1. What is the significance of the story’s title?
- The significance of the story’s title shows that the injured, American, war veteran character is in Italy surrounded by Italians who are not like him. He is physically in another country. Another Country connotes that the narrator is much different than the Italians. The Italians view him as not having as much clout as them. The Italians that had fought in WWII believe that they possess bravery and self-sacrifice. The American doesn’t possess these qualities because he did not even fight in the war. He was injured driving an ambulance. Being injured while driving a truck instead of being injured while sacrificing yourself for the sake of your country, is much being in another country.
2. Which character do you think best represents the “Hemingway hero”? Why?
- The Major best represents the “Hemingway hero”. He is a fencer whose hand was injured and he had lost his wife. The “Hemingway hero” embodies the code of accepting loses, bearing the pain, and putting up with the aftermath of the situation. The Hemingway hero is definitely the Major because he had incredible stoicism despite his extreme suffering. He suffered all of his loses with grace and dignity. He had not planned on being injured, but fought through his struggles. A hero senses defeat but fights hard until the bitter end. The Major embodies these qualities.
3. What can you infer about the photographs the doctor hangs up? What is the significance of the major’s reaction?
- I can infer that the photos are a fake piece of propaganda, in a way. They give soldiers the idea that the war was necessary and it was for a good cause. The photos give them a sense of hope, which the major disapproves of. The major refused to look at the photos and looked out the window. He ends up leaving.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Journal 17: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” – T.S. Eliot (p.775)
1. What is the significance of the poem’s epigraph? How does it relate to Prufrock?
The significance of the poem’s epigraph is that it is from Dante’s Inferno. Dante shares personal thoughts on the subject of hell. Dante has some sort of power over his readers. No one is entitled to criticize him because he has seen hell firsthand in a way. It relates to Prufrock because Prufrock shares his own personal account. Again, there isn’t many people who can critique Prufrock because of his ability to not open up himself completely in his writing. He will never share any of his feelings to others. He is too hesistant and unconfident. Standing out, or being different are some things he dare not do. His self-consciousness protected him in a way, like how Dante’s thoughts were protected because people did not know about the unknown of hell.
2. Make a list of questions that Prufrock asks. Do you see a pattern/theme to these questions or are they random?
What is it? Do I dare? So how should I presume? Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? Shall I part my hair behind? The questions Prufrock asks himself are undoubtedly a pattern. They express a pattern of uncertainty is his life. Prufrock’s indecisiveness is a theme of this piece of literature. The questioning shows a theme of hesitation and fright. Prufrock is self–conscience and he is not sure if he should do one thing or another. He repeats questions several times, showing how much he ponders over trivial occurances.
3. What do you think is Prufrock’s main flaw/problem?
Prufrock’s main flaw is his flaw of being so self-conscious. He cannot seem to function by himself. The questions he asks himself are indirect questions; like he is asking, or reaching out to another life force to make decisions in his brain for him. He is a textbook worry wart. Since he has never experienced love, his worries translate into anxiousness to find meaning in life.
4. Why do you think this is called a love song? In what way is it a love song?
It is called a love song because it is ironic. In fact, it is the complete opposite of a love song. There is a nonexsistence of love in the song. Sadness, worry, and hesistation are displayed by J. Alfred Prufrock in this love song. It is not a love song, it is a song about the absence of love and meaning in a man’s life.
The significance of the poem’s epigraph is that it is from Dante’s Inferno. Dante shares personal thoughts on the subject of hell. Dante has some sort of power over his readers. No one is entitled to criticize him because he has seen hell firsthand in a way. It relates to Prufrock because Prufrock shares his own personal account. Again, there isn’t many people who can critique Prufrock because of his ability to not open up himself completely in his writing. He will never share any of his feelings to others. He is too hesistant and unconfident. Standing out, or being different are some things he dare not do. His self-consciousness protected him in a way, like how Dante’s thoughts were protected because people did not know about the unknown of hell.
2. Make a list of questions that Prufrock asks. Do you see a pattern/theme to these questions or are they random?
What is it? Do I dare? So how should I presume? Should I, after tea and cakes and ices, have the strength to force the moment to its crisis? Shall I part my hair behind? The questions Prufrock asks himself are undoubtedly a pattern. They express a pattern of uncertainty is his life. Prufrock’s indecisiveness is a theme of this piece of literature. The questioning shows a theme of hesitation and fright. Prufrock is self–conscience and he is not sure if he should do one thing or another. He repeats questions several times, showing how much he ponders over trivial occurances.
