous of the love the father showed the daughter, I could not help wondering if it was the love that the father gave the girl or the love that the girl gave her father that was the reason for the jealousy. "I fell asleep in her arms. That was happiness then".
"How to Win" by Rosellen Brown, is a sad story about the pain a mother feels watching her son deal with autism. The time was the 1970's when children with autism were forced into public schools with no real plan to deal with their special needs. The Individual Education Plan (IEP) was little more than a plan how to control these children, not educate and prepare them for the world. This story is told as a first person through the eyes of the mother as she is trying to cope with the every day traumas of living with a child that has autism. The father does not see what mom sees every day, he doesn't want to. It is easier to pretend that he is just an overactive boy than to deal with the reality of autism, this is evident when he wants to take his son on a trip to the Smithsonian. His son can't make it through the day without destroying everything in his path, his father was in complete denial. The incident in class on a day where she has given him "a favor" of not taking his medication, shows the true pain of this mother. The realization in order for her to win with her son she needs to break him. Which is what happens in the classroom that day, the other kids and the teacher pin him down breaking his momentum and his spirit. In order for one of them to win the other must lose.
"Roses, Rhododendron" by Alice Adams is the story of a young girl and her mother. When her father runs away with his girlfriend, her mother based on the advice of her ouija board moves the two of them to the south in order to set up an antique store. This story is done in first person with the young girl as the narrator of the story. The young girl meets another young girl, Harriett and her parents, Emily and Lawerence, she idolizes this family because they have the stablity in their home that she doesn't have in her own. The two girls become fast friends, and they spend much of their time at Harriett's house with her mother Emily. This friendship bothers Margot, the narrator's mother, she has become jealous of the relationship that our narrator has with Emily. Margot handles this jealousy by talking badly about the Farr family, in particular Emily making her to look like a weak woman. Later in the narrator's life she will have some of those same feelings regarding her daughter and one of her friend's mothers. After they move to be with her father in San Francisco, she loses touch with Harriett. She reaches out to Harriett later in life, when Harriett writes back she tells our narrator how her family felt she was as important to them as they were to her. Interestingly, while she thought her and Harriett were different, her husband comments how Harriett sounded like her.
The three stories that we read this time show the dynamics of a family. In particular the relationships between mother and child, with the father not being quite connected. In the first story, "Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" the father while present is the "Disney Dad" he showers his daughter with gifts and wants to show her museum and paintings, but with her mother she shares a "simple" moment that was true happiness. In the second story, "How to Win", the father is living outside reality while the mother is trying to cope with their son's autism. While he is living in denial, the mother is riddled with guilt because she feels they must have done something to deserve their son's autism. In the third story "Roses, Rhododendron", the father has ran off with his girlfriend leaving his wife and daughter behind. The mother in this story picks up and moves south to start an antique store on the whim of the Ouija board. The young girl develops a friendship with a young girl and her family that her mother becomes jealous of, and deals with that jealousy by talking badly about them.
"Verona: A Young Woman Speaks" by Harold Brodskey, a young girl and her parents are traveling to Salzburg for Christmas via the train stopping along the way. One gets the impression the story takes place right before WWII or shortly after, "the people had stern, sad faces, beautiful, unlaughing faces". The narrator tells the story in first person, through the eyes of the young girl. At this time in her life she felt loved, by her parents and by the strangers she encountered on her voyage, " I understood I was special. I understood it then." Her father indulged her with monetary items, he had saved for this special trip and splurged on her. He wanted to show her paintings and castles, but with her mother she shares a moment in the middle of the night on the train watching the mountains and the moon. Her father awakes, only to comment the scenery was "pretty" not really feeling the magnitude of what they were seeing and feeling. The story touches on the relationships between her and her parents, one on one, and how her parents relate to each other. While the love between adults have conditions, the love between a child and parent is unconditional. Her mother at times was jealous of the love the father showed the daughter, I could not help wondering if it was the love that the father gave the girl or the love that the girl gave her father that was the reason for the jealousy. "I fell asleep in her arms. That was happiness then".
"How to Win" by Rosellen Brown, is a sad story about the pain a mother feels watching her son deal with autism. The time was the 1970's when children with autism were forced into public schools with no real plan to deal with their special needs. The Individual Education Plan (IEP) was little more than a plan how to control these children, not educate and prepare them for the world. This story is told as a first person through the eyes of the mother as she is trying to cope with the every day traumas of living with a child that has autism. The father does not see what mom sees every day, he doesn't want to. It is easier to pretend that he is just an overactive boy than to deal with the reality of autism, this is evident when he wants to take his son on a trip to the Smithsonian. His son can't make it through the day without destroying everything in his path, his father was in complete denial. The incident in class on a day where she has given him "a favor" of not taking his medication, shows the true pain of this mother. The realization in order for her to win with her son she needs to break him. Which is what happens in the classroom that day, the other kids and the teacher pin him down breaking his momentum and his spirit. In order for one of them to win the other must lose.
