"Someone has written to ask me to contribute to an anthology of stories for children. I reply that I don't write children's stories... And then last night I woke up- or rather was awakened without knowing what had roused me."
The entire story is ironic, from the characters' actions to the story itself. The author was told to write a story for children, a request she did not want to oblige. She comes up with a story that is definitely not meant for children. The story was prompted by sounds she heard in the night, and she considers the possibility of burglars. When she tells the story, she includes a string of burglaries that gives the neighborhood motivation to protect the homes. What prompted their protection crusade was the wise witch, the grandmother of the little boy, warning them to not let anyone in. Even though they kept building their defenses, all of the fences and alarms couldn't protect their son. The people were warned, but they took they witch's advice too far. The theme is that the best may not always be the best; the greatest protection equipment caused the death of the little boy. The family worked to keep harm out, but that defense system harmed the boy. The author introduces her point that defenses can't always protect us in the beginning of her story, saying that a woman was murdered in broad daylight and fierce dogs did not save a widower.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
A Worn Path
"'Tell us quickly about your grandson, and get it over. He isn't dead, is he?' At last there came a flicker and then a flame of comprehension across her face, and she spoke. 'My grandson. It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long trip.'"
Phoenix is an interesting character, making a long, difficult journey in order to get medicine and a toy for her grandson. Many obstacles slowed her journey, but she kept walking, slowly getting closer to town. She gets around the obstacles and interacts with people in unique ways. She asks a complete stranger to tie her shoe, even though the woman had a handful of boxes. When a hunter points a gun at her, she never blinks and tells the man that bullets have come closer to her before. She then steals a nickel from the man, saving it to buy her grandson a paper windmill. In addition to dealing with these strangers, she moves around natural obstacles at her slow pace, eventually moving closer to goal. She must also deal with her old age and her memory loss which almost causes her to forget her purpose. Based on her age and memory, I thought that her grandson could be dead. She mentions how he sits there with his blanket with his mouth open, and I thought that she could have forgotten that he died. She may not have wanted to accept his death because she loves him so much. Her intense love for her grandson is the theme; her love knows no bounds, allowing her to routinely make the journey.
Phoenix is an interesting character, making a long, difficult journey in order to get medicine and a toy for her grandson. Many obstacles slowed her journey, but she kept walking, slowly getting closer to town. She gets around the obstacles and interacts with people in unique ways. She asks a complete stranger to tie her shoe, even though the woman had a handful of boxes. When a hunter points a gun at her, she never blinks and tells the man that bullets have come closer to her before. She then steals a nickel from the man, saving it to buy her grandson a paper windmill. In addition to dealing with these strangers, she moves around natural obstacles at her slow pace, eventually moving closer to goal. She must also deal with her old age and her memory loss which almost causes her to forget her purpose. Based on her age and memory, I thought that her grandson could be dead. She mentions how he sits there with his blanket with his mouth open, and I thought that she could have forgotten that he died. She may not have wanted to accept his death because she loves him so much. Her intense love for her grandson is the theme; her love knows no bounds, allowing her to routinely make the journey.
Eveline
"No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas she sen a cry of anguish...She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition."
Eveline reflects on her life, agonizing over her decision to leave her home to travel with Frank to Buenos Aires. Even though her descriptions of her life paint a bleary picture, Eveline admits that her life is not undesirable. She had many ties to Dublin, including a job and her family. Even more pressing was a promise she made to her dying mother to take care for the family as long as she could. Keeping the home together was not an easy task; her brother traveled and her father was abusive. Although she dealt with many difficulties, this life is familiar to Eveline which is why she did not get on the boat. She did not make the conscious decision to stay; she simply could not leave her tiring but predictable life behind. Buenos Aires offered a new, exciting, and unfamiliar life for Eveline, but circumstances beyond her control tied her to Dublin. Even though a theme can be applied directly to Eveline's story, the theme can be extended to include the people of Dublin. The author wrote about a "spiritual paralysis" the people of Dublin faced, and Eveline embodied this idea. Not only was she not physically able to get on the boat, her inner conflict kept home. She was not able to overcome those circumstances in her life, like her family.
