APO 96225 by Larry Rottmann
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
Wow, blunt much? I believe that the poem has situational irony because it is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what really does happen. The mother kept thinking that there was something wrong and wanted her son to tell her everything. He would continue to put it off because he wanted to keep his mother from knowing the pain of what he was actually doing. Finally he is like, "Today I killed a man. Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (Rottmann 846). I can only imagine the mother's expression when she read that: priceless. It is no joking matter though. War is not easy for anyone and I think this story ties in with the American people's feelings about Vietnam because I think they only wanted to know everything that was going on until it made them feel uncomfortable. Deep down they wanted to know, but on the surface level, I believe it was better off to keep some things a little more secret.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Alienation Blog Post #4
Much Madness is divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson
PARADOX: a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that in fact reveals some truth.
Okay, this poem is difficult. Emily Dickinson is a deep, deep person. The critical reading questions definitely helped me out on this one. They say that this poem is telling about a paradox--that insanity is good sense, but having good sense is insane. I suppose this makes sense. "To a discerning Eye--" (Dickinson 830), or someone who thinks a lot about things, they may say that insanity is good because insane people seem so realistic to me. They see things for what they are. Most of our greatest mathematicians, astronomers, historians, writers, thinkers, scientists, etc. were thought of as insane at the time. This insanity is what brought about the light bulb, gravity, and some of the best works ever written. These people were insane but it was good sense that came out of it. On the other hand, there are people who say that having good sense is insane. I guess this means that people who think too much are seen as insane...but they would only be seen as insane to those of us who don't think as much as they do. The speaker says this is the majority, but I don't think that they think it is actually true. The speaker says that agreeing with something make someone sane, but it is when they disagree that makes things difficult for them. I think this is true because, for example, Galileo was thrown in jail and ostracized because of his beliefs. Turns out he was right. So, he disagreed with the thinking of that time, which made his path difficult, but his insanity is what brought about good sense.
PARADOX: a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that in fact reveals some truth.
Okay, this poem is difficult. Emily Dickinson is a deep, deep person. The critical reading questions definitely helped me out on this one. They say that this poem is telling about a paradox--that insanity is good sense, but having good sense is insane. I suppose this makes sense. "To a discerning Eye--" (Dickinson 830), or someone who thinks a lot about things, they may say that insanity is good because insane people seem so realistic to me. They see things for what they are. Most of our greatest mathematicians, astronomers, historians, writers, thinkers, scientists, etc. were thought of as insane at the time. This insanity is what brought about the light bulb, gravity, and some of the best works ever written. These people were insane but it was good sense that came out of it. On the other hand, there are people who say that having good sense is insane. I guess this means that people who think too much are seen as insane...but they would only be seen as insane to those of us who don't think as much as they do. The speaker says this is the majority, but I don't think that they think it is actually true. The speaker says that agreeing with something make someone sane, but it is when they disagree that makes things difficult for them. I think this is true because, for example, Galileo was thrown in jail and ostracized because of his beliefs. Turns out he was right. So, he disagreed with the thinking of that time, which made his path difficult, but his insanity is what brought about good sense.
Alienation Blog Post #3
I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson
IMAGERY: the use of sensory language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience
There are many senses that are evoked through the imagery in this poem. I think the most noticeable ones are feeling of the feet on the floor treading back and forth and the hearing of the drums beating during the service. It was difficult to find taste or smell. The lack of sight could be seen (no pun intended) through the fact that I believe the speaker is imaginatively located inside the coffin. First, there is the showing and then the actual service and procession and finally the coffin is placed in the ground. I think the speaker is slowly being separated from people he or she knows and loves. Going along with the theme of alienation, it seems that this person could not be further from these people than at the very end of the poem when he or she is "dropped down, and down..." (Dickinson 776).
IMAGERY: the use of sensory language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience
There are many senses that are evoked through the imagery in this poem. I think the most noticeable ones are feeling of the feet on the floor treading back and forth and the hearing of the drums beating during the service. It was difficult to find taste or smell. The lack of sight could be seen (no pun intended) through the fact that I believe the speaker is imaginatively located inside the coffin. First, there is the showing and then the actual service and procession and finally the coffin is placed in the ground. I think the speaker is slowly being separated from people he or she knows and loves. Going along with the theme of alienation, it seems that this person could not be further from these people than at the very end of the poem when he or she is "dropped down, and down..." (Dickinson 776).
