Mao II: Part 3

I would tend to agree with my classmates that the end of this book was fairly predictable.  I sort of figured about halfway through the book that Bill would die at the end.  However, I didn’t think he would die from his own stupidity.  He could have easily gone to the emergency room after being hit by a car and he wouldn’t have died on the ferry.  Although I criticize him for not getting help, I think many people now-a-days tend to ignore their symptoms and refuse to go see their doctor to get checked out.  As a future nurse, this makes me very sad.  One of the most astonishing things I have learned in nursing school is that almost all of the major diseases our country suffers from are preventable.  If people would simply take care of their bodies and get frequent screenings, they would live longer and spend less money on health care in the future.  However, this is easier said than done. 

Mao II: Part 2

After reading through chapter 11 I would have to say that I am not a huge fan of this book.  For one it feels like it takes forever to read because of the crazy switching from one character’s point of view to the next.  It seems like once I actually start enjoying one character’s story, DeLillo would switch to another character and I would have to readjust to what was going on in their story.  Although I have read many books that jump around like this, I found this one to be more frustrating and harder to get into. 

Another thing that I find frustrating is that DeLillo separated all of the characters.  We start out the book with learning how all of the characters came together only to have them be separated from each other.  For most of the book so far, the four main characters are in different places and hardly have any interaction with each other.  Personally, I would have liked to have had the characters be a little bit more connected throughout the story.  

Mao II: Part 1

The preface of this story was very interesting.  I actually really enjoyed reading about the mass wedding.  As weird as it was, it was interesting to hear the story from Karen’s parent’s point of view as well as her own.  DeLillo has a very unique style of writing that is a little hard to get into.  He definitely tends to jump around a lot which can be frustrating at times for readers.

It was definitely a complete shock to go from the preface into chapter one.  I was almost a little mad that the story didn’t continue on from the mass wedding.  I found the first five chapters to be little boring.  I am not a fan of not knowing where a story is going to go.  I like to have a general idea of what the book is going to be about so that I know if I will like it or not.  However, DeLillo keeps readers out of the loop for quite a while, jumping from character to character.  

Howl

I really struggled to get through this poem.  All I could think about while reading it was how long and confusing it was.  I was glad we talked a lot about it in class because after I first finished reading it, I had no idea what it was about.  Although Ginsburg uses some really unique descriptions, I had a lot of trouble keeping up with what was going on in the poem.  The way this poem was written reminds me a lot of an auctioneer.  It seems like it never has a stopping point or a spot where a thought it finally finished.  I really wanted the speaker to stop and take a breath so that I could comprehend what he was trying to say. 

After talking about it in class the poem makes a little more sense.   It was interesting to hear Ginsberg read it himself.  However, I think he could have made it better that he did because he read it almost a monotonous voice.  I did like that the poem had different sections.  At first glance these sections don’t really fit together but after digging into the poem more, they become more connected and help develop the poem as a whole.  

Cathedral

I really enjoyed reading this short story.  At first I was appalled at how incredibly rude and selfish the main character of the story was, however he made up for it at the end.  Carver does a really good job of building up the main character’s  ugly personality throughout the story in order to display to the audience just how much progress the blind man made on changing the main character’s view on life.  The one thing about the story that I found the most interesting was how simple it was.  When I was explaining the story to other people, I was amazed at how boring and simple it sounded when I explained it.  To me, this just shows how incredible Carver’s writing is.  He has an amazing ability to write a story that has little action or climax and yet engage readers; even leaving them wanting more.

Everyday Use

This short story was very peculiar to me.  When I first started reading it, I was confused as to who was narrating the story and where the story was going.   Once I figured out that the mother was narrating the story it began to make a little more sense, however Walker still eluded the audience as to where she was taking the story for quite some time.  We don’t really find out until the end why the short story is titled Everyday Use.

Although Dee comes across as very selfish and conceited, I have a tendency to cling onto family heirlooms much like she does.  I have trouble throwing things away or using the items for their intended use if they are old and have significance to my heritage.  I can also see Maggie’s and her mother’s point as well though.  Many of the items I have kept over the years are simply collecting dust.  The original owners of the items would probably rather see them being useful for someone.  

