Erin Malone

The End or a New Beginning?

2009-04-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

Michael Drayton’s “Since there’s no help, come let us kiss and part” is a heartbreaking poem about the termination of his relationship with a woman. Throughout the poem the speaker is deeply suffering because he sees no solution to issues in his love life, and he literally foresees the death of Love, unless his woman objects and relights the fire of Love.

In the first section, the speaker surrenders to the burdens of his ailing love. Desperately, he finalizes the end of their relationship and decides the only option is to kiss and go their separate ways. Although the speaker himself, states “I am glad, yea glad with all my heart/ That this so cleanly I myself can free,” it is not convincing that he can severe all ties so easily and walk away undamaged (3-4). By the repetition of the word glad, the speaker may simultaneously be trying to convince himself and the reader that his current situation is anything to be pleased about. In the next line, he says “shake hands for ever, cancel all our vows,” and this provides evidence that the break up is mutual between the man and woman (5). Shaking hands is a sign of an end to intimacy and agreement. Oddly, canceling all of their vows follows shaking hands. This is heartbreaking because so much of a relationship is based on promises of spoken words and trust that these intangible words hold concrete tangible value. Vows are a declaration that cannot be so easily disposed of by lovers. Immediately following the dismissal of all previous agreements, the speaker presents a new agreement to be followed. He declares that when they see each other again, they must not show any expression or evidence that they have or ever had feelings for one another. By the end of the octave it seems that the speaker is distraught over his once strong love, but ready to put an end to his hopeless relationship.

Surprisingly, the poem takes a turn from complete certainty of termination to the possibility of resolution with the word now. In this section of the poem, Love is personified as a helpless man who the female lover may save if she truly desires. Love is taking his last breaths because Passion, Faith, and Innocence (the inner components of Love and his friends at his sick bed) are weak as well, and Love has nothing left to live for. Passion is an intense emotion that can mean enthusiasm, outburst of emotion, or even strong sexual desire in a relationship. When Passion is speechless, it is not passion at all, and therefore it, like Love, is dying. Faith, the second friend of Love, should be strong and upright, but it is described as kneeling by Love’s deathbed. Therefore, Faith has lost its confidence and by taking a kneeling position, it appears half its size. It can be of no use for the dying Love. Lastly, Innocence associated with children and naiveté usually is wide-eyed and eager, but when exposed to the harsh reality it must shield its eyes. In the poem, it says “Innocence is closing up its eyes,” and this means that the speaker’s innocence is being taken away (12). He used to have pure strong love, but he now learns the utter pain of a broken heart.

Then, in the last couplet, it is as if a miracle potion is discovered that could save the dying Love. The miracle potion is the love and determination of the female lover to save Love. When Passion, Faith, and Innocence are too weak to help Love, the female lover is the only hope left for Love. When the poem ends, the speaker has just planted a seed of hope for the relationship. If the female lover wants to salvage their love she has the final say.

The poem is quite melancholy throughout it, it seems as though there is no Hope and all of Love’s greatest wonders are weak and failing. It appears that the love will end and there is no way to prevent it, but in the last couplet, the sadness is lessened. A staple ingredient of love is replenished: Hope. After the speaker has poured out his heart, he realizes that Love is still fighting to survive and that he still has a chance of becoming healthy and strong if his lover acts quickly.

Thoughts on Madame Bovary

2009-04-10T11:02:00.001-07:00

I am currently reading Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. I have read about 140 pages and it is a 400-page novel. I intend to do a lot of reading over this Easter weekend. So far, I have found the novel to be slow paced, but intriguing. It is different than the usual books that I read because it is packed full with description that drags on a little. As a read, Flaubert paints an extremely detail picture of each setting that I am reading about. When I think about the plot, not very much has happened thus far. Emma married Charles, and he is deeply in love with her. The problem is that Emma desires something more exciting and she wishes she were in love with Charles. The couple originally lives in Tostes, but then they move to Yonville because Emma is unhappy/sick. There, Emma meets someone that she falls in love with, and by the reading the back of the book, I am fairly confident they will have an affair. Although, little has “happened” the rich detail (and the necessity for me to write a paper) keep me reading.

As far as a paper goes, I’m not exactly sure what I will write about. Maybe I could focus on how Emma’s education and desire to travel and learn about the world put deep strain on the marriage because Charles was content with a small town and a simple life. In a time period where many woman were not educated, it could we interesting to look into the effect education has on a marriage. I also think it could be interesting to write about how Emma’s high expectations put her in a position that made happiness impossible to achieve. She constantly daydreams about the past, her unmet potential, and her husband’s dullness and lack of excitement. Emma, who desires splendor and riches, is forced to be thrifty and plain. Thirdly, another interesting topic would be pointing out how Charles is in many ways unlucky. His first wife was very in love with him, but he was not in llove with her. His second wife does not love him, but he loves her. Talk about bad karma! I don’t think that could fill 5-7 pages though. I’m sure that as I read more, I’ll get new ideas. I’ve read a little over 1/3 through the novel, and I’m sure the best parts are still to come!

