Final Blog

Some of my favorites from the “Making Literature Matter” textbook were “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, and “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin. Before this class I’ve never heard of Kate Chopin, but I liked all of her short stories that was in the text. I think that Chopin is a very interesting author, and that her work is controversial, largely because of the expected role of a woman during her time period (the late 1800’s). Some of the stories that I did not like in the text were “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and some of the plays by Edgar Allen Poe, because I couldn’t really grasp the meaning of what the author was trying to say and I’m not really interested in those types of genres. Also, when reading work by Edgar Allen Poe, it seems like I’m always trying to translate words just so that I can understand the text. When one of the assignments required that I do some research on Poe to learn if Poe’s writings reflects situations from his life, I found out that he has been through a lot as a child, from the death of his mother when he was infant, to watching his whole family succumb to tuberculosis. I didn’t even realize that tuberculosis was that bad back then. So I definitely thought that the events that took place in Poe’s life effected his work.
There are a lot of stories in the “Making Literature Matter” text that I did not get a chance to read yet, so instead of selling the book back to the book store I’m going to continue reading it. Some of the text that I would reread would be mainly poems so that I can understand them more deeply.

Final Blog

Out of all of the texts that we’ve read over the course of this semester, I have a few favorites: “Everyday Use,” “Commitments,” and “A Chinese Banquet.” I feel that I could definitely use a better understanding of Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy.” I found that poem intriguing, yet confusing! I would consider reading that one again simply to attempt to gain a deeper understanding of it. It seems to encompass so many different aspects of the not only the relationship she had with her father, but also with Germany, and of, the struggles she has dealt with since his death. I think this poem would be a good subject for a live classroom discussion because of its complexities. I could see how various people would potentially take away many different interpretations of it, and it would be interesting to see that play out in a classroom setting.

Final Blog

This blog is a collection of your impressions about the literature you’ve read over the course of the semester. Do you have favorites? Those texts about which you feel you could still use a deeper understanding? Those that you would consider reading again?

During this semester we had a lot of stories and most I liked but there were some that stood out the most. My favorite the whole semester was A Doll House. I dreaded reading it because it was so long, but now, I'm glad I read it. I really liked the struggle of the woman in the story, trying to save her family and Husband and then like the jerk he is, gets angry for her doing what she had to save her family. But she shows her strength by leaving and standing on her own two feet. I didn't like the fact that she abandonded her kids, but it just shows another form of her new found strength and power.
I also liked The Thing They Carried. It was well written and had great symbolism in a dismal, harsh setting. It just goes to show, love can bring you up in situation but in other situations it can bring you down and weigh on you. There's a time and place for everything.
I would like a deeper understanding of Where are you going, Where have you been? I remember reading it and my friend was sitting in the room with me. She was entertained by my reactions through out the whole story. I think I scared her when I yelled, "What?" The ending was very confusing for me. I tried looking up analysis' by other people on the story and they assumed that Arnold Friend was symbolic for the pop culture and music industry she was into. But me, I still look at it and question, was it really a man that invaded her home or was it all in her head, a dream, or personal struggle. Still confused...
I would definately read A Doll House again. It was a very good story about the lengths a woman would go to save her husband and the ungratefulness of his rescue. It really irritates me when a man is unappreciative of what a woman does for him. It makes me angry when women are taken advantage of and told, "No, you can't do that. You belong in the home." It irritates me to no end. I'm a girl who has dreams and aspirations to make something of myself, not be trapped as a housewife. I'm a worker and the idea of a man trapping his wife into the home, not teaching her, not respecting her and what she goes through to save her family, blaming her for ruining him because of his own selfishness just irritates me to the bone. I loved the part when she left him dumbfounded and walked out of his house never to return. I wopuld love to see this play in person. I think it would be great.

Final Blog

After looking back at all the literature we covered over the semester I would say I had two favorite poems; "Wild Nights-Wild Nights” and “Let me not to the marriage of true minds.” I had two favorite short stories; The Things They Carried and Everyday Use. There is one text that sticks out in my mind that I feel I could use a deeper understanding. “A Good Mind is Hard to Find”, had a lot of elements that I missed the first time I read it. The ending was grotesque and completely caught me off guard. I’m sure I missed the point that the author was trying to make. I really enjoy poetry so I would consider reading all the poetry again that we covered over the semester.

Final Blog

During the course I have read many interesting pieces of literature that I enjoyed. I thought the readings assigned were very good for getting involved to express our opinions as a class. It's good to read literature, and analyze it by using various types of literary analysis. During the course reading passages, and using the different forms of analysis really helped me understand the story from a deeper perspective. If I had to pick some favorites I would have to say Tim O Brain, "The Things They Carried," was a very emotional passage for me to read. Its funny how you can connect to a story, and relate it to real life scenarios. I thought it was very vivid, and explained everything in perfect detail to get perfect visual images. It is always interesting to read about war stories. It gives us a better understanding of how it really is while at war, and makes us appreciate the world that we live in, and not take advantage of the small things in life that matter the most. It brought so much emotion in me while reading it because these men and women are fighting for our freedom, and the only thing they have are the small things to cherish, and hold onto during the process that can potential kill them like the few men that died in the story. This is one of the short stories I really enjoyed, and would definitely read again. We were not assigned the Poem "Do Not Go Gentle into that That Good Night," but I read it and really enjoyed it. I think its pretty popular, but it has so much meaning behind it. I think its a very encouraging poem. Its about death and dying, but when examined closer, it becomes apparent that it is also about life and how it is lived. I think many people can appreciate this poem, and be able to connect with it some way.I didn't know the meaning at first until I picked it apart by using New Criticism. By doing so it gave me a deeper understanding of the terms. I also really enjoyed the play "A Doll House," this was a very drama filled story that could be misunderstood in many ways. I would love to see the play it would probably be very good. It really got my mind thinking many different thoughts. This was a great piece of literature that I think many people should at least read once. I had to read it twice to gain the full knowledge I needed to understand it. If I had to read all of these over again I would. I read a few poems that I didn't like, but the majority of the short stories I loved, and plays. I think literature brings out so many different feelings, and its great to express how you feel, and relate it to others and see their views.

Final Blog

There is a few favorite stories that I read this semester that I would not mind reading again.
I remember reading "The things they carried" and finding so many meanings to it. To me it was odd, because usually I don't do that, I'm not the type to think out side the box and figure out the meanings, but for this story it was so easy.

Also the poem "A Chinese banquet" was also a memorable piece. It was interesting to read about a gay couple and how their families do not accept them. I've always wondered what they have to go through with their families, and this poem gave me one scenario of what they go through.

And lastly, "A Good man is Hard to Find" was also a favorite story to read. Its a favorite because of the unexpected ending. I was shocked when the misfit ends up killing everyone, I really thought he was going to end up being that "good man" that is hard to find.

These are just my top 3 favorite literature that we read this semester, there was others that I liked as well but I was able to connect with some of these or their are my favorite because it was entertaining for me to read.

Final Blog

I would have to say that my favorite stories and pieces we read were Oleanna and The Doll House because they seem to push the envelope for the times they were written in. They were both shocking and eye opening in some sense, revealing that matters are clearly not black and white, good or bad, sometimes there are murky gray areas people must understand are part of life. For example, the mantra in Oleanna is, in a nutshell, no matter which side you pick, you're wrong. Whether one sides with the student or the teacher, both are riddled with wrong actions at times. In the end, it requires a deep analysis and validation to really prove support for one side or the other. That is the amazing thing about literature.

With respect to The Doll House, the question hinges on Nora Helmer and whether she is a true feminist figure or not. Arguments can really be compelling for both sides, but the story is captivating. Deceit, can be very ugly, and this is the theme I picked up through this read. In the end, it was very interesting to read these two stories and analyze them from so many different critical lenses.

Final Thoughts

Hands down my favorite reading in this class was Tim O’Brien’s, The Things They Carried. I had read the book several years ago, and just love the way he writes. I recommend anyone else that liked the short story to go out and get the book, you won’t be disappointed.

Another thing that struck me is how much I liked Edgar Allan Poe, both of the readings for this class I had read in high school, which was too long ago to want to admit, but I never ‘pondered weak and weary, about how dark and dreary he was.’ I not only would read The Cask of Amontillado and The Tell-Tale Heart again, but ordered a collection of Poe’s work just the other day, in order to read more.

As far as things I could use a deeper understanding of, or just plain didn’t like, was most of the assigned poetry, I just don’t get enough pleasure out of it in exchange for all of the work required to decipher it. Call me unrefined, but where poetry is concerned, I will stick to Shel Silverstien and dirty limericks.

