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.