I have learned allot about literary analysis, as well as life in general. I found it describes the author and who they are in a sense. If they are a hopeless romantic they are going to express it either through their character or through the main concept if their story. I've came to the realization that there is definitely a line the separates almost segregates non-fiction from fiction but its very thin at times, maybe even vague and often iron-curtain-like. I learn, like any artist, they express themselves and their life like a journal of their life, through their art; like their own language!
What I have enjoyed the most about this course was, I have enjoyed expressing my perception in each short story and responding to my fellow students as I read their opinions, as well. I have learned allot from the variety of literary terms and form authors used to write their form of fiction. I like the questions the challenged us on each short story and the inter connection they had with each other. I love to write, so this excited and motivated me for my self-expression through these deep short fictional stories. This course was completely therapeutic in comparison to my other courses, to find clarity and cure for my writer’s block, it really helped. I have always enjoyed allegories, symbolism, and metafiction. I love when an author expresses a certain theme and main point through something else, maybe even more animated for more of the majority of society would relate to the story consciously on a universal level. The allegory of the cave was one of the first allegories I have heard and I absolutely fell in love with it; I was in a philosophy class when i figured it out but it opened me to a whole new major which was my calling, "Sociology"! I.really enjoyed reading these short stories expanding my mind even more by learning about metafiction and symbolism; which relates to what I am learning in Sociology which is Symbolic interactionism. In conclusion, I have thoroughly enjoyed the way this whole class was constructed. I really had fun interacting with the whole class, reading each individual post, and sharing ours too. My favorite author of the stories were Edgar Allan Poe and his sick twisted versions of life and death. I also enjoyed,Charlotte Perkins Gilman, "The Yellow Wallpaper (1899)" it was a horrific view of women in the past when being treated like commodities or, in better words, objects. The story was about a women confined to one all room prescribed from working (which in the eyes of the reader, usually self-imprisoned women and dominating masculine in the world, see working with an everyday life so silly things women including how's work which is full time in women's only job at that time with housework and left work meant for women, in general. So for her not to work means not to.have a life. Back then, housework was the only work looked upon as only work women should do. In fact you were looked down upon for working outside of the home or even attending college. We have evolved, in our society’s view, a long way but not with the help of this story as well as others by the same author as well as other feminist at that time. That was my favorite, even over Edgar Allen Poe. I am so glad I enrolled in this class, it helped not only skills to interrelate and interpret literary art but my confidence, as well; Thanks to all contributing to my success!
|
Saturday, December 29, 2012
This is a Thought You Can't Refuse
This Thing Called Love
Usually traditional love stories are positive,a dream come true, with an ending of happily ever after! Both stories portray the dark and ugly side of love that people often brush under the rugged and overlook like the pink elephant in the room. Divorce, adultery, rejection, pain, rape, abuse of all kinds, neglect, heartbreak, jealousy, and other bad conclusions are sometimes a resort of,"love" too. "love" is a subjective chemically reduced action that is not always innocent, positive or happy. Love could be such a beautiful thing only when its a devotedly mutual. When its not mutual it could be very hurtful, antagonistic, lonely, and heartbreak. I truly feel its better to love and be loved than never love at all. Love always had these cons attached to it but usually the pros always supersedes them, if the live is true enough. There is so many different types of love because it has such a wide spectrum, the most traditional kind of love is true love which is more rare than we want to believe.
Doris Lessing’s story, “How I Finally Lost My Heart”
The story has an awful dark .lonely, and depressing side of love and all it entails, bad and good. This narrator talks about her loves of her life first, the three lovers, father, brother and the one, not to mention two marriages a few loves affairs. She questions if love is still possible after that same love failed her. In her case she had looked for love in all the wrong places. It reminds me of Marilyn Monroe and her quest for love. Rumors had it, Joe DiMaggio, the famous baseball player, was the closest to true love as she got. The narrator has bad luck, upon her quest of love she seemed like she ran into allot dead ends. This is clearly a woman who has given up on love and don’t want to feel anymore. Her notion was if she got rid of her heart, she won’t feel anymore pain. Hopelessly given up on love, she didn’t live with her broken heart anymore.
