Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch. 22-24

Frankenstein misinterprets the creature’s threat.  This causes him to lose his wife. If Victor would have thought properly and requisitioned his family to help him kill the monster on his wedding night.  Twice Victor knew when the creature would come but he failed to prepare properly for the creature coming.  If before the creature had threatened and killed those close to Victor why would he think it would kill him first still.  “I knew that I was preparing for myself a deadly torture; but I was a slave, not the master, of an impulse, which I detested, yet could not disobey” (Shelly 164).  The creature is an intelligent being with a of kilter conscience. He knows what he should have done but he is not equipped well enough to fight his impulses.  The message behind this book if there is one it is to beware of your impulses.  Both Victor and the creature continually give into impulses rather that thinking rationally.  If either one would have actually thought about their actions Victor’s family might have lived.

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch. 19-21

“You are my creator, but I am your master;-obey!” (Shelly 122). The creature loses all his patience and starts to threaten Victor almost immediately.  Frankenstein fails at life.  He had not thought of the impact of his actions until it was to late once again.  He did not think of the real consequences of creating another monster.  He also does not plan fare enough ahead to what would happen if he destroyed his work. If Victor could have planed on not creating the new creature in the beginning he could have waited for the creature to arrive to check his progress then shot him.  The two creation scenes are very similar with Victor hiding after his act and the creature coming for him on in a clearly menacing way and the other in an apparently menacing way.  Victor is revolted by his scientific instruments both times as well.  The two trials are equally similar but completely flipped.  In the first an innocent person is convicted and killed and in the second a guilty person is brought to trial and let loose.

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch. 17-18

“I will work at your destruction, nor finish until I desolate your heart, so that you shall curse the hour of your birth” (Shelly 105).  The creature wants a female.  If the creature knows how ugly it is does it not think that its mate will also see this in him?  I feel Victor could have reasoned with the creature a lot better than he did.  The creature wants a female but does it deserve one?  He asked Victor to judge him so why does not victor say his decision as a judgment not just his prejudice.  Victor is still self-centered to think that the creature would harm him because he is the only one who can help the creature.  If victor would have fought the creature then could he have prevented his family’s demise? If he won unlikely as it was he would have killed the creature before it could cause more harm.  If he died then the creature would have no one to help him so he might have left humanity to itself or went on a rampage which would eventually cause some kind of hunting party to kill it. 

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch. 15-16

“‘Great god!’ exclaimed the old man, ‘who are you’” (Shelly 96).  The old man although he is blind can still tell there is something odd about the creature when he touches him.  The creature hopes to live with the cottagers and have them not judge him for his appearance.  His wish is destroyed with in minutes of him trying to make friends with the cottagers.  The creature’s only hope to make friends is destroyed so he loses hope and turns toward his creator for recompense.  How does one of Victor’s garments fit the creature?  Finding William in the woods brings hope to the creature that he might not be prejudiced towards ugliness but he is.  William voices his opinion like any child would.  This perfectly characterizes the creature ugliness.  The creature seems to be slightly put-off by his action of killing William for a little bit.  The creature is also smart enough to frame another person for the crime.  His hope seems not completely lose yet because he at first seems to admire the woman he frames.

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch. 13-14

Ignorance is bliss.  The creature stated out unknowing in ignorance.  He then slowly becomes more acquainted with humanity.  In his first forest he lived happily.  The creature had very little but he needed very little as well because he was ignorant of anything better.  But as the creature gained more knowledge he became more aware of his circumstances.  “I cannot describe to you the agony that these reflections inflicted upon me: I tried to dispel them, but sorrow only increased with knowledge. Oh that I had forever remained in my native wood, nor known nor felt beyond the sensations of hunger, thirst and heat” (Shelly 85).  The creature does not fully understand everything that happens but is more and more realizing how alone he is in the world.  The creature is like a child slowly learning about the world.  He is however leaning much faster than human children because he was created originally as a monstrous being.  He was force to fend for himself and he only gets to learn by listening to others. 

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch 10-12

“I expected this reception,” said the daemon. “All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” (Shelly 68).  The thing can speak!  Who could the thing learn to speak so eloquently in the span of two years?  The monster is portrayed as having very human emotional characteristics.  He knows he is hated.  How does the monster know who created him if when he was first created he could not make sense of all of his senses individually?  I like how Shelly portrays the monsters early days.  He is lost and can’t make since of what his mind is thinking.  It in a way gives a perspective of what a new born baby may think. This is interesting also thought that the monster remembers those early days so vividly. While the monster is observing the family why does no one find him?  It seems odd that they would have never heard him through the wall. 