Alienation Blog Post #2
Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield
I do not understand this short story at all. I think it is kind of depressing though and since we are studying an alienation unit I am leaning towards the idea that Miss Brill is a very lonely old woman. I think she listens in on other people's conversations because she has no one else to talk to. I think she lives alone and reads the newspaper to a dead guy four days a week. She looks forward to Sundays as the day when she can get out and pretend that she is in a performance and is important to others. I got the feeling that she was looking down at the woman in the ermine toque (which I also had to look up) because she says, "...her hair, her face, even her eyes, was the same color as the shabby ermine..." (Mansfield 184). Come to find out that the younger couple finds Miss Brill's fur just as ugly and compare it to a fried whiting. Miss Brill seemed to cherish her fur though and think very highly of it. In the beginning of the story she seemed so happy and excited and at the end, she didn't even go to the bakery she just went home by herself. She could have seem excited at the beginning because she was trying so hard to pretend and suppress something that was bothering her. The last line is very depressing and makes me think that she was the one crying because I don't know what else could be crying--it couldn't possibly be the fur. I think she comes to the realization that she is old and alone and no one likes her. This is very sad to me and I hope I never become like this ever.
I do not understand this short story at all. I think it is kind of depressing though and since we are studying an alienation unit I am leaning towards the idea that Miss Brill is a very lonely old woman. I think she listens in on other people's conversations because she has no one else to talk to. I think she lives alone and reads the newspaper to a dead guy four days a week. She looks forward to Sundays as the day when she can get out and pretend that she is in a performance and is important to others. I got the feeling that she was looking down at the woman in the ermine toque (which I also had to look up) because she says, "...her hair, her face, even her eyes, was the same color as the shabby ermine..." (Mansfield 184). Come to find out that the younger couple finds Miss Brill's fur just as ugly and compare it to a fried whiting. Miss Brill seemed to cherish her fur though and think very highly of it. In the beginning of the story she seemed so happy and excited and at the end, she didn't even go to the bakery she just went home by herself. She could have seem excited at the beginning because she was trying so hard to pretend and suppress something that was bothering her. The last line is very depressing and makes me think that she was the one crying because I don't know what else could be crying--it couldn't possibly be the fur. I think she comes to the realization that she is old and alone and no one likes her. This is very sad to me and I hope I never become like this ever.
Alienation Blog Post #1
Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville
4. How does Bartleby's "I would prefer not to" affect the routine of the lawyer and his employees?
This short story was long and took time to get through. I liked it though. I felt like it was easier than others and was kept interesting without a complicated plot line. Bartleby is an odd character to say the least. His "I would prefer not to" statements affected everyone around him. If it was before noon, Nipper would want to kill him and Turkey would say it was strange, but let the lawyer deal with him. If it was after noon, the roles would switch and Turkey would want to "...step behind his screen and black his eyes for him" (Melville 653). It made the other two scriveners do extra work and drove the lawyer almost crazy. I know it would drive me crazy. His constant passiveness and unwillingness to do anything that his boss asked of him would make me go insane if I were the lawyer. It all kind of made sense at the end though. It was also all very depressing. The man used to deal with all the letters at the Dead Letter's Office in Washington. I had to look up what this meant and it has to do with the letters that the destination of them cannot be determined. It would depress me knowing that those letters never made it to the rightful owners. This made me think that his constant "preferring not to" was a way of him sort of saying that he would prefer not to burn these letters even though he knows he has to. I think it was a way of stating his wanting to find the owners of the letters.
4. How does Bartleby's "I would prefer not to" affect the routine of the lawyer and his employees?
This short story was long and took time to get through. I liked it though. I felt like it was easier than others and was kept interesting without a complicated plot line. Bartleby is an odd character to say the least. His "I would prefer not to" statements affected everyone around him. If it was before noon, Nipper would want to kill him and Turkey would say it was strange, but let the lawyer deal with him. If it was after noon, the roles would switch and Turkey would want to "...step behind his screen and black his eyes for him" (Melville 653). It made the other two scriveners do extra work and drove the lawyer almost crazy. I know it would drive me crazy. His constant passiveness and unwillingness to do anything that his boss asked of him would make me go insane if I were the lawyer. It all kind of made sense at the end though. It was also all very depressing. The man used to deal with all the letters at the Dead Letter's Office in Washington. I had to look up what this meant and it has to do with the letters that the destination of them cannot be determined. It would depress me knowing that those letters never made it to the rightful owners. This made me think that his constant "preferring not to" was a way of him sort of saying that he would prefer not to burn these letters even though he knows he has to. I think it was a way of stating his wanting to find the owners of the letters.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Death Blog Post #5
"Death, be not Proud" by John Donne
PERSONIFICATION: attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object
#3 Discuss the tone of the poem. Is the speaker (a) a man of assured faith with a firm conviction that death is not to be feared or (b) a man desperately trying to convince himself that there is nothing to fear in death.