Willy's Fathering

2009-03-08T16:15:00.000-07:00

In class we discussed how Willy’s fathering causes the future failure of his two sons, Biff and Happy. Many suggestions were made about why the sons lead the life they do.

Some people thought that Willy is the cause of the failure. Willy pays much more attention to Biff, inflating his ego, than he does to his other son Happy. This may cause Happy to feel unloved and Biff to rely on his father’s constant praise. Willy encourages Biff to cheat because he believes that Biff has a great personality and he doesn’t need to waste time studying. Willy encourages Biff to play football and dedicate his life to that. Then when Biff does what his father instructs, he does not graduate high school. Willy teaches Biff to cheat his way through life and to cut corners, but Biff learns that his father’s method is fake and unreliable. Now, at this point many people would see their parent’s misguided lifestyle and change their ways, but Biff cannot do that because he relied on everything Willy said being the truth and the pillars of life. When Biff learns that Willy is cheating on Linda, Biff’s whole world shatters and he can no longer live the dream his father desired for him. Happy on the other hand never felt good enough for his father and when he saw that Biff couldn’t succeed, he thought that there must not be any hope for him either.

Another idea is that the sons had no future regardless of if Willy had cheated on Linda or if he hadn’t encouraged bad behavior such as cheating. It is interesting to look at the possibilities for the sons. Even if they grew up in the perfect household they may not have been rich or famous. It is hard to believe that a son would throw his whole life away just to spite his father because that hurts the son even more than it hurts the father.

I have come to believe that I think the failure of the sons was a combination of having a bad father, bad circumstances, and lack of potential. The failure cannot be attributed to just one factor because all aspects must be considered to see the big picture.

Act III- # 6 How do you interpret her final slamming of the door?

2009-02-22T20:17:00.001-08:00

The final conversation between Torvald and Nora and slamming of the door reveals the true nature of both characters and their deepest desires in life. The couples goals in life appear to be obvious throughout the story, but it is not until Nora “slams the door” on Torvald that the reader completely understands the hidden principles of each character. On the surface, it appears that Nora simply wants to keep her husband happy (by protecting his health and doing whatever he wants her to do). Torvald appears to strive for wealth, pleasing his delicate unknowledgeable wife, and always doing the right thing. In the final scene leading to the final slamming of the door, Nora reveals that her head does great deal more of intellectual contemplation than she is given credit for. Because she learns that law would not take motive into consideration and that she would be condemned in court, she tells Torvald that she “must try to discover who is right, society of me” (1732). In a sense Nora is maturing as an individual, but she is also abandoning her family. While it is true that Torvald is not the man that she expected him to be, he is her husband and she should try to work things out with him. It is not completely his fault that she let all of her anger resentment build up inside to the point of explosion. At this time, men were in charge of the house so Nora may have worried about the consequences of speaking up. Unfortunately by not speaking up, Nora and Torvald’s marriage shattered into millions of pieces which is symbolized by the final slamming of the door. Torvald reveals that his top priorities are not being moral and ethical, rather it’s his reputation. Throughout the play, Torvald prides himself in his high morals and condemns people such as Krogstad as immoral and therefore unbearable to be around. By automatically deeming his wife incapable of raising his children due to one mistake, Torvald reveals a hidden radical and self-centered nature within him. Both Nora and Torvald hold one thing in their life higher than each other: Nora holds her education and self investigation higher than her husband and Torvald holds his reputation higher than the importance of his wife. The final slamming of the door signifies the clash between Nora and Torvald that cannot be solved. While a door is closed on Torvald’s dream life, a new one is opened for Nora.

To be, or not to be, that is quite a famous question!

2009-02-01T21:00:00.001-08:00

Before I read Hamlet, I had often heard the quote “To be, or not to be, that is the question,” (57) and wondered where the quote had originated and what exactly it meant. It is easy to misinterpret when it is heard out of the context of the Hamlet story. In fact, it is easy to misinterpret within the story or not acknowledge the depth of meaning in the quote.

