Family Blog Post 5

Edward by Anonymous

1. What has Edward done and why? Where do the two climaxes of the poem occur?

 Edward has killed his own father. He is questioned about why his sword is so bloody by his mother. Edward lies two time saying that he killed his hawk, but his mother says that his hawk's blood "...was never so red" (Anonymous). Then he tries to say that it was his old steed. Again, his mother says that that can't be it because his steed was very old and he had more. I think the mother knows the answer all along. She seems to be asking questions that she already knows the answers to because she keeps being able to easily negate every excuse. The two climaxes of the story are when I find out that Edward killed his father and that his mother told him to. They are talking about what Edward is going to do because he killed his father and he says he will leave and leave his work and his family to beg of themselves. Then, his mother asks what he will leave for her and he says, "The curse of hell from me shall ye bear, Such counsels you gave to me, O" (Anonymous). She gave him the advice to kill her husband, so now she will be cursed with a curse of hell.

Family Unit Blog 4

The Joy of Cooking by Elaine Magarrell

IRONY: a discrepancy between appearances and reality

 The irony is in the name of the poem. Upon reading the title of the poem, The Joy of Cooking, I was under the impression that this story would be about actual joys of cooking. Then, you informed us that it was about siblings; ergo, I believed it to be about a bunch of brothers and sisters playfully baking in a kitchen somewhere. I was wrong, of course. The poem is a little confusing. I cannot discern whether or not there actually is cooking of tongues and hearts going on or whether it is all just a long drawn out analogy of sorts. I have a stronger attraction to the thought that it is all an analogy, being that this is a poem and can't be that straight-forward. The first stanza is about the sister, who's tongue is being cut out and cooked. I believe this may have something to do with a sister who says a lot of things that she shouldn't say. I think the sister will not learn her lesson though, when the poem says, "...it probably will grow back" (Magarrell). The second stanza, however, is about the brother. I get the feeling that he has a bad heart that is cold and unloving. He is in need of a little more somethin' somethin' to make his heart a full functioning and loving heart. A few more spices, to stick with the theme of cooking. "My brothers heart barely feeds two" (Magarrell) implies that he can hardly sustain a relationship maybe.

Family Unit Blog 3

"The Drunkard" by Frank O'Connor

 5. The boy's drunkenness is seen from different perspectives. What are they, and how do they differ?

 The boy's drunkenness is seen from four different point of view: from his own point of view, his father's, the women on the street, and his mother's. The way he sees his drunkenness is the way he feels. He says, "...the wonderful thing about porter was the way it made you stand aside, or rather float aloft like a cherub rolling on a cloud, and watch yourself with your legs crossed, leaning against a bar counter, not worrying about trifles but thinking deep, serious, grown-up thoughts about life and death" (O'Connor 347). This passage also invokes a little bit of humor. I imagine a little boy sitting at the bar trying to look and act as adult as he can. He feels grown up when he drinks, which is also kind of sad. Another point of view is from the father. His point of view is sort of "Oh my god, what have I done?" I think he is thinking to himself that he is the reason his son is this way and he feels terrible about it. The women on the street just kind of laugh and think it is so funny watching a little boy with two completely sober grown men carrying him down the street because he can't even walk. This also evokes a little sense of humor. The last perspective is of the mother. She too is saying, "Oh my god" but it is in a good way. She is thankful that this is going to turn her husband's behavior around and make him not such an alcoholic. It is ironic that it took his little son to become extremely sick and drunk in order to teach his father that he shouldn't drink so much and so often.

Family Unit Blog 2

Once Upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer

 SITUATIONAL IRONY: takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be appropriate to happen, and what really does happen

 This story is an anti-fairytale. The situational irony is that I am pretty sure everyone in the class thought it was going to be the cat that got killed because when the story says, "I hope the cat will take heed...The husband said, Don't worry, my dear, cats always look before they leap" (Gordimer 236). It totally should have been the cat! I love cats and even wish it was him. That little boy read one of the creepy grandma's books (she also had nothing to do with the death unlike I thought she would) and wanted to be like a prince and scale the walls of the castle and kiss Sleeping Beauty back to life. The grandma was foreshadowing the downfall I think. This family's hubris or, tragic flaw, was that they were way too paranoid. In trying to save their family and son, they actually pave the way of the death of their little son.