"Roses, Rhododendron" by Alice Adams is the story of a young girl and her mother. When her father runs away with his girlfriend, her mother based on the advice of her ouija board moves the two of them to the south in order to set up an antique store. This story is done in first person with the young girl as the narrator of the story. The young girl meets another young girl, Harriett and her parents, Emily and Lawerence, she idolizes this family because they have the stablity in their home that she doesn't have in her own. The two girls become fast friends, and they spend much of their time at Harriett's house with her mother Emily. This friendship bothers Margot, the narrator's mother, she has become jealous of the relationship that our narrator has with Emily. Margot handles this jealousy by talking badly about the Farr family, in particular Emily making her to look like a weak woman. Later in the narrator's life she will have some of those same feelings regarding her daughter and one of her friend's mothers. After they move to be with her father in San Francisco, she loses touch with Harriett. She reaches out to Harriett later in life, when Harriett writes back she tells our narrator how her family felt she was as important to them as they were to her. Interestingly, while she thought her and Harriett were different, her husband comments how Harriett sounded like her.
"The Ledge", "The German Refugee", and "The Defender of the Faith"
The 1960's brings about more change in American history, it was a turbulent time for Americans. Americans were coming to terms about what happened during WWII, the Korean War in the 50's, and the entry of the war in Vietnam. Civil Rights was a hot topic and weighed heavily on everyone's mind. In the 60's we saw the assassination of a president, as well as the assassination of his brother, and civil rights leaders Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr. I was a child of the 1960's, on one of our travels as a family to NJ to see family my father accidentally drove us into Harlem during this time of unrest.
"The German Refugee" by Bernard Malamud is a sad story about a Jewish German immigrant, Oskar escaped to America during WWII. He was able to immigrate to America because he had been hired as a lecturer of German Poetry. Our narrator is the young college student who was trying to teach Oskar the English language. The struggle Oskar felt to learn the language and adapt to a new country was very real, while many immigrant's before him felt this anguish they embraced it because they chose to be here for a better life. Oskar chose to be here only because he would have surely been killed by the Nazi Germans. Bernard showed us Oskar's pain of losing his "voice". He a man of many words was unable to communicate because of the language barrier, but in addtion to that the very poems he once loved no longer held the same meaning because of what was happening in his native Germany. The author also showed us the relationship that Oskar and the narrator share, how Oskar's despair had become his despair as well. Oskar was finally able to lecture and communicate with others again, but the joy was short lived when he received the news that his wife had been executed by the Nazis. Oskar ends his own life.
"The Defender of the Faith", is a story about soldiers preparing for war during World War II. Sergeant Marx, a man of Jewish descent, was sent to be a drill sergeant for a group of new recruits. Sheldon, also a man of Jewish descent, was a new recruit under Marx's command. Having gone through Navy boot camp in the 1980's I find Sheldon to be very presumptuous when dealing with Sergeant Marx. And in the end when Sergeant Marx gets Sheldon's orders changed from a home post in NJ to the Pacific, I do not feel sadden for Sheldon. While Sheldon's intentions in the beginning were to get him, Fishbein, and Halpern prayer and food rights that they they were justified in having he took it too far. One might think Sheldon should be commended for his resourcefulness and that he was a protector of the other two men's well being, but in the end he only thought about Sheldon.
"The Ledge" when the story begins I couldn't help thinking what a wonderful coming of age piece, rite of passage. The boys received new guns for Christmas and they were going hunting with the fisherman, the 13 year old's father and the 15 year old's uncle, on the ledge. The ledge was only exposed during low tide and the boys had only hunted on land, it was going to be an adventure. The writer gives us the impression that the fisherman was a hard man, who strived for perfection and the best equipment was important to him. He was not a easy man to live with, his wife imagined that it would have been nice if the ocean "kept" him but felt guilty afterward for the thought.
Christmas Day was the perfect day for the hunt, the weather was good and the ducks were getting ready to migrate. A perfect day...we are first lead to believe. He first had thoughts of why don't I just stay in my warm bed with my wife, but he gets himself moving. He then forgot his pipe tobacco which made him cranky, and there are times that the boys wished he had not forgotten it as well. The day proceeded and the fisherman and the boys have a great day, they have shot many ducks and enjoyed the day together. While the fisherman had the best of equipment and kept his equipment in perfect condition, a simple insignificant skiff brings about their demise. Someone had not properly secured the skiff and it drifted away, stranding them on the ledge with the tide coming in. It was winter time and the ocean was frigid, so there was no way to get back to the boat. What happens next was the sacrifice of a father in order to prevent his son's death for as long as possible. All I could comment at the end of this story was my heart was broken. The image of the fisherman frozen with his foot twisted in order to hold his place on the ledge to keep his son above water as long as possible, with the boots sticking from his suspenders and his arms pulled back. The fisherman who was not an emotional man endured incredible pain in order to keep his son safe for a little longer.
