September 2009 Archives

"This may surprise some of you, but we live in a Christian culture" (p. 116)

This is the very first line of Foster's chapter 14.  At first I was like, yea maybe now but it is changing fast but then I kept reading.  He was talking about how the early settlers brought their Christian culture.  I thought of it more along the lines of right now having majority of the population Christian.  It makes me nervous that the percent of Christians is dropping dramatically.  What have we done wrong?  Why is it happening so fast?  It brings a lot of question and sadness just thinking about it.  What does everyone else think?

Chapter 4: Sounds
"Instead of singing like the birds, I silently smiled at my incessant good fortune" (para 2)

I was first drawn to this line because I didn't know what incessant meant.  Incessant just simply means continuing without interruption.  So when I read the line again, I thought it told a lot about the narrator.  Instead of bragging about all of his fortune, he just silently kept it to himself and was happy about it.  He didn't go spreading it around shoving it in anyone's face.  He was modest.  I think that shows a lot and is a nice trait to have.

Chapter 13: House Warming
"Ah, many a tale their color told!" (para 2)

This stood out to me while I was reading this chapter because a lot of authors use color in their stories but very few actually say something about their coloring meaning anything.  In this paragraph, it said something about the coloring twice.  One was the one I quoted referring to the leaves changing in fall.  The second "distinguished by more brilliant or harmonious coloring" referring to the new colors that the leaves brought.  It says that everyday the leaves bring a new picture with more color.  This is a very strong statement and site to see.  The leaves are magical and they bring new colors and excitement every day.  They change all the time and never look the same as they did the previous day.

Then I wondered, why did Thoreau pick scarlet to represent the leaves?  Usually someone would just say the leaves turned red.  A simple color like red.  So i looked into what scarlet meant.  It is a warm color.  Similar in meaning to red. It could mean power.  Scarlet can also have a physical effect.  So there is a lot that goes a long with the color scarlet.  The more I thought about this, I realized that scarlet is also the color reddish orange so it might not have any significant meaning.  He might have just used the color scarlet because the leaves were change from orange to red so they were scarlet.    

I am in the middle of putting my blog reflection together and realized that I never blogged about The Masque of the Red Death.  At the time, I did not know very much about blogging and I did not understand how to blog.  I am assuming that is the reason on why I did not have a blog for that story.
 I don't have a specific quote but I would like to say that after talking about this story in class I understand it more.  I think Poe was a crazy man for writing such an outrageous story.  He had to be out of his mind or going crazy.  I do not know what he was going through at the time of writing this but I can only assume that that was going on.  He did use a lot of symbolism with the colors and clock.  I know this isn't a big in depth idea of what the clock meant or what the color of what room meant but it is my thoughts on the story.  It was written in a crazy dark language that was really hard to understand.  

This is the Blog Portfolio 1 from American Literature 1800-1915. 

 

Coverage: These are all the blogs that I have completed.

Masque of the Red Death

Young Goodman Brown 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Into to Ch. 3

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Ch. 5-7 

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 1-6

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 7-13 

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Ch. 8-10 

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 14-21 

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 19-24 

Bartleby the Scrivener

The Yellow Wallpaper

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Interlude, 11, 12

 

Depth:  These are my entries that were in depth that people could relate too.

 How to Read Literature Like a Professor Ch. 5-7

 The Scarlet Letter Ch. 1-6

 The Scarlet Letter Ch. 7-13

 

Interaction:  These are some of the entries of my classmates that I commented on.

Connect the Dots by Heather Mourick

Keeping Focus by Jennifer Prex

Remember to Check the Weather by Jessica Apitsch

Outward Purity is a Lie by Jessica Apitsch

 

Discussions: These are my entries that peers commented on and created a discussion in one way or another.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Ch. 5-7

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 7-13

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 14-21

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 19-24

Young Goodman Brown 

 

Timeliness:These are my entries that were posted early enough to create a good discussion before class time.

How to Read Literature Like a Professor Ch. 8-10

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 14-21

The Scarlet Letter Ch. 19-24

 

Xenoblogging: These are entries of my classmates that I was the first to comment on.

Connect the Dots by Heather Mourick

Remember to Check the Weather by Jessica Apitsch

 

Wildcard:  This is my entry about something other than what we read in the class.

Parking at SHU

 

Reflection:  This is my entry about how I feel about blogging.