To my surprise the famous quote came from one of Hamlet’s soliloquies spoken to Ophelia. Hamlet’s soliloquy investigates questions regarding life and death and the fear of the unknown. Hamlet verbally tries to sort out his feelings by speaking of suicide as a subject not directly relevant to himself. When he is discussing death, he could also be referring to the pending murder of Claudius. Hamlet never uses I, rather in his most famous quote he says “to be, or not to be” which could be referring to anyone. Hamlet struggles to understand “whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer” (58) or the “conscience does make cowards of us all” (84). Hamlet does not know if he should stay alive and carry out revenge for his father’s death as his father’s ghost directed him, or if he is being a coward by being scared of the unknown (his own death). Hamlet reasons that man is only scared of death because “no traveler returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have,” (82). Sometimes a negative situation is easier to deal with than a future that is uncertain. While the unknown could be better than the present predicament, it may also be worse.

Another element of the soliloquy that should be analyzed is what Hamlet’s intentions are as he is speaking. Depending upon if the reader thinks Hamlet is acting crazy as an act to fool everyone or if Hamlet has indeed gone mad, the scene will be interpreted differently. If Hamlet is not mad, he may anticipate that he is being spied upon. Then Hamlet would know people were listening, and he may deliver the speech with the intention to get a particular reaction. If Hamlet is crazy, the speech shows an inside look at the convoluted brain of a mad man. He is trying to reason the best way to lead his life or find excuses to put an end to it. Regardless, Hamlet’s thoughts focus on the subject of death and the mysteries around it.

The Unfortunate Oedipus

2009-01-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

Oedipus The King is a tragic story for various reasons and it does not serve to teach a lesson. The main character, Oedipus, is fated to have a horrible life full of upsetting surprises. Initially Oedipus is set out to find the murderer of Laius, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to exile the killer. There is no reason that Oedipus should be punished, yet he is soon faced with a startling discovery. When Oedipus finds out that he has slept with his mother, and he killed his own father (Laius), he is heartbroken and destroyed. He knows that he must stay true to his promise and exile himself. Oedipus does not stop at exile; by his realization that he was blind to the atrocities of his life, he physically blinds himself.

There does not seem to be any apparent reason for Oedipus’s unfortunate destiny, and it therefore the story carries no moral. Had Oedipus’s life been full of wrongdoings or had he learned something from his bad fortune, the story would be educational. Instead, the reader can still enjoy the story, but cannot sense a moral. Even when Oedipus is true to his word, no good comes to him. Ever sense birth Oedipus was fated to a life of problems and he had no choice but to fall into the trap fate set in his path.

Ivan Ilych's Character

2009-01-11T18:35:00.000-08:00

Leo Tolstoy sets up the story of The Death if Ivan Ilych in such a way that first the reader comes to an understanding of the society in which Ivan lives, second he/she develops a negative/neutral picture of the self-centered Ivan, and finally he/she empathizes with Ivan as he approaches death. When I read the first chapter of The Death of Ivan Ilych, there were many signs that his friends did what they did because they thought it was the proper action and that the society was based on promoting one’s own well-being and social status. When someone died it was not too traumatic on their friends because the friends were simply happy that they remained in good health. Even Ivan’s supposed best friend is upset that by going to Ivan’s funeral, his regular game of bridge is delayed. Also, at Ivan’s funeral, Praskovya is more upset about her current financial situation, rather than the death of her husband. As I learned more about Ivan though the story of his own life, I saw him in a negative light. He did not desire to do jobs that helped anyone or that followed his interests, rather he chose his career by what he thought the proper thing to do. All the choices in his life were made by consideration of what he should be doing not what he wanted of what was best for his family. He is neither compassionate towards others, nor a particularly good man in any sense. Yet, when he becomes sick it is easy to forget that Ivan got himself into his predicament by living a life empty of human compassion and full of false friendships. Ivan’s inner issues that he only begins to sort out in a time of desperation are self induced. Ivan resents the false nature of his friends and family concerning his illness. Everyone pretends that he will get better and that he is not nearly death daily. The reader feels bad for Ivan and also becomes frustrated with his family, but Ivan is only breaking through his falsity shell when he is faced with death. Had Ivan’s wife been the one sick, I believe that Ivan would show equally little compassion toward her that she shows toward him, and he would never undergo the realization brought on by his terminal illness that his life “had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible” (55).
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Similarities between Heart of Darkness and Waiting for the Barbarians

2008-12-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

It is not uncommon for books to share some similar plots, characters, and themes, but Heart of Darkness and Waiting for the barbarians had such similar scenarios that is would have been illogical not to see parallels between the two books. They both depend upon their government that in each book is not serving to benefit anyone other its own desires. Also, the books both contain characters that are damaged by the government’s imperialistic tactics.

