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January 31, 2007

My eyes are now open!!

Foster (6-9, 11, 14) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"More common than titles are situations and quotations." "But even I can sometimes recognize a biblical allusion"

I am Christian. I believe in the Bible and everything it has to say. However, one thing that occurred to me as I was reading Chapter 7 of Foster, is that I never really sat and looked at the Bible as purely literature. After reading this chapter, I began to look back on things that I have read or watched TV and realized that Foster is right. So many things that I have read over the years can be argued that they are based on a bible story. The Bible is an absolutely brilliant piece of literature. The stories are good, and interesting, and contain symbolism and similes and metaphors, vivid descriptions, and they they have morals.. I really have never thought of the Bible in such a way. Foster also says that even if you're not a Bible scholar, you are likely to recognize an allusion to the Bible. He is very right. The Bible MIGHT actually be the most easily recognized allusion an author can use (of course this is my opinion). I'd actually be interested in doing a survey of some sort to see how many allusions to Bible stories people would actually recognize. I'm definately going to keep this in mind for a project later on down the road. Once more, Foster pulls through on stating the obvious and opening my eyes!

Posted by CheraPupi at 1:34 PM | Comments (3)

January 30, 2007

I know her!!

O'Connor, ''A Good Man is Hard to Find'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"The horrible thought she had before the accident was that the house she had remembered so vividly was not in Georgia but in Tennessee."

As I was reading this story, Foster's idea of, "Where have I seen her before?" popped into my head. The grandmother, with her manipulative and sometimes just plain goofy ways seemed so familiar to me. It is so ironic that she keeps repeating that, "Good men are hard to find," yet she tells anyone she wants to please how "good" they are. Then I realized. I HAVE seen this character before. Many times. For one, I'm convinced that Flannery O'Connor based the character on MY grandma. But then I thought of Golden Girls. Isn't she just like Sophia? It might just be me, and you can disagree if you want, but I know I've seen her before.

Posted by CheraPupi at 1:45 PM | Comments (2)

January 29, 2007

Symbol, what symbol?

Foster (Ch 12 and Interlude [p. 183]) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

Here's the problem with symbols: people expect them to mean something...So some symbols do have a relatively limited range of meanings, but in general a symbol can't be reduced to standing for only one thing.If they can,it's not symbolism, it's allegory
.

I used to struggle with symbolism. I couldn't understand how people were able to pick out exactly what a symbol stood for, especially since so many authors are no longer around to ask.Not only that, but most of the time I didn't even recognize that something WAS a symbol. I have gotten better at it over the years, but Foster made me feel MUCH better. I know what a symbol is, and I know what an allegory is, but I never considered that if a symbol has ONE meaning, then its an allegory. It makes complete sense.

Posted by CheraPupi at 4:47 PM | Comments (3)

Help! What's Hamlet got to do with it?

Eliot, ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

<blockquote>"Disturb the Universe?
In a minute there is time"

This line really hit me. This past Wednesday, a girl from my home town area died in a car crash. She was 17 and three other 17 year olds in the car are in critical care and in comas. We always think we have more time--"in a minute" we'll do this or that. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.


As far as the poem goes, does anyone understand the allusion to Hamlet? I've read it about 20 timses and still have NO idea what it's talking about.

Posted by CheraPupi at 4:16 PM | Comments (4)

January 26, 2007

Who can say?

Foster (19,20) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Who can say how much of us comes from our physical surroundings?"

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in the nature vs. nurture theories. Foster has a really good point and does a really good job of conveying it. Geography is VERY important, in life and literature. In "Trifles", geography is very important. Mrs. Hale even feels that way when she says that there was just something about the Wright house that kept her away--"Maybe it was because it's down in a hollow and you don't see the road." Minnie is all alone, all day long in a very secluded home. John makes sure to keep it that way--he doesn't want a phone and he doesn't want her to have a bird. Minnie kills him for trying to take away the one thing that eased the pain of seclusion and loneliness. Had they lived in a town or city, surrounded by people and neighbors, things would have been much different.

Posted by CheraPupi at 8:42 PM | Comments (5)

GO Mrs. Hale!!

Glaspell, ''Trifles'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

COUNT ATTORNEY [Facetiously]: Well, Henry, at least we found out that she was not going to quilt it. She was going to--what is it you call it, ladies?

MRS HALE [Her hand against her pocket.] We call it--knot it, Mr. Henderson.

