SarahElwood

Cover Blog

Yay! This semester is finally coming to an end! This entry is where I pull everything together and reflect on the readings as a whole.

For my depth entries:

Native American Oral Literature

The Devil's Dictionary

The John Henry Legend

For Discussion and Interaction:

The Devil's Dictionary

The John Henry Legend

The Girl of the Golden West (presentation)

XenoBlogging

I commented on Jenn Haun's blog: "Tom as a Hero"
and on Tiffany Brattina's Blog: "Fact or Fiction"

Wild Card

Huckleberry Finn

I thought I would hate reading this book! Just the title kind of turns me off, and I still wonder why "Huckleberry Finn" is someone's name.....
But surprisingly, this book was good! I think it had a lot of suspense, and I like that. A lot of the events were unexpected... I could not beleive that Huck was smart enough to fake his own death and get away with it... I liked reading "Huckleberry Finn" a lot more than "The Scarlett Letter." (At first, then I watched the movie of the Scarlett Letter, and I think they kind of ruined the story)
I like how the action in the story keeps moving along, and in class we discussed the point of the river. It is true, the river actually did keep the story "flowing." I wonder what the story would have been like if it took place on say a train?
After reading this story, I may go back and read the first novel, Tom Sawyer. Maybe I would understand more about the characters and their reasoning if I had more background knowledge.

The Girl of the Golden West

I really enjoyed reading "The Girl of the Golden West," just for something different. Being an art major, I appreciated the construction of the play. I liked how all the scenery and stage directions were given: descriptions of every little item in a room, and their placement. It was nice to read something other than an essay or short story.
I wish we would have watched a play or movie, or, if possible, taken a field trip to see it performed... I don't know if it is still being performed, but that would have been nice to break up the routine of read, discuss, quiz, read, discuss, quiz, read, discuss, quiz..... It would have been interesting to read it and make up our own characters and ideas, then see it performed and contrast those characters and ideas with our own. (I rented the Scarlett Letter the movie, after we read the book, and it was SO different.) Then we could discuss why the director may have made these changes. (For The Scarlett Letter I think it was to "spice things up" a little to make it more appealing to the general audience) This is just a suggestion for the future!

Robinson's Poetry

Robinson's poetry was interesting in that everything seemed fine right up until about the last line of each poem. In "Richard Corey" we are introduced to a man that everyone love and admires. Everyone wants to be him. And then, in the last line of the poem, Richard Corey "went home and put a bullet through his head."
This reminds me of many of today's celebrities. We only see what they want us to see. And why are we so fascinated with them anyway? What is so different about them, that makes us starve ourselves to look like them? And today, a lot of celebrities' images are altered in some way, either through plastic surgery or airbrushing... yet we still want to look like them, even when THEY don't even look like themselves any more.
I wonder why the character Richard Corey would have killed himself. Was he lonely? He had all these people admiring him, but did any of them talk to him? If you think about it, most people think that celebrities are "too good" to date an average person, so most people don't bother getting to know them. Maybe he was in debt from spending so much money on maintaining his looks? Who knows?

The Yellow Wallpaper .... again!

Wow, we have analyzed "The Yellow Wallpaper" so much I think it is starting to make ME crazy!
I did really enjoy reading this story though. It is kind of ambigous; you can bring in so many different viewpoints and ideas. For example, some think that the woman died at the end, some think she didn't. I think that is really neat that the author wrote a story that is interesting and detailed enough to make us want to read it, but yet keep it ambiguous at the same time, so we can apply our own thoughts to it.
What is really interesting is the author's reference to rings and bars and things on the wall. I wish we knew what they were. I doubt it was a child's gymnasium as suggested by Jane. It is interesting that the bed is bolted to the floor and the wallpaper is torn all about the bed, AS FAR AS SHE CAN REACH, and around the walls, up to the SAME HEIGHT as when Jane is crawling around on the floor at the end of the story. It makes me wonder if Jane was in this room before and doesn't remember. The room must have been used for some sort of torture, and it seems too much to me for it to be just a coincidence that all the torn paper is within her reach. Why would the author have noted that unless she thought it was very important?
But we will never know, I guess!

