Frankenstein - 10

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on" (Shelley, 165).

The motif of abortion came through in a few different aspects of the novel. First, the easiest to be noted, the creature felt aborted by his creator. Much like a woman wrongly decides to abort her child, the creature felt the same way. He felt that Victor held a responsibility with his creation for the creation and is aborted and left in the dust by his creator. Likewise, the creation is an unwanted life who only wants his chance at a happy life. Next, the female creation is aborted by Victor again. Victor creates all of the abortions of the novels through his action. In the creation process, the female is aborted much like Victor's abortion of the creature. Lastly, Victor causes Walton to abort his dream and goals. The warning from Victor evokes fear in Walton's plans of his voyage. Through this, Victor causes the abortion of Walton's "baby" his dreams of passing current scientific barriers. 

Frankenstein - 9

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"'Like Adam, I was apparently united by no link to any other being in existence, but his state was far different from mine in every other aspect'" (Shelley, 92).

The dynamic relationship between Victor and the creature is demonstrated through the events of the novel. The creature and Victor depend on each other through their relationship. When Victor wants to cross scientific barriers, the creation of the creature was a must. Likewise, the creature depended on Victor's knowledge to create a similar companion. While both Victor and the creature blame their misfortunes on one another, they also need each other for their achievements and wants. Victor hated the creature for bringing his dismay and demise of his close friends and relatives. The creature blamed Victor for making him a loner without a companion to share his life with. Although each do not like one another, they both needed to realize how much their livelihood and goals depended on one another. When Victor decided to destroy the female creature, he created his fate much like when he decided to create the creature in the first place. Furthermore, much like the creature's allusion to Adam, Eve, and their creator's story, the story of Victor and the creature could have followed a similar story. If Adam's creator refused to create his companion, Eve, misfortune could occur. 

Frankenstein - 8

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"'Shall each man,' cried he, 'find a wife for his bosom, and each beast have his mate, and I be alone? I had feelings of affection, and they were requited by detestation and score. Man! you may hatel but beware! Your hours will pass in dread and misery, and soon the bolt will fall which must ravish from you your happiness forever'" (Shelley, 122-123).

A main irony of Frankenstein resonated in each other's want for a companion. Walton, Victor, and the creature all wanted the same thing in their life: a companion. Walton found his in Victor, Victor found his in Elizabeth, and the creature wanted one created by Victor. Through the story, Victor destroys everyone's companion through his actions. By deciding to destroy the female creature, Victor destroy's the creatures companion. The anger of the creature caused the demise of Elizabeth, Victor's companion. The despair from Elizabeth's demise cause Victor to loose his grip on life and die. Victor's death destroyed Walton's companion, Victor. Through all of this, Victor and the creature feel resentful of their actions. Victor's resonates in the creation of the creature. The creature's resonates in all of the violent and evil acts he committed. The similarities between the three frame story narrators shows how each person's actions caused a domino effect on the other's lives.

Frankenstein - 7

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"I shall be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley, 123).

The creatures warning to Victor was obviously not taken seriously. The threat of Victor's wedding night did not seem to resonate properly in Victor. The foreshadowing of the quote is clearly that the creature will be haunting Victor's every joyous life event. From this, Victor could have waited until the creature was dead before having a wedding even though Victor thought the opposite was a better idea. The foreshadowing of the quote initially sparked the idea that the creature would be with Victor to ruin the occasion and cause agony for Victor. In reality, the creature comes to murder the love and compassion in Victor's life. Much like other foreshadowing in Frankenstein, the events were mostly clear and all of the foreshadowed events happened as they were mentioned. The fear of Victor created by the creature ended up ruining the life of Victor leading up to the wedding. Lastly, Victor's fear of the creature he created allowed for his demise especially of all of his friends. 

Frankenstein - 6

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"The die is cast; I have consented to returen, if we are not destroyed. Thus are my hopes blasted by cowardice and indecision: I come back ignorant and disappointed" (Shelley, 160).

Towards the tail end of the novel, Victor's influence on Walton is finally revealed. After telling his story to Walton, Victor influences Walton's further discoveries with his warning. When Victor refuses to tell Walton of the full process of the creation of the creature, he puts fear into Walton's further plans. Walton began by stating that he was going to have no fear in their scientific endeavors. After speaking with Victor, Walton begins to doubt the courage that initially possessed him. Even though Victor tells the crew to be faithful and courageous in their scientific findings, Walton decides on his own to listen to his crew. Through this, Walton decides to not take risks for his life scientific goal. Furthermore  Walton and Victor are foil characters after the change in Walton. Where Victor went to any lengths to follow his dreams, Walton is giving his up out of fear. The fearless connection between the two characters is lost when Walton decides that it is time to pack up and go home. When Victor followed through with the design of the creature even with his professor warning him not to. Walton listens to the warnings of an individual and sacrifices the dreams and plans of his future. 

Frankenstein - Novel Set-up

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"But I consented to listen, and seating myself by the fire which my odious companion had lighted, he thus began his tale" (Shelley, 70).

Frankenstein is set upon a continuous frame story in order to reach all of the elements of the plot. From the start of the novel with the letters, the frame story began in order to set up the events of the novel. From there, the novel sets into the events of Victor's life that was set up by the letters from Walton to his sister. The main part of the novel falls into Victor's story to Walton. In this though, the minor frame instances occur specifically with the different letters. These letters also allow for the constant realization that the story is based on the retelling of a story from Victor's point of view. From this point of view, the story could differ based on Victor's biases. Furthermore, another frame story occurs when Victor agrees to listen to the Creation's tale of what he has done since he was created. The frame story also continues to allow suspense throughout the novel from the differing events where details are left-out because of the narrator. The suspense allow for the flow of the novel into the different aspects of the story.

Frankenstein - Parallelism

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Along with foreshadowing, parallelism is a key element in the story of Frankenstein. One specific example of a parallelism is between the relationships of Ernest and William to Victor and the Creation. Although the relationship between Ernest and William was a short passage, the similarities match closely to Victor and the Creation's at the start of the novel. The passage reads, "Presently Ernest came, and enquired if we had seen his brother: he said he had ben playing with him, that William ran away to hide himself, and that he vainly sought for him, and afterwards waited for him for a long time, but he did not return" (Shelley, 46). After Victor finished his life goal of the creation, the creation arose. Victor ran to hide as soon as he saw the finished creation. The creature did search for Victor but Victor hid as long as he could to stay away from the creature. Although the fate of Victor does not end like Williams, the similar set up of the story occurred to allow parallelism between the differing relationships. Also, this parallelism continued as a part of the frame story of the novel. 

Frankenstein - Foreshadowing

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"The guilty are allowed, by human laws, bloody as they are, to speak in their own defense before they are condemned" (Shelley, 69).

Many of the events that take place in Frankenstein foreshadow further events of the novel. The biggest one so far is in Justine's murder trial. At the point in the novel of Justine's trial, I was confused on the purpose of the trial. Sure it brought Victor back to his home. Other than that, I was not sure of the reason for the trial. Once Victor met his creation while on travels, everything clicked between the trial and the creation. The creation very carefully mentions that he needs to tell his side of the story because all accused are allowed to tell their side of the story before they are condemned. Much like Justine, the creation feels he is innocent to what he is accused of. In this foreshadowing from Justine's trial, many details can be noted for what is to come of the accusations brought against the creation. If going by Justine's trial, the creature is going to end up losing his trial because of circumstantial evidence. From there, I believe the story will meet the beginning of the novel where Victor is attempting to capture the innocent creation on the run.

Frankenstein - Krempe and Waldman

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

"'I am happy,' said M. Waldman, 'to have gained a disciple; and if your application equals your ability, I have no doubt of your success'" (Shelley, 28).

