• Blog – What do you make of the end of this letter? Does it feel peaceful? Angry? Resilient?
This was a letter from Celie to her sister, Nettie. The letter talked about God and Celie’s relationship with him. From this letter I feel that Celie’s faith is strong but it is dependent on what other people have told her about God. At first Celie thought that God was a white male, because that is what everyone around her said. This changes when Shug tells her that God has no race or gender. “It? I ast. Yeah. It. God ain’t a he or a she, but a It. But what do it look like? I ast. Don’t look like nothing, she say.” (Pg. 2456) After hearing this Celie’s faith is now based on her interpretation of God, not one she learned from someone else. Shug has helped Celie open her view on religion but how Celie chooses to express it is up to her.
I think that there is some anger at the end of this letter. At the end of the letter Celie learns to respect life and everything it has to offer. This was learned after Shug told her to look at the flowers and embrace their beauty. “I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” (Pg. 2457) However I think that Celie is angry because men see themselves as God. She has felt oppressed by men for too long. She feels as though she has done everything she can to please God and he just won’t listen.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Fires in the Mirrors
• Blog – After finishing the film, what emotions do you feel? What do you think Anna Deavere Smith was trying to do in creating this piece?
After watching “Fires in the Mirrors” I had mixed emotions. There are parts of me that think it is the Jews fault but other parts that make me feel as though it is the African Americans fault. The only person who felt as though the whole thing was an accident was Roslyn Malamud in “Coup.” She was an African American who clearly stated that what happened was an accident. She said that everyone in the same neighborhood wants the same things. As I recall this is the only person who felt as though the entire incident was just an accident. There were feelings of sadness when the Jewish man was stabbed for just being Jewish but also when the young African American boy was hit by the car.
Anna Deavere Smith, the producer of the movie was trying to show people all the different views on the incident. There were people who were laid back and others who were constantly shouting. She interviewed all different types of people from a mayor to an anonymous young man on the streets. She tried to balance out who she interviewed, balancing out interviewing Jewish people and African Americans. I think that she succeeded in her movie because each persons view was different, even if it was in the smallest way. I don’t think that she was biased in any way. This is because she played the role of each person she interviewed and said and did exactly what the person she interviewed did. She didn’t manipulate anyone’s interview to favor one side or the other, only the side they supported.
After watching “Fires in the Mirrors” I had mixed emotions. There are parts of me that think it is the Jews fault but other parts that make me feel as though it is the African Americans fault. The only person who felt as though the whole thing was an accident was Roslyn Malamud in “Coup.” She was an African American who clearly stated that what happened was an accident. She said that everyone in the same neighborhood wants the same things. As I recall this is the only person who felt as though the entire incident was just an accident. There were feelings of sadness when the Jewish man was stabbed for just being Jewish but also when the young African American boy was hit by the car.
Anna Deavere Smith, the producer of the movie was trying to show people all the different views on the incident. There were people who were laid back and others who were constantly shouting. She interviewed all different types of people from a mayor to an anonymous young man on the streets. She tried to balance out who she interviewed, balancing out interviewing Jewish people and African Americans. I think that she succeeded in her movie because each persons view was different, even if it was in the smallest way. I don’t think that she was biased in any way. This is because she played the role of each person she interviewed and said and did exactly what the person she interviewed did. She didn’t manipulate anyone’s interview to favor one side or the other, only the side they supported.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Movie Blog
Blog – Who do you sympathize with?
There are two sides to every story. In this case it was between the Jews and African Americans. The incident was when a Jewish man hit and killed a young African American. The African Americans claim that he was drunk at the time of the accident but when the ambulance took him to the hospital he had no alcohol in his breath. The ambulance that came to take the Jewish man to the hospital was a private ambulance for the Jews. The African Americans complained that they needed to attend to the dying kid on the ground rather than taking the Jewish man to the hospital. Their argument was that the Jewish man was up and walking while the young African American was lying still on the ground. The African Americans also beat up the man who killed the young boy so much that he required stitches on his head and skull. Also as a result of this incident a few hours later another Jewish man was walking when a group of African Americans stabbed him just because he was a Jew. After all of this and listening to the movie I have to say that both sides are to blame. I feel sympathy for both but I think that both sides also did things to anger the other side. The African Americans stabbed a Jewish man for the simple fact that he was a Jew and the Jewish man who hit the young kid ran a red light, which is never acceptable. The Jewish also brought their own private ambulance to the scene to help the driver; while they just left the young kid lying there. That is why I don’t feel as though I can side with one or the other.
There are two sides to every story. In this case it was between the Jews and African Americans. The incident was when a Jewish man hit and killed a young African American. The African Americans claim that he was drunk at the time of the accident but when the ambulance took him to the hospital he had no alcohol in his breath. The ambulance that came to take the Jewish man to the hospital was a private ambulance for the Jews. The African Americans complained that they needed to attend to the dying kid on the ground rather than taking the Jewish man to the hospital. Their argument was that the Jewish man was up and walking while the young African American was lying still on the ground. The African Americans also beat up the man who killed the young boy so much that he required stitches on his head and skull. Also as a result of this incident a few hours later another Jewish man was walking when a group of African Americans stabbed him just because he was a Jew. After all of this and listening to the movie I have to say that both sides are to blame. I feel sympathy for both but I think that both sides also did things to anger the other side. The African Americans stabbed a Jewish man for the simple fact that he was a Jew and the Jewish man who hit the young kid ran a red light, which is never acceptable. The Jewish also brought their own private ambulance to the scene to help the driver; while they just left the young kid lying there. That is why I don’t feel as though I can side with one or the other.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Malcolm X
What in trigued you? What angered you? How does this compare to the writing of Martin Luther King, Jr?
The entire passage was about Malcolm X’s life while he was in jail. Malcolm talks about how he learned of Elijah Muhammad and his teachings of “the white man is the devil and the brainwashed black man.” This is a reoccurring phrase throughout the autobiography; similar to the reoccurring phrases “I have a dream and let freedom ring” in Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech. However this is the only thing that is similar between the two. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had two very different views on how people should fight the problem. Through his communications with Muhammad, Malcolm learned that history had been “whitened” to subjugate the blacks. This was a problem because for all of the blacks in the prison, this is what they believed. They didn’t know any better. This is not surprising because Malcolm says, “even the black professors have known little more than the most ignorant black man” (Pg. 1869) because history had been so “whitened.” Malcolm believes that the whites are nothing but an enemy to the blacks and wants to use violence against them. This is the complete opposite of what King wanted to do; he wanted to solve the problem peacefully. What was interesting was how he brought religion into the problem. His views on religion were so extreme that he blames his violence on it. The way he wants to solve the problem is through violence and he is willing to do anything to get what he wants.
The entire passage was about Malcolm X’s life while he was in jail. Malcolm talks about how he learned of Elijah Muhammad and his teachings of “the white man is the devil and the brainwashed black man.” This is a reoccurring phrase throughout the autobiography; similar to the reoccurring phrases “I have a dream and let freedom ring” in Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech. However this is the only thing that is similar between the two. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. had two very different views on how people should fight the problem. Through his communications with Muhammad, Malcolm learned that history had been “whitened” to subjugate the blacks. This was a problem because for all of the blacks in the prison, this is what they believed. They didn’t know any better. This is not surprising because Malcolm says, “even the black professors have known little more than the most ignorant black man” (Pg. 1869) because history had been so “whitened.” Malcolm believes that the whites are nothing but an enemy to the blacks and wants to use violence against them. This is the complete opposite of what King wanted to do; he wanted to solve the problem peacefully. What was interesting was how he brought religion into the problem. His views on religion were so extreme that he blames his violence on it. The way he wants to solve the problem is through violence and he is willing to do anything to get what he wants.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Sonny's Blues
• Blog – What does the brother realize about Sonny as he plays the piano? What does the music allow Sonny to do?
It takes a while for Sonny’s brother to understand Sonny and why he wants to play the piano. The brothers get into a big argument about Sonny skipping school to play jazz. The first time the brother realizes why Sonny played the piano was when Sonny invited him to one of his gigs. The brother learns that by playing the piano Sonny is able to express the truth inside himself and in turn allows the brother to realize that the truth that exists all around him in life. He also learns the necessity of music and its role in the black community. The brother noticed how Sonny was struggling to find the right language to express himself in. Not only until the end of the story does Sonny find this new language when he gets lost in the expression of his music. Sonny used music as a way to escape. Music was the only thing that gave him hope and kept him dreaming for a better life. Music gave Sonny hope for the future. The relationship between drugs and music has been historically intertwined. “Sonny’s Blues” started off with Sonny getting arrested for heroin and why he did drugs. Near the end of the story we Sonny tells his brother that the reason he did drugs was to escape the hardships of life. Sonny used his experience of addiction to create his music. So, had it not been for Sonny’s drug problems earlier on in his life, there would be no “Sonny’s Blues” or his music.
It takes a while for Sonny’s brother to understand Sonny and why he wants to play the piano. The brothers get into a big argument about Sonny skipping school to play jazz. The first time the brother realizes why Sonny played the piano was when Sonny invited him to one of his gigs. The brother learns that by playing the piano Sonny is able to express the truth inside himself and in turn allows the brother to realize that the truth that exists all around him in life. He also learns the necessity of music and its role in the black community. The brother noticed how Sonny was struggling to find the right language to express himself in. Not only until the end of the story does Sonny find this new language when he gets lost in the expression of his music. Sonny used music as a way to escape. Music was the only thing that gave him hope and kept him dreaming for a better life. Music gave Sonny hope for the future. The relationship between drugs and music has been historically intertwined. “Sonny’s Blues” started off with Sonny getting arrested for heroin and why he did drugs. Near the end of the story we Sonny tells his brother that the reason he did drugs was to escape the hardships of life. Sonny used his experience of addiction to create his music. So, had it not been for Sonny’s drug problems earlier on in his life, there would be no “Sonny’s Blues” or his music.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Ethics
• Blog – What are the ‘ethics’ of your life? How do the people you interact with on a daily basis contribute to your understanding of how you should behave? Think of your parents/teachers/adults, but also of your friends and peers.
Ethics can be confusing. There are so many different ‘groups’ that you may interact with on a daily basis that you may have several different personalities. Ethics is how you act around a certain group of people. However, being ethical does not mean just doing what the group accepts. But, in reality, most groups choose standards that are in fact ethical, but people’s standards of behavior can differ from those standards. This shows how most people are often influenced by others because what is considered ethical to one group may be considered unethical to another. For instance, you may act nice and polite around your parents but may act in a different way with your friends. This is because you act depending on how you want the people around you to see you as. So, not only do you decide what is the best for you to act, but also the people around you. I know that for me I act different around my parents then I do my friends. My parents taught me in general, what is right and what is wrong. So those standards include the obligation to refrain from stealing, fraud, murder, ect. So in other words they expect me to be polite and use manners around other people as well as respect them. Now with my friends it is different. Not that I don’t still act polite, but just do so in a lesser tone. With friends, as we all know, you can be more relaxed around. For the most part friends don’t harp on you to do things like your parents do. However, there are some things that my friends do that I don’t do, for example, a lot of my friends wait to do work until the last minute, while I do it when it is assigned. Not that doing this is wrong; it just isn’t the smartest or best way to act. While I act different around my friends then I do with my parents I don’t think that my “ethics” necessarily change all that much.
