ErinManko

Girl of the Golden West

As dictionary.com would define it, a melodrama is a play or film, which is characterized by exaggerated emotions, stereotypical characters, and interpersonal conflicts. David Belasco's Girl of the Golden West is exactly this. Even when on first reads its title, it sends off a vibe of this incredible story which isn't just of the West, but of the Golden West. Belasco emphasizes "the girl" as the main character who even tho is named, Minnie, is most always referred to as "the girl". This gives her a sense of mystery as though no one can really know who she really is inside. All the men want her and Belasco shows their exaggerated emotions through their desperate attempts to marry and get with the girl. Of course, Rance is the most exaggerated of these men.

This story immediatly caught my attention since it was a romance, which i love! :) I got caught up in the story and I could feel myself rooting for Johnson, the bad guy. Do you think that Belasco's intentions were for the reader to want the girl to fall in love and run away with the bad guy, Johnson, or to finally give in to the persistant and "good guy" Rance?

This was a really good play to read and I think it would be interesting to see the play and see if they differ? I think the play would be more real and dramatic than just reading it, although it's interesting to read it yourself and have your own mini play in your head because you may interpret it a totally diferent way than someone else.

Fall Blogging Portfolio 2

These blogs are a compilation of the literary texts I have read the second half of the semester. Each blog represents what I thought or felt about the text. This time I didn't wait till the last minute to do it all so they are more spread out and in depth. I have included all the entry's which i feel show my best works.

Not so "devilish" dictionary, is my brief analysis of why Bierce wrote this selection. It also links to Paul's sight which offeres a different perspective.

Huck's battle between society and himself, this is a blog entry which was also my in class presentation on Huck's battle in the book. It sparked many comments so check them out!

Native American Readings, is my interpretation of the readings in comparison of how the Native Americans viewed the White man. I also linked to both Amanda and Linda's blogs.

A Happy Ending afterall, this is another blog entry about Huck Finn, but talks about the endings and the possible mother figure relationship of Huck and Jim. Plenty of comments with new opinions!

Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit, a short assessment of the stories and their relation to Huck Finn. Has a good link to Tiffany's Blog.

John Henry or Henry John?, an interesting perspective and analysis on the legend of John Henry.

Why the color yellow?, this is probably my favorite blog entry about the Yellow Wall Paper which includes some outside sources and lots of discussion!

Edwin Arlington Robinson, analysis of two poems which I enjoyed by this author. Includes a link to Mindy's blog!

The Girl of the Golden West, a brief recap of David Belasco's melodrama and what I thought!

All I want for Christmas..., this is my "wild card" blog which is a short entry on what I want for Christmas!

I blogged several comments on other students' sites which relate to my blogs. These "xenoblogs", are found on 2 of Lindas blogs, and one on Melissa's

All I want for Christmas...

Well as usual I didn't really have anything interesting to write about for my "wild card" entry, so with the upcomming season, why not talk about Christmas! :)

Anyways, I can't believe that this semester will be over in 3 short weeks! YAY! This has definatly been a rough semester so I am glad it is comming to an end, then Christmas is only a week after we get out so I am going to have some major last minute shopping to do! Especially since im quite broke ( due to buying a new 2004 yellow cavalier this summer hehe) I will be waiting upon my itsy bitsy work study paycheck.

Of course there are lots of things i want for Christmas, but on a more serious note, all i really want is for my grandma to be able to have a good Christmas. Within the past year my grandma has gone down hill bigtime due to old age, shes 89. It's so hard to see her suffereing, she can't do much of anything on her own, which means my mom is down her house every day taking care of her. Luckily she came home from the hospital today so she will get to be home for Thanksgiving. Hopefully God will let her have a wonderful Christmas with our family!

Now that I made the mood so blue, ... It's time to talk about my christmas list! :) I want the new Tim McGraw and Poverty Neck Hillbillies CD's, a digital camera, leather jacket, and of course clothes :)
I'm definatly looking forward to Christmas break and spending a whole month with my boyfriend :)

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Richard Corey
This was the first poem which i read by Edwin Arlington Robinson. This poem really touched me and made me think. Richard Corey, was the perfect man to everyone. He was happy, nice, rich ( what could be better some ask?), and very smart. Everyone envied him, yet , he committed suicide. So often we think that our lives are so bad and that other people dont have a problem in the world and live a "perfect life." I really don't think anyone has a perfect life. Everyone has problems; some people show their pain and ager, while others hold it inside till its too much and they feel they need to end their lives. This article about a college student talks about someone who never showed any signs of committing suicide. Its a sad thing to think that these people couldnt just talk to someone instead of ending their life.

