"The World's Greatest Fisherman" is a short story about the death of a young woman who had two sons. One son was illegitimate and was raised by his grandmother Lipshaw Morrissey. Lipshaw did not know who his mother and father was through most of his young life. While his brother "King" knew both his mother and father. The two stories "The World's Greatest Fisherman" and "Crossing the Water" come full circle as they complete Lipshaw's curiosity about who he is. Lipshaw's grandmother knew that he was an incomplete person.
June was raised by her Uncle Eli as no one would take her in. June did not have any living parents and eventually married her cousin Gordie was the only home that she had known even though she divorced him. "After she had grown up and looked around for a while, June decided on my uncle, Gordie Kashpaw, and married him even though they had to run away to do it." (8)
In "The World's Greatest Fisherman" Albertine, Lipshaw's cousin, wanted to tell Lipshaw that she knew who his mother was, but couldn't tell him. "I was going to tell him that his mother was June. Since so many others knew, it was the only right that he should, too." (39) Albertine could not tell him because of his unforgiving remarks about his mother "I can never forgive what she done to a little child," he said." (39)
In "Crossing the Waters" Lipshaw's grandmother tells him where her money is kept and Lipshaw sneaks into her apartment and steals her money one night, just as his grandmother would have wanted him to. "I stole into Grandma Kashpaw's apartment and sneaked the hankie full of money from her drawer." (304) Lipshaw knew that his grandmother wanted him to take the money. "Maybe I was misconstructing, but the more I thought about the way she looked at me when she said that, the more I felt like Grandma was offering me something. Bus fare, maybe, the chance to get away from here in my confusion. (304) So, Lipshaw stole the money and ran away.
A woman by the name of Lulu Lamartine told Lipshaw who he was and that his mother was June and his father was still alive in a penitentiary by the name of Gerry Nanapush.
The first story told the story of June and the last story was about her one of her sons Lipshaw. These two stories are interconnected and tell the story of a confused young man without any known parents and by the end he is complete and knows both of his parents. "I tell you, there was good to what she did for me, I know now. The son that she she acknowledged suffered more than Lipsha Morrissey did. The thought of June grabbed my hear so, but I was lucky she turned me over to Grandma Kashpaw." (333)
Erdrich, Louis. "Love Medicine"
Harper Collins Publishers, New York, New York, 2005
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Breath, Eyes, Memory
Breath, Eyes, Memory
Sophie in “Breath, Eyes, Memory” was born into a matriarch family in Haiti. Sophie became a strong woman who was raised without a father. In Haiti a family was suppose to be ruled by the Patriarch. Sophie only knew the women in her life, her grandmother and aunt who were strong women. Sophie’s mother was portrayed as being haunted by a shadow of her rapist and was suggested as weakened by her dreams, but her mother was actually strong due to her struggle “to stay ahead of the mental hospital.”
Sophie grew stronger when she moved to the United States when she was twelve years old. Her mother worked two jobs and left Sophie to care for herself. “I wish that I could help you do one of your jobs.” (58) Sophie attended school and saw herself through each day mostly alone. Sophie’s strength also helped her mother during her mother’s nightmares and towards the end of the book her mother became more dependent on Sophie as the dreams became more intense due to her mother’s pregnancy.
Sophie’s desire to separate herself from her mother and the ritual “test” gave her more independence from her mother’s control over her. “I waited until I heard her moaning in her sleep. I gathered my things and stuffed them into a suitcase. I had to dress quickly. I tiptoed downstairs and opened the front door. I knocked on Joseph’s door and waited for him to answer.” Sophie married an older man, Joseph, and had a child, but suffered with her mother’s mental illness. Sophie, unlike her family sought medical attention to deal with her mother and herself being traumatized from the “test” that her mother performed on her regularly.
After the birth of Sophie’s child Josephine, named after her husband Joe, Sophie returned to Haiti to her grandmother and her aunt. Sophie I believe felt alone and isolated in America as he was basically the caretaker of her mother upon arrival. She grew immediately from a child of twelve years of age to a young woman taking care of herself and her mother.
In the end of the book Sophie returns to Haiti to bury her mother who committed suicide by stabbing herself 17 times in the stomach to abort the child that spoke to her in anguish. In a critical essay by Patrick S.J. Samway in The Mississippi Quarterly “Martine commits suicide by stabbing her stomach seventeen times with an old rusty knife and killing her unwanted fetus, reminiscent of the time she tried to abort the developing Sophie in her womb.”
After the funeral, and at the end of the book, Sophie runs through the cane field to resolve her mother’s lifelong suffering which Sophie suffered herself. Her mother’s rapist became Sophie’s shadow too. Sophie strives to make a better life for her daughter and wants her daughter to sleep peacefully, unlike Sophie and her mother.
Works Cited
Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory
Random House Books, Inc., New York 1994
Samway, Patrick S.J. A homeward journey: Edwidge Danticat's fictional landscapes,
mindscapes, genescapes, and signscapes in Breath, Eyes, Memory.(Critical Essay).
The Mississippi Quarterly 57.1 (Winter 2003): p75(10). (3568 words)
Sophie in “Breath, Eyes, Memory” was born into a matriarch family in Haiti. Sophie became a strong woman who was raised without a father. In Haiti a family was suppose to be ruled by the Patriarch. Sophie only knew the women in her life, her grandmother and aunt who were strong women. Sophie’s mother was portrayed as being haunted by a shadow of her rapist and was suggested as weakened by her dreams, but her mother was actually strong due to her struggle “to stay ahead of the mental hospital.”
Sophie grew stronger when she moved to the United States when she was twelve years old. Her mother worked two jobs and left Sophie to care for herself. “I wish that I could help you do one of your jobs.” (58) Sophie attended school and saw herself through each day mostly alone. Sophie’s strength also helped her mother during her mother’s nightmares and towards the end of the book her mother became more dependent on Sophie as the dreams became more intense due to her mother’s pregnancy.
Sophie’s desire to separate herself from her mother and the ritual “test” gave her more independence from her mother’s control over her. “I waited until I heard her moaning in her sleep. I gathered my things and stuffed them into a suitcase. I had to dress quickly. I tiptoed downstairs and opened the front door. I knocked on Joseph’s door and waited for him to answer.” Sophie married an older man, Joseph, and had a child, but suffered with her mother’s mental illness. Sophie, unlike her family sought medical attention to deal with her mother and herself being traumatized from the “test” that her mother performed on her regularly.
After the birth of Sophie’s child Josephine, named after her husband Joe, Sophie returned to Haiti to her grandmother and her aunt. Sophie I believe felt alone and isolated in America as he was basically the caretaker of her mother upon arrival. She grew immediately from a child of twelve years of age to a young woman taking care of herself and her mother.
