February 2008 Archives

"After a few minutes there was a guffawing peal of thunder from behind the fantastic raindrops, like tin-can tops, crashed over the rear of Mr. Shiftlet's car.  Very quickly he stepped on the gas and with his stump sticking out the window he raced the galloping shower into Mobile."

-From Flannery O'Connor's "The Life You Save May Be Your Own" page 62 from  A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories 

When I read this line, I thought that this really summed up Mr. Shiftlet's attitude towards his own life and fate.  Mr.  Shiftlet is not an inherently bad person.  He has obviously not had a wonderful childhood or past, yet he seems to have overcome his past.  He is friendly and open to the old woman and Lucynell, and he does do a lot for them for little payment.  Some may say that the fact that he steals the old woman's entire savings and leaves her daughter in the diner is a horrible thing to do, and it undoubtedly is; however he could have done much worse to both women.  I think he does steal their money and, basically, the daughter because he is desperate, and I really think that O'Connor wants him to be pitied as much as she wants the old woman and Lucynell to be pitied when he robs them.  Mr. Shiftlet even picks up a boy and basically helps him to realize that he misses his mother.  The boy jumps out of the car, and although it is never explicitly stated, the reader knows that Mr. Shiftlet's words about his own supposedly wonderful mother make the boy jump out of the car to return home.  I would say that Mr. Shiftlet is actually an inherently good person who is misdirected.  But who is he misdirected by? 

I think that he is misdirected mainly by himself.  Perhaps, once his disability caused society to label him as an outsider.  Perhaps he is unable to find a job, thus is desperate for money for food, shelter, clothing, and even interaction and employment.  However, now I think that it is he who banishes himself from society.  He accepts what he thinks is fate in life: to always be wandering alone.  Even his name, Mr. Shiftlet, implies shifting or movement from place to place, and even the shift between being a decent person and a terrible person.  I think that the quote above really shows that he refuses to accept the possibility of any life that is not solitary and continuously moving. 

The rain in this quote could be interpreted as a symbol of baptism, or rebirth.  Mr. Shiftlet could have had a new life with the old woman and Lucynell.  He could have had affection, friendship, worth, and even happiness, but he chooses to run away, "to race the galloping shower" away from these fates and into his old pattern of the solitary wanderer.  Anyone who refuses to take their life into their own hands and work for their one’s own and others' happiness really should be pitied because they are allowing, or in Mr. Shiftlet's case, forcing themselves to have a depressing and unlived life.

However, the "galloping shower" could also be viewed as the four horsemen of the apocalypse in Revelations in the Bible.  These horsemen bring about disease and despair.  Perhaps O'Connor wants us to think that Mr. Shiftlet is running away from a situation that is to him comparable to the end of the world.

What do the rest of you think about Mr. Shiftlet's fate? Is he accepting it or is he trying to avoid it?  What does the rain symbolize in the very last sentence? What is the fate that O'Connor gives him anyway?

"BECAUSE I could not stop for Death,                           
He kindly stopped for me;    
The carriage held but just ourselves    
And Immortality.    
 
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,              5
And I had put away   
My labor, and my leisure too,   
For his civility.   
 
We passed the school where children played   
At wrestling in a ring;                                   10
We passed the fields of gazing grain,   
We passed the setting sun.   
 
We paused before a house that seemed   
A swelling of the ground;   
The roof was scarcely visible,                       15
The cornice but a mound.   
 
Since then 't is centuries; but each   
Feels shorter than the day   
I first surmised the horses' heads   
Were toward eternity."

-Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death"

I absolutely love Emily Dickinson's poems, so when I saw the section on diction in Hamilton's Essential Literary Terms, I thought I would look at Dickinson's diction in one of her poems.  I choose "Because I could not stop for Death" because I really like the imagery in this poem and because it would be familiar to everyone in the class. 

