Friday, January 25, 2013
Love Me Not Blog Post #4
Popular Mechanics by Raymond Carver
1. Discuss the story's final lines. What is the "issue" that is "decided"?
IRONY: a discrepancy between appearances and reality
This poem also had a big twist at the end. I could sort of see it coming as the story progressed, though. The couple is breaking up and the man is leaving but also wants the baby. The final lines that were shocking to me were, "In this manner, the issue was decided" (Carver). The basic story line of the story is one of breaking up and breaking hearts, but the author throws in another helpless character, the baby. The helplessness of the baby adds to the idea that fights don't only affect the two people involved. Divorce and arguments affect everyone around the two parties involved. This is universal though. It's ironic that the two people wish to keep the child safe and protect it from the other, but in doing this, they end up killing the baby is what I am thinking. The "issue" is who will get the baby and the "decision" is that they end up literally splitting the baby up between the two of them. Tragic, but usually what happens with split or divorced parents. Not literally though, but figuratively.
Love Me Not Blog Post #3
The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin
UNDERSTATEMENT: a type of verbal irony takes place when what is stated says less than what is meant
ANTHROPOMORPHISM: attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object
This short story had quite the twist at the end. I was unsure as to where it was headed at the beginning, but then realized that this lady is a huge jerk. At first I feel bad for her because her husband had just been killed in a horrific accident and she would be all alone, but then there is a shift at paragraph five. When the "storm of grief had spent itself" (Chopin), Josephine starts to recognize all the good things that are going on in the world around her. She notices the birds chirping and the blue skies and I start to get a sense of her not being so sad anymore. Finally, she has a revelation that she is finally free because her husband is dead. She does fight the feeling though. The emotion she didn't want to feel was joy and relief. She could feel it "creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air" (Chopin). I don't feel bad at the end of the story when her death is abrupt and understated because I think it was just karma. She was happy her husband was dead and she never really loved him anyways, and then she even prayed for a longer life apart from him. So, I am happy that she was immediately killed. I do feel bad for her husband though. Hopefully he doesn't have the same reaction to his wife's death as she did to his "death".
UNDERSTATEMENT: a type of verbal irony takes place when what is stated says less than what is meant
ANTHROPOMORPHISM: attributing human characteristics to an animal or inanimate object
This short story had quite the twist at the end. I was unsure as to where it was headed at the beginning, but then realized that this lady is a huge jerk. At first I feel bad for her because her husband had just been killed in a horrific accident and she would be all alone, but then there is a shift at paragraph five. When the "storm of grief had spent itself" (Chopin), Josephine starts to recognize all the good things that are going on in the world around her. She notices the birds chirping and the blue skies and I start to get a sense of her not being so sad anymore. Finally, she has a revelation that she is finally free because her husband is dead. She does fight the feeling though. The emotion she didn't want to feel was joy and relief. She could feel it "creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air" (Chopin). I don't feel bad at the end of the story when her death is abrupt and understated because I think it was just karma. She was happy her husband was dead and she never really loved him anyways, and then she even prayed for a longer life apart from him. So, I am happy that she was immediately killed. I do feel bad for her husband though. Hopefully he doesn't have the same reaction to his wife's death as she did to his "death".
Love Me Not Blog Post #2
Getting Out by Cleopatra Mathis
SIMILE: a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles
3. Should inmates be interpreted as imprisonment or confinement to a mental hospital? Explain your choice.
4. Explain the shift in tone from line 14 to line 15. What emotions do these people feel for each other now? How do you know?
This poem is basically about a man and a woman going through a divorce and finally separating. I know they are going through a divorce because in line 20, there is thought of "the lawyer's bewilderment when he cried, the last day" (Mathis 896). This poem about divorce is very sad and depressing to me. There is a simile in the very first line, "That year we hardly slept, walking like inmates who beat the walls" (Mathis 896). I take this as confinement in a mental hospital because the both of them are banging on the walls. Also, as cliche as it sounds, love does make you crazy. Neither one of them wants to give in to the other, so slowly they are turning into people they never thought they could be. The tone shift from line 14 to 15 is kind of like the both of them forgiving the other in a weird way. In line 14, they are "heaving words like furniture" (Mathis 896). This means that they are fighting and saying cruel things back and forth at each other. Then, in line 15, the "last unshredded picture" (Mathis 896) eludes to the fact that there is still that connection the both of them have with each other. Yes, they did split up and now live on different sides of the world, but they still will always have that time together and the memories and lessons they learned while being with each other.
