"We Are" by Facing New York

We are the young men, we are the desperation.
We are a nervous wreck, we are the anxiety.
We are the broken coin, the begging boys at your door.

Call me the wasted time, the aging adolescence.
Call me a bad sign of everything that's to come.
Call me the crooked line, the field of ice.

And I know I must move on.

We are the broken hearts that got lost or set astray.
We are the unemployed, still tangled up in our dreams
This is a new sign, the last chaging of the day.
It's time to grow up, and move away...

The words here invoke a sense of hesitation, nostalgia, and regret.

Each line here begins with a two word, two syllable phrase: we are, call me, etc. None of the lines rhyme, except for the last two.  There are a couple instances of alliteration, but they seem almost like coincidence rather than planned. Almost no structure exists in these words, when read without hearing the music.

Hearing the actual song will give the words more rhythmic cohesiveness, but the music backing the words is odd itself. The song plays in a moderate 4/4, but the harmonic rhythm moves in odd locations, with the chords changing on "and" and "a" of 2 and 3 in each measure. Various reverb and delay effects on the track give the song an ethereal quality, adding to the words nostalgic implications. It's as if the sound is a memory or somebody looking back their past.

"Metaphors" by Sylvia Plath

Most of the lines in this poem have denotative meanings of being fat, full, or large, in someway or another. After obtaining some internet advice, I found that the poem is about pregnancy, which makes a lot of sense. The first line of the poem is "I'm a riddle in nine syllables." The poem is made up of nine lines with each line containing only nine syllables. This repeated use of the number is representative of the nine months of pregnancy. Every line is a metaphor for being bigger while pregnant, for example: "A melon strolling on two tendrils," and "This loaf's big with it's yeasty rising." The speaker in this poem is, as stated, a pregnant woman, if not a pregnant Plath herself. Judging by the words she has chosen, it seems that the speaker is not happy with her pregnancy, or, at least, not happy with her psychical appearance and feeling, comparing herself to a melon and a elephant. Yet, out of all the negatively charged metaphors, there is one line of positivity. The line "O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!" suggests that perhaps, even though she is not happy with herself, there is a child inside her waiting to be free and that brings her a certain level of joy. Plath ends with the line "Boarded the train there's no getting off." This line relays a message of acceptance. Maybe not enthusiasm, but she knows the responsibility she has taken on.

Sonnet #7

And all of a sudden they felt like selfish intellectuals

No longer will they concern themselves with that aging stew

They only sit, watching and waiting, for the rest of their spectacles

Sections of that tenement are rotting, the earth will not chew.

But She drags herself up those stairs everyday

And He refuses to ever leave the room

She asks him, "Are we going to stay?"

He tells her, "The gates open at half past noon."

So it goes, they finally walked out

On the roof, the rest of the tenement was staring at the gun

On the outside, they are thankful for doubt

Not long after, that tenement melted in the heat of the sun

In our minds, We are fighting a war

Who are you fighting for?

Review: "The Glass Menagerie"

I wonder if, in real life, Laura would continue to break out of her shell. I'm hopeful that she would, but I cannot help but doubt it. But perhaps that's the point. Laura gives the broken unicorn because she is going to go back to her normal ways. Perhaps the heartbreak Jim inflicted convinced her to stay in her shell. She imagined the unicorn had an operation to have the horn removed to feel more at home with the regular horses (1042). Here, she seems optimistic in no longer being shy, but then Jim shatters that dream when he reveals that he is engaged. The act of Laura giving the broken unicorn to Jim as a souvenir then going to the record player and putting on her music, shows that she is retreating back into her world. I feel bad for Laura, as I'm sure many of us would. She is what kept me reading. I feel bad that she has to stay home alone with her mother after Tom leaves.

It is unfortunate that Tom desires to forget his sister. It is understandable that he is sick of his mother and must leave, but to completely put Laura out of his mind is too much, I think. Though, of course, I understand the necessity for him doing so. But what will become of him now? He is no more knowledgeable about himself or what he wants out of life. He is now just wandering the land, it seems. Where is the growth in his character? He leaves home out of spite and anger, and is still just as lost as he has ever been. He can never run from his memories. He will always carry the guilt of leaving his sister and causing her to loss all hope in ever being free from her own insecurities.