As Frankenstein seeks out information on his goal to do what no other human has done, he reaches two professors, Krempe and Waldman. The relationship between the two professors is that they are foil characters. As Krempe pokes fun at Frankenstein's reading and interest, Waldman finds an interest. Each time Krempe explained his dismay at the stuff Victor studied, Walman would find interest and worth. Through this, Victor is able to find support and criticism that was essential for the creature to finally be made. The natural human instinct to keep going after someone tells you cannot do something seems to drive Victor each time Krempe tells him he is foolish and that his studies have no worth. When Waldman praises Victor's studies, a natural human instinct is to take the praise to keep you going and drive you to reach the goal. Furthermore, the destiny of the project and dream was apparent through all of the pieces of the puzzle that led Victor to finally completing his lifework at his young age. Krempe and Waldman's relationship acted as a piece to the puzzle. Without the criticism of Krempe, Victor would not have been directed by Krempe to chemistry which Waldman was the professor of. The piece of the puzzle for the creation of the creature was through the support of Waldman that Victor received. 

Frankenstein - Characterization

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

"You seek the knowledge and wisdom, as I once did; and I ardently hope that the gratification of your wishes may not be a serpent to sting you, as mine has been" (Shelley, 13).

The bond between Robert Walton and Victor Frankenstein shows how both characters are similar. Through the similarity, both Walton and Frankenstein are characterized. Walton's early characterizing of wanting adventure and to discover something no other human has discovered parallels with Frankenstein's later explanation of his want and desired to do something no other human or scientist has done, understand the connection of life and death to conquer disease. Furthermore, both Walton and Frankenstein are characterized by their relationships to their families. Clearly, both distanced themselves from their families in order to reach their lifetime aspirations. Their "sisters" also showed how even their closest relationship was strained by their want and desire to leave their mark on the planet. Even though not every detail of Walton and Frankenstein is subsequently mentioned to characterize them, because of the understanding of their parallel, many assumptions can be made about both when either one of them has an experience. Through this, the understanding of both having loving families can be understood yet their father's did not approve of their yearning to follow their dreams. As Walton's father did not want him to read the books about the voyagers, Frankenstein's father did not want him to read the books about the varying scientists. 

APO 96225

"APO 96225" by Larry Rottman

The irony of the poem seems to take over the entirety of the poem. The young man knows what is going on in the war yet decides to tell his parents the good side of the story. Also, the mother very well knows what war is like. The mother asks for the real story of what is going on in the war. When he tells her, she then decides she really did not want to know it. The irony of the poem follows that although people ask for what is really going on, in reality, we do not really want to know. Like asking someone how they are, we do not really care what the question is, it is more about asking it. Sometimes when we ask for something we do not really care to know the details of, we get it by asking. The mother did that in this poem and ironically got the answer she should have expected from the beginning. Also, humor seems to follow along with the irony. The humor comes in the same sense that as soon as the young man bluntly says what he did, his mother decides she does not want to hear in. To return to that, he repeats his first statement: "Dear Mom, sure rains a lot here" (Rottman, 846).

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain

"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain" by Emily Dickinson

I feel like the title of this poem should be I am having a Funeral of my Brain. The poem seems to describe that the speaker is having something leave their brain. Also, the poem seems to correlate with someone who is growing old. As someone grows old, their memories and brain perseverance seem to diminish and sometimes they might find themselves feeling alienated. Through this, the person can feel alone when they forget something that they might think they should remember. Some of the poem such as in the third stanza seems to recognize that information was being lost yet find themselves missing information. The third stanza seems to be a break in the memory of the speaker as the speaker might remember something as they heard a "creak across my Soul" (Dickinson, 776). Following that, the speaker seems to feel alone as they notice the space in their brain where the memory previously was. The capitalizing of certain words also puts emphasis on the empty, lonely, and alienated feeling the speaker has as they are losing some of their memory. Lastly, the wording and placement of the title seems to put emphasis where the speaker might be unsure. The speaker seems to be conscious of the funeral for what they know yet pause before the statement that it is in their brain. The unsure nature of the title also seems to correlate that the person must have something similar to Dementia.

A Story of Wall Street

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

The subtitle of the short story seems to correlate with Bartleby and the narrator. Bartleby obviously seemed to serve as an example of what can happen to someone on Wall Street after time. As Bartleby slowly diminished while working, people on Wall Street must be similar to Bartleby. Likewise, the lawyer seems to find sympathy in Bartleby otherwise he would have fired him when Bartleby was responsive before. With no mention of his family or anything besides work, the lawyer must be another example of how Wall Street can ruin or effect someone directly.   The similarities between Bartleby and the lawyer also characterize the effects of Wall Street. Both are passive and okay with mediocracy. The lawyer does not seem to care that two of his employees are only sufficient half of the work day. Obviously he does not seem to care that they are not as productive as they could be. Likewise, Bartleby does not seem to pursue anything more than he is given or has. He is passive in his responses and does not care what his boss thinks of him when he says "I would prefer not to" (Melville, 654). Herman Melville obviously saw fault in the Wall Street system and wrote this to express his unhappiness on how the system must ruin people to their end like Bartleby.

Bartleby

Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville

"The report was this: that Bartleby had been a subordinate clerk in the Dead Letter Office at Washington, from which he had suddenly removed by a change in the administration" (Melville, 675)

At the conclusion of the story when Bartleby's past job was announced, I connected that Bartleby's job must of been the reason for his behavior at the law office. The author does not disclose any other information about Bartleby's past besides his job so obviously it has some significance. Sure some autistic disease could be it or that he was emotionally drained. Although all of that can be supported with other evidence, the author obviously included Bartleby's past job for a reason and not just to say it. Because of that, I believe that his job seems to describe his attitude and character at the law office. After burning mail that was initially intended for someone has to have some sort of effect on someone after a while. Bartleby obviously had a negative experience as he seemed to lessen his work as time went on. From his previous job, Bartleby must have been emotionally drained from realizing that letters he burned were important to that person at some point yet they did not have a chance to even receive them before they passed. Bartleby's unresponsive nature toward work seems to correlate with the unreceiveable letters that he burned. Likewise, I believe that Bartleby did not want to become emotionally attached to anyone or anything because like the letters that could have been filled with love or emotional messages, they can quickly be broken and burned. Such a job must have been depressing and put him into a state where he could not function emotionally like other people could. 

Miss Brill

Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield

"But even the band seemed to know what she was feeling and played more softly, played tenderly, and the drub beat" (Mansfield, 184).

Miss Brill seems to find loneliness in her life as she tries to find someone to relate with. Starting off, Miss Brill sets herself up for failure just by getting out the fur and putting it on. Based on the description, the fur seems to be creepy and seems to characterize Miss Brill to resemble the fur. Personally, if I saw someone walking around with fur that had eyes, I would be creeped out. Similarly  Miss Brill finds herself becoming alienated because of her tendency to eavesdrop on other people's conversations. Again, if someone with creepy fur was also creeping on my conversation  I would probably outcast them as well. Furthermore, the music in the background seems to follow everything Miss Brill is feeling. She even notes it herself that the music seemed to know what she was feeling. All of these traits of the short story characterize Miss Brill. The surroundings of Miss Brill reflect her character. She seems lonely and finds comfort in the fur that she wears. The music displays the different feelings of Miss Brill. Indirectly, a lot is learned about Miss Brill just by her surroundings rather than a direct description of her motives.

Death, be not proud

"Death, be not proud" by John Donne

"And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die" (Donne, page 972).

Death is mentioned to not be proud. Death is described to not be something to be proud of as it could come from "poison, war, and sickness" (Donne, page 971). The poem mentions that some find it to be mighty and dreadful yet no one should. The speaker continues to describe why death is not a proud moment. Death is described to be a poor death as a whole. Furthermore, death is mentioned to take some of the best men which is also why it is not proud. The speakers reasons for death to not be proud are logical. Many die well before they have time to even begin to live their life. Many people dying before their time could have made a lot out of their lives yet did not have the chance to live it. Furthermore, the speaker says that the poison, war, and sickness take away people unnecessarily. In our society today, people die from war everyday. The wars could potentially be avoided so the deaths were unnecessary  Lastly, people die of sickness everyday including malnutrition in less fortunate countries. These deaths could potentially be prevented so a life is wasted.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas

"Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas, page 968).