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch 7-9

“William is dead!—that sweet child, whose smiles delighted and warmed my heart, who was so gentle, yet so gay! Victor, he is murdered!” (Shelly 46).  Another person is dead in the story.  Why do all the stories we read have someone die in them.  They aren’t even bad guys who die but nice people.  This death adds to the weight that is building on top of Frankenstein.  He continually has bad things happen to him. He started out have the best childhood that anyone could have but then his mother dies.  He goes to school and creates a monster then his brother dies.  Then an innocent person is executed for his brother’s murder.  Frankenstein is continually sinking deeper into despair.  Why did he not at least try to explain his creation to someone so that they might be able to help Justine? Justine that is ironic that part of her name is “just” when she dies an unjust death.

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch 4-6

“In my education my father had taken the greatest precautions that my mind should be impressed with no supernatural horrors. I do not ever remember to have trembled at a tale of superstition, or to have feared the apparition of a spirit,” (Shelly 30).  Frankenstein’s father is further to blame for Frankenstein’s demise.  He again affected his child in a way that was detrimental to his life. If Frankenstein had been superstitious of death like most normal people then he may not have made his fatal mistake.  Frankenstein was a smart person but he just had too much gusto and a little to little respect for dead peoples bodies.  How many bodies did he watch decay?  Frankenstein’s whole actions in the university are creepy.  Did no one ask question about why he was collecting body parts at least his maid or house keeper?  It is ironic that he so fervently works to create life but once he finally does he immediately hates it and is scared of his own creation.  He even gets cripplingly sick just by the thought of his creation.

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Ch 1-3

The first three chapters serve to characterize Frankenstein before his life became hopeless and he met Walton on the frozen ocean.  Frankenstein has a adopted sister which he cares very deeply about.  He had a very happy and privileged childhood which would for most people make them stuck up. Frankenstein is not totally stuck up but is very determined. He has a great interest in learning especially about the reasons for nature’s occurrences.  He has no responsibilities given to him by his parents and he seems to be free to do as he pleases.  In his youth he taught himself a great deal.  “But the cursory glance my father had taken of my volume by no means assured me that he was acquainted with its contents; and I continued to read with the greatest avidity,” (Shelly 21).  Although he had a great childhood he blames his ultimate downfall on his childhood. His father failed to fully explain his opinion about Frankenstein books so Frankenstein further delved into his books in obstinacy to his father’s remark. 

Frankenstein / Mary Shelly / Letters

This is probably the first frame story I have actually thought of as such.  I think I have read one before but I never really realized what had happened.  This frame story characterizes Captain Walton a man who has similar ambitions to Frankenstein.  Walton has a strong relationship with his sister who is really his only relation.  He does not mention any other family which he would talk to.  He does mention an uncle who inspired him to be an explorer because of the books he lent Walton to read. “You seek for knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been,” (Shelly 13).  Frankenstein and Walton are very similar. They both have grand ideas that they try to attain. The difference if where they are in that journey to attain their goals.  Frankenstein has reached his goal and it turned sourer. Walton has not yet reached his goal and does not know how it will end up. 

APO 96225 / Larry Rottman

“‘Please don’t write such depressing letters. You’re upsetting your mother” (Rottman 846).  This is ironic.  The father asks the son not to do what his mother asked him to do.  The mother worries and wants to know how her son is doing but when he actually tells her he gets upset. Which is better to know and be depressed or to not know and be worried?  The poem ends were it started.  The whole poem shows shortness. The letters are very brief and say nothing really important.  The only comforting thing in the son’s letters is that the parents are still getting letter meaning he is still alive.  The poem shows how war is not really something to tell anyone about even if they ask and seem to want to know they really don’t.  The title of the poem adds to the separation shown between the parents and son because it is just letters and numbers of no real importance.

