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October 31, 2005
Huck Finn
Clemens, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Finish) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
I liked that in chapter 42 they talked about Jim and the fact that he was "worth a thousand dollars - and kind treatment too." He stayed to help Tom Sawyer when he was wounded. Basically what the book is saying is that if he was as bad as black people were made out to be at that time, he would not have given his time to help. I think that this is just another example in the book that shows that the motive behind this book was not racism, but a way of showing the good side of black people in that time period because that was not done very often.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:36 PM | Comments (6)
October 26, 2005
Huckleberry Finn Intro
Smith, H.N. ''Introduction to AHF" (pp 323-344) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
While I was reading the introduction on pages 324-325 it talked about Jim and how he was freed from slavery. On her deathbed Miss Watson said that he was free. Also it says that Jim gives up his chance to freedom when he stays with Tom who is wounded. I think that these are both examples of how Jim's purpose in the story was for more than an african american man in slavery. Jim is doing what it right by staying with Tom. On page 325 it says "Mark Twain consummates Jim's dignity by giving him an opportunity to make a heroic sacrifice of himself." This is not in line with the historical ideas of slavery, Mark Twain is showing that Jim is a good person.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:58 AM | Comments (3)
Huckleberry Finn
I just retyped this because I'm an idiot and typed my blog in the comment section of the page.
"Those who brand the book racist generally do so wihtout having considered the specific form of racial discourse to which the novel responds."
I chose this line because of what we talked about in class and whether this would be controversial in a classroom. In this book i think that the character of Jim is at times treated badly, but he is never beaten or hurt like a slave. I think that if the book were using the character of Jim in a racist way, the relationship between Huck and Jim would have been very different. Instead, Huck treats Jim as one of his friends (most of the time).
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:37 AM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2005
Huckleberry Finn
Clemens, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (to Ch 24) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
I really like reading this book so far, it is a very nice change from the other texts we have been reading in class. I also really like the fact that the dialogue is very forward. There are not layers of symbolism that need to be uncovered just to get the basics of the story. One part that I really liked so far was in chapter five. I really liked the fact that he is no longer scared of his father. Huck says, "I used to be scared of him all the time, he tanned me so much. I reckoned I was scared now, too; but in a minute I see I was mistaken." I thought that this really showed how Huck knows that he can take care of himself. It if funny that Huck is everything that his father cannot even come close to being and that really bothers his father. Huck is willing to do anything just to spite his father and show him that he can do anything. I am interested to read the rest of the book, it seems like there are so many little adventures throughout the book.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 11:08 PM | Comments (3)
October 12, 2005
Dickinson Selections 2
Emily Dickinson (selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
"Inebriate of air am I,
And debauchee of dew,
Reeling, through the endless summer days,
From inns of molten blue."
I chose this line because it describes the fact that in the poem she is talking about what effect nature has on her. She likes it so much that she describes it as being drunk when she is experiencing it. In this line she is saying that she effected by the air and the dew.
"And neigh like Boanerges;
Then, punctual as a star,
Stop -- docile and omnipotent --
At its own stable door."
I am a little confused by this poem. I get that she is comparing it to a horse. She is explaining the train as a strong and powerful creature. If anyone can help me figure out what the main concept of the poem is I would appreciate it.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 2:08 AM | Comments (2)
Dickinson Selections
Emily Dickinson (selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
"His quaint opinions to inspect,
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;"
This poem was about a "him" that was taking people on these journies through what he had written. The "him" that takes people on these journies is a book. I liked this quote just because it talked about him as this very intelligent being that had so much knowledge about everyday things. He was so valuable to people. I really liked that the him was a book. That is the truth, once you start a really good book, its like it takes you in and takes you to another place.
"I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were give."
In the first part of this poem she says that even though she has never seen the moor or the sea, she knows that it is there. Then she goes on to talk about God. She is basically saying that she knows that there is a God and she knows that there is a heaven, even though she has not seen it. However, even though she knows it exists she does not have to believe in it and what it teaches.
http://www.online-literature.com/dickinson/ I found this website. It is just some background information on Dickinson, along with access to some of her other works.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 1:11 AM | Comments (1)
October 9, 2005
Poe Poems
Edgar Allen Poe (selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
Epigram for Wall street
For this poem I chose the line, "take a bank note and fold it up, and then you will find your money in creases!" I thought that this poem was very interesting in relation to the way that we think of money today. Everything in society is so centered around money. Poe is using his humor and basically saying that the best way to make money is to save what you have and not be so greedy that you are always trying to make more money.