SIMILE: a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using words such as like, as, than, or resembles
3. Should inmates be interpreted as imprisonment or confinement to a mental hospital? Explain your choice.
4. Explain the shift in tone from line 14 to line 15. What emotions do these people feel for each other now? How do you know?
This poem is basically about a man and a woman going through a divorce and finally separating. I know they are going through a divorce because in line 20, there is thought of "the lawyer's bewilderment when he cried, the last day" (Mathis 896). This poem about divorce is very sad and depressing to me. There is a simile in the very first line, "That year we hardly slept, walking like inmates who beat the walls" (Mathis 896). I take this as confinement in a mental hospital because the both of them are banging on the walls. Also, as cliche as it sounds, love does make you crazy. Neither one of them wants to give in to the other, so slowly they are turning into people they never thought they could be. The tone shift from line 14 to 15 is kind of like the both of them forgiving the other in a weird way. In line 14, they are "heaving words like furniture" (Mathis 896). This means that they are fighting and saying cruel things back and forth at each other. Then, in line 15, the "last unshredded picture" (Mathis 896) eludes to the fact that there is still that connection the both of them have with each other. Yes, they did split up and now live on different sides of the world, but they still will always have that time together and the memories and lessons they learned while being with each other.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Love Me Not Blog Post #1
You're Ugly, Too by Lorrie Moore
3. This story makes extensive use of jokes. Discuss the importance of jokes to the characterization of Zoë and to the story as a whole.
I absolutely loved this short story. Zoë is hilarious to me and I do want to spend time with her and like be her bff. She is little miss congeniality to me. Her sarcastic sense of humor makes the story and the situations she finds herself in, not less serious, but less of a bigger deal at the time. The author uses the jokes in the story as a defense mechanism for Zoë. When she finds herself in an awkward or uncomfortable situation, she makes a joke about it. In the very beginning of the story, a student asks her what her perfume is and she responds, "room freshener" (Moore 353). She knows that the student is trying to make a joke about her smell, but she responds sarcastically. The use of the student reviews throughout the story are funny too. They are applying the real life reviews of things that her students notice to circumstances that actually happen in her life in a witty and comical way.
3. This story makes extensive use of jokes. Discuss the importance of jokes to the characterization of Zoë and to the story as a whole.
I absolutely loved this short story. Zoë is hilarious to me and I do want to spend time with her and like be her bff. She is little miss congeniality to me. Her sarcastic sense of humor makes the story and the situations she finds herself in, not less serious, but less of a bigger deal at the time. The author uses the jokes in the story as a defense mechanism for Zoë. When she finds herself in an awkward or uncomfortable situation, she makes a joke about it. In the very beginning of the story, a student asks her what her perfume is and she responds, "room freshener" (Moore 353). She knows that the student is trying to make a joke about her smell, but she responds sarcastically. The use of the student reviews throughout the story are funny too. They are applying the real life reviews of things that her students notice to circumstances that actually happen in her life in a witty and comical way.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Love Blog Post #4
Delight in Disorder by Robert Herrick
OXYMORON: a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase
2. The phrase "wild civility" (12) is an example of oxymoron, a compact paradox in which two successive words seemingly contradict each other. Discuss the effectiveness of this device in this phrase and examine the poem for other examples.
I also liked this poem because it was simple, but very complex at the same time. I think the main point the author was trying to get at was that he liked the disorder in a woman rather than for her to be completely put together and perfect. I believe that although it is very cheesy, there is perfection in imperfection. This poem made me think about the evolutionary idea of our planet. There were so many imperfect factors, like meteors coming together to form, but also destroy, the surface of the planet, that went into the creation of this perfect planet that is Earth. It is just the right amount of everything that makes it capable of sustaining life. This author applied the same thought, I believe, to his attraction to certain women. He uses contradictions and oxymorons such as wild civility to convey his point. The writer says, "A careless shoestring, in whose tie I see a wild civility; Do more bewitch me than when art Is too precise in every part." (Herrick 979). When he sees an untied shoestring, he doesn't see disorder, but he sees a wild civility. He loves that and sees in it the untamed graciousness of a woman. He realizes that nothing is perfect and instead of looking for perfection, he focuses on the imperfections and loves them.