In the end of the book Sophie returns to Haiti to bury her mother who committed suicide by stabbing herself 17 times in the stomach to abort the child that spoke to her in anguish. In a critical essay by Patrick S.J. Samway in The Mississippi Quarterly “Martine commits suicide by stabbing her stomach seventeen times with an old rusty knife and killing her unwanted fetus, reminiscent of the time she tried to abort the developing Sophie in her womb.”
After the funeral, and at the end of the book, Sophie runs through the cane field to resolve her mother’s lifelong suffering which Sophie suffered herself. Her mother’s rapist became Sophie’s shadow too. Sophie strives to make a better life for her daughter and wants her daughter to sleep peacefully, unlike Sophie and her mother.
Works Cited
Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory
Random House Books, Inc., New York 1994
Samway, Patrick S.J. A homeward journey: Edwidge Danticat's fictional landscapes,
mindscapes, genescapes, and signscapes in Breath, Eyes, Memory.(Critical Essay).
The Mississippi Quarterly 57.1 (Winter 2003): p75(10). (3568 words)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Poisonwood Bible
The Poisonwood Bible has different viewpoints from four daughters and their mother of their lives in Africa. The father’s, who was a minister, viewpoint in the book was never offered. The detailed lives of each daughter and their mother gave a more complete understanding of the Congo and the harsh living conditions. The different viewpoints gave reason and better understanding of the traditions and lifestyle of being raised in Africa. The different viewpoints gave the reader a more thorough understanding of the book and the fascinating story that it told.
Throughout the book the father is viewed and commented on, but his own viewpoints were not discussed. It might have been helpful to hear the father’s viewpoint to understand why he was insistent against all odds to bring his wife and four daughters to Africa on a missionary trip. The father’s viewpoint also might have been helpful to understand why he refused to leave Africa when he should have.
One could only speculate that he was seeking a kind of redemption from what he had experienced in the war of losing the soldiers that he had served with. “Nathan’s company died, to the man, on the Death March from Bataan.” “He came home with a crescent-shaped scar on his temple, seriously weakened vision in his left eye, and a suspicion of his own cowardice from which he could never recover.” (197)
The father was described as angry and hostile, whose own religion was his only love. He risked everything including his family in his wasted efforts to cleanse and save all sinners in the name of Christianity. In an article by Elaine R. Ognibene, published in College Literature, “One man who does not change is Nathan Price. In The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan’s evangelical, self-righteous, judgmental attitudes threaten the lives of his family, as well as the people in the remote Congolese village of Kilanga.” (21)
The mother’s narratives explain her dedication to her husband first and then to her daughters. “And you wonder why I didn’t rise up and revolt against Nathan? I felt lucky to get my shoes on the right fee, that why. I moved forward only, thinking each morning anew that we were leaving the worst behind.” (200)
The mother near the end of the book leaves her husband after the death of her youngest daughter, Ruth May. The mother returns to Georgia with one of her daughters, Adah, and leaves her other two daughters who are too ill to travel.
The four daughters give their narratives in turn while they are growing up in Africa. After the death of the youngest daughter, Ruth May, two of the daughters remain in Africa, Rahel and Leah. As Rachel, the oldest daughter stated why she didn’t return to the United States, “My long tramp through the mud left me tuckered out and just too worldly-wise to go along with the teen scene.” (513) Leah married a man, Anatole, and raised a family with him. The third daughter, Adah, attends medical school at Emory University.
Even though each daughter and their mother give their own viewpoint of their lives in Africa, all their viewpoints about Africa remain the same. They all are affected by Africa and the daughters cannot live in the United States after becoming aware of their world and the effects of capitalism and socialism. These different viewpoints gave me a clearer understanding of what it have must have been like to live in Africa as a missionary.
Works Cited
Kingsolver, Barbara. “The Poisonwood Bible”
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
New York, New York, 2002
The Missionary Position: Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" Elaine R. Ognibene
College Literature, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Summer, 2003), pp. 19-36
Published by: College Literature
Throughout the book the father is viewed and commented on, but his own viewpoints were not discussed. It might have been helpful to hear the father’s viewpoint to understand why he was insistent against all odds to bring his wife and four daughters to Africa on a missionary trip. The father’s viewpoint also might have been helpful to understand why he refused to leave Africa when he should have.
One could only speculate that he was seeking a kind of redemption from what he had experienced in the war of losing the soldiers that he had served with. “Nathan’s company died, to the man, on the Death March from Bataan.” “He came home with a crescent-shaped scar on his temple, seriously weakened vision in his left eye, and a suspicion of his own cowardice from which he could never recover.” (197)
The father was described as angry and hostile, whose own religion was his only love. He risked everything including his family in his wasted efforts to cleanse and save all sinners in the name of Christianity. In an article by Elaine R. Ognibene, published in College Literature, “One man who does not change is Nathan Price. In The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan’s evangelical, self-righteous, judgmental attitudes threaten the lives of his family, as well as the people in the remote Congolese village of Kilanga.” (21)
The mother’s narratives explain her dedication to her husband first and then to her daughters. “And you wonder why I didn’t rise up and revolt against Nathan? I felt lucky to get my shoes on the right fee, that why. I moved forward only, thinking each morning anew that we were leaving the worst behind.” (200)
The mother near the end of the book leaves her husband after the death of her youngest daughter, Ruth May. The mother returns to Georgia with one of her daughters, Adah, and leaves her other two daughters who are too ill to travel.
The four daughters give their narratives in turn while they are growing up in Africa. After the death of the youngest daughter, Ruth May, two of the daughters remain in Africa, Rahel and Leah. As Rachel, the oldest daughter stated why she didn’t return to the United States, “My long tramp through the mud left me tuckered out and just too worldly-wise to go along with the teen scene.” (513) Leah married a man, Anatole, and raised a family with him. The third daughter, Adah, attends medical school at Emory University.
Even though each daughter and their mother give their own viewpoint of their lives in Africa, all their viewpoints about Africa remain the same. They all are affected by Africa and the daughters cannot live in the United States after becoming aware of their world and the effects of capitalism and socialism. These different viewpoints gave me a clearer understanding of what it have must have been like to live in Africa as a missionary.
Works Cited
Kingsolver, Barbara. “The Poisonwood Bible”
HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
New York, New York, 2002
The Missionary Position: Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" Elaine R. Ognibene
College Literature, Vol. 30, No. 3 (Summer, 2003), pp. 19-36
Published by: College Literature
Saturday, October 31, 2009
"The Color Purple and Independence"
In Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” the story was reminiscent of Janie in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” The character Janie in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” could be seen throughout the book. Celie, the main character, is a round character because she comes full circle towards the end of the story.