First off, the poem constantly refers to death as "thou" and talking about death as if it were a person and had human qualities. It says, "Die not, poor death, nor yet cans though kill me" (Donne 971). The author is talking to death directly saying that it cannot die, nor can it kill him. He also refers to death as being poor. I think the author has assured faith and a firm conviction that death is not to be feared. He seems almost kind of mean to death saying that people say that he is mighty and dreadful, but in reality he is not because only those who think that are those who he can defeat. The author calls death a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" (Donne 971). He is saying that death has no control over what happens, it all depends on the men and chance which means that death really has no power at all. Death may come, but we will always wake eternally, so the author has faith that death is not to be feared. He says that when we awake eternally, death is no longer and will die itself.
PERSONIFICATION: attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object
#3 Discuss the tone of the poem. Is the speaker (a) a man of assured faith with a firm conviction that death is not to be feared or (b) a man desperately trying to convince himself that there is nothing to fear in death.
First off, the poem constantly refers to death as "thou" and talking about death as if it were a person and had human qualities. It says, "Die not, poor death, nor yet cans though kill me" (Donne 971). The author is talking to death directly saying that it cannot die, nor can it kill him. He also refers to death as being poor. I think the author has assured faith and a firm conviction that death is not to be feared. He seems almost kind of mean to death saying that people say that he is mighty and dreadful, but in reality he is not because only those who think that are those who he can defeat. The author calls death a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men" (Donne 971). He is saying that death has no control over what happens, it all depends on the men and chance which means that death really has no power at all. Death may come, but we will always wake eternally, so the author has faith that death is not to be feared. He says that when we awake eternally, death is no longer and will die itself.
Death Blog Post #4
"That Time of Year" by William Shakespeare
#1 What are the three major images introduced by the three quatrains? What do they have in common? Can you see and reason for presenting them in this particular order, or might they be arranged without loss?
There are three major images in this poem. The first one has to do with the seasons, I believe. It refers to yellow leaves and how none could be on a tree which makes me think of fall. The trees shake against the cold which also alludes to the fact that the weather is changing to cold. The next image I see is that of a sunset. It is twilight and then the sun fades away and everything is black and taken away to the night. Finally, there is the image of a fire and ashes where someone must expire. It says that the person in the ashes must expire and be "consumed with that which it was nourished by" (Shakespeare 967). This, to me, means that when we die, we may actually end up where we started, but no one really knows for sure or not. I don't see any way they could have been arranged in an order. Fall, a sunset, and a fire don't seem to have and order about them, but they do all begin and eventually end, so I think they are all about a person's life cycle.
Death Blog Post #3
"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" by Dylan Thomas
#2 Apart from the fixed form, the poem creates another structural principle in stanzas two through six by describing in turn "wise me", "Good men", "Wild men", and "Grave men". How does the speaker view these various types of men in their differing stances toward both life and death?
PARADOX: a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that in fact reveals a kind of truth.
I think this poem was mainly about how death can be a good thing, but those who are near it should not go very easily in to it. They should put up a fight. The different men that the author addresses are different kinds of people in the world. The wise man is someone who is smart and has a lot of knowledge. They would be the logical thinkers who know it is time for death and are ready to embrace what would come next. They do not go into death easily because "their words had forked no lightning" (Thomas 968). They only spoke and thought about things, they never did anything good with their actions. The good men are those of us who do good in our world. They do good things and provide good deeds. These men fight against death because there is so much more good to be done from them. Then, the wild men are those people who are crazy and do harmful things to themselves and others. These people don't go into their death very well because they have learned too late that they should have been doing good with their lives instead of wasting it away. Finally, the grave men are the serious people in the world. They fight against death because they know it is a serious thing and see what needs to happen and take it seriously.