"The German Refugee" by Bernard Malamud is a sad story about a Jewish German immigrant, Oskar escaped to America during WWII. He was able to immigrate to America because he had been hired as a lecturer of German Poetry. Our narrator is the young college student who was trying to teach Oskar the English language. The struggle Oskar felt to learn the language and adapt to a new country was very real, while many immigrant's before him felt this anguish they embraced it because they chose to be here for a better life. Oskar chose to be here only because he would have surely been killed by the Nazi Germans. Bernard showed us Oskar's pain of losing his "voice". He a man of many words was unable to communicate because of the language barrier, but in addtion to that the very poems he once loved no longer held the same meaning because of what was happening in his native Germany. The author also showed us the relationship that Oskar and the narrator share, how Oskar's despair had become his despair as well. Oskar was finally able to lecture and communicate with others again, but the joy was short lived when he received the news that his wife had been executed by the Nazis. Oskar ends his own life.
"The Defender of the Faith", is a story about soldiers preparing for war during World War II. Sergeant Marx, a man of Jewish descent, was sent to be a drill sergeant for a group of new recruits. Sheldon, also a man of Jewish descent, was a new recruit under Marx's command. Having gone through Navy boot camp in the 1980's I find Sheldon to be very presumptuous when dealing with Sergeant Marx. And in the end when Sergeant Marx gets Sheldon's orders changed from a home post in NJ to the Pacific, I do not feel sadden for Sheldon. While Sheldon's intentions in the beginning were to get him, Fishbein, and Halpern prayer and food rights that they they were justified in having he took it too far. One might think Sheldon should be commended for his resourcefulness and that he was a protector of the other two men's well being, but in the end he only thought about Sheldon.
"The Ledge" when the story begins I couldn't help thinking what a wonderful coming of age piece, rite of passage. The boys received new guns for Christmas and they were going hunting with the fisherman, the 13 year old's father and the 15 year old's uncle, on the ledge. The ledge was only exposed during low tide and the boys had only hunted on land, it was going to be an adventure. The writer gives us the impression that the fisherman was a hard man, who strived for perfection and the best equipment was important to him. He was not a easy man to live with, his wife imagined that it would have been nice if the ocean "kept" him but felt guilty afterward for the thought.
Christmas Day was the perfect day for the hunt, the weather was good and the ducks were getting ready to migrate. A perfect day...we are first lead to believe. He first had thoughts of why don't I just stay in my warm bed with my wife, but he gets himself moving. He then forgot his pipe tobacco which made him cranky, and there are times that the boys wished he had not forgotten it as well. The day proceeded and the fisherman and the boys have a great day, they have shot many ducks and enjoyed the day together. While the fisherman had the best of equipment and kept his equipment in perfect condition, a simple insignificant skiff brings about their demise. Someone had not properly secured the skiff and it drifted away, stranding them on the ledge with the tide coming in. It was winter time and the ocean was frigid, so there was no way to get back to the boat. What happens next was the sacrifice of a father in order to prevent his son's death for as long as possible. All I could comment at the end of this story was my heart was broken. The image of the fisherman frozen with his foot twisted in order to hold his place on the ledge to keep his son above water as long as possible, with the boots sticking from his suspenders and his arms pulled back. The fisherman who was not an emotional man endured incredible pain in order to keep his son safe for a little longer.
Monday, September 27, 2010
"The Peach Stone", "Maimi-New York" and the "Hitchhikers"
We have hit the 1940's, and have entered into WWII. Americans are asked to make sacrifices in order to aid in the war effort, which includes recyling everything from metal and rubber to paper. The high school drop out rate soars as teens are entering the workplace.
In "Maimi-New York we encountered two strangers on a commerical air flight, traveling by plane which was not done as commonly as it is today. In the "Hitchhiker", Tom Harris is a traveling salesman who picks up two hitchhikers on the side of the road to entertain himself. Today, it would be considered foolish to pick up two bums on the side of the road, as we get into the story it should have been considered foolish then as well. In the "The Peach Stone" we encountered a family that was driving back to the woman's hometown to bury their daughter.
"The Peach Stone" is my favorite of this timeframe, even though it is one of the saddest. Cleotha, Jodey, Buddy (their nine year old son), and Arleen (their son's teacher) are traveling to Weed, Cleotha's hometown, in order to bury their 2 year old daughter. Their daughter was tragically killed in a freak fire the prior day. The author went into great detail painting us a picture of the area they traveled through, he also gave us a glimpse of the emotions and pain each were feeling. Buddy, who was looking for reassurance from his mother that everything will be alright, finally got that reassurance with a simple blinking of his mother's eyes. Arleen who started the journey thinking she was superior to this poor family, realized they have something much greater than she....they had each other. Jodey, whose guilt over not cleaning up the tumbleweeds was hurting him deeply, he tried to run over an object in the road to take out those angry feelings.