The other reading that I found disturbing was Flannery O’Conner’s; A Good Man is Hard to Find. It isn’t that I didn’t understand it, and I found her story telling to be quite captivating, but I was completely upended by the cruelty of it. I know that this kind of cruelty exists in life, but I would like to avoid it in literature. That said, it was great for a class like this, because it requires a reaction, which I would say is true of most of the assigned readings for this class. Nothing allowed you to passively read a story, everything invoked an opinion, such as in A Good Man is Hard to Find or the Tell-Tale Heart, or to pick a side, like in Everyday Use or Oleanna.

Last Blog

This blog is a collection of your impressions about the literature you’ve read over the course of the semester. Do you have favorites? Those texts about which you feel you could still use a deeper understanding? Those that you would consider reading again? Discuss

There were many pieces that we were assigned this semestor that I enjoyed. The one piece of literature that really stood out to me was the short story The Things They Carried. I really enjoyed reading the entire piece. It kept me entertained all the way until the end. I am a big fan of war stories, and this one fulfilled all aspects of a good story. There were some poems here and there that I enjoyed, such as Legal Alien which portrays the struggle that immigrants have in the U.S. All together there were many enjoyable texts and pieces that I would read again. For an English course these pieces correlated very well with what we were learning, and I enjoyed most of the pieces we read.

LAST BLOG!

This blog is a collection of your impressions about the literature you’ve read over the course of the semester. Do you have favorites? Those texts about which you feel you could still use a deeper understanding? Those that you would consider reading again? Discuss

In my own opinion, this class was by far the best English class I have had in that the literature the assigned was always very intriguing and it allowed for the class to discuss it in a matter that was not structured. The blogs allowed for me to express my opinions on material that, it seemed that, everyone had something to say. I don’t believe there was one individual who did not want to voice their opinions about the assigned readings.
I believe that my favorite, by far, was Oleanna! Although it took for me to rent the movie (the play was verbatim) because I just could not visualize the meaning of the interactions between John and Carol. But once I understood the characters and had a full on discussion with my husband about it, I felt I was right there in the story. At first I wanted to defend Carol, but as the play ends my merciful emotions went to John and I wanted give Carol a piece of my mind. It was actions like the ones she took that make it impossible for women to be taken serious in a matter such as what happened between her and John. I believe a good piece of literature should stir up the emotions inside the reader or observer because then it shows that there is some personal meaning behind it. I believe that when a reader can identify on a personal level with the characters, the story and the meaning behind become that much more intriguing. Another one of my favorites was the play by Henrik Ibsen “A Doll House.” I found this one to be intriguing on a personal level. Although there were some major differences in how I handled the similar situation, I still found that I identified with Nora. Reading this play in a time when women have endlessly fought to be viewed as a human being just as important as a man and believing females have come quite far, did I realized that the battle will never end. There were will always be those who do not feel females are capable of pursuing a life outside the kitchen but as long as everyone remembers that our world needs both males and females to survive I believe the struggle will diminish.
There were a few poems I had a hard time trying to imagine and decipher but there was only one story that I just could not grasp the intensity of – “Killings,” by Andre Dubus. I found it hard to follow and visualize just what was going on. Maybe this was one of those stories I needed to see instead of read and possibly the visualization would have helped me to better understand the story. The poems I had a hard time with as well, were: “Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds,” “Somewhere I have never traveled,” and “Wild Nights – Wild Nights!” These were poems I just could not understand and I feel that it was that I could not identify them on a personal level or on any level for that matter. I would have liked to have read more on others opinions or view of these and maybe then I would have seen the meaning or significance behind them.
To My Classmates: Thank you for doing your part in making this class enjoyable and interesting. Your thoughts and opinions were, in my mind, not underestimated. Your responses to the questions and to my comments were thoughtfully respected and I thank you for voicing them! Good luck in your future! Kind Regards, Your Classmate, Stephanie Lamkin

Last Blog

This blog is a collection of your impressions about the literature you've read over the course of the semester. Do you have favorites? Those texts about which you feel you could still use a deeper understanding? Those that you would consider reading again?
Discuss.

Blog 6

Question #1
There were many parts in “The Tell-Tale Heart” that lends itself well to the concept of repression. In the opening lines, the narrator is talking about how he is not crazy, when clearly he is. He believes that whatever is going on with him is making him better, more aware, and that this is a good thing.
In the lecture on psychoanalytic criticism, it talks about “the ego being split between urges and repression so that one part of the mind indulges while the other retains a strict sense of rectitude.” This is where I see the clearest signs of repression in the story. First when the narrator is talking about the week before the attack, and his being really nice to the old man while he is at the same time planning his attack. I also saw repression in the way he drew things out, every night exhibiting control with his entering of the room at night, inch by inch, in total darkness, spending hours in this process. He could have just gone in and killed the man at any other time; it was clearly just the two of them in the house. He was repressing that urge to kill him every night, while at the same time cultivating it.
He also used rationalization in his reason for wanting the man dead, granted they were the rationalizations of a mad man, because no reasonable person could convince themselves that a hawk eye warrants murder.

Question #4
In Richard Benton’s critique on “The Cask of Amontillado” he uses historical research and analysis to help give more meaning to the story. He pinpoints when in history this story would have likely taken place, based on the bones in the catacombs, the sword that Montresor carried, and his style of dress. Benton explains that this murder may have taken place the way it did because Montresor had no other way to respond against whatever insult he believed Fortunato committed against him. “The honor of an aristocrat could not be satisfied in the performance of a duel, however, unless the impugner was a social equal.” Fortunato was a man of power, “since Fortunato has power, Montresor resorts to murder.”
Benton then goes on to talk about the method of the murder, the word play used between the two men as duel in itself. Then he offers a variety of explanations of who Montresor might be recounting the story to, believing “the listener seems to be a woman, for clever women are good listeners to men’s words.”
The information in this critique definitely follows with my opinion of what was happening in the story, and the historical context helped with putting things in perspective. When I read the story, I kept thinking that Fortunato had to know something was coming, but his pride would not have let him back down. When Benton talks about the “duel of words”, that sat very well with my interpretation. It was as if the same pride that was driving Montresor to commit the murder, also kept Fortunato from fleeing it.
I don’t know if I agree with Benton that the story was being told to a woman, I can see the possibility. I always (having read this years ago, as well) saw the listener as a being a son or grandson. He told the story with pride, as though he was passing down a piece of family history, as his contribution in upholding the family name.

Blog #6

Question 1:

In “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe seems to use his writings to unleash his repressed feelings of darkness and death. Poe has experienced a large amount of death throughout his life with his family and loved ones, so he was probably angry for losing everyone that he cared for and being able to write about death and killing innocent people was his way to release his anger. In the story “The Tell-Tale Heart” the character feels that he must get rid of an evil eye, which belongs to an apparently blind old man. When the character ends up killing the old man he instantly feels relief, but after a while he begins to feel guilty and tells on himself, suggesting that even though he felt temporarily relieved from his actions, the secret that he was trying to hold made him feel worse, and it felt better for him to just tell on himself.

Question 2:

After doing some research on Edgar Allan Poe, I definitely think that his personal life influenced his writings, as well as the events in both “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”.
Edgar Allan Poe was born to Elizabeth Arnold Hopkins Poe and David Poe Jr. David Poe Jr. was supposed to inherit money from his wealthy father, David Poe Sr. but because David Jr. decided to pursue a career in acting with his wife, Elizabeth, his father abandoned David, because he preferred that David Jr. become a lawyer instead. David Poe Jr. did not have any acting skills and was not a very good actor so it was hard for him to find work and he became very depressed and turned to alcohol. After a while David Poe Jr. abandoned his wife and three children when Edgar Allen Poe was just an infant. Elizabeth, Edgar’s mother took any role that she could get on stage, but died a few months after Davis Jr. left from tuberculosis. According to reports on the death of Edgar’s mother, all three of her children were found laying next to her dead body. The living conditions of the family were very poor; they lived in a very cold and drafty boarding room, and slept on a pile of straw on the floor.
All three of the children were separated and sent to live in different locations. Thereafter, practically everyone that Edgar grew to be fond of died from tuberculosis, including the wife of a Richmond importer that took him in as a child. Edgar married his 13 year old cousin Virginia, but she became very ill with tuberculosis, causing her to hemorrhage, and Poe became deeply depressed because of her condition. Virginia began to waste away, losing lots of weight at the age of sixteen. When Virginia was 20 years old she was sitting at a piano singing and trying to entertain her husband when a vein in her neck burst causing blood to pour from her mouth, she died ten days later. Poe was distraught and died several years later from his addiction to alcohol and opiates.
I think that Poe’s experiences with his loved ones and witnessing such violent deaths has to do with his dark writings. A lot of his experiences seems to be scenes from horror movies. As I read through Poe’s biography, it seemed that he had more bad life experiences than good ones, which explains why he writes about killing people and death in both stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.

Critical Companion to Edgar Allan Poe: a Literary Reference to His Life and WorkFacts on File Library of American Literature
by Sova, Dawn B.Publication: New York Facts on File, Inc., 2007.

