Week 15- Drama- Fences

My Reflections on “Fences” by August Wilson

        “Fences” by August Wilson was a long play that read like a story. With each page, I became more intrigued as the author explained the black experience of the drama. The tone of the drama seemed to match the attitudes of the time as well. In “Fences,” August Wilson depicted the life and times of Troy Maxson, an African American blue collar worker. 

        Troy Maxson had a tough life growing up. Conflict with his father caused him to leave home at age fourteen. He learned how hard things could be living on his own early in life. This lesson is something that stayed with him during his entire lifetime. His way of thinking often caused conflict among the family and was most likely a result of his upbringing.

        Troy Maxson was the main character of the drama. The story is told through his point of view. Rose is Troy’s wife and she is a main character also. During the play Troy has several conversations with Jim Bono (friend), Lyons (oldest son from prior marriage), Gabriel (his brother), and Corey (his son with Rose). Later on in the drama, a new baby daughter, Raynell, is introduced also.

        Troy encounters many conflicts during his lifetime. He has been in jail. He has seen discrimination at his work. He had a conflict with Corey about work and college as well. His brother (Gabriel) is a source of conflict because he is in an out of treatment facilities. He has experienced conflict with Rose as he exposed his adultery and news of a new daughter. He also feels constant strife with the devil for his life and wishes to keep it out with a fence. 

        Jim Bono and Troy make a deal concerning the fence also in the story. Jim told Troy when he built Rose a fence that he would buy his wife a new refrigerator. As the conflict with his wife heightens, he finally builds Rose a fence. 

        Troy appears so have an underlying conflict within himself concerning death. Many of these views were most likely an effect from a dysfunctional home life. Although Troy has some good times in the play, he doesn’t appear to be a very happy man. He mentions in the play that the pressure of being the provider of the family has gotten to him. He feels like when he is with his mistress that he can be happy and stress free. He doesn’t appear to be a very happy man. 

        Rose always stays by Troy’s side though. She is always caring and attentive to Troy as well. She even raises his baby for him when the mother dies during child birth. After Troy’s death, she continues to care for young Raynell. She wanted the fence to be put up to keep her family in as long as possible. Troy wanted to keep out death until it was his time to go. He passed away swinging a bat towards death.

A Raisin in the Sun - Week 14- Drama

A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun with Sydney Poitier is the version I watched. This version was made in 1961. It was in black and white also. This drama was about the struggles of a black family.

When the story began, this family was waiting on the arrival of a life insurance check. The life insurance check was worth $10,000 and was the result of the father’s early death. The money meant a lot to the mother, Lena. Lena had hopes of changing the lives of her family with that money. She had watched her husband work himself to death on a daily basis.

          The son, Walter, had other ideas for the life insurance money. He was tired of being a servant to other people. He wanted to start a liquor business with his business partners. He thought working for himself would make him feel proud and provide a better life for his family. Lena did not want the money from her husband’s death to be spent on liquor though. She was against the entire idea. She and Walter had disagreements because of their differing opinions.

Meanwhile, Ruth, Walter’s wife, is unhappy. Her son, Travis, has to sleep on the couch in their cramped home. She has to live in that little, stifling place. Her relationship with Walter is deteriorating as well. She is overcome with joy when the money arrives and has hopes of moving out of that place to a real house. She wants a better life.

When Walter finds out that Lena spent the money on a house, he is very upset. Beneatha, his sister, always argues with Walter about the money as well. She is a college girl with bigger ideas about the world. She is wrapped up in African heritage which is the source behind her character in the story. As Lena sees that Walter can’t feel like a man or the head of their family, she gives him the rest of the money to handle. She trusts him to do what is right for their family and put aside money for beneath a’s college.

Walter decides to use the money for the liquor business with hopes of making money for their family. His shady business partner Willie steals the money and disappears though. The entire family is devastated and doesn’t feel like they can move into the new house when this happens.

Along with the pressure from the white neighborhood to stay out of their neighborhood and the news that their money was stolen is a little too much for this family. They do not know what to do now. Ruth doesn’t want to stay where they are. Lena feels sad and angry that her husband’s hard work was for nothing. Beneatha is mad that Walter just gave the money away. Walter just feels devastated and feels the pressure of being the head of the family. He knows he has let his family down.

The family comes together in the end. Walter makes the decision as he runs the family to move into the white neighborhood although it will be difficult. Lena still gets to make a difference for her family through this decision. Ruth gets to move into a real house. This black family suffering through tough times again forges ahead at end of drama in hopes for a better life.

Week 13 Drama

“Trifles” by Susan Glaspell

       “Trifles” by Susan Glaspell was an interesting play. It was written in 1916. While reading the play, there was a mysterious element to it. It felt like a murder mystery. 

       As the story begins, the description of Mrs. Wright seemed strange. The author may have created this feeling in order to implicate Mrs. Wright murdered her husband John Wright. Often, in murder mysteries, the one that committed the murder appears oddly calm after wards. This is the feeling I got when reading Mrs. Wright’s description.

       As the play continues, the county attorney (Henderson), the sheriff (Peters), and the neighboring farmer (Hale) begin to look for clues as to what/who may have killed Mr. Wright. The two women in the play, Mrs. Peters (sheriff’s wife) and Mrs. Hale (neighbor’s wife) are also looking for clues. The men talk about Mrs. Wright’s housekeeping abilities and begin to think of her as a bad homemaker. They seem to miss all the clues and make fun of the women who seem to be more on track with what happened. 