The importance of the peach tree comes up often in the story, not in the sense of peaches but comparing the peach pit as bringing about life. One of my favorite parts of the story is when they were driving by the old man that she had always looked away from with pity. He was that peach tree that was twisted and dying, but he still had some green leaves on his tree (life) and around him was the peach orchard that had grown from his peach stone. His children and grandchildren had surrounded him giving him love and support, and admist the past tradegies and pain in his life he still sang. The signficance of this is not lost on Cleotha. In the end Cleotha breaks her grief filled silence to rejoin her family, the power of love that comes from being a family brings her back.
In "Maimi-New York", the two characters in the story are sizing each up. They make assumptions about one another, by judging the looks of the other's face. Her marriage is in trouble and he is coming back from war. They connected with a kiss, and continued to have a make out session on the plane even though neither knew the other. When he realized who Kate was his attitude changed, she was older and more worldy not someone he could just play with. His intentions were to have a good time for the moment and hers were to continue the relationship when the plane landed, because she did not have casual relations with a man. John walks away from the airport not giving Kate another thought, and Kate leaves the airport in despair. I get from this story the assumptions people make about one another without knowing the other person. But also the persumption that a 35 year old woman is middle aged and no longer desirable which was how John made Kate feel in the end. I would like to think women of today are more empowered than that.
"The Hitchhikers" is the story of Tom Harris, a traveling salesman. I honestly did not enjoy this story very much. Tom seems very disjointed from the things and people around him. He picks up two bums on the side of the road and travels them to his next destination, and even attempted to get them a place to stay - the back porch of hotel. They repay him by stealing his car, and one of the guys clobbers the other with a beer bottle to the head. Tom seems to have this revered status amongst the local people of this town, but he seemed to just tolerate his relationship with them.
In "Maimi-New York we encountered two strangers on a commerical air flight, traveling by plane which was not done as commonly as it is today. In the "Hitchhiker", Tom Harris is a traveling salesman who picks up two hitchhikers on the side of the road to entertain himself. Today, it would be considered foolish to pick up two bums on the side of the road, as we get into the story it should have been considered foolish then as well. In the "The Peach Stone" we encountered a family that was driving back to the woman's hometown to bury their daughter.
"The Peach Stone" is my favorite of this timeframe, even though it is one of the saddest. Cleotha, Jodey, Buddy (their nine year old son), and Arleen (their son's teacher) are traveling to Weed, Cleotha's hometown, in order to bury their 2 year old daughter. Their daughter was tragically killed in a freak fire the prior day. The author went into great detail painting us a picture of the area they traveled through, he also gave us a glimpse of the emotions and pain each were feeling. Buddy, who was looking for reassurance from his mother that everything will be alright, finally got that reassurance with a simple blinking of his mother's eyes. Arleen who started the journey thinking she was superior to this poor family, realized they have something much greater than she....they had each other. Jodey, whose guilt over not cleaning up the tumbleweeds was hurting him deeply, he tried to run over an object in the road to take out those angry feelings.
The importance of the peach tree comes up often in the story, not in the sense of peaches but comparing the peach pit as bringing about life. One of my favorite parts of the story is when they were driving by the old man that she had always looked away from with pity. He was that peach tree that was twisted and dying, but he still had some green leaves on his tree (life) and around him was the peach orchard that had grown from his peach stone. His children and grandchildren had surrounded him giving him love and support, and admist the past tradegies and pain in his life he still sang. The signficance of this is not lost on Cleotha. In the end Cleotha breaks her grief filled silence to rejoin her family, the power of love that comes from being a family brings her back.
In "Maimi-New York", the two characters in the story are sizing each up. They make assumptions about one another, by judging the looks of the other's face. Her marriage is in trouble and he is coming back from war. They connected with a kiss, and continued to have a make out session on the plane even though neither knew the other. When he realized who Kate was his attitude changed, she was older and more worldy not someone he could just play with. His intentions were to have a good time for the moment and hers were to continue the relationship when the plane landed, because she did not have casual relations with a man. John walks away from the airport not giving Kate another thought, and Kate leaves the airport in despair. I get from this story the assumptions people make about one another without knowing the other person. But also the persumption that a 35 year old woman is middle aged and no longer desirable which was how John made Kate feel in the end. I would like to think women of today are more empowered than that.
"The Hitchhikers" is the story of Tom Harris, a traveling salesman. I honestly did not enjoy this story very much. Tom seems very disjointed from the things and people around him. He picks up two bums on the side of the road and travels them to his next destination, and even attempted to get them a place to stay - the back porch of hotel. They repay him by stealing his car, and one of the guys clobbers the other with a beer bottle to the head. Tom seems to have this revered status amongst the local people of this town, but he seemed to just tolerate his relationship with them.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
"That Evening Sun Go Down" and "Here We Are"
The 1930's brings us the Great Depression and a time of great uncertainty. In "That Evening Sun Go Down" Faulkner writes about the changes going on in the thirties, with automobiles and street lights everything has changed "even the Negro women who still take in white people's washing after the old custom, fetch and deliver it in automobiles".