Collins

I loved the poem Forgetfulness.  It was a huge relief to finally read some poetry that made me laugh.  This poem was very ironic and witty.  In his writing, ­­­­­­­­­­­­Collins does a really good job of being serious and funny at the same time.  Both Forgetfulness and his poem on the Three Blind Mice have a very comedic feel but yet they also have a significant meaning in them.  Out of all the poems we have read so far, I definitely like Collins’ work the best.   A lot of poetry is just too serious and complex for my taste. 

Good Country People

What a weird story.  It took me awhile to figure out where O’Connor was going with this story.  However, about halfway through I got a really bad feeling that it wasn’t going to end well.  Sadly, this turned out to be true.  As much as I wanted Joy/Helga to not be so naïve, she kind of let me down.  Although she thought she was so intelligent, her became a little overconfident and ended up getting burned. 

I really liked how O’Connor kept up the suspicion of the Bible salesman throughout the story.  Although readers begin to distrust this character early on, O’Connor does a great job of making us question if he truly is the bad guy in the story.  Even in the moments before he betrays Joy/Helga, readers are secretly hoping he is actually a good guy.  This characteristic of the short story made for a really good read.  

Invisible Man

I thought Ellison’s first chapter of this book was very good.  I really liked the amount of action this story had especially because most of the poems and short stories we read don’t have a lot of action in them.  However, this story had a couple fight scenes that were very interesting to read about.  One thing I have to say is that I never would have gone through what he had to endure just to possibly get the opportunity to get a scholarship to go to college.  That fact that he was willing to get beat up several times over in order to give a speech to a cowardly group of influential people who don’t care two cents about him says a great deal about how much he wanted to go to college.  Although we find out at the end that they really only gave him the scholarship so that they can “keep this Nigger Boy Running,” I don’t think they can prevent him from becoming something great.  Someone who is willing to endure that kind of pain for education is bound and determined for greatness.  I think I would like to read the rest of the novel to find out where Ellison takes this story. 

Roethke

Wow, what a sad poem My Papa’s Waltz is.  Child abuse is so incredibly sad and inhumane.  Although it is a really sad poem, I did enjoy the way in which Roethke intertwined the concept of dancing with the abuse the speaker was going through.  There was also a unique tension between the speaker’s knowledge that abuse is wrong and his remaining tenderness towards his dad.  Roethke does a great job of describing just how complicated child abuse is.  In this short poem, he also describes the mother as frowning.  This description suggests that the mother probably didn’t know what to do about the situation.  Although most people might think she is an idiot for not intervening, Roethke portrays through the poem that this might not be as easy as we may think.  Overall, I thought it was a very well written poem.  Roethke says so much in such a short poem. 

Carnival Post

After reading through the class’s posts on this section, there are a few themes that come about.  For starters, I would say the majority of our class is not big fans of poetry (myself included).  Many people commented that Frost was hard to understand and that Stevens was boring.  Also, a lot of people just chose to stay away from posting about the poems we read focusing instead on the short stories and Their Eyes Were Watching God. 

Many of my classmates wrote posts on A Rose for Emily and The Snows of Kilimanjaro.  In A Rose for Emily, the theme of modernism was brought up a lot in how the town changed while the woman stayed the same.  In The Snows of Kilimanjaro, many classmates wrote about how it made them think about how they would handle death.  It seemed to me that both short stories were a nice change from the poetry we had to read earlier. 

I would say that the majority of the class liked Their Eyes Were Watching God; although our class does consist mostly of females which may have something to do with it since it kind of feels like a love story sometimes.  Posts on the novel mostly consisted of gender issues that the book brought up.  Also many people mentioned that the dialect was hard to get used to but eventually became easier to understand.  The class also seemed to like Hurston’s style of writing that she used in the novel.

Hughes was the last assigned readings for this section and many people posted comments on his pieces.  I think as a whole, our class rather enjoyed reading these poems, especially I Too and Theme for English B.  Most would agree that Hughes’ poetry was a lot easier to understand than previous poetry we have read for class.  Many people commented on Hughes simplistic yet meaningful approach to poetry. 

