JessicaZelenak

Why John Henry?

Why does society choose a person like John Henry to represent thier morals, values, and work ethics? Is a legend or person like John Henry the ideal? I think the legend of John Henry represents how our society got to be where it is today. He represents the hard work and labor that formed the instrustrial revolution and developed steel, and cut through mountains to make railroads. However I do not think John Henry would be the ideal model for our new moderate times. An ideal figure today would be an athlete, a corporate executive, an actor/actress, a rock star or singer, or pretty much anyone who lives beyond the boundaries of the norm. John Henry stood for a class of people who were happy just getting by, being in a free country, and were proud to live and work for what they had. Our standards today have sky rocketing from such a simple expectation. He have progressed into a society that sets their standards on material things and income rather than pride and honesty. Cosmo and Maxim can tell you who they think makes the ideal person (male and female), but do those figures represent our morals and values as a soceity? We have abandoned our sense of working hard for something, both physically and mentally. I don't know to many people who work really hard (blood, sweat, tears, back aches, feet hurt, tired kind of thing) for a living. Mentally, we don't have to do much work at all, computers, calculators, cell phones, and all sorts of things think for us. Truth be told I could have copied and pasted this whole blog entry from somewhere else and wouldn't have had to think for more than 5 minutes. I didn't but I could have.
So who is John Henry? Whether he's real or not, he's not just a legend but he represents how we started this country. John Henry also holds true to the many reasons why we should regress back to those hard working time periods and realize what matters. What our ideals should be and the values that we hold close as a society.

Who was Robinson?

Robinson raised many questions for me. If anyone read any of my other blogs you would read that initially I didn't like Robinson for the way his poems ended with cliffhangers. Then after discussing Robinson's wordiness with Trisha I came to realize that the cliffhangers were a good aspect of his poetry. The cliffhaner endings gave the reader the control to determine the fate of the poem. To me Robinson had a creative way of writing, which is why I would like to research him further and find some of his other poems. The website that I looked at was the American poetry.com. What I found was that Robinson came from a well to do family around the late civil war times. He had two older brothers who mainly recieved all the attention. It was said that Robinson felt like an outcast from his family and society, which he often alienated himself from. I believe Robinson reflects this alienation in his characters. As a young adult Robinson attended Harvard where he was also alone, and eventually moved from place to place. All the while he had his poetry being published. It wasn't until around World War I that Robinson was finally recieving the credit he deserved. At this time Robinson was a well read poet and was influencing new poets like Robert Frost.
In regard to Robinson's character, I believe they reflect pieces of Edwin himself. The stories and characters that we read about in class were mainly lonely, alienated, odd people. After reading about Robinson I have come to believe those characters were aspects of him and the way he saw himself in regards to society. Richard Cory was a rich, educated, and respected man who was polite as pie. In all actuality he was not a happy as he appeared and I think that exemplifies who Robinson was.
Some other poems by Robinson that I liked was, Octaves , Supremacy, and Haunted House. There were others, but these were the ones I liked. Maybe I will do one for the poetry slam. What I like about Robinson's poetry is that it is sometimes like Poe's poetry. It can be somewhat dark, cold, coneptual, puzzling, and leaves the reader wondering 'what the heck.' Those kinds of stories and poetry keeps my attention.

Progession of feminism in The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Gilman was a young feminist, and I believe that she uses the character of Jane to progress the concept of feminism in The Yellow Wallpaper. When the story begins, Jane is not yet as sick as she will become, and at this point she tries to discuss with John about the current living arrangments. Although she has not been confined to the room yet, John does not want her to leave the house. It is at this point in the story that her supression begins.
When Jane returns to her journal after describing the wallpaper, it seems to the reader that she is spending the majority of her time in the room. Before Jane was allowed to roam the house, but now it seems that John pretty much confines her to her room. Even when she tries talking to John about the house and the room he hushes her. John as confined her to the house, to the room, does not allow her to take part in any sort of activity, and now does not even take her seriously let alone talk to her like an adult. The only sort of outlet Jane has is her journal.
Even though it seems that Jane has become a slave to the wallpaper, obsessing over its every aspect, she no longer takes an interest in John. And as we know John passes out in the end as he sees her frantically ripping down the wallpaper.
Gilman progresses Jane's triumph throughout the story. At first Jane allows John to supress her and confine her, but then she begins to come out. She takes no interest in him, she sleeps during the day in order to give her full attention to the wallpaper at night. Then Jane comes out literally, from the wallpaper and even adds that she must creep (step over) over John, who is now under her.