In the beginning of the book Celie was a child who birthed two children by her father. Her first was a boy whom she called Adam and the second was a girl named Olivia. As soon as Celie gave birth her father took her children away from her. She did not know if they were dead or alive. Celie was a child and was very submissive.
In an article Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of walker's the color purple it explains the title of the book “The color purple is continually equated with suffering and pain. Sophia's swollen, beaten face is described as the color of "eggplant."”
Her father gave her away to an older man to help the man raise his children, she was a child bride. Again, Celie was submissive and did as her husband told her. Celie’s husband beat her and was unfaithful to her. Celie’s husband did not love her. One day when the oldest child, Harpo, was married he asked Celie how to control his defiant bride. Celie told him to beat her “Beat her I say.” (38)
This shocked me as I thought how could Celie want another woman beaten? But, this was the only way that Celie was raised and Celie was jealous of Sofia and her independence with Harpo her stepson. When Sofia confronts Celie, Celie says “I say it cause I’m a fool, I say. I say it cause I’m jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can’t. Fight.” (42) Celie only knew submission throughout most of her life and she was jealous of Sofia and her independence.
When Celie grew older she was still submissive until she met a woman that her husband called “Shug.” Celie’s husband moved his mistress “Shug” into his house with his wife. But, Celie and Shug grew close and Shug gave Celie confidence in herself and helped Celie to eventually leave her husband.
The first time that Celie thought to leave her husband she changed her mind as her husband looked disapprovingly at her. Celie wanted to leave with Shug. Years later Shug came back to visit Celie and her husband. Celie’s independence finally grew strong and she left her husband this time with Shug.
In the article “Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of walker's the color purple” describes Celie as growing up in the book “Celie's growing self-awareness and assertion are accompanied by the novel's formal expansion as it integrates Celie's letters to God with accounts of other characters' lives.”
At the end of the book Celie’s father died and she inherited her father’s house. Celie was finally joined with her sister Nettie who did missionary work in Africa and where she found Celie’s children. At the end of the book Celie became an independent woman who owned property.
Works Cited
Walker, Alice. “The Color Purple”
Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Shuster, Inc.
New York, New York, 1982
Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of walker's the color purple. (Alice Walker)(Critical essay).
The Explicator 66.3 (Spring 2008): p150(4). (1382 words) Reading Level (Lexile): 1430. Shanyn Fiske. 66.3 (Spring 2008): p150(4). (1382 words) Reading Level (Lexile): 1430.
In the beginning of the book Celie was a child who birthed two children by her father. Her first was a boy whom she called Adam and the second was a girl named Olivia. As soon as Celie gave birth her father took her children away from her. She did not know if they were dead or alive. Celie was a child and was very submissive.
In an article Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of walker's the color purple it explains the title of the book “The color purple is continually equated with suffering and pain. Sophia's swollen, beaten face is described as the color of "eggplant."”
Her father gave her away to an older man to help the man raise his children, she was a child bride. Again, Celie was submissive and did as her husband told her. Celie’s husband beat her and was unfaithful to her. Celie’s husband did not love her. One day when the oldest child, Harpo, was married he asked Celie how to control his defiant bride. Celie told him to beat her “Beat her I say.” (38)
This shocked me as I thought how could Celie want another woman beaten? But, this was the only way that Celie was raised and Celie was jealous of Sofia and her independence with Harpo her stepson. When Sofia confronts Celie, Celie says “I say it cause I’m a fool, I say. I say it cause I’m jealous of you. I say it cause you do what I can’t. Fight.” (42) Celie only knew submission throughout most of her life and she was jealous of Sofia and her independence.
When Celie grew older she was still submissive until she met a woman that her husband called “Shug.” Celie’s husband moved his mistress “Shug” into his house with his wife. But, Celie and Shug grew close and Shug gave Celie confidence in herself and helped Celie to eventually leave her husband.
The first time that Celie thought to leave her husband she changed her mind as her husband looked disapprovingly at her. Celie wanted to leave with Shug. Years later Shug came back to visit Celie and her husband. Celie’s independence finally grew strong and she left her husband this time with Shug.
In the article “Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of walker's the color purple” describes Celie as growing up in the book “Celie's growing self-awareness and assertion are accompanied by the novel's formal expansion as it integrates Celie's letters to God with accounts of other characters' lives.”
At the end of the book Celie’s father died and she inherited her father’s house. Celie was finally joined with her sister Nettie who did missionary work in Africa and where she found Celie’s children. At the end of the book Celie became an independent woman who owned property.
Works Cited
Walker, Alice. “The Color Purple”
Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Shuster, Inc.
New York, New York, 1982
Piecing the patchwork self: a reading of walker's the color purple. (Alice Walker)(Critical essay).
The Explicator 66.3 (Spring 2008): p150(4). (1382 words) Reading Level (Lexile): 1430. Shanyn Fiske. 66.3 (Spring 2008): p150(4). (1382 words) Reading Level (Lexile): 1430.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
"Their Eyes Were Watching God" a Woman's Journey to Independence
“Their Eyes Were Watching God”
In “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Nora Zeale Hurston, the main character in this book was a woman whose name is Janie. Janie takes the reader through her journeys as she was growing up. I found this book fascinating and it is now one of my favorite books as it disrupted the standard social views of women/men and black/white. In Sharon Davie’s “Free Mules, Talking Buzzards and Cracked Plates: The Politics of Dislocation in Their Eyes Were Watching God,” she stated “Hurston’s text not only inverts the terms of accepted hierarchies (black over white, female over male) but – more significantly – allows readers to question, if only for a moment, the hierarchical mode itself.” (447)
In the beginning of chapter 2 in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” it described Janie as “Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the braches.” This set-up of Janie’s character gave the reader an idea of the journey that Janie would take throughout her life. Janie never knew her mother or father. Janie’s father was a white teacher who raped her mother at the young age of 17. Janie’s mother eventually ran away and left Janie to be raised by her grandmother. (8)
Janie as a child never knew that she was colored girl until she saw a picture of her and the white children who she played with. Her grandmother worked for white people and Janie would play with their children during the day. Then one day Janie and the other children were looking at a picture of all them together and Janie couldn’t find herself in the picture and then all of a sudden she stated “Aw, aw! Ah’m colored.!” “Den dey all laughed real hard. But before Ah seen de picture Ah thought Ah waz just like de rest.” Janie was an innocent child.(9)
When Janie was young her grandmother wanted her to marry to an old man who could provide Janie with stability and security. Janie did not want to marry this man as he was old and a lot older than her, but she as her grandmother wished. Janie realized that her dream of being married and in love was gone “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman.” (25)
Eventually Janie ran off with another man named Joe Starks, who she loved. Joe and Janie traveled to a little town named Eatonville, Georgia where Joe established himself a store, land and as mayor of the town. Joe wanted her submission and Janie was would did not give in and she learned to live with Joe. Then one day Janie and Joe argued and Joe slapped Jane and drove her from the store “So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store.” (80) Janie was a woman now and did not believe that God didn’t listen or care for women. Eventually Joe died on her leaving her his store, house and land.
