"Those Winter Sundays"
Robert Hayden
I felt as though Hayden did an exceptional job of making Those Winter Sundays, in a way, relatable. I felt as though the father in the poem went unappreciated by his family. Hayden describes a father who is extremely hardworking and labors all day, but "no one ever thanked him"(Hayden, 781 line 5). I feel as though the family takes the father's hard work for granted. They never take time to appreciate him which is why the father is seemingly distant from the rest of the family. However, the father continues to provide for his family because it is the right thing to do. He wants for his hard work to pay off. I think that the father hopes that one day, someone in the family will take notice of his hard work and thank him. Even if the family does not exhibit this form of thankfulness, I do not think that the father will stop his hard work. However,like the family in the story, many people are not as considerate as they could be and take many things in their lives for granted.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Family Unit 4
"The Joy of Cooking"
Elaine Magarell
After reading this story, I realized that my sibilings maybe are not all that bad. The narrator says things in The Joy of Cooking that would lead the reader to believe that she truly does not enjoy her sibilings in the slightest. However, I did not think that the tone was very bitter, I even thought that the narrator seemed a little bit enthused when she talked about the her dislikes for her sibilings. When she is talking about her sister, she says: "I have prepared my sister's tongue, scrubbed and skinned it" (Magarell line 1-2). I think that the fact that the narrator wanted to prepare the tongue meant that this was the most annoying aspect of her sister. She wanted to get rid of the tongue because she hated any words that came from her sister's mouth.
On the contrary, the narrator's brother was not very loving. As the narrator talks about preparing the brother's heart, she says, "Although beef heart serves six my brother's hert barely feeds two" (Magarell line 15-16). I feel as though that was the narrator's way of explaining how little the brother loved. The fact that his heart was not big enough to feed the suggested amount of people implies that his heart was little due to a lack of love for others.
Elaine Magarell
After reading this story, I realized that my sibilings maybe are not all that bad. The narrator says things in The Joy of Cooking that would lead the reader to believe that she truly does not enjoy her sibilings in the slightest. However, I did not think that the tone was very bitter, I even thought that the narrator seemed a little bit enthused when she talked about the her dislikes for her sibilings. When she is talking about her sister, she says: "I have prepared my sister's tongue, scrubbed and skinned it" (Magarell line 1-2). I think that the fact that the narrator wanted to prepare the tongue meant that this was the most annoying aspect of her sister. She wanted to get rid of the tongue because she hated any words that came from her sister's mouth.
On the contrary, the narrator's brother was not very loving. As the narrator talks about preparing the brother's heart, she says, "Although beef heart serves six my brother's hert barely feeds two" (Magarell line 15-16). I feel as though that was the narrator's way of explaining how little the brother loved. The fact that his heart was not big enough to feed the suggested amount of people implies that his heart was little due to a lack of love for others.
Family Unit 3
"The Drunkard"
Frank O' Connor
Frank O' Connor definitely knows how to make a story twisted as he proved to do so in The Drunkard. I felt as though the author foreshadowed to what the lives of the characters might hold in the future. At first, I just viewed the father as an irresponsible man with a drinking problem. However, I grew to dislike the father more and more throughout the story. When the father was oblivious enough to not notice his son taking sips of his alcohol, I really did not care for the father. As his son became more central in the story, I started to see the literary technique of foreshadowing come into play. The morning after the little had a drink, the mother called her son, "my brave little man" (O'Connor, 351). I feel as though this could perhaps foreshadow to the fact that the little boy is in for an interesting future given his father's history. The boy's mother fears that her son will turn out like his father, and she is trying to prevent this from happening. The little boy has already had his first drink, and I have a feeling that it will only be a matter of time until he has his next drink.
Frank O' Connor
Frank O' Connor definitely knows how to make a story twisted as he proved to do so in The Drunkard. I felt as though the author foreshadowed to what the lives of the characters might hold in the future. At first, I just viewed the father as an irresponsible man with a drinking problem. However, I grew to dislike the father more and more throughout the story. When the father was oblivious enough to not notice his son taking sips of his alcohol, I really did not care for the father. As his son became more central in the story, I started to see the literary technique of foreshadowing come into play. The morning after the little had a drink, the mother called her son, "my brave little man" (O'Connor, 351). I feel as though this could perhaps foreshadow to the fact that the little boy is in for an interesting future given his father's history. The boy's mother fears that her son will turn out like his father, and she is trying to prevent this from happening. The little boy has already had his first drink, and I have a feeling that it will only be a matter of time until he has his next drink.