Blogging

 

The parking situation at SHU is terrible.  Unless you are there are six in the morning, you do not get a spot in A, B, or C.  After that you get the very back of D.  It is not the fact of not wanting to walk, because I don't mind walking, it's the fact of time.  It takes me at least fifteen minutes to drive to school and I never know where I am going to get a spot so I usually end up leaving forty five minutes to an hour before class which stinks because it is a waste of time.  My opinion is that residents should have to park in D and D only because it is closet to their dorms anyway.  That would leave A, B, and C for commuters.  There has been times that I had to drive around for fifteen minutes trying to find a spot because there wasn't even a spot in lot D.  That is ridiculous.  I refuse to park in Caritas Lot because I am not going to wait for the shuttle.  I think this is a serious problem that needs a lot of attention.

"With any other man I should have flown outright into a dreadful passion, scorned all further words, and thrust him ignominiously from my presence.  But there was something about Bartleby that not only strangely disarmed me, but in a wonderful manner touched and disconcerted me" (Melville para. 35).

After reading this story, I looked back to see what I could blog about.  This stood out because Bartleby was asked to do something by his boss and he refused.  When that happens, it would take a lot to not get mad at the person who just told you that they weren't doing what you asked them to.  It seems to tell a lot about Bartleby and Melville.  Bartleby seems cold and stand offish, not caring what anyone says or wants him to do.  He seems numb.  Melville is also numb on the fact that he doesn't know what to do because people usually don't turn him down.

"If we had not used it, that blessed child would have! What a fortunate escape!" (Gilman 5).

This is the first time that Charlotte referred to the wallpaper with a positive attitude.  Before this she would just complain about the wallpaper.  She would complain about everything from the color, shape, and size.  She was very negative and unhappy about the whole situation.  It also gives me a little hope because she is caring that the baby didn't have to encounter the wallpaper.  She is caring about someone else and isn't completely crazy.

"Violence is everywhere in literature" (Foster 89)

This is a key part of literature because violence is a crowd pleaser.  So much of this society is violence and the negative aspect that comes a long with it.  Readers get into violence and it sends the story to so many different places.  Without violence there wouldn't be the happiness.  Violence is the key to bringing the story down to let it go back up.  It's the struggle and adventure after the violence that brings hope and happiness. 

The Scarlet Letter
Chaprter 19-24
"A few hours longer, and the deep mysterious ocean will quench and hide forever the symbol which ye have caused to burn upon her bosom!" (Hawthorne 203)

    This to me is one of the most suspenseful lines of the book, or at least the end of the book.  Hester can finally get rid of the symbol and reminder of the guilt and sin that she has done.  She will now be able to live the rest of her life normally as if it never happened.  Or will she?  No one has no idea what the rest of the book will hold unless they read it.  They have no idea what Pearl will be like with her and what the townspeople will be like.  Will she be treated as completely normal or will she still be looked down upon or will it be both?  Anyone can guess what is going to happen but no one can be completely sure. 
    All the emotion that was going through Hester's mind had to be overwhelming.  She was so relieved but so scared.  She like everyone else didn't know what else would happen after she got rid of that A.  Would she still think about her sin like it was on her chest?
    This one sentence can mean and lead to so much it's unbelievable.

The Scarlet Letter
Chapter 14-21
    "'Mother,' said little Pearl, 'the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.  Now see!  There it is, playing, a good way off.  Stand you here, and let me run and catch it.  I am but a child.  It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!' 
    'Nor ever will, my child, I hope,' said Hester. 
    'And why not, mother?' asked Pearl, stopping short, just a the beginning of her race.  'Will not it come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?'
    'Run away, child,' answered her mother, 'and catch the sunshine!  It will soon be gone.'"(Hawthorne 165-166)

    This is a long quote but it shows a great importance in showing where Pearl stands.  She once again is concerned with the A that is on her mothers chest.  She thinks that when she grows up she will have to wear one also.  She doesn't know the true reason on why her mother has the scarlet A.  She was too young to know what was going on when her mother stood on the scaffold as a punishment.  She realizes that there is something up but she doesn't exactly know why or what. 
    Another thing about this quote is that Pearl sees the lack of sunshine in her mother's life.  She sees that sunshine runs away from her mother.  This could be a metaphor for the people and things in her life not just the sun.  People run away from her because she has sinned.  Pearl often sees things that others do not see and just bluntly says the truth.  She is an innocent girl that doesn't really understand the basis of what is going on.

