It is often said that a woman is a delicate as a flower. In Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck, he uses symbolism to communicate the sexual desires and frustrations of a woman, Elisa. There are other symbols other than the flowers she tends to. They aid in Steinbeck’s message about the repressed sexuality of women.
Chrysanthemums represent joy and optimism in life. Elisa is shown right out as a person who cares very much about happiness by taking the time and energy to cultivate this garden for her own pleasure. Throughout the passage, she is described as being very strong, “her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful,” and her features are described as “eager and mature and handsome.” (240) Her determination to make these flowers flourish shows her need to express her sexual desire. Her husband rarely responds to her hard work romantically, only factually. He praises her by saying that her new crop had a few that were “ten inches across” and mentions that he wishes she would “work in the orchard and raise some apples that big.” (240) Her response to him isn’t excited or happy at all, simply that “her eyes sharpened” and she says that it could be possible.
When the salesman rolls around things take a turn for the better for her. He responds romantically, albeit falsely, to her “sexuality”. When talking about the flowers, he describes them as a “quick puff of colored smoke” (243) and tells her that he enjoys their scent. She responds immediately and quite excitedly. The first thing she does is remove her hat to reveal her “dark pretty hair.” (243) Steinbeck goes on to show very sensually vivid imagery by mentioning that her “voice grew husky,” and “she was kneeling on the ground looking up at him. Her breast swelled passionately.” Elisa is reacting sensually to this mans romantic response. She has finally been given the chance to express herself freely. Trusting this man now, she gives him a part of her, through giving him a chrysanthemum.
After discovering that the man had thrown her flower away and kept the pot, Elisa was shattered. Ina sense, the man had taken her sexuality away under false pretenses and betrayed her. He deflowered her. Much like a vampire he took her innocence by using her to get what he wants. Elisa “turns up her coat collar so he could not see that she was crying weakly--like an old woman.” By comparing Elisa to an old woman, Steinbeck shows that her innocence is gone, her sexuality and vigor is diminished, and she has been completely transformed from the strong, eager woman she once was.
Steinbeck’s chrysanthemums tell the story of the betrayal of a sexually frustrated woman who opens up to love to the wrong person. When given the chance to express herself for the first time in a long time, she leaps for it, only to be crushed in the end. If the story were to continue, Elisa would most likely give up the hard work she put into her garden or more specifically destroy any chrysanthemum she comes across as a memory of the day she was robbed of her vitality.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Cathedral Theme
Klemantyne Paffgen
Cathedral
We want, therefore we are human! Raymond Carver paints an elaborate picture in the short story Cathedral about acceptance and the nature of human relationships. Carver uses characterization, communion imagery, shifts, and word choice to communicate the idea that being human is a shared experience, and it is something that all can relate to.
The narrator’s manner in the beginning of the story is blunt and incredibly ignorant. In the first paragraph he says right out that he is completely uncomfortable with having a blind man in his house and it “was not something [he] looked forward to.” (223) Describing the blind man’s dead wife, he uses the word “goddamned woman” (225-6). Carver shows that he is not an intellectual by adding that the narrator doesn’t “understand poetry… not the first thing [he reaches] for when he picks up something to read.”(224) His thought process is very monosyllabic and laconic. When he tells the story of his wife’s attempted suicide, he is factual and quick, almost without emotion or sympathy. Asking about the Beulah, the blind man’s wife, he is disrespectful and pokes fun by asking “Was his wife a Negro?” (225) By setting up the main character’s though process as such— the shift that occurs is greatly emphasized because his behavior is completely transformed.
When everyone begins feasting, the story is plunged into another world for a moment. A very strong communion image comes up as Carver vividly describes every aspect of how they ate. His word choice makes their dinner carnal and sexual, using words like “scarfed,” “tear,” and “admiration.” When they finished, they “sat as if stunned. Sweat beaded on [their] faces.” (228) By comparing eating, which is a shared experience of all living things, to intercourse, another thing that all humans share, Carver clearly draws a parallel to the fact that all humans share the desire to live, as well as the desire to love and be loved. Communion is an act of acceptance and friendship, whilst intercourse is an ultimate act of consensual love (most of the time). For someone like the main character of this story, this is unthinkable— especially with a blind man. After this obvious act of communion, another is introduced by the main character. He offers Robert, the blind man, some pot. This is no different than their feast, expect for the fact that the main character was the one who initiated it. Sharing drugs is also an act of acceptance and friendship, and the character is evidently showing signs of change.
By the end of the story, he takes a step into Robert’s shoes and closes his eyes while drawing the cathedral for him. Even when Robert tells him to look, he doesn’t, and says that “’It’s really something.’” (234) He is experiencing what it is like to be blind, and he appreciates it. Starting with not wanting a blind man in his home and ending with becoming “blind” is vital to the theme of this story. If there is anything to show that one has become tolerant, or even open-minded, is to put oneself into another one’s shoes.
Carver’s commentary on human relationships and common desire to live is a strong message that shines through the pages of Cathedral. The main character was truly the blind one in the beginning when refusing to accept anything other than what he perceived was normal. After talking, eating, and sharing marijuana with the blind man— all things that he considers ordinary activities of human life— he welcomes the blind man by seeing what life is like through the eyes of the blind man. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening experience.