Eveline reflects on her life, agonizing over her decision to leave her home to travel with Frank to Buenos Aires. Even though her descriptions of her life paint a bleary picture, Eveline admits that her life is not undesirable. She had many ties to Dublin, including a job and her family. Even more pressing was a promise she made to her dying mother to take care for the family as long as she could. Keeping the home together was not an easy task; her brother traveled and her father was abusive. Although she dealt with many difficulties, this life is familiar to Eveline which is why she did not get on the boat. She did not make the conscious decision to stay; she simply could not leave her tiring but predictable life behind. Buenos Aires offered a new, exciting, and unfamiliar life for Eveline, but circumstances beyond her control tied her to Dublin. Even though a theme can be applied directly to Eveline's story, the theme can be extended to include the people of Dublin. The author wrote about a "spiritual paralysis" the people of Dublin faced, and Eveline embodied this idea. Not only was she not physically able to get on the boat, her inner conflict kept home. She was not able to overcome those circumstances in her life, like her family.
Miss Brill
"But today she passed the baker's by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room- her room like a cupboard- and sat down on the red eiderdown...She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying."
I completely misinterpreted this story when I first read it, and I did not understand how the story had a plot, much less a theme. After another read, more details became apparent, and I began to understand Miss Brill. She is a foreigner, teaching English. From the conversation between the young couple, she might be in France. Since she is in a strange land, she is trying to fit in with the community. To accomplish this, she puts on her favorite fur and goes out into the park to listen to people. Although she is an English teacher by profession, she also considers herself to be an actress. She listens and watches people, taking in the smallest details. Miss Brill reflects on how everyone acts in public, like they are in a play. She watches their performance, enjoying the scenes before her. Her actions directly tie into the theme of her not fitting into the community. Even though she tries so hard to be accepted, Miss Brill is rejected by the community. She passes up her customary almond cake, dejectedly putting her fur away. Her prized fur was mocked by the people of the community, making Miss Brill realize that she would not be accepted.
I completely misinterpreted this story when I first read it, and I did not understand how the story had a plot, much less a theme. After another read, more details became apparent, and I began to understand Miss Brill. She is a foreigner, teaching English. From the conversation between the young couple, she might be in France. Since she is in a strange land, she is trying to fit in with the community. To accomplish this, she puts on her favorite fur and goes out into the park to listen to people. Although she is an English teacher by profession, she also considers herself to be an actress. She listens and watches people, taking in the smallest details. Miss Brill reflects on how everyone acts in public, like they are in a play. She watches their performance, enjoying the scenes before her. Her actions directly tie into the theme of her not fitting into the community. Even though she tries so hard to be accepted, Miss Brill is rejected by the community. She passes up her customary almond cake, dejectedly putting her fur away. Her prized fur was mocked by the people of the community, making Miss Brill realize that she would not be accepted.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Bartleby the Scrivener
"His face was leanly composed, his gray eyes dimly calm. Not a wrinkle of agitation rippled him. Had there been the least uneasiness, anger, impatience or impertinence in his manner, in other words had there been anything ordinarily human about him, doubtless I should have violently dismissed him from the premises."
I will now attempt to characterize Bartleby and the people he bothered. I'll start with Bartleby because he is the character I understand least. I think the quote from the narrator is very telling, especially the part about Bartleby not exhibiting any human emotions. This shows that not only is Bartleby not like any other normal person, but he probably has something wrong with him. The author suggested that the man might be deranged, and I agree that Bartleby seems like someone with a mental illness. He refused to do anything, lived in the office, and then starved himself to death. He was firm in his refusals, never taking the narrator's bait to make him mad. Bartleby may have resisted change which would explain why he wouldn't leave the office. The narrator tried to understand his employee, but his methods were questionable. He often tried to avoid direct confrontation, and he never fired Bartleby or sent him to jail. I don't understand why the narrator felt close to Bartleby, or why he felt like he needed to help him. I especially don't understand why he tried to help him when Bartleby caused him nothing but trouble.
I will now attempt to characterize Bartleby and the people he bothered. I'll start with Bartleby because he is the character I understand least. I think the quote from the narrator is very telling, especially the part about Bartleby not exhibiting any human emotions. This shows that not only is Bartleby not like any other normal person, but he probably has something wrong with him. The author suggested that the man might be deranged, and I agree that Bartleby seems like someone with a mental illness. He refused to do anything, lived in the office, and then starved himself to death. He was firm in his refusals, never taking the narrator's bait to make him mad. Bartleby may have resisted change which would explain why he wouldn't leave the office. The narrator tried to understand his employee, but his methods were questionable. He often tried to avoid direct confrontation, and he never fired Bartleby or sent him to jail. I don't understand why the narrator felt close to Bartleby, or why he felt like he needed to help him. I especially don't understand why he tried to help him when Bartleby caused him nothing but trouble.
Bartleby the Scrivener, Who Wasn't a Scrivener because He Didn't Do Anything the Entire Story!