Blog 6

Question 2:

Poe’s father abandoned the family in 1810 and his mother died shortly after from consumption. He was then taken into the home of John Allen who served him as a foster family and gave him the name Edgar Allen Poe, though they never formally adopted them. When he got older, in an effort to support himself, he enlisted in the US military, lying about his age and his name. In 1830 he married his second wife, Louis Patterson. In Baltimore in 1835, he secretly married Virginia Clemm, his 13 year old cousin. Two years after he published, The Raven, his wife died from tuberculosis. During her illness, he began to drink more from the stress of it all. Critics often believe the constant theme of death of beautiful women in his poetry and works of writing are because of the many women he lost in his life time. He was very unstable after his wife’s death and attempted to court Sarah Helen Whitman. Their engagement failed due to his heavy drinking and behavior (Wikipedia).
His life was pretty down in the dumps. Of course he would be depressed and angry about all the things that happened in his life. I believe all that pent up anger caused him to write such great and famous works. Instead of acting upon his feelings, he used them to write, channeling all of his negative energy on the page instead of someone else. It’s actually brilliant really. Because in a story you can become anything you want, design a character and live vicariously through them, almost as if you’re living with an alter ego. Fascinating really.

Question 4:

I chose the Critical Article The tell Tale Heart and in this article, the author tries to explain every aspect as to why the narrator used the language he used and why he committed the murder. The author talks about the sexual language he uses in the poem, to which I agree there were some parts that I questioned what Poe was trying to get across. He uses words like, Ejaculation and I thrust in my head and with the action of watching the old man while he slept and the fact that the whole setting was in the bedroom. I agree with what the narrator is talking about her. Poe even goes as far to admit that he loves the old man. I’ve read some other people’s blogs and some did not agree with the opinion of use of sexual tones used in the poem, but when I read this poem, I questioned why he would use descriptions rather than something else. Maybe it wasn’t the eye that caused this man’s death. The eye could have been an excuse. Maybe, the main character feared his love for this man since in the time period Poe wrote this, it wasn’t common for men to love men. So, in order to stop the love for him, he kills them and when the man is gone, his love for the man continues on and he can’t forgive what he had done to the man and won’t allow himself to get away with the murder.

Blog # 6 Questions 2-4

Question 2: Edgar Allan Poe's father ran away, and his mother died before he was three years old. His foster father never accepted him. He fell in love in college, but the girl's family stopped the engagement, because they knew he wouldn't get foster father fortune. He was at war, and got kicked out for disobedience of orders. He then went to live with his aunt and married her daughter Virginia who was only 13. Virginia died of consumption, and after her death his life fell apart. He suffered through a suicide attempt, several failed romances, and a long battle with alcoholism and depression. He was the father of modern mystery, and a worldwide influence on Literature. He was best known for poems and short fiction. He eventually was found unconscious on a Baltimore street. Poe died at age 40 in October they say from "Congestion of the brain".
Obviously, Poe led a miserable life. The constant encounters with death he suffered contributed to the types of writings, and poems he wrote. His life was shrouded with gloominess, and all of his life's misfortunes can be mirrored in his writings. He seemed to be a sad, miserable man, and his poems and writings all had a sad, miserable tone. It is clear that the melancholy that held dominion over his life, was manifested into the forms of poetry and stories. I think his influence to writing "The Tell Tale Heart," has to do with Virginia's sickness and her slow death. I think his passages are full of death, and darkness. Poe used many of the real life tragedies he experienced as inspiration for his Gothic style writing. Poe used literary devices such as point of view, and symbolism to give it a more dramatic effect, and to add to the madness the narrator portrays. I think he wrote this passage, because he likes to write things that evokes emotions.

Question 4: The article "The Tell-Tale Heart," is about a narrator who claims that he is not mad, but his behavior tells a different story. He wants to destroy another male, not out of jealousy or animosity, but because "one of his eyes resembled that of a vultures". He sees the eye as a threat to his well being, but it is he who is a menace to his own being. He kills the man with pride, only to concede to his horrific crime due to his guilt-ridden heart. The quote "And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in!" This particular quote talks about sexual reference which has no connection in my opinion to this passage. Then the article continues to say the narrator exists as a bipolar individual. I think bipolar is an act without intent, and uncontrollable. The narrator actually thought this out before he killed the man. Another quote says "Coupling of love and hate forms the basis for sad omasochism". I think this is a distorted quote its very vivid. The reading of this article does not really conform in some parts such as the quotes I listed above. The story is very strange, and corrupt. I Think he intentionally killed the man, and enjoyed it because it says he feels joy inside.

Blog 6

Question 2:
Edgar Allen Poe lived a life filled with obsticles. Some of his few struggles he dealt with were in his toddler years, his mother died and his father left him leaving him as an orphan. He was then adopted by a family, John and Frances Allen, but never really felt accepted, he knew and felt he was adopted. All of these experiences made his have a different lifestyle, he never experiences true family love or relationships which made him find these emotions in other places.

His lifestyle contributed in his dark tone in a "Tell Tale-Heart." This poem had a lot of death incorporated and instead of making Poe feel uncomfortable or afraid it made him feel comfortable since he grew up dealing with death of close ones in his life.

Question 4:
After reading the critical article on Tell Tale-Heart I noticed my opinion I had on the poem had changed. There was somethings I agreed with in this article and some things that I disagreed with, for example it was discussed that they believe that the narrator of the poem is bipolar and I agree, being bipolar you have no control over your emotions and how you express them and I believe that that was the case in this poem. However I dont agree with the sexual reference to the poem. "Oh, you would have laughed how cunningly I thrust it in." The author tried to tie it in together as this being sexual but I dont think it necessarly has a sexual meaning.

Blog #6 Questions 1 & 2

Question 1:
In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Edgar Allen Poe uses the concept of repression and is widely known to be his most eccentric and psychologically captivating. Repression is defined as the forgetting, or ejection from consciousness of memories of threat, and especially the ejection from awareness of impulses in oneself that might have objectionable consequences. Poe clearly accomplishes that, with a first person story that shows his own preoccupation with death, sanity, and his trouble with human relationships. The events of the story are centered on the murder of an old man, who is never named or thoroughly described except for “one of his eyes resembled that of a vulture, a pale blue eye with film over it”. It was this one eye that was the motivation for the murder of the old man by the narrator, since “whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees-very gradually-I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever”. From the opening line, the narrator is pleading his case that he is not mad, and begs the reader to not think of him as such, yet all of the actions separated by dashes indicate the contrary. He goes on to brag about his ability to enter the house for seven straight days at midnight without the old man knowing he is, only to find the eyes of the old man closed and thus the need to kill is gone. However, on the eighth day the narrator makes a noise that startles the old man, which makes him call out “who’s there?”, yet the narrator stays quiet for a whole hour after that, as does the old man. The narrator relishes the thought of the old man fearing for his life now, realizing his life is in eminent danger. At this point, the story accelerates to the killing the old man, which is only described by him moving a heavy bed over him, but includes explicit detail of how the arms and legs were cut off, and discarded under the floor boards. I think that most readers expected the actual killing would have been the main thrust of the use of repression, but it is that of the discarding of the body that is more shocking than that of the actual murder. Perhaps this was in an attempt to keep the reader off balance, using the element of surprise again in his favor. The police arrive at the door in a response to the shriek made by the old man before being murdered, but he says that there is no reason at all for him to worry about it. He eventually cannot overcome the noise in his head, a noise that he thinks is coming from the heart of the dead old man, and confesses to the police by indicating that his body is under the floorboards. His eventual inability to repress his emotions of wanting to kill the old man enables him to commit the murder. Although there is no mention of the consequences of the murder, it is my opinion that this is supposed to be a letter written from prison, as he pleads his case to whoever will listen.

Question 2:
Edgar Allen Poe’s personal life was filled with struggle and hardship, which strongly influenced the darkness exposed in “The Tell-Tale Heart”. He was forced to deal with the estrangement of his father when he was 1 yr. old, his mother died when he was 3, and he lost his “first love” at 15, and his grieving and sense of loss played a role in his unique style of writing. Then his step mother died of tuberculosis not long after this, further straining the relationship he had with his step father. He was sent away to the University of Virginia with just enough money to get there, and no money for food or supplies. He incurred about $2000 in gambling debts which he could not repay and his step father refused to repay, so he fled and joined the Army under a false name to escape being put in prison. He was a brilliant young man with a passion for writing, and all of this devastation comes through poignantly in this short story. The overwhelming feeling of having the ability to contribute, but not the means, comes thru in built up frustration and eventual reconciliation as he reaches the point of no return. I feel that his life experiences, especially those of dealing with the great losses of his mother, step mother, and girlfriend, all at a young age have influenced his own fear of death.
In the article “The Life of Edgar Allan Poe”, Saul Shandly writes of four major influences in Poe’s life: “The most damaging areas in his life repeatedly introduced themselves into his poems and stories among these were alcohol, disease, death, and negative male role models.” I could not agree more with this observance, and this story includes both death and a negative male role model. The alcohol influence on his life was magnified by the fact that he had an allergy to alcohol, which accelerated the rate he would be drunk, usually getting very drunk from just one drink.