Wild Card

I love everyone's wild card entries this time! A lot of people wrote about what they want for christmas, and some wrote about some weird "phenomenon" they possess or have experienced. I think I am going to kind of use this entry as a journal, LiveJournal style.
My life has been really crazy lately. I don't know what it is, or how to fix it. It just seems like nothing id going the way I planned or the way I wanted it to go. I hate this semester. I have all these classes that I could care less about. And I am someone who likes to give 110% percent. I just don't know what is up with me. I hope that next semester is better.
Work, work, work. It seems like all i do is work. And I think a lot of people here live in this dream world where students don't need to work. I have to work! All my loans are in my name. My parents don't pay for my schooling. And I don't think I would want them to. I would love to quit work so I could focus more on homework. But I have bills to pay, and I have to eat, so what do I do, quit school? I know it has to be this way right now, but it just doesn't seem worth it. I want to do both, and I am doing both, it is just killing me.
And now my boyfriend was activated. He leaves for Iraq next month for 2 years. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to say? We have been together for 2 and a half years.... do I end it? Do I wait two years? I have no idea what to do.
It just seems like everything is falling down around me. I know it will get better, but it is just really blinding me right now. So much that I can't see the good things. But it is almost over.. we have 15 days until Christmas break, and hopefully I will be able to rest, work, save up money, and spend the last Christmas with my boyfriend for the next two years.

The John Henry Legend

In class, when we discussed the John Henry Legend, the point was brought up that did it matter if john henry was real or not? I thought about this, and I have come to the conclusion, that no, I really don't think that it matters that he is real.
I think he is kind of the "ideal worker," like we have the "ideal male nude" in the art world. I think he is the personification of the ideal male worker for the time. That he is not one man, he is a little of every man. He lives in every man's spirit. He is the compilation of the best traits of man: dedicated, hardworking, intelligent, loving, faithful,... the list goes on.
It is more important to tell the story, and learn from the story than to get caught up in the details. The story is about man versus the machine; this fight is never ending. It will always be man versus the machine. It will just be different men and different machines. The reader or listener should learn from John Henry to stand up for what you think is right, work hard because you will be remembered for it, and that man can win the battle against the machine.
Another point was discussed: is it important that he died at the end? Or would the story have been just as successful if he lived? I think it is important for the story that he died because it is the ultimate sacrifice. He worked so hard that it killed him. I also think it made him more of a hero. If he would have beat the machine and lived, I think people would have forgotten about him. But because he died he will always be remembered for his sacrifice.
In my opinion, John Henry is just a legend. He embodied too many heroic traits, I believe, to possibly be real. But that is okay. It is more important that people believe in his spirit than in his existence.

Native American Oral Literature

Reading the Native American Oral Literature passed down from generation to generation was interesting. It is neat to see the differences between cultures. But what fascinates me the most, with any culture, is that people feel the need to explain things. People need to explain why they are alive, where they came from, why they die, etc. And I don't know if I will ever understand why. I have never needed to "know" what my purpose is, I am just here. And when I die, I die. People ask me what I live for, I live for myself. I want to do well for me. But I understand that most people need something to believe in to go on, and I respect their decisions.
The native american oral literature reminds me of the stories we all are told when we were younger. They are so similar. Both stories give an explaination for man's struggle.
It is interesting to see that everyone questions who they are and where they come from. I wonder how the stories are so similar though, they are almost exactly alike, yet the people are so different, and did not meet until centuries after the creation. I wonder what the Native American creation story was before they met the white man? Because was there any way for the Native American to know that the white man existed? I wonder if the white man "part" was added later? And whose story came first, the Ntive Americans' or the white mans'?
People as a whole think that one race is so different from another, yet when I think about things like this, I wonder how different we really are. It seems that everyone wants to have a purpose in life, a purpose for their existence. It's too bad we can't see past all of the small, unimportant differences between us to the huge similarities that make up us all.

The Devil's Dictionary

I really enjoyed reading "The Devil's Dictionary" by Ambrose Bierce. It came at a good time in the semester, right between two novels. I liked its setup: how it was arranged into definitions rather than paragraphs; it made it easier to read because I could read small sections over a longer course of time rather than all at once.
I appreciate his different approach to writing: instead of writing a long, boring paper on what he thinks is wrong with society and his suggestions on how to improve it, he simply defines words. Most of the words he defines have to do with stereotypes, misconceptions, and problems with society as a whole. He makes his opinions known in a very economic composition. He uses just enough details to get his point across, yet it is successful.
I just want to mention my reaction to the presentations given on "The Devil's Dictionary." Many of the women presenters claimed that this writing is sexist. I just feel like sometimes women bring a lot on themselves. Women today seem to blame everything on men, but most of the time the women are to blame. I think we need to get over all of our "hang-ups" and accept who we are, in order for men to accept who we are. Just because the author defined a few words relating to females does not mean that he is sexist. It may be his opinion of society at the time, he may be trying to get people to notice their biases, or maybe he is sexist. SO WHAT? Be the stronger person. So what if he is sexist? So what if anyone is sexist? Prove them wrong. Work your ass off. Show them that women are strong, intelligent, and just as "good" as men are. And for the most part, I would say the men in our class, and the men at SHU as a whole, are some of the LEAST sexist men we will ever meet. I just wish people would look at other things then gender roles, I get sick of hearing it over and over again.