Family Unit Blog 1

A Worn Path by Eudora Welty

6. In answer to a student who wrote to ask her "Is the grandson really dead?" Welty responded, "My best answer would be: Phoenix is alive." What might have led the student to ask that question? How can the author's remark be seen as an answer?

 The main question of this short story, to me, is whether or not the grandson is really dead. I believe he is actually dead. A student might have been led to ask this question because of the characterization of Phoenix Jackson. She seems to be a little off. She's never really always there in the head. I think her mental state is out of whack because she lives all alone in the middle of no where and has to walk all day to get to where any kind of civilization is. Her mental state is called in to question many times during the story. One of which is when she is a little ways into her journey and she sits down to rest. She hallucinates and when a "little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it she spoke to him. 'That would be acceptable,' she said. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air" (Welty 224). She is imagining her grandson being with her. This was the first time I wondered about him being dead. Then there was the time in the doctor's office when she forgot why she was there and told the nurse that her grandson had been sick for 2 or 3 years and hasn't gotten any better. It seems to me that he almost has to be dead if he hasn't gotten any better.

 The other part of the question is that the author answers without actually answering. She says that Phoenix is alive. I think that this is one of the only thing that keeps Phoenix going. She has something to look forward to. It doesn't matter whether the grandson is alive or not. The love that Phoenix has for her grandson is so great and will never end regardless of whether or not he died.

Raisin Blog Post 5

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

12. Often, in life, a situation may reach a "point of no return"--the point after which the life of a person can never be the same. Describe such a turning point for a character in Raisin. 

 I think the biggest event that happened in A Raisin in the Sun is when we find out that Willy ran off with all of Bobo's and Walter's money. This is definitely a point of no return. Bobo tells Walter, "...I waited in that train station six hours...(Breaking into tears) That was all the extra money I had in the world... (Looking up at Walter with the tears running down his face) Man, Willy is gone" (Hansberry 127). I did not see that coming at all. I knew something was wrong, though, when Bobo seemed so weird about coming to talk to Walter. This is a point of no return because now the family has absolutely no money at all. They just put a down payment on the house and Mama gave the rest to Walter to put some in the bank for Beneatha and to save the rest. We find out he did not do this, though. Turns out he didn't put any of the money in the bank. And now they have nothing. It was foolish of him to try and invest it all in a sketchy guy and not save any of it. Everyone is super angry at Walter and Mama starts hitting him in the face over and over again. I think this was really a breaking point as well as a point of no return for the family. All the stress had built up and this just tipped it over the edge to the point where everyone breaks down down and doesn't know where to go from there.

Raisin Blog Post 4

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

EXTERNAL CONFLICT: conflicts existing between two people, between a person and nature or machine, or between a person and a whole society.

I believe one of the external conflicts in this play is racism. It is shown a lot through out whether it be through what someone said or they way one of the characters acted. The main time it comes out, though, is when Mama is looking to buy a house for the family. She puts a down payment on one that is in the center of Clybourne Park, which is an area where mainly white people live. They are confronted with the decision of whether to stay or be persecuted for the color of their skin in their own neighborhood. Mr. Lindner, from the Clybourne Park Improvement Association, pays the family a little visit. Mr. Lindner says, "It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities" (Hansberry 118). He is basically saying that, because the family is black, they should stay in their own communities because the people of Clybourne Park do not want them there. Later we find out that the Youngers do in fact move despite the racial prejudices against them. 

Raisin Blog Post 3

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

1. In literature, as in life, a character may search for a better way of life. Show how two characters from A Raisin in the Sunare searching for a better way of life. Explain what each character is hoping to gain through this search and discuss the ways in which each character attempts to bring about a change in his or her life. 