Ethics can be confusing. There are so many different ‘groups’ that you may interact with on a daily basis that you may have several different personalities. Ethics is how you act around a certain group of people. However, being ethical does not mean just doing what the group accepts. But, in reality, most groups choose standards that are in fact ethical, but people’s standards of behavior can differ from those standards. This shows how most people are often influenced by others because what is considered ethical to one group may be considered unethical to another. For instance, you may act nice and polite around your parents but may act in a different way with your friends. This is because you act depending on how you want the people around you to see you as. So, not only do you decide what is the best for you to act, but also the people around you. I know that for me I act different around my parents then I do my friends. My parents taught me in general, what is right and what is wrong. So those standards include the obligation to refrain from stealing, fraud, murder, ect. So in other words they expect me to be polite and use manners around other people as well as respect them. Now with my friends it is different. Not that I don’t still act polite, but just do so in a lesser tone. With friends, as we all know, you can be more relaxed around. For the most part friends don’t harp on you to do things like your parents do. However, there are some things that my friends do that I don’t do, for example, a lot of my friends wait to do work until the last minute, while I do it when it is assigned. Not that doing this is wrong; it just isn’t the smartest or best way to act. While I act different around my friends then I do with my parents I don’t think that my “ethics” necessarily change all that much.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Claude McKay and Langston Hughes
• Blog – Compare Hughes’ poetry to Claude McKay. What is similar? What is different?
Both Langston Hughes and Claude McKay write their poems for the same reasons. They write them because they want people to see African Americans as ‘normal’ people. One example is in “To My White Friends”, which says that African Americans are just as able of cruelty towards the whites as the whites are to the blacks. However, McKay makes his reason more clear in his story, “Home To Harlem.” This is the story of Jerco and Rosalind and the reasons African Americans are in certain situations. Most people, according to McKay think that African Americans are in situations because of what they are attracted to but then goes on to tell what the real reasons are, those include: love and kindness. While Langston Hughes talks about the same reasons he does so using different situations. McKay tended to use very unpleasant situations while Hughes incorporates education into his examples. In McKay’s “Home To Harlem” Jerco shows how he loves Rosalind because when she is sick he wants to help her. Most people would think that they are friends, but would not even think that Jerco loves Rosalind. McKay’s point in writing this story was not only to make African Americans seem like people, but also to fight against the idea that all blacks go into activities on purpose, without caring about others. So this story shows that African Americans are real people, with real feelings, that bad things are happening to. W.E.B. DuBois hated this story because it did not show great intellectual characters, so he saw it as a waste of McKay’s talent. In Hughes’s poems he shows how things that are important to blacks can also be things that are important to whites. This is especially shown in his poem, Theme for English B. In this poem the only black kid in the class tells us “I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records-Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.” (Pg. 1310) This is a clear example of why people should see African Americans as ‘normal’ people. Unlike his view on McKay’s “Home To Harlem”, W.E.B. DuBois probably would like the work of Hughes because of its focus on education. I say that DuBois would have probably liked the work of Hughes because after we read “The Souls of Black Folk”, I understood what his on African Americans was. He wanted African Americans to go up North and learn to read and write rather than stay in the South to work in the fields. So this tells me that because Hughes included education in his examples, DuBois would have enjoyed his work.
Both Langston Hughes and Claude McKay write their poems for the same reasons. They write them because they want people to see African Americans as ‘normal’ people. One example is in “To My White Friends”, which says that African Americans are just as able of cruelty towards the whites as the whites are to the blacks. However, McKay makes his reason more clear in his story, “Home To Harlem.” This is the story of Jerco and Rosalind and the reasons African Americans are in certain situations. Most people, according to McKay think that African Americans are in situations because of what they are attracted to but then goes on to tell what the real reasons are, those include: love and kindness. While Langston Hughes talks about the same reasons he does so using different situations. McKay tended to use very unpleasant situations while Hughes incorporates education into his examples. In McKay’s “Home To Harlem” Jerco shows how he loves Rosalind because when she is sick he wants to help her. Most people would think that they are friends, but would not even think that Jerco loves Rosalind. McKay’s point in writing this story was not only to make African Americans seem like people, but also to fight against the idea that all blacks go into activities on purpose, without caring about others. So this story shows that African Americans are real people, with real feelings, that bad things are happening to. W.E.B. DuBois hated this story because it did not show great intellectual characters, so he saw it as a waste of McKay’s talent. In Hughes’s poems he shows how things that are important to blacks can also be things that are important to whites. This is especially shown in his poem, Theme for English B. In this poem the only black kid in the class tells us “I like a pipe for a Christmas present, or records-Bessie, bop, or Bach. I guess being colored doesn’t make me not like the same things other folks like who are other races.” (Pg. 1310) This is a clear example of why people should see African Americans as ‘normal’ people. Unlike his view on McKay’s “Home To Harlem”, W.E.B. DuBois probably would like the work of Hughes because of its focus on education. I say that DuBois would have probably liked the work of Hughes because after we read “The Souls of Black Folk”, I understood what his on African Americans was. He wanted African Americans to go up North and learn to read and write rather than stay in the South to work in the fields. So this tells me that because Hughes included education in his examples, DuBois would have enjoyed his work.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Booker T. Washington
• Blog – How is Washington providing an answer to the ‘go North’ or ‘stay South’ debate we looked at in Frederick Douglass’s Life and Times?
Booker T. Washington in his “Atlanta Exposition Address” began with a call to the blacks, which comprised nearly one-third of the South’s population. He told them that they needed to join the world of work. Within his speech, Washington provides an answer to “stay South”. He told the blacks that the best chance they had to join the world of work was in the South, most particularly in commerce and industry. “It is in the South that the Negro is given a man’s chance in the commercial world, and in nothing is this Exposition more eloquent than in emphasizing this chance.” (Pg. 595) This relates to Frederick Douglass’s Life and Times because Douglass tells the African Americans migrating to the North that they should not only to stay in the South but also that the Northern cities can’t take a large influx of people and that they can demand better jobs/higher pay if they support the Southern economy. Then Washington goes on to address his white audience. He told them that instead of waiting for immigrants and put them to work, they should hire some of the eight million blacks. Washington tries to entice the whites with telling them of how loyal and hardworking the blacks are. Along with trying to get blacks into the world of work he also tried to downplay the quest for civil equality by telling his white audience, “ In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” (Pg. 596) Washington said this so as not to seem desperate, in hope that in not doing so the whites would be more willing to take a chance and hire some of the blacks.
Booker T. Washington in his “Atlanta Exposition Address” began with a call to the blacks, which comprised nearly one-third of the South’s population. He told them that they needed to join the world of work. Within his speech, Washington provides an answer to “stay South”. He told the blacks that the best chance they had to join the world of work was in the South, most particularly in commerce and industry. “It is in the South that the Negro is given a man’s chance in the commercial world, and in nothing is this Exposition more eloquent than in emphasizing this chance.” (Pg. 595) This relates to Frederick Douglass’s Life and Times because Douglass tells the African Americans migrating to the North that they should not only to stay in the South but also that the Northern cities can’t take a large influx of people and that they can demand better jobs/higher pay if they support the Southern economy. Then Washington goes on to address his white audience. He told them that instead of waiting for immigrants and put them to work, they should hire some of the eight million blacks. Washington tries to entice the whites with telling them of how loyal and hardworking the blacks are. Along with trying to get blacks into the world of work he also tried to downplay the quest for civil equality by telling his white audience, “ In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” (Pg. 596) Washington said this so as not to seem desperate, in hope that in not doing so the whites would be more willing to take a chance and hire some of the blacks.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Venture Smith and Equiano
• Blog – Compare Equiano to Venture Smith. Both are Africans brought over to America to be slaves. Do they share the same views? How do they differ?
Both Equiano and Venture Smith came from similar backgrounds. Equiano was born in the village of Essaka, which is now modern day Nigeria. Venture Smith was born in Dukandarra, which is believed to be somewhere in modern day Togo, Ghana, or Benin. Both talk about their lives before they were kidnapped, but Equiano goes into detail about his village describing the rituals and the housing. I think that Equiano is very attached to his village’s traditions and manners because he spends such a great deal discussing them. Equiano even said that, “the manners and customs of my country…have been implanted in me with great care, and made an impression in my mind.” (Pg. 200) Both were kidnapped as young kids and had to endure the horrendous journey from western Africa to the Americas in the crowded area under the deck. In Equiano’s story he spent a great deal describing the conditions and just how they were treated, compared to Venture’s story which gives a couple of sentences concerning the journey. Equiano said that he had never seen a white man before he was kidnapped and while on the ship he couldn’t understand anyone. Equiano experience as a slave was very different then Venture’s because unlike Venture who went directly to North America, Equiano was in different parts of Africa before he went to North America and Barbados. Equiano spent most of his time in England, which is, were he started to become interested in others traditions. This shows up at the end of his writing. He was told that he would not go to Heaven unless he was baptized. Equiano also learned the English language, which he was once completely oblivious to. On the other hand, Venture Smith didn’t care about others traditions, he learned about money. Venture gained his freedom and then went about buying other people’s freedom, but only to have them work for him. This is when he felt like his masters did when he was a slave, powerful and rich. However, both Equiano and Venture have one thing in common, and that is that they both learned to write throughout their enslavement. Both Equiano and Venture started living the same, in western Africa, then forced into slavery, but both dealt with their situations differently and ended up in different situations.
Both Equiano and Venture Smith came from similar backgrounds. Equiano was born in the village of Essaka, which is now modern day Nigeria. Venture Smith was born in Dukandarra, which is believed to be somewhere in modern day Togo, Ghana, or Benin. Both talk about their lives before they were kidnapped, but Equiano goes into detail about his village describing the rituals and the housing. I think that Equiano is very attached to his village’s traditions and manners because he spends such a great deal discussing them. Equiano even said that, “the manners and customs of my country…have been implanted in me with great care, and made an impression in my mind.” (Pg. 200) Both were kidnapped as young kids and had to endure the horrendous journey from western Africa to the Americas in the crowded area under the deck. In Equiano’s story he spent a great deal describing the conditions and just how they were treated, compared to Venture’s story which gives a couple of sentences concerning the journey. Equiano said that he had never seen a white man before he was kidnapped and while on the ship he couldn’t understand anyone. Equiano experience as a slave was very different then Venture’s because unlike Venture who went directly to North America, Equiano was in different parts of Africa before he went to North America and Barbados. Equiano spent most of his time in England, which is, were he started to become interested in others traditions. This shows up at the end of his writing. He was told that he would not go to Heaven unless he was baptized. Equiano also learned the English language, which he was once completely oblivious to. On the other hand, Venture Smith didn’t care about others traditions, he learned about money. Venture gained his freedom and then went about buying other people’s freedom, but only to have them work for him. This is when he felt like his masters did when he was a slave, powerful and rich. However, both Equiano and Venture have one thing in common, and that is that they both learned to write throughout their enslavement. Both Equiano and Venture started living the same, in western Africa, then forced into slavery, but both dealt with their situations differently and ended up in different situations.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Protest Songs
• Blog – Continue the idea of values. What ideas are being presented in these protest songs that echo back to the older works we’ve looked at?