Cathedral
We want, therefore we are human! Raymond Carver paints an elaborate picture in the short story Cathedral about acceptance and the nature of human relationships. Carver uses characterization, communion imagery, shifts, and word choice to communicate the idea that being human is a shared experience, and it is something that all can relate to.
The narrator’s manner in the beginning of the story is blunt and incredibly ignorant. In the first paragraph he says right out that he is completely uncomfortable with having a blind man in his house and it “was not something [he] looked forward to.” (223) Describing the blind man’s dead wife, he uses the word “goddamned woman” (225-6). Carver shows that he is not an intellectual by adding that the narrator doesn’t “understand poetry… not the first thing [he reaches] for when he picks up something to read.”(224) His thought process is very monosyllabic and laconic. When he tells the story of his wife’s attempted suicide, he is factual and quick, almost without emotion or sympathy. Asking about the Beulah, the blind man’s wife, he is disrespectful and pokes fun by asking “Was his wife a Negro?” (225) By setting up the main character’s though process as such— the shift that occurs is greatly emphasized because his behavior is completely transformed.
When everyone begins feasting, the story is plunged into another world for a moment. A very strong communion image comes up as Carver vividly describes every aspect of how they ate. His word choice makes their dinner carnal and sexual, using words like “scarfed,” “tear,” and “admiration.” When they finished, they “sat as if stunned. Sweat beaded on [their] faces.” (228) By comparing eating, which is a shared experience of all living things, to intercourse, another thing that all humans share, Carver clearly draws a parallel to the fact that all humans share the desire to live, as well as the desire to love and be loved. Communion is an act of acceptance and friendship, whilst intercourse is an ultimate act of consensual love (most of the time). For someone like the main character of this story, this is unthinkable— especially with a blind man. After this obvious act of communion, another is introduced by the main character. He offers Robert, the blind man, some pot. This is no different than their feast, expect for the fact that the main character was the one who initiated it. Sharing drugs is also an act of acceptance and friendship, and the character is evidently showing signs of change.
By the end of the story, he takes a step into Robert’s shoes and closes his eyes while drawing the cathedral for him. Even when Robert tells him to look, he doesn’t, and says that “’It’s really something.’” (234) He is experiencing what it is like to be blind, and he appreciates it. Starting with not wanting a blind man in his home and ending with becoming “blind” is vital to the theme of this story. If there is anything to show that one has become tolerant, or even open-minded, is to put oneself into another one’s shoes.
Carver’s commentary on human relationships and common desire to live is a strong message that shines through the pages of Cathedral. The main character was truly the blind one in the beginning when refusing to accept anything other than what he perceived was normal. After talking, eating, and sharing marijuana with the blind man— all things that he considers ordinary activities of human life— he welcomes the blind man by seeing what life is like through the eyes of the blind man. Needless to say, it was an eye-opening experience.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The Ironic Gospel
In The Gospel according to Mark, by Jorge Luis Borges, irony is the funnel in which the author allows his views on religion to flow. He introduces Espinosa, an extremely kind man from Buenos Aires who joins the Gutre family in La Colorada for the summer. He is thirty-three years of age, and he is a “free-thinker”, as his father before him— yet he makes the sign of the cross every night for his mother’s sake. Borges introduces evident ironic circumstances to further press his point that religion is wholly an ironic concept— hypocritical even.
Many things allude to the fact that Espinosa is a Christ figure. Things like “His wide intelligence was undirected; at the age of thirty-three, he still had not qualified for graduation in the subject to which he was most drawn”, and “Owing to an acquiescent nature, he was full of opinions, or habits of mind, that were questionable” as well as the fact that he simply began to grow out his beard refer to Jesus Christ. Referring to “How to Read Literature like a Professor”, Baltasar Espinosa has all the tell-tale signs of being a Christ figure. Borges suddenly interrupts this by mentioning that Espinosa is a free-thinker, that he does not accept any one religion, and he mentions that his “theology was rather dim”. Jesus Christ led people into a completely different faith, one that was contrary to popular belief, thus making his habits of mind or opinions “questionable”. Borges shows us that Espinosa was simply a wanderer who was finding himself at a ripe age. He makes this comparison to Jesus telling the reader that Jesus was simply a man who had big ideas, much like the free-thinkers. Borges also mentions that
The Gutres are incredibly obtuse, poor, simple folk who have accepted Espinosa as their leader and treat him with utter respect. Espinosa thought of them “like children, to whom repetition is more pleasing than variations or novelty”. This mimics the actual gospel according to St. Mark, since the followers are described as being very simple-minded and basically like sheep. What is found out later in the story is that the Gutres are in fact the Guthries from Europe. The fact that they own an English Bible is explained by their lineage of Englishmen as well as Native Americans. Since they cannot read or write even in Spanish, English is far out of the question. Borges uses irony here by displaying how these simple people take concepts that they don’t understand and blow them way out of proportion. After hearing Espinosa read and reread this text, the Gutres decide to use it as a How-To Guide to saving their souls.