Janie was now a free woman with ownership of a store, houses and land, but she had never been truly in love. One day a younger man by the name of Tea Cake came into her store and they started a friendship that turned into love and Janie set out with Tea Cake to see what life had for her besides Eatonville.
Janie was a grown independent woman who accomplished free will, which was an exceptionally accomplishment for any woman, especially a black woman. Janie and Tea Cake made a life together for a short while working in fields doing manual labor until a Hurricane came and Tea Cake saved Janie from drowning and from a rabid dog.
At the end Janie was courageous and took care of Tea Cake and shot him when he tried to kill her because of the bite that he received from a rabid dog which he had saved her from earlier.
At the end Janie returned home without Tea Cake, she was a much happier woman who had experienced life. Most women black or white, rarely ever did experience life as Janie. This positive story of a woman and her strength, courage and her experiences throughout her life is a must read for everyone.
Works Cited
Hurston, Zora Neale: “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
New York: Harper Collins 2006
Davie, Sharon, “Free Mules, Talking Buzzards and Cracked Plates: The Politics of
Dislocation in Their Eyes Were Watching God
Modern Language Association, Vol. 108., No. 3, (May 1993) (pg. 447)
In “Their Eyes Were Watching God” by Nora Zeale Hurston, the main character in this book was a woman whose name is Janie. Janie takes the reader through her journeys as she was growing up. I found this book fascinating and it is now one of my favorite books as it disrupted the standard social views of women/men and black/white. In Sharon Davie’s “Free Mules, Talking Buzzards and Cracked Plates: The Politics of Dislocation in Their Eyes Were Watching God,” she stated “Hurston’s text not only inverts the terms of accepted hierarchies (black over white, female over male) but – more significantly – allows readers to question, if only for a moment, the hierarchical mode itself.” (447)
In the beginning of chapter 2 in “Their Eyes Were Watching God” it described Janie as “Janie saw her life like a great tree in leaf with the things suffered, things enjoyed, things done and undone. Dawn and doom was in the braches.” This set-up of Janie’s character gave the reader an idea of the journey that Janie would take throughout her life. Janie never knew her mother or father. Janie’s father was a white teacher who raped her mother at the young age of 17. Janie’s mother eventually ran away and left Janie to be raised by her grandmother. (8)
Janie as a child never knew that she was colored girl until she saw a picture of her and the white children who she played with. Her grandmother worked for white people and Janie would play with their children during the day. Then one day Janie and the other children were looking at a picture of all them together and Janie couldn’t find herself in the picture and then all of a sudden she stated “Aw, aw! Ah’m colored.!” “Den dey all laughed real hard. But before Ah seen de picture Ah thought Ah waz just like de rest.” Janie was an innocent child.(9)
When Janie was young her grandmother wanted her to marry to an old man who could provide Janie with stability and security. Janie did not want to marry this man as he was old and a lot older than her, but she as her grandmother wished. Janie realized that her dream of being married and in love was gone “She knew now that marriage did not make love. Janie’s first dream was dead, so she became a woman.” (25)
Eventually Janie ran off with another man named Joe Starks, who she loved. Joe and Janie traveled to a little town named Eatonville, Georgia where Joe established himself a store, land and as mayor of the town. Joe wanted her submission and Janie was would did not give in and she learned to live with Joe. Then one day Janie and Joe argued and Joe slapped Jane and drove her from the store “So he struck Janie with all his might and drove her from the store.” (80) Janie was a woman now and did not believe that God didn’t listen or care for women. Eventually Joe died on her leaving her his store, house and land.
Janie was now a free woman with ownership of a store, houses and land, but she had never been truly in love. One day a younger man by the name of Tea Cake came into her store and they started a friendship that turned into love and Janie set out with Tea Cake to see what life had for her besides Eatonville.
Janie was a grown independent woman who accomplished free will, which was an exceptionally accomplishment for any woman, especially a black woman. Janie and Tea Cake made a life together for a short while working in fields doing manual labor until a Hurricane came and Tea Cake saved Janie from drowning and from a rabid dog.
At the end Janie was courageous and took care of Tea Cake and shot him when he tried to kill her because of the bite that he received from a rabid dog which he had saved her from earlier.
At the end Janie returned home without Tea Cake, she was a much happier woman who had experienced life. Most women black or white, rarely ever did experience life as Janie. This positive story of a woman and her strength, courage and her experiences throughout her life is a must read for everyone.
Works Cited
Hurston, Zora Neale: “Their Eyes Were Watching God”
New York: Harper Collins 2006
Davie, Sharon, “Free Mules, Talking Buzzards and Cracked Plates: The Politics of
Dislocation in Their Eyes Were Watching God
Modern Language Association, Vol. 108., No. 3, (May 1993) (pg. 447)
Friday, October 2, 2009
Gertrude Stein - Tender Buttons - Objects
Gertrude Stein – Tender Buttons - Objects
In A Long Dress, A Fire and A White Hunter, the theme in these three poems seemed to reference colors. But, one could interpret these poems to be associated to people as Gertrude Stein was said to have wrote in an abstract style. Her poems in “Tender Buttons” reflected the modern trend and abstract work that her friends Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso had painted. Her friendship with Ernest Hemingway did seem to impact her writings as well. You could say that her work was an experiment of verbal abstract interpretations.
In “A Long Dress” “Where is the serene length, it is there and a dark place is not a dark place, only a white and red are black, only a yellow and green are blue, a pink is scarlet, a bow is every color. A line distinguishes it. A line just distinguishes it.” (126) Even in a rainbow the colors blend just a bit, but a line appears to separate them as we see each color distinctly. People are like rainbows where each color blends just a little, but most times we see just one color. A line defines us and we are all separated and put into categories of race and color.
In “A Fire” “What was the use of a whole time to send and not send if there was to be the kind of thing that made that come in. A letter was nicely sent.” (130) Fire could represent a person’s temperament. I have heard people mentioned someone as being “fired up” or “hot tempered.” Fire’s color consists of orange, red, blue and yellow. Fire has colors of the rainbow. I interpreted the poem to be about a friend who lost their temper or was upset.