In this poem, Dickinson uses colloquial diction, or diction that is more informal and based on the Anglo-Saxon language, as defined by Hamilton.  Most of the words are fairly simple and common; for instance, the first stanza uses words such as "kindly," "stopped," and "carriage."  She could have used far more complex and Latin-based words here, but she chose to write in a simpler style.  Hamilton also says, "A writer's diction may also differ enormously in its relative levels of abstraction---that is, the extent to which it deals with general concepts---or concreteness: with physical objects, IMAGERY, and emotive and sensual details...Most literary works contain both abstract and concrete diction" (70-71).  Dickinson does have both abstract and concrete diction; however the abstract outweighs the concrete.  For instance, in the first stanza, she deals with the broad ideas of "Death" and "Immortality."  Furthermore, the capitalization of these words shows that they are important concepts on which Dickinson is focusing in the poem.  Dickinson's poem is also very figurative.  In the poem, she is describing the carriage ride to the grave.  She uses much imagery to allow the reader to view the scenes that the carriage passes, such as in lines 13-16 when she writes, "We paused before a house that seemed/ A swelling of the ground;/The roof was scarcely visible,/ The cornice but a mound."  Here, Dickinson is referring to what the grave looks like, almost comparing it to a grand building with a "cornice."  Furthermore, she personifies Death by making him be a person inside the carriage with her during her ride to her grave.  Her simple colloquial word choice allows her to write on a more personal level allowing most readers to easily access and experience the ride to the grave, and "toward eternity," with her.  Her abstraction gives allows her to express broad ideas, such as Death and Immortality, for readers to relate to, but also provides specific images to explain her point that life is eternal.

Had Dickinson chosen a more formal style for this poem, or for any of her poems for that matter, I think that they would have been received poorly.  Much of her writing is admired for her ability to write in simple diction about common things, while imaginatively giving these objects or ideas a depth that is rarely viewed in this style of writing. Her complex and in-depth observations of her simple natural world make her a poet to be admired even today.

"...sarcasm, the taunting use of apparent approval or praise for actual disapproval or dispraise, is mistakenly used as synonymous with verbal irony."

-From Sharon Hamilton's Essential Literary Terms, p. 44

"'I'm going to opium dens, dens of vice and criminals' hangouts, Mother.  I've joined the Hogan Gang, I'm a hired assassin, I carry a tommy gun in a violin case!...They call me Killer, Killer Wingfield, I'm leading a double-life, a simple, honest warehouse worker by day, by night a dynamic czar of the underworld, Mother.'"

-Tennessee William's play The Glass Menagerie as quoted by Hamilton, p. 45

It was very clever of Hamilton to include this section that compared sarcasm and verbal irony.  I think that this is often a very difficult concept to be able to recognize.  I think that a great way to put it is that verbal irony is almost a contradiction, while sarcasm is more of a witty and disdainful remark.  I really liked Hamilton's example here that showed sarcasm.  If you have never read The Glass Menagerie, you really should.  I am not a big fan of American plays, but this is one of the best ones.  I really loved the character Tom, who is the one speaking in the above quote. 

The greatness of this example is more observable when one understands the context of the play. Tom is left to support his family through hard work and little pay at a factory job, when he really wants to be an adventerer and a poet.  His mother is the typical southern belle character, but she is forced to live on the small wages her son gets at his job.  Tom's sister is extremely introverted, so she offers little as a companion in the face of an oppressive mother.  It is no surprise that his temper and remarks are so biting and, well, sarcastic.  This example is obviously not verbal irony because there is no contradicition here.  It may seem as though he is contradicting himself (he is not actually any of these things he says he is); however he is actually just mad at his mom for questioning his one imaginative outlet when all he does at any other time is for his family, not for himself.

"He intended not to fool with preachers anymore but to Baptize himself and to keep on going this time until he found the Kingdom of Christ in the river."

-From Flannery O'Connor's "The River," page 45 in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" and Other Stories

I felt so bad for Harry, a.k.a. Bevel, in this story.  His parents obviously do not care for him enough to provide a supportive and nurturing lifestyle.  He is passed from nanny to nanny (this one doesn't even know his first or last name) while his parents sleep off their hangovers, only to drink themselves to a stupor the next evening.  He has no one to turn to for advice, no routine that would allow him to feel safe.  Near the end of the story, he is even forced, despite his young age,  to get himself breakfast.   Mrs. Connin, practically a stranger, provides him with his first experience with God, which, although well meant, causes his demise. 