Theme for English B

I found this poem very interesting and even funny.  Although I believe there is seriousness in it that Hughes is getting at, it reminded me of something a class prankster would do to sort of stick it to the teacher.  I can almost imagine everybody in the class having to go up to the front of the classroom to read their poems and the whole class laughing because of the brilliance and sarcasm in this piece.  The whole class would clap and cheer as he sat back down and give him praise for the rest of the week at school. 

However, there is more meaning in this poem than that.  Hughes does a great job of writing a piece about racial issues without it sounding too harsh or forced.  He is very clever in the way he uses a vague English assignment to portray his feelings and experiences with the racial discrepancies.  It would have been interesting to know how this poem was perceived during the time when Hughes wrote it.  I wonder if anyone found it as entertaining as I did.  

Their Eyes Were Watching God Part 2

After finishing the novel, I can say that it was probably my favorite piece we have read thus far.  I found myself reading ahead in the novel just because I wanted to know what was going to happen.  Although the ending was tragic and sad, I think it was also very fitting for the novel.  Janie lived such a crazy life that I think it was time for her to become a strong independent woman who will rely on no one but herself.  Although her relationship with Tea Cake was real and loving, I think Janie will find a new sense of happiness in being on her own; taking pride in the fact that she can support herself. 

The title, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a very interesting thing to consider.  I remember when I first heard of the book that I was curious as to what was meant by it.  Sadly, after finishing the novel, it still eludes me as to what Hurston wanted her readers to understand about the novel by giving it this name.  From what I have gathered, I think Hurston sort of implies that there is something or someone bigger in life that we cannot control.  Take Janie’s life for example.  She was constantly being thrown in different directions either by people around her or even because of the death of her husbands.  It often seemed that no matter what she did, something would happen that would change the path she was on dramatically leaving her no choice but to wait and see what God had in store for her next.  

Their Eyes Were Watching God Part 1

Not going to lie, after reading the first chapter I was a little skeptical of where this novel was going.  I found the first chapter a little confusing and hard to get into.  For starters, the dialect was hard to get used to so it took me a lot longer to read that I would have liked.  However, much to my surprise, after reading a few more chapters, I began to really enjoy Janie’s story. 

After Janie left Logan and was starting to see Jody’s true colors, I thought for sure that Janie was going to leave Jody too.  However, Hurston took the novel to different place when she chose to have Janie stay with him.  I think this decision was a big deal in showing Janie’s maturity.  She learned that leaving isn’t always the answer and that sometimes sticking it out may be the best thing to do.  Although through her twenty years with Jody she had to suppress her voice, I think this time of silence helped Janie learn how and when to use her voice in the future.  She matured into a strong woman who knew exactly what she wanted and wasn’t afraid of what other people had to say about it.  

The Snows of Kilimanjaro

Death and dying has always been a curious topic of mine.  Growing up I got to be a part of multiple funerals because my mom plays the piano and was always in need of a good page turner.  Therefore, I would be five maybe six years old sitting by the piano while the pastor talked about the deceased.  Hearing multiple eulogies growing up, I became somewhat desensitized to death.  It didn’t help that I grew up playing in a cemetery that was a half mile from my house either.  However, I am thankful for the experiences I have had with death and dying as it has helped me immensely with dealing with losses of my own loved ones and has also helped prepare me for what I may face in the nursing profession. 

What was striking to me about The Snows of Kilimanjaro was the way in which the main character dealt with his imminent death.  He was very rude and condescending to his wife and throughout most of the story I just wanted to smack him.  I know he was dying and was probably very scared but I still feel like that doesn’t give anyone an excuse to be mean.  If I am ever in a situation like that, I hope that I will not follow his example but will be kind and loving to those I love and die knowing that I have not caused more pain for them.  

A Rose for Emily

I really enjoyed reading this story.  It was nothing like I was expecting and I was very confused as to where it was going when I first got into it.  However, I found that the mystery of figuring out what happened and the detective aspect that Faulkner used in his writing kept me very engaged and wanting to keep reading.  I also enjoyed the sarcasm and humor that Faulkner through in.  This story was nice change from the more depressing poems we’ve been reading.