These three protest songs all deal with the reoccurring themes of freedom and racism. In the protest song, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round” the reoccurring themes are bravery and freedom. This song shows that those who sang this song were not scared of jail, “Ain’t gonna let no sheriff turn me ‘round” (Line 13) as well as a variety of other things. The song shows different examples of the different things people did to the slaves to try and make them give up hope of freedom. Freedom presents itself in that the words “turn around” mean that the slaves thought they could changes minds that they can be free. The slaves were very set on freedom; nothing was in their way. In this song all the whites are trying to get the African Americans to stop fighting racism. The song, “Strange Fruit” is a song about having a vision of hanging black men in the south; those are what the slaves were referring to each time they sang this song. This protest song dealt with racism directly. To me, this song stood out the most. It was as though it was different from the two others but in a way the same. In the song, “We Shall Overcome”, the main themes are believing and hope. The slaves believed that racism will be overcome in the future, they won’t give up and that they will win. “We’ll walk hand in hand someday.” (Line 6) All of these songs have the theme of anti-slavery and mention the horrible things that have happened to the slaves and the fact that they will never give up, which is how they are similar to the others we have read.
These three protest songs all deal with the reoccurring themes of freedom and racism. In the protest song, “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Round” the reoccurring themes are bravery and freedom. This song shows that those who sang this song were not scared of jail, “Ain’t gonna let no sheriff turn me ‘round” (Line 13) as well as a variety of other things. The song shows different examples of the different things people did to the slaves to try and make them give up hope of freedom. Freedom presents itself in that the words “turn around” mean that the slaves thought they could changes minds that they can be free. The slaves were very set on freedom; nothing was in their way. In this song all the whites are trying to get the African Americans to stop fighting racism. The song, “Strange Fruit” is a song about having a vision of hanging black men in the south; those are what the slaves were referring to each time they sang this song. This protest song dealt with racism directly. To me, this song stood out the most. It was as though it was different from the two others but in a way the same. In the song, “We Shall Overcome”, the main themes are believing and hope. The slaves believed that racism will be overcome in the future, they won’t give up and that they will win. “We’ll walk hand in hand someday.” (Line 6) All of these songs have the theme of anti-slavery and mention the horrible things that have happened to the slaves and the fact that they will never give up, which is how they are similar to the others we have read.
Monday, August 24, 2009
John Henry
John Henry is about a man named John Henry who from when he was a kid said that working on the railroad would kill him. “Setting on his mamma’s knee, He said The Big Bend Tunnel on the C. & O. Road Is gonna be the death of me.” (Verse 2) The ballad later goes on to tell that John Henry will be participating in a contest in which he has to race a steam drill. While John Henry beats the steam drill he died afterward. My interpretation on why he raced the steam drill is that it could have been for money or to fight a technological process because he wanted to prove that a man could beat technology. So, if John Henry did this contest because he was fed up with how the railroad company was treating him this ballad could have influenced the songs “The Message” and “N.Y. State of Mind.” In both of these songs the artist sings about how he is either about to be pushed over the edge or has been. In the ballad, “John Henry”, I think that he has been pushed over the edge because he let himself be. However I think that this ballad relates more to “The Message” because in that song the artist tells of how he is trying to the right thing throughout a struggle. In John Henry the railroad system is pushing more towards efficiency and not so much concerned about the workers. John Henry proves to them that a man can beat a steam drill and that the workers should be treated better. What makes me think that the railroad didn’t treat the workers well is because John Henry’s last words were, “Give me a cool drink of water ‘fore I die.” (Verse 19) To me that says that the workers had to work long hours without water or food. In “The Message” it also talks about living in a harsh environment, the ghetto. Both the ballad and “The Message” tell stories of how living life was hard.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 8
• Blog – What does Joe want and why is it against regulations?
Joe is finally able to communicate with the new nurse. After she spelled out “MARRY CHIRSTMAS” on his chest he begins tapping again. Instead of trying to comfort him like the other nurse did, she leaves, and comes back with a man who taps, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” Joe cannot however think of anything that he wants because has been longing to communicate with people and now he can do just that. At first Joe thinks to himself, maybe they are asking what material goods I want. Joe doesn’t want any material goods; he has no use for them. Then Joe goes into thinking that they, the hospital staff, should know what he wants, legs, arms, ect. Joe’s wanting to have a new life inspires himself to think more. However, Joe knows that taking this outside the hospital would cost money that he does not have. In order to pay for this Joe imagines himself being put on display for paying viewers to come and see his body. After he translates this to Morris Code the man leaves. Then comes back with the response, “WHAT YOU ASK FOR IS AGAINST REGULATIONS WHO YOU ARE.” He then feels the sharp pain of a needle being struck into his skin. At this point Joe realizes that the hospital just wants to get rid of him. They are giving him more dope. He doesn’t understand why they wont even let him talk. As Joe goes into an unconscious state, he has another dream with Christ. In this image Joe realizes now why they won’t let him talk. Joe’s body needs to be kept in secret so that generals can still recruit men to go off to war. If young men would happen to see Joe’s body they believe that it will scare them off because they have seen the common horrible truth about war.
Joe is finally able to communicate with the new nurse. After she spelled out “MARRY CHIRSTMAS” on his chest he begins tapping again. Instead of trying to comfort him like the other nurse did, she leaves, and comes back with a man who taps, “WHAT DO YOU WANT?” Joe cannot however think of anything that he wants because has been longing to communicate with people and now he can do just that. At first Joe thinks to himself, maybe they are asking what material goods I want. Joe doesn’t want any material goods; he has no use for them. Then Joe goes into thinking that they, the hospital staff, should know what he wants, legs, arms, ect. Joe’s wanting to have a new life inspires himself to think more. However, Joe knows that taking this outside the hospital would cost money that he does not have. In order to pay for this Joe imagines himself being put on display for paying viewers to come and see his body. After he translates this to Morris Code the man leaves. Then comes back with the response, “WHAT YOU ASK FOR IS AGAINST REGULATIONS WHO YOU ARE.” He then feels the sharp pain of a needle being struck into his skin. At this point Joe realizes that the hospital just wants to get rid of him. They are giving him more dope. He doesn’t understand why they wont even let him talk. As Joe goes into an unconscious state, he has another dream with Christ. In this image Joe realizes now why they won’t let him talk. Joe’s body needs to be kept in secret so that generals can still recruit men to go off to war. If young men would happen to see Joe’s body they believe that it will scare them off because they have seen the common horrible truth about war.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 7
• Blog – Explain the dream with Christ.
Joe is seeing a collection off images in his mind. One of those images is of the women looking for her son at the train station. He sees that her son is Christ when he is coming up through the desert. The image goes on to when Christ goes to the railway station to play blackjack/cards with Joe and others. As the game progresses, the men strike up a conversation about war. One of the men states that, “…what the hell is this other guy doing here he ain’t going to die.” (Pg. 192) This is directed towards Joe because he will not actually die in the war. However, after Joe explains what happens to him instead of dying, the men agree that his fate is worse than theirs. After they bored the train, Joe goes out and searches for Christ, wanting him to aid his suffering. Joe in this image wants to have died rather then being in the state he is in now.
Joe is seeing a collection off images in his mind. One of those images is of the women looking for her son at the train station. He sees that her son is Christ when he is coming up through the desert. The image goes on to when Christ goes to the railway station to play blackjack/cards with Joe and others. As the game progresses, the men strike up a conversation about war. One of the men states that, “…what the hell is this other guy doing here he ain’t going to die.” (Pg. 192) This is directed towards Joe because he will not actually die in the war. However, after Joe explains what happens to him instead of dying, the men agree that his fate is worse than theirs. After they bored the train, Joe goes out and searches for Christ, wanting him to aid his suffering. Joe in this image wants to have died rather then being in the state he is in now.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 6
• Blog – Why does Joe start tapping?
Along with his attempts to master time, Joe is now trying to think of ways to communicate to people. What gets his mind on the idea are the vibrations that the doctors make when they come to see him. He determines that he could use tapping, or Morse code. When he was young he used to use the Morse code with his friend Bill Harper. They used it when their parents refused to let them go out because of the weather. “On such nights he and Bill Harper used to dot and dash each other and they had a hell of a good time.” (Pg. 162) Now Joe’s only problem was if the nurses could understand him. Much to Joe’s disappointment the nurse didn’t understand, or so he thought. Joe described how he could feel the nurse just standing over him looking at him. Instead of understanding his “SOS” message, the nurse just laid her hand on his head to try and clam him down. “His tapping grew slower and her hand got still heavier and finally he lay back very quietly against the pillow while she brushed his forehead.” (Pg. 164)
Along with his attempts to master time, Joe is now trying to think of ways to communicate to people. What gets his mind on the idea are the vibrations that the doctors make when they come to see him. He determines that he could use tapping, or Morse code. When he was young he used to use the Morse code with his friend Bill Harper. They used it when their parents refused to let them go out because of the weather. “On such nights he and Bill Harper used to dot and dash each other and they had a hell of a good time.” (Pg. 162) Now Joe’s only problem was if the nurses could understand him. Much to Joe’s disappointment the nurse didn’t understand, or so he thought. Joe described how he could feel the nurse just standing over him looking at him. Instead of understanding his “SOS” message, the nurse just laid her hand on his head to try and clam him down. “His tapping grew slower and her hand got still heavier and finally he lay back very quietly against the pillow while she brushed his forehead.” (Pg. 164)
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 5
• Blog – Why does Joe decide to master time? How does he do it?
Joe decides that he wants to teach himself something new. He tries to remember math, narratives, but he is not entertained by that, he wants to try something new. He decides to try and teach himself to master time. Joe’s first attempts at mastering time fail. He tries to count every second, every minute, and every hour between nurse visits. Each time Joe gets to around eleven minutes then looses track. He is unable to concentrate for long periods of time. After giving it some more thought Joe realizes that he can sense the change in temperature with his skin. He knows when it is day and night because of the different nurses. During the day there is usually the same nurse, he has recognized the feel of her smooth hands and her thundering walk. Joe determines that every two hours or so he gets a visit from a nurse. This time his plan works flawlessly. Joe is able to imagine himself watching the sunrise over his town in Colorado.