Family Unit 2
"Once Upon A Time"
Nadine Gordimer
Gordimer's piece, Once Upon A Time, has a great deal of irony within the story. Throghout the entire story, the parents are trying to create a safe, protected environment for their son. Ironically, the seemingly safe environment that they have created ultimately leads to the death of their son. The family installs an extremely sensitive alarm system to prevent robbers from breaking into their house. One day the boy tries to scale the side of the house where the wire coils are located. As the parents see this taking place, they burst out to try to save him, but the cat sets off the alaram which causes "...the bleeding mass of the little boy..."(Gordimer, 236) to be hacked out of the security coil with saws and other harmful tools. The fact that the family installed this alarm system for protection is ironic because the boy ended up being directly harmed by the overprotectiveness of the house. I definitely learned a lesson from the irony of the story. Often times in life, we can try to do everything to protect ourselves from certain things happening to us; however, unknown elements will always intervene. There will always be some sort of unforeseeable cause that will make things troublesome for us. This family seemed to have the perfect, protected life. They would have thought that their abundant amount of security would not allow for any tragedy to take place.
Nadine Gordimer
Gordimer's piece, Once Upon A Time, has a great deal of irony within the story. Throghout the entire story, the parents are trying to create a safe, protected environment for their son. Ironically, the seemingly safe environment that they have created ultimately leads to the death of their son. The family installs an extremely sensitive alarm system to prevent robbers from breaking into their house. One day the boy tries to scale the side of the house where the wire coils are located. As the parents see this taking place, they burst out to try to save him, but the cat sets off the alaram which causes "...the bleeding mass of the little boy..."(Gordimer, 236) to be hacked out of the security coil with saws and other harmful tools. The fact that the family installed this alarm system for protection is ironic because the boy ended up being directly harmed by the overprotectiveness of the house. I definitely learned a lesson from the irony of the story. Often times in life, we can try to do everything to protect ourselves from certain things happening to us; however, unknown elements will always intervene. There will always be some sort of unforeseeable cause that will make things troublesome for us. This family seemed to have the perfect, protected life. They would have thought that their abundant amount of security would not allow for any tragedy to take place.
Family Unit 1
"A Worn Path"
Eudora Welty
In A Worn Path, Welty's use of figurative language was extremely prevalent. As Welty is describing the different encounters that Jackson on her journey to visit her grandson. Similes are extremely abundant particularly in the first part of the story. As Jackson is walking by the pine trees, "the cones dropped as light as feathers" (Welty, 224). The usage of figurative language allows the reader to relate a particular item or happening to something a little more well-known. This simile also allowed me to picture what aspects of the journey would have looked like. I found the firgurative language to be extremely helpful in interpretting the story. I was able to better understand the different literal and figurative obtacles that Jackson had to overcome in order to reach her desired end: her grandson. I still found myself a little bit confused on aspects of the story such as whether or not the grandson was dead. However, the things that I could know for certain were verified through Welty's use of figurative language.
Eudora Welty
In A Worn Path, Welty's use of figurative language was extremely prevalent. As Welty is describing the different encounters that Jackson on her journey to visit her grandson. Similes are extremely abundant particularly in the first part of the story. As Jackson is walking by the pine trees, "the cones dropped as light as feathers" (Welty, 224). The usage of figurative language allows the reader to relate a particular item or happening to something a little more well-known. This simile also allowed me to picture what aspects of the journey would have looked like. I found the firgurative language to be extremely helpful in interpretting the story. I was able to better understand the different literal and figurative obtacles that Jackson had to overcome in order to reach her desired end: her grandson. I still found myself a little bit confused on aspects of the story such as whether or not the grandson was dead. However, the things that I could know for certain were verified through Welty's use of figurative language.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Raisin Blog 5
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
As I read A Raisin in the Sun, I found myself not really taking much of a liking to Walter Jr. However, Hansberry made me reconsider my opinion of him at the end of the story. When Travis and his father, Walter Jr., are having a conversation about Travis' dreams, I realized that Walter really wanted nothing but the best for his son. When Walter asks Travis what his dreams are, Travis replies: " I don't know then. I can't make up my mind. Sometimes Mama asks me that too. And sometimes when I tell her I just want to be like you- she says she don't want me to be like that and sometimes she says she does..." (Hansberry, 502). This shows that even Walter Jr.'s wife would like for Travis to aim for large dreams. Walter Jr. wants to provide for his family so Travis can have the ability to do whatever he wants to do with his life. Since Walter Jr. could not achieve all of his dreams, I think he wants to vicarioulsy achieve dreams through his son. Walter Jr. wants to give Travis the life he never had. Since Walter Jr. was cheated out of his own money, his motivation for succeeding is now Travis. If Walter Jr. did not have a son, I am not sure whether or not he would be as driven to find a better life for himself. If Travis were to tell his dad that he wants to be just like him, then Walter Jr. wants to make sure he has made something of himself that he is not ashamed of.