The poem has an opposite feeling towards death than "Crossing the Bar". While "Crossing the Bar" had a content and almost joyous feeling toward moving forward past death, "Do Not Go Gentle into The Good Night" uses the diction to display a dismay towards death. The repetition of "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" (Thomas, page 968) is mentioned four times in the length of the poem. The repetition in such a short piece puts emphasis on the line. Life is compared to a day. As the light lessens, the end of the life or day is nearing. Furthermore, saying that the light is dying is comparing the livelihood of someone to the light. As the light dims, life is coming nearer and nearer to its end. Words such as burn, rave, and blaze allow for a feeling of angst against death. The title of the poem sums up the opinion of the poem about death. The message is to not be at peace with leaving earth for the afterlife. Although the afterlife is characterized as That Good Night, the time leading up involves resent towards death. As many people resent death, the poem is describing that there should be more peaceful and calm attitude toward death as it is good in the end.

Crossing the Bar

"Crossing the Bar" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

"I hope to see my Pilot face to face when I have crossed the bar" (Tennyson, page 886).

The entirety of the poem acts as a comparison to someone passing from life to death. The bar seems to be the transition from life to death. The passing is described to be like sleep that when pulled out of the "boundless deep" (Tennyson, page 886). Being pulled out of the sleep would lead home to the afterlife. The Pilot mentioned at the end of the poem is seemingly God as it is capitalized and goes along with the comparison to the afterlife. Also, the author hopes for no sadness in leaving earth for the afterlife. Furthermore, the author describes moving into afterlife as embarking from life on earth. This poem seems to find joy and content with dying and moving into the after life. Embarking leads to an understanding of leaving for a journey and not going somewhere negative. Lastly, the embarking for the journey is backed up by the mention of going home from earth meaning the place after death is seen as a good place to be going and not a dread of leaving earth.

A Rose for Emily

"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner

"As we had expected all along, within three days Homer Barron was back in town. A neighbor saw the Negro man admit him at the kitchen door at dusk one evening. And that was the last we saw of Homer Barron" (Faulkner, page 287).

The motive behind the death in the short story takes up the entirety of the story. The one dead seems to be Homer. Emily had a past of not wanting to let go. Mostly with her father, Emily seemed to struggle to let go of him after he passed. Keeping him in the house after his death for a few days showed Emily not wanting to let him go and move out of her past. Clues such as Homer entering the home and never leaving and Emily's purchases lead to believe that Homer is dead at the end of the story. Emily also bought arsenic which is poisonous and did not want to confess what the arsenic would be used for. All of these motives lead to believe that Emily killed Homer. The motive behind the murder seemed to be his openness about his homosexuality. It is mentioned that he spent time with men out at bars. Along with Emily's struggle to let go, she probably did not want Homer to leave her even though there was no chance of them ever getting married so she killed him so he could not leave her. Emily also cannot let go of the past as she believes that she still does not need to pay any taxes.

The Lottery

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson

"Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box" (Jackson, page 265).

The symbol and purpose of the black box along with the tradition behind the lottery captivates the main theme of the short story. The theme of the people following the tradition blindly only because it is tradition and not because they know the true meaning of the lottery. Even though the people of the town are unenthusiastic about the lottery, no one wants to break the tradition even in the slightest by making a new box. Furthermore, the human sacrifice was initially to allow for healthy crops but the tradition was outdated and the townspeople did not understand it so there was no reason for the tradition. When mentioned to rid of the lottery, Old Man Warner said that was dumb and the young people were taking away from the tradition. In society today, people can be caught following traditions that could be cruel or unnecessary in current culture. Furthermore, people can find themselves following a ritual or tradition that is outdated and the meaning is not understood anymore. The scapegoat of the lottery was Tessie Hutchinson. Tessie was pick at random from the town. She acts as the sacrifice for the crops to flourish. In this way, Tessie became the scapegoat of the lottery for the townspeople.

Tom Leaves

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

"Go on, I trust you with him! There now - you're holding him gently! Hold him over the light, he loves the light! You see how the light shines through him?" (Williams, page 1281).

As Laura and Jim have a deeper conversation, Jim's purpose in the play is seen more clearly. Jim's purpose was to bring light to Tom's darkness. Tom has been trapped in a situation he wished to escape. Jim's convincing and timing of coming to the home gave light to the family. Just like the candle in the darkness of their home, Jim was the light in the darkness of the family. Jim perfectly showed up at the home when Tom had given up on living with his family and decided to move on  to follow his dreams. Likewise, Jim was the light Laura needed to shine through. Laura trusts Jim with her favorite glass unicorn that resembles Laura the closest out of her whole collection. Laura entrusts Jim with herself and then he breaks the unicorn and tells her he is engaged. By breaking the unicorn, he is breaking Laura to pieces like the horn of the unicorn that makes the unicorn a unicorn. Lastly, when Jim and Tom leave, Laura is left broken from opening herself up to Jim and Tom whom she trusted.

Jim Arrives

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

"Jim: You will regret it when they turn the lights off. Tom: I won't be here" (Williams, page 1269).

Scene Six of the play brought Jim to come to the home for dinner. Laura is described to be radiating like glass in sunlight. This temporary radiation seems to foreshadow that Laura will temporarily come out of her shell for Jim. The previous encounter with Jim in high school signifies that she will like him initially where she could open up to him. Although Laura is glowing, Amanda is still condescending toward Laura. Amanda directly neglects Laura by directly telling Laura she is sick of her nonsense. This intense confrontation could possibly break Laura down again where she will not want to be social. Furthermore, Jim seems to contrast Tom in a good way. Tom has not taken opportunity but has plenty of potential. Jim took opportunity but failed and is stuck where Tom is. Jim pushes Tom to go for his dreams even though his mother does not agree. Also for the first time, Amanda admits to Jim that she has spoken too much about her past and allows Jim to speak. This symbolizes Amanda letting Jim take a place in their family that is much needed for change from their downhill cycle of friction and unhappiness. 

Music of Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

"Alone she turns to look at her husband's picture. Dance music: "All the World Is Waiting for the Sunrise!"" (Williams, page 1255).

The music of the play adds to the events and emotions of the play. The music titled after the title of the play seems to occur and play when Laura's emotions and actions are the forefront of the play. With the correlation between Laura and the play in the entirety, the play most closely examines Laura and what happens to her as a result of her brother and mother. Furthermore, the playing of the theme music plays when someone begins to deeply discuss Laura. Other times it is played is when something around Laura disrupts her glass like qualities where she can break slowly from the pressure of her family. When Tom gets worked up and breaks some of her glass, the song is displayed showing that Tom's actions and words slowly break through and destroy parts of Laura. Another song, "All the World Is Waiting for the Sunrise!" also plays a role in describing Amanda. The song is played after Amanda looks at her husband's picture and then Tom describes the dancing of their time. Although I looked up the song and found it was playing a role of explaining the war situation in the story, Amanda seems to rely on the song as well. The lyrics of the song seem to resemble that Amanda has yet to give up her hope for the return of her husband and that drives her motives in the play.

Menagerie #2

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

"I've joined the Hogan gang, I'm a hired assassin, I carry a tommy-gun in a violin case! I run a string of cat-houses in the Valley! They call me Killer, Killer Wingfield, I'm leading a double-life, a simple, honest warehouse worker by day, by night a dynamic czar of the underworld" (Williams, page 1247).

Tom's exaggerating anecdote adds ironic elements to the play as well as give meaning to Tom's actions. When Tom goes on and on about the things he feels his mother believes he does when he stays out late, he is emphasizing that his mother over dramatizes his actions. Although Tom is willing to get away from his family like his father, he seems to actually care for his family.  Tom is expressing how he feels through his anecdote that he goes out for his own sanity. By Tom going out at night, he is refreshing himself for the next day where he will again feel suffocated. Furthermore, Tom's anecdote is ironic. His anecdote is about what harmful and crazy things his mother is doing to him yet his mother is doing nearly the same to him. He feels trapped in a crazy environment that he admits he wants to escape. What Amanda does not realize is that it is her pressure to not be like his father that is pushing him to be like his father and leave. The ironic part of the anecdote comes through when he says he is going to the movies yet she does not believe that he could simply just go to the movies. I believe that her pressure will shoot back irony when he actually does something more dramatic than going to the movies.

The Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

"And I could have been Mrs. Duncan J. Fitzhugh, mind you! But - I picked your father!" (Williams, page 1239).

The forefront of the beginning of the play is placed into the internal conflict of Amanda. Amanda is fighting with coping that she is not in her prime anymore. The internal conflict of Amanda reliving her past and her disappointment that her children are not like her, has drawn the external conflicts between each of the family members to the forefront as well. The conflict between Amanda and Tom is prevalent through her wanting him to not be like his father. Tom conflicts with Amanda and persists to drink and see movies. All of Tom's actions are worrying Amanda into believing she will follow the path his father did and leave the family. Although the conflict is between Amanda and Tom, it is effecting Laura as well. Although all three of the family members are in conflict, Amanda seems to be the center of all the madness of the family. By keeping in her past and her attempts to relive her glory days, Amanda is putting immense pressure on her children to be exactly how she wants them to be. This pressure is leading to the conflicts between Amanda and Tom and conflicts between Amanda and Laura. These conflicts together allow for Tom and Laura to be conflicting on their ideas of how to deal with their mother's pressure.

The Drunkard

"The Drunkard" by Frank O'Connor

"'My brave little man!' she said with her eyes shining. 'It was God did it you were there. You were his guardian angel'" (O'Connor, page 351).

The first piece of the story that caught my attention was the separation between Mr. Dooley and the father. Although they were from different classes of the society they lived in, both Mr. Dooley and the father were able to get to know each other personally. I was confused though when Father did not want to go to Dooley's funeral. When he got there though, a man who did not know Dooley was there yet Father did not want to come there at all even though he was friends with Dooley. Another disturbing and confusing action of the story came with Father's work. Father did not want to miss half a day of work to go to Dooley's funeral yet was fine getting drunk the night before work and not going to work. The ethics of Father perplexed me in many of the descisions but specifically his differing opinion about skipping work. Another thing I noticed with the story was the focus of the society. It was fine for Father to be drunk and skip work. When the son got drunk, all the attention shot on him when it was really his father's fault. Like in our society, things seem to go unnoticed when an adult does it but if a child does the same thing, more attention is placed on them rather the adult. Just like the attention being on the child, the title seems to display the direct attention to the child rather than the father. 

Once Upon a Time

"Once Upon a Time" by Nadine Gordiner

"Next day he pretended to be the Prince who braves terrible thicket of thorns to enter the palace and kiss the Sleeping Beauty back to life: he dragged a ladder to the wall, the shining colied tunnel was just wide enough for his little body to creep in, and with the first fixing of its razorteeth in his knees and hands and head he screamed and struggled deeper into its tangle" (Gordiner, page 236).

Shifts of emotion and atmosphere occur throughout the parts of this short story. The first emotion came in the first paragraph of the story. The emotion of a predisposed superiority came through from the narrator's diction. Following the first paragraph, the snippet before the beginning of the story of the family created an emotion with suspense. The atmosphere left me feeling that it was a nightmare of the narrator. Furthermore, as the story progressed into the story of the family, atmosphere changes began to come about more severely. The first atmosphere of the nearly perfect family in a perfect society placed a happy, perfect atmopshere. When the mention of the people trying to get in and the son finding interest in the gate speaker, I began to notice a shift of the atmosphere of an erie, futurisitc atmosphere marked by the separation of the classes that reminds me of many different sci-fi movies. As the families became more and more protected, the atmosphere became more and more dark until the boy decides to attempt to be brave and escape. The overall atmosphere of the story was that of perfection not being perfect and the flaws put in by attempts to be perfect.

Edward

"Edward" by Anonymous

"O I have killed my father dear, Alas, and woe is me, O!" (Anonymous, page 978).

The central focus of the poem sits with Edward's admittance of killing his father. Edward seems to have no connection with his family. He admits to killing his father and wanting to leave his family in order to penance for what he has done. To his mother, he tells her that he is leaving his burden behind for her. I find Edward to be reluctant to make his family his own and he seems to want to get out of his family. Edward's comparison of his father to the hawk and steed are indirect yet serve a pupose of attempting to disect what has occurred between Edward and his family. The repitition of "Edward, Edward" and "Mother, Mother" serve to create a dialogue between Edward and his mother. Each of them seem to be pleading to each other which is created by the repetition of "O" throughout the entirety of the poem. The repeated lines of the poem also serve to create suspense and intensity with emphasis on the repeated lines. The climax of the poem occurs when Edward confesses to killing his father. Before the climax, the first line of each stanze began with a statement about what Edward has perviously stated. The stanzas are full of questions made out of what Edward was doing before he spoke with his mother. After the climax, the first line of each stanze was a question about the situation Edward had at hand. The stanzas after were dealing with what Edward had planned for the future of himself and of his family. Lastly, the mystery of the poem and details of the family's life create power and suspense in the poem.

Those Winter Sundays

"Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden

"When the rooms were warm, he'd call, and slowly I would rise and dress, fearing the chronic angers of that house" (Hayden, page 781).

This poem was full of imagery and language that made me conclude the topic of this poem was an abusive father. The father is described with cracked hands, waking the the blueblack cold, and unthanked. The house is described as being cold, with fires blazing, and with chronic anger. All of the details led me to believe this along with the last line with love's austere and lonely offices. The house has an overall feeling of cold, lonely, and without love while the father seems to be cold with anger which creates the heat and anger of the home. The "what did I know, what did I know" (Hayden, page 782), implies that the child did not know any differently than the experience in the home. The various images created from the imagery also contributed to the central image of abuse or hardship for the child in the home. Words such as blueblack cold, cracked hands, ached, fires blaze, chronic angers, fearing, lonely, splinting, and breaking create the imagery and description. The descriptions of the home and father allow for further evaluation of the events and home where the child is seen deeper and more personally. Without even knowing much about the child directly, the child's character and being shines through with the general images and language put forward through description.

A Worn Path

"A Worn Path" by Eudora Welty

"She entered a door, and there she saw nailed up on the wall the document that had been stamped with the gold seal and framed in the gold fram, which matched the dream that was hung up in her head" (Welty, page 228).

As Phoenix walks her journey to town, many descriptive similies and metaphors added to the make up of the setting of the story. The comparision of the trees to black men and the tree in the pearly cloud of mistletoe added to the composition as a whole. Another aspect I noticed was that everyone Phoenix encountered called her either Grandma or Granny. Phoenix had no known relation to any of the people she encountered, yet she seemed friendly to all of them as if she was their grandmother. The society Phoenix lives in seemes to be very futurisitc with the notes of barbed-wire fence and the document in town. The society seemed Hunger Games-ish as they were hunting and seemingly contolled by some higher official. Firthermore, Phoenix seemed to dramatize everything she encountered on her walk. She spoke to a scarecrow and something she deemed a ghost. Lastly, the characterization of Phoenix at the beginning of the story led to an image of a poor, feeble woman that was attempting to earn her own living for her grandson. The grandson also seemd to be made up by Phoenix in order to attain the medicine from town. 

A New Manhood

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

"He finally come into his manhood today, didn't he? Kind of like a rainbow after the rain..." (Hansberry, page 151).

Through the progression of the play, Walter has changed a great deal. The money played a key role in his significant change through the stages of the play. Before the money came, Walter had his dream and plan for his family. He wanted to break through the limits of the blacks so he could start his liquor store. This plan in conjunction with the money allotted by Mama, led Walter to become nearly crazed with his plan to get out of the money trouble they faced. Once the money was gone, Walter seemed to slowly regain his previous personality but in a better light. He came from his dream to reality and took his current situation and used practical means to better their lives. By telling of Linder the second time, Walter took his families' situation into his own hands without taking opportunity from his sister. Mama comments on Walter's new manhood at the end of the play. She compares his selfish times to rain and his new change to the rainbow that seemed inevitable to come after the times of rain.  

