CoreyStruss

O'Connor (Choose One of Three) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"The past and the future were the same thing to him, one forgotten and the other not remembered."

I think that the past is the 'enemy' in this story. Obviously, it is to General Sash, because he resents it. He has completely forgotten everything that has happened in his life, like his wife, his children, his parents, etc. He has moved on from the past, and now just lives in the moment. He doesn't even look ahead to the future. For Sally, the past is always there to back her. O'Connor even said that she wanted the General at her graduation because she wanted to show what she stood for, "what all was behind her." The past was the thing that was behind her, and she was proud of it. She is a nostalgic person, and like Chera said, she wishes she were 16 again. By the end, the past is the enemy. It catches up with the General, and because of it, Sally will never have the glory of having the General see her graduate.

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Desmond, ''Flannery O'Connor's Misfit and the Mystery of Evil.'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"The Grandmother considers herself a good Christian woman, i.e. a lady of fine manners and disposition, and a believer in Jesus to boot. But the Misfit rejects her attempts to flatter him on the basis of class and manners. This so-called gentleman will not allow such trivializing of the good; in answer to it he murders women and children in cold blood."

On the outside, the Grandmother is the definition of good. She is well-mannered, polite, and a flat out upright citizen. She is everything that everyone strives to be. At least on the outside. O'Connor has made her a deceiving character in "A Good Man Is Hard To Find". The Misfit is actually the good guy in the story, and not the Grandmother. After reading this essay, I feel that the Misfit acted rationally when he decided to kill the whole family. Goodness should not be trivialized in our society. It should not be taken for granted. He realized that these people were good in society's eyes, but not to the people that really counted (Jesus). He killed them so that they could no longer smudge the name of good.

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O'Connor, ''A Stroke of Good Fortune'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Ponce de Leon was looking for the fountain of youth," Mr. Jerger said, closing his eyes.

Ruby has a terrible outlook on life. She associates the fact that her, having a child, makes her one step closer to death. First off, stop worrying about yourself. You are bringing a child into this world. Spend the rest of your life teaching and guiding it in the right direction. You will gain fulfillment. Second, she says that her mother got "deader" with every child that she bore. Yeesh. Stop being so grim. Having children does not signify that you are "old". It indicates that you are ready for a change in your life, and that you are wise enough to be able to teach them the ideas in your heart and mind.

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O'Connor, ''The Life You Save May Be Your Own'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"In the darkness, Mr. Shiftlet's smile stretched like a weary snake waking up by a fire."

I agree with Bethany in that Flanery O'Connor's pieces get worse and worse as we go along. I can never stay on the right track, and they always have some hidden meaning that I would understand if I were smarter. I know the meaning of a story shouldn't be right in your face, but you should only have to ponder over it for a short time to draw your own conclusion. I've pondered this one all night, and nope. I have no idea why Mr. Shiftlet does what he does. Why does he marry Lucynell, when he knows inside that it isn't right? Why does he go through the hassle of marriage only to leave her abandoned? WHY FLANERY?! WHY?!

A lot of people have been saying that Mr. Shiftlet is a Christ-figure, but I think that it is opposite. The quote that I used makes me think of a demon with a snake-like face, staring into the darkness. I think Mrs. O'Connor used irony by leading everyone on that he was like Christ, but...I just have a hunch...

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Truss, Eats, Shoots and Leaves -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Send back e-mails that are badly punctuated; return letters, picket Harrods. Who cares if members of your family abhor your Inner Stickler and devoutly wish you had an inner Scooby-Doo instead?"

I feel kind of bad for these "sticklers" out there. I, for one, love to punctuate properly. It makes me feel accomplished and organized. But I am certainly no stickler. I am one of those people who use AIM and punctuate everything properly, as well as in my text messages. It looks nice, and makes you feel smart. But I do not get upset when people use "internet dialect" to talk to me, so long as I can understand it. The book mentions a banner that says, "CD's, DVD's, Video's, Book's", and how the author got upset about it. Why, man? Things change in our society, and in our speaking. Accept the change. It has been hard for me and my family to accept it all, but we are able to communicate using abbreviated words in our text messages / notes to each other, etc. It saves time, and gets the point across just as well. I hope after reading this book, I do not become a stickler. . . Or I will be pissed.

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Hamilton, Essential Literary Terms (226-246) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Free verse, is distinguished from traditional versification in that its rhythms are not organized into the regularity of meter; most free verse also lacks rhyme."

Free verse is very deceptive. It seems so easy to write, since it lacks any form of meter, and usually doesn't rhyme as well. Since it is so easy to write, one would think that it would be easy to understand. That, is not the case, at least for me. Free verse is usually up for so many interpretations, that it just boggles my mind when I read it. With no meter or rhyme scheme, the reader never knows whats coming next. At least with rhyme, I can infer what the reader will say a few lines prior. With a set meter, the poem becomes like a song that you get into the rhythm of. Free verse lacks structure. Free verse is simple, but complicated. It just depends on how you look at it.

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Hamilton, Essential Literary Terms (198-225) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Alliteration, the repetition of sounds in nearby words or stressed syllables, is frequent in both poetry and prose."

To me, there is no more powerful a writing technique than an alliteration. Hands down, it is directly to the point and catches the readers attention. I also like them because they are easy to use, easy to find, but may be some of the most complex parts of writing.

Hamilton uses an example alliteration from a Midsummer Night's Dream. In it, Shakespeare alliterates thread with thrum, and also quail, crush, conclude and quell. He turned a normal outcry to the Fates into something much more powerful. With every hard "c" sound, it feels as if the character is forcing out every word.

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