Joe decides that he wants to teach himself something new. He tries to remember math, narratives, but he is not entertained by that, he wants to try something new. He decides to try and teach himself to master time. Joe’s first attempts at mastering time fail. He tries to count every second, every minute, and every hour between nurse visits. Each time Joe gets to around eleven minutes then looses track. He is unable to concentrate for long periods of time. After giving it some more thought Joe realizes that he can sense the change in temperature with his skin. He knows when it is day and night because of the different nurses. During the day there is usually the same nurse, he has recognized the feel of her smooth hands and her thundering walk. Joe determines that every two hours or so he gets a visit from a nurse. This time his plan works flawlessly. Joe is able to imagine himself watching the sunrise over his town in Colorado.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 4
• Blog – What does Joe believe is worth fighting for? What is not worth it?
Joe believes that your life is worth fighting for. He says that when most men go to war they were told that they are fighting for liberty. However, Joe cannot comprehend this because liberty is not something tangible, he cannot see it. “For Christ sake give us things to fight for we can see and feel and pin down and understand. No more highfalutin words that mean nothing like native land.” (Pg. 113) Joe feels that his reason is right because he considers himself the closest thing to a dead man on earth. He would trade all those meaningless words such as democracy, honor, liberty ect in a heartbeat for his life back. To Joe, there is nothing noble about dying. At the end of chapter X Joe is telling an imaginary person not to go to war based on these thoughts. “If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you’re a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There’s nothing noble about death.” (Pg. 119)
Joe believes that your life is worth fighting for. He says that when most men go to war they were told that they are fighting for liberty. However, Joe cannot comprehend this because liberty is not something tangible, he cannot see it. “For Christ sake give us things to fight for we can see and feel and pin down and understand. No more highfalutin words that mean nothing like native land.” (Pg. 113) Joe feels that his reason is right because he considers himself the closest thing to a dead man on earth. He would trade all those meaningless words such as democracy, honor, liberty ect in a heartbeat for his life back. To Joe, there is nothing noble about dying. At the end of chapter X Joe is telling an imaginary person not to go to war based on these thoughts. “If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you’re a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There’s nothing noble about death.” (Pg. 119)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 3
• Blog – Why does the rat come to visit Joe? What does it represent?
Joe once again slips into a sleep. This time he has the memory of the rat. He dreams that the rat crawls over him and begins to eat out of his wound. Joe is having this memory because when he was in war, he and his fellow soldier had seen a Prussian soldier whose dead body was being eaten by rats. He comes to a conclusion that people in war should worry for about rats then their real enemy. Joe knows that he cannot do anything to stop this rat from eating his wound; it will return night and night again to feed from it. The rat is a symbol of war. This is because that Joe thinks that a rat is a soldier’s true enemy, instead of the actual people. Joe sees the rat as a scavenger who benefits from others death.
Joe once again slips into a sleep. This time he has the memory of the rat. He dreams that the rat crawls over him and begins to eat out of his wound. Joe is having this memory because when he was in war, he and his fellow soldier had seen a Prussian soldier whose dead body was being eaten by rats. He comes to a conclusion that people in war should worry for about rats then their real enemy. Joe knows that he cannot do anything to stop this rat from eating his wound; it will return night and night again to feed from it. The rat is a symbol of war. This is because that Joe thinks that a rat is a soldier’s true enemy, instead of the actual people. Joe sees the rat as a scavenger who benefits from others death.
Friday, May 8, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 2
• Blog –Why does Joe remember working at the bakery? What does he admire about Jose?
Joe, once again has drifted into unconsciousness. Jose was unlike the other guy from the Mission. He wasn’t confused he listened around quietly. “There was something about him that told you he was a little different from the other guys or that maybe he had been a little luckier than the rest.” (Pg. 66) Jose is an honest man. However, something astonishing happened to Jose a few days after Jody Simmons gave him a job at the bakery. Jose received a job working at a movie studio. While all the guys at the bakery were excited, Jose was worried. He didn’t want to let down Jody Simmons; after all, he was the one who gave him this job. “That made him indebted to Jody Simmons no? Very well. He was indebted to Jody Simmons and now he has found a job.” (Pg. 71) Jose was now worried about how he would get out of his current job without making Jody Simmons upset. This shows us how Jose is a compassionate character. The guys working at the bakery got excited when Jose asked them how to get out of his current job. Of course, they too wanted a better job so they had been thinking about this as long as they had worked there. Jose is not a violent person; he thinks “tipping pies” is considered violence. However, the pies are what allow him to move from his current job at the bakery to his new job at the studio. He even felt sorry that he had spilled the pies that he bought Jody Simmons flowers and asked the guys if he could pay for the pies he ruined. Jose must be an important person seeing that Joe’s memory of him spans the entire chapter.
Joe, once again has drifted into unconsciousness. Jose was unlike the other guy from the Mission. He wasn’t confused he listened around quietly. “There was something about him that told you he was a little different from the other guys or that maybe he had been a little luckier than the rest.” (Pg. 66) Jose is an honest man. However, something astonishing happened to Jose a few days after Jody Simmons gave him a job at the bakery. Jose received a job working at a movie studio. While all the guys at the bakery were excited, Jose was worried. He didn’t want to let down Jody Simmons; after all, he was the one who gave him this job. “That made him indebted to Jody Simmons no? Very well. He was indebted to Jody Simmons and now he has found a job.” (Pg. 71) Jose was now worried about how he would get out of his current job without making Jody Simmons upset. This shows us how Jose is a compassionate character. The guys working at the bakery got excited when Jose asked them how to get out of his current job. Of course, they too wanted a better job so they had been thinking about this as long as they had worked there. Jose is not a violent person; he thinks “tipping pies” is considered violence. However, the pies are what allow him to move from his current job at the bakery to his new job at the studio. He even felt sorry that he had spilled the pies that he bought Jody Simmons flowers and asked the guys if he could pay for the pies he ruined. Jose must be an important person seeing that Joe’s memory of him spans the entire chapter.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Johnny Got His Gun Blog 1
• Blog – What is Joe’s situation? Why does he compare it to drowning?
The first few chapters tell us about Joe. Joe has recently gone deaf and he constantly hears a ringing noise in his head, which annoys him. This could be because of the war he was in and all of the explosions, which made him, go deaf. He has memories of his father dying. Later in chapter iii Joe becomes conscious again and relates it to drowning. “he’d been rising and sinking for days weeks months who could tell? (Pg. 25) He said that every time he would come back into conscious he would “resurface.” He ends up getting his arm amputated. He didn’t want this to happen and he didn’t want to live with both of his most important appendages gone. Another big reason he didn’t want to have his arms amputated was because of Kareen. Before he always used to hold her in his arms, which he now doesn’t have. So it is a real letdown, losing his arms, and being deaf.
The first few chapters tell us about Joe. Joe has recently gone deaf and he constantly hears a ringing noise in his head, which annoys him. This could be because of the war he was in and all of the explosions, which made him, go deaf. He has memories of his father dying. Later in chapter iii Joe becomes conscious again and relates it to drowning. “he’d been rising and sinking for days weeks months who could tell? (Pg. 25) He said that every time he would come back into conscious he would “resurface.” He ends up getting his arm amputated. He didn’t want this to happen and he didn’t want to live with both of his most important appendages gone. Another big reason he didn’t want to have his arms amputated was because of Kareen. Before he always used to hold her in his arms, which he now doesn’t have. So it is a real letdown, losing his arms, and being deaf.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 10
• Blog – Why does Esther feel such a need to sleep with Irwin? Does she feel better or different after it has happened?
In chapter 19 Esther runs into Irwin on the steps of the Widener Library. He asks her for the time and after she answers him he asks her where she is going. Instead of replying, back to the asylum, she said home, because he looked promising. Esther also felt that she wanted someone with more experience to make up for her lack of it, and Irwin mentioned to Esther that he did get along well with women. She also didn’t know him all that well so she thought that it would be fine to go ahead with it because she wouldn’t go on to knowing him. After it was over, Esther noticed that the towel was red with blood, and she became worried and asked Irwin if it was normal. Esther goes back to the asylum where Joan is and she takes her to the emergency room. This experience has definitely hurt Esther, but it would soon get worse. After Esther returned to the asylum from the hospital, Dr. Quinn asked if she knew where Joan was. “One of the orderlies found her…. just now, coming to work…. she’s not…dead…. I’m afraid she’s hanged herself.” (Pg.235) The book end with Esther stepping into the room, we will never know if she left the mental institution or escaped her bell jar.
In chapter 19 Esther runs into Irwin on the steps of the Widener Library. He asks her for the time and after she answers him he asks her where she is going. Instead of replying, back to the asylum, she said home, because he looked promising. Esther also felt that she wanted someone with more experience to make up for her lack of it, and Irwin mentioned to Esther that he did get along well with women. She also didn’t know him all that well so she thought that it would be fine to go ahead with it because she wouldn’t go on to knowing him. After it was over, Esther noticed that the towel was red with blood, and she became worried and asked Irwin if it was normal. Esther goes back to the asylum where Joan is and she takes her to the emergency room. This experience has definitely hurt Esther, but it would soon get worse. After Esther returned to the asylum from the hospital, Dr. Quinn asked if she knew where Joan was. “One of the orderlies found her…. just now, coming to work…. she’s not…dead…. I’m afraid she’s hanged herself.” (Pg.235) The book end with Esther stepping into the room, we will never know if she left the mental institution or escaped her bell jar.
The Bell Jar Blog 10
• Blog – Why does Esther feel such a need to sleep with Irwin? Does she feel better or different after it has happened?
In chapter 19 Esther runs into Irwin on the steps of the Widener Library. He asks her for the time and after she answers him he asks her where she is going. Instead of replying, back to the asylum, she said home, because he looked promising. Esther also felt that she wanted someone with more experience to make up for her lack of it, and Irwin mentioned to Esther that he did get along well with women. She also didn’t know him all that well so she thought that it would be fine to go ahead with it because she wouldn’t go on to knowing him. After it was over, Esther noticed that the towel was red with blood, and she became worried and asked Irwin if it was normal. Esther goes back to the asylum where Joan is and she takes her to the emergency room. This experience has definitely hurt Esther, but it would soon get worse. After Esther returned to the asylum from the hospital, Dr. Quinn asked if she knew where Joan was. “One of the orderlies found her…. just now, coming to work…. she’s not…dead…. I’m afraid she’s hanged herself.” (Pg.235) The book end with Esther stepping into the room, we will never know if she left the mental institution or escaped her bell jar.
In chapter 19 Esther runs into Irwin on the steps of the Widener Library. He asks her for the time and after she answers him he asks her where she is going. Instead of replying, back to the asylum, she said home, because he looked promising. Esther also felt that she wanted someone with more experience to make up for her lack of it, and Irwin mentioned to Esther that he did get along well with women. She also didn’t know him all that well so she thought that it would be fine to go ahead with it because she wouldn’t go on to knowing him. After it was over, Esther noticed that the towel was red with blood, and she became worried and asked Irwin if it was normal. Esther goes back to the asylum where Joan is and she takes her to the emergency room. This experience has definitely hurt Esther, but it would soon get worse. After Esther returned to the asylum from the hospital, Dr. Quinn asked if she knew where Joan was. “One of the orderlies found her…. just now, coming to work…. she’s not…dead…. I’m afraid she’s hanged herself.” (Pg.235) The book end with Esther stepping into the room, we will never know if she left the mental institution or escaped her bell jar.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 9
• Blog – What does Esther mean when she says she feels trapped under a bell jar?