Blog #6

Question 2: Edgar Allan Poe lived a very different childhood then most. "Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents who were itinerant actors" (Par. 2). After his mother died and his father left him, Poe was adopted by a family in Richmond. The influence and the lifestyle change that Poe encountered, changed his life over the course of time with intense experiences and a lot of death. When Poe was adopted he virtually lost his siblings and the lifestyle he had so far been raised in. Poe never experienced a true father son relationship and was forced to find happiness other places. Poe married his cousin whom which he loved very much. She died of tuberculosis and Poe faced dark life until his death at the age of 40.

In Tell Tale-Heart, Poe brings out the skeletons in his closet. He makes the reader feel what he had become acclimated to, death. The main theme is death, Poe was surrounded by it and he illustrates that in this piece. Poe experienced all kinds of death growing up, and even in adult hood, it is shown throughout Tell Tale-Heart. My perception of this piece is that Poe has found a way to tell his audience that death is a normal part of life. As the author, he makes the reader feel like it is ok to die, death is a part of life. I believe that Poe is the only author that can make murder comforting. Poe's life was filed with death, and in Tell Tale-Heart, Poe makes that clear.

Question 4: I chose the critical article Tell Tale-Heart. After reading this article my whole perspective on the story changed. The sexual references used in the article I tend to disagree with. This sexually charged language continues as the narrator describes the ritual that preceded the murder: "And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head [ ... ] I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in!" (303). The author is trying to connect the old man and the narrator sexual, and there is no evidence to support this insinuation. Yes the narrator alludes to loving the old man, but there is nothing to "sexually" back that up. As for what the narrator is feeling I agree. The anger and distance the narrator feels towards the old man is built up. I also disagree with the author that the narrator in fact is bipolar and can't control some of the emotions that are felt. Bipolar is a condition of which there is no control, and to me it seemed very pre meditated and thought out to be done with a bipolar condition. There are some things I agree with in this article and some things I disagree with, but overall it is a very insightful piece that I enjoyed reading.

Blog #6

Question #2: It is documented that Poe was orphaned at an early age when his mother passed away and his father abandoned him. He was later taken In by a couple but never formally adopted. He had a fall out with the father figure that took him and was disowned. Poe later married his cousin who later died of tuberculosis. Poe finally died at the age of 40. His cause of death is unknown, although the theories of death range from alcohol, to suicide, to tuberculosis. His life and death is dark and shrouded in mystery (Cornelius).

Poe’s works seem extremely macabre in nature. Reading “Tell-Tale Heart” I realized that death was a relevant theme that comforts the main character rather than something that scares, deters, or bothers him. Poe’s life seems to be riddled with the reality of death left and right, and so death being a theme that appears in his stories is no big surprise. However, in the story of “Tell-Tale Heart”, it is surprising to see how easily comforting death can be to the main character. Death seems to be a solution rather than a problem, which may speak to the repressed inner workings of Poe’s mind. Not only death, but murder in this story is a comfort and provides a true perspective into the author’s mind. Possibly, in my opinion, it appears that Poe has been surrounded by death so much that he sees it as a very normal part of life. So whether consciously or subconsciously, he uses this very dark theme as an important theme to “Tell-Tale Heart” because it is so commonplace in his life. To him, it seems like dying is part of living, so death appears often because he believes this statement is true.

Cornelius, Kay. "Biography of Edgar Allan Poe", Bloom's BioCritiques: Edgar Allan Poe, Ed. Harold Bloom, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2002

Question #4: I read the article called “Critical Article: The TellTale” which comes to ask if the poem has elements of a sadomasochistic nature. The article mentions “Imbedded in the tale is the psychological journey of an egocentric who delivers pleasure from cruelty.” The article goes on by saying that the language used throughout is sexually charged in nature; “He speaks of the murder as a “conceived” idea that “entered” his brain.” It is continued by saying that the individual is bipolar in nature with his love and desire to kill the same man. “Wilhlem Stekel noted over seventy years ago, it is this coupling of love and hate that forms the basis for sadomasochism.” Calling the eye of the old man the narrator’s sadist “obsession” where the narrator not only receives pleasure from the act of murder but also from the ritual that precedes the murder. The article mentions that “Sigmund Freud observed that a sadist is simultaneously a masochist.” And the narrator is experiencing a moment where he is “merging himself with his victim” and that he can’t differentiate his own heart beat from that of his victims. The article then eventually claims that at the “heart of sadomasochism is egocentrism.” This is why the narrator talks about his own crime in such detail and eventually why he reveals what he did. He wants to be infamous or recognized in some fashion so he speaks about why he did what he did as a result of egocentrism.

As a reader I did not consider such observations however it seems that to some extent I agree. The sexual references I am not too sure of, however the idea of an egocentric, ego-maniacal man I can agree with. The narrator seems so intrigued by his own motives and his own work. He goes into great detail about his interpretations of the victim, how he kills him, and eventually even diffuses his own heartbeat to be that of the victim’s. He seems to use everything and everyone around him as a mirror reflection of himself, which is very narcissistic in nature. Later he is so convinced that the officers in his house can hear the dead victim’s heartbeat that he tells them what he did, which again, is egocentric because he believes his perspective of what he did is so much grander and greater in nature than anyone elses perspective. This is a very interesting premise to read the story in.

Blog #6:

Question 1:

In the story by Edgar Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the repression the narrator felt towards the old man that eventually leads him to admitting his guilt to the officers because he wanted free himself of the old man’s heart that he heard beating even after he killed him and the dismembered the body. The events that led up to undeniable guilt were very carefully laid out. It took him seven nights to reach the point to enter the old man’s room without disturbing him. He stated, “I loved the old man. He had never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture – a pale blue eye, with film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees – very gradually – I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever.” This part makes it very clear that the intentions to kill the old man were not of the actions by the old man but of his “vulture-like pale blue eye.” The steps that were so cautiously laid out by him and told in this story, were to prove to the reader (or maybe himself) that he was not a “madman,” it was the “eye” of the old man that caused him to kill him.
After he had carefully planned for seven nights at exactly midnight, the eighth day is when he executed his plan to finally get rid of the “pale-blue eye”. He did the same thing that he had done the previous seven nights: first he made it so that he was “never so kinder to the old man” during the seven days (my guess is that the old man would not suspect anything-especially while he slept), next, he ever so cautiously entered the old man’s room (like he had done before) by turning the latch on his door and opening it, after he had opened the door enough for his head (which took him an hour), he then put in a dark lantern and then stayed in his room until a ray of sunshine casted on the “eye.” On this eighth night, he stated that he had never felt his sagacity more and that he had never been so ready to end the life of the old man. On the eighth night while in the old man’s room, his the thumb slipped on the tin fastening of the lantern and caused the old man to wake; but, he did not move a single muscle and stayed in his room for another hour without the old man knowing he was there. He did not hear the old man lay back down, instead he knew that he was watching and listening in the dark of his room (just as he did the past seven nights) “hearkening to the death watches in the wall.” After he could not wait any longer, he opened up the lantern just enough for the “eye” to be visible; which caused him to become furious. After he goes into detail about how he can feel the eye in the “very marrow of in my bones”, he explains to the reader that, “what you mistake for madness is but overacuteness of the senses?” In my opinion, he is stating that he is mad. He makes a paradoxical statement a few times in which I still do not understand what it means, “I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.” I do not understand the relevance to this statement, other than giving the reader an image of what he can hear.
After he became furious after seeing the “eye,” his blood and heart began to pound in his body and as the pounding became increasingly louder, he then killed the old man; he looked backed on the him with a “gaily smile.” To be sure that he was dead, he placed his hand on the old man’s chest to see if his heart was still beating – it was not. He then dismembered the member, cutting off the head, the arms, and then his legs. It was now 4 o’clock, with the dismembered body carefully lying under the planks in the old man’s bedroom. He was quite proud of his ability of making certain that there was no traceable amount of blood or anything out of place to suggest of what he had just done.
But it was his guilt that ultimately led to his admission. When the officers came to his house after being told by a neighbor that they heard a shriek, he “bade the gentlemen welcome.” He went as far as setting up seating in the old man’s room and he, himself, sat on top of the very spot he had laid the dismembered body. He kept hearing a noise while speaking to the officers, and as it became increasingly louder, so did his worry that maybe the old man was not dead and that he was hearing his heart beat louder and louder. Finally he could not stand it any longer and with the last line of the story he yells, “Villains, dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – tear up the planks! – here, here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart!”