In “A White Hunter” “A white hunter is nearly crazy.” (132) A White Hunter could be an actual friend who enjoyed hunting. Ernest Hemingway one of Gertrude Stein’s friends did like to go on safari in Africa from time to time. A hunter who could become obsessed, obsession could be seen as crazy or nearly crazy.
These three poems impressed me to be about Gertrude Stein’s friends or acquaintances. She seemed to use colors to express herself in her poems. One could also see the similarity in a visual aspect, a long dress, a fire and a white hunter. These three bring a visual representation with their titles. It is something that we can imagine, touch or cannot touch. The color association expands the poems into a wide variety of interpretations. These poems are personal to each reader as each reader will interpret them differently.
Although some would say her style was disordered Neil Schmitz stated in an article "Gertrude Stein as Post-Modernist: The Rhetoric of Tender Buttons," "In its own modet scope, a triptych of domestic objects, foods and rooms, Tender Buttons seems deliberately minor in its conceptions, bibelot, but this frame is deceptive, and orer immediately disordered." (1204)
In conclusion, these three poems have personal meanings and could relate to Gertrude Stein’s personal friends and everyone’s personal friends. The colors and visual titles were complex and yet simple. One could spend hours thinking and rethinking what she actually meant or one could just take the poem as it was written. It was truly like I was sitting in front of one of Piscasso’s paintings and wondering what he was thinking?
Works Cited:
Stein, Gertrude. Three Lives and Tender Buttons
Stilwell, Kansas: Digireads.com Publishing, 2008
Schmitz, Neil. "Gertrude Stein as Post-Modernist: The Rhetoric of Tender Buttons" Journal of Modern Literature, Vol. 3, No. 5, From Modernism to Post-Modernism Indiana University (Jul. 1974) pg. 1204
In A Long Dress, A Fire and A White Hunter, the theme in these three poems seemed to reference colors. But, one could interpret these poems to be associated to people as Gertrude Stein was said to have wrote in an abstract style. Her poems in “Tender Buttons” reflected the modern trend and abstract work that her friends Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso had painted. Her friendship with Ernest Hemingway did seem to impact her writings as well. You could say that her work was an experiment of verbal abstract interpretations.
In “A Long Dress” “Where is the serene length, it is there and a dark place is not a dark place, only a white and red are black, only a yellow and green are blue, a pink is scarlet, a bow is every color. A line distinguishes it. A line just distinguishes it.” (126) Even in a rainbow the colors blend just a bit, but a line appears to separate them as we see each color distinctly. People are like rainbows where each color blends just a little, but most times we see just one color. A line defines us and we are all separated and put into categories of race and color.
In “A Fire” “What was the use of a whole time to send and not send if there was to be the kind of thing that made that come in. A letter was nicely sent.” (130) Fire could represent a person’s temperament. I have heard people mentioned someone as being “fired up” or “hot tempered.” Fire’s color consists of orange, red, blue and yellow. Fire has colors of the rainbow. I interpreted the poem to be about a friend who lost their temper or was upset.
In “A White Hunter” “A white hunter is nearly crazy.” (132) A White Hunter could be an actual friend who enjoyed hunting. Ernest Hemingway one of Gertrude Stein’s friends did like to go on safari in Africa from time to time. A hunter who could become obsessed, obsession could be seen as crazy or nearly crazy.
These three poems impressed me to be about Gertrude Stein’s friends or acquaintances. She seemed to use colors to express herself in her poems. One could also see the similarity in a visual aspect, a long dress, a fire and a white hunter. These three bring a visual representation with their titles. It is something that we can imagine, touch or cannot touch. The color association expands the poems into a wide variety of interpretations. These poems are personal to each reader as each reader will interpret them differently.
Although some would say her style was disordered Neil Schmitz stated in an article "Gertrude Stein as Post-Modernist: The Rhetoric of Tender Buttons," "In its own modet scope, a triptych of domestic objects, foods and rooms, Tender Buttons seems deliberately minor in its conceptions, bibelot, but this frame is deceptive, and orer immediately disordered." (1204)
In conclusion, these three poems have personal meanings and could relate to Gertrude Stein’s personal friends and everyone’s personal friends. The colors and visual titles were complex and yet simple. One could spend hours thinking and rethinking what she actually meant or one could just take the poem as it was written. It was truly like I was sitting in front of one of Piscasso’s paintings and wondering what he was thinking?
Works Cited:
Stein, Gertrude. Three Lives and Tender Buttons
Stilwell, Kansas: Digireads.com Publishing, 2008
Schmitz, Neil. "Gertrude Stein as Post-Modernist: The Rhetoric of Tender Buttons" Journal of Modern Literature, Vol. 3, No. 5, From Modernism to Post-Modernism Indiana University (Jul. 1974) pg. 1204
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Jake and Brett
Jake and Brett
The two main characters in Ernest Hemmingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” are Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. Jake is a man who is an American living in Europe after WWI. Jake served and was injured in the war. Jake seemed calm and depressed in the book. There was a lot of drinking in the book, which can be from depression. Jake was not a violent drunk and he did not seem bitter towards anyone or anything at all. Jake was a man’s man who had complete control over his emotions and seemed to be the friend that all of his friends could rely on. Jake would read the newspapers about bull fighting and he attended bullfights in Spain. Jake associated bullfighters as men who have the ultimate life. “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” (18)
Brett the female character and somewhat best friend of Jake, was not the conventional woman of her time. Brett drank and would hang out with her male friends on a frequent basis even though she is to marry another man. “Her name’s Lady Ashley. Brett’s her own name. She’s a nice girl, “ I said. “She’s getting a divorce and she’s going to marry Mike Campbell. He’s over in Scotland now. Why?” (46) When I heard the name Brett I automatically thought of a man. Brett’s name clearly defines her as unusual or as a tomboy.