“I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.” (Pg. 185) She is saying that no matter what, she will always be stuck. The bell jar she is referring to is not an actual jar; it is more of her imagination. The beginning of her strange behavior starts after she discovered that Buddy had cheated on her she came up with two different types of people, people like Buddy, and people like her, who are pure. From there she is put into a hospital so that she can be cured. She mentions being trapped by the “bell jar” several times while in the various hospitals, so to me she feels more confined when she is in the hospitals. In the hospitals she is constantly being watched. However, while she is in these hospitals she is unable to commit suicide, so in a way her “bell jar” could be what is helping her to stay alive.
“I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.” (Pg. 185) She is saying that no matter what, she will always be stuck. The bell jar she is referring to is not an actual jar; it is more of her imagination. The beginning of her strange behavior starts after she discovered that Buddy had cheated on her she came up with two different types of people, people like Buddy, and people like her, who are pure. From there she is put into a hospital so that she can be cured. She mentions being trapped by the “bell jar” several times while in the various hospitals, so to me she feels more confined when she is in the hospitals. In the hospitals she is constantly being watched. However, while she is in these hospitals she is unable to commit suicide, so in a way her “bell jar” could be what is helping her to stay alive.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 8
• Blog – Describe the new asylum Esther goes to? What might life have been like had she been forced to stay where she was?
Chapter 15 starts off with Esther being transferred to a new private hospital. This new private hospital is adjacent to the big state hospital. When she first gets in her new room she looks out her window and says, “If I jumped I wouldn’t even bruise my knees.” (Pg. 186) This shows us that Esther is still having thoughts of suicide. The new asylum Esther is at seems a lot like a retirement home. The nurses are friendly and are always with her. Esther even points out that at supper they used real glasses, instead of paper cups like they used at the state hospital. Esther’s doctor Nolan talked with Esther about Dr. Gordon and after Esther told her she said that shock-treatment was not supposed to be like that, instead she said some people actually enjoy it. However, Esther seems to be more relaxed at this hospital. In chapter 16 Esther meets a girl by the name of Joan. Joan has been collecting newspaper articles about Esther’s attempts at suicide. They talk for a while and then Joan gets around to showing Esther her clippings of the stories about her. If Esther would have stayed at the state hospital I don’t think that she would have done very well, she didn’t get the attention she wanted and she thought all the doctors were mean.
Chapter 15 starts off with Esther being transferred to a new private hospital. This new private hospital is adjacent to the big state hospital. When she first gets in her new room she looks out her window and says, “If I jumped I wouldn’t even bruise my knees.” (Pg. 186) This shows us that Esther is still having thoughts of suicide. The new asylum Esther is at seems a lot like a retirement home. The nurses are friendly and are always with her. Esther even points out that at supper they used real glasses, instead of paper cups like they used at the state hospital. Esther’s doctor Nolan talked with Esther about Dr. Gordon and after Esther told her she said that shock-treatment was not supposed to be like that, instead she said some people actually enjoy it. However, Esther seems to be more relaxed at this hospital. In chapter 16 Esther meets a girl by the name of Joan. Joan has been collecting newspaper articles about Esther’s attempts at suicide. They talk for a while and then Joan gets around to showing Esther her clippings of the stories about her. If Esther would have stayed at the state hospital I don’t think that she would have done very well, she didn’t get the attention she wanted and she thought all the doctors were mean.
The Bell Jar Blog 7
What is wrong with Esther? Why does she try to kill herself?
“That morning I tried to hang myself.” (Pg. 158) The only reason she was not dead was because her house did not have the right kind of ceiling to tie a rope to. Then she and Cal go swimming and during that time she attempts to drown herself. “I dived, and dived again, and each time popped up like a cork.” (Pg. 161) Esther has really been affected by the doctor’s treatment. Then once again at the end of chapter 13 Esther tries to commit suicide. She tries to kill herself because she is depressed and she thinks she doesn’t belong anywhere.
“That morning I tried to hang myself.” (Pg. 158) The only reason she was not dead was because her house did not have the right kind of ceiling to tie a rope to. Then she and Cal go swimming and during that time she attempts to drown herself. “I dived, and dived again, and each time popped up like a cork.” (Pg. 161) Esther has really been affected by the doctor’s treatment. Then once again at the end of chapter 13 Esther tries to commit suicide. She tries to kill herself because she is depressed and she thinks she doesn’t belong anywhere.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 6
• Blog – Why doesn’t Esther like Dr. Gordon? Is he hurting or helping her?
Esther goes to Dr. Gordon two times. Esther goes to Dr. Gordon because she cannot sleep, she hasn’t washed her hair in three weeks; she is suffering from depression. Her first trip to Dr. Gordon isn’t a good one, he asks Esther if she can tell him what is wrong, he is not being the kind of doctor she wants him to be. On her second trip he suggests electro-shock treatment. This causes Esther to think thoughts of suicide. She receives one treatment of electro-shock and it does not help, in fact it may have made things worse. She is now loosing sense of time. I think that Dr. Gordon has hurt Esther more then he has helped her. He has made her thoughts darker, and the treatment has all but helped her.
Esther goes to Dr. Gordon two times. Esther goes to Dr. Gordon because she cannot sleep, she hasn’t washed her hair in three weeks; she is suffering from depression. Her first trip to Dr. Gordon isn’t a good one, he asks Esther if she can tell him what is wrong, he is not being the kind of doctor she wants him to be. On her second trip he suggests electro-shock treatment. This causes Esther to think thoughts of suicide. She receives one treatment of electro-shock and it does not help, in fact it may have made things worse. She is now loosing sense of time. I think that Dr. Gordon has hurt Esther more then he has helped her. He has made her thoughts darker, and the treatment has all but helped her.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 5
• Blog – How does Esther act when she returns to Boston? How might her night with Marco have influenced her actions?
It is Esther’s last night in New York. Doreen sets her up on a blind date with Marco. When she first meets Marco he gives her a diamond as to try to persuade her to like him. “Her first diamond. Give it to her, Marco.” (Pg. 105) However, as the evening wears on, Marco proves to be anything but a gentleman. He persuades her to join him in the garden where he then rips her dress down to the waist and continually hissed “Slut” into Esther’s ear. In order to free herself she kicks him until he releases his grasp. He demands his diamond back and threatens to break her neck. The next day Esther is on a train going back to Boston. On the way back she looked in the mirror and described herself as a sick Indian. Esther’s life is becoming more and more depressing.
It is Esther’s last night in New York. Doreen sets her up on a blind date with Marco. When she first meets Marco he gives her a diamond as to try to persuade her to like him. “Her first diamond. Give it to her, Marco.” (Pg. 105) However, as the evening wears on, Marco proves to be anything but a gentleman. He persuades her to join him in the garden where he then rips her dress down to the waist and continually hissed “Slut” into Esther’s ear. In order to free herself she kicks him until he releases his grasp. He demands his diamond back and threatens to break her neck. The next day Esther is on a train going back to Boston. On the way back she looked in the mirror and described herself as a sick Indian. Esther’s life is becoming more and more depressing.
Monday, April 20, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 4
• Blog – What does Esther want from Constantin? How does he react? What do you think of his reaction?
Esther’s motivation for going on a date with Constantin is to get back at Buddy. She wants to try and have sex so that she can feel “even” with Buddy. After eating, Esther decided to let Constantin seduce her, however, he did not do this. Instead, Constantin acts like a “pure” man and tries not to violate her. He tries to keep their date from getting out of hand since this is only their first. Esther thought that most men were like Buddy, all wanting to have sex, however the one time she wants to have it, her date does not. So, she ends up returning to her hotel still a virgin. From what I have read and compared to all the other men in the book, Constantin seems like the only gentleman.
Esther’s motivation for going on a date with Constantin is to get back at Buddy. She wants to try and have sex so that she can feel “even” with Buddy. After eating, Esther decided to let Constantin seduce her, however, he did not do this. Instead, Constantin acts like a “pure” man and tries not to violate her. He tries to keep their date from getting out of hand since this is only their first. Esther thought that most men were like Buddy, all wanting to have sex, however the one time she wants to have it, her date does not. So, she ends up returning to her hotel still a virgin. From what I have read and compared to all the other men in the book, Constantin seems like the only gentleman.
Friday, April 17, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 3
• Blog – What does Esther think of Buddy? What does she want from him? What does she want him to think of her?
When Esther first meet Buddy she adored him. Their parents were good friends. She has wanted Buddy to like her and spend time with her. Buddy asks her to the Yale Junior Prom. However, later on in the chapter Esther asks Buddy if he has ever had an affair. She expected him to say, “ No, I have been saving myself for when I get married to somebody pure and a virgin like you.” (Pg. 69) He tells her of his affair with a waitress and because she knows very little about relationships she asks the other girls. They tell her that all men are like that and that she should just accept it. However, she cannot stand this and so one of the ways she tries to get “even” with Buddy is to have sex with Constantin.
When Esther first meet Buddy she adored him. Their parents were good friends. She has wanted Buddy to like her and spend time with her. Buddy asks her to the Yale Junior Prom. However, later on in the chapter Esther asks Buddy if he has ever had an affair. She expected him to say, “ No, I have been saving myself for when I get married to somebody pure and a virgin like you.” (Pg. 69) He tells her of his affair with a waitress and because she knows very little about relationships she asks the other girls. They tell her that all men are like that and that she should just accept it. However, she cannot stand this and so one of the ways she tries to get “even” with Buddy is to have sex with Constantin.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 2
• How does Esther avoid Chemistry in college? Why might she find science so overwhelming?
Esther tells her story of how she got an A in her first class. Then she tells us her story about physics and how she only got an A because she was terrified of the subject. “I may have made a straight A in physics, but it was panic-struck.” (Pg. 35) She knew that Chemistry would be even worse. Because she was a English major, she created a plan to tell the Dean that she needed the time to take a course in Shakespeare and because she had gotten an A before, she knew that the teacher would know she would get an A again. Esther knew that without her first A that she would have never succeed with this plan. She might find science so overwhelming because of the table of elements that she had noticed. She didn’t want to have to strain her brain with anymore of memorizing elements. She said that she would go mad and outright fail the course.
Esther tells her story of how she got an A in her first class. Then she tells us her story about physics and how she only got an A because she was terrified of the subject. “I may have made a straight A in physics, but it was panic-struck.” (Pg. 35) She knew that Chemistry would be even worse. Because she was a English major, she created a plan to tell the Dean that she needed the time to take a course in Shakespeare and because she had gotten an A before, she knew that the teacher would know she would get an A again. Esther knew that without her first A that she would have never succeed with this plan. She might find science so overwhelming because of the table of elements that she had noticed. She didn’t want to have to strain her brain with anymore of memorizing elements. She said that she would go mad and outright fail the course.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
The Bell Jar Blog 1
• Explain the first line of the novel. What does it show about Esther and her experience in New York.