Much Madness is divinest Sense / Emily Dickinson

“Assent—and you are sane—” (Dickinson 830).  Assent to madness and you are considered sane.  What logic is this?  The speaker must be mad to thing that it is normal.  This is in fact the truth.  The many people who run about obsessively working are mad.  They are missing the best part of life.  This is thought how the world works.  If someone does not go along with this order then they are seen as outcast or slackers.  If they go about comely threw the madness they are seen as snobbish. They could also be seen as having a secret and trying to rule the madness.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain / Emily Dickinson

The first to stanzas sound like the poem could be describing a headache or migraine.  There in a constant beating or treading.  “Kept beating—beating—till I thought my mind was going numb” (Dickenson 776).  It could also be a sick person lying in bed with a headache and having to wake up but not willing to.  The bell tolling could be a sign of morning and the last to stanzas would be the person falling back to sleep ignoring the fact that it is morning.  The treading and beating could be others waking up and going about their business to start the day.  I believe it is more representative of a person who lost someone very dear to them and unwilling to fully accept it.  They are attending the funeral but being in a delirious state.  They are viewing it as if it is only in their mind.  The poem mentions being only and ear which could be when the church bells tolled at the end of the service then after they stopped and the body was laid in the ground there was nothing ells to do.  It is like the person fell into the grave with their beloved.

Bartelby, the Scrivener / Herman Melville

The story is told in a first person point of view of the lawyer who hired Bartelby.  This point of view provides a disconnect with Bartelby. It makes it so that we don’t know the past of Bartelby or any of his thought. Not knowing Bartelby’s thoughts make him more strange and hard to understand.  Making the lawyer the narrator gives us a close up opinion of Bartelby from someone else in the story. “Doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises. But as it was, I should have as soon thought of turning my pale plaster-of-paris bust of Cicero out of doors” (Melville 650).  I thing it is the Lawyers fault for not firing Bartleby sooner or forcing him to work that caused him to get worse and stop working altogether.  If the lawyer would have forced Bartelby to act he might have come out of is delusional state.  At the end of the story when the lawyer mentions were Bartelby previously worked he says Bartelby was not fired until new management took over.  Maybe the old manager had the same opinion of Bartelby that the lawyer did which is why he had his job for so long. 

Miss Brill / Katherine Mansfield

Miss Brill is nuts.  She has been single for to long that she has become a spinster.  She has no real friend to speak of.   She goes every Sunday to listen to the band and watch people.  She eavesdrops on everyone that passes by or sites on a bench by her to listen to the band.  Miss Brill is a recluse.  She lives by herself and apparently talks to her furs. “‘What has been happening to me?’ said the sad little eyes. Oh, how sweet it was to see them snap at her again from the red eiderdown” (Mansfield 182).  Miss Brill is eccentric.  She thinks the eyes of her furs portray thoughts.  She later thinks that she is par of a theatrical production at the park.  She is then insulted by a child making remarks about her furs.  This causes her to change the schedule of her day by going strait home instead of stopping of for a pastry. She then puts her furs away and thinks she hears something crying. 

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night / Dylan Thomas

This poem show how those that are dieing do not do so quietly.  They all talk of something on their way out.  Some will rage against it and wish they could have done more in their life.  Some rage about what they have done hoping to live on past their death.  They hope to imprint their legacy onto someone else even when their achievements do not amount to much. The speaker tells what many other men do when they are leaving this world.  The speaker then asks his father to do the same. “Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray” (Thomas 968).  This quote shows what the speaker hopes to accomplish through his fathers raging. He hopes to learn what his father wished to do and what he did do.  This knowledge will make the speaker sad but also bless him with a deeper knowledge of who his father was.

That time of year / William Shakespeare

Shakespeare is relating death with fall and the death or hibernation of nature.  Death is a part of nature that cannot be out run or evaded.  Death finds everything.  The poem’s speaker is an old gentleman. He is associating the end of a late fall day with the closing days of his life. Death comes quietly like sleep. He is laying on the failed dreams of his youth.  He thinks of the things he aspired to do and they stay with him unto his death.  “Consumed with that which it was nourished by,” (Shakespeare 967).  This quote shows how his dreams are affecting him now. In his youth they fuelled him on to try and accomplish better and better things.  In his old age they now eat away at his contentment and consume him with regrets. 

Crossing the Bar / Alfred Lord Tennyson

His destiny calls this is represented by the sunset and evening star. The stares and phases of the day do not change.  This is commonly used as a simple for inevitability. The term star-crossed lovers come to mind as well. The speaker seems to know he will die at see.  He asked the bar or the barrier between life and death to not worry when he sets out to see. I think this supports my opinion that e knows he is going to die.  “I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crossed the bar,” (Tennyson 886). This phrase shows another example of the bar representing death.  The Pilot I think is God who is waiting for him after death. The bar could represent the angle of death.  This could mean that he is trying to comfort the angel in a way by trying to say he is not running from death.