#2 Apart from the fixed form, the poem creates another structural principle in stanzas two through six by describing in turn "wise me", "Good men", "Wild men", and "Grave men". How does the speaker view these various types of men in their differing stances toward both life and death?
PARADOX: a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that in fact reveals a kind of truth.
I think this poem was mainly about how death can be a good thing, but those who are near it should not go very easily in to it. They should put up a fight. The different men that the author addresses are different kinds of people in the world. The wise man is someone who is smart and has a lot of knowledge. They would be the logical thinkers who know it is time for death and are ready to embrace what would come next. They do not go into death easily because "their words had forked no lightning" (Thomas 968). They only spoke and thought about things, they never did anything good with their actions. The good men are those of us who do good in our world. They do good things and provide good deeds. These men fight against death because there is so much more good to be done from them. Then, the wild men are those people who are crazy and do harmful things to themselves and others. These people don't go into their death very well because they have learned too late that they should have been doing good with their lives instead of wasting it away. Finally, the grave men are the serious people in the world. They fight against death because they know it is a serious thing and see what needs to happen and take it seriously.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Death Blog Post #2
"A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner
#5 What are the advantages of the first person plural point of view in this story? What would be lost if it were told in first-person singular, by one of the townspeople, or in third-person limited point of view?
This was a more confusing story than the first one I read. I found it very hard to follow because there didn't seem to be any plot line I could actually follow. It was really messed up, though. She slept with a dead guy up until she died? That is really messed up. The story is told in first person plural point of view which gives a sense that everyone else is sort of looking in at Emily's life. If it were narrated in any other way, the story would lose the sense that everyone in the town was fascinated by her. She seemed nice in the beginning, but towards the end other people seemed to be talking about her and saying rumors. It says, "We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will" (Faulkner 285). This shows that the third person plural of all the people collectively thought she was going crazy and that she was being a huge werido.
#5 What are the advantages of the first person plural point of view in this story? What would be lost if it were told in first-person singular, by one of the townspeople, or in third-person limited point of view?
This was a more confusing story than the first one I read. I found it very hard to follow because there didn't seem to be any plot line I could actually follow. It was really messed up, though. She slept with a dead guy up until she died? That is really messed up. The story is told in first person plural point of view which gives a sense that everyone else is sort of looking in at Emily's life. If it were narrated in any other way, the story would lose the sense that everyone in the town was fascinated by her. She seemed nice in the beginning, but towards the end other people seemed to be talking about her and saying rumors. It says, "We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away, and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to cling to that which had robbed her, as people will" (Faulkner 285). This shows that the third person plural of all the people collectively thought she was going crazy and that she was being a huge werido.
Death Blog Post #1
"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
DIDACTIC LITERATURE: form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
#6. By transporting a primitivistic ritual into a modern setting, the story reveals something about human nature and human society. What?
Wow this short story was weird. I had a feeling something weird was going on and I knew someone was going to die because of the cheery name of our unit this week. Also, the stones were quite the twist from the seemingly nonchalant mention of them in the beginning to the very important need towards the end of the story. This story teaches a lot about human nature. I found it strange at first that every one knew everyone and each other's husbands and wives. Everyone could call on one another by first name. It was especially weird because Mr. Summers was asking if every one in the village was there and a lot of people could just be like, "Clyde Dunbar...That's right. He broke his leg, hasn't he?" (Jackson 266). Everyone knows everything about everyone in this weird little village. It was freakish to begin with and then come to find out they're going to end up stoning someones mother, wife, and daughter. It surprised me a lot and I thought it was trying to allude to the fact that humans are vicious. They will kill their next door neighbor for seemingly no reason at all. That is just what these people did--they brutally murdered their friend and neighbor because they were taught that it was their tradition to do so.
DIDACTIC LITERATURE: form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking
#6. By transporting a primitivistic ritual into a modern setting, the story reveals something about human nature and human society. What?