Symbolism- "A,B,C," & "Woman in the Train" are symbolizes present in the story. Taking away the names from her loves and labeling her "three loves as A, B, & C" ; symbolizes her numbness of love, almost forgetting her three conquests by labeling them as an equation justifying why she doesn't need her heart anymore; rather pull it out over not wanting to even use it at all. The women on the train was symbolic for a mirror towards the narrator's life; they both suffered with a broken heart. The narrator feeling sorry for the woman on the train as she watched her and her partner fight and related with moments she had with her past lovers.
Extended metaphor- The heart she doesn't want anymore, being heartless, and her numerous conquests, or what she calls love, in her life. She doesn't want to feel and it doesn't want to love, she doesn't want her heart anymore. Sometimes you have to first accept your own heart and be in love with yourself in order to find true love and give your heart away to the right person.
Allegory- Heartless, Lust/Infatuation, Love and Heartbreak are definitely expressed through allegories throughout the whole story. The most main allegory was of love and the harsh reality I would love could be, of which both stories relate too. It takes loving yourself and being responsible for your own heart is the first steps of a foundation for true love. Unfortunately the narrator seemed like she skipped that learning lesson in her life.
Octavio Paz’s story, “My Life with the Wave”
The author uses symbolism to describe his version of what love and marriage; using a wave as the main symbol for the live of the character's life. In the story the character falls head of heels in love with each other, so he brings her home, and marries her. The infatuation stage had them smitten for each other with no fussing, arguing , and fighting. The wave suddenly get struck by sadness and depression and falls under this style for quite a while, anything the character tried to do couldn't make it up for any didn't know what to do to make her happy you love her so much. So last desperate attempts at making her happy, he brings a bunch of fishes to the wave, which lights her face up and makes her very happy. After a while the wave spends all her attention on these fishes and not on the main character; of which gets really jealous of the whole situation. Eventually, the wave gets very dissatisfied and antagonistic towards him leading to the character having no choice but to rid himself of the wave. So he eliminated the wave from his life unburdening himself from the emotional baggage he wasn't strong enough to deal with leaving him with a lesser burden of a broken heart (which, I’m sure, hurt worst when the wave was present in his life). "The Wave" is a great symbol for the love that occurred through this story. Waves come in intervals and increments but never really represents stability. A wave is the best object to tie down and expect to be yours forever; they are a constantly changing, so it makes sense the narrator labeled his ex wife as a wave.
Symbolism- "Fishes" and "The Wave" are the loudest symbols apparent throughout the story. The, "Fishes" symbolizes the other inch love interest or people in your life that are outside of the character’s and her’s circle/environment. "The Wave" which is his wife and symbolizes a enigma of emotion and possibly a mental illness like bipolar where a person suffers from highs of mania and lows of serious depression. The wave keeps moving, never settling down, always changing moods filled with heavy emotion, and living life in mood intervals.
Extended metaphor- The Wave, the character fell in love with. The relationship between the wave and character is like a surfer riding a wave; you can’t ride that one forever its not possible. It goes to show that sometimes love isn’t enough to survive through the waves of a relationship, just end up drowning with a secure life boat too.
Allegory- Love, Jealousy, and Divorce/Separation are definitely expressed through allegories throughout the whole story. The most consistent and main allegory was of love and the harsh reality that isn’t enough to hold a relationship up its just one of many supplement necessary to keep a relationship alive.
|
Stranger than Metaficition
Doris Lessing’s story, “How I Finally Lost My Heart”
The experimental literary techniques used in this story fall under categories like, Surrealism and Metafiction; her reluctant quest of giving her heart away whether meaning for good or to the Mr. right. The metaphors of hear quest only makes it more obvious that heartbroken from the search for true love is the "real" subject of this story. The narrator goes through a series of past lovers, thinking back on if she has ever lived at all. She recalls two serious loves, taking their identity away and labeling them as A and B. The third serious love was short lived almost considered a potential serious love labeling it C. Since she has made apparent is on the search or hopeless upon this search for true love, she just wanted to give up and give her heart away. I think she also points out how there are many different kinds of love, like the love she poses for her father and brother, which is more profound but different than what she is looking for. The harsh point being proved was the narrator seems how to find it easier getting having someone else trying to take care of heart then taking responsibility her own heart by finding love within herself and curing her own heart broken problems. It goes with that expression, "You can’t love someone else, until you love yourself first".