       The women knew something was up when they first spotted a bad stitch in the quilt Mrs. Wright was making. They thought something must have made Mrs. Wright nervous all the sudden because all other stitches in the quilt looked perfect. When they found the broken cage and dead bird, even more suspicion became evident in the play. They also mentioned Mrs. Wright’s character before she married Mr. Wright and after. Her behavior had changed dramatically.

       While the men wasted time and made fun of the women for looking around and discussing quilting, the women began to piece together what may have happened. I felt the drama implicated through the women that it was not a happy marriage, Mr. Wright may have been abusive, and Mrs. Wright may have killed him. The possible motive could have been that he killed her bird, wrung its neck, and broke the cage. Maybe that was the last straw that caused the murder. As the men mad fun of the women for discussing Mrs. Wright’s worry of her fruit during this time, they women told the men that women worry about trifles. This is where the title of the story comes from.

Week 13 Drama

“Naked Lunch” by Michael Hollinger

        “Naked Lunch” was written by Michael Hollinger. It is a play written in 2003. This is a shorter play that is about a couple named Vernon and Lucy.

        As the play begins, the scene is set on Vernon and Lucy having lunch. It seems to be going well but then something happens. Something immediately appears to be wrong as Vernon is eating his steak and Lucy is only eating her corn cob slowly. So, the story begins there as the relationship begins to be discussed.

        Vernon can’t understand why all of the sudden that Lucy has become a vegetarian. He feels slighted as he has gone to a lot of trouble preparing a romantic meal for Lucy with hopes of being romantic later. It also mentions that this was an effort to get back together on Vernon’s part as well. 

        The reason for the breakup seems to become clear at that point. Vernon seems to be a bully. He wants to know why Lucy won’t eat meat and thinks it is because of him. As she begins to explain, he gets more infuriated. Lucy can’t seem to get in to understand no matter what she says. At that point, Vernon tries to make Lucy eat the steak he has prepared for her. He can’t seem to understand why Lucy feels this way. Their romantic meal has now turned into a disagreement where one of them is turning slightly hostile. 

        The title of the poem, “Naked Lunch,” seems to go along with the play in two ways. Vernon mentions he had hopes of getting naked later, but instead Vernon and Lucy’s true feelings become exposed. Lucy succumbs to the pressure Vernon places on her to eat meat. She doesn’t try to get him to understand and just gives up.

Poetry Week 12

Reflections on Poetry Week 12

    For week twelve, I chose the following poems: “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” “Memorandum,” “To an Athlete Dying Young,” “Thinking about Bill, Dead of AIDS,” and “This Is Just to Say.”

    “To My Dear and Loving Husband,” by Anne Bradstreet was a sweet poem. It seemed like the woman speaking in the poem really loved her husband. The wife seemed very happy in the poem. It sounded as though her husband pleased her. This poem doesn’t seem like it would be written during seventeenth century Puritan times. The woman speaking in the poem appears to be professing her undying affection for her mate. The last line in the poem sounded like something lovers anticipate and tell each other when they talk about going to Heaven.

    “Memorandum,” by Billie Bolton was an amusing poem that looked different than other poems in the book so far. It looked like a memo. The poem had a woman scorned type of feel to it. In the poem it sounded like the woman speaking was not treated very nicely during the relationship. It also sounded like she decided that she was tired of how the man was treating her. The poem seemed to be a letter at the end of a relationship. It resembled a kiss off letter as well.

    “To an Athlete Dying Young,” by A. E. Housman was a poem about an athlete. The speaker of the poem seemed to speaking to the athlete in some way. This poem could have been said at a funeral of an athlete. The athlete being referred to in the poem seemed to no longer be alive. It is always sad to see a young person with talent die young. Young people seem invincible, but everything can change in a moment. This poem seemed to capture that feeling.

    “Thinking About Bill, Dead of AIDS<“ by Miller Williams was written in 1989. The beginning of the poem sounded like the start of AIDS. No one really knew what the mysterious new disease was. The person speaking in the poem seemed to be referring to someone who was afflicted with AIDS and lost the battle. Several things mentioned in the poem about how Bill was treated seem to be how people are treated with AIDS still today. It is a scary disease, but more things are known about the transmission of HIV/AIDS today. The poem sounded like everyone abandoned Bill because they were scared of getting his disease.

    “This is Just to Say,” by William Carlos Williams was a short poem. It had a comical tone to it as well. It was written in 1934, but sounded as if it could apply today. It could be applied in situations where people either live or work together. It sounded like the speaker ate the food on purpose and wanted to rub it in the other person’s face. That is what sounded comical in the poem. Normally, if someone ate something that belonged to someone else, they wouldn’t laugh or tell them how delicious the food was. That would be mean. The person speaking must have had a reason behind the actions that were spoke about in the poem.

Week 11 Poetry Blog

     For week eleven, I chose the following poems: “I, Too,” “Motto,” and “High to Low” by Langston Hughes were three of the poems chosen. “Dusting,” and “Sometimes the Words are So Close” by Julia Alvarez are the other two poems I chose.

       “I, Too” by Langston Hughes seems to depict the life of an African American. The speaker of the poem feels like telling everyone that he is an American just like they are. In the first stanza, the speaker of the poem does not seem to be bothered by the fact that he is sent to the kitchen to eat when company comes. He wants to shout he is also an American and knows that a day will come soon when he will be allowed and welcomed to eat in the dining room with people of all color. In the second stanza, he speaks of a day when he will not be asked to eat in the kitchen. This poem seems to depict how many have felt over the years when faced with prejudice.