Arose for Emily / William Faulkner

A rose for Emily is a creepy story about a creepy lady.  She is the crazy lady of the town but was not originally thought as such.  She is a woman living in the wrong time period. She did grow up in the correct on but time just speed right past her.  She does not except the changes of the modern times.  She lives in the past and rarely leaves her house.  “Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town, dating from that day in 1894” (Faulkner 282).  This quote shows how the town had to support her but also that they really did not care for her.  They left her to do what she would like even if it did not fallow what the norm of society does.  The word alive in this sentence goes along with a latter word of then in another sentence.  These words show how the town’s perceptions of her changed over time.  They originally thought she was just grieving her father but it eventually turned into insanity.  They left her to do what she wanted and gave her some respect but when she died they promptly were willing to bury her and be done with her peculiar ways.

The Lottery / Shirley Jackson

The Lottery goes against most everything anyone would think in the modern times.  They stone someone every year because of tradition.  Killing someone for no apparent reason except tradition reason is nuts.  The whole town seems resigned to it until someone is actually chosen then only that one person starts to complain. The towns resignation is showed by old man Warner’s statement. “Old man Warner snorted. ‘pack of crazy fools,’ he said. ‘Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves.’” (Jackson 268).  This statement show how they all accept the lottery and think nothing is wrong with it.  This quote also shows that the lottery is ingrained into their society and has become exemptible to them as they grow up.  It is very odd at the beginning of the story how the children do not think any thing of it because they are going around and collecting stones.  After a person is chosen the woman’s youngest son it even given a few pebbles to us against his mom.  It is hard to image any place that would not see anything wrong with stoning someone just for tradition.  A lot of people may do some strange things for tradition but killing someone takes it to a whole new level of wearied.

The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams

“In all respects-your eyes – your hair- are pretty!”(Williams 12830). This is a quote from Jim complementing Laura on her appearance.  Laura has gone thought life thinking her disability is worse than it really is.  She is very shy and not very self confident.  Jim points this out in her and tries to cheer her up.  He says many complements to her and tells her to be more self confident.  This does not totally fix her problem but it does show her problem.  It also shows her that some one out side of her family could like her.  One of her glass unicorns gets its horn broken of by Jim. This kind of symbolizes Laura being more normal because it can now more easily fit in with the rest of her glass horses.  This scene is kind of deceiving because it seems like Jim might be the one for Laura but it turns out in the end that he already has a woman he loves.  And in the end of the play Tim also fallows his father’s path and leaves the family after he loses his job. This is disheartening because it seems like it could have a happy ending but then it does not once again like every other work we read.

The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams

“Tom. We are going to have one.

Amanda. What?

Tom. A gentleman caller!” (Williams 1257)

In scene five Tom ask a gentleman to come over to the house to have dinner.  Amanda goes crazy after this and starts asking Tom a lot of questions.  I agree with Tom’s reaction to her question and that they are a little ridiculous. She wants to fix up the whole apartment and clean everything.  This seems a little excessive especially because Tom just asked him to dinner and did not mention his sister. This again reminds me of what m mom does before family or friends arrive.  Amanda seems to go to an even more ridiculous extreme with her preparations. Tom and Amanda again get into a discussion about Laura and her opportunities in life.  Amanda seems more confident in Laura than tom and seems to over exaggerate a lot.  Tom seems to be more realistic about the situation.

The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams

“If you just say you’re sorry she’ll start speaking,” (Williams 1249).  In the fourth scene Tom and Amanda make up after their fight the previous night. In part this is do to Laura urging tom to apologize.  She cares about both of her mom and her brother.  She does not want them continue not speaking.  This shows more of her fragility because Laura feels uncomfortable when Tom and Amanda are at odds. Laura want’s to live in her own little bubble. For this bubble to stay in tacked both her mother and brother need to be in it and on speaking terms.  Tom does say he is sorry in accordance with Laura’s request.  This shows how muck he cares for Laura. Amanda and Tom then have a normal conversation but soon after wards Amanda becomes critical of tom and gain although they don’t blow up again.