Question 4:

Critical Article “The Tell-Tale Heart”:
After reading this article, I must say that I took a completely different approach to the interpretation of this story. Looking back on his life and all the hardships he endured, I understood this story as to be about the significant relationship between his wife’s father and himself. Poe’s father-in-law did not approve of the marriage, much less of Poe as a person. Their battle continued even after the death of Poe’s wife; which she had played a major role in a lot of Poe’s literature. The way I interpreted the story was that the old man was in reference to the father-in-law and the “eye” that made the narrator’s blood run cold was the relationship they had. Poe loved his wife and therefore he loved her father; however, because he did not like Poe (obviously this made Poe furious), he used a metaphor of the “eye” in place for how this made Poe feel: I believe that this made Poe feel like a failure to his wife because he was so hated by her parents.
I completely disagree with the sexual content of the story as the lecture suggested. For example: “Although Poe remains covert in any presentation of sexual analogy, “the narrator begins [the tale] with language of penetration” (Dayan 225). He speaks of the murder as a “conceived” idea that “entered” his brain (Poe 303). This sexually charged language continues as the narrator describes the ritual that preceded the murders: “And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head [ ] I thrust in my head. Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in!” (303). In addition to the language, the setting of the ritual and murder, a bedroom, only furthers the notion that this is a psychosexual tale. Finally, the narrator confesses, “I loved the old man” (303). Interestingly, a dichotomy is created between the narrator’s love for and his desire to kill the old man.”
This entry suggests that the relationship between the old man and the narrator were somewhat sexually involved. I strongly disagree because of the lack of evidence that disproves that the narrator (which in most of his literature, he is the narrator), is indeed a homosexual. I honestly believe that Poe had some sort of mental defect but he was in the right to feel such distaste towards his wife’s father. I believe that it was an obsession that he had towards wanting to inflict pain, but in a sadomasochism way. This notion that this story is “sexually charged” is a farfetched idea.
I do not agree with the fact that this man was in any way bipolar. “Indeed, the narrator exists as a bipolar being, divided by his love for and desire to kill the same man” In the mind of the narrator, he exhibits the difference between the old man and the “eye,” which in his has a completely different set a feelings for each. Bipolar is a disease that cannot be controlled; whereas in this story the narrator shows complete control during the seven days and even in the eighth when he kills the old man. The fact that he shows remorse/guilt at the end and gives himself up, shows that the love he had for old man still existed as well as he is still a “human” who can feel such remorse/guilt.
“As the criminal sits and answers the officers’ question “cheerily,” pleasure fades, and he begins to talk “more freely to get rid of the feeling” (306). He becomes convinced that officers who “chatted pleasantly, and smiled” (306) were “making a mocker of [his] horror” (306). Fittingly, he views the officers as sadists taking pleasure in his pain,” again I disagree with this thought. I do not believe that the notion the narrator feels is pleasure, I believe that is a release of stress and hatred that he had for the “eye” of the old man. As well as when the officers are “making a mockery of him,” and know what he has done, I believe this to be a human emotion that he is expressing –guilt. Consequently, I do not believe the narrator to be a masochist much less a sadomasochist. I did not analyze this story to have any such sexual content; in fact I believe this to be a story of Poe writing a scenario of what he would have liked to have done with his wife’s parents’ feelings toward him.

Blog 6, Due May 2

Blog Topics, Week of April 26

Question 1: Using the concept of repression and the “return of the repressed”, explain the events in “The Tell-Tale Heart” (you should be talking about the narrator’s choices and actions)

Question 2: Do a bit of research on Edgar Allen Poe and explain how his personal life may have influenced his choice of narrator and events in “The Tell-Tale Heart” OR “The Cask of Amontillado”. Remember that you are looking at the author’s subconscious motives and desires, ones that have been “repressed” by the author but are unleashed in the literary text. If you choose this question, you need to cite your source. Magill Literature Online and/or The Literature Resource Center, electronic databases (available via in link on our library site) are really good choices for this as the information is guaranteed credible.

Question 3: Interpret this course of action in “Amontillado} using both Freud’s model of the psyche (id/ego/superego) AND various methods of repression and “the return of the repressed”. You should analyze at least three of these moments. Note that the excerpts are listed in order of their occurrence; make sure you trace the psychological process in order (as in, “first he did this, and this means a, and then he does that, and that means b, etc.).

“The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labors and sat down upon the bones” (1204).

“I again paused, and holding the flamebeaux over the masonwork, threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within” (1204).

“For a brief moment I hesitated – I trembled” (1204).

“My heart grew sick – on account of the dampness of the catacombs. I hastened to make an end to my labor” (1205)

Question 4: Choose one of the articles on Poe and his work that are posted in “Lectures” and respond accordingly: briefly summarize the article (use at least a few quotes in your answer), then explain whether the information you discover in your reading conforms to your interpretation of one of the stories or conflicts with it. You might also use one of these articles in any of the answers if you wish.

Blog #5

1) In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka pg. 979

Pick this story! It goes hand in hand with Postcolonial Theory!
I chose this because the pre-summary of this story is horrific. A man is "sentenced to be tortured to death by a grotesque machine!" What is great about this story is that it fulfills Postcolonial Theory, what we will be covering in a few weeks. It goes over the brutality of imperialism, colonialism, and the legal system.

2) Guests of the Nation by Frank O' Connor
3) Another Way To Die by Haruki Murakami

Both of these stories are great readings for our psychological criticism period. I would prefer to read Murakami's story. What makes both of these great is that each author deals with internal issues. They are both assigned duties but they must decide to carry out their duties or assist in the destruction of people. Sounds exciting doesn't it? If that's not psychological I don't know what is. This assists Freudian theory that we store "suppressed and unresolved issues" in our head,(pg.144 Literary Criticism).

4) First They Came For The Jews by Martin Niemoller

Great poem! Falls into psychological criticism! I picked this because I can relate with the reader and I am sure many others can. He does not speak out when he should. He does not defend disappearing Jews. He has suppressed fears, and then his greatest fear arrives in the end-I can't tell you what it is-you'll have to read it to find out! Hee Hee. :-D pg. 1011-1012

5) Babii Yar by Yevgeny Yevtushenko

This poem is amazing! It may fulfill psychological criticism, but you will have to read it and let me know. He is not a Jew, but a Russian. He is a Russian pretending he is a Jew, imagining the horrors of a massacre. I chose this poem because I have never seen anyone write a poem with the structure the author did. The imagery is amazing "blood runs, spilling over the floors..."

Blog #5

My Selections:

1) "Girl"- By Jamaica Kincaid

2) "A Raisin In the Sun"- By Lorraine Hansberry

3) "Inspired Eccentricity"- By Bell Hooks

4) "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening"- By Robert Frost

5) "The Road Not Taken"- By Robert Frost

I chose these because they all seemed interesting. The first three short stories all seem cultural, and "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid describes gender differences as well, giving instructions on how a girl is supposed to behave and what duties that she must fulfill as a woman. Robert Frost is a famous poet, even though I am not familiar with his work, when I read his poems from the text I noticed how he used detailed imagery in his descriptions and how the tone of both of the poems seems like he is a lonely traveler.

Blog five

The first text i chose was a poem, "To help the monkey cross the river" by Thomas Lux. I chose this poem because it makes you think, is he really helping the monkey? Should he just let nature take its course? This poem also is filled with irony, a hunter that is helping a monkey escape a croc and an anaconda, yet he's hunting the anaconda and croc.
The second text I chose was another poem, "Dear John Wayne" by Luoise Erdrich, because it is about someone being stereotyped, and everyone can relate to that.
Next I chose a short story, "Human Evolution" by Octavia Butler, because lately in entertainment, such as movies, there has been a lot of human evolution and I thought it would be a fun short story to read.
The next text I chose was a play. The play "Antigone" by Sophocles is a great story about conflict and justice. I read this play a few years back and it is one of my favorites. Although it is very long it still is entertaining.
Lastly I chose "Killings" written by Andre Dubus. I chose this short story because is seemed an exciting and suspenseful story. It does not seem like a typical story you read for an English class, which can make it that much more exciting.

Blog 5

1) The play night, mother by Marcia Norman is about two characters Jessie Cates, and mother Thelma. Jessie announces she wants to kill herself at the end of the evening. This sets off a struggle between mother and daughter. Thelma uses every strategy to stop her. She tells the truth about her issues that had affected her life. One central facet about the nature of what creates drama in a story. This brings out a lot of different emotions, and is a good play to analyze. This is why i feel it would be a good addition to our schedule.