       “Motto” by Langston Hughes is another poem I chose. Even though it is short, it has a cute ring to it. The speaker of the poem must be telling his motto in life. He seems to feel like he is a cool person. He goes so far to say that being cool is the reason he stays alive. As the poem ends though, the speaker lets the audience know that he needs to feel like everyone likes him, but he must show others that kindness in return.

       “High to Low” is the last poem by Langston Hughes that I chose. The speaker seems to be talking to someone that he doesn’t think highly of. This person seems to belong to the same race as the speaker. The speaker feels that they are low. He doesn’t think they are representing their race well. The speaker seems quite irritated by the other person in this poem. He even speaks about the children of the other person not having a neat appearance. The speaker seems to also be trying to convey to the other person his disappointment. The speaker obviously feels like the high person in this poem. The speaker feels like the low person can do a better job representing their race.

       “Sometimes the Words are So Close” by Julia Alvarez is one of the poems I chose also. The speaker of this poem seems to be an inspirational speaker. The speaker seems to be telling the audience that she feels alive when her words are down on paper. The words of her poem seem to be giving directions to the audience as well. She wants the audience to take to heart what she has to say. She must be speaking from the heart. That must be why she feels so close to the words of the poem.

       “Dusting” by Julia Alvarez is the last poem I chose. The speaker of the poem seems to be in conflict with her mother. It seems like the speaker of the poem doesn’t feel valued by her mother either. It seems like the speaker of the poem wants to rebel and nothing like her mother. The speaker of the poem wants to exercise their own type of individuality. The mother must be trying to get the speaker to conform from erasing everything the speaker tries to do. Many daughters feel like they know everything and experience turmoil with their mother as they get older.

Poetry Week 10

My Reflections on the Poetry from Week 10

     For the poetry assignment this week, I chose four poems from Emily Dickinson and one poem from Robert Frost. The poems I choose were:  “If I shouldn’t be alive,” “Water, is taught by thirst,” “I felt a cleaving in my mind,” and “The Bustle in the House,” by Emily Dickinson. The poem I chose by Robert Frost was “Fire and Ice.”
 
    “If I shouldn’t be alive,” by Emily Dickinson is one of the poems I chose. This poem is a short poem with a message about dying. Dying seems to be a common theme among poets. This poem seems to be about if she should die, she will still be thinking of someone. It sounds like it could be someone she loves. If she doesn’t get to thank them while she is still alive, she will be thanking them from her grave. The last phrase about her granite lip seems to represent the silence that comes with death as the body that was once alive turns into a hardened, stiff corpse. The last phrase seemed to say that even though the lips will be sealed, the person she wanted to thank should know that she would be thanking them if she could.

    “Water, is taught by thirst,” by Emily Dickinson is the next poem I chose. I found this poem interesting. It mentions a word and then what teaches the word to mean something. I thought the phrase about peace is taught by battle stories was a powerful statement that stood out. Without battle times, peace times would not feel as nice. The same is true about peace time. Without it, battle time would  not be known. When the current time is plagued by battle or war, everyone longs for  peace time to come again. No one wants to see people dying. No one wants to see families lose loved ones. It is definitely heartbreaking to see children lose a parent as well.

    “I felt a cleaving in my mind” by Emily Dickinson is another poem I chose. It is also a short poem. The speaker in the poem seems to be struggling with the thoughts of something. It is not clear what has confused the speaker of the poem. It seems like the speaker is really trying to understand what is going on, but just can’t wrap their brain around the concept. In this poem, every other line rhymes, and that type of poem has a nice flow to it. Many things could be on the speaker’s mind. They could be confused on how their lover is acting. They could be confused about the problems in the world. I have often felt that way when hearing a child has been harmed, especially when it is a child harmed by their mother.

    “The Bustle in the House,” by Emily Dickinson is the last poem I chose by this author. Love and death are mentioned in this poem. There is a different feeling in the house the morning after someone dies. Everyone is solemn as sadness overcomes the house. The speaker mentions cleaning up and putting away the heart like someone would clean the house. When a spouse dies, the one left behind does feel like their heart has been broken. So when the poem mentions packing up the heart and not using again until eternity, it sounds like how someone feels when their spouse or loved one dies. Some people feel like they will never love again. They also look forward to the day they will see that person again.

    “Fire and Ice,” by Robert Frost is the last poem I chose. This poem is also a short poem. The theme of this poem is the end of the world. The speaker of the poem mentions he would like to agree with the ones who say the world will end in fire. The speaker seems to enjoy a life of desire and associates more with those who favor the fire theory. Then, the poem shifts and goes on to say if the speaker should die twice, he would pick the other way. I thought this may mean that if he could do things over, he would live his life a different way. He would live a better life not associated with fire. The last line of the poem seems to say it would be okay if the world ended in ice, but it wouldn’t be as good as fire. It would just suffice.

  

Poetry for Week 9

My Reflections on the Poetry from Week 9



     In choosing the poems from week nine, I choose the following poems: “My Papa’s Waltz,” “My Mistress’ Eyes Are Nothing Like the Sun,” “Do not go gentile into that Good Night,” “Lonely Hearts,” and “Death Be Not Proud.” I liked the poems from this week also. My favorite among them was “Lonely Hearts.”