Mama's plant played a role in comparing their journey to a better life. The plant was describe to be wilted and in dark light. Mama cared for the plant but wanted a home with a nice big garden instead of just her plant. At the end of the play, Mama comes back in for the plant as the final goodbye to their apartment. In doing so, Mama is taking their past experience and life with the to the new house where they can build upon their past life and create a future for themselves.

Money and Money

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

"Well - I don't understand why you people are reacting this way. What do you think you are going to gain by moving into a neighborhood where you just aren't wanted and where some elements - well - people can get awful worked up when they feel that their whole way of life and everything they've ever worked for is threatened" (Hansberry, page 118).

Many negative aspects come along with being a black person in Chicago during the time of this play. Walter has experienced different aspects throughout the play. Most importantly, Linder becomes a major negative aspect to Walter's surroundings when he comes to the apartment in Act 2, Scene 3. While Linder attempts to persuade the Youngers to not move into their new home, Walter is offended and fixes the situation by kicking Linder out of the house. Furthermore, Walter experiences similar negative aspects to being black as he is embarking on his business deal. Ruth points out that it is harder for him to get a deal because he is black so Walter seeks to prove Ruth wrong. Walter also changes his life story when he speaks to George. He finds George telling of his great journeys to expensive cities. Walter uses this to attempt to change his life story in order to fit into the situation at hand. 

When Walter reveals he loses the money in Act 2, Scene 3, he displays that he will do anything to get what he wants. By losing his sister's college money, he selfishly takes from the family in a selfish act. Walter attempted to use the money to find a new way of life but instead creates a "point of no return" for his family as he has lost vital money for himself and his sister.

Chicago Blacks

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

"Ain't it something how bad these here white folks is getting here in Chicago! Lord, getting so you think you right down in Mississippi!" (Hansberry, page 100).

The setting begins to play an important role as the play transcends into Act 2, Scene 2. As Chicago is turning into a society against blacks, the Youngers are facing their dilemma of moving. Mrs. Johnson tries to persuade them against moving to a white neighborhood where their safety is put into danger. The setting adds to the overall mood of the play as their suppressed black heritage is holding the Youngers back from achieving their dreams and potential.

Furthermore, in the same conversation with Mrs. Johnson and Mama, a contrast between Mrs. Johnson and Mama became apparent in their differing opinion on the situation of black people in Chicago. With a differing opinion on topics including Booker T. Washington and job potential, Mama and Mrs. Johnson obviously contrasted each other. Mrs. Johnson also takes a jab at the Younger's home as she called them a "proud-acting bunch of colored folks" (Hansberry, page 103). 

A "point of no return" occurred when Mama decided to allow Walter to handle the money. I was surprised when Mama decided to give Walter the money as she seemed set in her ways that she did not agree with Walter's plan. Mama's feeling that she needed to give Walter his chance to live his dream was a risk that she took in order to make her son raise his esteem. 

Assmilation

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

"It means someone who is willing to give up his own culture and submerge himself completely in the dominant, and in this case oppressive culture" (Hansberry, page 81).

From the span of two scenes, Beneatha finds herself contradicting herself in her opinions of her own heritage and culture. After Asagai comes over to the apartment, Beneatha changes her opinion of her culture to reflect his views. From such a simple conversation, Beneatha surprised me when she cut off all of her hair in order to conform to Asagai's idea on respecting their heritage. Furthermore, Asagai blames Beneatha for assimilating herself to fit the American culture. Beneatha turns that on George in return for commenting on her new hair style. 

Beneatha's change in two acts was unexpected as she seemingly would have most likely kept her American look in order to fit into the society she was in. 

A difference in generations was apparent through Mama. Mama compares Walter to Big Walter. "Once upon a time freedom used to be life - now it's money. I guess the world really do change..." (Hansberry, page 74). Mama uses this to compare that Walter is seeking money though any means while during her time with Big Walter, freedom is all they searched for in their society. Through this comparison, Mama is able to show a differential gap between her generation and the current generation.

A Raisin in the Sun

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

"This morning, I was lookin' in the mirror and thinking about it... I'm thrity-five years old; I been married eleven years and I got a boy who sleeps in the living room - and all I got to give him is stories about how rich white people live..." (Hansberry, page 34).

A clash of opinions within the Younger household is made apparent in the first scene of the play. Walter, more than anything, wants to excel by starting his own liquor shop. Although Ruth and Mama are pushing him away from his idea, he feels the need to start the shop in order to make a better way of life for his family. Walter hopes to attain a lifestyle where his son does not have to sleep in the living room or worry about money for his family. Much like Walter, Beneatha wants a better lifestyle for herself by getting an education and being able to support herself without a man. Ruth, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with Walter and Beneatha's dreams and acts as a contrast to their ideas. Each time Walter would mention his aspiration of his store, she found reasons why everything was not good enough. Furthermore, Ruth and Beneatha act as direct contrasts in appearance and attitude. While Ruth is older, a homemaker, and rougher in complexion, Beneatha is younger, educated, and handsome. 

A symbol that is seeming apparent is money. A contrast between Ruth and Beneatha put the symbol to the test. Ruth believes money is what brings the man and the love will follow. Beneatha  would much rather provide for herself and find love in a man. 

Interpreter of Maladies

Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

"She walked slowly, carrying some puffed rice tossed with peanuts and chili peppers in a large packet made from newspapers" (Lahiri, page 149).

The ignorance of Mrs. Das captivated the entirety of the short story. I did not notice until after the conclusion of the short story that Mrs. Das' rice would play such an important role in the story and was mentioned early in the story but left unnoticed. The story is full of intense description of events and people. Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi are both dissected early in the story on pages 148 and 149 leaving a distinct image of them for the remainder of the story. Further into the story I found an oxymoron of "humorless jokes" (Lahiri, page 151). The oxymoron allows for a greater understanding of the quite different focus of the story line. Mr. Kapasi's address seems to play an important role in the outcome and events of the story. Once Mrs. Das revealed her long kept secret, the address seemed to simbolize her readiness to leave the life she was a piece of. Mrs. Das' ignorace came into play when she did not understand the surroundings she was in and carelessly did not pay attention to the rice she was dropping for the monkeys. When her child of a different man was attacked, she seemed to notice that she was internally attacking the issue she has at hand with an outward attack of the reminder of her past careless and ignorant actions. The address flying away allowed for Mrs. Das to return to her previous life of lies as she is left with the past mistake she made for the remainder of her life and nothing could fix that for her. 

Everyday Use

"Everyday Use" by Alice Walker

"Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him" (Walker, page 174-175).

The immediate reaction to the short story was specifically displayed in this quote on the second page of the story. Immediately, the narrator, the mom, points out the flaws she sees in her own family and the culture she feels excluded from. The entire short story wraps around the theme that the narrator is resisting the urge to conform to the society that her own daughter has fell victim to. The mother discusses how her eldest daughter decides to change her name to a cultural name to reflect her stance of the importance of her culture. Furthermore, Maggie seems reluctant to the culture that she was brought up in as her mother displays in the quote as the image of Maggie sliding up to a person who is rich is implied. Likewise, Maggie seems to be a foil character to her  sister. Maggie embraces the culture of the new world they are living and trying to fit into it. Wangero seems to be reaching back into her roots and embrace the world and culture they all came from. The symbol of the quilts seem to display the direct contrast of the characters as Maggie is envisioned to not appreciate the quilt and let it ruin under use. Wangero states that she will hang the quilt in order to cherish her culture and pay hommage to her grandmother. 

Princess and the Frog

"Hazel Tells LaVerne" by Katharyn Howd Machan

"me a princess" (Machan).