Lorraine Hansberry
As I read A Raisin in the Sun, I found myself not really taking much of a liking to Walter Jr. However, Hansberry made me reconsider my opinion of him at the end of the story. When Travis and his father, Walter Jr., are having a conversation about Travis' dreams, I realized that Walter really wanted nothing but the best for his son. When Walter asks Travis what his dreams are, Travis replies: " I don't know then. I can't make up my mind. Sometimes Mama asks me that too. And sometimes when I tell her I just want to be like you- she says she don't want me to be like that and sometimes she says she does..." (Hansberry, 502). This shows that even Walter Jr.'s wife would like for Travis to aim for large dreams. Walter Jr. wants to provide for his family so Travis can have the ability to do whatever he wants to do with his life. Since Walter Jr. could not achieve all of his dreams, I think he wants to vicarioulsy achieve dreams through his son. Walter Jr. wants to give Travis the life he never had. Since Walter Jr. was cheated out of his own money, his motivation for succeeding is now Travis. If Walter Jr. did not have a son, I am not sure whether or not he would be as driven to find a better life for himself. If Travis were to tell his dad that he wants to be just like him, then Walter Jr. wants to make sure he has made something of himself that he is not ashamed of.
Raisin Blog 4
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
One moment I found particularly shocking while reading A Raisin in the Sun, was the moment where I discovered that Ruth was considering the option of aborting her child. I can understand why aborting her child may have seen like a financially responsible decsion. However, if money had not been so important to the Younger family, then Ruth would have understood how wrong of a decision it was to consider abortion. Before I found out that Ruth was considering this though, I found out something interesting about Mama. "...And then, Lord, when I lost that baby- little Claude- I almost thought I was going to lose Big Walter too..."(Hansberry, 452). I knew that this fact would come into play later on in the story, I just did not know that it would be involving one of Mama's own children. The reason that Mama felt so strongly about Ruth considering voluntarily giving up her baby was Mama involuntarily had to give up one of her own children. Mama wanted Walter to try to convince Ruth to keep the child because Mama did not want Ruth to make a mistake that she would regret. The fact that Walter was making very little effort in trying to change Ruth's mind made Mama quite angry. My guess is that Mama envied Ruth's ability to choose in the regard of whether to have a baby or not.
Lorraine Hansberry
One moment I found particularly shocking while reading A Raisin in the Sun, was the moment where I discovered that Ruth was considering the option of aborting her child. I can understand why aborting her child may have seen like a financially responsible decsion. However, if money had not been so important to the Younger family, then Ruth would have understood how wrong of a decision it was to consider abortion. Before I found out that Ruth was considering this though, I found out something interesting about Mama. "...And then, Lord, when I lost that baby- little Claude- I almost thought I was going to lose Big Walter too..."(Hansberry, 452). I knew that this fact would come into play later on in the story, I just did not know that it would be involving one of Mama's own children. The reason that Mama felt so strongly about Ruth considering voluntarily giving up her baby was Mama involuntarily had to give up one of her own children. Mama wanted Walter to try to convince Ruth to keep the child because Mama did not want Ruth to make a mistake that she would regret. The fact that Walter was making very little effort in trying to change Ruth's mind made Mama quite angry. My guess is that Mama envied Ruth's ability to choose in the regard of whether to have a baby or not.
Raisin Blog 3
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
Within each major character in A Raisin in the Sun, an internal conflict existed. Hansberry indicated that Mama's internal conflict was deciding how she wanted to use the money. She knew that she needed to help her family somehow, but she was unsure of how she could do so. Each character had their own dream that they had the intent of pursuing. I felt that out of all of the characters, Beneatha has the most trouble with her internal conflict. I feel as though throughout the story, she is trying to figure out who exactly she is as a person. After Mama accuses her of trying and quitting so many different activites, Beneatha says: " I don't flit! I- I experiment with different forms of expression-"(Hansberry, 454). I think that all of her different ways of expressing herself are efforts in finding out her identity. The fact that Beneatha is going to medical school proves that she is trying to make somthing of herself. She is trying so hard to break from the life that members of her own family have been living. Beneatha has dreams, but she needs to understand what it is she lives for and stands by to make these dreams a reality.
Lorraine Hansberry
Within each major character in A Raisin in the Sun, an internal conflict existed. Hansberry indicated that Mama's internal conflict was deciding how she wanted to use the money. She knew that she needed to help her family somehow, but she was unsure of how she could do so. Each character had their own dream that they had the intent of pursuing. I felt that out of all of the characters, Beneatha has the most trouble with her internal conflict. I feel as though throughout the story, she is trying to figure out who exactly she is as a person. After Mama accuses her of trying and quitting so many different activites, Beneatha says: " I don't flit! I- I experiment with different forms of expression-"(Hansberry, 454). I think that all of her different ways of expressing herself are efforts in finding out her identity. The fact that Beneatha is going to medical school proves that she is trying to make somthing of herself. She is trying so hard to break from the life that members of her own family have been living. Beneatha has dreams, but she needs to understand what it is she lives for and stands by to make these dreams a reality.