The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams

“Amanda.  Don’t you DARE to-

Tom.  No, I won’t hear more, I’m going out!

Amanda.  You come back in-

Tom.  Out, Out, Out! Because I’m-” (Williams 1247).

This quote shows the increasing tension between Amanda and Tom.  Tom is tired of Amanda nagging and correcting him. He decides to go to the movies to get away from Amanda.  Later in the seen Amanda questions weather Tom is actually going to the movies all the time.  This causes him to blow up and starts making extreme examples of were he has been.  He names of about a paragraphs worth of criminal things he could be doing.  At the end of their fight tom leaves and in his frustration breaks part of Laura’s glass menagerie. This shows how their fighting hurt Laura even those she was not involved in the fight.

The Glass Menagerie / Tennessee Williams

“I haven’t enjoyed one bite of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it. It’s you that makes me rush through meals with your hawk-like attention to every bite I take,” (Williams 1237).  This quote helps to characterize both Amanda and Tom.  It shows toms frustration with his life.  It also shows the friction that has developed between Amanda and Tom.  Amanda is a very overbearing character.  She cares a great deal about her kids but does not give them enough personal space.  She seems overbearing and this is shown by his impatiens with her.  It is also shown that she does this continually because Tom mentions that she ruins not just this meal. Tom is either really impatient or Amanda corrects him at every meal.  This reminds me of the times I have been annoyed by my mother nit picking what I am doing.

The Joy of Cooking / Elaine Magarrell

Isn’t this a TV cooking show? The title suggests a happy poem.  It suggests a delicious meal.  This is not the case at all.  The tone seems dark but sarcastic.  The speaker is cooing parts of his siblings.  The sister’s tongue is described to have bones and gristle which tongues do not have.  This represents a course nature to her speech not so mush in its sound but in its content.  It seems like she would either cuss a lot or speak poorly of other people.  She may even be a habitual gossiper. The sister must also talk a lot because the poem says her tongue will grow back. “I will have my brother’s heart, which is firm and rather dry,” (Magarrell handout).  The brother is portrayed as a hard hearted person.  He is detached and uncaring.  He also does not express himself much.

Those Winter Sundays / Robert Hayden

The poem talks of the past.  The speaker did not appreciate his father as he should have.  His father cared deeply for him and he was not thanked.  The father even shined the son’s shoes and was not thanked for it.  The father also worked to light other people’s fire and was never thanked.  The father must have a hard life because they describe his hand as rough.  He also has to wake up early in the morning to warm his house. “What did I know, what did I know” (Hayden 782).  This shows how the son does not appreciate his father.  The line also shows that he now realizes that he should have appreciated his father more.  This poem seems to say that people should appreciate their parents more.

The Drunkard / Frank O’Connor

This story seems to be a comedic episode.  It has a lot of comedic comments thought out the story. “It struck me very cool, the way grownups assumed that you could play all by yourself on a strange road” (O’Connor 346).  I find this comment by the boy very funny.  I remember when I was littler and I would have to what for my parent to leave parties.  This is also similar to when they ask you to stop playing and get ready to leave but then talk for another 15 minutes after your ready.  I think it’s interesting how the boy expected to have to take care of the father but it ends up being the opposite. The boy does do his job well of keeping his father under control because he drinks his drink.  The next morning I find it interesting that his mother thanks him for what he did even they she was worried the night before.  It is confusing thought as to whether the father was already on a drinking spree or not. They talk about what happened when he does drink but it is hard to figure out if this is currently or previously.

Once Upon a Time / Nadine Gordimer

Does anyone else see this as kind of sadistic?  This story reminds me of the Brother’s Grime version of Cinderella I watched in German.  The step sisters in order to marry the prince mutilates their feet at the urging of there mother.  One cut of her toes and the other cut of her heel.  The opening story is interesting because it connects to the bed time story.  They both are related to burglars.  “YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED” (Gordimer 233). This fraise is interesting because it seems to be aimed at the burglars but is actually a lesson for the homeowners.  They try to prevent others from coming into the house but simultaneously they are making their lives less enjoyable and more constricted.  They also end up surrounding themselves with danger.  Even with all these protections people continually get their houses broken into.  I find it interesting how the writer has no protection against burglars and the family has all the safeguards they could have and end up hurting themselves.  The bed time story could be viewed as a comforting story for the writer because it shows reasons for not taking all the precautions.