The Gutres were practically ordered by Espinosa to crucify him, and this goes the same for Jesus Christ and his murderers. What is prominent in this story is Espinosa’s unwillingness to argue or oppose— just like Christ’s inclination to non-violence. The rain that occurs is almost a cleansing for the Gutres. While Espinosa steps out onto the gallery the final drops of rain fall and a gold-finch calls out. This is referring to the doves that fly after the biblical Flood, doves being the symbol of hope. The Gutres believe that after sacrificing Espinosa, there is hope for their souls yet. The irony in this is that it is a pillar in the Christian faith not to kill. The story of the crucifixion is often told with sorrow, and “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments. To repeat this event in the name of cleansing is ridiculous, and Borges makes it so that the reader sees the absurdity in religion.
Jorge Luis Borges’s religious beliefs are definite in this short story. The many biblical references are proof that the Christian faith was forced on him. The bitter twist of events demonstrates his vision of religion and hypocritical and extreme, and only for the simple-minded. Since Espinosa is so amiable, the author makes him a free-thinker because he is what he sees in himself.
Many things allude to the fact that Espinosa is a Christ figure. Things like “His wide intelligence was undirected; at the age of thirty-three, he still had not qualified for graduation in the subject to which he was most drawn”, and “Owing to an acquiescent nature, he was full of opinions, or habits of mind, that were questionable” as well as the fact that he simply began to grow out his beard refer to Jesus Christ. Referring to “How to Read Literature like a Professor”, Baltasar Espinosa has all the tell-tale signs of being a Christ figure. Borges suddenly interrupts this by mentioning that Espinosa is a free-thinker, that he does not accept any one religion, and he mentions that his “theology was rather dim”. Jesus Christ led people into a completely different faith, one that was contrary to popular belief, thus making his habits of mind or opinions “questionable”. Borges shows us that Espinosa was simply a wanderer who was finding himself at a ripe age. He makes this comparison to Jesus telling the reader that Jesus was simply a man who had big ideas, much like the free-thinkers. Borges also mentions that
The Gutres are incredibly obtuse, poor, simple folk who have accepted Espinosa as their leader and treat him with utter respect. Espinosa thought of them “like children, to whom repetition is more pleasing than variations or novelty”. This mimics the actual gospel according to St. Mark, since the followers are described as being very simple-minded and basically like sheep. What is found out later in the story is that the Gutres are in fact the Guthries from Europe. The fact that they own an English Bible is explained by their lineage of Englishmen as well as Native Americans. Since they cannot read or write even in Spanish, English is far out of the question. Borges uses irony here by displaying how these simple people take concepts that they don’t understand and blow them way out of proportion. After hearing Espinosa read and reread this text, the Gutres decide to use it as a How-To Guide to saving their souls.
The Gutres were practically ordered by Espinosa to crucify him, and this goes the same for Jesus Christ and his murderers. What is prominent in this story is Espinosa’s unwillingness to argue or oppose— just like Christ’s inclination to non-violence. The rain that occurs is almost a cleansing for the Gutres. While Espinosa steps out onto the gallery the final drops of rain fall and a gold-finch calls out. This is referring to the doves that fly after the biblical Flood, doves being the symbol of hope. The Gutres believe that after sacrificing Espinosa, there is hope for their souls yet. The irony in this is that it is a pillar in the Christian faith not to kill. The story of the crucifixion is often told with sorrow, and “Thou shalt not kill” is one of the Ten Commandments. To repeat this event in the name of cleansing is ridiculous, and Borges makes it so that the reader sees the absurdity in religion.
Jorge Luis Borges’s religious beliefs are definite in this short story. The many biblical references are proof that the Christian faith was forced on him. The bitter twist of events demonstrates his vision of religion and hypocritical and extreme, and only for the simple-minded. Since Espinosa is so amiable, the author makes him a free-thinker because he is what he sees in himself.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
548 Characterization
The Five-Forty-Eight
In John Cheever’s short story The Five-Forty-Eight, characterization proves a necessary component to the complete understanding of the story’s deeper meaning. Cheever’s ability to clearly depict his character’s various emotional and social insecurities confirms his evident commentary on the upper end of the social hierarchy. Cheever also touches on the sensibility of the mentally unstable, and the universal question of “who is truly the crazy one?” Through Blake and Miss Dent, Cheever’s main characters, the author reinforces his beliefs on the classes.
Blake is a full, round character whose flawed traits give him depth and make him more believable. He organizes his world around him according to categories— by social ranking. What is evident from the beginning is that he is in a class all on his own and everyone he encounters are below him. When he sits on the train, he immediately classifies the passengers into his twisted caste system, where he is at the top. When he hired Miss Dent in the first place, his tone was piteous, and he judged her like one would judge an inanimate object. After she “thanked him for giving her a chance” (80), he took advantage of her like “the many women he had known had been picked for their lack of self-esteem” (80). Another example of how he puts everyone below him is simply the manner in which he acts with his family. When his wife didn’t prepare supper, he “pointed out that today was the fifth. He had drawn a circle around the date on the kitchen calendar. ‘One week is the twelfth,’ he had said. ‘Two weeks will be the nineteenth.’ He drew a circle around the nineteenth. ‘I’m not going to speak to you for two weeks.’” (82). His behavior at home with his own relations shows that he can not believe that anyone one is on his level. He builds himself a separate room, a kingdom, to keep not only his wife out, but his children as well. What is interesting is that Cheever never mentions that “Louise Blake” is really Blake’s wife. This choice of introducing her in this manner says a lot about Blake’s feeling towards personal matters. Everything for him is formal, because he does not get emotionally involved. In the end, when Miss Dent forces him to kneel and put his face in mud, it is an evident stab at Blake’s ego and self-righteousness. After he is covered from head to toe in filth and wounded by coal, he simply “picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen and walked home” (89).