Both books were set in a place exterior to the “main territory” (Europe and the Empire). The external areas were inhabited by natives that were looked down upon as less intelligent and often as not even human. In Heart of Darkness, the Company sends people to the Congo to civilize the Africans. The Company wants their actions to appear to be significant and honorable when in fact the European men sent to the Congo often go mad or die without helping any Africans. Heart of Darkness does not show any examples of wanting to protect of help the Africans while they are stationed in Africa. Instead, the men want to shoot at the natives for entertainment if they come near. The supposed morals of the Company are not the actual motives that influence their actions. Similarly, in Waiting for the Barbarians, the Magistrate is stationed in the wilderness and living carelessly when Colonel Joll is sent by the Empire to solve problems that do not exist. Joll is sent to disband a congregating force of Barbarians are supposedly planning an attack on the Empire. Instead of the government fixing a problem, it creates one. After Joll takes many barbarians hostage, the barbarians begin to congregate and get prepared for war. When attacked, victims will arm themselves. Consequently, Joll builds hysteria in the town and bands the townspeople together out of fear of a problem that Joll himself created. Both stories are risking the lives of their own people to solve a “problem” that is not real.

Lastly, both books have a man serving their government fall in love/become infatuated with a native woman. These women may be interpreted in various ways in both books, but for me they symbolized the bridge between two people that had such different customs. In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz goes mad in the wilderness where he has an “African mistress.” The Company sees as the final evidence that Kurtz has gone crazy. Similarly in Waiting for the Barbarians, the Magistrate houses a barbarian and eventually returns her to her people. The Magistrate’s actions are evidence that he is a traitor and he is locked away in a cell. The townspeople believe that the Magistrate is old and has gone insane. Having love for a native woman is seen by the powerful government’s people as impossible for a sane person because these people are seen as less than human and living inferior lives.
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The Magistrate's Conscience

2008-11-23T17:51:00.000-08:00

Waiting for the Barbarians is a fascinating story about the Magistrate and his struggle in dealing with the unjust actions of Colonel Joll. Because the story is set in an unknown place and time period, it shows that this story could happen in the past, present, or future. The Magistrate is very conscious of human behavior and emotion and he often has uncontrollable thoughts that leave him emptied-hearted or confused.

The Magistrate notices the way that Joll’s appearance and from these attributes the Magistrate develops a deep dislike for Joll. In the first encounter between Joll and the magistrate, the Magistrate notices Joll’s strange eyeglasses that are opaque. Immediately the Magistrate sees the glasses as a barrier that separate Joll from everyone else. Later, the Magistrate notices the way that Joll remains quiet and will not smile in front the prisoners because “before prisoners, it appears, one maintains a certain front” (3). Then, the Magistrate is thinking about Joll and he wonders “does he wash his hands very carefully, perhaps, or change all his clothes; or has the Bureau created new men who can pass without disquiet between the unclean and the clean?” (12) The Magistrate believes that Joll is conducting useless torturing and questioning, and the Magistrate cannot comprehend how a man could carry out such measures and not feel quilt. Finally the Magistrate says that “all my life I have believed in civilized behaviour; on this occasion, however, I cannot deny it, the memory leaves me sick with myself” because a man like Joll calls the people barbarians is not civilized himself (23).

Another character that the Magistrate focuses on is a barbarian girl who he finds crippled and blind. He becomes very curious about the girl and eventually invites her into his home where he provides her a home and job. He gets into the ritual of cleaning her wounds and bathing her each night. The Magistrate is uncertain about why he keeps her in his house because he cannot decipher his feelings toward her and he feels “no desire to enter this stocky little body glistening by now in the firelight. It is a week since words have passed between” them. He feeds her, shelters her, uses “her body, if that is what [he] is doing, in this foreign way” (30). As the story progressed, the Magistrate is unable to have sexual relations with her because he does not have the desire. The Magistrate continuously tries to have intellectual conversations with the girl, but she will answer factually and the Magistrate notices they would be a ill-matched couple.

The Magistrate is getting old and he wishes to live the rest of his days in peace. He observes Joll and the Barbarian girl wishing that he could let them do as they desire, but his conscious pushed him to act in what he knows is right even if his actions may reap horrible consequences.
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The Women of Heart of Darkness by Jeremy Hawthorn

2008-11-16T18:19:00.001-08:00

-Marlow believes that women live in a more than perfect world and this leads to the perpetuation of the cycle that fuels imperialism

-The three main women in Heart of Darkness are Marlow’s aunt, Kurtz’s African mistress, and Kurtz’s Intended, and it is important to recognize that Marlow’s view of woman is different for the European women and the African women.
-European women = debilitated and sterile
-African women = passionate and fecund

-Woman serve the purpose of “soothing” men who do imperialism’s dirty work, and woman are able to do that by living in a “world of their own” that is naïve and idealistic.

-Kurtz manages to destroy both his African mistress and his Intended by abandoning them both in different ways.