Octavio Paz’s story, “My Life with the Wave”
The experimental literary techniques used in this story fall under categories like, Surrealism and Metafiction; they very apparent throughout the story, like for example, "The Wave" its easier to talk about the downfall of falling in love making love the "Real" object of the story. Humanity and the nature of the human is challenged with a vixen-like wave of seduces the character all the way up to the alter. “The Wave” becomes bored wanting more and searching for it in other places but her marriage. There is a lot of signals that she goes through waves of emotions on a drastic levels like Bipolar or in other words Manic depression. Her waves of emotions are similar to the highs (mania) and the Lows (depression) that a person with the mental illness of manic depression would usually go through. This story gives a perspective of how not all relationships are picture perfect and cook cutter but something sometimes needs to be worked on and worked out together as a partnership; unfortunately these kinks that need to be worked on can sometimes feel impossible to resolve and can tear a relationships apart.The jealousy drives the character to get rid of the wave, which leaves him with a broken heart. This is an example of our human nature to fall in love even if its too healthy or the best choice for us. The nature of being in a toxic relationship and having no choice but to end it even if he really loved "The Wave", he had to get rid of her for his own sake. He couldn’t handle the strenuous emotional baggage the wave carried with her.
|
Re: Stranger than Metaficition
by Jivan Muradian - Saturday, December 1, 2012, 06:58 PM
Although the surreal nature of "My Life with the Wave," is apparent from the get-go, Lessing's "How I Finally Lost My Heart," hides this from the reader until the end of the story. I feel as though it accentuates the meaning behind the experiences and does a lot to portray the true feeling of heartbreak suffered by the female character. Very nice work, Alissa.
Re: Stranger than Metaficition
by Madison Spielvogel - Saturday, December 1, 2012, 07:17 PM
Great work on both stories. My favorite of your two was the analysis on "My Life with the Wave". I like how you point out the emotion levels. Great job
Re: Stranger than Metaficition
by Yajaira Lopez - Saturday, December 1, 2012, 08:39 PM
Alissa, you did a good job on how surrealism and metafiction was used in both stories. I found your analysis of "My Life with the Wave" interesting because you made many good points of the story. You helped me understand the story and the feelings of the man more than before.
The Protagonists and The Outcast
In the short story, "A Hunger Artist", The hunger artist is an interesting character its like Pinocchio, when the puppet master kidnapped him and made him sing, " I have no strings to pull me" for money. A slave of entertainment for money. Like Pinocchio , The hunger artist is definitely the protagonist of the story. Unfortunately the author's pessimistic spiritual outlook bleeds through his expression of the character being a depressed protagonist but a protagonist nonetheless. The symbolic meaning or the allegory of Jesus Christ is a consist theme through this story support the protagonist the hunger artist was. The right hand man unfortunately wasn't the same person as the overseer and allowed him to die publicly such as Christ our lord. He lives in a straw lined floored cage, so lonely plus other features symbolizing the a human. Gandhi was a charismatic authoritative human leader that stopped wars and brought peace with his ability to fast. His suffering showed the attribute of a human, when eventually he clasped and the time has come to eat again like every human needs to do. I think the most human symbolism was when he eventually died like every human is destine to do, if he wasn't human he would have expressed a form of immortality to fast for ever but he was definitely human in the end.
In the short story,"A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings",The old man with wings reminds me of the child actors that get screwed by their parents like Cory Phelps, he was a well known child actor that made good money but by the time he turned eighteen he had no money left over for him to attained because his parents took it all and transferred it to their accounts. My point is his parents were like the couple exploiting him with a lot better fancier chicken coop, like the old man with enormous wings. The old seemed like the simple outcast slightly wounded and in need for shelter. He appeared in the couple's back yard and they had no shame using him to get rich. The fact that the man with wings was suffering showed that he may be human or symbolized a human. Also the way he was scratched up, wounded, and near towards death when the couple found him in need for help in their yard, he definitely resemble a human. His resembles a human as he shows his human side when he is in need of self care relying on his right hand man The Impresario to make sure he lives, stops his fasting before he dies, nurturing him to health and practically force-feeding him.
