It is amazing how optomistic all these poems were. I really didn't like any of them, probably for that reason. I'm not sure I found purpose in any. If everyone were all "happy as kings" then I'm not too sure anything would ever be done in the world. Never being satisfied is what drives people to do things, but that could a problem as well.
]]>This story is haunting, it reminds you that animals are sometimes more adapted to survive in the wild. That when humans travel in to such conditions that we are now in their territory. It gives you a sense of respect for the wild, and is very humbling. Humans feel like they are superior to all, Jack London always reminds us that sometimes we're not.
]]>Satire is one of my favorite forms of literature, but after reading this chapter I realized that Juvenalian satire is my favorite form of satire. This section also reminded me of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This is an excellent book about opposing censorship and Fascist ideals. Bradbury uses this style to make you feel outrage but yet instill fear of what might become of mankind.
]]>The willingness for the grandmother to try to find the good in this man who she has just realized is an escaped criminal is incredible. This is what is interesting in O'Connor she always seems to make you know and understand the people you are supposed to hate. The grandmother realizes that they most likely won't live but yet she is trying to get to know the Misfit. Yet the Misfit and his accomplice's still go on to kill a family of basically good people. It is pretty easy to see that this family did not deserve to meet the end that they do.
]]>When it comes to F. Scott Fitzgerald the talk is always about how rhythmically the story flows, especially since he wrote during and about the Jazz Age. Yet, something I noticed when I was reading "Bernice" again was that Fitzgerald begins the story describing "the waves" of the caddies’ heads moving about the country club at night. Then, again, when describing the scene between Marjorie and Bernice at breakfast he describes the scene as, "Misty waves were passing before Bernice's eyes..."
I started thinking of the story as an ocean and how at the beginning "the waves" of the caddies' heads would be seen as calm even from afar and even if the caddies were moving quickly, just as the waves at night on the ocean. Then during the first conflict between Marjorie and Bernice, Fitzgerald describes "Misty waves" which I imagine to be a little higher. The waves now are growing.
Finally, at the end of the story, there is no mention of waves in the text but by now I can picture them. After Bernice returns home from bobbing her hair and is alone in her room with Marjorie, I think of this as the calm before the storm, the only pharse Bernice keeps repeating is, "Sall right," then finally the wave peaks (I picture this wave to be a Big Wave, like a 100 ft wave) when Bernice clenches her fists. Then the wave falls quickly, within 45 minutes she is packed and cutting off Marjorie's pigtail. Finally, the wave slams down hard when she throws the hair onto Warren's porch and with a slight thud, Bernice has made the loudest statement of all.
Jay Gatsby is one of my favorite characters of all time. The mystique of Gatsby that is there throughout chapters 1-3 and then somewhat there in 4-6 is the best part of The Great Gatsby. I don't think any of the decisions Gatsby makes make him less of a man. He loved Daisy with everything in him, all he wanted to do was protect her. I think Tom and Daisy are the most despicable. I still think he is the Great Gatsby
]]>"I'm (The Great) Gatsby"
This blog is for chapters 1-3 of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Master of Imagery
This blog is for chapters 4-6 of F. Scott Fitzgearld's The Great Gatsby
The Watch Guard of Peace Time
This blog is for chapters 7-9 of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
Dear Fat Stevens
This blog is for the section on Wallace Stevens.
The Impulsive World
This blog is on Elmer L. Rice's The Adding Machine
Judith Oster's "'On Desert Places'"
This blog is about Judith Oster's essay of Robert Frost's On Desert Places
Depth
Closed Case?
This is about Susan Glaspell's Trifles, one of my favorite one act plays.
My Own America
Our book Six American Poets stated that William Carlos Williams connects with the younger crowd and I found that I could identify with him easily.
Frost "Mending Wall" and "After Apple-Picking"
I had never read "Mending Wall" before and I felt that I really understood it well.
Interaction
Comment on Matt's blog
Matt always has great agenda items that result in great discussions.
Comment on Shanelle's blog
Shanelle brings up a great point on Glaspell's Trifles.
Discussions
Closed Case?
This blog turned out to be a great discussion on Glaspell's Trifles
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Master of Imagery
This was a great discussion on the Imagery in The Great Gatsby
Timeliness
The Impulsive World
This is on Elmer L. Rice's The Adding Machine.
Judith Oster "On 'Desert Places'"
Wasn't the most insightful of blogs but was on time.
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Master of Imagery
I posted this two days early and ended up with a great discussion.
Xenoblogging
Comment on Matt's blog
The great discussion that was on this blog made everyone involved understand the play better I think.
Wildcard
New Age Writing
Reading Lehman's "The World Trade Center" sparked a thought in me.
Up until the end of chapter 6 the love Gatsby has for Dasiy is only understood. The flashback (if you can call it that) that Nick tells of the two shows this love. It is an amazing thing to have a love that is so strong that every "important" thought is forgot. I've never read a passage in any novel, drama, or poem that has better captured that moment.
]]>Finally we find out who this legend of a man is. Gatsby seems to me to be what every man dreams he can be one day. Rich, powerful, and has plenty of toys (hydroplane, my personal favorite). Gatsby is a definite connoisseur of life. He is an expert of living life to the fullest. I really like this book so far.
]]>I think that this is a feeling that more and more citizens are beginning to have because many are from "mixed race" backgrounds, I know I feel the same way as Williams. I think that I know where he is coming from so I think I can understand and feel his poems more than I could Stevens. On an ending note: his mother's name is really long (Raquel Helene Rose Hobeb Williams).
]]>I agree with Shanelle that I am somewhat lost reading Stevens work. I like to find some meaning in what I am reading. If there is no meaning what purpose does it have of ever being written in the first place? I enjoy Stevens poems but I really don't understand his words.
]]>Zero later goes on to say, "I'd get found out though. They always have ways." This is the first time we learn of his homicidal thoughts but yet logic keeps control of his mind and he realizes that he would be caught. This shows that the decision to kill his boss is purely on impulse.
]]>This play is very cynical and the men have a sarcastic attitude towards the women. They think that they are superior and smarter but they do not solve the case, it is the women who figure it out. They are too busy looking for clues where clues don't exsist. The women find clues and slowly piece it together. I think that Mrs. Wright is going to get away with the murder because it is the women that figure out what happened. The women in the play have a lot of sympathy toward Mrs. Wright, especially Mrs. Hale who is upset that she hadn't gone to visit Mrs. Wright more often. It's great that Glaspell left the ending open to so much interpretation.
]]>This really made me think, to a poet speaking to the world is their entire purpose in life. So, when they run out of things to say what else is there left for them to do. Hemingway is one of my favorite writers, I never thought of him in that way.
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