The author insinuates that Blake is the “truly crazy one” by using Miss Dent as one of his delusions. Since Blake is portrayed as a man who is unable to feel remorse or guilt, Cheever uses Miss Dent as a hallucination of Blake’s to depict his guilt finally forcing through his unfeeling, formal, lifestyle. After the horrible pain he caused Miss Dent by using her then firing her, she finally came back to haunt him. After some futile attempts to “lose” her by visiting a men’s bar and drinking it off, he forgets her for a while. However, after missing the express train which was most likely more expensive and filled with richer people, he is forced to take the 548— the local. Here he is reminded once again of the “lower class” and Miss Dent suddenly returns. Knowing that she was hospitalized and was often unwell, Blake’s mind sees her holding a gun to him and threatening his life. This vision is his repressed guilt finally forcing its way through to him, frightening him into changing his ways. This figment of his imagination was really his subconscious finally compelling him to succumb to the guilt that he hasn’t felt in years. By the end of the story, he is a completely changed man. The vernacular of the story changes from eloquent and formal to very simple and blatant— “he picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen and walked home” (89).
Cheever’s belief about social order shines through this compelling tale about a heartless man’s delusions that change his life. The method in which he introduces, develops, and changes his character emphasizes his message. The Five-Forty-Eight was a strong example of well-executed characterization.
In John Cheever’s short story The Five-Forty-Eight, characterization proves a necessary component to the complete understanding of the story’s deeper meaning. Cheever’s ability to clearly depict his character’s various emotional and social insecurities confirms his evident commentary on the upper end of the social hierarchy. Cheever also touches on the sensibility of the mentally unstable, and the universal question of “who is truly the crazy one?” Through Blake and Miss Dent, Cheever’s main characters, the author reinforces his beliefs on the classes.
Blake is a full, round character whose flawed traits give him depth and make him more believable. He organizes his world around him according to categories— by social ranking. What is evident from the beginning is that he is in a class all on his own and everyone he encounters are below him. When he sits on the train, he immediately classifies the passengers into his twisted caste system, where he is at the top. When he hired Miss Dent in the first place, his tone was piteous, and he judged her like one would judge an inanimate object. After she “thanked him for giving her a chance” (80), he took advantage of her like “the many women he had known had been picked for their lack of self-esteem” (80). Another example of how he puts everyone below him is simply the manner in which he acts with his family. When his wife didn’t prepare supper, he “pointed out that today was the fifth. He had drawn a circle around the date on the kitchen calendar. ‘One week is the twelfth,’ he had said. ‘Two weeks will be the nineteenth.’ He drew a circle around the nineteenth. ‘I’m not going to speak to you for two weeks.’” (82). His behavior at home with his own relations shows that he can not believe that anyone one is on his level. He builds himself a separate room, a kingdom, to keep not only his wife out, but his children as well. What is interesting is that Cheever never mentions that “Louise Blake” is really Blake’s wife. This choice of introducing her in this manner says a lot about Blake’s feeling towards personal matters. Everything for him is formal, because he does not get emotionally involved. In the end, when Miss Dent forces him to kneel and put his face in mud, it is an evident stab at Blake’s ego and self-righteousness. After he is covered from head to toe in filth and wounded by coal, he simply “picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen and walked home” (89).
The author insinuates that Blake is the “truly crazy one” by using Miss Dent as one of his delusions. Since Blake is portrayed as a man who is unable to feel remorse or guilt, Cheever uses Miss Dent as a hallucination of Blake’s to depict his guilt finally forcing through his unfeeling, formal, lifestyle. After the horrible pain he caused Miss Dent by using her then firing her, she finally came back to haunt him. After some futile attempts to “lose” her by visiting a men’s bar and drinking it off, he forgets her for a while. However, after missing the express train which was most likely more expensive and filled with richer people, he is forced to take the 548— the local. Here he is reminded once again of the “lower class” and Miss Dent suddenly returns. Knowing that she was hospitalized and was often unwell, Blake’s mind sees her holding a gun to him and threatening his life. This vision is his repressed guilt finally forcing its way through to him, frightening him into changing his ways. This figment of his imagination was really his subconscious finally compelling him to succumb to the guilt that he hasn’t felt in years. By the end of the story, he is a completely changed man. The vernacular of the story changes from eloquent and formal to very simple and blatant— “he picked up his hat from the ground where it had fallen and walked home” (89).
Cheever’s belief about social order shines through this compelling tale about a heartless man’s delusions that change his life. The method in which he introduces, develops, and changes his character emphasizes his message. The Five-Forty-Eight was a strong example of well-executed characterization.