In conclusion both,"A Hunger Artist" and "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" represented a common theme of humanity in quite a few attributes. The desperate need for attention, medical, and general care (like feeding, shelter, sleeping, and nurturance). Another thing they both have in common is the suffering they go through and the desperate need for acceptance. in ,”A Hunger Artist” the artist himself replaced his appetite of food with attention as we watch him suffer through desperation for the craving of the crowd as he dies publicly; he dies as the crowd dies off; at the moments when he is done fasting for his spectators he relies on his right hand man The Impresario to take care for him.The crowd by accepting the hunger artist kept him alive at peace accepting his amazing ability to fast/starve without dying, just as the old man from ,”A very Old Man With Enormous Wings,” survived by the acceptance of the couple to spare her his life and take him in to nurture, heal him back to safety and good standing, at the old man’s most vulnerable moment he had to rely on the couple that took him in allowing him to live in his chicken coop and be visited by spectators. |
Re: The Protagnists and The Outcast
by Yajaira Lopez - Saturday, November 24, 2012, 09:16 PM
Alissa, I found it interesting your comparsion between the old man in "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings" to child actors. That did not crossed my mind when I first read it but I'm glad you mentioned it. Just like parents take advantage of their children who are in the entertainment business, the couple in the story take advantage of him. It is sad that they exploit him in that way. Good analysis!
Re: The Protagonists and The Outcast
by Amy Linsamouth - Saturday, November 24, 2012, 10:30 PM
I enjoyed reading your analysis. The couple that left the angel in the chicken coop appeared to treat him adequately, although they exploited him. They didn't kill him as suggested by the "wise woman." It was sad way for the old man to survive.
Re: The Protagonists and The Outcast
by Allen Ghazarian - Saturday, November 24, 2012, 11:04 PM
Alissa,
I liked your comparisons of the characters to today's problems, its something I also felt were significant. I agree with you, the themes of both stories present a theme of humanity in distinctive ways.
Re: The Protagonists and The Outcast
by Tara Hall - Sunday, November 25, 2012, 12:22 AM
I like your comparison to both stories being about humanity. I think both these stories have a real moral to them. They are also quite sad.
Last Days of Granny Weatherall
Granny Weatherall paints a portrait of a strong, persistent, old fashion woman. Also according to the story and meaning of her last name, “Weatherall,” signifies the meaning that she has weathered all kinds of difficulties and without a single thought of ever giving up the fight. She awards herself of being a good mother and wife, as well as a good person. She is a elderly grandmother with three children, the fourth perhaps died at birth, and two loves and notches in her belt in her life. Her first love, George, left her alone at the altar, jilted for first time. She has been trying to forget about him since but has been unsuccessful. She mentions she would love to let him know she forgotten about him and she lived a happy life. Her husband and seeing love, the live of her life dies twenty years before her never getting ti see his kids all grown up. She had been awaiting death ever since his but never once gave up on life or was stopped, she always determinedly kept giving living life to the fullest as a housewife and mom, as well as a midwife and nurse in order to make money and survive.
This was a great example of a near-death experience. The entire story gives me an idea of how that may be like. Granny’s experience was her whole life was flashing through and every little emotion and behavior brought her back to relived another memory in her life. She seemed like she made peace with allot of things. She is proud of all that she had accomplished and how she never gave up even when faced to hold up a family alone she did it with loving pride and virtue. These are the things that was flashing through her head.
She does hold a larger amount of bitterness and remorse throughout this near-death experience, in other words the last moments towards death. She felt bitterness towards her first live George who left her at the altar but she felt suffocated with him was well. Or maybe that moment she fell to the ground, in the priest’s arms who wanted to kill him for what he did but she said not to, realizing it herself he had left her alone. Bitter for her husband dying so young and never getting to see how all her children turned out. Bitter but yet remorseful of her daughter Cornelia she treats her so bad sometimes and feels shame as Cornelia loves her waiting hand and foot for her. Bitter to the young doctor that she thinks doesn’t know anything because he is such a young man.
The experience of being near-death and floating from inside her mind to being luminescence and seeing everything like a fly on the wall, was a peculiar perspective but it gave a detailed insightfulness , almost like a third dimension, to this interesting story. She jumped from the omniscient narrator to first person narrator action. I think she does a wonderful experience illustrating this story using a dramatic moment in Granny’s life the last moments of her life to fit in a nutshell her whole life’s story.