Question three at the end of the poem brings out something I noticed as I read the poem. The lack of punctuation leaves the reader to identify the type of person the speaker is. The lack of punctuation and the line structures add the poem its own punctuation and flow. The lines are split up like a person would pause when reading the poem as more of a story of paragraph. Furthermore, the use of slang in the poem also lead me to initiate the thought that the speaker is an uneducated southern girl. Emphasis on certain lines also came across with the line structure of the poem. The speaker puts full emphasis on certain lines but also puts feeling and emotion in the poem of disbelief at the scene. The last two lines give a natural confusion break in the poem that allows for more understanding of the event. Therefore, from the line structure of the poem and understanding of the speaker's identity, I conclude that the poem  portrays the opportunity to be removed from a lower position by some sort of man or opportunity that is resembled in the frog. After the frog was removed from the speaker's room, the disbelief and shock of the speaker seem apparent as she immediately dwells on her dismissal of the frog and the opportunity that she passed up by ridding of the frog.

Mr.Z

"Mr. Z" by M. Carl Holman

"Prelate proclaimed them matched chameleon" (Holman).

The metaphor presented by Holman in the poem leads to a better understand of the poem. The chameleon provides an insight into the feelings toward his life. Chameleons change color to fit into their environment much like Mr. Z could change his personality or look to fit into the society that has left his doubting his own culture. The first line provides the first perspective into Mr. Z who believes his mother's skin was wrong initializing a thought that he was black. Furthermore, Mr. Z has given up his culture in order to become Anglo-Saxonized and fit in with the society he was thrusted into. The food mentioned in the last line of the second stanza further explains his background of being black as he denies them to be apart of his life as well. Another metaphor presented in the poem captured a fuller understanding of Mr. Z's personality. The metaphor, "An airborne plant, flourishing without roots" (Holman), allows for understanding that Mr. Z has walked away from his culture but in a positive way. As the metaphor initiates Mr. Z to be surviving without his culture, the immediate feeling portrayed is that normally people without their past cannot survive, yet Mr. Z seems to be finding himself in a good position without his culture leaving him to be a chameleon to whichever culture is the most accepted. 

Dream Deferred

"Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes

"Or does it explode?" (Hughes).

Question two at the end of the poem poses an interesting thought that I thought of myself once I notices Hughes was the author. From the context of Hughes' life, I decided the poem most similarly discussed the stuggles of a black man in the United States. The many similes and metaphor in the poem leave different images that seem to coincide with the different emotions a black person could feel in the society he lived in. The first simile provokes a feeling of shrinking, the next injury, and the next disgust. Furthermore, the rest of the language allows for feeling sof unappealing, inhibiting, and exploded. All of these emotions seem to add up to Hughes' feelings of uninvited tension between himself and the society he lived in. With emphasis on the last line with italics, Hughes seems to prevail that the last feeling he felt could have been a positive explosion that could correlate with the Civil Rights movement. Lastly, Hughes' open ended questions lead to believe that maybe he is unsure himself of what he is feeling. Maybe Hughes is leaving the questions open ended so each person in his similar situation can answer the questions themselves to relate to his feelings. The open ended questions leave the reader with a thought of wonder of what he is referring to as a dream deferred.

Poetry Interpretations

"The Nature of Proof in the Interpretations of Poetry" by Laurence Perrine

Perrine's attempt to explain that poetry can have correct and incorrect readings seems to be misleading. The second paragraph of the article gives reasons for why authors of poetry should not explain the meaning of their own poems. I happen to find myself agreeing on that particular part of the article. The mystery of the poem is what makes it desirable and allow varying interpretations for readers. If authors give away what they were writing about, the poem looses its ability to be flexible in meaning. From this paragraph, I believe Perrine seems to take an opposite opinion than my own. Much like song lyrics, poems allow can allow multiple interpretations. While a song can meaning on thing to one person, it can mean a totally different thing for another. The interpretation of a poem depends of the experiences of the person reading the poem and interpreting the poem.

As Perrine flows into the third paragraph of the article, he begins to stray from my beliefs for poem interpretation. Perrine states that a correct interpretation must account for all details of the poem. When Perrine flows into interpreting the four poems we discussed in class, he found all of the reasons for only one interpretation. Sure some of the details of Dickinson's poem lead for the poem to not be about a field, but the fun and mystery of the poem comes from the multiple interpretations of the poem. Furthermore, I disagree with using a post editor's title of "Sunset" as support for the meaning of the poem. Each person can have their own opinion and just because an editor believes in their own interpretation, it does not mean there is not more than one interpretation. The interpretation of Perrine is narrow sighted and not allowing for the artistic interpretations that poems can allow. Along with the two Civil War poems, I disagree that the second is only about stars. Although I can see where Perrine is coming from, I also believe that the poem can lead to an interpretation about a different era war.

The End

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 9 pages 174-180

"So we beat on, boast against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" 

(Fitzgerald, page 180).

The end has become bittersweet. With Gatsby's death, the rest of the people have moved on. I am glad that Nick has seemed to learn a lesson from Gatsby that is the lesson of the novel. Do not hold onto the past as it is your past. Move on with your life to bring new joy to your life. Gatsby seemed to hang onto the past of his life when it was nothing more than his past. When Jordan told Nick she was engaged, I was glad that Nick left. Jordan seemed angry that she could not have waited for Nick as she realized she was just like Daisy, but Nick let her go like he should have. Furthermore, I am glad that Nick decided to keep Gatsby's wish of taking the blame for Myrtle's death. Gatsby loved Daisy with all of his heart and life and his wish was to protect her in any way. He did that by dying for her and giving up his entire life for his one love

The book as a whole surprisingly keep my attention. I enjoyed reading the book and following the characters evolve and learn from their mistakes. As I compared it to many movies and television shows, my attention was kept with the same kind of story lines that occur in our culture today. The Great Gatsby has become one of my favorite historical books that I have read and I have enjoyed the connection the book and the characters have with our society today.

Always Together

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 9 pages 163-174

"The minister glanced several times at his watch, so I took him aside and asked him to wait for half an hour. But it wasn't any use. Nobody came." (Fitzgerald, page 174).

Nearing the end of the novel, I am quite saddened by the people of Gatsby's life. Luckily, Gatsby's father is found to be alive. Although I am confused at why Gatsby could not embrace his childhood life, his father seemed to understand why Gatsby was so distant. The revelation that Gatsby was trying to perfect himself seemed to shock me. I believe that Gatsby was running from something in his life. I am not fully aware of what exactly pushed him away from his former life, but he seemed to be content with his new life. Furthermore, I am still quite confused at what exactly his job was. The men that all acted as his fathers seemed to ditch him when he needed them the most. His actual father did not seek to find Gatsby in his new life, Dan Cody left Gatsby little after he died except someone to look after, and Wolfsheim failed to come to his funeral when Gatsby just needed friends. The business of Gatsby seemed to be in bootlegging which provided him a large sum of money. I am not sure why Wolfsheim, a friend, would not even come to his funeral as a gesture of kindness and compassion. Lastly, a comparison of the policemen and doctors at Gatsby's house reminded me of one of my favorite television shows, Pretty Little Liars. The show has a lot of death and mystery but Gatsby's death reminded me of the entirety of the show that is revolved around Allison's death. Her death has remained a mystery to the people of the town and many realized they did not know her as well as they thought, just like Gatsby. 

Goodbye Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 8

"It was the only compliment I ever gave him, because I disapproved of him from beginning to end" (Fitzgerald, page 154). 