He remembers a time in the past, fifteen years ago, when Nancy used to do their families laundry. It was a time after blacks were freed from slavery, but they still were not "free" in the true sense of freedom. The story saddens me that in this era while white women were not treated as equals black women were treated much worse. Black women were forced to endure the violence of others without any recourse. When Nancy attempted to get payment from Mr. Stovall, he attacked her in the street even with a marshal present. She went to jail and he walked away. When she attempted to kill herself she was beaten by the jailer for it.
There was jesting amongst the three children about being scared and not being a nigger through out the story. But Nancy, a black woman, was experiencing real terror about the return of her rage filled husband, she could feel him around her. She was also feeling the despair of being a nigger, something she had no control over. She had been impregnated by a white man, quite possibly not of her choosing. Her husband was angry about the injustice of a white man going into his home and taking what was his, he could not retaliate and he could not go into a white man's home and do the same. That anger festered into a rage that would not go away until he retaliated against Nancy.
Quentin's father, Jason, was only willing to involve himself to a certain degree. He walked her home for several times and allowed her to stay in their home, but in the end separated himself and his family from her. He wasn't willing to do anymore for this black woman who brought this mess upon herself according to him.
"Here We Are" quite honestly made me laugh, I have two sets of these same people in my own life. The couple was on the train to New York for their honeymoon, the woman was frightened by the momentous step she had just taken. She felt alone and isolated, at this time in the 30's women were still kept under the protective wing of their families. How she reacted to these feelings was the kicker for me. She set her husband up to fail her by misleading him with her comments. Her bridesmaid was lovely today, he agreed with her and shortly after "he should have married her friend instead of her". He could not win with her, while he tried in earnest not to lose his temper he did end up arguing back about Joe.
One gets the impression that the two argued before the marriage, and that the couple felt once they were married that would magically disappear. One could not help wondering if she was worried she would be stuck with him forever, or this was how she handled her nervousness. Change is the big theme here, the scariness of changing from me to we. Even today young people who get to know each intimately often well before marriage and live together first have some of those same fears. I can only imagine in the 30's where the exploring of the relationship was much less likely to happen that it could be very frightening. What happens if we are so different that we can not live together? Scary!
He remembers a time in the past, fifteen years ago, when Nancy used to do their families laundry. It was a time after blacks were freed from slavery, but they still were not "free" in the true sense of freedom. The story saddens me that in this era while white women were not treated as equals black women were treated much worse. Black women were forced to endure the violence of others without any recourse. When Nancy attempted to get payment from Mr. Stovall, he attacked her in the street even with a marshal present. She went to jail and he walked away. When she attempted to kill herself she was beaten by the jailer for it.
There was jesting amongst the three children about being scared and not being a nigger through out the story. But Nancy, a black woman, was experiencing real terror about the return of her rage filled husband, she could feel him around her. She was also feeling the despair of being a nigger, something she had no control over. She had been impregnated by a white man, quite possibly not of her choosing. Her husband was angry about the injustice of a white man going into his home and taking what was his, he could not retaliate and he could not go into a white man's home and do the same. That anger festered into a rage that would not go away until he retaliated against Nancy.
Quentin's father, Jason, was only willing to involve himself to a certain degree. He walked her home for several times and allowed her to stay in their home, but in the end separated himself and his family from her. He wasn't willing to do anymore for this black woman who brought this mess upon herself according to him.
"Here We Are" quite honestly made me laugh, I have two sets of these same people in my own life. The couple was on the train to New York for their honeymoon, the woman was frightened by the momentous step she had just taken. She felt alone and isolated, at this time in the 30's women were still kept under the protective wing of their families. How she reacted to these feelings was the kicker for me. She set her husband up to fail her by misleading him with her comments. Her bridesmaid was lovely today, he agreed with her and shortly after "he should have married her friend instead of her". He could not win with her, while he tried in earnest not to lose his temper he did end up arguing back about Joe.
One gets the impression that the two argued before the marriage, and that the couple felt once they were married that would magically disappear. One could not help wondering if she was worried she would be stuck with him forever, or this was how she handled her nervousness. Change is the big theme here, the scariness of changing from me to we. Even today young people who get to know each intimately often well before marriage and live together first have some of those same fears. I can only imagine in the 30's where the exploring of the relationship was much less likely to happen that it could be very frightening. What happens if we are so different that we can not live together? Scary!
Monday, September 20, 2010
"Blood-Burning Moon" and "The Killers"
"Blood-Burning Moon" by Jean Toomer and "The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway are two stories that take place in the roaring twenties. This is a time in America that the "times" are changing quickly. There is huge economic growth due to new machines, the new machines shorten work hours and the growth increases wages. This changed how much free time people have and what they did with it. The automobile allows people to become mobile, which increased the need for new highways, with the new highways the hospitality industry grew as well. The enactment of the 18th amendment of Prohibition brings about a whole new group of criminals.