I think that this child is so depressed and so un-loved that, as proven by the above quote, he kills himself.  I'm not sure if he knew what he was actually doing because of his limited experience with God and death, but O'Connor certainly seems to write the above quote in such a way as to show the reader that Bevel basically wants to die to be with God.  This story is especially sad because it is true: children so often take their own lives because of a lack of supportive and loving family and friends.  This quote is both so beautiful and so terrible.  Bevel has such a faith in God's love that, despite his limited experience, he knows wants to be with Him; however the only way Bevel knows he can be with God is through death and Rebirth in the river.  Should his death be called suicide?  I'm not sure.  Today, his parent would probably be punished for not watching him closely.  Should it be called merciful?  After all, he didn't have to live a life of neglect anymore.  No matter what his death is called, it is still just another very sad story that could still be viewed in news columns today.

"Evans.  By Jeshu, I think the 'oman is a witch indeed.  I like not when a 'oman has a great peard; I spy a great peard under his muffler."

-William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 4, Scene 2

"Slender. I came younder at Eton to marry Mistress Anne Page, and she's a great lubberly boy.  If it had not been i' th' church, I would have swinged him, or he should have swinged me.  If I did not think it had been Anne Page, would I might never stir---and 'tis a post-master's boy!"

-William Shakespeare, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Act 5, Scene 5

I thought that both of these quotes were great!  Shakespeare is really making fun of the men here.  Evans doesn't realize that Falstaff is actually a man in disguise, even when he sees that the supposed lady has a beard.  Slender is also incompetent enough to not realize that who he thinks is Anne Page is actually a stable boy.  Throughout this entire play, right up to the end, Shakespeare means to make fun of most of the men.  Even Ford, who in the end gets to woo his wife as he said he would as Mr. Brooke, is made a fool of in earlier sections of the plot.  All of the men are in some way deceived by women.  Thanks to Shakespeare for writing such a witty play that, in general, sticks up for women of the time period!  (I just feel sorry for some of the men!)

Portfolio 1

Welcome to my first blogging portfolio.  My name is Erica Gearhart and I am a sophomore at Seton Hill University.  This page is a compilation of all of my blogs for the first part of EL150: Introduction to Literary Study taught by Dr. Jerz, Associate Professor of Engish---New Media Journalism.  This course has consisted of reading various works of American and British Literature and reflecting on the readings through blogging and other writing activities.  At first, I absolutely hated the blogging, mostly because I am not the best at using computers.  However, I now see that the blogs are a great way to promote discussion outside of the classroom and a wonderful way to prepare for class.  I feel that the level of my blogs has definitely progressed; however I would still like to create blogs that have more entertaining titles and create more discussion in the future.

I have organized my blogs under the following subjects in order to better categorize them for viewing.

Coverage: In the following blogs, I feel like I did a really great job of properly citing the sources and/or including a direct quote from the readings.

Showing Why "Seasons Matter"

Never Judge "A Book" by Its Cover

Foreshadowing and Characterization in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"

Great Writers in Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Imagery in "Because I could not stop for death"

Love Cards and Shakespeare

Good Gifts: Money or Talents?

On Creepy Men and Plotting Women

Falling Stars, Witches, and Anime

Timeliness: These blogs are ones that I completed on time.  I must say that although I have always blogged before class, I have not always blogging 24 hours before class began.  I have had a lot of trouble in completing both the reading and the blogging practically two days ahead of time.  I did notice, however, that those who blog 24 hours or more before class get more comments.  Not only do I want to get my blogs up in time in the future in order to get more comments, I also find that I am less rushed when I complete them ahead of time.  These blogs are also my most interesting.  Anyway, here are the few timely blogs I have completed on time. 

The Ham Shows All

Teenagers, Bobs, and Liberation

Showing Why Seasons Matter

LIfe, Death, and Poetry

Love Cards and Shakespeare

Good Gifts: Money or Talents?