     In “My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke, alcoholism seemed to be the current theme of the poem. The title of the poem seemed to represent the battle with alcohol that plagued the father of the poem. In the beginning of the poem, it feels like the boy or speaker of the poem is speaking of the father. The poem also mentions the mother’s disapproval of what is going on. It also felt like the son spent a lot of time with his father in a drunken state. The boys sounds small in the last verse of the poem when it mentions he is sent to bed clinging to his father.



     In “My Mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” by William Shakespeare, it does not sound like the speaker of the poem thinks highly of the mistress at all. The poem seems to paint the mistress in a very unflattering light. The poem even mentions the breath of the mistress is foul. Even though the speaker likes to hear the mistress speak, her voice seems to have an unpleasant sound as well. The idea of the mistress in the poem is not a good one. Maybe the author is trying to paint adultery in a disgusting way by the description of the mistress.



     In “Do Not Go Gentle Into The Night” by Dylan Thomas, death seems to be the theme of the poem. In the beginning of the poem, it seemed like the speaker of the poem was telling someone to fight dying. The poem mentions that one should live to old age. The light mentioned in the poem seems to represent life. The speaker wants the dying person to keep the light and stay away from light’s disappearance. During the time of the poem, the author’s father was dying. So towards the end of the poem, it felt like the author was speaking to his father. He wants his father to fight death and to not go out gently. He wants death to not have an easy fight with his father. After experiencing my mother pass away from a dreadful disease of ALS, I can echo his pleas for his father to fight against death.



     In “Lonely Hearts” by Wendy Cope, it sounded like singles ads to me. Many of the entries sounded as if the people were lonely and looking for love. The setting of the poem seems to take place in North London. Several types of people looking for love are listed in the poem. There is a male biker, gay vegetarian, bisexual executive, Jewish single mom, and Libran non-smoker. All of these characters mentioned are looking for love and have certain requirements that interest them. The poem sounds like it is several voices speaking from several characters throughout the poem. Each of them making their bid for love because they are lonely.



     In “Death Be Not Proud” by John Donne, once again the theme of death is being visited. The speaker in the poem seems to be mocking death at first. The tone is slightly aggressive as the speaker is giving the feeling of not being scared of death. As the poem goes on, the author seems to be telling the more valiant ways of death. Some die in their sleep. Some die in war. Some die of sickness. Some people die of poisons. Eventually, everyone will die. When that happens, death can no longer frighten or chase the person around. If they are not living, the death is dead.

Poetry for Week 8

Reflecting on Poetry
Week 8

     This week, I choose five poems to Blog about from the list of the required reading. The five poems I chose were: “We Real Cool,” “We Old Dudes,” “ Mirror,” “Richard Cory, “ and “ A Man Said to the Universe.” Most of the poems were very short this week. The reader had to look further into the work that they were trying to convey to the reader.

     “We Real Close” by Gwendolyn Brooks was a short poem. In the beginning of the poem, a setting is placed regarding playing pool. The poem seems to depict young people who skip school to go the pool hall. They always seem to think that is so cool. The author seems to be saying that the pool players think they are cool, but their excesses in life will catch up with them. The author explains that young people will most likely die soon.

     “We Old Dudes” by Joan Murray depicts an old retired man with white hair who likes to go play golf. The habits, the way he chooses to dress, the way he votes, and when he will help seems to describe that someone will die soon as well. This kind of reminded me of my father. He is always going to play golf. When you spouse dies, you are left with a lot of hobby time.

     “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath seems to depict a woman’s plight as she notices she is aging. There’s no hiding from a mirror. Once the woman in the poem was young with a beautiful young face. Now as the woman looks in the mirror, she sees things she can’t change. This is harder to swallow. It is harder to look in the mirror and not see a young face anymore. How does that happen?

     “Richard Cory” by Edwin Arlington Robinson depicts how a wealthy man is viewed by his peers/acquaintances. Everyone seems to idolize someone like Richard Cory. No one thinks someone like him could have any type of problems. It seemed like Richard had everything a person could ever want. It appeared as though he was not as happy and lucky as everyone thought. Richard Cory killed himself and no one knew he was suicidal or needed help. We see a lot of these situations these days in the media. A lot of the time drugs are a reason behind a person dying too  young.

     “A Man Said to the Universe” by Stephan Crane depicts the plight many humans may feel sometimes. The world is such a big place. Sometimes an individual struggles to find their place in this world. The poem could be saying if that the world didn’t expect much of the person and his ability to reach his full potential in the poem. It also seems like the person is shouting to the world not to forget about him.

     Once again, I enjoyed reading the poetry for this week’s assignment. With most of the poems being so short, I had to think over what they might be trying to say.

Poetry

Reflecting on the Poetry

I enjoyed reading the poetry from this week. In choosing five poems, I decided to choose: “The Secretary Chant,” “Those Winter Sundays,” “Dog’s Death,” “Introduction to Poetry,” and “Titanic.”

“The Secretary Chant” by Marge Pierce sounded like a humorous take on secretarial duties in an office. Many items plagued the mind of this secretary. She compared parts of her body to parts of the office supplies and equipment. It does appear from the reference of once being a woman, that a secretary may feel overwhelmed by the amount of work she does or even dehumanized. From the poem, it also feels like the secretary’s head is filled with all the things she must do each day. The poem does have a humorous tone on what it feels like to work as a secretary.