Wow this short story was weird. I had a feeling something weird was going on and I knew someone was going to die because of the cheery name of our unit this week. Also, the stones were quite the twist from the seemingly nonchalant mention of them in the beginning to the very important need towards the end of the story. This story teaches a lot about human nature. I found it strange at first that every one knew everyone and each other's husbands and wives. Everyone could call on one another by first name. It was especially weird because Mr. Summers was asking if every one in the village was there and a lot of people could just be like, "Clyde Dunbar...That's right. He broke his leg, hasn't he?" (Jackson 266). Everyone knows everything about everyone in this weird little village. It was freakish to begin with and then come to find out they're going to end up stoning someones mother, wife, and daughter. It surprised me a lot and I thought it was trying to allude to the fact that humans are vicious. They will kill their next door neighbor for seemingly no reason at all. That is just what these people did--they brutally murdered their friend and neighbor because they were taught that it was their tradition to do so.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Glass Menagerie Blog Post 5
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
7. The author tells us that "Amanda, having failed to establish contact with reality, continues to live vitally in her illusions." What part of this statement could be applied to Laura as well? What part could not? What are the chief instances in the play of Amanda's having lost "contact with reality"? What are her chief illusions? What are her strengths? How is she both cruel and tender with her children? What qualities has she in common with Jim, the gentleman caller? Why do you suppose her husband left her?
Amanda lives in the past, and Laura is completely unmoving. Tom, on the other hand, wishes to be moving more. Laura could be living in her illusions because she just wants to completely stop her life and be a homebody. Reality is not staying at home and refusing to go to school because it makes you nervous. That is just not something that is realistic in everyday life. Amanda loses contact with reality a lot. She mainly goes back to the past a lot to when she was still in high school. She goes back to talk about how she was and how many gentlemen callers she would receive. How popular and pretty she was in high school comes up a lot. Her strengths are that she wants what is best for her children. She is constantly nagging them about their appearances and what they want to do with their futures. This is also a negative quality because she doesn't go about it in the right way at all. She is cruel to them by putting them down and always criticizing. She is critical of Laura when she tells her not to refer to herself as crippled. She says, "When people have some slight disadvantage like that, they cultivate other things to make up for it--develop charm--and vivacity--and--charm!" (Williams 1244). A young woman who is insecure about herself does not want to have a "charming" quality. They want to be known as beautiful and personable. She is also very tender though like when she comforts Laura after Laura finds out that Jim is actually engaged. She is a good mother, just has trouble relating to her children. I believe her husband left her for the same reasons Tom always wanted to leave and eventually did leave. She is overbearing and kind of annoying at some points. You just want her to stop nagging and shut up and let you do what you want. I can completely relate to this because I see a lot of my own mother in Amanda, but I also believe that, as teenagers, a lot of us would see our own nagging parents in Amanda.
7. The author tells us that "Amanda, having failed to establish contact with reality, continues to live vitally in her illusions." What part of this statement could be applied to Laura as well? What part could not? What are the chief instances in the play of Amanda's having lost "contact with reality"? What are her chief illusions? What are her strengths? How is she both cruel and tender with her children? What qualities has she in common with Jim, the gentleman caller? Why do you suppose her husband left her?
Amanda lives in the past, and Laura is completely unmoving. Tom, on the other hand, wishes to be moving more. Laura could be living in her illusions because she just wants to completely stop her life and be a homebody. Reality is not staying at home and refusing to go to school because it makes you nervous. That is just not something that is realistic in everyday life. Amanda loses contact with reality a lot. She mainly goes back to the past a lot to when she was still in high school. She goes back to talk about how she was and how many gentlemen callers she would receive. How popular and pretty she was in high school comes up a lot. Her strengths are that she wants what is best for her children. She is constantly nagging them about their appearances and what they want to do with their futures. This is also a negative quality because she doesn't go about it in the right way at all. She is cruel to them by putting them down and always criticizing. She is critical of Laura when she tells her not to refer to herself as crippled. She says, "When people have some slight disadvantage like that, they cultivate other things to make up for it--develop charm--and vivacity--and--charm!" (Williams 1244). A young woman who is insecure about herself does not want to have a "charming" quality. They want to be known as beautiful and personable. She is also very tender though like when she comforts Laura after Laura finds out that Jim is actually engaged. She is a good mother, just has trouble relating to her children. I believe her husband left her for the same reasons Tom always wanted to leave and eventually did leave. She is overbearing and kind of annoying at some points. You just want her to stop nagging and shut up and let you do what you want. I can completely relate to this because I see a lot of my own mother in Amanda, but I also believe that, as teenagers, a lot of us would see our own nagging parents in Amanda.
Glass Menagerie Blog Post 4
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
3. What is Tom's dilemma? Why is he always quarreling with his mother? What is his attitude toward Laura? Why does he finally leave? Does he ever resolve his dilemma?