A Worn Path / Eudora Welty

The characterization of Phoenix is very interesting.  She is an old black woman and seems to be senile.  She continually takes to herself as she walks along.  She also says sporadic things as she is talking to other people.  Another thing that she might be senile is once she reaches the doctors office she forgets why she came.  Phoenix is clothes are very cheep and she wares a rag over her head.  These descriptive characteristics she how poor she is.  The other characters in the story suggest her setting.  Racial discrimination is still around because the black children are playing out of town and the boy she meets long the way points a gun in her face.  The story also mentions that she remembers the end of the civil war.  “‘All right. The doctor said as long as you came to get it, you could have it,’ said the nurse. ‘But it’s an obstinate case’” (Welty 230).  She has been around he town for a long time because everyone seems to know her.  The doctor also has been giving her medicine for her grandson for three years.  She makes this journey about once a month all year long on a regular schedule.  Her name I also think is interesting because she is getting older but out of her work and effort her grandson is surviving like a ner phoenix rising from the ashes of an old one.

A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry / question 4

Many different things in life can make us change our opinions and actions.  In the play Ruth does this.  “(Beaten) Yes I would Too, Walter. (Pause) I gave her a five dollar down payment” (Hansberry 476).  This quote shows her decision which in the line before Walter thinks she could never make.  Walter thinks she could never make a decision to kill her baby. She seems to be shaking on this opinion because of the current strains on her family.  They are poor and fighting to stay above water.  She thinks that another baby might push them over their limits causing them to suffer greatly or maybe die. Mama expressed this by mentioning that a mother may sacrifice her unborn child if she thinks it will save those other members of her family that are already alive.  The stress on Ruth’s family causes her to take an action that others though she would never take.  The world and others can influence people to de many thing though unthinkable if there is enough pressure behind their influence. 

A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry / question 5

There is a large gap between the different parts of the family.  Mama and Big Walter were living during the civil rights movement.  Mama remembers this and thinks having a job and dignity are the most important things to have.  This is shoed by her statement to Walter.  “I’m looking at you. You a good-looking boy. You got a job, a nice wife, a fine boy and” (Hansberry 475).  Walter and Beneatha think of money as a necessary part of live. They also think of it as the main goal in life.   The two different generations value different thing more than others.  They each think of something different as the most important thing to strive for in life.  This differents in goals create a rift in the topic of most of their conversations which differ and seem to oppose each other.  The social norms of different generations create a rift in their communication to each other. 

A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry Qusetion 1

The whole play is about people looking for a better life.  All the characters have a different view on how to make a better life for themselves.  Walter hopes to go into business and make his fortune.  This business will make him rich and allow him to give things to his wife and family.  “You wouldn’t understand yet, son, but your daddy’s gonna make a transaction…a business transaction that’s going to change our lives” (Hansberry 502).  This shows what he hopes to accomplish with his dream.  His change relies on mama’s money to invest in the business. Beneatha hopes to change her life by becoming a doctor.  She witnessed what could be done through medicine when she was little and hopes to bring meaning to her life by doing something that she thinks is helpful to society.  She hopes to gain meaning in her life.  She wishes to become a helpful part of society and find self fulfillment her goal also relies on mama’s money.

A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry / question 12

“Yessss! All of it…it’s all gone…” (Hansberry 518).  This is a point of no return for the entire family.  They had this money coming and it seemed to be able to fulfill all their dreams.  It is then stolen by Walters supposed business partner.  This crushes all their dreams.  They are then right back were they were before they had gotten the money.  It seems to have an even more detrimental impact on Walter.  He was supposed to take care of the money and he spent it all even the money he was supposed to save for Beneatha’s college.  He then seems to be going to try and take advantage of another person like he was taken.  He thinks the only way to get ahead is to swindle others.  Those he makes it rich are just those who can swindle others the best.  He ends up not fallowing through with his plan but he then is stuck were he was before and is going to have to work a low level job just to keep him and his family above water.