In “Those Winter Sundays,” written by Robert Hayden, it reminds the reader of Sundays. That day of the week has a different feel to it than other days of the week. For instance, Mondays bring a dreadful feeling. Fridays bring and excitement feeling and anticipation. The poem felt like it had a female tone while speaking of the father throughout it. The father took care of the family by getting up early and warming the house up before his family arose. The poem also felt like maybe it was just a girl and her father in the home. When angers of that house was mentioned, it felt like other members of the family, perhaps the mother, may have died leaving just the father and the young girl. The child character in the poem should feel thankful that the father cut wood and warmed the house up while she slept. No one wants to get out of the covers in a cold house!

While reading “Dog Death” by John Updike, it had a sad tone to me. I thought of my family’s pet, a Yorkie named ChaCha. It would break my heart for him to get ran over. He was also a difficult puppy to train as many dogs are. It would feel sad to me to tell my children that their dog died while they were at school as well. This is how I felt reading this poem as I reflected. Maybe this scenario happened to the author of the poem. There seemed to be a love for a pet in the theme of the poem. This appeared to me by the references to taking the dog to the vet and the feelings that accompanied that. It also appeared in the reference of the puppy finally using the paper just before dying. By using the title “Dog Death,” it gave the poem a sad tone.


“Introduction to Poetry” by Billion Collins felt like directions to approaching poetry. In the beginning, it explains to look at a poem closely. Sometimes it requires reading a poem more than one time to understand what it means. Towards the middle of the poem, it felt like the author is trying to say reading poetry is open to a reader’s translation also. Readers often spend a lot of time trying to figure out and ponder about a poem’s actual meaning. More thinking about the poem than needed may often result. “Introduction to Poetry” describes the feeling that many readers get when reading a difficult or hard to interpret poem also.

When I saw the title, “Titanic” by David R. Slavitt, I wandered if this poem could be about the actual sinking Titanic. As I read the poem, that was the case. Many people go on cruises like the size of the Titanic on a seasonal basis. This poem seemed to suggest that passengers would not feel bad to go down on a ship if people were with you. The poem tells that people will be remembered by those who love and write about them and how they died. The theme of this poem seem to suggest that death wouldn’t be so bad. Dying this way would not be as terrible as one may think. People who die are remembered by their loved ones in a sad, melancholy way whether it is an accidental death or one they are prepared for.
　

"The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

My Reflections on “The Help” by Kathryn Stockett

     I feel like I know the characters so well after reading “The Help.” The author did a great job describing the characters and their stories. I could picture the person that all of  the characters were. It was fun reading this novel. Aibileen was a nice, motherly character. Minny was a spunky person who spoke her mind often getting herself in trouble. Skeeter was an intelligent, career minded activist in hiding.

     In “The Help,” a period in time when racial tensions were high was depicted. The story was told from several characters’ point of view. The sweet, older maid Aibileen felt like an old nanny who loved and adored children. It seemed like it would be difficult to be mean to someone like that. Her employer seemed pressured to treat her prejudicially in order to fit in. Skeeter seemed like she was pressured to fit in with her circle of friends even though she didn’t like the way they treated the help or their children. It was not surprising that two characters such as Aibileen and Skeeter would make such friendly cohorts while writing together. Both of these characters seem to care about people and the injustices that women were experiencing that they knew. They seemed bothered by the things happening in the world and their community as well.

     The story had some interesting characters as well. Hilly, Minny, and Celia were lively characters that kept the story going. Hilly and Minny seemed hostile throughout most of the story. Celia seemed like a misfit and a little crazy at times.

     I think the novel, “The Help,” depicted a time when African American people were mistreated and longed for equal treatment. The novel had a good message. By writing the stories, the characters hoped to make changes in the way things were similar to  the way Civil Right movements do.

"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

My Reflections on “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe

     The story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” felt like an excavation site where archaeologists are hard at work. It seemed rather mysterious also. The story was being told in the character of “I.” It was a little difficult to follow because of symbolism in the story.

     The beginning of the story presents a conflict. Montressor feels he has been wronged and must seek revenge. The act that wronged him is never mentioned, but he seems consumed with it. He seems to be very adamant about seeking revenge against Fortunato.  He devises a scheme which leads to talks of Amontillado. He tells the character that he wishes to seek revenge against to help him in the search for it. Fortunato seems to like drinking and Montressor feels like he can draw him in because of that. They seem friendly to each other in the piece which makes one question why he would want to seek revenge. The character Montressor does allude that his behavior is false to lure Fortunato in to go look for Amontillado.

     At the end of the story, Montressor is working very hard to find Amontillado. It doesn’t mention Fortunato much in the story at that time. He is not mentioned again until the end of the story. Fortunato does not answer when he is called to which leaves the reader to think he is dead. Montressor seems very sad at the end of the story as well after Fortunato doesn’t answer.

    At the end of the story, it felt to me like Fortunato had been sealed in the catacombs. There were so many references to laying this stone or that stone. The sad tone was present at the end too. I felt this way due to the rest in peace phrasing as well.

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Ernest Hemingway

My Reflections on “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” by Ernest Hemingway

     As the story, “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” begins, it shows how things are going in the life of Mr. Macomber at that time. He is embarrassed due to his fears in dealing with lions. Many comments are made regarding his cowardly ways. His wife also senses his fears and is embarrassed by her husband’s cowardly ways. She seems to be more interested in the brave hunter Wilson than in her own husband even showing affection to him. This affects her husband and will ultimately affect his life.

