February 2005 Archives

So what's the deal with this "oh we're going to get 10 inches of snow!" ?

So far it's not even sticking to the roads. Not that I'm complaining, I hate snow, but is there really a need for the hype?

So, in essence, I'm asking what the deal with meteorologists and forecasters is?

Why are the wrong, it seems, all the time!? Are they relying to much on technology to predict the weather? This dopplar radar thing doesn't seem to precise, if you ask me.

Yet, we listen to them, and we get all hyped up hoping for a dely or dreading the commute to school or work. I just don't understand it. I don't know weather to be happy there's no snow since I hate it, or be mad because that's all people talk about when the news predicts a massive snowfall.

Is anybody else feelin' me on this topic?

(Man, what a load of questions this was!)

Machinal is a modern age tragedy of isolation turned to murder. The play, Sophie Treadwell said, is about "a young woman, ready, eager for life, for love...but deadened, squeezed, crushed by the machine like quality of the life surrounding." Loosely based on the sensational 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder, Treadwell uses this scenario as a springboard for her own speculations about what circumstances might drive a seemingly harmless stenographer to commit murder.

(excerpt taken from the-hypocrites.com)

I've found that the title is actually pronounced "mock-en ahl" here. If you think differently, don't take my word for it, that's just what I discovered!

I definitely agree with John, Machinal vey much reminded me of The Adding Machine from a female's point of view.

I feel really redundant by saying this, but I think Helen's machine-like qualities played off the fact that in the 1920's the same things were expected from all women. I was pleased to see that Kristen agreed with me.

I know all of these stories are from the same time period, but I think the main "theme" (not really the right word, but it's the first that comes to mind...I'm at a loss) of these stories relates to the roles men and women played in the 1920's. There really wasn't room for advancement. Everybody had their set ways of living, they didn't really know things could be different....that or they were too busy doing the Charleston.

I figured out how to get my blog back up at least.

. . .deleted the main index and the archive templates and saved them with no coding, rebuilt that blank save, then went back in and pasted in the original templates from moveabletype.org and now my blog looks like this. w00t.

urgh!

At least I can post entries and get comments now! Who cares that my blog looks like....shit. *ahem* I DO. haha.

Major thanks to Karissa for at least trying to help me! =) My blog was very far gone, I feel stupid that I didn't think of doing what I just did earlier!

Now let's see if we can make it pretty again. *holds breath*

......

I'm re-designing my blog and I'm really having some problems here. MoveableType does not like me at all. If anybody can give me codes I'd appriciate it.

First of all, my comment links at the bottom of my entries are, well, GONE as you can see.

I don't want that 10 most recent entries in each entry, I want it on the side

Clearly you guys can't comment so E-mail me: sunandstorm@aol.com or IM me, same name.

KARISSA! I'm stealing you after class on Thursday so you can help me!

I read The Great Gatsby about 5 years ago in my 9th grade honors cultures class. When I started reading it I found myself very confused. Now that I'm reading it for a second time (having forgotten small details of the story) I'm confused yet again. I love Fitzgerald's writing, he's so descriptive-- but the characters personalities just seem to flip flop around everywhere. For a second Daisy seems like a total moron, then she doesn't. Why she's married to Tom when he seems like a complete bastard is beyond me. I remember loving the story, it's one of my favorites....but now that I'm older I'm finding a lot of things even MORE confusing than before. I guess I just need to keep reading again.

Portrayal of Women in “A Jury of Her Peers”

In the early 1900s, it was common knowledge that women were homemakers. Their daily lives consisted of cooking, cleaning, tending to the children, and other basic chores in the house. The women were usually uneducated because they were married at such a young age. The men were the workers and the brains of the town. Women accepted this because they did not know any better. To them, that was how life was for all American woman. Wives obeyed their husbands because they were the dominant figure in the family. Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers” is a 1917 short story that paints a perfect picture of the treatment women received in the early 1900s.

