"The lumpy whiteness of rice, the quivering blood tomatoes, the grayish-brown meat. All their repugnance was contained in the neat balance of the triangles...Thus reassured that the white, the red adn the brown would stay where they were- would not explode or burst forth from their restricted zones..."(page 8).
this passage in the first part of "Sula" stood out to me because it reminded and insinuated the idea of segregation. How all things or people that are different neeed to be kept apart from eachother inorder for their to be some sort of peace. However, as most would know, this is not right. it is the chaos the differences that each thing or group has that when mixed together can create a great deal of diversity and new and interesting things and ideas. It reminded me of many other things i have read about slavery or the Harlem Rennasance(?), where the main idea is that different is bad and it can't be mixed together witih other types of people. That is why Harlem eventually turned into a run down part of New York. the white people who lived there moved out when the black artist of the time began moving in from all parts of the country and the world.
"Hannah exasperated the women in the town-the "good" women, who said, ' One thing I can't stand is a nasty woman'; the whores, who were hard put to find trade among black men anyway and who resented Hanah's generosity; the middling women, who had both husbands and affairs, because Hannah seemed too unlike them, having no passion attached to her relationships and being wholly incapable of jealousy. Hannah's friendships with women were, of course seldom and short lived..."
This passage in the first part of Sula stood out to me because it seems to catergorize women. There are the married "good" women, the prostitutes who aren't married and the married women who are bad because they cheat on their husbands. Hannah doesn't fit into any of these catergories and i find it interesting. it is just like the passage about shadrack and everything needing thier assigned place. Well here, it seems that women need their assigned position or label in society and when you fit none of those labels then you are really and outcast and different. you are alone. i also thought it was interesting because it talks about teh roles women are expected to play and how you can only be considered good if you are a faithfully married woman. this goes along with soem of our readings such as "why i want a wife". It emphasizes what women should do iin order to be considered "good". if you are not this, then you are bad or not fitting the norm of society.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Sula- first half
The first passage that I really liked and felt a connection to was on page 12. Morrison is describing hte life of Shadrack and the state he is in when he is released from the hospital.
She writes, "...the fact that he didnt even know who or what he was...with no past, no language, no tribe, no source, no address book, no comb, no pencil, no clock, no pocket hankerchif, no rug, no bed, no can opener, no faded postcard, no soap, no key, no tobacco pouch, no soiled underwear and nothing nothing nothing to do..."
I was drawn to this paragraph becasue it is highlighting things about his life that might be important (things inthe form of objects) but he does not have them. It was interesting to me to see the choice of objects that one might have that would have possible made Shadrack better off. The text that this reminds me of very much is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brian. This was originally a short story that he expanded to a novel and it lists in a manner like in this passage all of the things that soldiers carried with them. For these men, their stuff was what differentiated them from eachother and told the reader of their pasts and the lives that they were missing to serve their coutnry. Morrison takes a twist of this though, because instead of connecting Shadrack to a place through these things on his person, he is without them and she uses the list in a very powerful way to tell the reader to what extent he is lost.
The second part of the reading I encountered and responded to is the entire last paragraph on p. 29 beginning "When Sula first visited the Wright house..." This passage reminded me of our conversation yesterday relating to the poem "As Children Together". The passage is divided in two between Sula's response to Nel's clean and more upsacle house and Nel's preference for Sula's "wolly house". I think that this is always true about people, especially when they are growing up. I remember that I would have much rather played over at my friends house than my own and my friends felt the same way. Each place and mother had different attributes that we envied by those who were not already used to them. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fense. This reminded me of yesterday's discussion because it is a snapshot of what the girls in the poem might have thought or said at one point when they were younger. I think that we will have to keep the poem in mind as we see how Nel and Sula grow up and respond to eachother as women.
She writes, "...the fact that he didnt even know who or what he was...with no past, no language, no tribe, no source, no address book, no comb, no pencil, no clock, no pocket hankerchif, no rug, no bed, no can opener, no faded postcard, no soap, no key, no tobacco pouch, no soiled underwear and nothing nothing nothing to do..."
I was drawn to this paragraph becasue it is highlighting things about his life that might be important (things inthe form of objects) but he does not have them. It was interesting to me to see the choice of objects that one might have that would have possible made Shadrack better off. The text that this reminds me of very much is "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brian. This was originally a short story that he expanded to a novel and it lists in a manner like in this passage all of the things that soldiers carried with them. For these men, their stuff was what differentiated them from eachother and told the reader of their pasts and the lives that they were missing to serve their coutnry. Morrison takes a twist of this though, because instead of connecting Shadrack to a place through these things on his person, he is without them and she uses the list in a very powerful way to tell the reader to what extent he is lost.