Tom's dilemma is that he is stuck. Basically, he is unmoving and wishes to be moving on to better things for himself. His father wanted the same thing and did it. His life with the family is compared to a coffin nailed shut. His father was able to get out, and he wants out too. He believes that his life should have more adventure in it. He needs something more than just taking care of his sister and mother. He is always quarreling with his mother because he goes out "to the movies" and gets drunk and comes home. He is also always talking about wanting to get away and Amanda is scared he will become like his father and completely leave the family's life. His attitude toward Laura is, I think, a little bit of resentment. He thinks she should be able to go out and find a man who will support her so he doesn't have to and can move on with his own life. He finally leaves because in scene 7, he is pushed to his boiling point. Amanda keeps going on and on about how he is selfish and he finally says, "All right, I will! The more you shout about my selfishness to me the quicker I'll go, and I won't go to the movies!" (Williams 1288). I don't think he ever really dissolves his dilemma though because at the end of the play he runs into Laura again. He never really can get away from his family.
3. What is Tom's dilemma? Why is he always quarreling with his mother? What is his attitude toward Laura? Why does he finally leave? Does he ever resolve his dilemma?
Tom's dilemma is that he is stuck. Basically, he is unmoving and wishes to be moving on to better things for himself. His father wanted the same thing and did it. His life with the family is compared to a coffin nailed shut. His father was able to get out, and he wants out too. He believes that his life should have more adventure in it. He needs something more than just taking care of his sister and mother. He is always quarreling with his mother because he goes out "to the movies" and gets drunk and comes home. He is also always talking about wanting to get away and Amanda is scared he will become like his father and completely leave the family's life. His attitude toward Laura is, I think, a little bit of resentment. He thinks she should be able to go out and find a man who will support her so he doesn't have to and can move on with his own life. He finally leaves because in scene 7, he is pushed to his boiling point. Amanda keeps going on and on about how he is selfish and he finally says, "All right, I will! The more you shout about my selfishness to me the quicker I'll go, and I won't go to the movies!" (Williams 1288). I don't think he ever really dissolves his dilemma though because at the end of the play he runs into Laura again. He never really can get away from his family.
Glass Menagerie Blog Post 3
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
SYMBOL: a person, place, thing, or event that stands for something more than itself
SIMILE: a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than or resembles
The menagerie itself is symbolic of Laura. She also seems rather attached to them. They are symbolic of how the arguments between Tom and his mother, Amanda, affect Laura. While arguing, Tom puts on his coat to storm out and knocks some of the little figures over. Neither Tom nor Amanda really notice, but Laura seems heartbroken. In the beginning, Tom explicitly says what the glass menagerie is supposed to represent about Laura. He says, "...Laura's separation increases till she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf" (Williams 1234). The glass menagerie is very delicate and Laura is so shy and so much of an introvert that she runs the risk of becoming like one of the little figurines that just sits on a shelf and never really does anything.
There is a simile that compares Laura to the glass menagerie. It is in scene 6 when she is being prepared by Amanda for the gentleman caller. The stage directions describe her appearance: (The arrangement of Laura's hair is changed; it is softer and more becoming. A fragile, unearthly prettiness has come out in Laura: she is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting) (Williams 1263). Her appearance and fragility increases with the amount of crippling shyness that comes over her.
SYMBOL: a person, place, thing, or event that stands for something more than itself
SIMILE: a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than or resembles
The menagerie itself is symbolic of Laura. She also seems rather attached to them. They are symbolic of how the arguments between Tom and his mother, Amanda, affect Laura. While arguing, Tom puts on his coat to storm out and knocks some of the little figures over. Neither Tom nor Amanda really notice, but Laura seems heartbroken. In the beginning, Tom explicitly says what the glass menagerie is supposed to represent about Laura. He says, "...Laura's separation increases till she is like a piece of her own glass collection, too exquisitely fragile to move from the shelf" (Williams 1234). The glass menagerie is very delicate and Laura is so shy and so much of an introvert that she runs the risk of becoming like one of the little figurines that just sits on a shelf and never really does anything.