The story is set in Dickson County, a small and quiet country town. Martha Hale and the sheriff’s wife, Mrs. Peters, accompany their husbands to the Wright’s house, their long-time neighbors. The sheriff is investigating the house because Mr. Wright had been murdered, and Mrs. Wright is the prime subject. The sheriff asks Mr. Hale to come along because he visited the Wright’s house the previous morning to ask Mr. Wright a question. After Mr. Hale answers some questions, the sheriff decides to continue investigation upstairs where Mr. Wright was found in bed with a rope around his neck. Mr. Hale asks the sheriff if he’s certain there is no evidence in the kitchen. The sheriff says, “Nothing here but kitchen things.” Glaspell writes that the sheriff replies “with a little laugh for the insignificance on kitchen things.” This is a glimpse of how men viewed the work women did as inferior and unimportant.

In almost all of the conversation between the men in the story, there are comments made that criticize and somewhat mock the women. A few lines later in the story, when the sheriff accidentally places his hand in a sticky fruit mess. The wives explain that Mrs. Wright was worried about her jars of fruit bursting from the cold. The men in the room all laugh and Mr. Hale says, “Women are used to worrying over trifles.” Any women who has ever canned fresh fruit knows how much work it takes, it certainly would not be a “trifle” to Mrs. Wright. The men have no idea how long and tedious canning fruit is, so they have no regard for the effort. Further on in the same conversation, a few comments are made about Mrs. Wright being a bad housekeeper because her towels are dirty. The men expect everything to be perfect, and if it’s not, that automatically makes women bad housekeepers.

The men instruct the women to stay downstairs while they proceed to go upstarts. At this point in the story, the county attorney says, “...no telling; you women might come upon a clue to the motive- and that’s the thing we need.” Mr. Hale responds to this comment by saying, “But would the women know a clue if they did come upon it?” Naturally, anything remotely suspicious could be a clue, and anybody with common sense could pick out something suspicious or out of the ordinary. Mr. Hale, as well as the rest of the men think of the women as less intelligent because they spend their days in the house, therefor housework is the only subject they’re familiar with. Which, in the case of this story, is totally ironic because it’s the women who wind up finding the most important clues.

While the men are upstairs the women poke about the house, discussing the condition of things and the murder. The women come upon individual quilt squares, and Mrs. Hale asked Mrs. Peters, “Do you suppose she [Mrs. Wright] was going to quilt it or just knot it?” The sheriff overheard the question when walking down the steps, and he sarcastically exclaims, “They wonder whether she was going to quilt it or just knot it!” The question is perfectly sensible between two women making conversation in a strange environment. The sheriff looked at the question as meaningless. The rest of the way through the story there are similar shots made to the women.

The majority of the story is the women finding evidence and eventually solving the murder on their own, they never do tell their husbands what they found. They discovered Mrs. Wright killed her husband because she was miserable, and he was more than likely rude and abusive. There is a sense of understanding in the women. They live with men who look down on them as well. Mrs. Peters says to Mrs. Hale, “It’s a good thing the men couldn’t hear us! Getting all stirred up over a little thing like a–dead canary...as if that could have anything to do with–with–my, wouldn’t they laugh?”

At the end of the story, the men turn up with nothing and the women solve the case themselves. The county attorney says at the end, “At least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to– what is it you call it ladies?” “We call it–knot it, Mr. Henderson,” says Mrs. Hale.

“A Jury of Her Peers” shows perfectly the way women were treated in the early 1900s. The story also shows how obedient the women were, even though they realized their mistreatment. No doubt that men were the dominant figure in almost every American family during that time. Thankfully, nowadays women have more rights and opportunity. Even though there is not total equality, women are no longer afraid to compete with men and speak their minds. I know Glaspell would be thrilled to know the nature of men and women in this day and age.

Wow. I just finished reading "A Jury of Her Peers" -a short story written by Susan Glaspell. I have A LOT to say about this story but I really don't want to write much just yet, because I have a feeling I'm going to write my close reading essay on this story, and I don't want to give away what I have to say.