There is a special relationship throughout the book between Jake and Brett, but it was discussed about what actually happened to them. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t want to go through that hell again.” “We’d better keep away from each other.” “But, darling, I have to see you. It isn’t all that you know.” “No, but it always gets to be.” “That’s my fault. Don’t we pay for all the things we do, though?” This discussion shed a little light into Jake’s and Brett’s relationship, but not completely described it. In a few sentences Brett said “When I think of the hell I’ve put chaps through. I’m paying for it all now.” (34)
It seemed that Jake and Brett had a love affair and Brett ended the relationship, but they both never got over each other. When Jake is alone he talks about his relationship with Brett “Probably I never would have had any trouble if I hadn’t run into Brett when they shipped me to England.” “I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping around and started to go in sort of smooth waves. Then all of a sudden I started to cry.” (39)
There was mentioned by Jake to Robert Cohn of his and Brett’s meeting “She was a V.A. D. in a hospital I was in during the war.” (46) A V.A. D. was a nurse, Voluntary Aide Detachment during WWI and WWII. Jake and Brett met while he was in the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Jake must have become infatuated with Brett in the hospital. Brett seemed to have an effect on men “You’ve made a new one there.” I said to her. “Don’t talk about it. Poor chap. I never knew it till just now.” “Oh, well,” I said. “I suppose you like to add them up.” (30)
In reading I understood that Jake accepted his war injury and his place in life, but his association to bullfighting seemed to define him as a man’s man. Brett was a character who was not the typical conventional woman. In Scott Donaldson's article "The Wooing of Ernest Hemingway" he quotes Hemingway as stating ""The Brett biography" was the only part of the book that was "not imaginary"" he added, an observation that concealed how closely his characters were modeled on actual people." (708)
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest, “The Sun Also Rises”
New York, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons 1926
Donald, Scott, "The Wooing of Ernest Hemingway"
American Literature, Vol. 53, No. 4
Duke University, (Jan 1982)
The two main characters in Ernest Hemmingway’s novel “The Sun Also Rises” are Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. Jake is a man who is an American living in Europe after WWI. Jake served and was injured in the war. Jake seemed calm and depressed in the book. There was a lot of drinking in the book, which can be from depression. Jake was not a violent drunk and he did not seem bitter towards anyone or anything at all. Jake was a man’s man who had complete control over his emotions and seemed to be the friend that all of his friends could rely on. Jake would read the newspapers about bull fighting and he attended bullfights in Spain. Jake associated bullfighters as men who have the ultimate life. “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bull-fighters.” (18)
Brett the female character and somewhat best friend of Jake, was not the conventional woman of her time. Brett drank and would hang out with her male friends on a frequent basis even though she is to marry another man. “Her name’s Lady Ashley. Brett’s her own name. She’s a nice girl, “ I said. “She’s getting a divorce and she’s going to marry Mike Campbell. He’s over in Scotland now. Why?” (46) When I heard the name Brett I automatically thought of a man. Brett’s name clearly defines her as unusual or as a tomboy.
There is a special relationship throughout the book between Jake and Brett, but it was discussed about what actually happened to them. “I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t want to go through that hell again.” “We’d better keep away from each other.” “But, darling, I have to see you. It isn’t all that you know.” “No, but it always gets to be.” “That’s my fault. Don’t we pay for all the things we do, though?” This discussion shed a little light into Jake’s and Brett’s relationship, but not completely described it. In a few sentences Brett said “When I think of the hell I’ve put chaps through. I’m paying for it all now.” (34)
It seemed that Jake and Brett had a love affair and Brett ended the relationship, but they both never got over each other. When Jake is alone he talks about his relationship with Brett “Probably I never would have had any trouble if I hadn’t run into Brett when they shipped me to England.” “I was thinking about Brett and my mind stopped jumping around and started to go in sort of smooth waves. Then all of a sudden I started to cry.” (39)
There was mentioned by Jake to Robert Cohn of his and Brett’s meeting “She was a V.A. D. in a hospital I was in during the war.” (46) A V.A. D. was a nurse, Voluntary Aide Detachment during WWI and WWII. Jake and Brett met while he was in the hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Jake must have become infatuated with Brett in the hospital. Brett seemed to have an effect on men “You’ve made a new one there.” I said to her. “Don’t talk about it. Poor chap. I never knew it till just now.” “Oh, well,” I said. “I suppose you like to add them up.” (30)
In reading I understood that Jake accepted his war injury and his place in life, but his association to bullfighting seemed to define him as a man’s man. Brett was a character who was not the typical conventional woman. In Scott Donaldson's article "The Wooing of Ernest Hemingway" he quotes Hemingway as stating ""The Brett biography" was the only part of the book that was "not imaginary"" he added, an observation that concealed how closely his characters were modeled on actual people." (708)
Works Cited
Hemingway, Ernest, “The Sun Also Rises”
New York, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons 1926
Donald, Scott, "The Wooing of Ernest Hemingway"
American Literature, Vol. 53, No. 4
Duke University, (Jan 1982)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A Review of Edith Wharton's "The Age of Innocence"
A Review of Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence”
The movie “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, portrayed the influence that society had upon people and their morals. The movie was centered around a newly engaged couple Newland Archer (Daniel Day Lewis), his fiancée May Welland (Wynona Ryder) and her cousin Ellen Waleska (Michelle Pfeifer). Archer was a young lawyer in a prominent law firm and was portrayed as a gentleman. May his fiancée was portrayed as a lady who came from a prominent family. The two were from the same social and moral background. Ellen, on the other hand, was different. Ellen was portrayed as independent and newly separated from her husband.
Archer became interested in May’s cousin Ellen as he was asked to persuade Ellen not to divorce her husband as it would cause scandal and tarnish the family name. As Ellen and Archer spent time together they grew very close. The characters were after all human and susceptible to temptation. Archer felt sympathy for Ellen and her circumstances and they fell in love. Ellen was an independent woman and did not abide by society’s rules, whereas Archer lived the rich and proper lifestyle that May could continually provide him with. Archer’s love for Ellen would have never been permitted by society and he realized from Ellen’s persuasion that they could never be a couple as he cared for society’s approval.
The movie showed how society and wealth controlled the lives of the people who lived the rich life. Women were submissive, Ellen was not, but May was. Men were the head of the family and were bound to that family and values. Archer was the head of his family and was bound to the values and morals that society had dictated. The character Ellen brought to the picture a realistic life. Ellen’s life was simple, but seen as odd or disrespectful. Ellen lived alone and went unescorted to social gatherings and took trips alone. During this era this would have been scandalous.
There were scenes of rich food and lavish furnishings and men smoking cigars after fine dinners. There were visits to the Opera with friends and family. Lavish parties and a controlling Aunt of May’s gave a sense of order and rules. The social circle and it circumstances were viewed in the movie as if one were watching the whole movie through a window or reading it from a personal diary.
One could not tell if May was happy in her marriage with Archer. Archer was clearly portrayed as unhappy, but respectful and loving throughout the movie. He raised his children with May and stayed with her until her death from pneumonia. Archer’s love grew for May throughout their lives together and his dedication to her and his family was also shown to the audience.