The End of The Sound and the Fury

2008-11-05T10:45:00.000-08:00

The final section of Sound and the Fury is narrated from a third person perspective which focuses mainly on Dilsey, the Compson’s female Black servant, who provides a final glimpse at the Compson family. It is significant that the final section is not narrated in first person by a member of the Compson family because the reader is slowly withdrawing from the crazy Compson minds and entering a nonbiased perspective. Through the third person narration, it is clear that Dilsey is the last remaining sane person and loving caretaker of Benjy living with the Compsons. She is willing to take him with her to church on Easter because she believes he, like anyone else, is loved by God. In a sense, the story ends after going full circle because first Miss Quentin, (like her mother Caddy) has left the Compson house and the final scene shows the fragile happiness of Benjy. If any slight change is made in Benjy’s routine, he becomes very upset and sad. When Luster drives a different way to the cemetery, everything becomes out of order for Benjy. By closing the scene with the carriage turning around and Benjy calming down again, closure is established in the sense that although all the characters are living their lives in a miserable manner, they have a system and for them it provides order.
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Superstition vs . Knowledge

2008-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

The idea that the traditional southern intelligent white man and the uneducated black man have been reversed within the Sound and the Fury has lead to some thoughtful conversation in our English Class. Generally we all agreed that the black servants demonstrate superior insight to the white people’s understanding of the events in the novel. While reading the novel, I agreed with this hypothesis. My viewpoint altered after reading Charles D. Peavy’s article, Faulkner’s Use of Folklore in The Sound and the Fury. The article suggests that rather than the Black servants possessing higher intellect than the white Compson family, they rely on Negro folk beliefs and superstition. What causes addition confusion is that Faulkner was also aware of Black superstition; therefore, within the Sound and the Fury, superstitious signs are foreshadowing of the future for the characters. Superstition is equal to knowledge in many respects in the Sound and the Fury.

What fascinated me was that Peavy uses some of the exact passages to support the black servant’s reliance on superstition that our class used to support the blacks superior intellect to the whites. The black servants’ ideas may appear to originate from education, but they in fact are rooted in superstition. First the black servants see the “signs” of imminent death. The blacks notice two superstitious signs of death: the screeching owl (a black death omen) and a howling dog (black sign that someone is about to die). The two superstitious signs do precede the death of Mr. Compson, but that is due to Faulkner’s knowledge of Negro folktales, no scientific reasoning. Even though the novel reflects a reversal of black and white within the South, the blacks are still reliant on superstition for their reasoning.

Another example of Black superstition is Roskus’s belief that Benjy is like the dog in his ability to sense death. Benjy “knows lot more than folks think...He knowed they time was coming, like that pointer done. He could tell you when hisn coming, if he could talk. Or yours. Or mine” (31-32). Roskus is indeed observant that people often neglect to see that Benjy has some capacity to learn and understand, but once again the idea takes basis from Black superstition. Roskus parallels Benjy and Dan, the dog, to rationalize this belief of Benjy’s amazing “smelling” abilities. Both the dog and Benjy have inferior knowledge and do not use the typical human senses.

Lastly, a superstition regarding names is apparent in Roskus’s negative reaction to the changing of Benjy’s name. When Roskus learns that the original name Maury is changed to Benjamin, he complains that “they ain’t no luck on this place…I seen it at first but when they changed his name I knowed it” (29). An old Black superstition is that to change the name of a person will cause his death. While this superstition does not lead to the death of Benjy directly, it can be seen as the foreshadowing of the downfall of the Compson family as a whole.

Interestingly, the story is full of superstition; and therefore superstition has merit and equality to knowledge. Within the novel, it is crucial not to overlook superstitious signs because they very often are accurate. The black servants display their upward movement in society by not only practice of their historical superstitions, but also their superiority in better perception and prediction of the fall of the Compson family than the Compsons themselves.

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Works Cited

The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 79, No. 313 (Jul. - Sep., 1966), pp. 437-447
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of American Folklore Society

Faulkner, William. The Sound and the Fury. New York: Vintage, 1991.

The Weight of War

2008-10-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Things They Carried reveals the inner workings of a platoon that is fighting during the Vietnam War by describing the literal and figurative things that the men carried. The young men are mixed up in a world where it is difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality while also trying to maintain their reputations. Through our knowledge of each of the character’s physical and emotional loads, we discover the personalities of each character. Each description peels away a layer of each character, until the descriptions of “the things they carried” become figurative burdens such as love, heartache, and horror.

The first items such as P-38 can openers, pocket knives, heat tabs, wrist watches, etc. were carried for necessity by all men. The men carry loads that “weighed between 15 and 20 pounds, depending upon a man’s habits or rate of metabolism,” and depending upon the kind of mission they are taking (627). Specifics about each character show that Dobbin’s carries extra rations because he is a big man, Jensen carries hygiene products because he practiced field hygiene, Lavender carries tranquillizers because he is fearful, and Kiowa carries his New Testament and moccasins to keep quiet. These essential items are carried for the purpose of satisfying the soldiers’ physical needs and keeping them safe which leads to their emotional and psychological health.