OXYMORON: a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase
2. The phrase "wild civility" (12) is an example of oxymoron, a compact paradox in which two successive words seemingly contradict each other. Discuss the effectiveness of this device in this phrase and examine the poem for other examples.
I also liked this poem because it was simple, but very complex at the same time. I think the main point the author was trying to get at was that he liked the disorder in a woman rather than for her to be completely put together and perfect. I believe that although it is very cheesy, there is perfection in imperfection. This poem made me think about the evolutionary idea of our planet. There were so many imperfect factors, like meteors coming together to form, but also destroy, the surface of the planet, that went into the creation of this perfect planet that is Earth. It is just the right amount of everything that makes it capable of sustaining life. This author applied the same thought, I believe, to his attraction to certain women. He uses contradictions and oxymorons such as wild civility to convey his point. The writer says, "A careless shoestring, in whose tie I see a wild civility; Do more bewitch me than when art Is too precise in every part." (Herrick 979). When he sees an untied shoestring, he doesn't see disorder, but he sees a wild civility. He loves that and sees in it the untamed graciousness of a woman. He realizes that nothing is perfect and instead of looking for perfection, he focuses on the imperfections and loves them.
Love Blog Post #3
Lonely Hearts by Wendy Cope
1. The title refers to the "Personals" advertising section in a newspaper or magazine in which people solicit companionship from others. Each of the five tercets represents a different ad. Explore the variety of needs that they display.
I really liked this poem. I think it was because of how it was written, though. It was simple and clever and I found it very interesting. All these people are lonely and looking for someone else that they can live happily with. In the first tercet, it is simply a biker looking for a girl that he can take exploring with him. The second one is about a gay person who likes music and Shakespeare and the sun, but has very few friends. The third tercet is about a possibly uptight person who wants something new so they are searching for a bisexual, artsy, and young woman. Certainly that person wants to shake things up a bit. In the fourth one, there is an attractive Jewish lady with a son and she seems to be looking for a normal and average person just like her. In the final tercet, a Libran who is inexperienced and blue, is looking for a skinny, non-smoking person under the age of twenty-one. I'm not sure if there is deeper meaning in all of these descriptions. Certainly there is deeper meaning, it is a poem and I am sure the poet wasn't just recounting what she saw in the newspaper that day. I think it shows a variety of wants and needs that a variety of people want and need. One of the deeper meanings I possibly thought about was when the "Executive was in search of something new--" (Cope 973). I thought it showed a great contrast between the uptight executive who needs to let loose a little bit.
1. The title refers to the "Personals" advertising section in a newspaper or magazine in which people solicit companionship from others. Each of the five tercets represents a different ad. Explore the variety of needs that they display.
I really liked this poem. I think it was because of how it was written, though. It was simple and clever and I found it very interesting. All these people are lonely and looking for someone else that they can live happily with. In the first tercet, it is simply a biker looking for a girl that he can take exploring with him. The second one is about a gay person who likes music and Shakespeare and the sun, but has very few friends. The third tercet is about a possibly uptight person who wants something new so they are searching for a bisexual, artsy, and young woman. Certainly that person wants to shake things up a bit. In the fourth one, there is an attractive Jewish lady with a son and she seems to be looking for a normal and average person just like her. In the final tercet, a Libran who is inexperienced and blue, is looking for a skinny, non-smoking person under the age of twenty-one. I'm not sure if there is deeper meaning in all of these descriptions. Certainly there is deeper meaning, it is a poem and I am sure the poet wasn't just recounting what she saw in the newspaper that day. I think it shows a variety of wants and needs that a variety of people want and need. One of the deeper meanings I possibly thought about was when the "Executive was in search of something new--" (Cope 973). I thought it showed a great contrast between the uptight executive who needs to let loose a little bit.
Love Blog Post #2
Eveline by James Joyce
2. What in Eveline's present circumstances makes it desirable for her to escape her home? Characterize her father and Miss Gavan, her supervisor. What does the memory of her mother contribute to her decision to leave?