The amazing theatre

I have come to realize that whenever I read something from American Literature, it makes me think of a movie or something visual that I have experienced. The Yellow Wallpaper makes me think of psychological thriller movies, Poe makes me think of Alfred Hitchcock, Brer Rabbit relates to Looney Toons, African language in Huck Finn and Brer Rabbit reminds me of The Green Mile, and The Girl of the Golden West reminds me of seeing my first Broadway play. Theatre is truely amazing. It boggles my mind seeing a play that is almost like watching a movie. Everything is so dramatic, precise, exaggerated, and realistic. The first Broadway play I saw was Aida and it was amazing. I think it would really be interesting to see The Girl of the Golden West reproduced as a play today. The story was fun, the characters were all unique and different, and not to mention the setting of the old west.

Also, plays today are very popular and imagine what David Belasco could do if he were a playwright or producer today. With all the technological advances of the present, Belasco could probably produce some extravegent plays.

African language in Brer Rabbit

First off I have to say that when reading the Brer Rabbit story (Unclue Remus Initiates the Little Boy) all I could think of was Looney Toons. Even though the langauge was hard to read, the langauge paints a clear picture for the reader. All I could picture was a rabbit like Bugs Bunny and a cartoon fox pulling stunts like in the Looney Toons cartoons. Another concept that was brought to my mind after reading Erin's blog, was that even though the langauge was really hard to get through, the story wouldn't have the same effect as if it were written in regualr English. Also when you read language like that, you can almost picture the character talking. For example, in Huck Finn, when Jim would talk I pictured this large, uneducated, humbling, black guy. I was pretty much picturing John Coffee from the movie the Green Mile. Although the reading was difficult it is very colorful and animated!

J. Henry

John Henry! I like this brand of folklore. The legend of John Henery I think is especially prevelent to this area because of the mining towns and the steel mills in Pittsburgh. I live out by Mammoth Park, so even though I take it for granted, I see old coke ovens everyday. Even when I visit Pittsburgh I forget how important Pittsburgh was to the steal industry. The small town of Mt. Pleasant used to be call "Hell Town" back in the 20's and 30's because it was so black and dirty from soot and coal that it was like hell. (Can't remember where I read that) Anyway, like Linda mentions in her blog about John Henery, technology is rapidly replacing humans. We can still be proud of our advancements in technology, but we should appreciate the hard work that we came from, because it is all around us. Next time your in Pittsburg have a cold Iron (or IC light) and appreciate the hard workers that got us where we are today!

Native American Literature

Thank god, I though I was the only one who disliked the Native American literature. I read that Erin, Amanda, Nabila, and Melissa H. all agreed that the Native American Literature was hard to read. I will agree that although the folklore and the legends that the Native Americans embrace is quite interesting, it was hard and somewhat boring to read. Also the Native American literature seemed out of place to me in the course of the class. Even though the Native American lit falls within the time period we were studying, it didn't seem to be in sync with stories like the Devil's Dictionary, The Yellow Wallpaper, Huck Finn, or any of the other works that we've studied. Maybe the Native American Literature would have had a better impact if we would have discussed it more in class.

Huck Finn

In our class discussions it seemed that the class had mixed emotions as to what they thought about the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Personally I think that is why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was such a good book. There were so many themes, ideas, concepts, and questions that most everyone in the class had formed some sort of opinion on the text. The book was not one sided. In my oral presentation (which made for a good discussion blog) I talked about the elements of Freedom in the story. Jenn Haun talked about folklore and supersticion. Many people argued about the concept of adolescence and Huck's behavior. Paul C. even went as far as to say that Tom was a phallic symbol for Huck! Freud might agree!
Eventhough I did enjoy the story, the various discussions that the book raises is what makes it such a good book. Some hated it, some liked it, but there is no denying the contraversy the book brings.

Robinson and his band of characters!

After reading Linda's blog I started really thinking about Robinson's characters. Everyone can relate someone they know to the characters Miniver Cheevy, Richard Corey, and Aaron Stark. I know I can! I have an uncle who's attitude is the same as Miniver Cheevy's. When I read the story of Miver Cheevy I get the sense of a man who lives in a dream world. Cheevy lives in the past and was "born to late." As he longs for what he could have and should have been his present life suffers. But Cheevy does not he care, he just scratched his head, coughs and keeps on drinking. My uncle E. resembles this!

Richard Corey reminds me of people that you know growing up who committ suicide. I've know two people who committed suicide, and the question everyone asks is why? What was wrong, they were so successful and had so much, why? Like Robinson writes in the poem, Corey was a gentlemen who seemed to have it all. He was schooled he was rich, and he was polite so why would he want to kill himself?

I can't think of anyone in particular that resembles Aaron Stark, but I'm sure I will someday. The story of Aaron Stark makes me think of a lonely man who walks around town from bar to bar scaring little kids (and adults). He would be the kind of person who is cheap and only laughs at tragedy. Aaron Stark would be the kind of person you see when your with your dad somewhere and your dad shakes his head saying, "there's old Aaron Stark, boy is he a nut." Then drives away.