The second part of the reading I encountered and responded to is the entire last paragraph on p. 29 beginning "When Sula first visited the Wright house..." This passage reminded me of our conversation yesterday relating to the poem "As Children Together". The passage is divided in two between Sula's response to Nel's clean and more upsacle house and Nel's preference for Sula's "wolly house". I think that this is always true about people, especially when they are growing up. I remember that I would have much rather played over at my friends house than my own and my friends felt the same way. Each place and mother had different attributes that we envied by those who were not already used to them. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fense. This reminded me of yesterday's discussion because it is a snapshot of what the girls in the poem might have thought or said at one point when they were younger. I think that we will have to keep the poem in mind as we see how Nel and Sula grow up and respond to eachother as women.
Sula, pt. 1
"All the while Helene and Nel watched her. The one in a rage at the folded leaves she had endured, the wooden benches she had slept on, all to miss seeing her grandmother and seeing instead that painted canary who never said a word of greeting or affection or. . ."
This passage easily evokes feelings of sympathetic irritation. While the exact circumstances may not be common, surely many people have experienced the desecration of something personally sacred. It is not always death or related to religion as we place value on objects, events, and ideals, developing a similar perception. For instance, small children often develop attachments to specific toys (all toys, in a worst case scenario) and grow jealous or even violent if another child attempts to play with these. If the child is forced to share, they will try to minimize this infringement by dictating how the toy should be used. My sister will attest that I once felt this way about Barbie and supervised play fastidiously in my zeal. With the notion of controlling the situation in mind, I wonder if Helene would have felt differently had her mother appeared in proper mourning garb and hadn't been so concerned with her appearance.
"Old people were dancing with little children. Young boys with their sisters, and the church women who frowned on any bodily expression of joy (except when the hand of God commanded it) tapped their feet."
This passage evokes feelings of nostalgia and amusement within me. Because my family reunions are very similar, I can easily relate. I've had my toes trodden upon by little girls eager to dance and kept my aging great aunts company as they were unable (or unwilling) to join the more active of the festivities. In relation to Sula, it just seems as though things do not change all that much. The communal dynamic of a small town is almost steadfast across time and continues to unite generations and cultures again and again.
This passage easily evokes feelings of sympathetic irritation. While the exact circumstances may not be common, surely many people have experienced the desecration of something personally sacred. It is not always death or related to religion as we place value on objects, events, and ideals, developing a similar perception. For instance, small children often develop attachments to specific toys (all toys, in a worst case scenario) and grow jealous or even violent if another child attempts to play with these. If the child is forced to share, they will try to minimize this infringement by dictating how the toy should be used. My sister will attest that I once felt this way about Barbie and supervised play fastidiously in my zeal. With the notion of controlling the situation in mind, I wonder if Helene would have felt differently had her mother appeared in proper mourning garb and hadn't been so concerned with her appearance.
"Old people were dancing with little children. Young boys with their sisters, and the church women who frowned on any bodily expression of joy (except when the hand of God commanded it) tapped their feet."
This passage evokes feelings of nostalgia and amusement within me. Because my family reunions are very similar, I can easily relate. I've had my toes trodden upon by little girls eager to dance and kept my aging great aunts company as they were unable (or unwilling) to join the more active of the festivities. In relation to Sula, it just seems as though things do not change all that much. The communal dynamic of a small town is almost steadfast across time and continues to unite generations and cultures again and again.
Sula Blog: Due 7/17/07
There are two particular quotes that I found in the first half of the book that really caught my eye.
The first one is found in section 1920 on page 24. “She looked around for the other women and her four children, three boys and a girl, Helene and her daughter squatted there in the four o’ clock Meridian sun. They did it again in Ellisvile, again in Hattiesburg and by the time they reached Slidell, not to far from Lake Pontchartrain, Helene could not only fold leaves as well as the fat woman, she never felt a stir as she passed the muddy eyes of the men who stood like wrecked Dorics under the station roofs of those towns.”
The reason this quote affected me so much is because it seems so real, and at the time. It was. There was so much racism going on in our world at this time. It just really made me think about how far we have really come as a country. Although I can’t think of one right now, but I only believe that I can compare this to other books I have read focused on racism. It would be impossible to compare this to something that happened in my life because this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore. There are now black doctors and nurses, black executives, etc. I am so glad that I will never know how African Americans truly were treated. It’s cruel and not human. You would never hear of something like that going on this time and while reading this, I honestly found myself thanking God for letting me live in a time where all this is past, where people are created equally. There will always be some racist people in our world, but these people are immature and need to grow up. This is definitely something I feel very strongly about and it interests me a lot.
The second quote that caught my eye right away was in section 1922, on page 53. “Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personality. Although both were unshaped, formless things, Nel seemed stronger and more consistent than Sula, who could hardly be counted on to sustain any emotion for more than three minutes.”