“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I don’t know what I was I was doing in New York.” (Pg. 1) The first line in the novel alerts the reader to some of the conflicts that will be dealt with in this novel. Esther revels to the reader that they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, which is an unpleasant picture. This relates to how her first summer in New York was, “queer, sultry summer.” (Pg. 1) A few lines into the book, Esther refers to herself as “stupid” and that just the thought of death makes her sick. After the execution, all she could think about was death and the Rosenbergs. Summer is supposed to be at time for fun, but what I take from the first line is that her life is full of misfortunes.
“It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I don’t know what I was I was doing in New York.” (Pg. 1) The first line in the novel alerts the reader to some of the conflicts that will be dealt with in this novel. Esther revels to the reader that they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, which is an unpleasant picture. This relates to how her first summer in New York was, “queer, sultry summer.” (Pg. 1) A few lines into the book, Esther refers to herself as “stupid” and that just the thought of death makes her sick. After the execution, all she could think about was death and the Rosenbergs. Summer is supposed to be at time for fun, but what I take from the first line is that her life is full of misfortunes.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Movie Blog 2
• Blog – Comment on a decision made by a character that reflects or revokes a value from the 1950s.
One example of a decision made by a character that revokes a value from the 1950’s is Joan wanting to go to Yale for law school. The girls who go to Wellesley normally graduate then get married, and once your married you are a housewife. Katherine, Joan’s art history teacher noticed that Joan wanted to study law and so she gave her an application to Yale Law School. Katherine’s decision of trying to get her students away from the ‘normal’ is an example of what girls normally did not do in the 1950’s. Katherine didn’t want the girls thinking that getting married was their only choice in life; she wanted to open the window to possibilities.
One example of a decision made by a character that revokes a value from the 1950’s is Joan wanting to go to Yale for law school. The girls who go to Wellesley normally graduate then get married, and once your married you are a housewife. Katherine, Joan’s art history teacher noticed that Joan wanted to study law and so she gave her an application to Yale Law School. Katherine’s decision of trying to get her students away from the ‘normal’ is an example of what girls normally did not do in the 1950’s. Katherine didn’t want the girls thinking that getting married was their only choice in life; she wanted to open the window to possibilities.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Movie Blog 1
• Blog – Comment on how the film is portraying the time period of the 1950s.
The movie Mona Lisa Smile is a film that portrays the time period of the 1950’s. The movie takes place in 1953 at Wellesley College, which is an all girls’ school. Katherine Watson is a new teacher at Wellesley College and she was hit hard by how much the girls knew. Her first day in class she attempted to show transparencies, however it did not go well because the girls already knew them because they only study what is on the syllabus. Watson caught on quick and the next class period she started showing pictures that were not on the syllabus, requiring the girls to decide for themselves. Another example of how the film portrays the 1950’s in that the girls all have to attend a marriage class. This class teaches the girls how to act towards their future husbands because the expectation was that they would graduate and then get married. In this time period men seem to have more ‘freedom’ then women. For example, one of the male teachers sleeps with his students and is not punished yet when the school nurse begins handing out birth control she is fired. During this time period they believed that a girl should be married before she could be given birth control.
The movie Mona Lisa Smile is a film that portrays the time period of the 1950’s. The movie takes place in 1953 at Wellesley College, which is an all girls’ school. Katherine Watson is a new teacher at Wellesley College and she was hit hard by how much the girls knew. Her first day in class she attempted to show transparencies, however it did not go well because the girls already knew them because they only study what is on the syllabus. Watson caught on quick and the next class period she started showing pictures that were not on the syllabus, requiring the girls to decide for themselves. Another example of how the film portrays the 1950’s in that the girls all have to attend a marriage class. This class teaches the girls how to act towards their future husbands because the expectation was that they would graduate and then get married. In this time period men seem to have more ‘freedom’ then women. For example, one of the male teachers sleeps with his students and is not punished yet when the school nurse begins handing out birth control she is fired. During this time period they believed that a girl should be married before she could be given birth control.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Streetcar Named Desire Blog 4
• Blog – Stella is remarkably sad at the end of the play because of what happens to Blanch. Was she right in doing what she has done?
In the last scene in the play Stella is seen packing Blanche’s bags. Stella has arranged for Blanche to go to the state institution. What makes this so hard for Stella is that Blanche does not want to go and she tries to fight off the doctor who was sent to pick her up. In Banche’s final attempt to escape she tells them that she has forgotten something. At that moment Stanley turns off the lantern’s bulb, which symbolizes Blanche’s desire to live in a world of semi-illusion. “You left nothing here but split talcum and old empty perfume bottles – unless it’s the paper lantern you want to take with you. You want the lantern?” The light has always symbolized Blanche; ever since the moth reference at the beginning of the play. “Tearing it off the light bulb, and extends it towards her. She cries out as if the lantern was herself.” (Pg. 140) Stella has tried to help her sister throughout the play but it has been to no avail. So in essence, sending Blanche to a state institution was Stella’s way of saying ‘I give up.’
In the last scene in the play Stella is seen packing Blanche’s bags. Stella has arranged for Blanche to go to the state institution. What makes this so hard for Stella is that Blanche does not want to go and she tries to fight off the doctor who was sent to pick her up. In Banche’s final attempt to escape she tells them that she has forgotten something. At that moment Stanley turns off the lantern’s bulb, which symbolizes Blanche’s desire to live in a world of semi-illusion. “You left nothing here but split talcum and old empty perfume bottles – unless it’s the paper lantern you want to take with you. You want the lantern?” The light has always symbolized Blanche; ever since the moth reference at the beginning of the play. “Tearing it off the light bulb, and extends it towards her. She cries out as if the lantern was herself.” (Pg. 140) Stella has tried to help her sister throughout the play but it has been to no avail. So in essence, sending Blanche to a state institution was Stella’s way of saying ‘I give up.’
Monday, March 23, 2009
A Streetcar Named Desire Blog 3
• Blog – What is revealed about Blanche in these chapters? Do these revelations come as a shock?
In scene six we learn of Blanche’s past. We learn that she feels that it is her duty to entertain the man and to make the man feel welcomed. We also learn that she was married to a young man named Allen. “It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow, that’s how it struck the world for me.” (Pg. 95) She compares a blinding light to her marriage and her love for Allen. This is why Blanche avoids lights, because she wants to hide her age and because the light gives her memories of her young husband.
In scene seven we learn about Blanche’s reputation in Laurel. “She moved to the Flamingo! A second class hotel…in fact they were so impressed by Dame Blanche that they requested her to turn in her room-key—for permanently!” (Pg. 99) This exhibits Blanche’s wild behavior. She was also forbidden by the nearby army camp and she was kicked from her job because of her relationship with the young boy.
In scene six we learn of Blanche’s past. We learn that she feels that it is her duty to entertain the man and to make the man feel welcomed. We also learn that she was married to a young man named Allen. “It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something that had always been half in shadow, that’s how it struck the world for me.” (Pg. 95) She compares a blinding light to her marriage and her love for Allen. This is why Blanche avoids lights, because she wants to hide her age and because the light gives her memories of her young husband.
In scene seven we learn about Blanche’s reputation in Laurel. “She moved to the Flamingo! A second class hotel…in fact they were so impressed by Dame Blanche that they requested her to turn in her room-key—for permanently!” (Pg. 99) This exhibits Blanche’s wild behavior. She was also forbidden by the nearby army camp and she was kicked from her job because of her relationship with the young boy.
Friday, March 20, 2009
A Streetcar Named Desire Blog 2
• Blog – Why does Blanche disapprove of Stanley?
In scenes four and five Blanche finds out Stanley’s true nature. She disapproves of him because his “normality” is when he is angry. This is shown when he takes a slipper and smashes a light to turn it off; this is Stanley’s idea of a romantic atmosphere. “What you are talking about is brutal desire-just-Desire! – the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter, up the old narrow street and down another…” (Pg. 70) During these scenes she cannot explain why her sister could stand for such behavior. She tries to make her sister she Stanley’s beastly attitude, but instead at the end of the scene Stella goes over to Stanley, which indicates Blanche has had no affect on her.
In scenes four and five Blanche finds out Stanley’s true nature. She disapproves of him because his “normality” is when he is angry. This is shown when he takes a slipper and smashes a light to turn it off; this is Stanley’s idea of a romantic atmosphere. “What you are talking about is brutal desire-just-Desire! – the name of that rattle-trap street-car that bangs through the Quarter, up the old narrow street and down another…” (Pg. 70) During these scenes she cannot explain why her sister could stand for such behavior. She tries to make her sister she Stanley’s beastly attitude, but instead at the end of the scene Stella goes over to Stanley, which indicates Blanche has had no affect on her.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
A Streetcar Named Desire Blog 1
• Blog – Explain something a character does in Scene 2-3 that teaches us something new about them, something we didn’t know in Scene 1?
From the opening scene into the second and third scenes we see and learn more about each character’s personalities. One character that really pops out is Stanley. Early in the play it almost seems as though Stanley is uninterested in Stella, his wife. While she tried to talk to him Stanley focused on eating chips and was ignoring her. However, at the end of the third scene Stanley shows his affection towards Stella because he does not want to go to bed without her. “I want my baby down here. Stella, Stella!” (Pg. 59) Although he was mad at Stella earlier in the play he now shows us that he can be affectionate. Another trait of Stanley is his brutality. In the first scene he comes in holding raw meat. His clothes are loud and his language is crude. In the second scene we learn that his outside pleasures are bowling and poker. We get a sense of Stanley’s demanding personality when he is losing at poker, yet we also see his happy side when he is winning. This makes Stanley a very fascinating and interesting character.
From the opening scene into the second and third scenes we see and learn more about each character’s personalities. One character that really pops out is Stanley. Early in the play it almost seems as though Stanley is uninterested in Stella, his wife. While she tried to talk to him Stanley focused on eating chips and was ignoring her. However, at the end of the third scene Stanley shows his affection towards Stella because he does not want to go to bed without her. “I want my baby down here. Stella, Stella!” (Pg. 59) Although he was mad at Stella earlier in the play he now shows us that he can be affectionate. Another trait of Stanley is his brutality. In the first scene he comes in holding raw meat. His clothes are loud and his language is crude. In the second scene we learn that his outside pleasures are bowling and poker. We get a sense of Stanley’s demanding personality when he is losing at poker, yet we also see his happy side when he is winning. This makes Stanley a very fascinating and interesting character.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Death of a Salesman Blog 9
• Blog – What are your initial thoughts for this essay?
Both Norma and Willy have dreams that don’t come true. For Willy he knows that he is a failure yet he tries to make his life better with re-creating memories. Norma never thinks that her dream has died because no one tells her. In connection with Langston Hughes’s poem, Harlem, he is asking questions about dreams. The two characters, Willy and Norma’s dreams connect with this poem because both dreams are gone and Hughes is asking what happens to a dream deferred. I think that both texts are telling us that people who let themselves think their dream is true, end up unhappy. Since both characters are similar it is easy to see how others play a role in others dreams.