The Girl of the Golden West

"The Girl of the Golden West" is a play written by David Belasco. The play is set in Cloudy Mountain, California during the Gold Rush. The center of the story is the Polka Saloon, owned by Minnie, or "The Girl." There are many frequent customers to the saloon, and a few of them are Sonora, Rance, Trinidad, Billy Jackrabbit, Handsome Charlie, and Happy Halliday.

The aspect of the play I want to discuss is the movement and action that takes place in the bar. The action seems to keep the story moving along, and seems to bring all the characters together.

There is always someone new entering the bar. I think all the movement keeps the reader interested. There are bar fights, shots fired, people yelling, people singing; it is an action-packed place. When a new character is about to enter, the action seems to slow for a minute. This seems to give the audience time to focus on each character and their role in the story. When Jake, a musician, is heard by singing in the distance, all the characters quiet down and listen, therefore the audience knows that a new character is being introduced. When he enters, everyone turns their attention to Jake and cheer for him. When The Girl enters, Rance, the sheriff, is just about to shoot Sonora, but he stops and cheers for The Girl instead. Everyone stops as she enters. When The Girl and Johnson, a stranger, are talking, notice that everyone is gone. This is the intent, the action of the story took all of the other characters offstage so that the audience could focus on the relationship between thes two characters.

As a review, I think that the actions in the play serve as motivation to keep the play moving along, to introduce new characters, and to focus on individual characters.

Any other ideas on what the action in the play is used for?

Do you think all the action/movement is distracting?

My Trip to France and Other Study Abroad Hopes

(I hope to figure out how to add pictures to blogs soon, because I have so many, and I would like everyone to see them)

I went to France this past May with Dr. Chossat, and 4 other students. It was absolutely amazing. It was like a dream, I didn't even realize I was there until I came home and "woke up."

I had never been on a plane, a train, or in a taxi, let alone to another county! I had never even seen an ocean! This trip was life changing for me.

The plane ride was amazing, I was so nervous at first, but it was smoother than riding in a car! The food was great, and there were t.v. screens at every seat.
It was an 8 hr flight, so when we got to Paris it was 8 AM! We went to the hotel, dropped our stuff off and walked straight to the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing! I never thought it would be so big. We stayed in Paris for 4 days. We visited the Louvre, Notre Dame, The Arc de Triomphe, Versaille, and so much more. Then we took the train to Nice, which is in the south of France. I loved it there, I want to go back someday. I had never seen any ocean before, so to see the Mediterranian Sea was amazing (I know it is not the OCEAN but it is REALLY close!) We took the train to Monaco and to Canne. The food was good, the atmosphere was amazing, and the scenery is beautiful. Everything is so beautiful there. I had a hard time speaking French at first, I could understand, but speaking was hard. I was too nervous. But towards the end, I was becoming more comfortable, and speaking better. I wish we would have stayed longer because I was just getting over the jet lag and finally speaking French, and it was time to leave.

I cannot even describe how great it is to travel. The plane was like "magic" - you get on the train in D.C. and when you get off you are in France. It is an experience I will never forget. It is worth all my working.

I am now looking into studying abroad in Italy next summer. This program is EIGHT WEEKS LONG! I would live in Cortona, Italy, and take Italian and Art Courses. And I would finally make the dream of visiting the Sistine Chapel a reality!