2) The short story, The Swimmer, by John Cheever is very interesting. I read the first few lines, and decided I wanted to read further. "The Swimmer," is a masterpiece of mystery, language and sorrow. It has great imagery throughout the story. Neddy Merrill's is a swimmer who losing heart, growing weary,and getting old. The story has mythic echoes the passage of a divine swimmer across the calender toward his doom, and yet it always only the story of one bewildered man, approaching the end of his life, journeying homeward, in a pair of bathing trunks, across the countryside where he lost everything that ever meant something to him. I would love to see different perspectives, about how other people perceive this short story.

3)The poem "Do not Go Gentle into that Good Night," by Dylan Thomas is a widely known poem. This poem is even showcased in a movie called "Dangerous Minds," which originally made me want to read it, and pick apart the pieces to gain meaning. I think its a very encouraging poem. It about death and dying, but when examined closer it becomes apparent that it is also about life, and how it is lived. I think many people will appreciate this poem, and be able to connect with it. This would be a good poem to the schedule.

4)In the short story Penal Colony by, Franz Kafka was very interesting to read especially because my major is Criminal Justice. Its different to read stories like this especially because they are kind of strange. It makes you think deeper, and wonder things like why people commit crimes that are so horrifying. It brings up a lot of questions to the readers reading the story. I think this would be a good short story to see how other people react to this reading. Its would be interesting to be in someone Else's mind to see what goes on, to make them do the things they do.

5)The poem Those winter Sundays, by Robert Hayden was a great poem to read. Its about a hard working father, who provides all the necessities for his kid. The kid didn't appreciate his father, and realizes he should of thanked him for everything. I'm sure a lot of thoughts, and thinking would come about while other people read this. This is a good poem because it makes you realize not to take advantage of the people that mean the most to you. Some kinds get everything from their parents, and are unappreciative and spoiled.

Blog Week 11

The first poem I would choose would be "To Help the Monkey Cross the River" as it details ideas of juxtaposition and irony. It also seems to have a certain perspective on how hurting someone or something can in turn help them. Sort of the mentality that applies would be what doesn't necessarily kills you only makes you stronger. This first poem has details, in a comedic way I think, of how help comes in unexpected ways at times. I would also choose "Today Was a Bad Day Like TB" because it focuses on discrimination. It is always interesting to read peoples' perspectives on a controversial social issue, and the importance of making sure people are always fully aware of these issues instead of ignoring or being indifferent to them. Whatever one's opinion is, it helps to bring out the practice of literary theory as well. My third pick would be "Harlem" which mainly caught my eye because my son will be attending graduate school close to Harlem in the coming fall, but more importantly, it is written by a great writer, Langston Hughes. It would be nice to read one of his most anthologized poems. The fourth text I would choose is Andre Dubus's "Killings" because it depicts the story, in some facet, of his life when he left his car to aid stranded motorists and then was eventually struck by another car and eventually lost most of one leg and strength over the other. It seems to be a worthy read. My final choice will have to be Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" mainly because Edgar Allan Poe has written very eerie, eccentric, sometimes frightening stories that can grab a reader's attention. Considering that "The Tell-Tale Heart" is so very well known, I am interested to read his other works, and this is one that I have never come across.

Blog 5

1.) While extremely morbid, The Penal Colony by Kafka. In the day and age of CSI many people want to know what is going through murderers heads, especially Nazi murderers that think nothing of thier torture devices.

2.) Let America be America Again by Langston Hughes. Hughes wrote this poem 70 years ago during a great upheval in the way people looked at life. 70 years later we as Americans are facing another social upheval. It would behoove us to remember what those before us were thinking during turbulent times.

3.) A Dream Deffered a.k.a. Harlem by Hughes. Talk about one of the most influential poems in American history! The imagery and metaphors used in this poem go far beyond surface level.

4.) I promise I'm not trying to be morbid here but The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. I read it in high school ten years ago, but that was before I learned to read a piece in various ways. It would be interesting to write a critisism it from a Marxist or phsycological point of view.

5.) Man almost all of these are negative, they must be written by writers haha. Thinking Ahead to Possible Options and a Worst-Case Scenario, mainly because it is short. Short gives us the student a little break from the litany of reading and it also makes us focus all the more intently on what we're reading.
5.)

Blog 5

Going through Reading What Matters the five texts I selected are listed below. I tried to choose poems, short stories and a play.

1. Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost- I really enjoy reading all of Robert Frost's poetry. I think this poem would provide several different discussion topics. There are so many key things that you can look at within this poem for example imagery, themes and meaning.

2. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson- This would be a good addition to the schedule as a short story because it incorporates a lot of symbolism and it shows a lot of literary components to address its theme. It is a very ironic story that shows the ignorance of that era in America (1940's).

3. When I married, I became an old woman by J. Robert Lennon- I think this short story would be a fantastic piece to add to the schedule when we start using psychological criticism. In this story a husband and wife switch roles. The story really challenges gender stereotypes.

4. 'night, Mother by Marsha Norman- Is a play that centers around a mother and daughter. The daughter informs the mother that she is going to commit suicide. In terms of theory this would be another good addition for when we start using Psychological Criticism.

5. Traveling through the Dark by Loren Goodman- I think this poem would be a good addition to the schedule. There are multiple ways of perceiving the poem. A possible theme for this poem which could lead to an interesting discussion would be man versus nature.

Blog Five

1. Amy Tan’s “Two Kinds” (288) I used this story for one of my papers and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It displays the transformation of a young girl struggling to grow up with a disapproving mother, to how it changed her as an adult.
2. Yvonne V. Sapia’s “Grandmother, a Caribbean Indian, Described by My Father” (415) This poem intrigued me because it is written as if her father was writing it. I thought that was very interesting to write from the point of view of another person and not necessarily her own point of view.
3. William Trevor’s “The Room” (694) This story was weird to me, but I liked it. There is a struggle within the main character, and she is torn between her marriage and her affair. The ending can be interpreted in different ways and leaves you wondering. There is a lot of symbolism in this story and it is thought-provoking.
4. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” (837) I first read this story in English 101 two years ago and I thought it was brilliant. There are so many ways this story can be analyzed and interpreted. It has a certain darkness to it and I remember it provoking emotions as I read it… How can the townspeople still continue such a malicious tradition?! I think it would be great to see this story in a future blog topic.
5. Gabriel Spera’s “My Ex-Husband” (1171) This poem caught my attention because it was written by a man, but the speaker is a woman. She is describing her ex-husband and alluding to the reasons they divorced. I think it’s interesting because I never would have imagined a man writing “for” a woman, especially in the context of divorcing an awful husband.

Blog 5:

The first reading I would choose is a story by Earnest Hemingway titled "Hills Like White Elephants." The reason I chose this one is based on simply that there is so much unsaid about what is really going on between the girl and the man. I would really love to read how others interpret the story's premise, and to find out what exactly is the relationship between the girl and the man, where are they heading to, why do they keep discussing the "perfect simple thing" that is mentioned over and over again, why does she say that she doesn't care about herself but will do anything for him, and what is the significance of the hill looking like white elephants? There are so many unanswered questioned and finding out how others interpret the story versus what is actually meant by the author would be intriguing to read.
The second reading I would choose is a poem by Michael S. Harper titled "Discovery." After reading this poem I had a mental image of the couple laying in bed and I wondered why she pretended to be asleep and then watch him sleep? I also wondered why he actually touched the light bulb or did he? Was there some sort of paradox to the last line? This poem is creates a vivid mental image but then so many questions arise about the situation as well and would like to read what some of classmates thought of this poem as well.
The third reading I would choose is a poem by Robert Hayden titled "Those Winter Sundays." The reason I chose this reading is because the poem is complex. I had to read it quite a few times before I came up with a meaning behind it and what I believe it means. It is a poem whose complexity brings out a story of a life of a hardworking father show has a son that is ungrateful at first but then realizes that his father has done right by him. I think many of us can relate to this story and it would be intriguing to read others' response to this one as well.
The fourth story I would recommend is another poem by Theodore Roethke titled "My Papa's Waltz." This poem has such a profound and indefinite meaning to it that my mouth was in awe of the horrible acts this boy had to face from a person who is supposed to show him love and kindness. It is so well written that I felt the pain he went through by the way the author used his words and any poem that has that type of affect on an individual should be further revised.
The final reading I recommend for our class is a story by Inga Clendinnen titled "Assessing Witness Testimony: Filip Muller." In my opinion one could never learn enough about our past and the history of other cutlures. I believe that with this story we can all learn more about Auschwitz by reading this story that tells about a personal experience of being in the camp. There was a recent article about a man who was honored by saving a few of the Jewish prisoners by replacing them with himself. The heroism that this man showed gave me back some hope that there is more good hearted individuals to replace those who have no shame in hurting people in the manner that has been described in this story. After reading this story, I was astounded by the hardships and the dishearten acts that humans can place on one another for a reason as small as believing in another religion or having different colored body parts. I believe that this story cannot go unturned!