Interaction:  The following links are to pages where either I have had much feedback on my own blog, or where I have posted a comment that was relevant to a discussion on someone else's blog.  I think that I have kept up well  with the comments, commenting on at least two peers for each reading.  I do need to begin adding comments to my own blogs after someone has left a comment so that the discussion can continue.

The Ham Shows All

Teenagers, Bobs, and LIberation

Life, Death, and Poetry

As you can see, I had very few pages with more than five comments.  This proves that I must create responses that are more interesting, put these comments online earlier, and give them more interesting titles.

Depth: One very important aspect of blog writing is depth.  In order to excite more interest in the reader, one must create interesting and insightful blogs.  Here are a few of my blogs that I thought provided good examples of depth.

The Ham Shows All

Women's "Trifles"

Showing Why "Seasons Matter"

Never Judge "A Book" by Its Cover

God and Victory

Life, Death, and Poetry

Discussion: Obviously, discussion is one of the most important parts of blogging.  I feel that I have made a decent contribution in commenting on my peers blogs; however I do hope to make more inciteful comments in the future.  I also hope that I will be able to create more discussion on my own blogs by commenting on comments that are left.  Here are some comments I made on classmates' blogs.

Ethan Shepley's "Why Ask a Question That Already Has an Answer?"

Angela Palumbo's "The Dead Bird"

Kaitlin Monier's "Happiness and Illness"

Thanks for taking a look at my progress.  I hope you enjoyed reading my comments, as well as those of my peers. 

From John Donne's Song: Go and catch a falling star

"Go and catch a falling star,

         Get with child a mandrake root,

Tell me where all past years are,

         Or who cleft the devil's foot,

Teach me to hear mermaids singing,

Or to keep off envy's stinging,

         And find

         What wind

Served to advance an honest mind." 

I have read this piece before; however after reading it this time, I found the images in the first stanza appearing in my mind, but not because of the way in which Donne lists them.  I related these lines so so many movies I have seen recently that have these ideas in them, including Stardust and Howl's Moving Castle (falling star), Harry Potter and Pan's Labyrinth (mandrake root), and Peter Pan (mermaids).  I think that Stardust and Howl's Moving Castle apply to this poem most of all.  In both movies a falling star and the heart are related.  In Stardust, one character is a falling star who falls to earth and lands in human form.  Witches see her falling and try to steal her heart because this would make them live forever.  I won't go through all the details, but she eventually falls in love with someone, thus basically giving him her heart allowing him to live forever with her.  In Howl's Moving Castle, an anime, a similar scenario exists.  There is a young wizard who catches a falling star, which becomes his heart.  A witch wants his heart and tries many ways to get it.  Similar to Stardust, there is a girl who falls in love with him and eventually gets his heart instead of the witch.  Both of these movies can be compared to this poem.  Donne has obviously had trouble with women.  He is so discouraged that he says one can do all of these things and see so many of these great sights, but one would still never be able to find a perfect woman.  It is almost as if he is saying, go and try to catch a woman's heart that is "true and fair," but I know you will never find one.  His experiences obviously do not have the same perfect ending of Stardust and Howl's Moving Castle, but maybe he just needed to keep looking. 

Don't you just love when things turn out to be just like soap operas?  I had a feeling after I read Act I of Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor that Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page would show each other the love notes they received from Falstaff.  However, I never really expected them to plot to lead him on!  Here's the passage that I thought was great:

"Mrs. Ford. Why, this is the very same: the very hand, the very words.  What doth he think of us?

 Mrs. Page.  Nay, I know not.  It makes me almost ready to wrangle with mine own honesty.  I'll entertain myself like one that I am not acquainted withal; for sure, unless he know some strain in me that I know not myself, he would never have boarded me in this fury.

Mrs. Ford.  'Boarding' call you it?  I'll be sure to keep him above deck.

Mrs. Page. So will I.  If he come under my hatches, I'll never to sea again.  Let's be revenged on him.  Let's appoint him a meeting, give him a show of comfort in his suit, and lead him on with a fine-baited delay till he hath pawned his horses to mine Host of the Garter"   (II.i.27-28).