My Portfolio: A Compilation of My Works

I think that I have come a long way in the world of blogging this semester. Last year, I didn't even know what a blog was! Now I read other student's blogs, write my own entries, and I even figured out how to change the colors on my blog. (I am still working on that though.) My portfolio is a collection of entries that reflect on what we have read in class thus far.
In "An Occurance at Owl Creek Bridge," I discuss how the story may have been different had the soldiers known what the reader now knows.
"The Raven" This is my attempt to figure out who or what the raven represents.
"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" My first (horrible) blog!
"The Scarlet Letter" This is just kind of a brainstorming session, I was thinking of ideas for my paper, and was hoping for some help from fellow classmates also struggling.
"Poetry Slam Presentation: The Mask of the Red Death" I read this short story for the Poetry Slam. Included is the excerpt that I read and also my feelings on both my presentation and my classmates' presentations.
"Resistance to Civil Government" In this entry, I talk about about Thoreau's views still apply today.
"My Trip to France" This is an overview of my trip to France this summer, and also my future study abroad plans. I hope to figure out how to add pictures soon!

Some of my comments can also be found on other students blogs: I answered a question on Amanda's Blog, and Amanda's question is on my blog, Katie Lambert, and Trisha.

"Resistance to Civil Government," Thoreau

I can definately relate to Thoreau's opinion on the purpose of the government, "That government is best which governs least." In "Resistance to Civil Government," Thoreau reflects on his experiences with taxes, prison, and the government. I think he feels that the government is too involved with the individual's life, and I feel exactly the same way.

My roomates and I were just talking about this the other day... We have these "random" health inspections now in the SHU dorms. RA's come around and check "the outlets" to see if there are any fire hazards, and check for "general cleanliness." And if I am not in the room when they knock, they can key into my room. I personally think that this is just an excuse to look around students rooms. If they were really only checking for "overloaded outlets," is once a month really neccessary?? And how do they even know where the outlets are? If I am not in my room to show them, are they going to move my furniture, look under my bed, and neb through my room? I just don't feel like they have any right. What does it matter to them if my room is immaculate?

And there are other things that bother me. Like this new seatbelt law. Why should we be fined for not wearing our seatbelts? Yeah, seatbelts might be safer in crash testing, but if I don't want to wear a seatbelt, then it is my decision. I bought the car, I pay taxes on the car, I pay for insurance, and now the government is going to tell me how to act in my car?

Thoreau talks about how "we should be men first and, and subjects aftarward." He talks about soldiers, and how they are basically brain washed by the government, and that the can not think for them selves. That a soldier is "a mere shadow and reminiscence of humanity, a man laid out alive and standing, already...buried under arms with funeral accompaniment." This still applies today, my boyfriend is in the military and he thinks everything the government does is right, he agrees with the war, and he wants to go and fight.
I really liked reading this essay because everything he talked about still applied to America today, even though this was written in the late 1800's.

The Raven And the Personification of Death

In reading "The Raven" in high school, and again for American Literature, I have begun to look at the raven as sort of a personification of Death. Personification is when a non-living object is given human characteristics, or as Merriam-Webster Online defines, "representation of a thing or abstration as a person or by the human form.
I see this as death personified because the raven speaks to the character in the poem, a humanistic quality. He speaks of the "lost Lenore," and to every question the character asks, the raven responds "Nevermore." I think the Raven, Death, has come to take the narrator into the afterlife to be with his love, Lenore. I don't look at the raven as "frightning" or as "the end," I look at the raven as the "bridge," if you will, to the afterlife. I think the Raven wants to take the character to a better place, to a place where he can be with his love for eternitiy. Death is inevitable, and I think Poe is trying to relay the feeling of a near-death experience to the reader. Poe seems to want to make the loom of death easier on the reader, something we should not be afraid of. Death is something that never goes away, or as the Raven says "Nevermore."

The Scarlet Letter

Hey guys, I need some help! I thought I had a really good idea for my paper, but know I am running into problems! I wanted to analyze The Scarlet Letter, but I am having a hard time narrowing my subject. I wanted to talk about the symbolism or the use of sin in the novel.... At first I thought maybe Hawthorne included all of the seven deadly sins in the novel, but after scanning through what we have already read, I don't think so. I thought that was a really good idea... to list the seven deadly sins and how each one was represented in the book but i can only fill lust, eny, and pride.... so maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all!
I looked online for ideas, but all I found were sights just trying to SELL me essays! I don't want to buy an esaay! I just wanted to get some ideas! If you are also struggling, here are some sites that helped me to gather my thoughts. This site was pretty helpful, actually... to a certain extent, then you have to buy stuff, like always. It has ideas, sample essays, and suggestions on what to write about. This site is similar.
But anyways, symbolism. I wanted to try to give examples of symbolism that foreshadowed the ending, or explained the past, or gave the reader some insight into the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale. (I still want to know how everything came about between them)
There are so many topics to discuss about this novel, the hardest part is taking a position.... any suggestions? :)