     Francis Macomber seems very embarrassed by his fear of wild animals. This character cannot believe the fear he has and where it could be from. His wife seems to not want to be with him because he was a coward. She seems very turned off by his fears. This feeling is echoed by Mr. Wilson as well. No one feels like being a coward is the way someone should be. Macomber’s wife seems to really like the hunter, Mr. Wilson as well. She is so intrigued by the hunting and the hunter that she feels compelled to accompany them on the hunting trips. She also makes several flirty type remarks to Mr. Wilson in front of her husband and insults her husband.

     As the last hunt of the story begins, the reader can see that Francis Macomber is finally living the type of life that he wants to live. He seems to finally be free of the fears that encompasses him. Through the last hunt, he had hopes of redeeming himself. Ultimately, he is accidentally shot and killed by his wife. Francis Macomber finally lived a happy life, but it was brought to a short, abrupt end.

"Horse Dealer's Daughter" by D.H. Lawrence

My Reflections on the “Horse Dealer’s Daughter” by D.H. Lawrence



In the “Horse Dealer’s Daughter,” the story begins showing a family who had just lost the last of their family’s fortune. The three brothers and their sister Mabel seemed to be figuring out what they could do with their lives now. They remembered how full their home was when their successful horse dealer father was alive. Now, the house didn’t feel the same. The hustle and bustle of those days were now gone. No one came around like they did before when people were everywhere. This situation seemed to affect Mabel this most. At first, she appears to be in denial, but later it appears she may be depressed.


The story turns from focusing on the family to focusing on Mabel’s relationship with the doctor. When they first meet, the author hints that a relationship will be coming. The doctor seems intrigued by Mabel.


Mabel seems like she doesn’t want to leave the home that she remembered so fondly sharing with her deceased mother. Mabel appears as though she is sad, but accepting what must happen now with the impending move. This realization must send Mabel into a depression when she tries to commit suicide in the pond.


Thankfully, the doctor who was consumed by Mabel saved her. He seems to bring her back to life. She falls in love with the doctor who has saved her life in two ways. She now has someone to be with and something to do because the doctor wants to marry her. Even though the doctor viewed her as a patient, he begins to love her. The doctor can’t understand the draw he has to Mabel. The doctor helped Mabel make such a change in her life because she was headed down a very, dangerous path.

"Barn Burning" by William Faulkner

My Reflections on “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner

In the story, “Barn Burning,” it felt like a mysterious story to me. The story seems to be told from the boy’s point of view named Sarty. Sarty experiences fear and turmoil throughout the story until the end relief. The story also felt like it popped in and out of time sequence as well.


In the beginning of the story, the boy’s father, Snopes, was on trial. As the Justice asked questions, he could not really prove that Snopes is the guilty one responsible for burning down the barn. So Harris, the plaintiff, wants the boy Sarty to get on the stand. Sarty’s father is angered by Sarty. Sarty’s father feels during the court proceedings that Sarty should stick with his blood even if it requires lying. Sarty seems to feel scared of his father. He also seems to feel like he let his father down.


During the middle of the story, it goes back to the court setting. During this time though, Snopes is found guilty of another crime and is ordered to compensate the person. Snopes does not like these findings and has no intention of paying the fees that he is ordered to pay.


The boy Sarty seems to have a conflict between doing the right thing and what his father makes him do. It appears that Sarty’s father doesn’t speak much and treats Sarty very sternly. The story feels like a constant turmoil between the boy and his father. It even incorporates the mother, sisters, and aunt into the story. Everyone seems scared or intimidated of the father and will do what he says even if they do not feel it is the right or moral thing to do.

"Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid

My Reflections on “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid



In the short story, “Girl,” it sounds like directions a mother might be giving to her daughter. The mother speaking to the daughter in this story sometimes has harsh things to say to her. The theme of not turning into a slut (slang from book)is found throughout the story as well. In the introduction of the author, it mentions that Jamaica Kincaid’s stories are often sent in post colonial society times. This time period seems appropriate as the person telling the story warns or becoming a slut, dressing like one, or acting like one. The girl of the story is told how a lady should act too. The mother telling the girl what to do in the story seems certain that the girl will grow up to not act like a lady.


Young girls do need direction from their mothers. Mothers usually do not speak to their daughters in a derogatory manner though. So, those harsh words set the tone of the story. The instructions seem to be at a rapid rate as well. At the end of the story, the person (or mother) telling the story can’t believe after all the many details given, that the girl would only be concerned about the last meaningless thing described. That type of thing seems typical of a young teen. They kind of tone out what their mothers say. The mother telling the story doesn’t seem to have a good relationship with the girl.


The time setting seems like an older time period when women were more subservient to men. It seemed to be at a time when it was looked down upon to not be that way. The time period seemed to take place at a time when women only worked in the home as well.

"Revelation"

My Reflections on “Revelation” by Flannery O’Conner

     In the story, “Revelation,” Mrs. Turpin is a woman with many discriminating views. Mrs. Turpin seems to look down on everyone in the doctor’s office waiting room setting in the story. Mrs. Turpin claims to be a Godly woman, but her thoughts seem to be very prejudiced. She also judges everyone and makes assumptions about their character from their shoes as well. The descriptions of the characters in the waiting room do seem to be unsavory. Mrs. Turpin doesn’t mind the pigs at her home, but is bothered by unsavory characters in the story and feels she must let them know how she lives her life. 