Hemingway Style Story
Winter was already coming quickly and the days had shortened so much that people began to remember its presence. The couple tried to enjoy as much of the day as they could, but usually overestimated the minutes they had before the street lights flickered on and the shadows of the buildings around them grew taller. These two were walking home from the train station in silence which wasn’t unusual since they were very comfortable with each other and they were both the type who never said things that needn’t be said. However, this time was different. The man sensed that something was wrong, and he was hesitant to ask her if she was alright. Finally he deemed it necessary and reached for her hand.
“What’s on your mind girlie?”
“Just thinking about your birthday.”
“My birthday? You don’t have to get me anything, and it just a month away.”
“A month ain’t that long.”
“I was thinking about getting you a new guitar.”
“Where are you going to get the money for that?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking about that too.”
Her shoulders seemed to slump hopelessly as she let go.
“These aren’t things you should worry about, sweet pea. You know there are much more important things than this. Relax. Today was a good day.”
They turned a corner and moved over the one side of the sidewalk as a helmet-less bicyclist passed. Before it reached them the cyclist changed her mind and switched from the sidewalk to the street. The woman slapped her ankle.
“Jeez!”
“What happened?”
“I think something bit me!”
She inspected her leg as a small red mound formed.
“That’s so weird; it’s the middle of fall!”
“Yeah, well there is always the occasional mosquito around.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“I wanted to know how your cousin was.”
“Alex? Or Tim?”
“Alexandra.”
“Fine. Why?”
“Well have you heard from her at all recently?”
“It’s been around two weeks or so.”
“Actually a month. Is that recent?”
“I suppose.”
He stared ahead the whole time, but she looked at him questioningly. She continued to be distracted by her ankle, but tugged on his sleeve.
“Why?”
“Didn’t you say she was diagnosed with osteoporosis or something?”
“Yeah. That was a while ago.”
“That’s absolutely terrible. She’s so young.
“Too young in fact.”
“See? You should be worrying about things like that. Those are the type of things that should be on your mind. Don’t waste your time on silly things like what to get me for my birthday. That’s just nonsense.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m just saying that your six-year-old cousin being diagnosed with osteoporosis is much more important that anything right now.”
“Hey! It’s not like I haven’t been thinking about that! It’s been driving me mad actually! Is it a crime to think about anything else?”
“I never said that! I only meant that my birthday should be the farthest thing from your thoughts.”
“Well.”
“Thinking about things doesn’t necessarily solve them, asshole.”
She leaned over to scratch her ankle.
“Whoa, hey! Where did this come from? I made a simple statement to lessen your load.”
“Yes, but now you’ve just pissed me off!”
“Thinking about the imminent death of Alex is much better than a gift for you!”
He whirled around and faced her for the first time. She was crying.
“Why are you acting like this?”
Silently, she gently pushed him away and crossed the street, heading towards the train station. He stood there wordless, dumbfounded, and walked home, defeated.
“What’s on your mind girlie?”
“Just thinking about your birthday.”
“My birthday? You don’t have to get me anything, and it just a month away.”
“A month ain’t that long.”
“I was thinking about getting you a new guitar.”
“Where are you going to get the money for that?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking about that too.”
Her shoulders seemed to slump hopelessly as she let go.
“These aren’t things you should worry about, sweet pea. You know there are much more important things than this. Relax. Today was a good day.”
They turned a corner and moved over the one side of the sidewalk as a helmet-less bicyclist passed. Before it reached them the cyclist changed her mind and switched from the sidewalk to the street. The woman slapped her ankle.
“Jeez!”
“What happened?”
“I think something bit me!”
She inspected her leg as a small red mound formed.
“That’s so weird; it’s the middle of fall!”
“Yeah, well there is always the occasional mosquito around.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“I wanted to know how your cousin was.”
“Alex? Or Tim?”
“Alexandra.”
“Fine. Why?”
“Well have you heard from her at all recently?”
“It’s been around two weeks or so.”
“Actually a month. Is that recent?”
“I suppose.”
He stared ahead the whole time, but she looked at him questioningly. She continued to be distracted by her ankle, but tugged on his sleeve.
“Why?”
“Didn’t you say she was diagnosed with osteoporosis or something?”
“Yeah. That was a while ago.”
“That’s absolutely terrible. She’s so young.
“Too young in fact.”
“See? You should be worrying about things like that. Those are the type of things that should be on your mind. Don’t waste your time on silly things like what to get me for my birthday. That’s just nonsense.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m just saying that your six-year-old cousin being diagnosed with osteoporosis is much more important that anything right now.”
“Hey! It’s not like I haven’t been thinking about that! It’s been driving me mad actually! Is it a crime to think about anything else?”
“I never said that! I only meant that my birthday should be the farthest thing from your thoughts.”
“Well.”
“Thinking about things doesn’t necessarily solve them, asshole.”
She leaned over to scratch her ankle.
“Whoa, hey! Where did this come from? I made a simple statement to lessen your load.”
“Yes, but now you’ve just pissed me off!”
“Thinking about the imminent death of Alex is much better than a gift for you!”
He whirled around and faced her for the first time. She was crying.
“Why are you acting like this?”