In a way, this story reminds me a lot of Their Eyes Were Watching God.  Simply just in the way both Faulkner and Hurston initially started their stories leaving readers in confusion and mystery and then taking us through flash backs in order to bring us back to where it started.  I really like this format of writing even though for me it can be frustrating at first as a reader.  The way both of these pieces were written kept me interested in the story and often left me puzzled as to how they were going to end.   I have to say, the end of A Rose for Emily took me off guard and I had to read the last section a few times through to catch what happened.  

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

I think I would have liked to meet J. Alfred Prufrock.  Although I know he is a fictional character, I think most people would be able to relate to his love song.  We all have insecurities in our lives that keep us from doing what we want to do.  They can even distract us from what really matters in life, specifically our relationship with God.  As depressing as this poem is, I think it is a great reminder that if we keep dwelling on our insecurities or even living in regrets of the past we will find that it gets us now where.  Take this poem for example, Alfred wanted to ask a girl out but my the end of the poem that wasn’t even what he was writing about anymore, he became so wrapped up in his own self-loathing that he completely forgot about the girl he was writing to in the beginning. 

T. S. Eliot wrote this poem around the time of the First World War.  I think this says a lot about what people were feeling during this time.  It must have been quite life changing to witness a war where it seemed like everyone was fighting each other.  There must have been very little hope that the world could recover from such a traumatic event.  This feeling of hopelessness is definitely present in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and I bet many people during that time in history could relate to it. 

Sunday Morning

This poem by Wallace Stevens was not at all what I expected it to be.  When I think of Sunday mornings, I think of having a delightful breakfast with my family and then going to church.  For me, Sunday mornings have always been one of my favorite times of the week.  It makes me sad to think that Stevens probably wouldn't agree. 

Although I can see Steven’s point that death is what makes things beautiful, I would have to disagree.  I think heaven or paradise or eternity is going to be unimaginably beautiful.  Unimaginable is the point I want to make, for perhaps the reason we may be apprehensive about an unchanging place is because it is so foreign to us.  We live in a place where everything changes so what are we to compare heaven with?  Perhaps God intentionally didn’t give us the ability to imagine such a life but I have no doubt that He has created a place for us that will go above and beyond our expectations.  

Mending Wall

Growing up in the country just outside of a small South Dakota town, the idea of privacy fences are a little bazaar to me.  I am used to fences that keep the cattle out of my back yard (hopefully anyway) or to keep my dogs from running into town all the time.  It is quite appalling to me that someone would build a fence simply for privacy from the neighbors.  I can kind of see people’s point in building one in a city where your neighbor’s house is less than two feet away but in Robert Frost’s poem, Mending Wall, the two men were farmers.  When I finished reading this poem, I thought it was sad that they thought good fences made good neighbors because from my experience the best neighbors are the ones who don’t care if you’re in their yard and maybe don’t even know where the property line is. 

It makes me sad to think that my generations and the generations to come are just going to make this worse.  I loved growing up with the freedom of running around through fields and pastures not knowing who owned what parts.  It’s crazy to think that Frost wrote this in 1914 when I feel that his poem has so much significance in what is happening in our world today.  People have become so obsessed with privacy that it is starting to become ridiculous.  Going into nursing, I have had to learn a lot about HIPPA and all the privacy policies it includes.  It often scares me that I will say the wrong thing to the wrong person and accidently step out of my bounds of what I’m allowed to say.  If you ask me, our right to privacy has gone a little too far.

Brrr! Brrr! Brrr!

Just reading Jack London's To Build A Fire made me cold! Also a little depressed. It was such a sad story. I remember thinking at the beginning of the piece that this probably isn't going to end well.  And then the man started getting a little overconfident in his ability to stay alive - that's when I knew he was going to die. Although there were only two characters in the story (and one of them was a dog), I really enjoyed London's style of writing.  As a reader, I found it very easy to comprehend and follow unlike Crane's The Open Boat piece.  Surprisingly, I found To Build a Fire similar to Dreiser's Sister Carrie in that both main characters made repeatedly dumb choices.  Although London's main guy was overconfident and Sister Carrie was innocently naive, these characters strangely reminded me of each other. 