Review: "The Yellow Wallpaper"

1. Which objects, actions, or places seem unusually significant?
     The room and the wallpaper. The woman, or women, hiding in the wallpaper. The creeping. John's suppossed authority in the field of medicine. John's sister, Jennie. The way the words are printed, being a new paragraph almost every sentence.

2. List the specific objects, people and ideas with which a particular symbol is assoiciated.
     The room represents the main characters oppressed lifestyle. The wallpaper is her ability to look at her life and tear it apart, either piece by piece or all at once. It could also represent her creative nature, her ability to look at something and turn it in to something else. The creeping women are all women who have to creep around their husbands or any other men for that matter. John authority in the field of medicine is never explained or proven. We just assume that because we are told he is a doctor that he is one. His authority is implied and mirrors most male-female relationships. Jennie represents any woman who unquestionably puts herself below a man.

3. Locate the exact place in the story where the symbol links itself to the other thing.
     On page 265, right at the beginning of the story, in the first few lines, the narrator says, "John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that." This line already sets up the oppressed woman theme in the story. On page 269, the narrator speaks of Jennie and how "she is a perfect and enthusiastic housekeeper, and hopes for a no better profession." I think this line shows expresses the narrator's, and perhaps the authors, disapproval of woman like Jennie. Later in the story, after the narrator peals of a large strip of the yellow wallpaper, which may be yellow to represent cowardice, Jennie says, "...she wouldn't mind doing it herself..." and the narrator responds , in thought, with "[Jennie] betrayed herself at that time" (277). The narrator sees that Jennie has the desire to be free, but chooses refuses the urge.

4. Ask whether each symbol comes with ready-made cultural associations.
     Of course, each symbol comes with ready-made cultural associations. These associations go beyond human life. In nature, or so it seems, the female of most species are the dominant animal. They are usually the stay at home mothers, so to speak. The stigma surrounding a creature such as the black widow spider, in which, apparently, the female eats the male after mating, is not one most woman wish to be associated with.

7. Be specific. Identify the exact place in the story where a symbol takes on a deeper meaning.
     At the end of the story, the narrator becomes the woman hiding in the wallpaper. Actually, she becomes the woman who used to be hiding in the wallpaper. The point is the narrator ripped off all the wallpaper. She cannot, and will not, ever go back to hiding in the wallpaper. She literally says, "I've got out at last... And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back!" (278).


Checklist numbers five and six are not answerable questions. They are suggestions, so I skipped them.

Review: "The Things They Carried"

The theme I plucked out of this story is basically on maturity. Most, if not all, of the soldiers are probably all in their early twenties, which is my age. So even though I am not participating in a literal physical war, I understand, somewhat, what Jimmy was going through. Here, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross struggles with this guilt of losing Ted Lavender. He blames himself due to his careless while daydreaming about a girl back home, who may or may not love him. Most stories, it seems, that are based on war time experiences, or set during war time, are about how war corrupts. But this story was different. Though the story is not necessarily an uplifting one, the ending of shows a great change in Jimmy's attitude and mind set as a leader. Throughout the story he goes on about a girl back home, whom he loves, but does not, he believes, love him back. This distraction causes him to lose focus on his task as the leader and thus he loses Ted Lavender to a bullet. He blames himself for Ted getting shot. At the end of the story, he burns the letters and photographs he has of the girl back home and decides to crack down as a leader. He tells himself, "no more fantasies" (534). I know, for myself, this is something I have to constantly remind myself of. I'm no longer living in a fantasy world. No more protection from my parents. There is no God. I am only me and what I do is who I am. Being the leader, the man Jimmy is, or forces himself to be, has a direct affect on the soldiers he is leading. Morale and correct action can be, or maybe is, the deciding factor between life or death on war, and also, maybe, in the world we live in, which soldiers may refer to as the fantasy world. Jimmy realizes he cannot dwell on the past. He must live in the present and be prepared for the future. His life and the lives of his soldiers depend on it.