3. What do you think is Prufrock’s main flaw/problem?
Prufrock’s main flaw is his flaw of being so self-conscious. He cannot seem to function by himself. The questions he asks himself are indirect questions; like he is asking, or reaching out to another life force to make decisions in his brain for him. He is a textbook worry wart. Since he has never experienced love, his worries translate into anxiousness to find meaning in life.
4. Why do you think this is called a love song? In what way is it a love song?
It is called a love song because it is ironic. In fact, it is the complete opposite of a love song. There is a nonexsistence of love in the song. Sadness, worry, and hesistation are displayed by J. Alfred Prufrock in this love song. It is not a love song, it is a song about the absence of love and meaning in a man’s life.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Journal 16: Crane’s “The Blue Hotel” and London’s “To Build A Fire”
Read the following quote and discuss how it applies to the main characters in both stories. In the course of this discussion, address how each of the characters is both similar and different:
“Determinisim governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time. Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life. Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granted a role in human affairs. Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“
The social condition of the time and the individual traits of the two main characters from “The Blue Hotel”, and “To Build A Fire” determined the outcome of their situations. Sweed from the Blue Hotel, was a sketchy man who believed he was in a bad situation. He character traits include shy, hesistant, and quiet. The prospector from To Build A Fire was an adventurous man who was traveling for a purpose and trying to reach a destination. The quote above applies to each of these stories. The social condition of The Blue Hotel was somber, and uncomfortable. The Sweed was being very awkward. The chance that the Sweed ended up in that town, on that night, in that hotel, was not by chance. Chance is an illusion. The Sweed’s course had already been pre-determined given his inherited traits and social environment. The environment that the prospector was in was a frozen, lifeless tundra. His character caused him to not press on. He chose to simply lie down and die after he had failed to dry his boots. His death had already been pre-determind. He was set to die in the Alaskan wilderness. The social environment in To Build A Fire was nonexsistent. There was no one to help him up when he failed. Determinism governs everything.
“Determinisim governs everything … The writer must study the inherited traits of individual character and the social condition of the time. Together, these elements determine the course of any action, the outcome of any life. Free will or self-determination is mostly an illusion, although chance is granted a role in human affairs. Still, even the effects of chance are obliterated in the inevitable course determined by the interaction of inherited character traits and the social environment.“
The social condition of the time and the individual traits of the two main characters from “The Blue Hotel”, and “To Build A Fire” determined the outcome of their situations. Sweed from the Blue Hotel, was a sketchy man who believed he was in a bad situation. He character traits include shy, hesistant, and quiet. The prospector from To Build A Fire was an adventurous man who was traveling for a purpose and trying to reach a destination. The quote above applies to each of these stories. The social condition of The Blue Hotel was somber, and uncomfortable. The Sweed was being very awkward. The chance that the Sweed ended up in that town, on that night, in that hotel, was not by chance. Chance is an illusion. The Sweed’s course had already been pre-determined given his inherited traits and social environment. The environment that the prospector was in was a frozen, lifeless tundra. His character caused him to not press on. He chose to simply lie down and die after he had failed to dry his boots. His death had already been pre-determind. He was set to die in the Alaskan wilderness. The social environment in To Build A Fire was nonexsistent. There was no one to help him up when he failed. Determinism governs everything.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Journal 15: William Dean Howell’s “Editha"
1. Write a sentence that summarizes the story’s overall message, and provide three direct quotes from the story that best illustrate this message.
The overall message of the passage is that living in reality is better because living in an ideal world is unrealistic and can be precarious and unexpecting.
- “To take the part that her whole soul willed him to take, for the completion of her ideal of him”
- ” It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war –so stupid; it makes me sick.”
- ““He told me he had asked you to come if he got killed. You didn’t expect that, I suppose, when you sent him.”
2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
Editha uses a truth tactic and makes George believe that everything she is saying is true. George ultimately has disbeliefs and he begins to feel doubt. When Edith speaks about the “holy war”, this is where his doubt began. She gives George the guilt trip and makes him believe that going to war is well beyond honorable. He must obey her if he wants their relationship to last.
3. Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?