“The Age of Innocence” which was about the Victorian Age and how its morals and proper behavior was essential in order to maintain one’s own social status. It was the last era to keep women and men in their proper place with society’s rules. Even at the end Archer remained a gentleman as he chose not meet Ellen with his son Tom.
Works Cited
Wharton, Edith “The Age of Innocence”
Director: Scorsese, Martin, Cappa Production 1993
The movie “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, portrayed the influence that society had upon people and their morals. The movie was centered around a newly engaged couple Newland Archer (Daniel Day Lewis), his fiancée May Welland (Wynona Ryder) and her cousin Ellen Waleska (Michelle Pfeifer). Archer was a young lawyer in a prominent law firm and was portrayed as a gentleman. May his fiancée was portrayed as a lady who came from a prominent family. The two were from the same social and moral background. Ellen, on the other hand, was different. Ellen was portrayed as independent and newly separated from her husband.
Archer became interested in May’s cousin Ellen as he was asked to persuade Ellen not to divorce her husband as it would cause scandal and tarnish the family name. As Ellen and Archer spent time together they grew very close. The characters were after all human and susceptible to temptation. Archer felt sympathy for Ellen and her circumstances and they fell in love. Ellen was an independent woman and did not abide by society’s rules, whereas Archer lived the rich and proper lifestyle that May could continually provide him with. Archer’s love for Ellen would have never been permitted by society and he realized from Ellen’s persuasion that they could never be a couple as he cared for society’s approval.
The movie showed how society and wealth controlled the lives of the people who lived the rich life. Women were submissive, Ellen was not, but May was. Men were the head of the family and were bound to that family and values. Archer was the head of his family and was bound to the values and morals that society had dictated. The character Ellen brought to the picture a realistic life. Ellen’s life was simple, but seen as odd or disrespectful. Ellen lived alone and went unescorted to social gatherings and took trips alone. During this era this would have been scandalous.
There were scenes of rich food and lavish furnishings and men smoking cigars after fine dinners. There were visits to the Opera with friends and family. Lavish parties and a controlling Aunt of May’s gave a sense of order and rules. The social circle and it circumstances were viewed in the movie as if one were watching the whole movie through a window or reading it from a personal diary.
One could not tell if May was happy in her marriage with Archer. Archer was clearly portrayed as unhappy, but respectful and loving throughout the movie. He raised his children with May and stayed with her until her death from pneumonia. Archer’s love grew for May throughout their lives together and his dedication to her and his family was also shown to the audience.
“The Age of Innocence” which was about the Victorian Age and how its morals and proper behavior was essential in order to maintain one’s own social status. It was the last era to keep women and men in their proper place with society’s rules. Even at the end Archer remained a gentleman as he chose not meet Ellen with his son Tom.
Works Cited
Wharton, Edith “The Age of Innocence”
Director: Scorsese, Martin, Cappa Production 1993
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Alexandra's Diary
Alexandra’s Diary
“The day after Emil’s funeral, Alexandra written to Carl Lindstrum; a single page of notepaper, a bare statement of what had happened.” Carl Lindstrum a friend, a best friend throughout Alexandra’s life was in Alaska or so she thought. He was far from her and the pain that Alexandra felt seem to consume her and she felt alone. “As the weeks went by and she heard nothing from him, it seemed to Alexandra that her heart grew hard against Carl. She began to wonder whether she would not do better to finish her life alone. What was left of life seemed unimportant.” (pg. 150)
As fate would have it, Alexandra’s youngest brother Emil met Marie when they were very little and they became good friends. As time went the neighbors, Emil and Marie, developed a close relationship. Nobody planned it, it just happened over time.
Alexandra’s brother Emil and his lover “Marie” who was a married woman were murdered one night by Marie’s jealous husband Frank. Alexandra, who was unmarried worked her whole life and gave her brother Emil a decent life. She educated him and desired to leave and will her home and land to him after her death. Alexandra saw something different in her youngest brother Emil and wanted him to have a life that she could not have. Now after Emil’s death Alexandra was alone and her best friend Carl was too far away from her and she saw her life as lonely.
At the end of Alexandra’s Diary she described her change in heart and a renewed love for Carl “She put her hand on his arm. ‘I needed you terribly when it happened, Carl. I cried for you at night. Then everything seemed to get hard inside of me, and I though perhaps I should never car for you again. But when I got your telegram yesterday, then – it was just as it used to be. You are all I have in the world, you know.’”(pg. 158)
Alexandra had lived her life single and alone, she lived her life for her youngest brother. Upon her Emil’s death Alexandra was free, free to love and live her own life. Alexandra’s life was tied to Emil and the land. “You belong to the land, “Carl murmured, “as you have always said. Now more than ever.” (pg. 160) Alexandra’s determination to work her land and succeed and provide for Emil created isolation around her.
At the end of the diary Alexandra finally commited to marriage to Carl “I had a dream before I went to Lincoln – But I will tell you about that afterward, after we are married.” “She leaned heavily on his shoulder, ‘I am tired,‘ she murmured. ‘I have been very lonely, Carl.’” (pg. 161)
Alexandra’s love of the land was as strong if not stronger than her love for Emil, her family and even for Carl “Fortunate country, that is one day to receive hearts like Alexandra’s into its bosom, to give them out again in the yellow wheat, in the rustling corn, in the shining eyes of youth!” (pg. 161) It was fortunate for the land that Alexandra would never completely leave.
In conclusion, Alexandra's strong character have some readers believing that Willa Cather was a feminist. Cather wrote about strong independent woman. In the article "Who Stole Willa Cather, it says "Feminism is only necessary for victims, weak women. Cather is not a "rebuke" to "the feminists"; indeed, she is an inspiration. But critics who tell us that because an exceptional woman has overcome the odds there is no reason for feminist analysis must expect to raise a few incredulous eyebrows." Alexandra's diary is about a strong woman who struggled and succeeded in the wilderness. It is a tribute to all the women who were like Alexandra.
Works Cited
Willa, Carter; O’Pioneer’s!
New York, New York: Barnes and Noble Publishers 2003
Kress, Susan. "Who Stole Willa Cather." Salmagundi. 135-136 (Summer-Fall 2002): 90-102. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 90-102. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Florida State University. 31 Oct. 2009
“The day after Emil’s funeral, Alexandra written to Carl Lindstrum; a single page of notepaper, a bare statement of what had happened.” Carl Lindstrum a friend, a best friend throughout Alexandra’s life was in Alaska or so she thought. He was far from her and the pain that Alexandra felt seem to consume her and she felt alone. “As the weeks went by and she heard nothing from him, it seemed to Alexandra that her heart grew hard against Carl. She began to wonder whether she would not do better to finish her life alone. What was left of life seemed unimportant.” (pg. 150)
As fate would have it, Alexandra’s youngest brother Emil met Marie when they were very little and they became good friends. As time went the neighbors, Emil and Marie, developed a close relationship. Nobody planned it, it just happened over time.
