Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Leman, ''The World Trade Center''
I didn't know many New Yorkers didn't like the World Trade Center before September 11. The poem expresses how much September 11 had an impact to Americans. I didn't know about the World Trade Center before September 11, but people all over the world know it now. The World Trade Center is a new American symbol now. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom. I'm not sure what kind of symbol is for the World Trade Centre. Is it a symbol of fear of terroorism? Is it a symbol of trying to spreading democracy to the world? Or a symbol of preventing another terrorism? September 11 changed many Americans' thoughts about their own country and other countries.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Cummings, ''my father moved through dooms of love''
I felt love to the father. On the otehr hand, a poem "Daddy" by Sylvia Plath, there is no love to the father. Not many people call own father bastard.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Ransom, ''Judith of Bethulia''
I didn't understnad the poem very much. I felt the poem is telling me sadness of war because young men are gone for war.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Jerz, Technology in American Drama (selection)
I feel pity on the Young Woman because she just wanted rest and freedom. However, she should have take care her mother, daughter, and husband more. I know her marrige was not what she wanted, but she could have found something (manybe peace or humanity) by taking care of them.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Eliot, ''The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock''
It is hard to know the poem is about love. Prufrock is pessimistic about his age and appearance. He does not have have the courage to say his feeling to a woman. I felt that Prufrock is a very lonely man. He cannot see any good things about himself.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Henry Adams on Mechanism and Modernism
Our society became very convenient due to inventions. On the other hand, science can harm people. There is not much moral among scientists. It is more important seeking new things than moral.
Mechanism society made people to believe science, not religions. Today, most of people believe what we can see through our eyes, not mysteries.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Treadwell, Machinal
The Young Woman could not accept her life, working at the office and marrying with her husband. Many people think it is usual working for money even though they do not like waking up early for work and being in a train during rush hours. Some people succed in earning lots of money because these people accept their situation and work hard.
In society, the Young Woman was a part of machine. She tried to escape from it and seeking some kind fo humanity. However, she could not find. Man did not care much for the Young Woman and she could not love her husband. The Young Woman called her mother, who seemed caring the Young Women a lot, stranger and they could not talk each other before her execution.
I could not understand why Filing Clerk kept saying Hot Dog many times. I thought it is strange.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Article on Fitzgerald 2
Advertisement shows images and also make reality in our society. For example, it represents what beaty is. Tall, slim, and blond hair. Most people do not fit the category. Many females try to be like models on magazines but it is almost impossible. These models are real people but unrealistic. They are made through photography.
In the Great Gtsby, many characters were seeking their unrealistic dream. Gatsby dreamed marrying with Daisy and Myrtle dreamed being a member of upper class. It was impossible, but they thought their dreams come true in the future. They could not distinguish real and dream.
Nick had an image what he should live. Honesty, integrity, and loyalty. These his morals brought him loneliness. He had to be a good man. His friends did not have moral like him. So he could not have close relationship with them.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
Gatsby had lots of money and a very big nouse, but didn't have real friends. He knew lots of people. But these people didn't really care about him. Communication between Gatsby and these people were only surface. Even Nick didn't know much about Gatsby.
I think Gatsby felt inferior about his family. He kept telling a lie about his family and his career because he didn't feel comfortable telling the truth. Daisy's family was very rich. She got everything she watned. On the other hand, Gatsby wasn't rich. He needed to work very hard in order to obtain a huge house. When he gained power and money, all people surround him were from a very good family. He maybe thought ashamed telling his family and hard working.
I think Daisy didn't know what really love is. She considers wealth and her situation.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): February 10, 2005 Archives
I thought Kieth did not understand Lois much because he was a very religious person and Lois was not that much religious. Lois thought the atmosphere and people at Benediction were not natural. I think she was stressed being at Benediction, so she saw something in the candles.
When Kieth and Lois had a conversation after praying at Benediction, Lois did not say much, only Kieth said a lot about his religion. Lois said about some intelligent people don't believe Christinanity and birth control, but kieth did not respond much about these things. He just said how faith is important for him and her.
When he said to Lois "I want you to pray for me sometimes, Lois. I think your paryers would be about what I need. Because we've come very close in these few hours, I think." Lois responded "Oh we have, we have!" She cried. "I feel closer to you now than to any one in the world." I think she felt more apart from Kieth than before. I feel her response for him was kind of hurry because she did not agree with Kieth. He did not listen Lois and tried to push his belief on her.
I think the reason why Lois decided to leave Kieth was that he did not understnad her. She wrote we can't marry and we can't lose each otehr and let all this glorious love end in nothing. She maybe still loves Kieth, but she thought she cannot live with him all her life because he does not understnad her.
Kieth and Louis knew each other for very long time, but they had different lives. Kieth had snap-shots of her but I think Louis was not a girl what he thought. She lived in Europe and had different experiences. Nobody can understnad people from snap-shots. Kieth thought he knows her very well. In fact, he knew almost nothing about her.
Jerz: Am Lit II (EL 267): Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
I thought relationships in the story was very artificial. For example, nobody really cared about Gatsby at his party or some characters in the story were not satisfied their marrige.
Gatsby was a very rich man who owned a huge house and had everything he wanted. However, he was not a happy man. These things could not fill his heart. He needed a friend who can trust and Daisy who loved for years. Reading the story, I felt Gatsby is a very lonely man because he did not say much about himself to people even though he knew many people. So there were some rumors about him. Nobody understood much who he is. Gatsby had many friends but he could not put his heart to anybody.
Gatsby was thinking about his past too much. That's why he loved Daisy so much. He was handsome so maybe it was easy to find another girl for him. But he waited Daisy for years. He maybe had a very hard time after leaving Daisy for war so memory with Daisy could not be forgotten for him. The time, going out with Daisy was the best time in his life.
People change as time goes by. Gatsby and Daisy also changed. But Gatsby believed he could repeat the past. I think the past cannot repeat because people and circumstances change. Gatsby might have a trobble trying to repeat the past.
I felt everybody is lonely in the story. People were trying to fill their loneliness. On page 4, it was lonely for a day or so until one morning some man, more recently arrived than I, stopped me on the road. I thought people were trying to make connections with other poeple. However, most of these connections were artificial.
I did not understand the name of Gatsby was mentioned several times at the first part of the reading because there were almost no connections with Gatsby.