Silently, she gently pushed him away and crossed the street, heading towards the train station. He stood there wordless, dumbfounded, and walked home, defeated.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
P E A C E
Klemantyne Paffgen
9/9/08
Ms. Clapp
English AP Literature
“
”
As the war in Iraq rages on, the talk of peace has increased over the past few years. The symbols are everywhere, people are flashing it left and right, and it’ has actually become another fad. When asked what the word peace meant, people generally responded with either “the feeling of tranquility”, or “the absence of war”. There are several written definitions for this word as there as symbols. Victory signs, white poppies, and doves carrying olive branches are well known symbols for peace, yet these all solely represent harmony between people. What the most widely recognized definition for peace is “a state or relation of peace, concord, and amity; not at strife or at variance.” I believe this, and that the word “peace” specifically refers to the state of relationships between people or within themselves.
The word peace was first used around the 11th century, in “the Littré” a dictionary by Émile Littré, a famous french lexicographer. Since war has been around since the beginning of time, peace was generally referred to as the “freedom of, or cessation of, war or hostilities; that condition of a nation or community in which it is not at war with another.” This was made official by “peace treaties” that came after most battles. Another meaning recalls “the recognition of authority or claims, and acceptance of the protection, of a king or lord.” These definitions all suggest restraint, or refraining from violence or revolution. Other meanings of “peace” suggest the “freedom from:
a. civil commotion and disorder; public order and security.”
b. disturbance or perturbation.”
c. quarrels or dissension between individuals.”
d. mental or spiritual disturbance or conflict arising from passion, guilt, etc.”
These are all referring to disharmony between people or within oneself. Another meaning of peace is simply the absence of noise or “quiet, silent, unmentioned” as well as “to become silence or still, to cease from speaking.” It can be used as a command to “ become still, or silent, to refrain from or cease speaking; to keep silence.” Another definition suggests that the word was previously written “pease” and was taken from “appease” which means “to pacify, usually at the sacrifice of principles.” Peace has always had a positive connotation, and it is usually what politicians promise, parents beg for, and happy retirement homes are described as. It is not only associated with the current war on “terror” but also the hippie counterculture and the movement of the 60's and 70's during the Vietnam war. Another association is the Olympics, which was a peaceful interim created for the purpose of good sportsmanship and competition regardless of warring neighbors. In modern lingo, the word has been tossed around so much that the reason why it is said so much has become lost in a “Myspace” pose. It is widely known in the hip hop culture as a farewell gesture, as it was many years ago when Jesus said it to his disciples (“peace be with you”) and how it is in languages today, like Arabic and Farsi (As-Sala-mu `Alaykum). It is a well-wishers polite greeting, and Jay-Z’s final word. The word “peace” has traveled many years through time and space, yet the meaning will always remain the harmony that lies within society or within individuals themselves.
Synonyms: agreement, amiability, amity, appeasement, armistice, ataraxia, calm, calmness, compromise, conciliation, concord, contentment, detente, ease, equanimity, fen, harmony, neutrality, nirvana, olive branch, order, pacification, pact, pax, pax vobiscum, placability, quiescence, quiet, quietness, reconciliation, repose, rest, serenity, tranquility, tranquilization, tranquillity, treaty, truce
Antonyms: agitation, conflict, disagreement, disharmony, distress, fighting, war, frustration, irritation, noise, upset, worry
9/9/08
Ms. Clapp
English AP Literature
“
”As the war in Iraq rages on, the talk of peace has increased over the past few years. The symbols are everywhere, people are flashing it left and right, and it’ has actually become another fad. When asked what the word peace meant, people generally responded with either “the feeling of tranquility”, or “the absence of war”. There are several written definitions for this word as there as symbols. Victory signs, white poppies, and doves carrying olive branches are well known symbols for peace, yet these all solely represent harmony between people. What the most widely recognized definition for peace is “a state or relation of peace, concord, and amity; not at strife or at variance.” I believe this, and that the word “peace” specifically refers to the state of relationships between people or within themselves.
The word peace was first used around the 11th century, in “the Littré” a dictionary by Émile Littré, a famous french lexicographer. Since war has been around since the beginning of time, peace was generally referred to as the “freedom of, or cessation of, war or hostilities; that condition of a nation or community in which it is not at war with another.” This was made official by “peace treaties” that came after most battles. Another meaning recalls “the recognition of authority or claims, and acceptance of the protection, of a king or lord.” These definitions all suggest restraint, or refraining from violence or revolution. Other meanings of “peace” suggest the “freedom from:
a. civil commotion and disorder; public order and security.”
b. disturbance or perturbation.”
c. quarrels or dissension between individuals.”
d. mental or spiritual disturbance or conflict arising from passion, guilt, etc.”
These are all referring to disharmony between people or within oneself. Another meaning of peace is simply the absence of noise or “quiet, silent, unmentioned” as well as “to become silence or still, to cease from speaking.” It can be used as a command to “ become still, or silent, to refrain from or cease speaking; to keep silence.” Another definition suggests that the word was previously written “pease” and was taken from “appease” which means “to pacify, usually at the sacrifice of principles.” Peace has always had a positive connotation, and it is usually what politicians promise, parents beg for, and happy retirement homes are described as. It is not only associated with the current war on “terror” but also the hippie counterculture and the movement of the 60's and 70's during the Vietnam war. Another association is the Olympics, which was a peaceful interim created for the purpose of good sportsmanship and competition regardless of warring neighbors. In modern lingo, the word has been tossed around so much that the reason why it is said so much has become lost in a “Myspace” pose. It is widely known in the hip hop culture as a farewell gesture, as it was many years ago when Jesus said it to his disciples (“peace be with you”) and how it is in languages today, like Arabic and Farsi (As-Sala-mu `Alaykum). It is a well-wishers polite greeting, and Jay-Z’s final word. The word “peace” has traveled many years through time and space, yet the meaning will always remain the harmony that lies within society or within individuals themselves.