The Mill
This story also dealt with suicide, some think so anyways. I think if you simply read the poem and don't look into then it appears the miller and his wife both committed suicide. If you look further and deeper to try to analyze the poem, it can be twisted and may seem as though the millers wife was making this up in her head. I personally do think they committed suicide. when the miller says, " there are no millers any more" he's giving a clue that he will no longer exist. and the miller's wife must have known this was comming because she, " sick with a fear that had no form" went to look for him.

I find it very interesting that Robinson writes about such real and horrible things such as suicide. As Mindy talked about in her blog presentation, he often used events and tragedies in his own life to create his poems from. In this article about Robison, it suggests that his brother intentionally overdosed on drugs. As we have noted on many occasions about many different literary works, the author usually has some source or real idea from which their writing stems from.

Why the color yellow?

Its funny that while I read The Yellow Wallpaper, I highlited in yellow. Yellow is most often associated with the sun which makes us happy, so why was the narrator so sad and going "crazy" in a room which was covered in yellow wallpaper? I found a website called Color Wheel Pro, which defines what colors mean and how they effect us. I found it interesting where the artical says, "When overused, yellow may have a disturbing effect; it is known that babies cry more in yellow rooms." If it can have a disturbing effect on babies, why would it be a "nursey" as the narrator tells us. Also it says that a dingy yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy. The dingy yellow of the wallpaper that the narrator describes represents her decay of her marriage and life, her "sickness", and even her jealousy of men because she cannot escape the boundries of a woman. Another site colors with confidence, claims that yellow can be beneficial for peoples with depression. The website claims yellow ," has a beneficial effect on mental activity, focusing the mind, sharpening thought processes, increasing concentration and improving memory." If yellow , as this sight claims, is suppose to make you happy, then why did the woman not progress and get better, rather she got worses and went crazy.
Do you think that if the color were a different color it would have made any difference?
Did Charlotte Perkins Gilman have a purpose for making the wallpaper yellow? or was it just simple a choice?

On a humurous note, i found one section of the story rather funny and made me think of a persona experience. The narrator begins to talk about this smell of the paper. she says:
" But now I am used to it. The only thing i can think of that it is like is the color of the paper! A yellow smell."
When most people read this they probably think, How can yellow smell? But I laughed because of a story i remembered in high school.
One day me and my friend were in study hall, and our teacher truely was crazy.. every day she would bring a book and sit there with a yellow highliter, basically highliting EVERY sentence. what's the point in that?Well, we found it funny and every day she would do that and we could hear the highliter, we would say " It sounds a little bit yellow today." (guess you had to be there), but it made me think about the narrator when she said it has a "yellow smell."

John Henry or Henry John?

Was it John Henry or possibly Henry John? Was he real or fictional? Does it matter? John Henry is a legend, a folk-hero, and a "steel driving man." He's one of those men like Paul Bunyan, just his name describes a big, tall, strong, hard-working man. I personally liked this story because whether or not it was real, its fun to at least imagine it. Thats the special thing about folklore, is that we really aren't sure of the exact details of the story like whether JH (John Henry) was from Alabama, or Virginia, or West Virginia. Each time its told it gets more interesting and twisted just a bit, kind of like gossip in today's world. You know how in high school you say something and someone hears it but "tweaks" it and another does the same, till it gets back to you that you did some wild and crazy thing. Even if JH wasn't real, though I think he may have been a real person, he is a hero to everyone who hears songs, reads stories, or sees plays about him.
I compared the Early version of John Henry, Steel Driving Man with the Folk Version of the Ballad. In the early version it focuses mainly on the race between himself and the steam drill, while in the folk version it focuses more on how he is preparing to die while racing and says goodbye to his wife ,Julie Anne (in the early version its Pollie Anne)and talks with his son and mentions his mom. The folk version has many more verses added and is 2 pages longer than the early version. The folk version notes that it was used for workers in the laboring community, "for if there was a slacker in a gang it would stimulate him with its heroic masculine appeal." So these people did view John Henry as a hero and someone to look up to and strive to be like. I think we tend to overanalyze stories today and miss the simplest meanings of the story.

Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit

Joel Chandler Harris , captured the character of Brer Foz and Brer Rabbit in his stories of Uncle Remus. As Tiffany presented to our class, the characters and the story would have been much different if they had not had the african american wording. Sure, it was tough to read, but if you sat there and really got into the story you could really imagine a fox and a rabbit in a cartoon talking to each other this way. Paul had suggested in class that it would have been easier to read if it were in "regular" english writing. I slightly agree with this because there are Shakespeer books that have the english written on the side so it is easier to understand. But it would have been all the same if Jim, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, who was african american, talked just the way everyone else did.
Would the story have been the same? Would we have viewed Jim in the same manner? Probably not.
I found an online analysis of The Wonderful Tar Baby Story that asks an interesting question that was also brought up in class. If these two animals represent two races, white and african american, how do we know which is which?
Do you think Harris primarily wrote these stories to make a point about race in society, or did he write them because he found the narration of blacks to be "poetic imagination" and "quaint and homely humor"?

A Happy Ending afterall

I never actually read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn before this year, so I was rather excited to read it. For some reason i was half expecting it to have a tragic ending like in "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge.". I actually felt involved and was happy that Jim was freed and Huck was going to have a place to live again.

Something that really bugged me in class was the fact that people saw Tom as a hero. I felt tom was a "brat" as Kelly described him in class. He was just that popular boy that everyone looked up to and wanted to be. Tom was suppose to be this good boy but often had no respect for others. Huck often had clever ideas, but Tom immediately shot them down, because his were better. I hated the way he treated Jim also. Huck obviously respected Jim, but Tom just used him to have fun.

Some people had mentioned in class about Jim acting as a mother/father figure towards Huck, which i actually had posted in one of my replys. At first I had thought he acted like a father figure because he is older and helps Huck realize what is right and wrong, but after reading an article written by Wlliam Wesley, he notes that Jim was more of a moral support but lacked the intellectual guidance that a father offers, rather, Huck offered this intellectual guidance to Jim. So maybe it was more of a partnership and companionship rather than one dominant father in the relationship. Jim and Huck both had positive and negative characteristics which helped and complimented each other. Frienships often form this way when two people have opposite qualities which benefit the other to become a better person.

Since Tom has his story, and Huck has his, I think it would be interesting to see a story , such as the one Huck told, from the point of view of Jim. I think it would be totally different. Does anyone else think it would be interesting? How so?

Native American Readings

I found many Native American readings to be interesting, however, some were a bit difficult to read as Amanda pointed out in her blog. The fact that some of these readings were questionable made you wonder if they were at all reliable. I guess that is the point of the stories being told by mouth and not being written down. They capture an esscence of purity because these stories are told for generations and each time they are told they are "tweaked" a bit.

I noticed many of the stories referred to the the Whites. The Native Americans mainly had negative views of the White Man. Crazy Horse, probably the most famous Native American was a great warrior who was looked up to. Crazy Horse had a negative view of the White man , basedon the U.S. Army. This kind of makes me mad because he judges the white man based on incidents with the Army, not EVERY white man out there. People in our society do this all the time and I dont think it is fair. Just because you have a bad incident with one person of a group doesn't mean the whole group is like that. Also as Linda said, Crazy Horse got caught trying to steal another man's wife. Maybe he wasn't the great leader everyone thought him to be.

I found it very interesting the way the white and yellow skinned people were compared in the Creation of the Whites.. This story is very similiar when compared to our own Creation story today. Most would think the Native Americans would make themselves the superior ones who obeyed the "Creator", but they made the White man be the one who obeyed him. The "Creator" takes away the clothing they alrady had (unlike Adam and Eve who never had clothing to begin with) , and they were now responsible for their own means of clothing and food. I think they may have created this story to account for the way they lived in the wild outdoors in comparison with the civilized White man. The Native Americans seem to blame the White man for their downfalls because they (the white men) have temptations.

I think its interesting how these Native American stories are passed from one another and through the years are slightly changed. When the same story is compared by two different people it is usually a bit different. Even in today's society we have funny stories in our families that through the years may have been embelleshed upon to make them funnier or more interesting. Even though we are a culture that writes everything down ( like blogging!) , many of the best stories are those which are told not read.

Huck's battle between society and himself

In Mark Twain's, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck is basically portrayed as "uncivilized." He doesn't care about religion, school, manners, or following rules. A kid like this wouldn't have good morals right? I think differently. Huck is smarter than he is given credit for and has good moral judgments.

Huck has grown up referring to to african american's as the *N* word. His society has taught him African American's are dumb and illiterate and only good for slavery, nothing else. Huck faces the struggle of following societies view of African Americans and his growing relationship and personal views of Jim.