This passage shows just how crafty and witty Shakespeare is.  Although much of the humor here is sexual, it must still be admired for its wit.  This passage also shows that women in Shakespeare's day could be just as crafty as women are now.  They did not just sit around all day and embroider cushions.  Plus, Falstaff is such a creep that he deserves to be led on by these women.  I really think that their plot would have gone undetected if Mr. Ford had not found out that Falstaff was writing to his wife and decided to lead Falstaff on himself.  This play just keeps getting better and better.

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"Shallow.  I know the young gentlewoman.  She has good gifts.

Evans.  Seven hundred pounds and possibilities is goot gifts."

                          -From William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor

I thought that these lines show just how clever Shakespeare was at creating plays on words.  Here, the men obviously mean "good gifts" as in a good inheritance or dowry; however, it could also mean good talents.  If someone passed them on the street and heard them talking about Anne Page's "good gifts," they would think the men were merely complementing her ladylike talents instead of plotting to marry her for her fortune.  From what I have seen so far, I think we will encounter many more instances of Shakespeare's witty play on words throughout the rest of the play. 

"I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,

But no such roses see I in her cheeks;

And in some perfumes is there more delight

Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks."

                                    - From William Shakespeare's Sonnet CXXX

The first thing I thought when I read these lines was "What girl would want to read this in a Valentine's Day card?"  Shakespeare may be being truthful, but no girl really wants her boyfriend or husband to say this to her.  I thought it was very interesting that he is so truthful in this sonnet, especially because so many of his male characters compliment their loves as if they were goddesses.  I hope that Shakespeare wrote this for himself to read only and did not give it to his love.  Then and now, a lady wants her love to tell her that she is perfect, even when they both know she is not.  It is admirable that Shakespeare was honest, but I'm sure his love would not have thought so if he told her she was ugly and smelly.  Shakespeare may have been great at writing wonderful romances, but he would never survive in the love-card writing business today. 

John Donne's poem "Holy Sonnets: Death, be not proud" reminded me of the Emily Dickinson poem "Because I could not stop for Death."  I think that both authors were just trying to say how they felt about religion, life, and death.  Donne writes, "Death, be not proud, though some have called thee/ Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;"  He is showing his belief in the idea that souls live eternally.  He does not identify where these souls will be after death, but he does believe in life after death.  Both authors seem to believe in a life after death that prevents them from fearing death.  I noticed that some people made comments that Dickinson's work seemed to be morbid and dark, but I think that both of these authors have a bright and positive outlook on death that everyone should have.   Even if one believes that there is no life after death, one should not live life constantly fearing the end of it.  I love the line when Donne writes, "Death, thou shalt die."  To me, this line is really positive.  He is saying that "Yeah, I have to die, but I will live this life to the fullest and will not fear death because I have another life and adventure waiting for me after death.  Death will be the only thing that is dead to me."

In Katherine A. Monteiro's piece on Emily Dickinson's poem "Victory comes late," she writes, "The narrator definitely mourns, not for something held and lost, but for something desired, yet ultimately beyond grasp" (30-31).  When I read the poem, I did not see this so much as a testament to lost or lacking love or desire, I saw it as a summation of lessons that God wants us to learn.  When Dickinson writes "Victory come late,"  I saw this as a sign that the person in the poem learned to be good according to God's laws too late to save his or her soul.  Dickinson writes, "His table's spread too high for us/ Unless we dine on tip-toe."  I think this means that God has such high standards for people that sometimes people cannot meet the standards and they fail to find "Victory," meaning they are unable to go to heaven.  When she writes, "God keeps his oath to sparrows,/ Who of little love/ Know how to starve!" I think she is referring to the message the Bible promotes that those who are poor and hungry on earth will be rich and well fed in heaven. 

Although this was my first thought and can be supported by the text, Monteiro's ideas can also be supported.  She believes that, "Dickinson shows her vision of the tragedy of war and the revivalist religion, which she found unsatisfying" (Monteiro 31).  Monteiro actually cites some of Dickinson's letters in order to validate her point, which is very plausible. 