To Science
For this poem I chose the line, "The gentle Naiad from her fountain-flood? The elfin from the green grass? and from me the summer dream beneath the shrubbery?" This poem is talking about how the author dislikes science and the industrial revolution, and what it is doing to the world around him. He is saying that the rise of science has pushed everything out of its natural home. The last line says that with the rise of science, even the poet cannot relax under the trees and dream.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 11:30 PM | Comments (3)
The Raven
Edgar Allen Poe (selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
By the time I was finished reading this poem all I thought was how sad and lonely he was throughout the entire poem. I chose the line, "And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door, that I scarce was sure I heard you - here I opened wide the door - darkness there and nothing more." I chose this line because it really showed how much he missed his lost love Lenore. When he opens the door and does not see anything but darkness, he is lonely. It seems as though he was hoping to see Lenore, and all that was there was darkness.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 10:44 PM | Comments (3)
October 5, 2005
Walden Selections
For my agenda item I chose a line from chapter 13, paragraph 14. "It is remakable what a value is still put upon wood even in this age and in this new country, a value more permenant and universal than that of gold."
I chose this quote because it showed how he is proving his point in this reading. He knows that without wood he could not have survived in the woods for this long. He uses it for everything from keeping warm to cooking his food. He relates this to the fact that society depends on wood just as much as he does, which shows that his stay in the woods is really not all that absurd. He shows this by his quote, "After all of our discoveries and inventions no man will go by a pile of wood." He is relating his experiences in the woods to the life of those people in the village.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 2:40 PM | Comments (2)
October 3, 2005
Sounds
Thoreau, Walden (1854; selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
I chose the line, "In truth our villiage has become a butt for one of those fleet railroad shafts, and o'er our peaceful plain its soothing sound is - Concord."
In this line he is showing how when the society industrialized it changed everything. He says even from his house in the woods he is still able to hear the whistle of the train. I feel like he understands that some things have to improve, but he is almost resentful about the fact that everything keeps growing because he wants to keep one small piece of where he lives.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 6:31 AM | Comments (2)
Thoreau, Walden (1854; selections) -- American Literature, 1800-1915 (EL 266)
In chapter 2 I chose the line, "I went into the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
I thought that this quote really helped to illustrate the fact that he went into the woods to get away from the life in the industrializing society, and become more in tune with nature. He is also saying that the reason that he came to live where he lives is because he does not want to regret living somewhere else and not seeing everything that there is to see.
I found this website about Thoreau and I thought that it my be helpful to understand him better as a writer.
http://eserver.org/thoreau/default.html
Posted by StacyEstatico at 6:17 AM | Comments (1)
October 1, 2005
Blog Portfolio
I have chosen the following entries to be a part of my blog portfolio. Since this is my first time blog portfolio it may be a little rough.
Coverage: I chose these entries because they showed how I used the reading to really understand what the author was trying to get across.
The Scarlet Letter Chapters 14-21
Hawthorne Chapters 1-7
Bartleby and the Customs House
Writing About Literature
Depth: I chose this entry because I used outside information to get a better idea about the characters in the story.
The Scarlet Letter
Interaction:I chose these entries because they showed that I put effort into reading my peers agenda items and responding to them.
Customs House vs Bartleby
Dimmesdale is Dead?
Another Pearl of Wisdom
Discussions:This shows that I responded to what my peers have commented to me on my agenda items.
The Scarlet Letter 22-24
The Scarlet Letter
(because I made a mistake when responding to Lauren's comment, I made my discussion a new blog entry so the above two links are all one discussion.)
The Yellow Wallpaper
Timeliness
The Scarlet Letter 22-24
Mistress Hibbins
Xenoblogging: I chose two entries where I was the first person to respond to anothe person's agenda item and one entry where I found a link useful to the reading.
The Comment Primo
The Scarlet Letter 14-21
Another Pearl of Wisdom
The Comment Informative
The Scarlet Letter
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:38 AM | Comments (0)
Writing About Literature
In this chapter I learned that when I read I need to focus more on the depth of what I am reading rather than just being able to read and answer questions from the back of a book. This is how we were taught to read in high school. After reading this chapter I know more of what I need to look for when I am reading.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:34 AM | Comments (0)
Success
For this poem I chose the line " Success is counted sweetest by thoe who ne'er succeed." It think that this is the basis for the entire poem. Dickinson is saying that you cannot truely appreciate success unless you have been in the position where you have not succeeded.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:30 AM | Comments (0)
Poe Sonnet to Science
For this entry I chose the line "Why preyest thou thus upon the poet's heart" I chose this because I thought that it showed that the author is has very strong emotions to this subject. He is very uneasy about Science (the Industrial Revolution)and what it is going to do to the way of life.
Posted by StacyEstatico at 9:25 AM | Comments (0)