Raisin Blog 2
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
One external conflict that really meant a great deal to me while reading A Raisin in the Sun was the conflict between Mama and Beneatha. Hansberry really makes it obvious that Beneatha is the rebellious, feminist of the family. On the contrary, Hansberry also makes it apparent that Mama is very traditional and conservative in her views and actions. Naturally, it was no mystery that the two of these characters would not get along all of the time. However, I did not think that any of these disagreements would ever escalate to physical violence. At one point in the story, Beneatha states that there is no God. Mama, being the the devout, religious person that she is, does not accept this statement at all. "(MAMA absorbs this speech, studies her daughter and rises slowly and crosses to BENEATHA and slaps her powerfully across the face. After, there is only silence and the daughter drops her eyes from her mother's face, and MAMA is very tall before her)" (Hansberry, 457). The fact that Mama slaps Beneatha speaks volumes of her character. I could tell from this scene that Mama and Beneatha had not agreed on many things throughout their lives, and perhaps Mama slapping Beneatha was a breaking point for Mama. Even though Beneatha is a very opinionated and strong woman, Mama proves to still hold authority over Beneatha's opinion when she is in Mama's house.
Lorraine Hansberry
One external conflict that really meant a great deal to me while reading A Raisin in the Sun was the conflict between Mama and Beneatha. Hansberry really makes it obvious that Beneatha is the rebellious, feminist of the family. On the contrary, Hansberry also makes it apparent that Mama is very traditional and conservative in her views and actions. Naturally, it was no mystery that the two of these characters would not get along all of the time. However, I did not think that any of these disagreements would ever escalate to physical violence. At one point in the story, Beneatha states that there is no God. Mama, being the the devout, religious person that she is, does not accept this statement at all. "(MAMA absorbs this speech, studies her daughter and rises slowly and crosses to BENEATHA and slaps her powerfully across the face. After, there is only silence and the daughter drops her eyes from her mother's face, and MAMA is very tall before her)" (Hansberry, 457). The fact that Mama slaps Beneatha speaks volumes of her character. I could tell from this scene that Mama and Beneatha had not agreed on many things throughout their lives, and perhaps Mama slapping Beneatha was a breaking point for Mama. Even though Beneatha is a very opinionated and strong woman, Mama proves to still hold authority over Beneatha's opinion when she is in Mama's house.
Raisin Blog 1
A Raisin in the Sun
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry does an excellent job of using the literary technique of distinguishing a theme in A Raisin in the Sun. One theme that I noticed throughout the story was the theme of money. To the Younger family, money brought them together and tore them apart at the same time. When Mama is conversing with Ruth, she says: " Somebody would of thought my children done all but starved to death the way they talk about money here late. Child, we got a great big old check coming tomorrow" (Hansberry, 451). Ever since the Younger family discovered that Mama would be receving a ten thousand dollar check on the account of her deceased husband, the family has been nohting but mad with money talk. Mama is saying that lately all of the Younger family talks about is money. Each member of the family has a different plan they would like to execute with the money that the Youngers are about to receive. I think that money is a theme because Hansberry wants to show that there are very few dreams that can be fulfilled without some kind of financial involvement. Not very many people can be truly happy and see their dreams come true without at least a little bit of money. Hansberry illustrates that money can build hope for the possibility of fulfilling one's dreams, but the abuse of money can just as easily lead to despondency.
Lorraine Hansberry
Lorraine Hansberry does an excellent job of using the literary technique of distinguishing a theme in A Raisin in the Sun. One theme that I noticed throughout the story was the theme of money. To the Younger family, money brought them together and tore them apart at the same time. When Mama is conversing with Ruth, she says: " Somebody would of thought my children done all but starved to death the way they talk about money here late. Child, we got a great big old check coming tomorrow" (Hansberry, 451). Ever since the Younger family discovered that Mama would be receving a ten thousand dollar check on the account of her deceased husband, the family has been nohting but mad with money talk. Mama is saying that lately all of the Younger family talks about is money. Each member of the family has a different plan they would like to execute with the money that the Youngers are about to receive. I think that money is a theme because Hansberry wants to show that there are very few dreams that can be fulfilled without some kind of financial involvement. Not very many people can be truly happy and see their dreams come true without at least a little bit of money. Hansberry illustrates that money can build hope for the possibility of fulfilling one's dreams, but the abuse of money can just as easily lead to despondency.
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