Furthermore, some of the other blogs, specifically Tiffany's, said that the narrator is speaking of a desire she has that cannot be fulfilled no matter how hard she tries.  I believe that any of these ideas can be supported by the text, which simply shows how versatile Dickinson's writing is: she is able to invoke many thoughts and ideas in many different audiences. 

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In her poem "Because I could not stop for Death," Emily Dickinson uses great imagery to show the reader her depiction of death coming to retrieve her and her carriage ride to her tomb.   I think the following lines best show her effective use of imagery:

"We paused before a house that seemed

A swelling of the ground;

The roof was scarcely visible,

The cornice but a mound." 

When I read these lines I immediately picture the burial tombs that were used long ago in the British Isles.  They look like hills that are completely covered with grass.  You would never know they were tombs if you couldn't see the entrances.  It seems to me that she may be referring to these in her lines when she writes, "The roof was scarcely visible, / the cornice but a mound."  Furthermore, in her comparison where death is a carriage ride, it would not be unusual for a "house" to really be a tomb. 

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I really had a lot of trouble understanding “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by Thomas Stearns Eliot.  I think that his play on words makes this poem particularly troublesome to understand.  I did think it was interesting, however, that he included so many references to well known works.  For instance the following quote is from Dante’s Divine Comedy:

    “S'io credesse che mia risposta fosse

     A persona che mai tornasse al mondo,

     Questa fiamma staria senza piu scosse.

     Ma percioche giammai di questo fondo

     Non torno vivo alcun, s'i'odo il vero,

     Senza tema d'infamia ti rispondo.

He also refers to many other great works, such as Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Twelfth Night, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and Lazarus’ story in the Bible.  All of these works deal with death, rebirth, and love so I think that this may be one of his themes in his poem.  He may feel that he is getting older and has had no real love in his live, but that a true love would reawaken his soul and make him more youthful again.

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I found Foster’s chapter entitled “Is That a Symbol” to be very relevant to our current study of short stories and poems.  At one point, Foster writes, “…you start breaking sown the work at hand into manageable pieces.  Associate freely, brainstorm, take notes.  Then you can organize your thoughts, grouping them together under headings, rejecting or accepting different ideas or meanings as they seem to apply.  Ask questions of the text: what’s the writer doing with this image, this object, this act; what possibilities are suggested by the movement of the narrative or the lyric; and most important, what does it feel like it’s doing?” (106).  This quote reminded me of my 11^th grade English teacher who first taught me how to critically read a text.  She would actually grade us on our questions and comments that we wrote in the margins of copied texts.  These exercises really helped me to do everything that Foster says we should do to effectively analyze a text.  I have also found that looking at the text from the creator’s perspective helps.  If you think “If I wrote this work, what would I do to make it effective?” then you as the reader will be more easily able to find the author’s hidden meanings and be able to support your ideas with examples from the text.

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In "A Good Man is Hard to Find," O'Connor uses foreshadowing many times to clue the reader in on future events.  One such passage reads as follows: "'You can’t win,' and he [Red Sammy, a diner owner] wiped his sweating red face off with gray handkerchief. 'Two fellers come in here last week,' Red Sammy said, 'driving a Chrysler.  It was a old beat-up car but it was a good one and these boys looked all right to me.  Said they worked at the mill and you know I let them fellers charge the gas they bought? Now why did I do that?' 'Because you're a good man!' the grandmother said at once.  'Yes'm, I suppose so," Red Sam said as if he were struck with this answer" (7-8).  This foreshadows the event of the misfit arriving in a car that is described similarly to the one that is driven by the two men who stole gas from Red Sammy.  The first time I read this story last year, I thought that the foreshadowing made everything so obvious in the plot.  The Misfit himself is even mentioned by name at the beginning of the story.  I did not think that Flannery O'Connor's use of foreshadowing was effective, unless she deliberately wanted the reader to know what was going to happen.  Then I considered this thought.  Perhaps she did want the reader to know what was going to happen, or better yet, did not care if the reader knew or not because that was unimportant to the story. 