Blog 5

My first of the five is The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. I read this when I was in High School and the name itself leads you to believe what the outcome will be. But as your read, The Lottery is one of the scariest events in the small village that the story takes place. This would have been a perfect short story to use for a New Criticism analysis. This short story has a lot of questioning morals and ideas that occur in this tiny town, enough to get a good discussion going on. For my class in High School we talked about the short story for three days and how preposterous the whole idea was.

My second would be In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka. I’ve always been interested in WW2, not because of the torture of the Jews but, because I don’t want it to be erased from History. So many people have tried to say the extermination of the Jews never happened, but it did. So, I want to read more and more about that time period and know the facts and read the stories wrote by the people who lived through it or witnessed it. My being a writer, I find that when writing stories, I tell a lot about how I feel and what’s going on in my head. So, I figure, if we read a story written by someone who’s endured the prejudice of that time, we can get a feel for what it was like. I think it would be a great read, learning from four different character’s roles in this story about this machine that took part in the extermination.

My third would be He Would Never Hurt a Fly by Slavenka Drakulić. I skimmed through this story and thought this would be interesting to discuss. It’s kind of controversial in a sense. This man had become this sort of executioner from what I’ve read and enjoys killing yet to his friends, he’s nice and calm and loves fishing. It almost seems like this guy is shifting personalities from what I’ve read. I’d really like to read more and find out what exactly was going on here.

My fourth would be What Work Is by Philip Levine. This poem talks about work and what work is to someone. They talk about how their brother sleeps in all the time working a late shift at Cadillac, and waking up to study German and other activities this brother is doing, where as the Narrator is standing, waiting for work, real work—heavy, hard labor. This kind of reminds me of the Hispanic men you with the hauling trucks or like in Fun with Dick and Jane, the men standing in the alleyway, waiting for someone to come by and ask them to do work and the struggle they go through fighting with each other to get the job. It would be interesting to look at this poem.

My fifth would be Punishment by Seamus Heaney. This seemed interesting. It leaves the question, who murdered this girl? Was the Narrator or was it someone else? Does Narrator know who did, do they know who this girl is? It kind of makes you wonder. You want to assume that the Narrator did it, but it could be the write who’s trying to trick you into thinking that way. Interesting poem, would like to look at it deeper.

blog 5

A) While going through Making Literature Matter this semester, looking for poems and short stories to write about for our papers, I came across some good pieces that could be a good addition to the schedule.

The first piece I would recommend would a play written by William Shakespere called Othello. Othello is a well written play that I think can be a good piece to use psychological criticism. The characters are deep and I think could be studied in depth by our course. Because Shakespeare's personal life was not well known I think that a class can interpret the characters without bias because we don't know the author's personality in depth. Also, Shakespeare is one of the most well known authors of his time, and I think it would be great to get into something written by the best!

The second piece I would recommend would be a play written by Pat Mora called Legal Alien. Although this poem doesn't correlate with what we are learning in the future, I believe that it would be a good poem to address. Legal Alien is about the struggles that a Mexican-American has to deal with everyday. Not being accepted by either race. I think this would be very influential seeing that the Mexican-American population in southern California is high, and it addresses a real problem that is a reality every day.

The third piece I picked for this assignment is a short story written by Charles Perrault called Little Red Riding Hood. We have all heard this fairy tale as kids, and I think it would be fun to get into as adults. There are lessons that she learns and the different paths she takes in the story that I think would be great to be able to analyze.

The fourth piece I picked is a punishment poem written by Carolyn Forche called The Colonel. This would be a great piece to use psychological criticism on because "the colonel" in the poem is a very deep dark character. In the poem he gives off a mean personification and slings out negative innuendos that I think would be fun to analyze.

The last piece I chose is a popular story that was written by Bobbie Ann Mason called Shiloh. Shiloh is an amazing story that won America's hearts when it was made into a movie. The characters in the story are very well written, and Mason gives the story a great meaning. Everyone who saw the movie liked the story line and plot. As a student I think this would be an awesome story to go over, I think that it would get the whole class involved because of how well written it is!

Blog 5, Due 04/18

Hi all,

As I am obviously behind with Blog 5, we are going to do something different with it. The method to my madness has a two-fold purpose. First, since this is posted late, I do not want you to revisit texts you may have read some time ago. Second, I think you might have some interest in choosing some of the texts we're going to be reading for the second half of the semester.

As such, Blog 5 is this: Go through Reading What Matters and choose five texts (short stories, poems, or plays) and explain why you think these would be good additions to the schedule. You might think about them in terms of the theories we are using and will be using soon: psychological criticism and postcolonial theory.

I am excited to see what you come up with!

Blog #4, Response to Question 1

Cherice Franklin

Commitments by Essex Hemphill

Essex Hemphill’s poem Commitments expresses his feelings of being left out during family gatherings and how in each photograph that he is in he feels that it is necessary to act his role within his familial position. For example, he says that in one of the photographs he’ll smile while surrounded by family members like nieces, nephews, and cousins, but he may be suffering internally with loneliness and mixed emotions about his sexual orientation. Hemphill uses a detailed imagery in his poem when he describes his family gatherings, such as when he refers to the red and white checkered table cloth, the white paper plates, and the grilled chicken which helps his audience to identify with similar and intimate situations. Even though part of Hemphill feels remorse for not being able to bring his lover to the family gathering or present a child of his own, at the end of the poem he says “I smile as I serve my duty.” Indicating that he is committed to the role that he plays within his family structure.

Blog 4

Question 3) Approach Plath’s “Daddy” from a reader response perspective.
Before reading the poem “Daddy” I expected the poem to talk about Plath’s relationship with her father. After I read the information on the author, I realized that her father died when she was eight so based on that I think the poem could be about the relationship she wished she had with her father. After reading the beginning of the poem it seemed like she grew up wanting more than what she could obtain financially because of her father’s death, “For thirty years, poor and white,”. After reading that line I assumed the poem would go on to talk about her childhood experience without her father. Plath goes on to say, “I used to pray to recover you”, which made me think that she really yearned for her father. Reading on further I predicted her to go into more depth about the relationship she wanted but didn’t have a chance to have, however I was wrong. Plath continues on in the poem and it seems like she thinks that her father’s death has oppressed her in some way,
“I never could talk to you.”
“The tongue stuck in my jaw.”
“It stuck in a barb wire snare.”
At this point I didn’t know what to expect as I continued reading. She continues on and ends up comparing her father to a Nazi, “I thought every German was you.” Then she compares her father to a devil, “A cleft in your chin instead of your foot, But no less a devil for that”. Stopping here for a minute I started thinking that the author is really hurt over not having her father in her life because he died. Just when I thought she couldn’t possibly compare her father to anything else she compares him to a vampire. “The vampire who said he was you and drank my blood for a year”. From this point I thought the ending would end up with the author continuing on being angry with her father. Again I was wrong and at the end she has resolved her conflicts within herself regarding her father, “Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.” Overall the poem never met any of my expectations and I couldn’t really realate to what the author was going through.

Week 8 Questions 1 and 4

Question 1: "A Chinese Banquet" is an interesting poem about a woman in a though situation with her mother and choice to tell her that she is gay. In the beginning of the poem (in the first line) the woman states that "It was not a very formal affair," she was talking about a gathering that, as I read on seemed very formal. She makes a quick point to say that everyone over twelve was wearing a long gown, but her. This is the first clue in the poem that there is something about the woman is different. As the woman describes the gathering in more depth she is distancing herself from them. Her mother seems to be pretending the whole time, she dances around any real subject or conversation with her daughter.

Question 4: Before reading the poem "Heritage" I didn't know what to expect. By looking at the title I expected someone to be talking about the past and where they came from. My heritage is farming, so for some reason I pictured someone talking about farmlands and crops and what not. As I read more about the author I knew it would have no relevance to what I was thinking. Linda Hogan has a Chickasaw background and interprets environmental, antinuclear, and other spiritual and societal issues. The section where she talks about tobacco, it hit home a bit. I think she was making a point on how a bad influence can cover and change a person. I would think that in the next part of the poem it would describe good influence. I believe that the section about tobacco was a good interpretation to give an example of bad influence. Tobacco issues and can relate to most anyone because it is a big problem in our country.