In the "Blood-Burning Moon" Bob Stone thinks the following about Louisa: "She was worth it. Beautiful nigger gal. Why nigger? Why not, just gal? No, it was because she was a nigger that he went to her." Bob Stone is conflicted in his love for Louisa and what he feels is his entitlement because he is white and she is black. While Bob walked to meet Louisa and he was trying to justify his relationship with Louisa. Why should he sneak around, if he was a master he could just take what is his. He may truly love her but he could never be openly with her because it wasn't acceptable in this time frame of history. It was not acceptable for blacks and whites to have romantic relationship, Jean Toomer, the author, experienced this firsthand. Jean's light skin allowed him to move between the white and black worlds, until he married a white woman. Bob wasn't willing to risk the embarrassment or harassment of being with a black woman openly.
When Louisa did not meet him in the clearing as planned, Bob believed she was with Tom, he went to her spoiling for a fight with Tom. The author paints the reader a picture of anger and rage that both of these men feel towards each other. This leaves me the reader wondering if Bob was angry about Louisa being with Tom because he truly loved her or that he did not want Tom touching what he considered his property. Bob attacked Tom first and Tom tried to send him off, dismissing him. He eventually defends himself against Bob, again Bob was the one who pulled out the knife first, and Tom defended himself by killing Bob. Tom was lynched and killed by an angry white mob, it did not matter to them that Tom was attacked first. The other blacks that witnessed the scene hid in their homes, they were not willing to step in because it would not have made a difference in Tom's outcome but it would have subjected them to harm. Today this would have been considered self defense and Tom would have walked away, but in the twenties blacks were still considered second rate citizens. How dare this black man defend himself against a white man? "Two deaths for a goddamn nigger", this statement brings to life how insignificant Louisa is as a person. She was not worthy of being consoled even though she watched both men she cared about die.
Ernest Hemingway's style of writing is very different from Jean Toome's, Jean paints a picture for the reader with his details the reader can "see" the rage between the men in his story. I had a hard time following "The Killers" the first time through, I got tangled up in the dialogue and lost the point of the story. Once I was able to separate out the dialogue and the characters in the story, I felt like I was "watching" an old black and white movie.
Two guys from the big city slide into to a small town in order to kill someone, this is made possible by the automobile boom people can now move in and out of an town quickly. Ernest tells us how the two men have "different faces but they were dressed like twins" and he tells us how they were dressed with little detail other than what articles of clothing they are wearing. He does not need to give more detail their manner of dress implies they are gangsters. They are waiting for Ole Andreson in what had once been a saloon but now was a lunch-counter, a lunch counter because of Prohibition.
When George is caught watching Max and Al eat with their gloves on the banter changes; Nick, George and Sam are told why the two men are there. Max and Al toy with the three men while they wait for Ole Andreson, they argue amongst themselves about "talking too much". I would be freaking out but you don't get that sense about George, he appears to be staying calm in the face of danger. The impression I got of this era was keep your head low, Sam says it best "you better not have anything to do with it at all. You better stay out of it". If you were unfortunate enough to get caught in the middle of something like this but yet fortunate enough to walk away without harm that is what you should do, walk away and forget it.
Ernest's depiction of the Ole Andreson, "a heavyweight prizefighter and he was too long for the bed" tells us that he is large man that might have been able to defend himself but he has given up. Where once he might have been able to move far enough away that he wouldn't have been pursued was no longer the case because of the automobile. People were able to move about more freely and quickly with the automobile. With today's technology it is even harder to "hide". Also Ole's acceptance "there ain't anything to do", speaks of a time when the mob ruled the streets and there was not much the police could do to protect someone like Ole.
The 20's was a time of great changes, modernization of items we take for granted today but also a dangerous time because of Prohibition. Prohibition was passed to stop immoral behavior but incited even more immoral and illegal behavior, go figure.
In the "Blood-Burning Moon" Bob Stone thinks the following about Louisa: "She was worth it. Beautiful nigger gal. Why nigger? Why not, just gal? No, it was because she was a nigger that he went to her." Bob Stone is conflicted in his love for Louisa and what he feels is his entitlement because he is white and she is black. While Bob walked to meet Louisa and he was trying to justify his relationship with Louisa. Why should he sneak around, if he was a master he could just take what is his. He may truly love her but he could never be openly with her because it wasn't acceptable in this time frame of history. It was not acceptable for blacks and whites to have romantic relationship, Jean Toomer, the author, experienced this firsthand. Jean's light skin allowed him to move between the white and black worlds, until he married a white woman. Bob wasn't willing to risk the embarrassment or harassment of being with a black woman openly.