Gatsby gone was surprising due to the one that ended up murdering him. Although the events seemed to be leading up to his death, I believed that Tom would kill Gatsby over Wilson. I do see that Wilson believes it was Gatsby who killed his wife and was having an affair with her but I would have thought he would have investigated a little better so he knew the full truth. When Nick said goodbye to Gatsby so he could go to work, I felt that the words led to the fact that it was their last meeting and their forever goodbyes. Furthermore, Nick's conversation with Jordan seemed to point that Jordan had told Nick something that he was left troubled. Although the end of Gatsby was to come, I felt that he left on a low note in his life. He spent his life making something of himself for Daisy. In the end though, Daisy brought his downfall with her careless driving and anger with her husband. The people of this time do not grasp that they cannot just marry for money or status. Daisy and Gatsby could have been happy together but since Daisy was impatient, she moved on without giving Gatsby a chance. Hopefully Nick can learn from Gatsby's mistake and make a life with Jordan as he himself is seeing him slowly getting older without having a stable life. Lastly, I find it interesting that Nick has admitted he disapproved of him the whole time he knew him. They seemed very close and friendly but obviously Nick felt differently than he wrote. I found Gatsby to be quite humbled in his life as he felt that his love was more important than the money he gained yet Daisy seemed to feel the money needed to come with the love. On a more random note to Gatsby's end, I am still confused on how he exactly made his money. I am not sure if the information just washed right over my head and I missed it or if the mystery of Gatsby will continue.

Surprise, Surprise!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 7 pages 136-145

"The "death car" as the newspapers called it, didn't stop; it came out of the gathering darkness, wavered tragically for a moment, and then disappeared around the next bend" 

(Fitzgerald, page 137).

I am quite surprised with the events of this section. At first, I was confused when Myrtle was found dead. I could not wrap my head around the event that came so surprisingly. First, I want to know what George Wilson knows about his wife and Tom. He was obviously angry with Myrtle for something and it seemed to be linked to Tom although I am not sure if George knew which man it was. As the police officer ran through what happened with Tom, I first thought she had committed suicide. The event seemed to point in that direction with me as her and her husband seemed to be having a heated argument just before she was killed that was until I found out the car was yellow. From the conversation prior in the chapter between Tom and George, Nick was sure to point out the yellow car of Gatsby's. I should have seen the hint as something important as they were very specific about his yellow car. When the color of the car came up from the policeman, something more suspicious came about. At that point, I believed that Myrtle was either trying to go away with Tom or get at his presumed wife, Jordan. Otherwise, though, the reason for Myrtle to run at the car was careless and even more distraught once I learned that Daisy was driving the car but Gatsby is willing to take the fall for her. I have a feeling that the heated tension between Daisy and Tom is going to lead to the downfall of all of their friends that think of them to be ready to end their marriage. Obviously Tom is committed to not losing his wife and I think he will go to all ends to make sure nothing gets in the way of that, even Gatsby. (Maybe George will take the same path but in vengeance for his wife's death.)

We Drove on Toward Death

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 7 pages 125-136

"So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight" (Fitzgerald, page 136).

I find the quote above to be very dark and sinister. After the blow up between Gatsby, Tom, and Daisy, I am afraid for the fate of the three. Tom has finally decided to come to terms with the fact that Daisy has been sneaking around with Gatsby recently. With this heated argument, I could not help but think about the fact that Tom has another person, too. I wonder if he thinks he can justify his relationship with Myrtle to Daisy but is angry at Daisy for justifying her relationship with Gatsby. I find many of these to people to be hypocritical but specifically Tom for this particular event. The quote I believe is foreshadowing events to come yet wrapping up the past event in the novel. At this point, Tom has given up any restraint he had and the full blown mess has arose in the heat of the argument. Nick, on the other hand, had realized for the first time in the day that it was his birthday. Nick obviously has himself so wrapped up in the situation that he has had no time for himself and when he realizes he has turned thirty, immediately speaks as if his life has already ended because he believes himself to now be old. From this, I believe the downfall of the story is about to occur. I do not believe that this has been the climax but so far, I believe that we are still leading up to a bigger breaking point where everything will totally fall quickly.

To Weave a Tangled Web of Love

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 7 pages 113-125

"Her expression was curiously familiar - it was an expression I had often seen on women's faced, but on Myrtle Wilson's face it seemed purposeless and inexplicable until I realized that her eyes, wide with jealous terror, were fixed not on Tom, but on Jordan Baker, whom she took to be his wife" (Fitzgerald, pages 124-125).

The dawning of a new chapter has brought a new, more tangled mess of a social web. Gatsby finds himself reinventing his home to suit his new secret life with Daisy. As all his staff are switched out and his parties die down, Gatsby has Daisy come to his house more often. Things do not heat up until Daisy invited Gatsby and Nick to come to her house one day. I found myself not surprised when I found out that Daisy knows of Myrtle Wilson and her husband yet she does not seem to care. Furthermore, I had no idea Daisy and Tom had a child. It is possible that it was mentioned earlier and I missed it, but I also found it strangely awkward for Daisy to have her child come out and meet Gatsby and Nick. The meeting of the child seemed to put a spark in my mind as Nick did not seem to know the child's name yet he is Daisy's cousin and I presumed that he would know those kinds of facts if he had been spending a great deal of time with her family. 

I have never heard of this book but the title seemed fitting.

Lastly, Alcohol seems to be growing in its role in the plot. The alcohol of the afternoon has taken over Tom's actions and made him quite rude and irresponsible. As far as alcohol's role in the entire story, I am finding it to be used by people to drown their feelings and mask themselves to be different people. As I am finding many of the characters to have another man or woman besides their husband or wife, I am also connecting that a lot of them drink. As Tom confided in Jordan and Nick that everyone thinks he is dumb, I believe that Tom is unraveling his mask of not caring about his wife having another man because he has another woman, that is, until he finds out his woman is planning on leaving with her husband to go west. And the web just keeps getting  larger as Myrtle believes Jordan is Tom's wife.

Time for Some Family History

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 6

"So he invented just the sort of Jay Gatsby that a seventeen-year-old boy would be likely to invent, and to this conception he was faithful to the end" (Fitzgerald, page 98).

Surprise, Surprise. Gatsby's past is finally revealed and definitely not what I expected. I will say that I was expecting cookie-cutter lifestyle story where Gatsby was only trying to get away from his childhood and make something of himself. Sure he made something of himself but in a different way than I imagined. At the beginning of the chapter before the retelling though, Gatsby's portrayal of his life reminded me of the movie Disturbia with Shia LeBeouf. Like the creepy neighbor, Gatsby seems to have the unknown factor that could cause harm or good to his friends at his house. I am pretty certain he will not turn into a killer with the bodies in his basement but I guess anything could happen at this point. 

Furthermore, I find it strange that I am still left in the cold on what Gatsby's exact job is and how he makes his living. The story of his "inheritance" seems to be masking a worse career of Gatsby as it is revealed he did not get the small inheritance he was supposed to earn. Adding to this, he made up a past that seemed pleasing to the people of his social class yet not totally true. This past, though, seems to have shaped Gatsby into a man who misses his young love and life on the boat so he pushes to isolate himself again in the same way. I found it further interesting the Gatsby took on the name Jay Gatsby from the man that left him some money in order to become a different man that the previous Gatsby had been. 

Lastly, I find it interesting the directness of Gatsby to Tom about him knowing Daisy. I believe that Gatsby is trying to put doubt into Tom's mind about his marriage so he will leave Daisy for his mistress that I presume Nick has told Gatsby about. 

How It Reminds Me of that Sitcom

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 5

"Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her" (Fitzgerald, page 93).

This was a totally crazy yet interesting chapter. As Gatsby offers Nick a job with good money for arranging his meeting with Daisy, I am baffled at the total difference from The House of Mirth. Gatsby is willing to give up money for his love, Daisy, but Lily would not give up her lifestyle based on money for a guy she loved, Selden. Through this, Gatsby humbles himself to where I believe Nick truly idolizes Gatsby for this although he declines the offer of the job.