I believe there is an understanding that Edith experiences when she realizes what she has done. She feels guilty for pressuring George to go to far and realizes he would not be dead if she did not basically send him to war herself. In the beginning she doesn’t really feel any remorse because she thinks his death is honorable, but then she begins to hurt and feel distraught over her loss. She experiences an epiphany that brings her back to her ideal world. George’s mother had caused her to revert back to her idealistic life but telling Edith it was basically her fault George died.
The overall message of the passage is that living in reality is better because living in an ideal world is unrealistic and can be precarious and unexpecting.
- “To take the part that her whole soul willed him to take, for the completion of her ideal of him”
- ” It isn’t this war alone; though this seems peculiarly wanton and needless; but it’s every war –so stupid; it makes me sick.”
- ““He told me he had asked you to come if he got killed. You didn’t expect that, I suppose, when you sent him.”
2. What tactics does Editha use to make George believe as she does about the war?
Editha uses a truth tactic and makes George believe that everything she is saying is true. George ultimately has disbeliefs and he begins to feel doubt. When Edith speaks about the “holy war”, this is where his doubt began. She gives George the guilt trip and makes him believe that going to war is well beyond honorable. He must obey her if he wants their relationship to last.
3. Is there ever a time in which Editha truly understands what she has done? Does she ever experience an epiphany?
I believe there is an understanding that Edith experiences when she realizes what she has done. She feels guilty for pressuring George to go to far and realizes he would not be dead if she did not basically send him to war herself. In the beginning she doesn’t really feel any remorse because she thinks his death is honorable, but then she begins to hurt and feel distraught over her loss. She experiences an epiphany that brings her back to her ideal world. George’s mother had caused her to revert back to her idealistic life but telling Edith it was basically her fault George died.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Journal #14 - E. A. Robinson Poems
Realism – The theory or practice in art and literature of fidelity to nature or to real life and to accurate representation without idealization of the most typical views, details, and surroundings of the subject.
Read the following poems and write a detailed description for each of the title characters and explain how each is an example of the “real” instead of the “ideal.”
“Richard Cory“ (497)
Richard Cory is richer than a king. He is a gentlemen from toe to crown. He is the person who everyone looks up to. All the townspeople are aspiring to be like him, yet one day he goes home and shoots himself in the head. This poem is an example how you cannot judge what is on the inside by what is on the outside, or the surface. Ususally the two are completely different. Appearance is significantly different from reality. Cory had a seemingly “perfect life” in the eyes of the townspeople, but his mind was not perfect. It is ironic that the ideal man was really just a man who had stuggles within himself and committed suicide. Richard Cory is rich on the outside but poor on the inside.
“Miniver Cheevy” (497)
Miniver Cheevy was born too late and wishes he was born in the Medieval Times. He is jealous of those who got to live in the times of Knights, Chivalary, swords, and horses. He wanted to escape from the reality of his life, and become a part of what he thought was an ideal life. He gets wrapped up in the fantasy of the past. He drinks to get rid of the real and gets lost in his fantasies. Miniver Cheevy is a minimum achiever. His life is so mundane and monotonus that he wishes he was never born. The era of Medieval Times is his ideal life, but he is stuck in reality. He lived a bitter, insignificant life.
“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)
Mr. Flood is an older man and either all of his friends are gone or dead. He drinks to create friends in his mind. Mr. Flood floods himself with alcohol in order to have a party. His friends are strangers now. The ideal life for Mr. Flood would be to relive to the past and enjoy moments with his old friends and other people. His reality is that he is lonely. Change has taken over his life. It is ironic how he is throwing a party, because it’s a one person party. You cannot have a party with only one person. His loneliness leads him to do drastic things.
Read the following poems and write a detailed description for each of the title characters and explain how each is an example of the “real” instead of the “ideal.”
“Richard Cory“ (497)
Richard Cory is richer than a king. He is a gentlemen from toe to crown. He is the person who everyone looks up to. All the townspeople are aspiring to be like him, yet one day he goes home and shoots himself in the head. This poem is an example how you cannot judge what is on the inside by what is on the outside, or the surface. Ususally the two are completely different. Appearance is significantly different from reality. Cory had a seemingly “perfect life” in the eyes of the townspeople, but his mind was not perfect. It is ironic that the ideal man was really just a man who had stuggles within himself and committed suicide. Richard Cory is rich on the outside but poor on the inside.