|
Moral Compassion & The Jewish-American Writer
Compassion, the core of religion, the heartbeat of life. Yiddish culture, a world of values. The Jewish voice, the urban voice, the simple voice. The immigrant experience, a world permeated with love and responsibility --permeated with moral compassion. Humanist faith, passionate concern for ordinary people. Throughout his writing, Bernard Malamud uses Jewish heritage, speech patterns, and sensibilities to create an atmosphere of a world in which every life (mundane and sacred) matters. In your analysis, please consider how Malamud "consciously" reflects the ideal of moral compassion towards the ordinary man and woman. There is defiantly compassion portrayed through out both stories expressed through the eyes of this wonderful author. There is allot of obstacles faced throughout both of these stories that seems like it was struggles in life experiences of himself. The are they are Arthur how to pattern of those elements that he used for other stories like love in resistance, and redemption. Mendel had a tough life, it seems like that experiences I read from his character being mentally disabled and suffering from that for the last 47 years to hit close to the other and really described in the way that it was maybe his brother or close person in his life experience this, that the author witnessed first hand. It brings a,sad element if Darwinism and survival to the fittest. The bearded guy name Ginsberg that represented the grim reaper was scary and made me think maybe the author was going for symbolized Ginsberg as a knazi. Will the half witted son survive without his father, in my opinion, yes. Could Muhammad’s father be as the same way the character of Mendel is. I enjoyed reading about Leo and his quest to find love, happiness, loyalty, and Rabbinical righteousness. I feel the author is trying to make a point about love. His point of of love of love is expressed through predestined situations, what was already predestined meant to be before you were born and not through arranged marriages or forced upon by a marriage broker or matchmaker. Destiny worked its magic and brought in brought the magic makers daughter to Leo buy a picture that he came across. Even though that Leo with your not to pursue his daughter because of that bad reasons and she's a bad girl he didn't anyways that's what love is and that's why it's predestined. The author seems also like he expresses that his practices and life as a student becoming a Rabbi could be very lonely at times and keeps you out of touch with a social life and society, which is even more lonely. Please post an initial analysis of at least 500 words. In addition to your own initial analysis, please respond to five (5) of your classmates. In your responses to your peers, write at least 3-4 thought-provoking sentences.
|
Magical Elements
For this week's first discussion forum, please select one "magical element" from each Malamud story and describe the significance to each story's meaning.
Note that you need to analyze one element from "Idiots First" A story about a mentally disabled kid who fought for his life that has a loving mother who is a widower and single. Mendel struggled all his life as a retard and by the time he was in his late misfortune with a kid a was warned he was going to die and had to send his half witted son to see Uncle Leo in California before midnight. Mental struggles because he is thirty five dollars short on getting the ticket for his son Isaac. A great bearded man uniformed named Ginzberg stops him and refusing to collect or pass goe because its twelve indicating death. Love, sacrifice,survival, and death in a hostile world. and one from "The Magic Barrel." Leo is a lonely person who wants a wife a ask the matchmaker Salzman to bring him a wife. Leo needs a partner and his social life back. As elementary King process continues, Leo catch a glimpse of grams of a beautiful woman in the picture of a beautiful women the matchmaker carried kept for himself to self. Leo wants to know who it was? The matchmaker explained she is his daughter and he is very overprotective of Leo from his daughter. Despite the objections from the peanut gallery the matchmaker and the mystery woman’s father, Leo pursues the matchmaker’s daughter. Love and redemption is the magical elements. Leo is a rabbinical student in New York. Like a Romeo and Juliet situation. Describe the symbolism of the magical elements -- religious or mundane -- and how each magical element reflects an aspect of character, plot, or theme. Love and redemption for Leo who is a rabbi in training and dedicated to god a student of the rabbinical culture. Leo earns for live and comes across a marriage broker symbolizing a salesman for love which is Leo’s particular need of love. The symbolism representing love is expressed throughout the story but destiny coming into play. His first date was unsuccessful with Lily and he wasn’t interested in the other pictures in the envelops. Just just had the picture of the daughter. The daughter was shunned and warned Leo by her own father not to go for her she is bad, practically acting like she was dead to him. There is slight insinuations that she is a prostitute. The love prevail and Leo saw her despite of Salzman says. Another example of live and survival in a hostile world was portrayed by a mentally disabled character named Mendel. The love he received from his mother helped him survive a long life having a son that he lived just as much. Unfortunate is received news that is was going to die by midnight so out of live he scrounged up the last monies he had, which wasn’t enough, and tried to buy a ticket for his son Isaac to go to California to stay with his uncle. Midnight came quick and the grim reaper dressed or disguised as the beaten guy named ginzberg did not let him pass refusing to collect anymore tickets. Isaac missed his chance and Mendel did the best he could to save him from himself. Why did Malamud choose to incorporate these particular magical elements in his stories? Love is a powerful thing and meant a lot to him, also death, redemption, and survival are issues he perhaps struggled with in his life and wanted to express it throughout these stories for the audience could feel the way he wanted to in order to relate and gave sweet understandings. What does "magic" add to each story's tone and meaning? The supernatural and prophecy-like ways the stories both went . The mysterious ways love works out. Please post an initial analysis of at least 500 words. In addition to your own initial analysis, please respond to five (5) of your classmates. In your responses to your peers, write at least 3-4 thought-provoking sentences. Good luck and have fun! |
Being Tim O'Brien
The difference between character/narrator "Tim O'Brien" and author Tim O'Brien, are very slim to none. I’m I'm pretty sure that Tim O'Brien as an author experienced these advants in Vietnam and he turned in something to a character to describe it in more detail for us to share those horrific experiences of death while he was away and while he was home when he was little. His whole point of view is to focus on celebrating death celebrating when the people were living. That was how he found his peace of death.