Both Norma and Willy have dreams that don’t come true. For Willy he knows that he is a failure yet he tries to make his life better with re-creating memories. Norma never thinks that her dream has died because no one tells her. In connection with Langston Hughes’s poem, Harlem, he is asking questions about dreams. The two characters, Willy and Norma’s dreams connect with this poem because both dreams are gone and Hughes is asking what happens to a dream deferred. I think that both texts are telling us that people who let themselves think their dream is true, end up unhappy. Since both characters are similar it is easy to see how others play a role in others dreams.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Death of a Salesman Blog 8
Blog – Compare Willy to Norma Desmond.
Willy and Norma Desmond are quite similar characters. First off, they both believe that to be successful you need to be popular. In the movie this is evident when Norma receives all the fan letters and shows them to Joe. Later on in the movie however, we realize that it is the butler who is sending all of the “fan letters”. He does this because he knows that she will go crazy if she knows that everyone has forgotten her. Norma also believes that she is still a big famous movie star, but if that were true her house would not look like it does. The outside of the house makes it look as though it were abandoned. Norma is in a way still living in the past. In the play, Death of a Salesman, Willy also lives in the past. He creates or re-creates memories for himself. He has gone crazy because he cannot distinguish the present from the past - they are bleeding together.
Willy and Norma Desmond are quite similar characters. First off, they both believe that to be successful you need to be popular. In the movie this is evident when Norma receives all the fan letters and shows them to Joe. Later on in the movie however, we realize that it is the butler who is sending all of the “fan letters”. He does this because he knows that she will go crazy if she knows that everyone has forgotten her. Norma also believes that she is still a big famous movie star, but if that were true her house would not look like it does. The outside of the house makes it look as though it were abandoned. Norma is in a way still living in the past. In the play, Death of a Salesman, Willy also lives in the past. He creates or re-creates memories for himself. He has gone crazy because he cannot distinguish the present from the past - they are bleeding together.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Death of a Salesman Blog 7
Blog – Were Willy’s final actions noble, or were they a sign of weakness?
Near the end of the book both Willy and Biff struggle with their emotions and their inability to reconcile. Biff realizes that he has been reinventing facts just like Willy. His realization is significant because once he verbalizes it to Willy, Linda, and Happy he separates himself from them. Biff refuses to participate in the charade any longer. He chooses to accept himself on his own terms, not the way Willy imagines or desires him to be. Biff is able to see beyond their shortsightedness because he realizes that denying reality is more dangerous and costly in the long run. This is exactly the trap Willy is caught in.
In the last scene Willy finally achieves a sense of peace and order because he knows Biff loves him. This is because in the previous scene Biff breaks down and cries while he and Willy are talking. Willy has finally received the attention and respect that he had desired for throughout the entire book. However, Willy still tries to manipulate reality. Biff’s reaction compels Willy to create an even more desirable future. He believes that he can make Biff love him more by leaving the insurance money to him. This is when Ben convinces Willy to commit suicide. This is when Willy drives away and the book ends. To me, Willy’s final actions are another sign of weakness because even though he received what he wanted throughout the book he still wanted to manipulate reality. He thinks that committing suicide is the right thing to do, but he has thought that about all of his other previous actions. That is why his final actions were a sign of weakness.
Near the end of the book both Willy and Biff struggle with their emotions and their inability to reconcile. Biff realizes that he has been reinventing facts just like Willy. His realization is significant because once he verbalizes it to Willy, Linda, and Happy he separates himself from them. Biff refuses to participate in the charade any longer. He chooses to accept himself on his own terms, not the way Willy imagines or desires him to be. Biff is able to see beyond their shortsightedness because he realizes that denying reality is more dangerous and costly in the long run. This is exactly the trap Willy is caught in.
In the last scene Willy finally achieves a sense of peace and order because he knows Biff loves him. This is because in the previous scene Biff breaks down and cries while he and Willy are talking. Willy has finally received the attention and respect that he had desired for throughout the entire book. However, Willy still tries to manipulate reality. Biff’s reaction compels Willy to create an even more desirable future. He believes that he can make Biff love him more by leaving the insurance money to him. This is when Ben convinces Willy to commit suicide. This is when Willy drives away and the book ends. To me, Willy’s final actions are another sign of weakness because even though he received what he wanted throughout the book he still wanted to manipulate reality. He thinks that committing suicide is the right thing to do, but he has thought that about all of his other previous actions. That is why his final actions were a sign of weakness.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Death of a Salesman Blog 6
• Blog – What happens to Biff and Willy’s relationship after Biff goes to the hotel?
At this point in the book Willy is finally forced to confront the point of disorder in his life. Willy has always exaggerated events to become well liked. Willy tries to blame his behavior on loneliness, but it is the result of his need for attention. “She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terribly lonely.” (Pg. 120) Willy was about to go and talk to Biff’s math teacher about why Biff flunked the class, when Biff comes to the hotel he discovers that Willy has given a pair of mother’s stockings to another women. This is when Biff discovers that his father is not perfect, and even worse, that he is a traitor to his mother. Once he discovers this he loses all respect for Willy. He realizes that everything Willy said to him means nothing. His father’s affair negates all of Willy’s tales of greatness that has motivated Biff up to this point. So, as a result, Willy is responsible for Biff’s downward spiral. His father has ruined his life because now Biff possesses no fait in his father or in himself. Their relationship has come to an end; Biff now doesn’t want Willy for anything. “You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!” (Pg. 121)
At this point in the book Willy is finally forced to confront the point of disorder in his life. Willy has always exaggerated events to become well liked. Willy tries to blame his behavior on loneliness, but it is the result of his need for attention. “She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terribly lonely.” (Pg. 120) Willy was about to go and talk to Biff’s math teacher about why Biff flunked the class, when Biff comes to the hotel he discovers that Willy has given a pair of mother’s stockings to another women. This is when Biff discovers that his father is not perfect, and even worse, that he is a traitor to his mother. Once he discovers this he loses all respect for Willy. He realizes that everything Willy said to him means nothing. His father’s affair negates all of Willy’s tales of greatness that has motivated Biff up to this point. So, as a result, Willy is responsible for Biff’s downward spiral. His father has ruined his life because now Biff possesses no fait in his father or in himself. Their relationship has come to an end; Biff now doesn’t want Willy for anything. “You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!” (Pg. 121)
Death of A Salesman Blog 5
Blog – Do you think Willy made the right decision to refuse Charlie’s help?
Charlie offers Willy a job, but Willy refuses repeatedly. Charlie is offended and becomes angry; however, he gives Willy the money. Then Willy reveals to Charlie that Howard fired him. This prompts Charlie to attempt to give Willy the job again, but Willy refuses. Willy remarks that an individual is “worth more dead than alive.” (Pg. 98) Pride causes Willy to lose his chance of starting his life over with a new job. This also happened earlier in the book when Ben offered him a job in Alaska. Willy turned that offer down because he wanted to prove that he could do just as well in Brooklyn. The reason Willy turns Charlie down is because he is jealous of the fact that Charlie owns his own business. I don’t think Willy made the right decision to refuse Charlie’s help because he already refused Ben’s before and he ended up being fired from his job.
Charlie offers Willy a job, but Willy refuses repeatedly. Charlie is offended and becomes angry; however, he gives Willy the money. Then Willy reveals to Charlie that Howard fired him. This prompts Charlie to attempt to give Willy the job again, but Willy refuses. Willy remarks that an individual is “worth more dead than alive.” (Pg. 98) Pride causes Willy to lose his chance of starting his life over with a new job. This also happened earlier in the book when Ben offered him a job in Alaska. Willy turned that offer down because he wanted to prove that he could do just as well in Brooklyn. The reason Willy turns Charlie down is because he is jealous of the fact that Charlie owns his own business. I don’t think Willy made the right decision to refuse Charlie’s help because he already refused Ben’s before and he ended up being fired from his job.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Death of A Salesman Blog 4
• Blog – Was Ben a positive or negative influence on Willy? What does Linda think?
Willy looks up to Ben. Ben has always been successful, so he is the natural choice for advice. Willy wants Ben to analyze the current situation and tell him what to do. “Ben, am I right? Don’t you think I’m right? I value your advice.” (Pg. 87) Instead, Ben offers Willy a job in Alaska-the same offer he made to him when he actually visited in the past-but now Willy can no longer separate the past from the present; they are bleeding together. However, Linda scolds Ben for putting ideas of Alaska in Willy’s head. Because of this Linda reminds Willy of his promising future as a salesman and refuses the offer. However, since Willy has been fired, he is overwhelmed by his feelings; regret, for not accepting Ben’s offer and going to Alaska, and shame, for losing his job.
Willy looks up to Ben. Ben has always been successful, so he is the natural choice for advice. Willy wants Ben to analyze the current situation and tell him what to do. “Ben, am I right? Don’t you think I’m right? I value your advice.” (Pg. 87) Instead, Ben offers Willy a job in Alaska-the same offer he made to him when he actually visited in the past-but now Willy can no longer separate the past from the present; they are bleeding together. However, Linda scolds Ben for putting ideas of Alaska in Willy’s head. Because of this Linda reminds Willy of his promising future as a salesman and refuses the offer. However, since Willy has been fired, he is overwhelmed by his feelings; regret, for not accepting Ben’s offer and going to Alaska, and shame, for losing his job.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Death of A Salesman Blog 3
• Blog – Do you think Biff and Happy’s plan will work?
I don’t think that Biff and Happy’s plan of opening a new business will work. However, as soon as Biff and Happy mention their plan to Willy he becomes excited. Willy instructs Biff on how much money to ask for, what to wear, how to speak, and what to talk about when visiting Bill Oliver. In this scene Willy once again contradicts himself. First, he directs Biff to be serious and avoid telling jokes, and then advises Biff to assume a confident air and tell old stories. “…and talk as little as possible, and don’t crack any jokes. Walk in with a big laugh. Start off with a couple of your good stories to lighten things up.” (Pg. 64-65) Because of Willy’s input they may have heard some pointers on how to run a business. But I don’t think that their plan will work because Biff couldn’t keep a steady job before, how could he now? Biff also mentioned earlier in the book that he wanted to work outside on a farm because he hated working in an office. Biff also didn’t plan what he was going to talk about with Bill Oliver. When Willy asked him questions all he said was I don’t know. This to me says that Biff talks before he thinks. As a result, Linda expresses her disappointment by saying, “What’d you have to start that for? You see how sweet he was as soon as you talked hopefully?” (Pg. 65)
I don’t think that Biff and Happy’s plan of opening a new business will work. However, as soon as Biff and Happy mention their plan to Willy he becomes excited. Willy instructs Biff on how much money to ask for, what to wear, how to speak, and what to talk about when visiting Bill Oliver. In this scene Willy once again contradicts himself. First, he directs Biff to be serious and avoid telling jokes, and then advises Biff to assume a confident air and tell old stories. “…and talk as little as possible, and don’t crack any jokes. Walk in with a big laugh. Start off with a couple of your good stories to lighten things up.” (Pg. 64-65) Because of Willy’s input they may have heard some pointers on how to run a business. But I don’t think that their plan will work because Biff couldn’t keep a steady job before, how could he now? Biff also mentioned earlier in the book that he wanted to work outside on a farm because he hated working in an office. Biff also didn’t plan what he was going to talk about with Bill Oliver. When Willy asked him questions all he said was I don’t know. This to me says that Biff talks before he thinks. As a result, Linda expresses her disappointment by saying, “What’d you have to start that for? You see how sweet he was as soon as you talked hopefully?” (Pg. 65)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Death of A Salesman Blog 2
• Blog – What do you make of Willy and Charley’s relationship?