 In the end, Jimmy rejects love. We know "he [is going to] show strength, distancing himself" (355) from his men in order to enable himself to be the leader he needs to be. All the soldiers physically, and mentally, carry much weight, but Jimmy carries letters, which weigh no more than ten ounces. When Jimmy realizes he needs to change, it's because he realizes that he carries all the soldier weights combined. He burns his letters and takes on the weight of his soldiers. He must be tough. He must be strong. He must endure.

Review: "A Haunted House"

Strange read... I must have read it twenty times and I still can't figure out exactly what it means or exactly who is talking. I find it interesting, though, that this story would be in the setting section of the book. It would seem, to me, to be better suited in the point-of-view section. At least, that's what I thought until my twenty-first read. Once I got away from trying to figure out who is talking, I began to focus on what the words were actually saying. I took myself out the readers role and placed into word's world. I had not thought about reading this story that way, though, to an experienced reader, maybe it would seem like the obvious method of choice. Either way, once I did, I realized why this story is in the setting section.

"A Haunted House" 1921

The author here is described an old house supposedly haunted by a ghostly couple. It seems there is another couple, or perhaps the same couple, which I wouldn't doubt is the case, narrating about themselves looking for themselves in this house. I imagine the story taking place in a Victorian style home. As cliche as that is, it seems fitting considering when the story was written. Though the Victorian Era is technically over in 1921, the houses would still exist. Though, I 'm not sure how many Victorian houses have or had farms... The continuous mention of a wood pigeon bubbling reminded me of an old Mickey Mouse cartoon. I can't say specifically which one, but I had this vision of reeds being blown in the wind and pigeons making their sound.

Review: "Miss Brill"

1. Who is the main character or protagonist of the story?
    There is no question that the protagonist of this story is Miss Brill. The story is told in third-person and is all about what she is seeing and thinking.

 2. Make a quick list of the character's physical, mental, moral or behavioral traits. Which seem especially significant to the action of the story?
     Miss Brill is an elderly woman. One hint at this is when she thinks about when she bought her ermine toque "when her hair was yellow" (73). This easily implies that her hair color is no longer yellow or blond. She is quite observant of her surroundings and doesn't see her self as being old. She expects that younger men will still approach her as they would a young beautiful woman. She does not she herself as one of the elderly, saying that they look like they live in cupboards. She imagines herself as being an actress in the giant play that going on. She is living in her fantasy world. Her detachment from reality is crucial to the story because it basically is the story. It's not until she is brought back to reality that we return with her.

3. Does the main character have an antagonist in the story? How do they differ?
    I would say that Miss Brill's antagonist is the rest of the world. She is so happy and optimistic. Everyone else around her is the opposite. The other elderly folks around don't speak to one another and the younger generation make fun of Miss Brill. Perhaps, reality is Miss Brill's antagonist.

4. Does the way the protagonist speaks reveal anything about his or her personality?
    In this story, most of what Miss Brill says is in her head. We know almost nothing about her interaction with her surroundings except for what she thinks about her surroundings. In any case, how she thinks does reveal much about her character. As I said, she is quite optimistic. She even catches herself being on the negative side and corrects herself. The whole first paragraph, as she is getting ready to go out she corrects her attitude several times.

5. If the story is told in the first person, what is revealed about his or her personality?
    This story was not told in first-person, but it might as well have been. Even though the narration is in third-person, almost the whole story is told using Miss Brill's thoughts and feelings. I think having the story narrated in the style adds to the detachment we and Miss Brill feel.

6. What is the character's primary motivation? Does this motivation seem reasonable?
    I'm not sure what Miss Brill's motivation is. Perhaps, it is to simply be happy. Enjoy the little things in life and such. Perhaps, she wishes to avoid feeling old or refuses to accept that she already is old. Either way, I think motivation is reasonable. I'm not sure anybody wishes to get old. Or, at least, nobody who is already wishes to be old.

7. Does the protagonist fully understand his or her motivations?
    I think Miss Brill does understand her motivation. She knows what she is doing when she gets up on Sundays to go the park. Unfortunately, she has convinced herself that her act is reality. And when she starts to think about the true reality she rejects the thought and continues with her own imagined reality. I'd say she knows what she's doing, even if her actions are futile.