--and--

MOTIVATION: the reasons for a character's behavior

There are two main characters that stand out to me as searching for a better way of life in A Raisin in the Sun--Walter and Beneatha. The brother and sister that could not be more different in any way, but still have similar aspirations and character traits. Walter is hoping to gain more financial stability for his family through his search and Beneatha is hoping to find financial independence and also some of her heritage through her search. Walter wishes to open a liquor store with two of his sketchy friends. He wants to use the money from his father's passing. I think there could be better ways for him to achieve this. Walter believes that, "don't nothing happen for you in this world 'less you pay somebody off!" (Hansberry 33) He cannot think of any other way to make a secure financial future other than this liquor store and he has his mind set on it. Beneatha, on the other hand, has the motivation to be completely independent. She is going to school and trying to do something with her life and not just spend all her time trying to find a husband. She wants something to fall back on, which I find very admirable. Not very many women at this time had the drive to do anything other than being a mother and a wife. She is very stubborn and has, according to many (Mama and Ruth), views that do not fall into the norm. Both characters have plenty of motivation and spunk about their search for a better way of life and seem to not want to stop at anything until they attain these goals.

Raisin Blog Post 2

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorrain Hansberry

9. In literature, as in life, a character might feel trapped. Discuss a character from Raisin who feels trapped and give examples of the ways in which this character chooses to deal with those feelings.

I feel like a character who seems to be trapped a lot already in the play is Walter. The guy seems to have a lot of issues. He seems to be lacking support from his wife and entire family. No one wants to help him live out this dream of financial stability. He needs to begin his own business and wants to use some of the money from his father's passing away to begin a liquor store. He is straining for just a little piece of some support from his wife. Walter says, "Man say: I got to change my life, I'm choking to death, baby! And his woman say--(In utter anguish as he brings his fists down on his thighs)--Your eggs is getting cold!" (Hansberry 33) Walter does not understand, however, that everyone else thinks their lives are okay. They are content with the way they are living and do not feel trapped.

Another place where I feel Walter could be trapped is in his alcohol abuse. He gets frustrated with his family and immediately says he has to go out. Mama confronts him about this and says, "It's dangerous...When a man goes outside his home to look for peace" (Hansberry 73). She is right. This is dangerous. When someone goes outside of their home to find peace in alcohol there is something seriously going wrong in their lives. To top it all off, Walter finds out that Mama took the money from her husband's insurance and put it into a house for the family. Now he is really trapped. Now he absolutely has no way out of the life he is currently living.

Raisin Blog Post 1

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

5. Show how Raisin deals with the gender gap--the problems that the older generations has in dealing with the younger generation and vice versa.

Right off the bat I am able to notice a gender divide among the characters in Raisin. The youngest Younger, Travis, comes off as having a sort of attitude, but still shows respect to his elders. He is about 10 or 11 and he seems to me to be a typical little boy who resists his mother's rules and love, but still is understanding and always comes around to accept. Beneatha, or Bennie, is the seconds youngest. She is about 20 years old and is about the most stubborn person ever. She is the most formally educated in the house and has this idea that she needs to regain her heritage, much like Dee in Everyday Use. Ruth, Walter's wife, is about thirty and believes that her life is somewhat of a disappointment. She is stern and stubborn and, for a woman of her age, expected to already be a "settled woman" (Hansberry 24). Then there is Walter, Beneatha's brother. He is in his mid-thirties and is a tall, lean dreamer. He too is very stubborn. And finally, we have Mama. She is about 60 years old and just recently lost her husband. She is a strong and graceful beauty who has had to overcome a lot in her life. She is very understanding and knowledgeable. 

Mama comes to a realization when she is talking to Ruth about her kids. She says, "No--there's something come down between me and them that don't let us understand each other and I don't know what it is" (Hansberry 52). Mama is concerned because she cannot seem to reach her children or understand them. She is concerned because the times are becoming so different. Her son is only thinking about money and her daughter is only thinking about "protecting her heritage" and becoming an independent doctor. These are things that Mama never had to deal with when she was 20 and 30 years old. She just is not used to the fact that times are different now.