Also, the men carry tangible items that serve no practical purpose, other than emotional and phychological. Nearly all the men carry photographs of their women left behind which is the first indication of emotional baggage literally and figuratively. Cross carries two pictures of Martha that entrance him and send him down the path of endless daydream. He also carries Martha’s letters that physically weight ten ounces, but have a immense weight in the heart. “Dobbins carried his girlfriend’s pantyhose wrapped around his neck as a comforter,” merely for emotional purposes (629). Lavender carries “six or seven ounces or premium dope, which for him was necessity,” that not only has a physical weight, but also serves to preserve his mental wellbeing (226). The men often “carried each other, the wounded or weak,” which shows their loyalty to one another and feelings of responsibility and honor (631). “The land itself—Vietnam, the place, the soil—a powdery orange-red dust that covered their boots and fatigues their faces” is also a part of their literal load, but also enveloped their minds because it is where they spend all their time and all they have to reflect on, besides their memories of home (631). The men also bear superstition, which leads Cross to carry a good luck pebble and Jensen to carry a rabbit’s foot. Superstition serves as another outlet for their emotions because they can be less fearful if in the past they have dodged death by chance, but attribute the chance to their “good luck charm.” Lastly, the men literally “carried infections…diseases…lice and ringworm and leeches and paddy algae and various rots and mold,” that reveal the danger of being a soldier (631). Even if the men don’t die in battle, they may die from the prevalent dangers of a soldier’s life. These “things” bridge the gap between the physical and mental “things they carried.”

The men wrestle with emotional baggage throughout the story due to their backgrounds, participation in the war, and individual ways of coping with that the situations they encounter. Kiowa carries “his grandmother’s distrust of the white man” because of his upbringing, Jimmy Cross carries “the responsibility for the lives of his men” due to his rank, and the men carry “a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried” because they have three powerful standard weapons (626-628). The “unwieghed fear” that the men harbor internally is as heavy, if not heavier than, the physical weight of their packs (627). The emotional damage that the war causes is so strong that they are literally being torn up on the inside and out by the situation.

Lastly, the way the men “carried themselves” bears significance to their ability to endue the war and stay sane. Reputation is what inspires the men to go to war, and it is what keeps them going. It is what “brought them to war in the first place, nothing positive, no dreams of glory or honor. Just to avoid the blush of dishonor,” (634). They also must hold “themselves with poise, a kind of dignity” and maintain “the masks of composure” while dealing with “all of the emotional baggage of men who might die,” because their reputation depends on it (633-635). Some accomplish this by demonstrating “a sort of wistful resignation” because “they were afraid of dying but they were even more afraid to show it,” (634). In essence, the men are too scared to be cowards. Unfortunately their desire to maintain a manly reputation leads to “grief. Terror, love, longing—these were tangibles, but the intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight,” (634).

The men have the assurance that “they would never be at a loss for things to carry” (632). They will always have physical and metal loads that weigh more than any man should have to carry. The narrator explains that “It was very sad…The things men carried inside” and the story closes with “carry on” which further exemplifies the multiple levels of meaning of the word carry in the story (636).

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1. Did anyone notice that Jimmy Cross has the same initials as Jesus Christ and that “Cross” is a sign of Jesus Christ? What do you make of this?
2. What is the purpose of the work “hump” in paragraph 5?
3. Why do you guys think that Martha sent Cross the rock with the story about “separate-but-together”
4. Is there any way that there one date meant something significant and that Martha loves Cross too? Why or why not?
5. Does anyone think that Cross’s transformation of mindset at the end was negative?

People Change Over Time

2008-09-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

This week I read one contemporary short story, but I did not like it. It’s called Today I’m Yours by Mary Gaitskill. From the title I was expecting a romantic love story or quite possibly a sad love story because “today” makes the relationship sound temporary which suggests a breakup or separation. Regardless, I thought it would be a charming little story about a man and woman. It ended up because a story about lesbian lovers who saw each other on and off for a long period of time, but in the end they realize that they can never be together. One of the women is married and she cheats on her husband and the other has a girlfriend who she cheats on throughout the story. It was somewhat interesting, although I wish the lovers did not simply walk away from one another in the end like they mean nothing to one another.

I really liked the Shiloh short story because it reminded me of what could have happened with Grandparents’ marriage, had my Grandfather not required my Grandmother to follow him as he grew internationally aware and educated. Although the stories are a bit different, Shiloh is a key example of what my grandfather feared could happen to his relationship if they did not grow together.