When Louisa did not meet him in the clearing as planned, Bob believed she was with Tom, he went to her spoiling for a fight with Tom. The author paints the reader a picture of anger and rage that both of these men feel towards each other. This leaves me the reader wondering if Bob was angry about Louisa being with Tom because he truly loved her or that he did not want Tom touching what he considered his property. Bob attacked Tom first and Tom tried to send him off, dismissing him. He eventually defends himself against Bob, again Bob was the one who pulled out the knife first, and Tom defended himself by killing Bob. Tom was lynched and killed by an angry white mob, it did not matter to them that Tom was attacked first. The other blacks that witnessed the scene hid in their homes, they were not willing to step in because it would not have made a difference in Tom's outcome but it would have subjected them to harm. Today this would have been considered self defense and Tom would have walked away, but in the twenties blacks were still considered second rate citizens. How dare this black man defend himself against a white man? "Two deaths for a goddamn nigger", this statement brings to life how insignificant Louisa is as a person. She was not worthy of being consoled even though she watched both men she cared about die.
Ernest Hemingway's style of writing is very different from Jean Toome's, Jean paints a picture for the reader with his details the reader can "see" the rage between the men in his story. I had a hard time following "The Killers" the first time through, I got tangled up in the dialogue and lost the point of the story. Once I was able to separate out the dialogue and the characters in the story, I felt like I was "watching" an old black and white movie.
Two guys from the big city slide into to a small town in order to kill someone, this is made possible by the automobile boom people can now move in and out of an town quickly. Ernest tells us how the two men have "different faces but they were dressed like twins" and he tells us how they were dressed with little detail other than what articles of clothing they are wearing. He does not need to give more detail their manner of dress implies they are gangsters. They are waiting for Ole Andreson in what had once been a saloon but now was a lunch-counter, a lunch counter because of Prohibition.
When George is caught watching Max and Al eat with their gloves on the banter changes; Nick, George and Sam are told why the two men are there. Max and Al toy with the three men while they wait for Ole Andreson, they argue amongst themselves about "talking too much". I would be freaking out but you don't get that sense about George, he appears to be staying calm in the face of danger. The impression I got of this era was keep your head low, Sam says it best "you better not have anything to do with it at all. You better stay out of it". If you were unfortunate enough to get caught in the middle of something like this but yet fortunate enough to walk away without harm that is what you should do, walk away and forget it.
Ernest's depiction of the Ole Andreson, "a heavyweight prizefighter and he was too long for the bed" tells us that he is large man that might have been able to defend himself but he has given up. Where once he might have been able to move far enough away that he wouldn't have been pursued was no longer the case because of the automobile. People were able to move about more freely and quickly with the automobile. With today's technology it is even harder to "hide". Also Ole's acceptance "there ain't anything to do", speaks of a time when the mob ruled the streets and there was not much the police could do to protect someone like Ole.
The 20's was a time of great changes, modernization of items we take for granted today but also a dangerous time because of Prohibition. Prohibition was passed to stop immoral behavior but incited even more immoral and illegal behavior, go figure.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
"Little Selves" and "Jury of Her Peers"
When I first started reading "Little Selves" I thought "great" eleven pages about an old woman dying, but by the second and third pages I felt like I was being drawn in from "outside the magic circle of comprehension". Often it is assumed that towards the end of an older person's life that they are worrying themselves about what they would have done differently, as the young woman points out about her own aunt "if I could be twenty again, wouldn't I do it different". As I got involved in Margaret's story I realized that she was not concerned with her death in the traditional sense or regrets of past choices, she had accepted her pending death and she did not regret her choices. Margaret was trying to get back to the memories of when she was small in Ireland, "gone past! I must be getting back to the beginning".
The author tells us that Margaret immigrated to America by herself, "her lone pilgrimage". Her memories tell the reader she is from Ireland, the memory of her father and the leprechaun and her mother and the fairies tells the reader about a simpler life in Ireland. All four sets of my great grandparents immigrated to America around that same time, from Canada (two sets), Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Two sets of my grandparents immigrated through Ellis Island, my great grandmother passed through Ellis Island twice on her own. I often wondered what that experience was for her. I do know that she felt it was very important for her children to learn English and to be Americans. She was independent, accumulated property, worked in the woolen mill until she was seventy, and was the first in her neighboorhood to own a television.
Margaret is worried that her younger self, her family and customs will be "lost" when she dies, the connection with her niece allows her to share those joyful memories of the past. "She recreated her earlier selves and passed them on, happy in the thought that she was saving them from oblivion". I have often thought with sadness how much of my great grandparents' families, history, language, and cultural customs have been lost with their deaths. With every generation we become Americans we lose our families culture. How scary for those immigrants whose lives were changing so quickly to leave this world with the knowledge in 2 or 3 generations their stories will be silent.
In "Jury of Her Peers", the author takes us to the scene of a murder, a wife has murdered her cruel husband. The story takes place in a time where outside of the "city" people are still isolated, they don't have cars and phones are rare. It is a time where a woman is kept so busy in her home doing daily tasks that she doesn't have time to gather with other women. Women didn't have the rights we do today, they are often treated as property.
