July 10th- First Blog Response

After reading all of the assigned texts, I was amazed how different all of the women’s stories were. I have read the "Yellow Wallpaper" many times, so when I went through it this time, looking for particularly meaningful images, I did so with the revelation or transformation that the main character reveals at the end. My favorite image is on page 43, "[in discussing the pattern] It is dull enough to confuse the eye in following, pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study, and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide-- plunge off at outrageous angles, destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions". This image is a nice example of anthropomorphism, and it hints about the narrator's frame of mind early in the story. However, as the reader, I do not get a feeling that the narrator is crazy or that the description of the complexity of the wallpaper is extraordinary. I think that this image may be similar to others we have read in that the language and tone of the image sets a stage for the rest of the story or poem and this type of writing is similar in "Lady Lazarus" and "The Thirty Eighth Year".

In "Lady Lazarus" the image that struck me as the most interesting reads, "The peanut-crunching crowd/ Shoves in to see//Then unwrap me hand and foot--/The big striptease" (p. 288). I like this image because it has a sarcastic tone in the poem and it seems that the narrator is being very blunt and open about who she is, and at the same time telling everyone to get a life instead of simply sitting around and watching hers. I think this poem is a call to action because it has such a powerful and defiant tone, it is telling women to be invincible despite their oppression. I think that this is a little less subtle than "Ain't I A Woman", but it has the same kind of message and gives the idea that anyone who would oppose these viewpoints is ridiculous, and wrong.

The image I like in "Ain't I A Woman" is " If my cup won't hold a pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half-measure full?" (p. 442). I was drawn to this question because I do not believe that Sojourner believes that her cup is only a pint and that someone else's holds a quart. However, this appeals to the side of reason that we were discussing today in class. If someone makes a logical argument and there is no decent rebuttal, then the other person ends up 'loosing' the argument. To the author, and I think to a lot of women (and African Americans) at the time, there was no good reason to deny rights, especially because in the eyes of their oppressors, they would never be equals anyhow. I do not think that this passage really compares to much we have read thus far, it is very political sounding and does remind me of how politicians speak about their beliefs and plans as though they are the only logical option.

"The Thirty Eighth Year" was my favorite from the group. It was very short and simple, and seemingly an 'ordinary poem'. However, it is very powerful because it tells from a woman's perspective what it is like to be in her shoes every day. She feels lonely and washed up at 38, and though her feelings are not exactly pleasant, by saying she is ordinary she is forming a bond with every woman at her place in life. My favorite image is, "my mother was thick,/her hair was a jungle" (p.297). This image distinguishes the mother in the narrators mind as not an ordinary woman and using this description we realize that the narrator is not at all ordinary that she has the same depth as her mother. I like this poem because I know i have felt this way before, and is is consoling to hear in such simple metaphors that other women share it, and it gives hope that no one is ordinary.

Finally, the image I chose from "When I Was Growing Up" is "I could not shed/ my skin in they grey water". I think this is a very sad image because it shows defeat. At the same time I think that it is good that we cannot easily shed our skin to become someone or something we idolize (even though I believe that some of us think we can). Though this was once the case that the narrator was ashamed of herself, because she talks about her feelings when growing up, the reader comes to understand that she no longer feels this way and has come to peace with who she is. Even though this poem is racially motivated, I think that this is an important lesson for all people to learn, but especially women who long to exist as men and power figures in this male dominated society.

Just some thoughts...sorry its long :)