The repetition of dialogue and imagery is very obvious and apparent throughout the narration of both Tim’s short stories I have read. Mr O’Brien narrator in a I form which is considered first person, biography, but, nonetheless, interpreted as fictional turning himself as a fictional character. The repetition lines when he talks about death and Wars specially the Vietnam War but um asleep those 2 themes. He also mentions love within us it is stories as he connects his first experience of death with his first earliest experiences of love with a girl named Linda. The other repetition I have noticed is his empathy, compassion, guilt, shame and sincerity for the people he witnessed dying and the people, some even innocent, that he had to kill. There also is similar repetition throughout both story signifying Tim is trying to make sense out of the young boy soldier's death, Linda, and other situational traumas that have occurred and rationalize/questions his life’s purpose.
There are many strategies for coping that a patent through Tim O'Brien's writings and both stories, for instance: the advent of the life of the Vietnamese youth AND the use/placement of Linda in a war story. O’Brien’s narration, as a character, took empathy to a whole different level, as he literally put himself in the boy’s shoes and fixate on what the boy’s life could be if he didn't die. As with Linda he coped with it as not only his first experience of love, and why life is meant living, but how people of any age could die, and life is not permanent. It was a loss of innocence for Tim O’Brien the moments where he coped with Linda, his first love and tragically his first death, a death of an innocent, who did not instigate this upon her unlike the deaths of Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, and Kiowa.
The word if the day is Metafiction meaning the psychological meaning of storytelling (the author discussing the process of fictionalizing while telling the story) which appeared amongst the narrations of both stories. That is a very psychological maneuver on his behalf. Who knows if he really went to war and experienced all this but he convinced me by the way he wrote his stories by storytelling it in and as first person, the experience, perspective. It was extremely clever the way he constructed his short stories, I enjoyed reading it. He has tendencies to rationalize and make sense of his life and his true purpose.
|
Death Becomes Them "Trauma of War"
The title, "Trauma of War" could have an interpretative meaning for O’brien’s trauma for the war on life as well as specific trauma of the war in Vietnam. He is a very over analytical, empathetic, guilty, shameful, and compassionate throughout his storytelling.
"The Man I Killed"
Tim O’brien obsessively emphasizing about a vietnamese boy’s death. We witness guilt and remorse taking over O’brien as he describes this youth’s life being cut off, he had potential to be anything, he could of been a thriving, and successful scholar. The intro was very graphic and horrific describing the boy splattered like," rice krispies". He continues to using many coping mechanisms in order to ridding himself of the guilty shame that is taunting him, justifying the reasons why it would be better if he is alive, and why he had to die or that he is dead. He is so fixated on his remorse, guilt and shame he attempts to negotiate with himself to justify the young boy’s death. He also questions why he had to shoot this young soldier and what a future he could of had, and what if he had a wife and child he abandoned because he was dead.