Synonyms: agreement, amiability, amity, appeasement, armistice, ataraxia, calm, calmness, compromise, conciliation, concord, contentment, detente, ease, equanimity, fen, harmony, neutrality, nirvana, olive branch, order, pacification, pact, pax, pax vobiscum, placability, quiescence, quiet, quietness, reconciliation, repose, rest, serenity, tranquility, tranquilization, tranquillity, treaty, truce
Antonyms: agitation, conflict, disagreement, disharmony, distress, fighting, war, frustration, irritation, noise, upset, worry
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
One Hundred Years of Summer!
Bahar Baharloo
Ms. Clapp
English AP Literature
Summer Reading Analysis
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece carefully unfolds the creation and inevitable destruction of the town of Macondo, and the history of the curious Buendía family. If I hadn’t began with How to Read Literature like a Professor, many elements of this rich novel would have been a complete mystery. I believe that Márquez’s writing style is pure literary genius, and without the “decoder”, I would not have been able to understand the high level he writes at. Márquez creates a situation for every chapter of How to Read to flesh out. Within this story, he makes strong statements about sexuality, politics, and human nature in a charmingly subtle manner. His narrative style is an intriguing method because what he depicts may be an impossible, fantastic event, yet his casual tone makes it seem familiar and ordinary. Márquez’s beliefs and statements shine through his literary techniques, and I have been able to pick them out using what I have taken from How To Read.
One of the most important things that How To Read has enlightened me to is the concept of “intertextuality”, or the “conversations” that one text has with many other older ones. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, these “conversations” are evident in the plot movement and conclusion. A predominant theme in this novel is the usage of myths. many biblical and Greek mythological references have arisen throughout the story, and some events are quite parallel.
As a whole, Macondo begins as an ideal paradise, quite similar to God’s Eden, and ends as a hot, desolate wasteland, much like the apocalypse. The town is founded by a herd of innocent people, more importantly the Adam and Eve characters, José Arcadio and Úrsula Iguarán Buendía. They begin their long family line who all experience the slow dilapidation of the town. What is also quite interesting is that the most damaging of all of the town’s obstacles is the invasion of the banana company. Adam and Eve’s downfall was the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Bananas were the cause of the destruction of Macondo, or Eden. Also, after the war, rain, and heat, Macondo is wiped off the planet entirely, as well as any trace of it’s existence. Since the town has little contact with its surrounding countries, the disappearance of the town resembles the apocalypse. Another biblical occurrence is Remedios the Beauty’s ascension to the heavens. She was also an Eve figure, given that she “wandered naked through the house because her nature rejected all manner of convention”. She was the only Buendía that did not suffer from their terrible fate, and she represented the simple times before the banana company and the new technology that had invaded the town. A vision of neanderthals came to mind when Márquez mentions “it was necessary to keep an eye on her so that she would not paint little animals on the walls with a stick daubed in her own excrement”. The innocence of Macondo literally ascended to heaven and was never heard from again.
The Greek Myths are also a part of the plot movement as well. Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex’s plot has similarities to the Buendía dilemma. King Lauis is warned by the oracle at Delphi not to have a child by his wife, Jocasta, or it will end in his demise. Since José Arcadio and Úrsula Iguarán are cousins, there is a perpetual fear that one of the Buendía children would be born with the tail of a pig. This doesn’t happen until the very end of the novel when nephew and aunt Aureliano Babilonia and Amaranta Úrsula unwittingly fall in love and have a child, who fulfills the “prophecy.” Amaranta Úrsula dies of childbirth whereas Jocasta commits suicide. The child is devoured by ants, and yet Oedipus blinds himself. Aureliano Babilonia remains living, like Oedipus. A slight comparison that I’ve made is that according to How to Read, being blind might mean seeing more than a physical limitation. Since Oedipus can easily be compared to Aureliano Babilonia, I believe that the parchments that were eventually deciphered at the end of the story can easily be compared to the blindness of Oedipus. The parchments revealed the whole history of the Buendía family, past, present, and future. This is most definitely “sight” farther than physical limitations.
Also, in Grecian belief, there was no possible way to avoid fate. A person was born with the life they were meant to lead, and the appropriately names “Fates” would follow their every move until death– which they also chose the time of. Melquíades’s parchments were the Fates’ plan for the Buendía family. This is also shown through the renaming of their children, “José Arcadio, Úrsula, Aureliano” etcetera. At one point Úrsula openly shows her opposition to name another child the traditional way, but it’s never broken. All Aurelianos turn out introspective and indifferent, while all José Arcadios end up passionate and inventive. “The history of the family was a machine with unavoidable repetitions, a turning wheel that would have gone on spilling into eternity were it not for the progressive and irremediable wearing of the axle."
