A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner.
"We did not say she was crazy then" (Faulkner, 284).
This short story I particularly enjoyed. Specifically the point of view. The point of view caused me to remember Anthem by Ayn Rand and how a collective consciousness had a first person point of view. The second reason why I liked this story is because anytime old people go insane, it is a joy to observe. How Miss. Emily interacts with the townspeople is peculiar and rather frightening, or at least that is how I would imagine encountering her would feel. Miss Emily is particularly objected to change and progression. She refuses to pay taxes, get a mail box, update or renovate her house, or bury her father until three days after his death. Her lack of will to follow the rest of the town in the path of progression shows a specific trait to be recognized about Miss Emily, she is holding on to the past for some reason. In the end, we can find that her obsession with living in the past is not restricted to only her house or tax tradition.
After Miss Emily's funeral, townspeople were utterly fascinated with the idea of seeing the inside of her dusty old house. While exploring, they came upon a locked door. After breaking the door down, they found a skeleton that Miss Emily was quite literally keeping locked away for no one to see.
There was the severely decomposed corpse of who was suspected to be Homer Baron.
I learned two particularly important lessons from this story. First, NEVER give an old woman arsenic unless they have a REALLY good reason for it, even if she gives you the evil eye. Second, accept change with open arms, it is inevitable.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Unit 5. Post 1
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
"'I tell you it wasn't fair. You didn't give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that'"(Jackson, 270).
I particularly enjoyed this story because it reminded me of an episode of South Park. I am not going to go into details but I will say I got a good chuckle out of this. All of that is relative and unimportant however. This story is centered around a dead tradition that has no real meaning to the townspeople anymore. The tradition I speak of is the so called "lottery". The lottery is said to bring a high yield for the harvest. Sounds good, right? WRONG! The intent might be in the interest of benefiting the town, however the means by which the good is achieved is archaic, barbaric, and plain inhuman. The lottery is to choose what lucky citizen is stoned to death as a sacrifice to the harvest.
The way the lottery is talked about and presented as this somber occasion, despite having a title that indicates that someone has a chance of winning some fantastic prize, which is the reader's first clue that something is not all well with this lottery deal. There are subtle hints throughout the first half of the story that indicate that nobody is particularly enthused to participate, which, by the way, they are forced to do. The way the townspeople act around each other and the lottery box seems uneasy and apprehensive, another clue to show how dark this occasion really is. Pretty much the entire beginning half of the story foreshadows the twisted reality of the lottery.
I like this story because it makes me enjoy how society today has come to its senses on some of the more important things like human sacrifices. I like the Mayans, don't get me wrong, but I would not want to be living there because my heart belongs inside my chest cavity. If only humanity could realize how awful Jersey Shore is.
"'I tell you it wasn't fair. You didn't give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that'"(Jackson, 270).
I particularly enjoyed this story because it reminded me of an episode of South Park. I am not going to go into details but I will say I got a good chuckle out of this. All of that is relative and unimportant however. This story is centered around a dead tradition that has no real meaning to the townspeople anymore. The tradition I speak of is the so called "lottery". The lottery is said to bring a high yield for the harvest. Sounds good, right? WRONG! The intent might be in the interest of benefiting the town, however the means by which the good is achieved is archaic, barbaric, and plain inhuman. The lottery is to choose what lucky citizen is stoned to death as a sacrifice to the harvest.
The way the lottery is talked about and presented as this somber occasion, despite having a title that indicates that someone has a chance of winning some fantastic prize, which is the reader's first clue that something is not all well with this lottery deal. There are subtle hints throughout the first half of the story that indicate that nobody is particularly enthused to participate, which, by the way, they are forced to do. The way the townspeople act around each other and the lottery box seems uneasy and apprehensive, another clue to show how dark this occasion really is. Pretty much the entire beginning half of the story foreshadows the twisted reality of the lottery.
I like this story because it makes me enjoy how society today has come to its senses on some of the more important things like human sacrifices. I like the Mayans, don't get me wrong, but I would not want to be living there because my heart belongs inside my chest cavity. If only humanity could realize how awful Jersey Shore is.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Unit 4. post 5.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.
