American Lit: What's your thought?

“If he wasn’t a chaplain [...] I’d have him taken outside and shot.” THis quote came from chapter 25 pg 290

This quote really shocked me because it finalized my idea that it seems as if no one respects the Chaplain. No matter what he does they find some fault in his action or completely pushes over him. The chaplain is slowly losing his faith in the whole system and himself as a man of God. What will happen to the Chaplain as the story continues? Will he regain his trust and faith, or will he completely give up?

via Heller, Catch-22 (25-30).

Joseph Heller uses repetition quite frequently in works to express some sort of satire or irony I believe. There are several instances in which characters in this novel can be seen having conversations with their superior officers with several lines repeating the same information or idea. For example on page 139 the discussion between  Major De Coverley and Milo regarding the hard boiled egg. What is the significance of Heller’s use of repetition? What does he hope to accomplish in these scenes where repetition just makes the characters appear to be somewhat stupid?

via Heller, Catch-22 (11-24).

Symbolism, theme, metaphor, and simile. These are some of the many factors we look for as we close read a piece of literary work. This semester we looked at several works of literature including works of poetry, drama, short stories, and more, while applying close reading skills and techniques to each work. This portfolio shows what we have seen and analyzed from the works of several authors.

Depth:

This section of the portfolio is meant to show my ability to create profound blog entries that show more than doing the bare minimum of the assignment. These ideas are meant to show my interpretation of a piece of work with support and an ability to inspire discussion. I personally find that many of my ideas I share during class discussions where I can have a flowing discussion without having to wait maybe hours for a reply. While I do not often create large blog entries in which I share my ideas with others I believe I displayed some instance of depth when I analyzed Francie and how Smith wanted to portray to portray her character. Also my analysis of Johnny showed my opinion of Johnny through my interpretation of the reading.

Interaction:

Expanding and acknowledging the views of our classmates is the purpose of this section of the portfolio. In this section we are meant to communicate with other students regarding their views or analysis of a work. I find that this section can be difficult because of the lack of tying the other blogs together. These are instances where I displayed interaction with my fellow classmates. Sissy, Mark of Greatness, and Portfolio 1.

Discussion:

While this section may seem similar to the previous one, here is where we gather to talk about our different views and opinions regarding a work. This section is important, but I find that the discussion I encounter in class is more effective due to the immediate responses I receive and give. I find that holding discussions online is difficult unless people are online at the same time, because the discussion easily falls apart if one does not check their blogs frequently. I find that I gain more from physically talking with my classmates during class than through the blogs. While I do not have many examples I partook in discussions: Importance of a plant, and, Mark of Greatness.

Timeliness:

This section is pretty straightforward in which I show works that I have done on time or earlier. While I may not submit my work, days before it is due I never submit my work minutes before class starts. These are examples in which I submitted my work on time Prometheus, and Grandma’s struggle.

Coverage:

This section is meant to hold all excess works we have that do not fit into any of the categories listed above. These are examples of assignments I completed in class and chose to put in this section. Alternate ending, Search for evidence, Summer Read

In Heller, Catch-22 (1-10) I noticed this passage:

“It turned out to be love at first sight. The first time Yossarian saw the Chaplain he fell madly in love with him.”

In all honesty this opening confused me and got me thinking “what am I about to read?” I first thought Chaplain was the name of a character, until i looked it up after seeing it used so many times. There are so many characters coming in and out the story it becomes kind of confusing. However my greatest question is why does the author begin this novel with this sentence, only to mention the chaplain again for the first time several pages later.

a Heller, Catch-22 (1-10).

In Cardullo, O’Neill’s THE HAIRY APE I noticed this passage:

“ A character named Knowledge leads Everyman to Confession, who prepares Everyman’s soul for death, and the only character who actually follows Everyman into the grave is Good Deeds (that is, the acts of charity and piety that Everyman has accomplished during his life).”

Reading Cardullo’s article on The Hairy Ape i found myself confused by the reference to Medieval drama. I could not find the correlation between futurism and this passage dedicated to this medieval drama The Station of Crosses.

via Cardullo, O’Neill’s THE HAIRY APE.

In Hansberry, A Rasin in the Sun I noticed this passage:

“George: Thanks. Good Night. (Half out the door.he reopens it. To Walter)Good night, Prometheus!”

Before this scene Walter and George spent a considerable amount of time arguing amongst each other. I found it strange that as George leaves he calls Walter Prometheus. Prometheus was a titan in greek mythology and was known as a champion of mankind for giving them fire.

Upon being called this Walter immediately thought he was being insulted, and i did at first only briefly hearing this name before, and not knowing much of anything about greek mythology. After researching who Prometheus is I wonder why would George call walter Prometheus instead of something like neanderthal as a response to what he considered to be Walter’s ignorance. What is the significance of his final words to Walter?

via Hansberry, A Rasin in the Sun.

In O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” I noticed this passage:

“Thats’s perfectly alright ,” the grandmother said. “Maybe Bailey has an extra shirt i his suitcase.”

I found this passage to be very disturbing because here is this family being held hostage with a famous and dangerous escaped convict, and the grandmother is here helping him get new clothes. She does not seem to care about the fact that her grandchildren and son are being carried off into the forest only to be killed.

This could be seen as the grandmothers selfishness and own need for self preservation. She is trying to appeal to the Misfit not questioning his actions and helping him until her own life becomes in danger. I found it disgusting that she could talk to this man about such a trivial matter as shirts while her grandchildren are in the hands of this madman.

via O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”.

A good thesis statement is concise and clear. It is the point of your paper and should clearly state what exactly it is you are writing about regarding the topic. One does not include data or reasoning in the thesis, this information is given in the body. In this course now I also learned that when writing a thesis it should be as precise as possible cutting out as much of the extra information as possible.

via Paper 1 Thesis Workshop.

The dreaded summer read. This is the action that many students either accomplish or completely ignore depending on how appealing the book can be. I believe that “A Tree Grows In Brooklyn” would be a good summer read, not only because of its ability to draw readers into Francie’s life, but it also brings up several topics that can be mulled over by ones self or in class. There are several scenes in the book that can bring up disagreement students reading this book besides ” This book was good.” or “This book sucked.” The struggles we see from Francie can be related to real life and many of may have experienced something or feelings similar to Francie, making it feel like more of a pleasure read than a forced reading.

As Katie unveils the circumstances in which she can only send one child to high school, it obviously becomes clear to Francie who will go to school, Neeley. Upon hearing this Francie disagrees and approaches her mother regarding her choice.

During Francies debate with her mother the qestion can be asked is she acting like a child or is she acting like an adult?

Betty Smith uses this scenario to remind readers that Francie is still a child from my view. In this scene we have a child being denied something they’ve wanted for so long only for it to be given to someone who does not even want it or appreciate it. Francie approaches her mother and throws a child like temper tantrum we do not usually see with Francie.

Francie reverts back to being a child in which she cries, begs and screams at her mother. Francie is forced to act like an adult living in the working world, but here she we see her for what she really is. A child wanting to be just that, a child. Upon hearing her mother’s decision, one she already knew, Francie sheds tears and claims there will be a day she will run away and never come back. This is the one claim unique among all children, the claim to run away when they feel they have been wronged by their parents.

via Agree to Disagree.