     The girl in the waiting room obviously has a problem with Mrs. Turpin. The situation in the waiting room area seems to get very intense as the story builds.  The longer Mrs. Turpin talks, it seems the girl gets more agitated.  I didn’t expect the girl to jump up and choke Mrs. Turpin. Maybe the girl didn’t like the condescending works spoken by Mrs. Turpin. Maybe the girl was a little mentally disturbed or has anger management problems as well.

     Mrs. Turpin seemed to be highly disturbed by the girl calling her an old wart hog from hell. She even mentions it to the workers. When they tell her she isn’t such a thing, she doesn’t hold their opinion very high as she feels they are beneath her as well. Although Mrs. Turpin looked down on others and felt she was better, she didn’t find anything wrong with that behavior. Mrs. Turpin is very puzzled and can’t seem to figure out how she be called such an undesirable  thing. She thinks her kind treatment of those she looks down upon makes up for her discriminating views of them. It is hard for Mrs. Turpin to accept that someone could think low of her.

"Good Country People" by Flannery O'Conner

My Reflections on “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Conner

     In the story, “Good Country People,” it begins by introducing good, country type people. The characters Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga seem to think differently about good, country people. Hulga seems to feel aloof regarding them until they encounter the salesman. The salesman turns out to be a scam artist in the end. He is not what Mrs. Hopewell and Hulga regard to as good, country people.

     I think the story begins with Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman to give a back story dialogue regarding good, country people from the area and time. Hulga is exposed to good, country people for a long time. She sees how her mom talks with Mrs. Freeman who they think is a good, country person. They have seen how Mrs. Freeman and her family are but her mom thinks of them as good, country people also. So when she encounters the salesman, after being a little distant, she begins to equate him with the good, country people she has been around before. He seems to be a nice Christian person who is trying to sell Bibles. 

     Although very educated, Hulga feels less power when her leg is taken off by the Bible salesman. The salesman changes his entire disposition when he feels Hulga is helpless in the barn loft. Hulga realizes that the salesman is not a good, country person when he does these things. After all, the contents inside his Bible were not very Christian like.. It seems like the salesman had anticipated taking advantage of Hulga in the barn loft because he knew she was an Atheist. Hulga is left feeling like her thoughts about people are still correct. She thinks people pretend to be something like Christian or good, country people, but really are not the way they try to be at all.

"A Good Man Is Hard To FInd" by Flannery O'Conner

My Reflections on “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” by Flannery O’Conner

     In “A Good Man Is Hard To Find,” the grandmother foreshadows the meeting with The Misfit. As she asks her son to go somewhere else like Tennessee, she seems nervous about the possibility of running into The Misfit. Ironically, this scenario happens which leads to the demise of the grandmother and her family.

     The family in the story is portrayed as a typical American extended family. There is a father, mother, three children, and a grandmother. The grandmother tries to tell her son what to do which is also typical. Even though children grow up, they are still children to their mothers. It is comical that the children fight in the car while on a road trip. The mother seems oblivious and the father appeases the children by trying to find the plantation house so they will be quiet. He seems rather irritated by the grandmother’s suggestion to find the plantation house. He wants to stay on the road to get to their destination. The grandmother is scared to run into the escaped inmate called The Misfit, yet her suggestion to find the plantation causes this to happen.

     The Misfit in the story seems insane. At one point while talking to the grandmother, he does seem normal, but troubled.  As he continues to talk, he appears insane by the things he says. He talks to the grandmother in a normal way as each of her family members are taken in the woods to be killed. The grandmother must have know what was coming by her references to Jesus Christ, telling The Misfit he is not bad, and praying. It doesn’t help her though, because she is killed in the end as well. None of the kindness shown to The Misfit affects him.

"The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My Reflections on “The Birthmark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    In, “The Birthmark,” the fascination with the perfect human form seems to come into play. The character Georgiana thinks nothing of her birthmark until her husband Aylmer becomes obsessed with it. Aylmer lets the birthmark upon his beautiful wife’s face consume him so much that he forms a distasteful look when he looks at his wife and sees the birthmark. As he shudders every time he looks at his wife, she then begins to develop a distaste for the birthmark to ultimately agreeing to letting him remove it. The story is an example of how easily a person’s self-esteems can be affected by someone they love.

     While reading “The Birthmark,”  one can easily question why the birthmark was such a big deal throughout the story. Maybe the author was trying to show the workings of the mind and how easily one thought can change into something bigger. Once something gets in your mind, it his hard to change it. The power of the mind is a powerful thing. It could cause someone to shutter when they see something that they have developed a bad taste for. The story also shows how someone with good self-esteems after daily attacks begins to think the same as those who attack or mistreat them. The power of the mind can drive someone crazy when you are consumed with bad thoughts.

     The story reflects how in today’s world people are willing to risk their life to look a certain way.  This must be a theme in a woman’s life that has always been around. At the end of the story, Georgiana  feels this way as well which ultimately causes her death. Georgiana’s feelings and impending death are foreshadowed as her husband’s feelings about removing it are mentioned in the story.

"The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky" by Stephen Crane

My reflections on “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” by Stephen Crane

     In “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky,” the story sounds like it occurs in a western-type setting. Marshall Jack Potter marries his bride in the beginning of the story out of town in the city of San Antonio with no friends or family present. Inner turmoil for Jack Potter’s character starts early on in the story as he is nervously tries to hide his stress that accompanies bringing his  new bride home with him.