Perhaps one of the most underwritten characters that had the greatest impact on the plot was the father, absent, yet still present. His memory is a driving force for many of the decisions that Tom makes. His wish to get away from the family constantly is brought up as a reminder to Amanda of how Tom is just like his father. Tom's behavior is consistent with that of the father who was described as a delinquent and a drunk. Amanda explodes and is infuriated by Tom's behavior and even states that his destructive behavior was dangerous for the family. "What right have you got to jeopardize your job? Jeopardize the security of all of us? How do you think we'd manage.(Williams, 1247)" By saying this, Amanda might as well be saying that she does not want a repeat of her husband.
The Father is a driving force behind many of the decisions and actions of the characters. Amanda can't stop living in the past because it was her only happy time, as now she has to deal with her children and the fact that she was abandoned by her husband. This is why Amanda emphasizes to Laura that she needs to get as many gentleman callers as she can so that she can choose a husband who will stay by her. This is also why Amanda condemns Tom's behavior at night.
Effectively, the father is the antagonist of the story.
Unit 4. post 4
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Scene 6 & 7.
Scene 6 begins with a twist in a set of circumstances. Jim O'Connor is coming over for dinner and Amanda is telling Laura to get ready for dinner. Amanda informs Laura of who is coming over. She freaks because, OMG, Jim O'Connor was her high school crush. Amanda dismisses her worries saying "It won't be him! It isn't the least bit likely. but whether or not, you will come to the table. You will not be excused. (Williams, 1265)" In reality (awkward turtle) it is the Jim O'Connor from high school that she had a crush on.
We first meet Jim and he seems to be a down to earth and realistic person. His nonchalant disposition in his dialogue with Tom makes him seem to be a very friendly and suitable person. In his interaction with Laura in Scene 7, he is polite and very extravagant. Jim even downplays her affliction which she says makes her inadequate.
Amanda enters later on to check on their conversation, she still lives in the past, recounting how her generation acted differently from the younger one.
However, at the end of the scene it is revealed that Jim is engaged to someone. This realization leads to an argument between Amanda and Tom, where Tom is trying to tell Amanda that he had no idea that Jim was engaged. Tom ultimately leaves and fulfills his dreams.
The end....
Scene 6 begins with a twist in a set of circumstances. Jim O'Connor is coming over for dinner and Amanda is telling Laura to get ready for dinner. Amanda informs Laura of who is coming over. She freaks because, OMG, Jim O'Connor was her high school crush. Amanda dismisses her worries saying "It won't be him! It isn't the least bit likely. but whether or not, you will come to the table. You will not be excused. (Williams, 1265)" In reality (awkward turtle) it is the Jim O'Connor from high school that she had a crush on.
We first meet Jim and he seems to be a down to earth and realistic person. His nonchalant disposition in his dialogue with Tom makes him seem to be a very friendly and suitable person. In his interaction with Laura in Scene 7, he is polite and very extravagant. Jim even downplays her affliction which she says makes her inadequate.
Amanda enters later on to check on their conversation, she still lives in the past, recounting how her generation acted differently from the younger one.
However, at the end of the scene it is revealed that Jim is engaged to someone. This realization leads to an argument between Amanda and Tom, where Tom is trying to tell Amanda that he had no idea that Jim was engaged. Tom ultimately leaves and fulfills his dreams.
The end....
Unit 4. post 3.
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Scene 4 &5.
This scene begins with Tom returning from his movie, drunk of course. Laura is there to greet him. One of the most important symbols of the play is revealed within this sub-scene. Tom recalls a magician who preformed a trick where he escaped a coffin without removing any nails. Tom relates the coffin to the family, perhaps more specifically his mother. Tom says "There is a trick that would come in handy for me --- get me out of this 2 by 4 situation! (Williams, 1249)" This can be tied back to the father of the family who left them. Tom almost admires his father for being able to get out unscathed. We even learn that Tom has a plan to get out of the family. He has a letter from the Merchant Marines and is lined up to join. Amanda creates one stipulation for him. He can only leave after they find some gentleman caller for Laura.
Tom, anxious to get away from his mother as soon as possible, tries finding gentlemen callers for Laura. Tom plans on lining up Mr. John D. O'Connor as a gentleman caller for Laura. Tom, while discussing with Amanda his set up for Laura, reveals that Laura lives in her imagination with her glass figurines, a visual image of her own fragility as a person and emotionally. This is a very important note when regarding Laura.