Shiloh is a story about the realization of a woman, Norma Jean, that she has changed and her makeshift marriage is holding her back from her dreams. The short story is told through the eyes of her husband. Her husband, Leroy, notices her changing and is aware that his wife may leave him. Leroy tries to connect with his wife, but it is too late and Norma Jean is already out of reach. Like the characters in Shiloh, my Grandparents also got married because my grandmother was pregnant with my mother when they were both eighteen. Even though their baby did not die, their marriage could have taken the same path as Norma Jean’s and Leroy’s because they started out the same initially. As time passed, both my grandfather and Leroy got jobs that required them to often be away from home. The difference was that when Leroy was away he lost touch with his wife, but when my grandfather was away he would often bring my grandmother. My grandfather considered the possibility that he would change and grow as he traveled and if left behind, my grandmother would not. Even when my grandmother would not want to go to the places that my grandfather planned to travel to, my grandfather would encourage her and she would always be glad she went. They have now been married for fifty-five years and in my opinion they have been so happy together because they have grown and changed together. I think that it is not uncommon, unfortunately, for big businessmen to travel and lose interest in their wives at home who are not exposed to the same situations as them. Businessmen then may meet other women while working who intrigue them. In Shiloh the scenario is reversed, Norma Jean is left home and she explores new areas of interest, while Leroy remains the same as he was in high school. Both the scenario of the businessman and the scenario in Shiloh develop due to the same circumstance: separation and different experiences.

556

The Role of Drugs and Alcohol in Cathedral

2008-09-22T07:25:00.000-07:00

As the analyst this week for Cathedral by Raymond Carver, I spent some extra time investigating the characters personalities and the events within the story. Although this story concerns real people from Carver’s past as its characters, it is fascinating to infer the purpose/meaning of each incident in the story. In particular, I found it very surprising when the narrator asks the blind man if he wants to smoke some dope. I became curious about why this is part of the story. As soon as the blind man and the narrator’s wife arrive, drinks are served. The characters all rely on alcohol and marijuana to enjoy themselves and relieve their anxiety. Both elements are vital to the short story because they lead to the successive actions and are the driving force to the events that characterize the narrator, his wife, and the blind man. Marijuana and alcohol affect the minds of the smokers and facilitate their loosening up and understanding of one another.

When the characters sit down for small talk, drinks directly follow. The narrator asks the blind man what kind of drink he would like as a gage of his personality. He chooses whiskey and the narrator says “I knew it” as if he had been able to read the blind man’s mind, when in fact the narrator has a warped perception of the blind man’s actual personality. The characters continue chatting and new rounds of drinks are served as needed. The atmosphere is comfortable between the narrator’s wife and the blind man, but the conversation still seems unnatural and the narrator feels left out. The narrator’s wife is trying too hard to assist the blind man because of his handicap and her hospitality is overbearing.

Later, drugs are introduced to the story and the characters finally open up to one another and connect. Prior to their smoking, we do not witness any eased tensions, rather the characters have awkward conversation. In fact, the narrator says that he wishes him wife would come back downstairs because he does not want to be left alone with a blind man. He then offers the blind man another drink and marijuana. The blind man agrees to try some for his first time. They smoke the joint together and the narrator is impressed because the blind man smokes “like he’d been doing it since he was nine years old.” The narrator finally realizes that the blind man is more like him than he had recognized. Soon after the narrator notices that his wife’s robe has slipped away, but then another turning point occurs when he thinks “What the hell” because the blind man can not see anyway.

The subsequent experiences between the blind man and narrator are possible because of the narrator’s realization that the blind man is a ordinary man who is not a threat to the narrator’s relationship with his wife and because they are high. We discover that the narrator often has terrible dreams, so he stays up late to avoid them. He may disclose this information because he is relaxed from smoking. The biggest event is the conversation that gave the story its name. The narrator and blind man discuss a cathedral. As depicted in many movies, people often find television more entertaining when they are high. Because the narrator is high, he becomes enchanted by a cathedral. The two men discuss it and the blind man wants the narrator to draw it out while holding the blind man’s hands to the pen. As their hands draw out the cathedral, the narrator is totally connected with the blind man and his preconceived notions are destroyed. This activity could also be an effect of the marijuana because feelings are enhanced when people get high. Therefore they may have been able to feel a deeper connection by physically touching. The activity is also influential because the narrator literally sees the world in a new way after experiencing it as a blind man. Throughout the story, the narrator undergoes a transformation from prejudiced and negative to experience and understanding.

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Daisy's Parenting Struggle

2008-09-14T19:32:00.000-07:00

Teenage Wasteland was the most impressive of the week’s short stories because it addressed bad human behavior and made me think about its cause. Depending on what the reader believes is the cause of Donny’s bad actions, he or she forms an opinion about Donny’s family life, in particular his mother Daisy.