I also really liked the way London contrasted the man's human intelligence with the dog's natural instinct.  I thought it was a very creative and subtle way to show that although humans may have more intelligence, sometimes our "smartness" gets in the way.  When we start to become overconfident in our knowledge, we often end up looking dumb and having to pay for it - like dying while traveling on foot in Alaska without a partner. 

A Boating Adventure

Stephen Crane's, The Open Boat, was a very interesting read.  I liked knowing that it was based on Crane's own experience.  However, I think I would have liked his exact account of the incident better than this fictional telling.  I had a really hard time following what was going on sometimes. I would often find myself lost with what was happening or which character Crane was talking about. This made it difficult for me to get into the story because I was constantly wondering what was going on. 

However, there was one part of the story that I really connected with - when the crew had to finally jump out of the boat because it was sinking and they had to swim to shore. Crane describes how cold the water was and how hard it was to swim in.  When I was in Alaska for a mission trip, we decided to go swimming in one of the lakes.  Although it was the middle of June, the air and water temperature were only in the low fifties.  However, this didn't stop us, so we jumped in.  Obviously it was very cold but I also found that I couldn't swim.  The water was so cold that I had trouble breathing much less moving my arms and legs to keep me afloat.  When Crane described this part, my experience in Alaska immediately popped in my head and it made their struggle much more vivid for me - oh how hard and scary that must have been!

In class we talked about Crane's story being the only one of the three pieces that we read for naturalism that had a sense of teamwork involved in surviving.  The way the crew worked together in staying afloat played a huge role in keeping them all alive for the majority of the story. What I find funny, as well as encouraging, is that The Open Boat was also the only one that was based on a true story. 

Dear Sister Carrie...

I'm not going to lie, reading through two chapters of Dreiser's novel, Sister Carrie, was challenging.  When I first started reading, I found it really distracting that Dreiser kept pulling back to narrate what was happening in the story. It was a very strange type of writing, and it reminded me a lot of watching a movie with the director's commentary on.  Dreiser would give readers extra details about Sister Carrie's background and comment on scenes as they were playing out.  At first I thought it was kinda cool but then I just got really annoyed at jumping back and forth.

Also with this novel, I really wanted to shake Sister Carrie for being so naive! That or write her a letter and tell her to get off of the train and go back home, cause she was so not ready for what was ahead - she couldn't even make it to the city before getting into trouble! When I began reading, I almost pitied her for being so innocent, but then I just became irritated that she was being so dumb.  Growing up in a very small town myself, I was hoping she would represent the country life a little better.  However, I was severely disappointed because Dreiser lets us know pretty quickly in the novel that Sister Carrie has zero street smarts when she gives out her new address to a complete stranger who also happens to be a complete creep.

Perhaps I would have to read the novel in its entirety to completely understand the story Dreiser was trying to tell.  However, from what I got from the reading we had to do, I'm not so sure.  Maybe if Sister Carrie grew a brain...

Washington vs. Du Bois

This past week in class we were asked to choose between Booker T. Washington's approach to African American equality and W. E. B. Du Bois's tactics. After reading both of their pieces in our anthology, I felt more inclined towards Washington's ideas. Although I think Washington's subtle approach as well as Du Bois' more aggressive methods were both essential in the process of African American equality, I connected more with Washington's humble character and his views on unity.

I think Washington recognized that equality wasn't something that was going to happen quickly.  Although he wanted it just as much as any other African American, he was selfless in his understanding that he would probably only play a part in its long journey. Du Bois however, aggressively fought for African American equality and expected to see it happen in his lifetime. While he had every right to expect this, I don't think he was seeing things very realistically. From my experience with change, it is always painfully slow and never seams to happen they way we want it to. However, does this mean we should move along with the speed of change or fight against it hoping to quicken its pace? Would African American equality be where it is today if thinkers like Du Bois didn't fight hard for it for their own generation?