“Miniver Cheevy” (497)
Miniver Cheevy was born too late and wishes he was born in the Medieval Times. He is jealous of those who got to live in the times of Knights, Chivalary, swords, and horses. He wanted to escape from the reality of his life, and become a part of what he thought was an ideal life. He gets wrapped up in the fantasy of the past. He drinks to get rid of the real and gets lost in his fantasies. Miniver Cheevy is a minimum achiever. His life is so mundane and monotonus that he wishes he was never born. The era of Medieval Times is his ideal life, but he is stuck in reality. He lived a bitter, insignificant life.
“Mr. Flood’s Party” (498)
Mr. Flood is an older man and either all of his friends are gone or dead. He drinks to create friends in his mind. Mr. Flood floods himself with alcohol in order to have a party. His friends are strangers now. The ideal life for Mr. Flood would be to relive to the past and enjoy moments with his old friends and other people. His reality is that he is lonely. Change has taken over his life. It is ironic how he is throwing a party, because it’s a one person party. You cannot have a party with only one person. His loneliness leads him to do drastic things.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Journal #13 – Edgar Lee Masters Epitaphs (p. 502)
Read “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” and answer the following questions.
1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life? How is this object representative of him?
The object that symbolizes George Gray’s life is a sailboat. The furled sail is at rest in the harbor. The furled sail does not symbolize that his journey came to an end, yet it symbolizes how Gray spent his life in fear. “Life” offered him love, sorrow, ambition, and meaning. He shrank from the offer of love. He was afraid to answer the door when sorrow knocked. He dreaded his own chances of being successful when ambition was offered to him. He never let life lead him on a journey like the wind that was capable of carrying the the sails of his boat out of the harbor and to a destination. He realizes that now he is dead, he should have let down his sails and let their desire carry him where they wished. Life without meaning is torture. Gray should have not been afraid of his boat of life, longing for the sea.
2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s? How do you interepret the last line of the poem?
Lucinda’s life is different from Gray’s in the sense the Gray feels regretful that he did not live his life to the fullest. Lucinda’s epitaph opens with her dancing. This symbolizes happy, celebratory life. She is not complaining because she has lived a full life. She lived to be 96, which is definitely a full life. The other voices she hears from her grave in the graveyard, like the voice of Gray’s, are sad and sorrowful. She offers her perception of life, saying you must live a little in order to love every aspect of life. It takes energy, vitality, and eagerness in order to enjoy the many blessings and activites life offers. Gray’s life is seen as lifeless, and there is a great lack of motion. He has no courage compared to Matlock, who lived a life full of nurturing, adventure, shouting and singing. Matlock knew what it was like to be in love and had other loving people around her. Gray’s life was loveless. Life is more rewarding if lived in the way that Matlock had lived.
3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism?
George Gray is an example of realism because his story was a common thing among humanity. He is a simple tragic character that makes several mistakes and lives life in caution like many other people. He searched for the meaning of life but never did anything extraordinary because he was too afraid. Gray died knowing what he did wrong in life. He never took a chance and did not live his life to the fullest. His reality was boring and unexciting. Lucinda is an example of realism because she lived life to the fullest. She experienced happiness and sadness, like any other normal person. Her life was easy, and normal. At her death, she had no regrets because she lived a life or normality and delight. Realistically, she was happy with her normal life. Gray and Matlock’s lives were both lived realistically.
1. What object symbolizes George Gray’s life? How is this object representative of him?
The object that symbolizes George Gray’s life is a sailboat. The furled sail is at rest in the harbor. The furled sail does not symbolize that his journey came to an end, yet it symbolizes how Gray spent his life in fear. “Life” offered him love, sorrow, ambition, and meaning. He shrank from the offer of love. He was afraid to answer the door when sorrow knocked. He dreaded his own chances of being successful when ambition was offered to him. He never let life lead him on a journey like the wind that was capable of carrying the the sails of his boat out of the harbor and to a destination. He realizes that now he is dead, he should have let down his sails and let their desire carry him where they wished. Life without meaning is torture. Gray should have not been afraid of his boat of life, longing for the sea.
2. How was Lucinda Matlock’s life different than George Gray’s? How do you interepret the last line of the poem?
Lucinda’s life is different from Gray’s in the sense the Gray feels regretful that he did not live his life to the fullest. Lucinda’s epitaph opens with her dancing. This symbolizes happy, celebratory life. She is not complaining because she has lived a full life. She lived to be 96, which is definitely a full life. The other voices she hears from her grave in the graveyard, like the voice of Gray’s, are sad and sorrowful. She offers her perception of life, saying you must live a little in order to love every aspect of life. It takes energy, vitality, and eagerness in order to enjoy the many blessings and activites life offers. Gray’s life is seen as lifeless, and there is a great lack of motion. He has no courage compared to Matlock, who lived a life full of nurturing, adventure, shouting and singing. Matlock knew what it was like to be in love and had other loving people around her. Gray’s life was loveless. Life is more rewarding if lived in the way that Matlock had lived.