" He was a slim, dead, almost dainty young man of about twenty. He lay with one leg bent beneath him, his jaw in his throat, his face neither expressive nor inexpressive. One eye was shut. The other was a star-shaped hole." (Clayton, pg 796). This quote refers to the young boy vietnamese soldiers who got killed by a grenade like rice krispies. This kill got O’Brien to transition from the killer’s perspective to an observer’s perspective as he watched this gruesome encounter with what he may have caused. He gets fixated with the young vietnamese boy and rationalizes the life he cut off. Its clever the way its written out because with this story and this quote in particular he writes it in a third person perspective. Within these perspectives he creates these series of mixed up unconnected fantasies and observations about this little soldier boy he his head that he expresses on paper for us to experience as a witness how it may be like mentally if you would of killed an innocent child with potential for a greater life that you destroyed. My interpretation of O’Brien’s descriptive explanation of the star-shaped hole in the young soldier boy’s eye is both a means of disengaging with himself and the notion that when you die or the boy’s death the/his body becomes beautiful and mystical. The boy is constantly being reminded during this quote and throughout the short story so the death could be fresh in Tim’s head and ours too.
"The Lives of the Death"
In this particular short story he uses allot if metafiction to speak as an author and to speak as the experiencer all at the same time. He describes the kills and deaths that he witnessed and caused throughout the Vietnam War which brought him back reminiscing of the first death he witnessed which was also his first love. As he talks about Linda, he also mentions several stories of death throughout the duration of the time he was fighting the Vietnam War. There is another concept that has to do with Linda which, I have learned prior to do reading this, is about rite to passage in other words loss of innocence as he witnessed his first love and first death. Tries to make sense of his life by writing but as he does this is it the author or character or both. O’brien shows obvious actions of his experience of Linda’s death as if it was more important than the deadly tragedies of the deaths of Ted Lavender, Curt Lemon, and Kiowa. This makes sense because unlike the soldiers deaths he witnessed at war, Linda, was completely innocent, having done nothing to instigate the tragedies she faced when dealing with her deadly tumor that lead her to death.
" Sometimes I can even see Timmy skating with Linda under the yellow floodlights. I’m young and happy. I’ll never die. I’m skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it is as Tim trying to save Timmy’s life with a story." (Clayton, pg 802). The first experience O’Brien had witnessing one of his fellow soldiers die provoked the trauma he experienced, when he was nine, his first death, Linda who was defeated by a brain tumor, which happened to be his first love. This experience of death when he was nine helped him develop the right kind of coping tools of life to deal with the future deaths of his fellow soldiers during the war. Its quite a horrific situations the character Tim had experienced during the war and when he was young. The character and, maybe even the author, gives implications through this quotation where he has a need for telling these stories of his tragic memories as he relives it, because in his perspective it almost like he brings these ghosts back to life as if they never died in the first place making them immortal, they are always by your side in his head, at least.
|
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
A Mountain for the Broken Hearted
History & URLs for The Women's Suffrage Movement
History & URLs for The Women's Suffrage Movement
| |
The woman suffrage promoted the liberation and freedom a women should have instead of the social inequality they were suffering from or even deprived by at that time period. The pioneers of women suffrage movement were as follows from History of Women's Suffrage,”The demand for the enfranchisement of American women was first seriously formulated at the Seneca Falls Convention (1848). After the Civil War, agitation by women for the ballot became increasingly vociferous. In 1869, however, a rift developed among feminists over the proposed 15th Amendment, which gave the vote to black men. Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others refused to endorse the amendment because it did not give women the ballot. Other suffragists, however, including Lucy Stone and Julia Ward Howe, argued that once the black man was enfranchised, women would achieve their goal. As a result of the conflict, two organizations emerged. Stanton and Anthony formed the National Woman Suffrage Association to work for suffrage on the federal level and to press for more extensive institutional changes, such as the granting of property rights to married women. Stone created the American Woman Suffrage Association, which aimed to secure the ballot through state legislation. In 1890 the two groups united under the name National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). In the same year Wyoming entered the Union, becoming the first state with general women's suffrage (which it had adopted as a territory in 1869).”1
Prohibition was a big issue was one of the firs moves women had an influence of promoting and passing, which prohibited all people to stop drinking, selling, and making alcohol whatsoever. This untimely stop and prevented tons of domestic abuse instances. That was one of the reasons it got passed was to cut down and eliminate domestic violence. According to this website called History about prohibition is explains,”In general the Prohibition Party was concerned about protection of home and family. Indeed one of the early, temporary names adopted by the Prohibition Party was the "Prohibition Home Protection Party." 2At this time women's suffrage was very closely tied to efforts of the Prohibition Party since the Democratic Party altogether rejected the concept and the Republican Party balked at it.”3 The website has allot more to talk about to, explaining all about Prohibition which co-sided with the women’s rights movement and suffrage. The even occurred right before women were allowed to vote but I think this gave women the power to make sure they are heard through voting as well.