"But ere parting with the reader, let me say that if this little narrative has sufficiently interested him to awaken curiosity as to who Bartleby was, and what manner of life he led prior to the present narrator's making his acquaintance, I can only reply that in such curiosity I fully share, but am wholly unable to gratify it."
This blog post's purpose is solely to let me vent my frustrations about this story and the characters. I dedicated a decent amount of time to reading this story which was no small feat. To get to the end of the story and still not have any significant insight into the purpose of what I just read was frustrating. What was even more frustrating was the fact that Bartleby and the narrator are two of the most annoying characters I have ever encountered. I knew Bartleby was weird from that movie clip we watched in class, but I did not gain much additional information from the story. Maybe I didn't read enough into his actions or his motivations to understand who he was, but he still came off as just really weird. Why would he get a job just to refuse to work? Why would he refuse to leave the office? The narrator does not help much in understanding Bartleby because the narrator himself didn't know Bartleby. I didn't understand their relationship at all, especially why the narrator concerned himself with Bartleby's well being. Even though he has a strange connection with Bartleby, the narrator went about dealing with his weird scrivener in an annoying manner, essentially avoiding the problem.
This blog post's purpose is solely to let me vent my frustrations about this story and the characters. I dedicated a decent amount of time to reading this story which was no small feat. To get to the end of the story and still not have any significant insight into the purpose of what I just read was frustrating. What was even more frustrating was the fact that Bartleby and the narrator are two of the most annoying characters I have ever encountered. I knew Bartleby was weird from that movie clip we watched in class, but I did not gain much additional information from the story. Maybe I didn't read enough into his actions or his motivations to understand who he was, but he still came off as just really weird. Why would he get a job just to refuse to work? Why would he refuse to leave the office? The narrator does not help much in understanding Bartleby because the narrator himself didn't know Bartleby. I didn't understand their relationship at all, especially why the narrator concerned himself with Bartleby's well being. Even though he has a strange connection with Bartleby, the narrator went about dealing with his weird scrivener in an annoying manner, essentially avoiding the problem.
Hunters in the Snow
"'I'm going to the hospital,' Kenny said. But he was wrong. They had taken a different turn a long way back."
This story was like a sadistic episode of the three stooges. These three guys, Kenny, Tub, and Frank, were all idiots, and I had trouble sympathizing with any of them. Tub was set up to be the most sympathetic character in the beginning, with Kenny playing the role as the jerk. Once Tub shot Kenny and they left him in the back of the truck, my sympathy turned to Kenny. Tub was the stereotypical fat, dumb guy, always enduring the jokes of his friends. Frank and Kenny enjoyed jokes at Tub's expense, and Kenny even went as far as to pretend to almost run Tub over. Tub could never keep up with them, with their private jokes or when they were walking through the woods. Frank was fickle wit his loyalty, at first aligning himself with Kenny because he was the strongest in the group. Once Kenny was no longer the leader, Frank befriended Tub, telling him his secret about the babysitter. Both lie to their friends and family, covering up their secrets. They act like their problems are incredibly significant while Kenny is freezing and bleeding to death in the back of their truck. Frank and Tub's alliance may have been much stronger than any relationship either of them had with Kenny, and they may have shared resentment towards Kenny. This maybe true because of the wording of the "different turn," not wrong turn. Perhaps sharing their secrets brought Tub and Frank so close, and they decided they didn't need Kenny around anymore.
This story was like a sadistic episode of the three stooges. These three guys, Kenny, Tub, and Frank, were all idiots, and I had trouble sympathizing with any of them. Tub was set up to be the most sympathetic character in the beginning, with Kenny playing the role as the jerk. Once Tub shot Kenny and they left him in the back of the truck, my sympathy turned to Kenny. Tub was the stereotypical fat, dumb guy, always enduring the jokes of his friends. Frank and Kenny enjoyed jokes at Tub's expense, and Kenny even went as far as to pretend to almost run Tub over. Tub could never keep up with them, with their private jokes or when they were walking through the woods. Frank was fickle wit his loyalty, at first aligning himself with Kenny because he was the strongest in the group. Once Kenny was no longer the leader, Frank befriended Tub, telling him his secret about the babysitter. Both lie to their friends and family, covering up their secrets. They act like their problems are incredibly significant while Kenny is freezing and bleeding to death in the back of their truck. Frank and Tub's alliance may have been much stronger than any relationship either of them had with Kenny, and they may have shared resentment towards Kenny. This maybe true because of the wording of the "different turn," not wrong turn. Perhaps sharing their secrets brought Tub and Frank so close, and they decided they didn't need Kenny around anymore.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)