Blog 4 questions 1 and 3

Question 1: My papa’s Waltz
When first reading this poem my first thought was a drunken, abusive father towards the son. In the lines “at every step you missed, my right ear scraped a buckle” defined his abusive tendencies” at this case because of the waltz; also the opening line “the Whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy” adds to the readers’ awareness of the abusive. That was at least my first impression that the narrator was emphasizing on the on his bitterness towards his father which is very straight forward throughout the reading of the poem. The emphasis on his mothers frowning symbolizes the sadness and possible shame of knowing how aggressive her husband is towards her son.
The contradiction I came up with after reviewing this poem over a few times was given though the narrators’ last lines “then waltzed me off to bed still clinging to your shirt.” This shows that although the narrator is very negative toward his father’s behavior, he longs for his affection whether it is in a positive or negative matter. Although from the words given gives the readers an impression that the father is a drunk and is abusive towards his son, the narrator might be sending a different meaning about looking up to his father and wanting him to be proud. Going back to the first few lines about him being so drunk that it “could make a small boy dizzy: but I hung on like death,” in this these lines the narrator is explaining how drunk his father is yet he doesn’t dare let go because he knows the disappointment his father would have towards him.

Question 3: Chinese Banquet
Having a brief understanding of the Author I expect to read about equality among same sex couples; because of her book, Sparks Fly, regarding San Francisco gay life. Also I expect to read about families due to the title, and possibility the family either accepting or not accepting same sex couples. The section where she is wanting to tell her mom that she is gay and is happy with her partner, yet she knows that her mother will ignore what she says; shows the lack of family support towards her and her partner. I personally believe in happiness, and families should always support each other and their paths in life. In this case I’m sure the narrator feels like a disappointment to her mother because of the other member’s accomplishments and to the fact that she is gay. Up to this point where the mother is clearly not supportive you can tell how desperate the narrator wants to leave the function and be with the person that provides the shelter and love that she is missing through her family. I can predict that she will be disconnected to her aunts, uncles, and cousins because they do not except who she is as a person and her personal feelings. Right now the poem is meeting up to my expectations it’s just not about equality on a large scale of same sex couples, it’s more on a personal level and the acceptance towards one’s own family. As I read on she is only at this Banquet to respect her family yet she is so disconnected that her thoughts just run about her partner; this is because her partner is the only one who does understand her and knows exactly what she is going though. The last four lines of the poem emphasis exactly the disconnection between the narrator and the family, and also shows she wants to connect to them but can’t. The reason why she shows she does want to connect is because throughout the poem she is only imaging what she wants to say honestly and just gain their approval of her life.

Of "Heritage" and "My Papa's Waltz"

The American Indian lives a life of conflicting emotion. For the Chocktaw Indian life was good on the land they inhabited, but because of the growing economy around them and the mounting pressure from white people to produce, one year of bad weather wreaked horrible destruction on the crops that ensured the Chocktaw's survival.
In "Heritage" by Linda Hogan, Hogan introduces us to her family. She uses kind language to describe how she is like each member "From my father I take his brown eyes," (7) always to juxtapose it with the harsh reality that comes from living in a desolate land, "the plague of locusts that leveled our crops," (8). In the last two stanzas Hogan places the blame for their families plight on her grandmother. Hogan's grandmother cannot handle that her granddaughter is white, "my whiteness a shame." (30) Hogan uses the imagery of chewing tobacco as a metaphor for those who lived off of the Oklahoman soil. Hogan's mother is white and so according to the grandmother Hogan is not entitled to the same rights as the Natives.
The last stanza is a tragic end to the story as the grandmother tells Hogan to leave "From my family I have learned the secrets of never having a home." (45) Hogan never demeans her family when she describes them but always follows up her memories with something that went wrong.
Another well known poet that wrote about his family often is Theodore Roethke who wrote "My Papa's Waltz." Based on Roethke's well educated background, I would expect a poem like this to reflect a very positive moment in his life. However, Roethke's father was known to be stern so it is very interesting how Roethke combines something as delightful and fleeting as the waltz with a stern gardner.
The opening stanza speaks of a rough whiskey drinking man, not the kind that would teach his son how to dance. It almost seems that the waltz is really a metaphor for Roethke trying to live up to his fathers expectations, which would not be a new concept for boys growing up with hard working fathers the midwest.
But then the next two stanzas are happy. Talking about how "the pans slid from the kitchen shelf." (6,7), makes the reader recant a happy time. Not one of dissapointment. "At every step you missed, my right ear scraped your buckle." (11,12). Roethke looks up to his dad. Everytime Dad messed up it would hurt Roethke. This places his dad in a very high place in his life.
Roethke seems to have mixed emotions when it comes to his father, as seen in the first three stanzas. The last one starts off with "You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt," (13, 14). The negative language of beat and dirt speaks of his father working Roethke hard. But in the end Roethke respected the man. "Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt" (15, 16).
For guys this is a poem that is easy to relate too. While we want to do a good job, we want to please our fathers too. When we mess up our fathers thump us and tell us to do a better job next time. Childhood can be likened to a dance in this way. When we do a good job, the dance is smooth. But one wrong step and we get hurt.

Week Eight, Questions One and Four

Question One: “Commitments”

This poem has conflicting themes contained within: the speaker’s relationship with his family and how his lifestyle affects that relationship. This seemingly autobiographical poem, written by Essex Hemphill, suggests feelings of longing and sadness, yet he obviously cares for his family. The opening two lines are powerful and contain a dark feeling: “I will always be there/ When the silence is exhumed” (553). I believe Hemphill intended this to mean that no matter what, even when there is nothing left but silence, his true self will always exist. His family is unaware of his orientation as a gay man, as the lines state, “the shoulders of unsuspecting aunts/ expecting to throw rice at me someday” (553). This means that they expect him to happily marry a woman someday. This brings us back to the first two lines. Perhaps he suspects that when his family finds out, they will be disappointed and possibly even try to forget about him, hence the silence. He is stating that he will always be there, depicted in the photographs surrounded by a typical loving family. He paints the pictures of family gatherings, including “the hazy smoke of barbecue” along with Christmas and Thanksgiving celebrations. He states he is “always there/ for critical emergencies/ graduations/ the middle of the night” (553). The break in the second line is important, emphasizing again that he is “always there.” The key contradiction here comes in two places, with the first being when he talks about how his “arms are empty/ in those photos, too/ so empty they would break/ around a lover” (553). However loving and caring his family may be, and despite how much he cares for them, he cannot express his true self by bringing a lover around his family, and certainly not for family celebrations and gatherings. With the placement of the line “around a lover,” it ends the previous stanza, yet begins the new one. He is torn between being there for his family, as well as being there for his lover. His spirit is in turmoil, caused by attempting to balance his family life with his romantic life. The poem comes together in the last stanza with the lines, “I am the invisible son/ In the family photos/ nothing appears out of character/ I smile as I serve my duty” (553). He is the “invisible son” because his family does not know who he truly is, thus creating a churning contradiction within himself. He acts as though everything is alright, hiding who he truly is, as “nothing appears out of character.” He serves his duty as the son his parents can be proud of. He puts on the act and lives his life around his family as someone he is not. This is his choice to put on this act, and he is quite possibly content while he serves his duty.

Question Four: “A Chinese Banquet”

Before reading the actual poem, “A Chinese Banquet” by Kitty Tsui, I read that Tsui is of Chinese heritage, and given that she wrote a book about San Francisco gay life, I assume that she is gay. What struck me the most was the line in italics before the first line of the poem. It read: “for the one who was not invited” (554). I expect this poem to be about a family, and given the stoic and prideful nature of Chinese culture, that is rejecting of a person, possibly a person close to Tsui. After reading the first four stanzas, it seems like a fairly normal family gathering, but a couple of lines stand out. “all the women over twelve/ wore long gowns and a corsage/ except for me” (554) discusses how she was the only one not dressed femininely. Immediately, she stands out from the women in her family at this informal gathering. The family makes small talk with each other while she “suck[s] on shrimp and squab/ dreaming of the cloudscape in your eyes” (555). She daydreams about being somewhere else and seems detached from her family. Given the line in italics before the start of the poem, this seems fitting. The next three stanzas are filled with nagging from her mother, with a sense of disappointment. Her mother continues to ask her “what are you going to do with your life?” and discusses job opportunities, yet the question of marriage never comes up: “she no longer asks when I’m getting married” (555). It is as if her mother has given up on this subject. Tsui longs to have a close relationship with her mother, wanting to hug her and feel her love, but at this point, it seems near impossible. The next four stanzas are almost painful to read. It seems like she tells her mother that she is gay, or she is trying to convince herself to tell her mother, even though her mother already knows it. Being the strong Chinese woman that her mother is, she shakes her head as emotion takes over her face, “her eyes are wet but/ she will not let tears fall” (555). Her mother holds back her sorrow that her daughter is gay. The last three stanzas are fitting with the italicized line at the beginning. She speaks of the banquet being “very much a family affair” (555) but how her lover is not invited because she is just that: her gay lover. Her lover is not considered part of the family in her family’s eyes, despite that her “…home is in her arms” (556). This poem mostly fit with my expectations of it because her family is rejecting of her lover. Her mother especially has an especially hard time with, although she tries not to acknowledge her pain. It is obvious that she cares about her partner very much as she longs to be able to tell them she feels like she is home when she is with her.