In the beginning of the story the two women are not keen on each other, they are not friends. By the end of the story the women share a common bond, protecting another woman that they know has had a painful life at the hands of a cruel man. They are protecting her in the only way they can during this era, they are silent.
The two women are tasked with gathering the suspected woman's belongings to bring to her in jail, while the "wise" men search out details of the murder. This is a time in our history that women were considered mindless and that they belonged in the house taking care of their husband and children, men were the smart ones. It becomes evident in the story that while the same clues were under the men's noses, the women were able to piece together the story of what happened and why it happened. The dead man had been cruel to his wife, the brutal killing of her cherished bird had been the final act to push her to murder. While she could have picked up the gun that was kept in the house she killed her husband in the same way he killed her bird. A poetic justice.
The two women bond in the knowledge that the bird is symbolic of all this woman's dreams, dreams that her husband had killed. He had silenced her song. While the two women had not been friends in the beginning, in the end they will share a bond of protection to the accused woman. They come to an understanding that were not going to aid the men in finding the motive for this murder, they would "protect" the accused woman now where they had not been able to before. "I should have visited..."
While women's rights have changed drastically in the last century since this story was written, the unfortunate truth is there are still woman who are abused by their husbands. Today there is an understanding about how an abused person can be pushed to the point of killing their abuser but that was not the case in this time.
The author tells us that Margaret immigrated to America by herself, "her lone pilgrimage". Her memories tell the reader she is from Ireland, the memory of her father and the leprechaun and her mother and the fairies tells the reader about a simpler life in Ireland. All four sets of my great grandparents immigrated to America around that same time, from Canada (two sets), Germany, and Czechoslovakia. Two sets of my grandparents immigrated through Ellis Island, my great grandmother passed through Ellis Island twice on her own. I often wondered what that experience was for her. I do know that she felt it was very important for her children to learn English and to be Americans. She was independent, accumulated property, worked in the woolen mill until she was seventy, and was the first in her neighboorhood to own a television.
Margaret is worried that her younger self, her family and customs will be "lost" when she dies, the connection with her niece allows her to share those joyful memories of the past. "She recreated her earlier selves and passed them on, happy in the thought that she was saving them from oblivion". I have often thought with sadness how much of my great grandparents' families, history, language, and cultural customs have been lost with their deaths. With every generation we become Americans we lose our families culture. How scary for those immigrants whose lives were changing so quickly to leave this world with the knowledge in 2 or 3 generations their stories will be silent.
In "Jury of Her Peers", the author takes us to the scene of a murder, a wife has murdered her cruel husband. The story takes place in a time where outside of the "city" people are still isolated, they don't have cars and phones are rare. It is a time where a woman is kept so busy in her home doing daily tasks that she doesn't have time to gather with other women. Women didn't have the rights we do today, they are often treated as property.
In the beginning of the story the two women are not keen on each other, they are not friends. By the end of the story the women share a common bond, protecting another woman that they know has had a painful life at the hands of a cruel man. They are protecting her in the only way they can during this era, they are silent.
The two women are tasked with gathering the suspected woman's belongings to bring to her in jail, while the "wise" men search out details of the murder. This is a time in our history that women were considered mindless and that they belonged in the house taking care of their husband and children, men were the smart ones. It becomes evident in the story that while the same clues were under the men's noses, the women were able to piece together the story of what happened and why it happened. The dead man had been cruel to his wife, the brutal killing of her cherished bird had been the final act to push her to murder. While she could have picked up the gun that was kept in the house she killed her husband in the same way he killed her bird. A poetic justice.
The two women bond in the knowledge that the bird is symbolic of all this woman's dreams, dreams that her husband had killed. He had silenced her song. While the two women had not been friends in the beginning, in the end they will share a bond of protection to the accused woman. They come to an understanding that were not going to aid the men in finding the motive for this murder, they would "protect" the accused woman now where they had not been able to before. "I should have visited..."
While women's rights have changed drastically in the last century since this story was written, the unfortunate truth is there are still woman who are abused by their husbands. Today there is an understanding about how an abused person can be pushed to the point of killing their abuser but that was not the case in this time.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Response Blog Post #1
I hope to learn about different styles of literature in this class, as well as be able to evaluate what I have read. I love to read, to me there is nothing better than curling up and reading a good book or a magazine. What better than a class that I can read short stories not a dreadful text book?
My goal in this class for the semester is to learn as much as possible, and hopefully take those skills and apply them to other classes and my career. Other goals will be working on expressing myself on "paper", the more you write the better you get at it.I truly am not sure what makes literature great, I have often asked myself that same question when reading a book that critics claim is great. I remember picking up a book that my son was reading for a high school literature class, The Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Peck, and thinking the writer sounded illiterate. What made this book a great piece of literature that high school teachers would use it in a classroom?
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