I think that Willy and Charlie have a good relationship. They get a nice game of cards going and have talks about vitamins, car trouble, and a trip to California. Eventually, Charlie asks Willy if he wants a job and Willy is insulted. However, as the card game goes on Uncle Ben enters. Willy is the only one who can hear and see him. Ben and Willy have a conversation, which during that time, Charlie gets confused. Willy cannot keep his conversation with Ben and Charlie apart, and as a result, looses his composure. Willy accuses Charlie of cheating and so Charlie leaves. “I put the ace-If you don’t know how to play the game I’m not gonna throw my money away on you! It was my ace, for God’s sake!” (Pg. 46) Although it seems like they don’t get along, I think that is reality, Charlie is a true friend to Willy. Willy is just confused because to him Ben is as real as Charlie is.
I think that Willy and Charlie have a good relationship. They get a nice game of cards going and have talks about vitamins, car trouble, and a trip to California. Eventually, Charlie asks Willy if he wants a job and Willy is insulted. However, as the card game goes on Uncle Ben enters. Willy is the only one who can hear and see him. Ben and Willy have a conversation, which during that time, Charlie gets confused. Willy cannot keep his conversation with Ben and Charlie apart, and as a result, looses his composure. Willy accuses Charlie of cheating and so Charlie leaves. “I put the ace-If you don’t know how to play the game I’m not gonna throw my money away on you! It was my ace, for God’s sake!” (Pg. 46) Although it seems like they don’t get along, I think that is reality, Charlie is a true friend to Willy. Willy is just confused because to him Ben is as real as Charlie is.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Death of A Salesman Blog 1
• Blog – What do you make of Biff and Happy? Are they reliable characters? Are they happy?
Biff and Happy to me are not reliable characters. Biff, who is Willies older son cannot hold a steady job. “Shipping clerk, salesman, business of one kind or another. And it’s measly a manner of existence.” (Pg. 22) If someone cannot hold a job, they would not be one I would trust. Happy, cannot be trusted either. Happy has an obsession for power. All he wants to do is be promoted and they only way for that to happen is if the merchandise manager leaves or dies. “All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager?” (Pg. 23) Although Biff and Happy seem like they are having a good time talking to each other, they really are unhappy with their lives. Biff is tired of working for others and wants to own his own ranch and work on it with Happy. Happy likes material things, and everything he has wanted he already has. However, he also is unhappy with his current life. He is worried about obtaining more money and material goods and that he would then be to busy to enjoy what he has.
Biff and Happy to me are not reliable characters. Biff, who is Willies older son cannot hold a steady job. “Shipping clerk, salesman, business of one kind or another. And it’s measly a manner of existence.” (Pg. 22) If someone cannot hold a job, they would not be one I would trust. Happy, cannot be trusted either. Happy has an obsession for power. All he wants to do is be promoted and they only way for that to happen is if the merchandise manager leaves or dies. “All I can do now is wait for the merchandise manager to die. And suppose I get to be merchandise manager?” (Pg. 23) Although Biff and Happy seem like they are having a good time talking to each other, they really are unhappy with their lives. Biff is tired of working for others and wants to own his own ranch and work on it with Happy. Happy likes material things, and everything he has wanted he already has. However, he also is unhappy with his current life. He is worried about obtaining more money and material goods and that he would then be to busy to enjoy what he has.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 8
• Blog – Through out the entire book, Janie is quick to talk; however, she says almost nothing during the trial. Why?
After Tea Cake dies, Janie is put on trial. Before she married Tea Cake Janie had a hard time expressing herself to people because her first two husbands controlled everything she did. While Janie only spends a short amount of time with Tea Cake, in that time she discovers who she is and what she can do. She realized that she could speak out and express herself with Tea Cake. While on trial however she chooses not to speak much, she knows that the memory of Tea Cake will be with her forever, and that she has found the peace that she had desired for her entire life, and that is all that matters to her.
After Tea Cake dies, Janie is put on trial. Before she married Tea Cake Janie had a hard time expressing herself to people because her first two husbands controlled everything she did. While Janie only spends a short amount of time with Tea Cake, in that time she discovers who she is and what she can do. She realized that she could speak out and express herself with Tea Cake. While on trial however she chooses not to speak much, she knows that the memory of Tea Cake will be with her forever, and that she has found the peace that she had desired for her entire life, and that is all that matters to her.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 7
• Blog – Chapter 18 contains the line the title comes from – “their eyes were watching God.” Explain what the line means in the context it appears.
In this chapter a hurricane hits Florida. Janie and the others are trapped in the middle of it. They realize that in the midst of such a powerful and destructive hurricane, they have no power to stop the storm. They must wait for it to end and hope that they will survive it. They are looking up to God because they realize they are helpless from the storm.
In this chapter a hurricane hits Florida. Janie and the others are trapped in the middle of it. They realize that in the midst of such a powerful and destructive hurricane, they have no power to stop the storm. They must wait for it to end and hope that they will survive it. They are looking up to God because they realize they are helpless from the storm.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 6
• Blog – When they arrive in the Everglades, Janie is quick to work beside Tea Cake on the muck. How does this compare to the way she worked with Logan and Jody?
In chapter 14 Janie is quick to work beside Tea Cake on the muck because she feels that Tea Cake really cares about her. Unlike her other husbands, Tea Cake makes a point to tell her that he loves her. He tells her that he misses her while he is out in the fields working that it persuades her to get a job working along side of him. Janie is the center of Tea Cake’s world, and he does not want her to forget it.
In chapter 14 Janie is quick to work beside Tea Cake on the muck because she feels that Tea Cake really cares about her. Unlike her other husbands, Tea Cake makes a point to tell her that he loves her. He tells her that he misses her while he is out in the fields working that it persuades her to get a job working along side of him. Janie is the center of Tea Cake’s world, and he does not want her to forget it.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 5
• Blog – In Chapter 9, Janie talks about how the angels grew jealous of man and chopped up and covered him in mud. How does this parable relate to Janie’s own experience?
In this chapter Janie talks about how the angles grew jealous of man and chopped up and covered him in mud. This relates to Janie’s experiences because at the beginning of the book her husband, Jody said she was beautiful. However as time went on he kept on controlling what she did. She did not have the freedom that she used to have. Then when Jody died Janie started to regain ‘freedom’. She was not upset that her husband had just died.
In this chapter Janie talks about how the angles grew jealous of man and chopped up and covered him in mud. This relates to Janie’s experiences because at the beginning of the book her husband, Jody said she was beautiful. However as time went on he kept on controlling what she did. She did not have the freedom that she used to have. Then when Jody died Janie started to regain ‘freedom’. She was not upset that her husband had just died.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 4
• Blog – Why does Janie care about the mule so much?
When the men torture the mule, the animal fights, but the men then tease him even more. The mule in this chapter could symbolize Janie and her struggle with Joe. Janie has been denied affection from Joe, and the animal has been starved from food. Both Janie and the mule feel helpless. The mule cannot overtake the men and Janie cannot do anything to get Joe’s attention.
When the men torture the mule, the animal fights, but the men then tease him even more. The mule in this chapter could symbolize Janie and her struggle with Joe. Janie has been denied affection from Joe, and the animal has been starved from food. Both Janie and the mule feel helpless. The mule cannot overtake the men and Janie cannot do anything to get Joe’s attention.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 3
• Blog – Jody’s true personality is revealed in Eatonville. Explain why he is allowed to act the way he acts.
In this chapter Joe becomes mayor of Eatonville. He craves the power that he has as mayor and he uses it in his relationship with Janie. He begins to treat Janie like one of his town subjects. He makes her wear a hairnet because he doesn’t want any of the townsmen to touch her hair. “Maybe he skeered some de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store.” (Pg. 59) This is all because he is infatuated with making Eatonville into a working city. He is allowed to act the way that he acts because the townspeople fear the power that he holds over them, so they don’t want to do anything to make him mad at them. “They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down.” (Pg. 59)
In this chapter Joe becomes mayor of Eatonville. He craves the power that he has as mayor and he uses it in his relationship with Janie. He begins to treat Janie like one of his town subjects. He makes her wear a hairnet because he doesn’t want any of the townsmen to touch her hair. “Maybe he skeered some de rest of us mens might touch it round dat store.” (Pg. 59) This is all because he is infatuated with making Eatonville into a working city. He is allowed to act the way that he acts because the townspeople fear the power that he holds over them, so they don’t want to do anything to make him mad at them. “They bowed down to him rather, because he was all of these things, and then again he was all of these things because the town bowed down.” (Pg. 59)
Monday, February 2, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 2
• Blog – Nature imagery comes up a lot in the first few chapters. Explain what you make of the last paragraph in Ch. 4.
These chapters talk about Janie and her marriage. She married Logan because she wanted her grandmother to be happy. However, once Janie’s grandmother dies, she didn’t feel the need to try and please her grandmother anymore. Because of this Janie decides to leave Logan and find someone who she wants to be with. At the end of chapter 4 Janie talks about the sun setting in the same place in which the nigh emerges. This could be a foreshadow telling the reader that things will not work out between her and Joe. That it will be like her first marriage.
These chapters talk about Janie and her marriage. She married Logan because she wanted her grandmother to be happy. However, once Janie’s grandmother dies, she didn’t feel the need to try and please her grandmother anymore. Because of this Janie decides to leave Logan and find someone who she wants to be with. At the end of chapter 4 Janie talks about the sun setting in the same place in which the nigh emerges. This could be a foreshadow telling the reader that things will not work out between her and Joe. That it will be like her first marriage.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Their Eyes Were Watching God Blog 1
In the first chapter of the book, the main character, Janie, returns home after being gone for a year and a half. The porch sisters treat her harshly when talking about her. They want to criticize Janie’s past actions and her present appearance. Later, in the second chapter, Janie finds out that she was black for the first time from a picture shown to her by Mrs. Washburn. She remembers that her life was good until she had to go to school. There, all the kids would pick on her for being black.
Both of these instances are similar because both deal with criticism. The porch sisters criticize Janie, and they want to be able to judge her. At school she is criticized by white kids because she is black.
Both of these instances are similar because both deal with criticism. The porch sisters criticize Janie, and they want to be able to judge her. At school she is criticized by white kids because she is black.
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