3. How are “George Gray” and “Lucinda Matlock” examples of realism?
George Gray is an example of realism because his story was a common thing among humanity. He is a simple tragic character that makes several mistakes and lives life in caution like many other people. He searched for the meaning of life but never did anything extraordinary because he was too afraid. Gray died knowing what he did wrong in life. He never took a chance and did not live his life to the fullest. His reality was boring and unexciting. Lucinda is an example of realism because she lived life to the fullest. She experienced happiness and sadness, like any other normal person. Her life was easy, and normal. At her death, she had no regrets because she lived a life or normality and delight. Realistically, she was happy with her normal life. Gray and Matlock’s lives were both lived realistically.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Journal #12: “Young Goodman Brown”
1. “Young Goodman Brown” is an allegory (symbolic narrative). What do the following represent?
Young Goodman Brown – Young Goodman Brown represents good and evil. Faith is what he tries to follow, but evil tempts him to leave his faith. He is an innocent man, tempted with evil.
Faith – Faith is Brown’s spiritual beliefs. In the story, several people are in danger of losing their faith. Faith is like a light. The forest is like darkness. People leave the light to go to into darkness. Brown is fearful of losing his wife to the darkness.
The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – The Traveler is most likely the devil. He is the evil component of the story, tempting others and inflicting evil upon others.
Goody Cloyse – Goody Cloyse is the representation of a fake persona. It is like a fallen angel. They fake being a good person, when in reality they are evil.
The Ceremony – The Ceremony is a Baptismal ceremony. It represents going from good faith to evil. It is the renewal of faith in the devil.
The Pink Ribbon – The Pink Ribbon represents purity. When the ribbon gets left behind and he finds it, Brown loses hope in ever having his pure wife back.
Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – His journey represents the fall of man. It represents how a man of good faith is not perfect. He is tempted just like everyone else. Nobody is perfect and sometimes temptation is too hard to resist.
2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:
Theme Message of Theme Element Used to Establish
Sin/Fall of Man Humanity is not perfect Plot/Conflict
In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.
- “My Faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is the world given’”(6).
- “The road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness, still rushing onward with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil” (6)
- “Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now are ye undeceived……
Young Goodman Brown – Young Goodman Brown represents good and evil. Faith is what he tries to follow, but evil tempts him to leave his faith. He is an innocent man, tempted with evil.
Faith – Faith is Brown’s spiritual beliefs. In the story, several people are in danger of losing their faith. Faith is like a light. The forest is like darkness. People leave the light to go to into darkness. Brown is fearful of losing his wife to the darkness.
The Elderly Traveller/Fellow-Traveller – The Traveler is most likely the devil. He is the evil component of the story, tempting others and inflicting evil upon others.
Goody Cloyse – Goody Cloyse is the representation of a fake persona. It is like a fallen angel. They fake being a good person, when in reality they are evil.
The Ceremony – The Ceremony is a Baptismal ceremony. It represents going from good faith to evil. It is the renewal of faith in the devil.
The Pink Ribbon – The Pink Ribbon represents purity. When the ribbon gets left behind and he finds it, Brown loses hope in ever having his pure wife back.
Young Goodman Brown’s Journey – His journey represents the fall of man. It represents how a man of good faith is not perfect. He is tempted just like everyone else. Nobody is perfect and sometimes temptation is too hard to resist.
2. Identify the following for “Young Goodman Brown”:
Theme Message of Theme Element Used to Establish
Sin/Fall of Man Humanity is not perfect Plot/Conflict
In addition, provide three direct quotes from the story that address your theme.
- “My Faith is gone!” cried he, after one stupefied moment. ‘There is no good on earth; and sin is but a name. Come, devil; for to thee is the world given’”(6).
- “The road grew wilder and drearier and more faintly traced, and vanished at length, leaving him in the heart of the dark wilderness, still rushing onward with the instinct that guides mortal man to evil” (6)
- “Depending upon one another’s hearts, ye had still hoped that virtue were not all a dream. Now are ye undeceived……
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