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In the chapter entitled "It's Greek to Me," Foster writes about the importance of myths, especially ancient Greek and Roman myths, in literature.  He writes, "Greek and Roman myth is so much a part of the fabric of our consciousness, of our unconscious really, that we scarcely notice," (66).  It is very true that Greco-Roman influence is part of our "unconscious."  And it is not only found in literature.  Consider our own form of government that was first formed by the Greeks and adapted by the Romans.  If our entire society is subconsciously based their society, should it not follow that our literature would also be based on their stories, or myths as we call them?  Foster goes on to discuss different ways in which this influence is present in our society.  One aspect he mentions is the naming of sports teams, such as the "Spartans" or "The Trojans."  This example is more obvious.  When he mentioned this, I tried to think of my own ideas for relating Greco-Roman myths to more modern day society and literature, and I immediately thought of the epic.  Lord of the Rings, The Golden Compass, and even the Chronicles of Narnia series are all epic novels that have been written in the modern period.  Movies, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars also center on epic adventures that remind the viewer of the ancient myths, like the Odyssey and the Iliad.  Obviously, with so many examples of popular ways in which Greco-Roman myths have influenced present popular culture, they must still be as relevant as Foster claims.

In the chapter entitled "It's Greek to Me," Foster writes about the importance of myths, especially ancient Greek and Roman myths, in literature.  He writes, "Greek and Roman myth is so much a part of the fabric of our consciousness, of our unconscious really, that we scarcely notice," (66).  It is very true that Greco-Roman influence is part of our "unconscious."  And it is not only found in literature.  Consider our own form of government that was first formed by the Greeks and adapted by the Romans.  If our entire society is subconsciously based their society, should it not follow that our literature would also be based on their stories, or myths as we call them?  Foster goes on to discuss different ways in which this influence is present in our society.  One aspect he mentions is the naming of sports teams, such as the "Spartans" or "The Trojans."  This example is more obvious.  When he mentioned this, I tried to think of my own ideas for relating Greco-Roman myths to more modern day society and literature, and I immediately thought of the epic.  Lord of the Rings, The Golden Compass, and even the Chronicles of Narnia series are all epic novels that have been written in the modern period.  Movies, such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Star Wars also center on epic adventures that remind the viewer of the ancient myths, like the Odyssey and the Iliad.  Obviously, with so many examples of popular ways in which Greco-Roman myths have influenced present popular culture, they must still be as relevant as Foster claims.

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When I was reading the first segment of "Short Stories: 10 Tips for Novice Creative Writers" entitled "Develop Your Characters," I was very surprised at the ideas concerning character development.  I do not usually read short stories; in fact I have only read them for school.  I never realized how developed characters in short stories were.  I had never considered how difficult adding a personality to short story characters can be because I usually focused on the plot.  Even when we read the short stories for this class I never truly considered character development.  However, after reading the list of character details, I found new admiration for the writers of short stories, especially those we had written in class.  These authors were able to develop three-dimensional characters in such a small space of occurrences.  This also enforces the idea of showing instead of telling once again.  If the author had to tell about the characters' pasts, their feelings, their personalities, and their actions, they could never write a short story.  Showing allows the author to effectively create a well developed, multidimensional character in a shorter work.

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The poem "A Book" by Emily Dickinson is a perfect representation of Hamilton's definition of Lyric Poetry.  Hamilton writes in Essential Literary Terms, "Lyric poetry, the most varied and widespread kind, is that in which an individual speaker expresses what he or she feels, perceives, and thinks." This poem does this perfectly.  Dickinson speaks of her own opinions of books.  At first glance it may seem as though she thinks a book is a wonderful transport to other lands; however we must remember the adage Never judge a book by its cover.  Here, however, her word choice indicates that she thinks that books are less superior than true poetry.  She uses the words "frigate," "prancing poetry," "poorest," and "frugal" instead of more admiring words.  I know if I wanted to voice my positive opinion of books I would not use words with such negative connotations.   However, Dickinson is able to take a perfectly normal possession and, using imagery and metaphor, is able to bring it to life. 