In the past I have heard different ideas about why people act the way they do, such as the “nature vs. nurture” argument. “Nature” is the hereditary force upon a person and “nurture” is how that individual has been raised. I believe that the two are both important in the make-up of someone’s personality, but that the combination of the two influences differs depending upon the particular person. In Donny’s case I think that “nature” is the main problem. The narrator gives no evidence of anything that the parents did wrong to provoke Donny’s rebellious behavior. Therefore, his parents were not to blame for the start of the problems and their extreme struggle to help Donny should not be criticized.

Although Daisy is not the perfect mother by any means, she tried her very best to help her son. The story portrays her as a loving mom who dearly wants to help her son, but her personality thwarts her noble effort. Daisy’s insecurity and gullibility make it harder for her to choose the best oath to Donny’s recovery. When Daisy is called into the principal’s office, she is “shamed” and feels like a “delinquent parent” because her son is causing disruption in the school. Then, when she leaves the office, she “held her stomach in” because she is worried about looking like an overweight housewife. Her behavior during this scene reveals her insecurity as a woman, but not her inability to be a good mother. After the conference, she takes action by checking Donny’s homework daily. Daisy exhausts herself by all of the attention that she gives Donny. Unfortunately, the school calls again and Daisy has to try a new strategy. Daisy is willing to do whatever it takes to help Donny. Her next attempt is scheduling a visit for him with a psychologist who then refers Donny to a tutor named Cal. Cal takes advantage of Daisy’s gullibility by demanding full control of communication with Donny’s school regarding Donny’s progress. Daisy feels completing defeated by her failed attempts to help Donny and agrees to handover all power to Cal. Daisy is scared and unsure about how to handle her son’s growing problems. She feels that she has done everything she can do to help her son and that Cal is Donny’s last hope. It is easy to criticize her for allowing Cal to take such authority, but she is desperate and Cal appears to be the only remaining answer. Also, Cal is not a random man; he is referred to her by a certified psychologist. Daisy is susceptible to the audience’s judgment because she could have intervened sooner or done something different; but, I still believe that it is not fully in her power to save someone who does not want to be saved. Even if she had the opportunity to try again, I do not know what she would have had to do to save Donny.
540 words

Erin Malone Life of Pi

2008-08-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Over the summer the only English books I read were Life of Pi by Yann Martel and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin because I was occupied with my Spanish studies in Argentina. Abroad, I read Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie and a variety of short stories in Spanish. Due to the simplicity of the Spanish books, I could truly appreciate the English books and their complexity. Even though Pride and Prejudice is a known classic, I had neither read it nor seen the movie. Ancient to many, but new to me, the classic surprised me and was a remarkable read. My favorite novel that I read, Life of Pi, also astonished me because I was surprised that it is in many ways about religion. It unraveled some of my doubts about religion by craftily tricking me into think religious thoughts while not consciously knowing it.
I prefer reading books that appear to be a simple story but lying in that story is a convoluted path of deeper meaning and confusion that must be studied to be understood. I think that if five people read Life of Pi, everyone would interpret the novel in a different way. Life of Pi is an intriguing story that kept me enthralled from close to the beginning to end. While reading the novel, I felt like a skier that started down a hill slowly, but lost control and created a momentum that could not be stopped until I reached the end of the slope. Much like after an adrenaline rush a skier experiences, I was frustrated when the book was over because I desired more.
Life of Pi primarily focuses on a journey through the ocean with a Bengal tiger and an Indian boy named Pi Patel. Prior to the sea adventure, the book compares three religions (Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam) that are different, but similar in more ways than one may think. While I found some of the religious comparisons surprising, this was the part that I disregarded as “dull.” I was determined to read this section quickly before I fell asleep. In truth the boat scenes encompass the majority of the book and are indeed more attention-grabbing, but the beginning ended up being more essential to the books impact on me than I originally anticipated. In the end of the novel Pi reaches land and is saved. The tiger is also free and runs off into the wilderness. Soon after Pi’s return to civilization he is interviewed about what he has experienced since his ship sank. The interview not only gives explanation to the book, but also unlocked a door to my mind about religion. The interviewers do not believe Pi’s stories about a zebra, hyena, and tiger. To them it seems evident that these events could never take place. They enjoy his second story that involves people and seems more believable. The way the author shows the stupidity of the interviewers, pointed out my own hardheadedness. I recognize that the novel is fiction, but it may be full of truth about the nature of human beings.
The novel did not convert me into some devout Christian, but it opened my eyes to ideas I had not given much thought to before my encounter with this zesty novel. I still do not practice a faith, but now I have a new curiosity. I am anticipating taking World Religions this semester because even though I am not looking for faith, I am now more open to the possibility of it.

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