A Raisin in the Sun / Lorraine Hansberry

I find the placement of the poem dream deferred at the beginning of the play is very powerful.  The whole play is almost an elaborated version of the poem.  The title also talks about raisins similar to the poem.  In the poem it makes a simile between differed dreams and dried up raisins.  The title of the play is a raisin in the sun which would dry up like the in the poem.  In the play each character has a personal dream which just seem to be out of reach.  They all hope to do better with their lives but do not seem to have enough money do actually fulfill their dreams.  They then get a 10,000 dollar insurance check which gives them a chance to reach their dreams but it does not seem to be enough for everyone.  “So you butchered up a dream of mine-you-who always talking ‘bout your children’s dreams…” (Hansberry 492).  Walter’s dream is differed and he seems to shrivel because of it.  This is a lot like what would happen to a raison in the sun.

Mr. Z / M. Carl Holman

“ringing crude changes on a clumsy phrase” ( Holman 849).  I like this phrase in the poem. It is very simple but has a lot of meaning.  It shows Mr. Z’s efforts being totally cast aside by one Obit writer.  He tried his whole life to escape part of himself but fails. He does everything right to avoid one part of himself and cling to another part of himself.  This may give his respect by his pears but not totally.  He gains respect and prominence for his work but never himself. His difference is too visible.  No mater how much he runs it will always be with him.  This part of himself he tries to escape is stile part of him to the end even though he tries to hide from it. If he would have accepted all of his attributes he would not have had to run from himself.  Even with his total self he could of gain just as much prominence with les self sacrifice.

Toads / Philip Larkin

“And will never allow me to blarney

My way to getting

the fame and the girl and the money

 all at one sitting.” (Larkin 801).

These four lines make me thing the second toad has to be honesty or pride.  These to things are quite similar and could probably be replaced with many synonyms but I will stick to these two.  This stanza seems to represent an ingrained habit.  This habit is like work in its continual existence.  It sticks with the narrator for his whole life. It weighs him down just as much as work does.  It presses him into a rut which he cannot escape.  They are like wagon wheel tracks which cannot be easily avoided. They could also be like when one drives his car tire of the road and it tries to suck the whole car into the ditch.  This is kind of like the last two lines were he explains how incredibility difficulty it is to escape these toads.

Hazel Tells LaVerne / Katharyn Howd Machan

I like how this poem puts a twist to the traditional frog prince fairy tale.  It seems to be more realistic.  If a frog started talking to me I would probably get rid of it as well.  The vernacular of the poem makes it more relatable to real life.  “an i hitsm with my mop an has ta flush,” (Machan 21).  This shows a kind of southern uneducated vernacular.  This vernacular adds to the contrast between the poem and the fairy tale.  The fairy tale is proper and yet this poem is very improper in speech.  There is also a contrast between a lowly peasant being the narrator and the prince of a frog.  In the poem it sounds as if this incident would not faze the narrator at all and does not.  It seems to me as if this is just a story to be added to the character long list of funny things that have happened to her.

Everyday Use / Alice Walker / question 4

The mother’s refusal to let Dee have the quilts indicates a permanent change of character.  This is shown by Maggie’s and the mother’s contented position at the end of the story.   They seem set in their way and perfectly contented to stay that way.  Dee may be trying to change her out look and status in life but Maggie and the mother are not any were close to doing so.  Dee seems to want everything that has any meaning in their lives.  “This churn top is what I need,” (Walker 179).  This shows her need for the things of her past. This is odd though because the story makes it sound like she does not care for her past.  Dee seems to have always gotten her way because she was assertive while Maggie was shame faced.  The mother seems to finally decide Maggie needs her fair share especially since Dee seems to only care for history not the present.

Interpreter of Maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri / question 5

Mrs. Das thinks of Mr. Kapasi as almost a doctor.  She thinks of him as having the ability to decide what needs to be done to fix peoples problems.  She hopes he can fix her personal problem with her husband.  He however is less confident in his abilities.  He never glorified his position and is flattered when it is suggested he does more than just translate the people’s words.  “She sat a bit slouched at one end of the back sea, not offering her puffed rice to anyone,” (Lahiri 150).  This quote shows her indifference to her family. This is latter explained when she confesses her secret to Mr. Kapasi.  Mr. Kapasi thinks Mrs. Das is like him self which in a way she is.  She has a child that is not her husbands which has separated her from her husband.  Mr. Kapasi lost a child to disease which caused him and his wife to grow apart.

poems, how to?