The Promised Land

"The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land." - W. E. B. Du Bois - The Souls of Black Folk 

It must have been very frustrating to be an African American in Du Bois's time.  Although the Emancipation Proclamation and the Civil War Amendments had given African Americans their freedom and their rights, most were still discriminated against and seen as second class citizens.  I can imagine that this new "freedom" was not as freeing as many were expecting.  

I really liked how Du Bois compared their lack of freedom to the Israelite's promised land.  Just as the African Americans did not get what they were expecting in their new freedom, the Israelite's promised land was not anything like they were anticipating either. When the Israelite's entered the land of Canaan, there was a massive famine taking place in the land - not exactly a land flowing with milk and honey. It took many years for the Israelite's to take over their promised land and as frustrating as it must have been for African Americans during the late eighteen hundreds and on, their sense of freedom was a slow process that took many years to come about; and some would say it is still not completely found today. 

Happy People

Wow! What a brilliant and insightful person Washington was. While reading through his excerpt from Up From Slavery I got the feeling that I would've loved to listen to him speak. From his writing, he comes across as a very humble and genuine person. Because of this, his argument often seems subtle, but it is also very strategic and powerful. 

Just reading about how he grew up, I can't imagine having such a drive for learning. It makes me feel like I under appreciate the opportunities I have in furthering my own education. Learning about how much effort Washington had to put towards even getting to school, I should really start to be more grateful.  

"I have found that the happiest people are those who do the most for others; the most miserable are those who do the least." - Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery

I love this quote. Imagine how happy people would be if they started to care more for others than themselves! Washington's words remind me of what Paul says in his letter to the Philippians. 

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vein conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." - Philippians 2: 3-4

So perhaps instead of trying to find happiness within ourselves (like so many self-help books suggest) we should simply do good to others and the joy of serving will fill us with inexplicable happiness. :)

Cheating?

We talked in class this week about how Hemingway, along with others, believe that everything Twain wrote after chapter 30 was cheating in terms of what a realism novel should be.  Although I agree that the novel had a very different feel to it during this section, I have a hard time calling it cheating.  Maybe it was Twain's intention all along to make it more of a fantasy novel towards the end.  Either way it was completely up to Twain how he wanted to write the story.  I do find it interesting however that he chose to go this direction with novel.  Going back to the first few chapters, it almost seems like a completely different book.  Maybe Twain's notice at the beginning of the novel was also an indication that he was going to take his readers in a variety of directions.  Perhaps he put it there to prepare us for the less realistic parts of the story and to tell us not to take it too seriously.  

Ok, was anyone else seriously annoyed with Tom and his idiotic plans?  I had such a hard time getting through the last couple chapters cause I just wanted to shake Tom and tell him his ideas were dumb and unnecessary.  I was also a little angry with Huck for just going along with it even though he knew they were terrible plans.  And poor Jim! I would've been so upset with Tom if I was Jim. As likable as Huck is, there are not a lot of good qualities in Tom.  For me at least, he is a hard character to put up with.  Is it bad that I was happy he got shot playing out his senseless plan? 

Probably time to start this...

Well...I have been putting this off long enough.  Since I have never blogged before and would never consider myself a person that would ever blog this could be interesting.  It is required for this class however, so i guess i'll give it a try.  We just finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn this week. I've never read this novel and i'm not going to lie, I wasn't very excited to read it.  Much to my surprise, however, I actually enjoyed reading about Huck's crazy life.  Twain writes Huck to be such a likable character that its hard not to jump onto the raft with him and Jim as they venture down the river.  

I found it very interesting that Twain took a three year break between writing the first seventeen chapters. To me, the story had a different feel after this lengthy break in writing, although that might just be because I knew he wrote that section at a different time when I read it.  However, I think Twain starts to move away from the realism he had at the beginning of the novel and starts to tell more of a fantasy adventure novel.  I actually enjoyed this section of the book the best probably because I am a fan of fantasy novels.  In my opinion the story started to flow better with chapter 18 as well.  It became easier for me to engage with the characters and events that were happening.