This scene begins with Tom returning from his movie, drunk of course. Laura is there to greet him. One of the most important symbols of the play is revealed within this sub-scene. Tom recalls a magician who preformed a trick where he escaped a coffin without removing any nails. Tom relates the coffin to the family, perhaps more specifically his mother. Tom says "There is a trick that would come in handy for me --- get me out of this 2 by 4 situation! (Williams, 1249)" This can be tied back to the father of the family who left them. Tom almost admires his father for being able to get out unscathed. We even learn that Tom has a plan to get out of the family. He has a letter from the Merchant Marines and is lined up to join. Amanda creates one stipulation for him. He can only leave after they find some gentleman caller for Laura.
Tom, anxious to get away from his mother as soon as possible, tries finding gentlemen callers for Laura. Tom plans on lining up Mr. John D. O'Connor as a gentleman caller for Laura. Tom, while discussing with Amanda his set up for Laura, reveals that Laura lives in her imagination with her glass figurines, a visual image of her own fragility as a person and emotionally. This is a very important note when regarding Laura.
Unit 4. post 2
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Scene 3
This scene highlights the conflict between Amanda and Tom. Tom is a man of the night and enjoys going out to the movies and getting a drink, but Amanda and her controlling attitude pries into Tom's life and pushes him over the edge. Amanda fears that Tom is becoming like her husband who walked out on the family and was an alcoholic. She accuses Tom of being an alcoholic and being just like his father.
While Amanda seeks control, her children hold most of the responsibilities like doing chores and Tom even says "House, House! Who pays rent on it, who makes a slave of himself. (Williams, 1246)" He is suggesting that despite the fact that he controls how Amanda lives and where she lives, Amanda still fights him for control where it is not her place.
This scene really shows how Laura is a child mentally. Whenever there is some argument or traumatizing event, Laura goes back into her room and plays with her glass figurines. She lacks knowledge of how to deal with social problems, because her family has not taught her how to. This is crucial in understanding how she relates to the hostility between Tom and Amanda.
Unit 4. post 1
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. Scene 1 & 2
Scene one seems to act as an introduction to the characters of the play, as well as the environment and emotion that is present between characters. Tom, the narrator and a character in the story, first introduces us to his mother, Amanda. She is characterized as an overly reminiscent person who dwells in the past. Her obsession with her own past and success as an attraction to gentlemen callers seems to drag on to her children. Amanda seems to micromanage everything her children do in the house. For example, as the family is sitting down for dinner after Tom's introduction, Tom becomes tired of his mother nagging him about how to eat saying, "I haven't enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it.(Williams, 1237)"
After our introduction to Amanda, we meet the sister of Tom, Laura. She is shy and receded from her emotional attachment to her mother. In scene two, we find that after only a few days of business school, Laura dropped out because she could not handle the pressure, or maybe the social obligation of interacting with other people.
Laura calls herself a cripple but her mother denies that statement, in almost a delusional fit, and reassures her that Laura will have just as many gentlemen callers as Amanda did when she was young. However, Laura denies that she is going to have any gentlemen callers, which upsets Amanda.
For some reason, Amanda seems completely detached with reality. Perhaps it is her being traumatized from her separation from her husband who is absent and present in the plot at the same time.
Scene one seems to act as an introduction to the characters of the play, as well as the environment and emotion that is present between characters. Tom, the narrator and a character in the story, first introduces us to his mother, Amanda. She is characterized as an overly reminiscent person who dwells in the past. Her obsession with her own past and success as an attraction to gentlemen callers seems to drag on to her children. Amanda seems to micromanage everything her children do in the house. For example, as the family is sitting down for dinner after Tom's introduction, Tom becomes tired of his mother nagging him about how to eat saying, "I haven't enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it.(Williams, 1237)"
After our introduction to Amanda, we meet the sister of Tom, Laura. She is shy and receded from her emotional attachment to her mother. In scene two, we find that after only a few days of business school, Laura dropped out because she could not handle the pressure, or maybe the social obligation of interacting with other people.
Laura calls herself a cripple but her mother denies that statement, in almost a delusional fit, and reassures her that Laura will have just as many gentlemen callers as Amanda did when she was young. However, Laura denies that she is going to have any gentlemen callers, which upsets Amanda.
For some reason, Amanda seems completely detached with reality. Perhaps it is her being traumatized from her separation from her husband who is absent and present in the plot at the same time.
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