Eveline lives with her father and helps him around the house. He is abusive and causes her to have palpitations. Also, Eveline's mother is dead. She has two brothers, Harry and Ernest. Ernest was dead and Harry was never around so Eveline has no one to protect her from her father's brutality. Her father seems to me to be sort of misunderstood and angry. He loves his daughter and doesn't want anything bad to happen to her, but he still takes all of his anger out on her. I believe he wants to protect her because he says, "I know these sailor chaps" (Joyce 220). To me, this seems like he knows something and he wants her to stay away from it so he forbids her to see him. The memory of her mother makes her quickly decide to leave with Frank. I think she remembers that her mother died unhappy and she suddenly thinks she needs to be happy and that she actually has the right to be happy. This sudden realization causes Eveline to get up and leave and try to go find a happier life with Frank. I don't get, however, why she doesn't go. The ending didn't make sense to me. I think that when it says that she felt no love and her expressions had no love in them, that maybe she realized she didn't love Frank and that he could give her a better life, but she wouldn't love him.
2. What in Eveline's present circumstances makes it desirable for her to escape her home? Characterize her father and Miss Gavan, her supervisor. What does the memory of her mother contribute to her decision to leave?
Eveline lives with her father and helps him around the house. He is abusive and causes her to have palpitations. Also, Eveline's mother is dead. She has two brothers, Harry and Ernest. Ernest was dead and Harry was never around so Eveline has no one to protect her from her father's brutality. Her father seems to me to be sort of misunderstood and angry. He loves his daughter and doesn't want anything bad to happen to her, but he still takes all of his anger out on her. I believe he wants to protect her because he says, "I know these sailor chaps" (Joyce 220). To me, this seems like he knows something and he wants her to stay away from it so he forbids her to see him. The memory of her mother makes her quickly decide to leave with Frank. I think she remembers that her mother died unhappy and she suddenly thinks she needs to be happy and that she actually has the right to be happy. This sudden realization causes Eveline to get up and leave and try to go find a happier life with Frank. I don't get, however, why she doesn't go. The ending didn't make sense to me. I think that when it says that she felt no love and her expressions had no love in them, that maybe she realized she didn't love Frank and that he could give her a better life, but she wouldn't love him.
Love Blog Post #1
How I Met My Husband by Alice Munro
4. Is Edie a sympathetic character? How does her status as "the hired girl" affect the way you respond to her as a reader?
I don't believe it was so much the fact that Edie was the hired help that made her a sympathetic character. It was more the fact that she was so young and naive that caused the reader to look upon her situation with sympathy. There are many instances in the story where I sort of found myself shaking my head at Edie and wondering how she could be so gullible and naive. She was ignorant to think that Chris was going to be committed to just her because he is literally running away from his own "fiancee". She sits by the mailbox waiting for this letter that is never going to come and I feel so bad for her. She is also ignorant of the definition of "intimate" when she is being interrogated by the ladies. She doesn't know that they don't mean just kissing. Finally, in the beginning of the story, Edie is reminiscing on the fact that Chris called her beautiful and, at the time, she had no idea that he was flirting with her when he calls her beautiful. Edie says, "For a man to say a word like beautiful. I wasn't old enough to realize or to say anything back, or in fact to do anything but wish he would go away" (Munro 135). This also adds to the reminiscent tone of the story where a much older and wiser Edie was looking back on her ignorance and retelling this naive "love" affair.
4. Is Edie a sympathetic character? How does her status as "the hired girl" affect the way you respond to her as a reader?
I don't believe it was so much the fact that Edie was the hired help that made her a sympathetic character. It was more the fact that she was so young and naive that caused the reader to look upon her situation with sympathy. There are many instances in the story where I sort of found myself shaking my head at Edie and wondering how she could be so gullible and naive. She was ignorant to think that Chris was going to be committed to just her because he is literally running away from his own "fiancee". She sits by the mailbox waiting for this letter that is never going to come and I feel so bad for her. She is also ignorant of the definition of "intimate" when she is being interrogated by the ladies. She doesn't know that they don't mean just kissing. Finally, in the beginning of the story, Edie is reminiscing on the fact that Chris called her beautiful and, at the time, she had no idea that he was flirting with her when he calls her beautiful. Edie says, "For a man to say a word like beautiful. I wasn't old enough to realize or to say anything back, or in fact to do anything but wish he would go away" (Munro 135). This also adds to the reminiscent tone of the story where a much older and wiser Edie was looking back on her ignorance and retelling this naive "love" affair.
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