Through this whirlwind of a chapter, a sitcom feeling has come about. Gatsby seems to be over stressed about meeting Daisy for the first time in a while. Along with this, Nick and Gatsby are not seeing eye to eye as Gatsby is obviously quite nervous where Nick just wants to get them together and leave as quick as possible. With most sitcoms, nothing seems to come easy and Nick struggles to get Daisy and Gatsby to be on a speaking basis about what has happened. My favorite part of this whole section is while Nick answers the door for Daisy and when he walks her into the living room, Gatsby is gone. Gatsby, though, has snuck out and knocks on the door in order to pretent that this was just a happening instead of a set up. Luckily things seemed to go as planned despite the many awkward and funny moments. Although I do not particularly like this show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager came to mind for this situation. Occasionally I will watch this show and although it is quite an entirely awkward show with awkward acting, I did watch an episode where one of the main characters, Ben, was figuring out a big plan for him to meet up with his forbidden girlfriend for a date. In the show though, it does not work out as planned yet this part of Gatsby reminded me of this episode.

Gatsby's Request

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 4 pages 69-80

"There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy, and the tired" (Fitzgerald, page 79).

As I met Wolfstein, I became even more confused with Gatsby's purpose in his life mystery. Gatsby mentions him to be an old friend yet I looked back on the list of the people who visited Gatsby's house the previous summer, and he was not listed at all. I figured friends of Gatsby would come to his parties. Furthermore, I could not decide if Wolfstein would be there for the purpose of having an excuse to run into Tom Buchanan or not and whether Wolfstein has a deeper connection to Gatsby's past than he lets show or no connection at all. 

The main focus of this section was in Gatsby's big request to Nick. The request as expected, came with more revelation of Gatsby's past. As Jordan explains the situation, I feel that Gatsby has given up his life to find Daisy again. Through this, I am able to feel that past in his life that he wanted to get rid of was losing Daisy and he used his parties as a distraction to the pain he felt from his lost love. I am pleased that Nick seems to feel that he should allow Daisy and Gatsby to feel the love that many of the time do not see openly. I find it quite ironic the love web that is going on currently. There is almost a lost idea of the marriage as all of the people seem to have some other person they would rather spend their time with other than their spouse. Gatsby is in love with Daisy who is married to Tom who has another woman, Mrs. Wilson who is married to Mr. Wilson. This almost makes me think of the love web from the movie She's the Man which says: Duke wants Olivia who likes Sebastian who is really Viola whose brother is dating Monique so she hates Olivia who's with Duke to make Sebastian jealous who is really Viola who's crushing on Duke who thinks she's a guy...

Why Nick?

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 4 pages 61-69

"Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder" (Fitzgerald, page 69).

The list of people the visited Gatsby's home in the summer seemed to stick out a few insights into Gatsby's character. The list mostly made no sense to me as I could not pick out any of the names that I had heard of before. From that, I concluded that the list explains how Gatsby distances himself from his parties. He seems to have all of these wealthy and important people of his time at his house, yet there is no reason in his mind to care. Furthermore, I see that Gatsby must have something holding him back from letting himself mingle with the people in his home like I would expect him to do.

The main idea that came to me during this section was: Why Nick? I am totally confused on why Gatsby decides to chooses to confide his life in Nick. I feel as if Gatsby has chosen someone completely random for him to tell his life to Nick when they have not known each other long. By Gatsby's low interaction with the people at his parties, I would have expected Gatsby to be a very secluded man with his thoughts that would only tell his mysterious life to someone he fully trusts. On another note, what is up with this "old sport" thing? It has caught me off guard and seems to be quite annoying as Gatsby seems to say this in almost every sentence he says to Nick.

Mr. Jay Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 3 pages 47-59

"It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you many come across four or five time in a life" (Fitzgerald, page 48).

I did not know what a hydroplane was but this is it.

The introduction of Gatsby came at an unexpected time. He enjoys his party without being noticed yet believes that Nick knows who he is. I am not sure how Gatsby expects to receive this type of nonchalant treatment at a party where he is the most talked about subject. It almost baffles me that he is able to go unnoticed yet he seems to captivate Nick's attention once Nick learns he is speaking to Gatsby. The quote above seems to capture the feeling that Nick got once he learned who the famous Gatsby was and that Gatsby had invited him out on his hydroplane for the next morning. Along with the brief introduction and correspondance with Gatsby, the mystery of Jordan and Gatsby seems to be revealed a little more when he invites her to speak with him privately and they spend an hour together until Nick is on his way out of the party. Obviously, Jordan and Gatsby know each other on a more personal and intimate level where Gatsby actually spends time with her unlike his other party guests. 

Toward the very end of the chapter, Nick shifts to talking about his time outside of the parties he previously covered in the novel. When it is revealed that Jordan lies about a lot, I concluded that Jordan really must have lied about her reason for being at Gatsby's party as everything seems to point at the fact that she lied. I am further interested to know why her and everyone else in the society seem to lie about everything they do. "I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" (Fitzgerald, page 59).

Circus Party

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 3 pages 39-46

"The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath; and already there are wanderers, confident girls who weave here and there among the stouter and more stable, become for a sharp, joyous moment the center of the group, and then, excited with triumph, glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and color under the constantly changing light" (Fitzgerald, pages 40-41).

The entirety of this section of the novel is consumed in Gatsby's party. The descriptions of Fitzgerald seem to fit the elaborate party that Nick was taking in slowly. The descriptions allowed for the text to not only flow, but to describe every little detail of the environment that Nick seemed to be thrown into. From the little details, I was able to conclude that I believe the party seemed to reflect an almost circus-like atmosphere where the elaborate elements seemed to mix oddly together to create this atmosphere. 

Furthermore, this part of the also brought a heightened mystery to the character of Gatsby. Everyone seems to have their own story of why Gatsby acted as he did. Gatsby seems to be a mostly faceless party host that goes unnoticed at his own party or hides from his own party. Along with the mystery of Gatsby, Jordan Baker seems to bring her own mystery to the party. After she tells Nick that she came to the party to see him, she meets up with her own group as if she needed an excuse to tell Nick previously. I was fully confused with Jordan at this point and was further confused when she seemed to know where Gatsby could possibly be. It appeared almost as if Jordan has a hidden relationship with Gatsby the brought a heightened mystery to Gatsby and Jordan. I am curious to find out Jordan's true reason for being at the party and if they have much to do with Gatsby.

Random drunk man?! I am fully confused as well with this snippet of this section. What was the purpose of the drunk man and the bookshelves. Is this somehow describing the nature of the alcohol in this 1920s society? Everyone seems drunk and really drunk. From the previous chapter where Fitzgerald wrote as a drunk Nick with confusing passages almost simulating the thoughts of Nick to this  section where everyone else seems to be overly drunk like this man. Not sure if this type of style of writing will continue in the book to where the reader is in the more intimate thoughts of Nick that the writing reflects his train of thoughts and mindset. 

Very Hollywoodesque

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Chapter 2

"Mrs. Wilson had changed her costume some time before, and was now attired in an elaborate afternoon dress of cream-colored chiffon, which gave out a continual rustle as she swept about the room. With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change" 

(Fitzgerald, page 30).

The quote above explains the puppet like feeling from this chapter. When Mrs. Wilson jumps through many hoops to meet up with Mr. Buchanan, I felt as if this was a cover story for a tabloid that is waiting to come out. She rode in a different car, changed her clothes, and even bought stuff to hide her true reason for being in New York besides seeing her sister.

Furthermore, I found this chapter to be quite random. The chapter goes from meeting Mrs. Wilson to traveling to New York to buying a dog! Later, everyone meets in an apartment, presumably Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Buchanan's, and everyone becomes drunk. The last part of this chapter when Nick is drunk, the writing seems to reflect his mental state. I became very confused at what events were occurring. 

After finishing this chapter, I currently like Mrs. Wilson's sister Catherine. I find her seeing eye to eye with Nick and that will lead them to understand what is so confusing about the social class of the Buchanan's. 

Lastly, where is Gatsby?! Everyone seems to be bringing up this "Great Gatsby" but we have yet to meet him. I would have thought that the main focus of the novel would have shown up by this point in the novel. I am intrigued to know what is so great about Gatsby and why everyone seems to know a lot about him. This is almost how our society is with the Kardashians. Although I personally do not want to know everything about them, I seem to know quite a bit without trying and I feel like Gatsby could be the same way.