I wonder if Robinson based these fictional characters on actual people? Earlier in one of my discussion blogs I wrote that I didn't like how Robinson's poems were like cliffhangers, but know I see why. By doing that the reader is able to fill in the blanks for themselves, and maybe fill in those blanks with the idea of someone they knew.

Robinson. What do you think?

What I liked about Edwin Arlington Robinson was that his poems were short and entertaining. What I did not like about his poems, was that they left me wanting to know more. 'Richard Corey' is a good example of this. Robinson describes the man for 15 lines and then just adds, "Went home and put a bullet through his head." His poems are like cliffhangers, they make you want to know more, or what happened.

My question to the blogging community is, did you like the way Robinson ended his poems? Do you think it adds to his poetry or distracts from it? I'm curious to see who prefers the cliffhangers and who's like me and wants an explanation and ending!

The Yellow Wallpaper; a psychological thriller?!

Mostly everyone knows what Psychological Thrillers are, they are movies that have psychological concepts that makes you think. Hannibal, Seven, and Silence of the Lambs were psychological thriller movies. The more I thought about the Yellow Wallpaper, the more I began to think it was an early version of a psychological thriller. The story really made you think in depth about what was going on.

Does anyone agree or disagree with the idea that Gilman's the Yellow Wallpaper was an early version of a pyschological thriller?

Sarcasm!!!

Other than the Yellow Wallpaper, I think The Devil's Dictionary was a popular one with the class. In our class discussions, it was interesting to hear the different takes people got from the dictionary. Personally I agree with Paul view on the Devil's Dictionary. I think Ambrose Bierce was just having a bit of fun with the words he used. Obviously there is a sarcastic spin on the words, but it's fun. As I read through the dictionary I just had to laugh. I like a sarcastic sense of humor and the Devil's Dictionary is just that! Also, his definitions are so very bluntly true! Like HABIT for example, is defined as "a shakle for the free," and that's exactly what a habit is. Unlike the depth of the Yellow Wallpaper, I think the Devil's Dictionary is to be read lightly. It's funny. Bierce used sarcasm and whit to add blunt truths to everyday words.

Popular Yellow Wallpaper

It seems to me from the class discussions and from peoples blogs that the Yellow Wallpaper was a favorite with the class. I know it was my favorite. I think this short story is so popular because it is so psychological and facinating. The Yellow Wallpaper includes elements of feminism, sexism, psychology, society, and culture. Many of my classmates brought up many good questions about the story. Erin raised a question about Gilman's choosing the color yellow, and Trisha brought up the concept of the old nursery actually being a room for a crazy person. Another reason I believe the story is so fascinating is because of Jane's supression. I could not image being a women of the 19th century and being subjected to a 'rest cure,' or not having any control or say so over my life. The story really makes your think. The Yellow Wallpaper was really an outstanding story and a fun read.

I still don't like blogging (wildcard 2)

Sorry Dr. Jerz. I complained about it in the first portfolio, and I'm complaining about it again, I just hate blogging. I don't know why?! As I was reading through my classmates blogs it seems that most of them like blogging! Katie Aikens mentions that her views on blogging have changed. I just see blogging as a hassle, and I can't wait until I don't have to do it anymore!!!

Freedom in Huckleberry Finn

The theme of Freedom in Huckleberry Finn.

Many themes can be identified throughout this story, but what was very evident in the story was the theme of freedom.

This theme is very clear early on in the book, beginning in Chapter 1. In this chapter we see Huck already struggling with the widow Douglas as she attempts to �civilize� him. Huck complains about the cramped feeling he gets when the widow puts him in new clothes, he complains about the structure of school, and he especially is unhappy with the rituals before dinner. He wonders, �When you got to the table you couldn�t go right to eating�� Although Huck has adjusted to this structured lifestyle, it is clear that he wants adventure.

Another aspect of the story that is suppressing Huck is his Pap. The character of Pap is vividly displayed, and so is Huck�s fear of him. Unfortunately for Huck, a judge hands him over to Pap, and not Huck has lost total freedom. He is locked in both day and night. Even though Huck does express that he is somewhat comfortable with the unstructured ness of living with Pap, as opposed to the widow, he is not happy.
After planning a crafty escape, Huck flees from Pap�s cabin and is free.

The character of Jim also exemplifies freedom. To Jim, freedom is more than important. When Jim and Huck meet up in chapter 8, Jim was trying to free himself. He was trying to free himself from Miss Watson who was threatening to sell him south, and he was escaping the suspicion that he was Huck�s murderer.

The theme of freedom can also be looked at from a social point of view. Society at this time was at a struggle for freedom. War and slavery were upon the biggest issues of this time. The concept of Freedom vs. Confinement is evident in both Huck�s life and Huck�s society.

Can you think of any other aspects of the book that relates to the concept of freedom an/or confinement?