I think Perrine’s approach to poems is a very efficient one.  His method seems very scientific.  He gives pretty strait forward rules for deciding the correct meaning of a poem. His ideas make sense.  Every poem has only one correct meaning.  I do disagree though some what.  Poems are like ink blots; they can be interpreted any way possible by different people.  Poems are often written for the enjoyment of others so if they find enjoyment out of interpreting the poem in a different way than it was intended than what is the problem with that. 

I found his explanations of the poems very satisfactory.  He explained in detail why they should be interpreted in the correct way.  He again sounds like a scientist or a lawyer because of his detailed explanations.  For the poem the Night-March it never occurred to me that it could be about the stars.  After he explains it, I can hardly picture it as anything ells.  At the end of his article he explains that symbols could be interpreted as a larger range of ideas.  I feel this kind of contradicts what he said earlier.  The poem of the Sick Rose is actually about a sick rose. This completely threw me of because I was thinking it was symbolic not literal, although the title does lend one to think of it literally.  Poems can easily become much more complex if parts of it are accidentally considered to be symbolic.

The Great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald (pg 143-153)

Ops I did it again.  The main character dies again in the end of the book. After Gatsby’s death Nick takes care of his funeral.  Nick continues to be Gatsby’s leaning post even after death.  Finally in the end of the book you learn Gatsby actually has a father.  It was not until his father was introduced as Mr. Gatz did I realize that in the earlier story about Gatsby helping a sailor from not crash his yacht Gatsby was the grungy character on the beach.  The book that Mr. Gatz shows Nick reveals how meticulous Gatsby was from the beginning of his life.  “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated” (Fitzgerald 187). This statement reveals how connected Tom and Daisy were.  Although daisy may hove loved Gatsby her need for luxury seemed more powerful because she did not show up to his funeral.  Daisy seems to be successful at living a rich life when Lily Bart was not.

The Great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald (pg 154-170)

In chapter 8 you finally find out how Daisy and Gatsby met.  Their meeting sounds very fantastical.  For only being with her for a month Gatsby show a lot of determination to love her for five years.  I find it interesting how he describes Daisy as being mysterious when he met her.  This is kind of similar to how Nick had met Gatsby in a mysterious manner.  “But now he found that he had committed himself to the following of a grail” (Fitzgerald 156).  This quote reminds me of Indiana Jones.  In one of the movies he searches for the Holy Grail.  In real life know one knows were it is and it seems to be a fruitless effort.  This is the point I think Fitzgerald was trying to make. He is saying Gatsby’s quest seamed to be hopeless but he was eternally bound to fallow it.  “‘I don’t think she ever loved him’” ((Fitzgerald 158).           This quote seems to show Gatsby’s insecurities. He is trying to give himself a pep talk and still looking to Nick for support.

The Great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald (pg 143-153)

After there time in town Tom, Jordan and Nick headed home.  Gatsby and Daisy had left earlier after Gatsby’s and Tom’s argument.  On the journey home they top at the gas station because there is a commotion going on.  They discover that Tom’s mistress is dead. She was hit by a car.  “‘Auto hit her. Ins’antly killed’” (Fitzgerald 146).  This was a statement made by the policeman on the seen to Tom.  Fitzgerald’s word choice and misspellings give the police man a redneck kind of ascent.  In one day Tom started to lose both his women and then loses one completely.  Latter you discover that daisy was driving the car that killed Tom’s mistress.  This course of events leads me to think that Gatsby may get blamed for that accident by Tom as a way for him to regain control of daisy.

The Great Gatsby / F. Scott Fitzgerald (pg 119-142)

At the start of chapter 7 it sounds like Gatsby has lost himself.  He fired all of his staff and hired a smaller number of more reclusive people.  He stopped having parties as well.  You discover that Gatsby is not having parties because Daisy is coming over many afternoons and she did not like his parties.  Gatsby and Nick are invited to Daisies for lunch. At this lunch Tom is their and much hostility is felt between Tom and Gatsby.  The whole dinner party goes into town and stops at a hotel. While there everything explodes and Gatsby and Tom get in a fight over Daisy.  “‘I just got wised up to something funny the last two days,’ remarked Wilson. ‘That’s why I want to get away. That’s why I been bothering you about the car’” (Fitzgerald 130).  On the way into town Tom stops for gas at Wilson’s station. While there he learns that Wilson suspects something with his wife and is planning to move west.  This is ironic because at the same time Tom is finding out about Gatsby’s and daisy’s relationship.  Tom seems to be on both sides of the mistress equation.