How to Read Literature like a Professor
"...every night is followed by a new day, that life is an endless cycle of life, death, and renewal, in which one generation succeeds another until the end of time" (Foster 50-51).

    Foster looks at this outlook with irony.  He looks at it with a certainty that the earth will renew itself and humanity will renew itself, but I look at this phrase with amazement and excitement.  Yes, it has a sense of certainty of renewal but what comes with that renewal.  Renewal, to most, means fixing something that is already there and making it better.  So life isn't just being renewed but it is bringing the feeling and anticipation of new and better things to come.  For example, one generation invented black and white television, the next invented color television, the next videos, the next dvds, and so on and so on.  Every generation comes up with better things that make life so exciting.  It gives us something to look forward to. 
    Every night is followed by a new day and the anticipation and excitement is so astonishing.  In my opinion, this type of phrase is taken so lightly and is reason for the blame of what the world has come to.  People need to take life with happiness and enjoy it while it lasts cause it can change so fast.
    I know i may have jumped around a lot in this blog but to me, this phrase is such a powerful statement that has so much to it.  

How to Read Literature Like a Professor
"All this resembling other literature is all well and good, but what does it mean for our reading?" (Foster 33)

This question that Foster looks into really hit home with me.  Many people talk about the books that they read and how they relate to others.  I never understood what it meant for reading.  Foster says that once we recognize elements from different texts then we start making comparisons between the two texts.  This allows us to make assumptions about characters, places, and events in books.  It gives us a better idea of what is happening in books and why things are happening.  Foster uses the example of Cacciato.  The squad in the books falls into a hole that recalls Alice in the Wonderland.  The hole isn't going to be terrifying and horrible, it is going to be wonderful.  We can assume that because of the relation between the two.   This is a great key that helps readers understand what they are reading.

EL266
The Scarlet Letter
"Unknown to all but Hester Prynne, and possessing the lock and key of her silence, he chose to withdraw his name from the roll of mankind, and, as regarded his former ties and interests, to vanish our of life as completely as if he indeed lay at the bottom of the ocean, whither rumor had long ago consigned him" (Hawthorne 108).

Roger Chillingworth was renamed to hide his past.  He wants his past name and life to be spoken of.  The only person to know about his change is Hester, who was sworn to secrecy.  This made me think.  How he could have so much trust in someone to completely keep his prior identity a secret?  Also how could someone just give up their past and become someone new?  How could they leave all the people in their lives and just vanish?  Even if they have had a terrible past, it would be so hard to just run away from it all.  Wonder if he ever thinks about his past or if he just erased it from his memory?

For me, this could be information for something to happen further into the book.  Hester could reveal the past and he would be faced with something he thought he gave up forever.  Just a thought.

EL266

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, it reads, "...on one side of the portal and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in..." (Hawthorne 46)

This rose-bush seems to have a big significance in the beginning of this book.  The rose-bush really stood out next to the prison.  In my opinion, a prison isn't something positive.  It is the place you go when you get into inescapable trouble.  The place where you can be sentenced to die.  The prison door is the last place that you enter from the outside world.  The rosebush is the last thing that you see before you enter your probable resting place.  It is wild and full of roses.  Hawthorne creates this scene of darkness and sorrow which creates the rosebush to shine even more.  The rosebush creates a sense of hope for the prisoners before they enter the prison.  The rosebush also represents kindness to the prisoner.  Perhaps from nature being it is a wild rosebush.  Even though they have committed something terrible and worthy of such punishment, nature is giving them forgiveness and kindness.  

I thought it was really interesting how Foster talked about communion and how it isn't just in church but anytime that people sat down to eat together.  Some families have communion everyday but some only have it once or twice a week.  To me, i only thought of communion as the breaking of bread and drinking of grape juice the first Sunday of every month.  I now know that I have communion a lot more than I thought.  This just struck me as interesting and was wondering if anyone else thought it was interesting?

I had to read this many times to totally understand the whole story and during one of those times i realized that though it may have seemed like a short journey in the story, YGB's journey could be a representation of his whole life.  To me the walk in the park was a flash of his life before his death.  He came in contact with people that had good and bad impacts in his life.  This was just something i thought about as i was reading it and didn't know if anyone else had the same thought.