     Many clues in the descriptions within the story lead the reader to some ideas about the story. Jack Potter seems nervous to bring his bride home. He seemed to have eloped with his new bride. Jack Potter is the main character and a popular man inside the story. It doesn’t seem like he would have wanted to have a quick, out of town marriage ceremony. Jack also feels guilt in the story. It could be Jack feels guilty to bring his wife back to town with all the shooting that goes on in that setting. He could have felt guilt because he didn’t let anyone know he was getting married also.

     The conflict between Jack Potter and Scratchy Wilson seem to be related to Jack getting married. Maybe their conflict was over a woman all those years that they have been fighting. Scratchy Wilson lets go of their conflict on the day Jack arrives home with his bride when he learns that Jack is married. Jack Potter was never the one who began the conflict/fighting to begin with and agrees to let it go. Since Scratchy Wilson has a gun and Jack doesn’t at the end of the story, it is very fortunate for Jack that the impaired Scratchy lets go of their conflict.

"Killings" by Andre Dubus

 My reflections on “Killings” by Andre Dubus

     While reading the story, “Killings,” I was reminded of abuse cases I have seen before on television or heard about. It is the typical story of ex-guy gets mad at the new boyfriend and wants to beat him up when he dates the girl friend. Except in this story, the new boyfriend is murdered and the family takes revenge. It was an interesting read and I often identified with the fears the father spoke about concerning child hood accidents and wanting to keep his children safe. No parent ever wants their child to be hurt and the worry doesn’t stop once children grow into adulthood. The story has both a tragic beginning and ending with flashbacks of happier times.

    Ruth, the mom character, had concerns about the new girl friend in the beginning of the relationship that her son has with a woman who has been previously married with children. Maybe she had an idea of the trouble/baggage that the new girlfriend brought with her. Ruth seems like a very caring mother who is devastated by the murder of her son.

     The inner feelings of the father in the story could be how many parents of murdered children feel. As Matt, the father, remembers the child his son was and happier times with his dead son, it seems to fuel the fire that causes the premeditated murder of his son’s killer. The torture and sadness his wife Ruth faces also adds to the decision to murder their son’s killer. The friends in the story fuel the fire as well when they discuss how the time people actually spend in prison also. The father seems tortured at the end of the story with his decision to murder their son’s killer, but his wife seems to want him to do it.

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

My Reflections on “A Rose for Emily”


In “A Rose for Emily,” Miss Emily seems to be a lonely, old woman at the time before her death. Her character traits are similar to that of a hermit. The story had a morbid, mystery type feel to it. The story often leaves the reader to question if the characters were actually ghosts although they weren’t. At the ending of the story, more elements of the story become clear. It became apparent that Miss Emily had a strange obsession to holding on to dead bodies of the people in her life.


     In the story, it was mentioned early on that Miss Emily didn’t want to let go of her father’s body. They had to force her to bury him. While reading of the sealed room and its bridal contents after her death, it felt like she was never married but longed for it. So,  that could be why she held on to the room, sealed it, and never changed it. Surprisingly though, it was revealed that the sealed room’s contents held a dead body in the bed in addition to all of the other things inside. Once again, Miss Emily did not let the body of a deceased person go. Miss Emily did not want anyone to leave her.


     The character in the story, Miss Emily, could have been a mentally ill person. That condition could explain why she was not seen much in her life and kept to herself so much. It could also explain why she couldn’t let go of the bodies of the deceased. It could also explain why she laid in bed with the dead, rotting corpses for many years as well.


     Some other elements of the story that added to its mystery was the man who worked for Miss Emily and the bad smells coming from the house throughout the story. The man who worked for Miss Emily did not speak much, and she probably hired him for that reason. That way, her secret could be kept. The smells must have been the dead corpse smell. Since the man who worked for her never told anyone, no one knew what the horrid smell was. With the secret kept, Miss Emily could continue to be with the deceased till the time of her passing.

"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin

My Reflections of “The Story of an Hour”


      In the beginning of the story, Chopin introduces the story by stating the character, Mrs. Mallard, has a heart condition. This condition may have led up to the events of the end of the story in which Mrs. Mallard had a heart attack and died. Mrs. Mallard experiences many emotions during the hour of the story that makes one question her relationship with her husband.


     Upon the news that her husband had been killed Mrs. Mallard had a range of emotions regarding the death of her husband. I understand grief and immediate anguish felt by Mrs. Mallard upon this news. Sometimes, people are in shock when they receive devastating news. Sometimes people immediately begin to grieve, cry, and wail also though. Her next set of emotions seem different as to how I would handle the death of my spouse.


     Mrs. Mallard likes the feeling of being free that comes to her from the death of her husband. That feeling could be the result of many things. For instance, maybe she married too young or felt like a prisoner in her own home. Maybe she didn’t like her husband, he was abusive, or mean to her also. Another possible reason could be she was always worried about him and such a thing happening. Now she could finally let go.


     I have been married a long time and also watched my father deal with the loss of my mother. It makes me sad to think of a time when my husband might not be here. I can’t imagine the feeling of being free. I think I would feel a piece of me missing if I lost my husband. I don’t feel like Mrs. Mallard felt loved by her husband and stayed married due to obligation. I feel this way because of her feeling of being free upon the news of her husband’s death.

Hello

     This is my blog for my English 113 class. I enjoy reading and reading to my children.I stay very busy with my children and all the subjects that require reading with college though. So, that limits time reading just for enjoyment these days. When I do have time, I enjoy the Twilight series. In the future, I would love to work with young children. It is such a joy to watch them learn something new or learn to read. :)