Women’s right to vote was pushed by the greatest pioneers of the Women’s suffrage group. I found a cool website that explains this and more.. I can’t imagine how it would be like if I wasn’t allowed to vote because I was a female. According to a timeline from the cool website called Votes for Women: Timeline that I had found it explains, “1869: The women's rights movement splits into two factions as a result of disagreements over the Fourteenth and soon-to-be-passed Fifteenth amendments.”4
Conclusion, women struggled a lot and fought a lot to get where we are today.I am so thankful of that, cause right now as a women, even if it is still not completely equal yet it has gotten allot closer than it use to be. We are still dealing with making the same amount of money as men. As well as other benefits and privledge Men still reciev before a women does. Men make 20% more then women a t same job. What a struggle women went through. The stories do a good job explaining some points of view on ow it was like. . All in all nothing really has changed about men making more money it's just evoled that women are working more than men and taking their jobs, so the stats read it differently because less men are working but that ones that are, are making more money then the women with the same jobs. 1 "History of Women's Suffrage | Scholastic.com." 2004. 22 Oct. 2012 <http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/suffrage/history.htm> 2 "History - The Prohibition Party." 22 Oct. 2012 <http://www.prohibition.org/new_page_3.htm> 3 "History - The Prohibition Party." 22 Oct. 2012 <http://www.prohibition.org/new_page_3.htm> 4 "Timeline from: A History of the American Suffragist Movement, © The ..." 22 Oct. 2012 <http://www.suffragist.com/timeline.htm> |
White Elephant in the Room
White Elephant in the Room
| ||||
A cold hearted situation of giving up life to have a better life. its not like she would get sick or was forced to do it because she wouldn’t survive. They just decided too get this operation because they wanted to rid of their mistakes. The American guy was pushing it on hard core. The Beer was a symbol and instigator on several aspects of this story. Maybe if it wasn’t for that alcohol in the first place they wouldn’t have to have this operation or even the stress of having to make a choice. Also the alcohol helps destroy her chances of making any other choice but to go to through this particular operation.
White elephants means a trivial, little to no value, so, what may, " The hills like white elephants" meant the hills have no value. This minimalist styled short story does a good job describing without describing what that trying to do. As they struggle about having the operation or not and weighing down the options. They are young and have their whole life to live, so they travel to get this operation. I think the female tries to minimizes the whole operation by saying that comment,"The hills like white elephant" meaning its no big deal. Which instead of feeling better about the situation , he felt annoyed about having to make an decision in the first place. The hills may symbolize the baby and the elephant will always stand for the awkwardness and untold loud teeth liking ignoring the elephant in the room or the expression alone, “the elephant in the room” which is that the Spanish girl might of wanted to keep the baby in the end but I’m not sure her opinion mattered as much when ignored like a elephant. The hills would like the white elephant, perhaps the baby would of liked it’s mother.
The couple seemed like they were making a big decision maybe about a baby. The words danced around the subject. But they argued and struggled about keeping it but knew the best thing was to go through the operation. I doubt they were dancing around a new nose or boob job they had to go cross country to another place completely just to perform this particular operation. The theme was abortion, and how a immature and careless American man went out to have some fun and accidentally knocked up a Spanish girl. Here is this whole situation where you have the American man trying to persuade her and push her to have this abortion. So she drinks her problems away and tells her self it will be all better then if she gets rid of this mistake. Even though deep inside she wants to keep it and at least wants the American Man to acknowledge how it would be nice to keep it but she knows it would more like not happen. A good quote i liked from the book showing her conflict with keeping the baby or not. So here she is pregnant but that doesn’t stop her because she wants to try absinthe. The quote goes, “Yes,” said the girl. “Everything tastes like licorice. Especially all the things you’ve waited so long for, like absinthe.” in comparison with her always wanting to try absinthe and finally doing it goes also with how she always wanting a baby growing up but as she found herself pregnant she didn’t want to be pregnant, she didn’t want to have a baby inside her. It goes along with that saying, “ Be careful what you wish for because It just might come true”.
|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)