Alexandra’s brother Emil and his lover “Marie” who was a married woman were murdered one night by Marie’s jealous husband Frank. Alexandra, who was unmarried worked her whole life and gave her brother Emil a decent life. She educated him and desired to leave and will her home and land to him after her death. Alexandra saw something different in her youngest brother Emil and wanted him to have a life that she could not have. Now after Emil’s death Alexandra was alone and her best friend Carl was too far away from her and she saw her life as lonely.
At the end of Alexandra’s Diary she described her change in heart and a renewed love for Carl “She put her hand on his arm. ‘I needed you terribly when it happened, Carl. I cried for you at night. Then everything seemed to get hard inside of me, and I though perhaps I should never car for you again. But when I got your telegram yesterday, then – it was just as it used to be. You are all I have in the world, you know.’”(pg. 158)
Alexandra had lived her life single and alone, she lived her life for her youngest brother. Upon her Emil’s death Alexandra was free, free to love and live her own life. Alexandra’s life was tied to Emil and the land. “You belong to the land, “Carl murmured, “as you have always said. Now more than ever.” (pg. 160) Alexandra’s determination to work her land and succeed and provide for Emil created isolation around her.
At the end of the diary Alexandra finally commited to marriage to Carl “I had a dream before I went to Lincoln – But I will tell you about that afterward, after we are married.” “She leaned heavily on his shoulder, ‘I am tired,‘ she murmured. ‘I have been very lonely, Carl.’” (pg. 161)
Alexandra’s love of the land was as strong if not stronger than her love for Emil, her family and even for Carl “Fortunate country, that is one day to receive hearts like Alexandra’s into its bosom, to give them out again in the yellow wheat, in the rustling corn, in the shining eyes of youth!” (pg. 161) It was fortunate for the land that Alexandra would never completely leave.
In conclusion, Alexandra's strong character have some readers believing that Willa Cather was a feminist. Cather wrote about strong independent woman. In the article "Who Stole Willa Cather, it says "Feminism is only necessary for victims, weak women. Cather is not a "rebuke" to "the feminists"; indeed, she is an inspiration. But critics who tell us that because an exceptional woman has overcome the odds there is no reason for feminist analysis must expect to raise a few incredulous eyebrows." Alexandra's diary is about a strong woman who struggled and succeeded in the wilderness. It is a tribute to all the women who were like Alexandra.
Works Cited
Willa, Carter; O’Pioneer’s!
New York, New York: Barnes and Noble Publishers 2003
Kress, Susan. "Who Stole Willa Cather." Salmagundi. 135-136 (Summer-Fall 2002): 90-102. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 90-102. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Florida State University. 31 Oct. 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
The Scarlett Letter
For my first blog, I would like to discuss the Scarlett Letter and how it relates to Romanticism and Realism. Nathaniel Hawthorne the author wanted to bring to the attention of his readers how we base our beliefs and hold our fellow man accountable to religion. Romanticism related to a struggle between christianity and the question of the imperfections of mankind. Sin is basic to each man and woman alive. Along with sin we have a conscious and suffer guilt from whatever good or bad that we do.
Hester in the "Scarlet Letter" and the minister Dimmesdale both committed adultery. Hester and Dimmesdale were both lonly and sought each others company and created a child out of their love.
Hester was forced to wear an "A" in the beginning of the story. The letter "A" symbolizes adultery, but it also symbolizes many other things such as able, absent, abandonment, ashamed, etc. Her husband Chillingsworth was the absent husband. Given that Hester did profess to him that she did not love him, he did abandon her. Chillingsworth action of abandoning his wife left her to commit sin. Religion was used to control people and keep people moral. When religion is misused it can do more harm than good.
Hester was caught with child and without a husband. Romanticism writings were mainly about women and children, which we see with Hester and her child Pearl. Hester at first seems like the main character in the book, but actually Pearl is. Pearl the child born without a father has no identity and born in sin. Dimmesdale never professes his obligation or sin publicly until his death at the end wherein Pearl is given a true identity.
The Scarlett Letter is a book about a young beautiful woman abandoned by her husband who has an affair with a man of the cloth creating a child out of love. Their love was squandered by the oppression of the society where Hester and Dimmesdale resided. The hate that Hester’s countrymen regarded her with as they forced her to wear a symbol of her sin created a different world for Hester to live in. Although this banishment to live at the edge of the community next to the forest gave Hester freedom to live life as she sought, but at the same time she was ostracized from her community as a branded woman. Even towards the end of the story Hester continues to wear the "A" even though she does not have to. The "A" has become Hester's identity.
Which is ironic that Dimmesdale branded himself with the “A” to try to exonerate himself from his sin which it did not. Dimmesdale’s sin created an internal conflict within himself of good and evil which eventually ended his life.
Hester in the "Scarlet Letter" and the minister Dimmesdale both committed adultery. Hester and Dimmesdale were both lonly and sought each others company and created a child out of their love.
Hester was forced to wear an "A" in the beginning of the story. The letter "A" symbolizes adultery, but it also symbolizes many other things such as able, absent, abandonment, ashamed, etc. Her husband Chillingsworth was the absent husband. Given that Hester did profess to him that she did not love him, he did abandon her. Chillingsworth action of abandoning his wife left her to commit sin. Religion was used to control people and keep people moral. When religion is misused it can do more harm than good.
Hester was caught with child and without a husband. Romanticism writings were mainly about women and children, which we see with Hester and her child Pearl. Hester at first seems like the main character in the book, but actually Pearl is. Pearl the child born without a father has no identity and born in sin. Dimmesdale never professes his obligation or sin publicly until his death at the end wherein Pearl is given a true identity.
The Scarlett Letter is a book about a young beautiful woman abandoned by her husband who has an affair with a man of the cloth creating a child out of love. Their love was squandered by the oppression of the society where Hester and Dimmesdale resided. The hate that Hester’s countrymen regarded her with as they forced her to wear a symbol of her sin created a different world for Hester to live in. Although this banishment to live at the edge of the community next to the forest gave Hester freedom to live life as she sought, but at the same time she was ostracized from her community as a branded woman. Even towards the end of the story Hester continues to wear the "A" even though she does not have to. The "A" has become Hester's identity.
Which is ironic that Dimmesdale branded himself with the “A” to try to exonerate himself from his sin which it did not. Dimmesdale’s sin created an internal conflict within himself of good and evil which eventually ended his life.
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