Intertextuality is very evident throughout the passage of this story, and without How to Read, I would have missed the conversations that this novel had with its seniors. The references to the bible and greek stories created a multilayered tale that was enjoyable through and through. Thomas Foster writes "the more we become aware of the possibility that our text is speaking to other texts, the more similarities and correspondences we begin to notice, and the more alive the text becomes." One Hundred Years of Solitude was certainly alive with these correspondences. Márquez’s recount of the Buendía family’s humorous, heart wrenching, and slightly haunting existence will remain with me for ages to come.
Ms. Clapp
English AP Literature
Summer Reading Analysis
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece carefully unfolds the creation and inevitable destruction of the town of Macondo, and the history of the curious Buendía family. If I hadn’t began with How to Read Literature like a Professor, many elements of this rich novel would have been a complete mystery. I believe that Márquez’s writing style is pure literary genius, and without the “decoder”, I would not have been able to understand the high level he writes at. Márquez creates a situation for every chapter of How to Read to flesh out. Within this story, he makes strong statements about sexuality, politics, and human nature in a charmingly subtle manner. His narrative style is an intriguing method because what he depicts may be an impossible, fantastic event, yet his casual tone makes it seem familiar and ordinary. Márquez’s beliefs and statements shine through his literary techniques, and I have been able to pick them out using what I have taken from How To Read.
One of the most important things that How To Read has enlightened me to is the concept of “intertextuality”, or the “conversations” that one text has with many other older ones. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, these “conversations” are evident in the plot movement and conclusion. A predominant theme in this novel is the usage of myths. many biblical and Greek mythological references have arisen throughout the story, and some events are quite parallel.
As a whole, Macondo begins as an ideal paradise, quite similar to God’s Eden, and ends as a hot, desolate wasteland, much like the apocalypse. The town is founded by a herd of innocent people, more importantly the Adam and Eve characters, José Arcadio and Úrsula Iguarán Buendía. They begin their long family line who all experience the slow dilapidation of the town. What is also quite interesting is that the most damaging of all of the town’s obstacles is the invasion of the banana company. Adam and Eve’s downfall was the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Bananas were the cause of the destruction of Macondo, or Eden. Also, after the war, rain, and heat, Macondo is wiped off the planet entirely, as well as any trace of it’s existence. Since the town has little contact with its surrounding countries, the disappearance of the town resembles the apocalypse. Another biblical occurrence is Remedios the Beauty’s ascension to the heavens. She was also an Eve figure, given that she “wandered naked through the house because her nature rejected all manner of convention”. She was the only Buendía that did not suffer from their terrible fate, and she represented the simple times before the banana company and the new technology that had invaded the town. A vision of neanderthals came to mind when Márquez mentions “it was necessary to keep an eye on her so that she would not paint little animals on the walls with a stick daubed in her own excrement”. The innocence of Macondo literally ascended to heaven and was never heard from again.
The Greek Myths are also a part of the plot movement as well. Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex’s plot has similarities to the Buendía dilemma. King Lauis is warned by the oracle at Delphi not to have a child by his wife, Jocasta, or it will end in his demise. Since José Arcadio and Úrsula Iguarán are cousins, there is a perpetual fear that one of the Buendía children would be born with the tail of a pig. This doesn’t happen until the very end of the novel when nephew and aunt Aureliano Babilonia and Amaranta Úrsula unwittingly fall in love and have a child, who fulfills the “prophecy.” Amaranta Úrsula dies of childbirth whereas Jocasta commits suicide. The child is devoured by ants, and yet Oedipus blinds himself. Aureliano Babilonia remains living, like Oedipus. A slight comparison that I’ve made is that according to How to Read, being blind might mean seeing more than a physical limitation. Since Oedipus can easily be compared to Aureliano Babilonia, I believe that the parchments that were eventually deciphered at the end of the story can easily be compared to the blindness of Oedipus. The parchments revealed the whole history of the Buendía family, past, present, and future. This is most definitely “sight” farther than physical limitations.
Also, in Grecian belief, there was no possible way to avoid fate. A person was born with the life they were meant to lead, and the appropriately names “Fates” would follow their every move until death– which they also chose the time of. Melquíades’s parchments were the Fates’ plan for the Buendía family. This is also shown through the renaming of their children, “José Arcadio, Úrsula, Aureliano” etcetera. At one point Úrsula openly shows her opposition to name another child the traditional way, but it’s never broken. All Aurelianos turn out introspective and indifferent, while all José Arcadios end up passionate and inventive. “The history of the family was a machine with unavoidable repetitions, a turning wheel that would have gone on spilling into eternity were it not for the progressive and irremediable wearing of the axle."
Intertextuality is very evident throughout the passage of this story, and without How to Read, I would have missed the conversations that this novel had with its seniors. The references to the bible and greek stories created a multilayered tale that was enjoyable through and through. Thomas Foster writes "the more we become aware of the possibility that our text is speaking to other texts, the more similarities and correspondences we begin to notice, and the more alive the text becomes." One Hundred Years of Solitude was certainly alive with these correspondences. Márquez’s recount of the Buendía family’s humorous, heart wrenching, and slightly haunting existence will remain with me for ages to come.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)