There is a simile that compares Laura to the glass menagerie. It is in scene 6 when she is being prepared by Amanda for the gentleman caller. The stage directions describe her appearance: (The arrangement of Laura's hair is changed; it is softer and more becoming. A fragile, unearthly prettiness has come out in Laura: she is like a piece of translucent glass touched by light, given a momentary radiance, not actual, not lasting) (Williams 1263). Her appearance and fragility increases with the amount of crippling shyness that comes over her.
Monday, October 1, 2012
Glass Menagerie Blog Post 2
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
SYMBOL: a person, place, thing, or event that stands for something more than itself
fire-escape/smoke break/time portal...?
I could be completely off in my thinking right now and realize that it is allowed, but I get the impression that whenever Tom Wingfield goes to the fire-escape for a smoke break he recalls a memory to tell during the play. Every scene seems to begin with something to do with the fire-escape and Tom either already at it, or on his way over to it. I already know that the memories are his too. He is the narrator so it makes sense that he has a smoking problem and needs to have a reason to go over there. It's a sort of time portal back in time to the memories he has had. He brings them into the play when he goes out for a smoke break. Towards the beginning of scene 5, Amanda is going on and on about how Tom smokes too much and how he could use the money for schooling. Tom's response is this: "I'd rather smoke. (He steps out on the landing, letting the screen door slam.)" (Williams 1255). Then comes music which also leads me to believe there is another memory coming up. And then he begins to recall the dance studio and a conversation with Amanda about his sister, Laura.
SYMBOL: a person, place, thing, or event that stands for something more than itself
fire-escape/smoke break/time portal...?
I could be completely off in my thinking right now and realize that it is allowed, but I get the impression that whenever Tom Wingfield goes to the fire-escape for a smoke break he recalls a memory to tell during the play. Every scene seems to begin with something to do with the fire-escape and Tom either already at it, or on his way over to it. I already know that the memories are his too. He is the narrator so it makes sense that he has a smoking problem and needs to have a reason to go over there. It's a sort of time portal back in time to the memories he has had. He brings them into the play when he goes out for a smoke break. Towards the beginning of scene 5, Amanda is going on and on about how Tom smokes too much and how he could use the money for schooling. Tom's response is this: "I'd rather smoke. (He steps out on the landing, letting the screen door slam.)" (Williams 1255). Then comes music which also leads me to believe there is another memory coming up. And then he begins to recall the dance studio and a conversation with Amanda about his sister, Laura.
Glass Menagerie Blog Post 1
The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams
1. In presenting scene 1, the author says: "The scene is memory and is therefore nonrealistic." To whose memory does he refer? Why should memory be nonrealistic? List the different ways in which the play is nonrealistic. What, according to Tom in his opening speech, is the ultimate aim of this nonrealistic method of presentation?
I believe that all the memories are from Tom Wingfield who is also the narrator. Tom is in all the scenes because he was either there in the memories or is telling the memories as a narrator in the play. This is why I can logically think that he is the one who's memories are telling the story. Memory should be nonrealistic because, "memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart." (Williams 1235). So, I think memory should be nonrealistic because something realistic would be the event actually happening. It is unrealistic for an event to reoccur in real life and happen again in a play. The play itself is nonrealistic because of the fact that it is a memory play. Also, the narrator is also a character and tells about all the stage directions, music, and lighting that happens in the play while still being a character in the play. His ultimate aim of this nonrealistic method is to give the truth "...in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (Williams 1236).
1. In presenting scene 1, the author says: "The scene is memory and is therefore nonrealistic." To whose memory does he refer? Why should memory be nonrealistic? List the different ways in which the play is nonrealistic. What, according to Tom in his opening speech, is the ultimate aim of this nonrealistic method of presentation?
I believe that all the memories are from Tom Wingfield who is also the narrator. Tom is in all the scenes because he was either there in the memories or is telling the memories as a narrator in the play. This is why I can logically think that he is the one who's memories are telling the story. Memory should be nonrealistic because, "memory takes a lot of poetic license. It omits some details; others are exaggerated, according to the emotional value of the articles it touches, for memory is seated predominantly in the heart." (Williams 1235). So, I think memory should be nonrealistic because something realistic would be the event actually happening. It is unrealistic for an event to reoccur in real life and happen again in a play. The play itself is nonrealistic because of the fact that it is a memory play. Also, the narrator is also a character and tells about all the stage directions, music, and lighting that happens in the play while still being a character in the play. His ultimate aim of this nonrealistic method is to give the truth "...in the pleasant disguise of illusion" (Williams 1236).
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