This is the 2nd time I have read this play, and this time, I picked up on a few little symbolic meanings that I hadn't previously thought of. I LOVE Mrs. Hale in this play. I think it's awesome that she's not passive and submissive like Mrs. Peters. She is a strong female character--which I always enjoy. All throughout the play I just wanted to punch the County Attorney in the face. Not only was he rude and insulting to every woman in this play, but he also insults their intelligence thinking that they aren't even bright enough to pick up on the fact that he's making fun of them. So I think it's hilarious that the WOMEN were the ones who found the clues, found the bird, and as a result, found the motive. Glaspell ended this play with perfect irony--Mrs. Hale saying, "Knot it.." The rope was knotted around Mr. Right's neck, and they're KNOT telling that they know why! (pun totally intended)

Posted by CheraPupi at 8:25 PM | Comments (8)

January 25, 2007

Wow, I didn't know I knew that!

Foster (1-3, 5) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"The real reason for the quest never involves the stated reason."

As Maggie mentioned in her blog, a lot of the things Foster mentions are common sense. Being that this is the 3rd time I have had to read this book, I have definately seen this material before. Still, I think that it's very useful. Sometimes you need someone to bring something up in order to know you know it (got that?). For example, how many times do we see dinner scenes in movies or on TV? Too many to count. Have you ever thought about them? Like have you ever taken time to sit down and think of the significance of a dinner scene? I certainly haven't! I watch it and enjoy it. Still, after reading chapter 2, I realize that I obviously know there's more to dinner scenes than eating. The same goes with the idea of the quest. The fact that the quest never involves the reason stated is common knowledge. This works with any time there is any type of conflict in any type of story...even movies! So many times the character goes somewhere or does something that they believe is right, only to have it blow up in their face later on. Of course if this weren't the case, there'd be no conflict, and it would therefore be REALLY boring. Common knowledge. We see it everyday. Still interesting to think about though right?

Posted by CheraPupi at 12:57 AM | Comments (2)

January 24, 2007

Fitzgerald=Popularity Pro!

Fitzgerald, ''Bernice Bobs Her Hair'' (online) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

Marjorie never giggled, was never frightened, seldom embarrassed, and in fact had very few of the qualities which Bernice considered appropriately and blessedly feminine...Like most girls, she [Bernice] had been brought up on novels in which the female was beloved because of certain mysterious womanly qualities...

I felt bad for Bernice through the whole story. It's sad that she has these ideas of how"feminine" girls should act. What's even more sad is that she considers giggling, fear, and embarrassment "feminine qualities." I do understand that this story was first published in the 20's and hopefully modern ideas of feminism are a little less offensive. After doing a little more research, I found that Fitzgerald examined the competition for social success quite often. Supposedly, this story is based on a memo Fitzgerald wrote to his younger sister advising her how to acheive popularity with boys. I just found it interesting that it is quite possible Fitzgerald actually suggested some of the things Marjorie intstructed Bernice to do to his own sister. I wonder if she found the suggestions as useful as Bernice did!

Posted by CheraPupi at 11:39 PM | Comments (4)

January 23, 2007

What about me?

Lemire, I'm an English Major: Now What? (Intro & Ch 1) -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

English, huh? Well.
Good for you. So...
What are you going to do with that?

I really appreciate how Lemire has written this book. It's like I've sat down and am having a conversation with him. Throughout the first chapter he continues to inform us as students; however, he writes to us with respect, rather than like we are just some confused kids. As soon as I saw that we were going to be reading this book, I was really excited. I've always known what I wanted to do as an English major: teach. My dreams have never been any different, but I thought it would just be interesting to see what else I could do if I wanted to. I like Literature; I like to study and read all types of literature. I do not, though, particularly like to write. I don't mind writing, but it's not why I'm an English major. So as I read the first chapter of this book, I was a little disapointed. When he speaks of English, he speaks as though everyone went into English because they like to write. As an English Literature major, I feel as though this book isn't for me. For example, on page 4 Lemire speaks of general things an English major should be able to do; every one of them involves writing in some way, as though the only reason to study Literature is to write about it.Granted this is only the first chapter and I will admit if my opinion changes after reading further.

Posted by CheraPupi at 6:34 PM | Comments (2)

Blogging as an educational tool!

Schackner, ''Freedom of speech redefined by blogs'' -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)

"Jason Pugh, 20, a junior from West Mifflin, said he'd watched the level of discourse rise as freshmen come to campus and see how upperclassmen build reasoned arguments. 'There's a difference between just saying, 'You're wrong,' and saying, 'I disagree because of point one and point two,' he said."

I think that Jay had a really good point. Being that I myself went through quite a blogging transformation my freshman year, I totally agree with him. When I first began blogging for my 2 other classes with Dr. Jerz, I hated it. I thought that it was just busy work and just wrote whatever I could think of. However, towards the end of the semester, I actually enjoyed blogging and came to see it as a great educational tool. As Jay was quoted in the article, it really helped me in learning important literary analysis and criticism. I could actually back up my initial feelings and thoughts with support of all types.

Posted by CheraPupi at 6:32 PM | Comments (2)