In chapter 8 when Huck first encounters Jim on the island, he is faced with a societal decision. He could either try to turn Jim in because he is a run away slave and he could get a reward or be a friend and keep his secret. Huck, following his good judgement and disobeying society says, "People would call me a low down Ablitionist and despise me for keeping mum-but that don't make no difference. I ain't agoing to tell, and I ain't agoing back there anyways." I think maybe at first he kept Jims secret to protect his own secret from getting out but he also wanted some company.

Huck's decision and realization that Jim has become his friend and not just a slave occurs in chapter 15. Huck decided to have some "fun" and play a trick on Jim because it was so easy to decieve him. To Huck's surprise however, Jim finally figures it out and is very hurt. Huck realizes he hurt his friend. Huck says,
" It made me feel so mean I could almost kissed his foot to get him to take it back. It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger- but I done it, and I warn't ever sorry for it afterwards, neither." Huck shows us true emotion here. He's not just some bad runaway kid, rather he is a person who cares for his friend.

Even in today's soceity people are always faced with Hucks situation. Society tells us to think a certain way about person's color,race, or religion but deep inside we know how we really think and feel. We have to choose which side we will follor just as Huck chose to follow his true values and be a friend to Jim.

Do you think Huck kept Jim's secret only to secure his own secret, or did Huck see Jim as a potential friend even though he was a slave?

Why do you think Huck kept Jim with him along his Journey?

Not so "devilish" dictionary

The Devils Dictionary, doesn't exactly sound thrilling to read, but i was proved wrong. Cynical of course was the first word that came to my mind while reading them, even before i knew that Bierce was origionally forced to call his work Cynics Word Book

As Paul said in his presentation, many of the words were offensive to particular groups of people. I found myself laughing at some words such as the comparision of :
ACADEME, n.
An ancient school where morality and philosophy were taught.
ACADEMY, n.
[from ACADEME] A modern school where football is taught.
But other one's made me think , Why would Bierce write that? such as:
AFRICAN, n.
A nigger that votes our way.

After our discussion in class, I realized that Bierce didn't write these to intentionally be funny or offend people, rather he wrote them to make a point. There are some things in the world that just "are" what they are and we accept them but dont talk about them. Bierce was putting these notions out in the open to make us think. I also think he wanted us to do something about what we thought. If we read one of these definitions and didn't like the way things are, then get up and do something about it; make a change! Its all so easy to say but to really do something is commendable.

I definately don't agree that Bierce was attacking certain groups , such as women. Sure, he targeted them , but that's because that's how society is. Women are still targeted and seen as less then men, but it's something that has just been "accepted". I think Bierce got his point across even if he had to be a bit offensive in doing it.

A little about myself!

Since it's Sunday nite and I am stumped about what to write my wildcard about, i thought i would follow in the footsteps of Katie and write a little mini biography because what's easier than talking about myself!

For all of you who don't know, my name is Erin Manko, and I am a sophomore here at SHU. I live on 4th Maura with Tisha, and Alicia Bradley, who are great roomies! :) I am originally from Monongahela, Pennsylvania which is about 45 minutes from SHU.I attended Ringgold high school where i played softball and volleyball, but opted not to play sports in college because I wanted to focus on my studies(I'm a psych major and getting certified in elementry and special education).If you don't see me on the weekends, its because I usually go home to visit my boyfriend, Shaun, who lives near me in Charleroi. We've met while working at our good ol' local Dairy Queen lol, and have been dating for about a year and 2 months. When I am at home i live with both my parents and my older brother, Jonathan (23), who recently graduated from Thiel college. He recently got a job with computers (not sure what) but is still doing that whole live at home thing post college students do. I usually come off as a shy person, but once you get to know me im a really nice person who likes to talk! When I'm not busy with the massive amounts of homework, i work at the SHU kindergarten which is tons of fun (and its work too!). My second passion besides working with kids, is shopping. I must say i have way too many clothes! I also am really creative with scrapbooking , but can't seem to find the time anymore. Well I think thats pretty much me in a nutshell, so hope everyone knows me a little better!

Fall Blogging Portfolio

My blogs are mainly educational and informational due to the fact I am required to blog for my American Lit class. This is my first attempt at blogging so bare with my not so comical and rather bland entries. Hopefully with time and practice I will become more natural in blogging. I have created a "Blogging Portfolio" of my best works. I briefly described each entry and hope you enjoy!

A Glimpse of Emily Dickinson, is an analysis of two poems i presented. I present my ideas about the poems, plus it includes and interesting comment from Amanda.