8. In what ways is the protagonist changed or tested by the events of the story?
    Sadly, Miss Brill is tested. There is part where she imagines the young man will come and possibly talk to her, but her does not. And, of course, there is the end where the young couple talk about Miss Brill. After hearing what the couple say about her, Miss Brill's spirit is broken. She breaks her cheerful Sunday routine and simply goes home to "her room like a cupboard" (75).

Review: "A Rose For Emily"

At first, I thought maybe each roman numeral indicated a new narrator. I imagined each section as being narrated by another member of the town. But it was when the narrator, in the final line of the story, used the term "iron-gray" in reference to Miss Emily's hair that I realized that the story never changed narrators. Still though, I cannot figure out who the narrator actually is. After rereading the story with the idea of there being a single narrator, I could not help but imagine the narrator as being a woman. Perhaps, someone who works at the Jefferson Historical Society (if such a thing exists), which is what I imagined the narrator as being. There are no specific lines for me to support this idea, other than the whole story itself. The way the narrator seems to know all of what happened concerning Miss Emily, her appearances, lengths of disappearances, and general opinions of townsfolk on Miss Emily, signals to me that the narrator, perhaps, must make it a point to be in-the-know. But I don't see the narrator as being a gossip.

Near paragraph twenty-five, just after the death and burial of Miss Emily's father, the narrator mentions they, as in the townspeople, "did not think she was crazy then" (36). The narrator does not say that to about Miss Emily to suggest that she was crazy, but includes it as a reassurance of the townspeople attempts to give Miss Emily the benefit of the doubt, even though they did not really believe Miss Emily was sane. They pity her. And of course, in the next section is when Miss Emily buys the poison. And the section after that is the introduction of Homer Barron.

I still do not really understand what significance Homer holds to Miss Emily. The narrator clearly states that "...Homer himself had remarked--he liked men" (38). I do not understand why she killed him. I do not understand the meaning of her hair in the bed next to his lifeless rotting body. Perhaps, it is meant to be left a mystery. The point of view of the narrator, being set in reality, yet somehow all knowing, does add to the mystery of the story. I thought. The story seems to be told from an impartial omniscience, at least, based on what I understand impartial omniscience to be. And it is due to this non-judgmental style that still think the narrator is a part of the town's historical society. I'm not sure why Faulkner would have chosen this point of view though. Perhaps, as I previously stated, it was to add to the mysterious nature and separation Miss Emily has with the town. The narrator knows everything about Miss Emily and happenings, but never know what goes on her head and, therefore, neither do we.

Review: "A Good Man Is Hard to Find"

Most of the time, I cannot stand family drama type stories... so thank goodness for the dark and intense ending. To be fair, because the Coen Brothers were mentioned in regards to Ms. O' Connor dark style, I pretty much saw the ending a mile away. I was actually better satisfied by Kafka's ending than O' Connor's. If I had gone into reading the story without any idea of what to expect, I may have been more surprised. The fact that The Misfit was mentioned so often gave the story away very early on. I knew that at least one of the main characters would have some kind of run in with The Misfit. So, I must say, I was a little disappointed. Also, I didn't understand what was the significance of the grandmother telling The Misfit that he was one of her own children. Was she just symbolic or was he really one of her children?

I liked the dialogue though. As I was reading it, I imagined everything to be similar to "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?", another Coen Brothers' movie. I'm not sure if that movie was mentioned in class or not, but considering the southern location and accents in the dialogue, the similarity was unavoidable for me. In fact, pretending that the story was in the world of "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" was one of the main reason I was able to actually get through the story, besides the fact that it was required reading. Specifically, I imagined The Misfit as looking exactly like the "The Devil" character in "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?".

Overall, I enjoyed the read. It was fairly interesting and the writing was decent. I'm looking to what else is in store.

Introduction

Before it was deleted, I typed up a pretty good introduction for myself. Rather, I thought it was pretty good. I even ended the intro with the words, "this turned out pretty good." But alas, it is gone. Poor introduction...