I think the story was wonderful, and very original. I'm usually pretty good at predicting plot outcomes, but not in this story. A lot of twists and turns for a short story.

I loved the connection between the women in the story. I always felt women had a special bond with one another, something men couldn't really understand. Sexist of me? Maybe? eh! Anyway....

I also thought the underlying messages in the story were great, and very true for the time period the story was set in. I imagined a few know-it-all hillbillyish men trying to crack this case, all the while poking fun at the women, and reguarding them as uncapeable of doing anything well but cooking and cleaning. The end of the story proved otherwise.

Well, I'm finding myself with a lot to say already, but I caught myself. More on this story to come at the end of the week AFTER I turn in my close reading, unless I decide to do it on one of the other two stories we read.

"Bernice Bobs Her Hair" (F. Scott Fitzgerald) is a short story I've read for Dr. Jerz's American Literature 1915-Present course. Several future entries will also contain reflections on stories read for this course.

Short story. Big message.

I really enjoyed this story, because I can relate to it. I'm sure everybody goes through a point in life where they feel inadequate. (Some of us go through it every day, hah!) This story has such a simple message, but it's an extremely important one.

The main character, Bernice, grows and develops the entire way through the story. Here is a broad explanation of the plot:

Bernice is visiting her cousin Marjorie, a very popular girl and wise in the way of gaining men's attention. Bernice sees her behavior as unfeminine and distasteful. After a rousing roast by Marjorie, Bernice believes there are many improvements she needs to make in her appearance and personality. She decides to let Marjorie be her "coach" the remainder of the visit.

After teaching Bernice everything she knows, Marjorie is pleased with her creation. Bernice is finally capturing the attention of men. What Marjorie quickly realizes is that Bernice is stealing her thunder. Warren McIntyre is Marjorie's puppet. She believes no other girl has any interest in him, and that she can be with as many men as she wants and Warren will still follow her around.

Until Warren took a liking to Bernice, that is. Before a party, Marjorie tells Bernice she should forget about Warren, that he doesn't care about her. Bernice knew Marjorie was upset because Warren was "her property"

All through the story Bernice tells everybody she is going to have her hair bobbed. It was simply a line she and Marjorie cooked up to capture people's attention and start a conversation. To get back at Bernice, Marjorie calls her bluff in front of everybody at the party. Bernice is then forced to go to the barber and have her hair bobbed to probe she isn't all talk.

Well, the haircut is awful, completely ugly. Everybody in the barber shop sees it. Bernice followed through just to prove a point to Marjorie. It turns out that there's another small twist to the story, but you can read it and find out! I personally feel it's not that important. Just adds a higher shock-factor.

That night, Marjorie pokes fun at Bernice some more, and she decides to go home. Before she leaves, she cuts both of Marjorie's braids off while she's sleeping. As Bernice is dashing down the road, she passes Warren's house and flings the braids on his porch. -----

I probably will not write out the plot for future reflections, but this was such a short story, and I feel it would be very confusing to somebody who hasn't read the story to understand the reflection.

As I said before, the message in this story is so important and classic. To thine own self be true. I got the impression that Bernice honestly felt that there was nothing wrong with her, and there wasn't. Just because she didn't attract attention does not mean she was an undesirable person. The things Marjorie thought to be important were, in reality, very UNimportant and catty. I also think that the story shows the difference in the time periods. To most women now education IS very important and a wonderful thing to discuss with men, because I feel any sensible person, male or female, values a good education.

I also felt the story followed the movie pretty well. Granted the physical descriptions of Bernice and Marjorie were different. Of course, I noticed a lot more detail in the book. Warren's thoughts and feeling were more important in the story than in the movie.

I loved the story, short and sweet, great message, very well written. I'm a fan of Fitzgerald's work. I loved The Great Gatsby when I read it for honors cultures in 9th grade. His writing is so descriptive. I definitely recommend "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" to anybody looking for an excellent, quick read.