Poetry Praise, is my praise of other students including,Mindy, Amanda, Diana, and Tiffany, and Shanna. Check it out to see more about which poems they presented!

How young is too young? An interesting debate about why didn't Hester tell Perl the truth about the Scarlet A. Sparked an interesting blogging conversation including an opposing view from Lori! Come see and add your opinion!

Compassion for Farquhar, is my feelings while reading An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge. I felt the story mirrored a dream, but some students interpreted it differently.

Thoreau and Civil Disobediance, In response to Puff's question, an interpretation of how we defind our place in society.

Bartleby, the scrivener, a story of Wall-street?, includes humorous findings in the story plus why does Bartleby always say, "I would prefer not to?"

A little about myself, is just a short biography of me!

I blogged a few comments on other sites, some pertaining to my blogs. these "xenoblogs", are found on Lori's blog, Gina's blog, and Trisha's blog.

Barlteby, The Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street?

When i first began reading Melville's, "Bartleby, the Scriviner: A Story of Wall-street,"I , as many of my classmates, thought the story would be about moneymaking, chaotic, high-strung Wall-street. But, it was a rather mellow and calm setting about a scriviner. Even though the title was abit misleading, i found the text to be quite enjoyable to read(once i found out exactly what a scriviner was!) I found some points to be rather humorous while some made me ask why?

I found Melville's writing rather funny in many instances throughout the text.
One rather humorous point i found was the passage where the narrator says, " ... I was not unemployed in my profession by the late John Jacob Astor; a name which, I admit, I love to repeat, for it hath a rounded orbicular sound to it, and rings like unto bullion." This funny little passage instatnly reminded me of a a childhood song we all use to sing called " John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt". Its a song that just gets inside your head for days at a time and you keep singing it over and over and over because you like his name! Another point of humor i found was the names of the narrators employees, which included: Turkey, Nippers, and Ginger Nut. Where did Melville come up with these names? was he eating while doing this? Even though they didnt have "Cheese Nips" back then, (thats what nippers reminds me of!)

When i first heard those infamous words, " I would prefer not to," in refusal to proofread his work, I instantly thought he couldnt read only copy what he saw. This would have been a very logical explanation but it wasn't the case. Bartleby, the strangest of emplyees, refused to do almost everything! But, why did the narrator have such compassion for this man? It was a nice thing to do at first to give him a chance to come around, but in the end he just caused him more and more trouble. Then i thought maybe Bartleby just needed a friend, but the narrator tried this and Bartleby didn't seem to want a friend to talk to. Even after Bartleby was gone and died, it still left me wondering, why did Bartleby, "prefer not to?" Does anyone have any ideas or thoughts why?

I think this often happens with people we meet. The less we know about someone and the less they will share with us, the More we want to know! It bothers us to not know all the facts. By the end of the story, and even now i still wonder why was Bartleby so weird?

Thoreau and Civil Disobediance

I read Thoreau's Civil Disobediance first and actually agreed with some of his teachings. He generally says that the government, even though the backbone of our society, causes people to ingore who they really are. A good question that Puff asked, was " How does (and should) a person define his/her place in society? Most people would try to be politically correct and say by being ourselves. Be the true person inside. Who really does that? Our society is based on MONEY, how we make that money, what we can buy with that money, how much money we have and so on. Our social status is based on not who we are as individuals, but who we are and workers. The highest at the top of society are celebreties who make millions acting in one movie, and politicians who negotioate and lie to make their fortunes. Next we have the "average middle-class" which most americans associate with. We work 9-5 jobs to pay the bills and occasionaly have extra money for fun. then the lowest we have those who struggle with minimum wage jobs to just get by.

We all know we shouldn't care how much money we make or what kind of car we drive, but how is that really possible in a society that encourages us to be the best and have the best. I often find myself wondering , what life would have been like without tv, aol instant messaging, and cell phones. People probably did reveal their true selves and didnt worry about what soceity expeceted of them.

I was rather proud that he refused the pay the tax, and stood up for what he believed. If other people had courgae to do the same maybe it would have made a difference. This situation happens often today. People "say" they don't like something but they never do anything about it and nothing gets accomplished. Instead of complaining , people need to get out there and do somethign about it!

As for Emerson and his essay , Self-Reliance, he said similar things about being yourself, and he also incorporated God and the church into his teachings rather than the Government as Thoreau did. I must be honest and say i couldn't even finish his essay. I read about half and was very bored with his text and style of writing. It just did not capture my attention which made it very difficult to read even though i got the general idea.