 Another characteristic of a poem according to Jon Stallworthy in The Norton Anthology of Poetry is that poetry is written to be read aloud.  Poems use meter and rhyme to convey its message.  It is obvious upon a first reading aloud of any of Emily Dickinson's poems that she has a clear style that conveys this characteristic perfectly.

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In Chapter 20 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor,  Foster writes, "What he [Shakespeare] does, brilliantly, is to invest it [metaphor comparing fall to nearing 'old age'] with a specificity and a continuity that force us to really see not only the thing he describes-the end of autumn and the coming of winter-but the thing he's really talking about, namely the speaker's standing on the edge of old age" (176).  When I read this segment on sonnet 73, immediately I thought this perfectly described what we had discussed in class concerning showing instead of telling.  This sonnet is very short; however Shakespeare is still able to effectively allow the reader visualize both fall and the brittleness, hair loss and coldness of old age.  Although I believe that Foster did a great job in other segments of telling the reader why and how geography and seasons matter, I believe this example shows just how important setting is to a piece of literature.

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Glaspell really seems to bring an overly feminist theme to the play.  Throughout the play, the men who are researching Mr. Wright's murder continually make fun of women for caring about things that do not seem important.  They poke fun at Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale for worrying about Mrs. Wright's preserves, and they do the same to Mrs. Wright for wanting an apron in prison.  The quote that sums this idea up is, "HALE: 'Well, women are used to worrying over trifles'" (Glaspell).  However, by the end of the play, the reader sees that because the women thought about the so called "trifles," they were able to discover both the killer and the motive for the murder.  The men, two of whom were experts in law enforcement and case investigation, were unable to find any type of motive.  The fact that Glaspell portrays the men as unintelligent shows how important the feminist movement was to Glaspell during this time period. 

Just as an aside, when I read the title "Trifles" and was trying to relate it to what we had read in Foster, I remembered that trifle is also a type of desert.  I looked up the definition of trifle at dictionary.com and found that one definition is as follows: "A dessert typically consisting of plain or sponge cake soaked in sherry, rum, or brandy and topped with layers of jam or jelly, custard, and whipped cream."  I thought it was very interesting that bread, alcohol and jam were all mentioned in the story.  I do not know if Glaspell did this intentionally or not, but thought it was an interesting coincidence.

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In response to Andrea's comments from Foster:

Andrea's quote from and response to Foster reminded me of the first reading we had from Lemire.  Both authors discussed the idea that elements in literature can be seen from various lights, although Foster speaks from a literary analysis prospective, while Lemire speaks from the prospective of the English profession. I think that both of these authors do a great job of showing the reader, whether English major or not, the flexibility of the study of English literature.  

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In response to Kaitlin's comments, I was also troubled at first by Foster's ideas.  I also tried to think of a completely original story.  However, I do not think we know that story today for the simple reason that stories existed before people could write.  Since storytelling has roots in an oral tradition, even the very old stories we do know of, such as "Beowulf" or the various traditions of Noah's Ark, are retellings of the original.  I don't think we will ever find the first story ever told, but the concept is still very interesting.

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"...writing a meal scene is so difficult, and so inherently uninteresting, that there really needs to be some compelling reason to include one in the story.  And that reason has to do with how characters are getting along.  Or not getting along" (Foster 8).

This passage reminded me of the first time I watched the most recent version of the film "Pride and Prejudice."  There are quite a few meal scenes in the film; however I never considered why they set certain conversations around the dinner table.  After watching the movie with the director commentary, however, I was able to more deeply understand exactly what the director, the producers, and the prop and set designers were trying to portray.  During one scene when the pompous preacher Mr. Collins asks Elizabeth Bennet to marry him, there is a huge ham on the table.  The director mentions that he loves the placement of the ham because it shows Mr. Collin's crude and unromantic nature.  At first I thought that people do not normally look at such seemingly trivial aspects of movies, but since then, I have always found myself looking for deeper and hidden meanings in elements in the settings of literature and movies.  It is amazing what one can learn from a ham.

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