This quote is obviously about friendship- a very strong friendship. It kind of reminds me of the friendship that I have with my best friend, Kathleen. Kathleen and I luckily don’t have to cope with the problems that these girls did. But if we ever had to, I feel confident that Kat and I would be about to get through it together. Besides my family, no one in the world compares to that girl. And to me, this quote exemplifies that kind of friendship. This book has definitely made me appreciate the things I have more than I have been. I guess what I am trying to say is that when it comes down to it, a true friend will be there for you no matter what, through good and bad. They will help you work out your problems and be there for you no matter what- whether it is something as big as racism in the early 1900’s or something petty like make up, hair, nails, etc.. And when you’re acting petty, they’ll be there to give you a kick in the butt and say “What the heck are you thinking!”
I’ve said it above, but I feel the need to say it again. In just one day of reading this book, it has made me appreciate the things I have to much more- even the little things. These things are leisures that we might not have forever. So appreciate them. Cherish them.
The first one is found in section 1920 on page 24. “She looked around for the other women and her four children, three boys and a girl, Helene and her daughter squatted there in the four o’ clock Meridian sun. They did it again in Ellisvile, again in Hattiesburg and by the time they reached Slidell, not to far from Lake Pontchartrain, Helene could not only fold leaves as well as the fat woman, she never felt a stir as she passed the muddy eyes of the men who stood like wrecked Dorics under the station roofs of those towns.”
The reason this quote affected me so much is because it seems so real, and at the time. It was. There was so much racism going on in our world at this time. It just really made me think about how far we have really come as a country. Although I can’t think of one right now, but I only believe that I can compare this to other books I have read focused on racism. It would be impossible to compare this to something that happened in my life because this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore. There are now black doctors and nurses, black executives, etc. I am so glad that I will never know how African Americans truly were treated. It’s cruel and not human. You would never hear of something like that going on this time and while reading this, I honestly found myself thanking God for letting me live in a time where all this is past, where people are created equally. There will always be some racist people in our world, but these people are immature and need to grow up. This is definitely something I feel very strongly about and it interests me a lot.
The second quote that caught my eye right away was in section 1922, on page 53. “Their friendship was as intense as it was sudden. They found relief in each other’s personality. Although both were unshaped, formless things, Nel seemed stronger and more consistent than Sula, who could hardly be counted on to sustain any emotion for more than three minutes.”
This quote is obviously about friendship- a very strong friendship. It kind of reminds me of the friendship that I have with my best friend, Kathleen. Kathleen and I luckily don’t have to cope with the problems that these girls did. But if we ever had to, I feel confident that Kat and I would be about to get through it together. Besides my family, no one in the world compares to that girl. And to me, this quote exemplifies that kind of friendship. This book has definitely made me appreciate the things I have more than I have been. I guess what I am trying to say is that when it comes down to it, a true friend will be there for you no matter what, through good and bad. They will help you work out your problems and be there for you no matter what- whether it is something as big as racism in the early 1900’s or something petty like make up, hair, nails, etc.. And when you’re acting petty, they’ll be there to give you a kick in the butt and say “What the heck are you thinking!”
I’ve said it above, but I feel the need to say it again. In just one day of reading this book, it has made me appreciate the things I have to much more- even the little things. These things are leisures that we might not have forever. So appreciate them. Cherish them.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Sula: part II
"The black people, for all their new look, seemed awfully anxious to get to the valley, or leave town, and abandon the hills to whoever was interested. It was sad, because the Bottom had been a real place. These young ones kept talking about the community, but they left the hills to the poor, the old, the stubborn – and the rich white folks. Maybe it hadn’t been a community, but it had been a place. Now there weren’t any places left, just separate houses with separate televisions and separate telephones and less and less dropping by."
To me, this passage symbolizes Nel and Sula’s eventual drift apart. It explains how two parts of one self came to be separated by the passage of time. They remain friends in a particular place in time, just as the Bottom remains a community in a fragment of time. Their drift apart parallels their community’s disintegration. In a larger sense, Morrison appears to be highlighting one of the flaws of the postmodern society – isolation. While early 20th century communities were far from perfect, there was a sense of solidarity. Each had their own idiosyncrasies, in contrast to the faceless metropolises that dot the American landscape today.
This passage adds to the mythological quality of Morrison’s work. It seems the reader is always examining closely, yet is still remaining on the outside, confined to their own little particular place in time.
In a way, her strangeness, her naivete, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings; had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like any artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
I chose this passage because it highlights a major theme throughout the novel. Women have consistently turned to men, as a way to seemingly subvert the power hierarchy. What's ironic is that, while having sexual power makes one feel good in the moment, it doesn't change the historical paradigm. Woman's only creative outlet was to be a sex artist, which proved to be deeply unsatisfying for Sula, and many others.
Until very recently in history, women were denied many of the economic advantages men enjoyed. It is easy to forget that most of us still have grandparents who lived before the women's rights movement, without political, social, or sexual freedom. The setting of Sula isn't even a hundred years ago, which makes me very appreciative of those who fought to earn my sex equal opportunities for societal advancement.
Further, Sula and Nel were doubly disadvantaged, being minorities and women. While Sula tried to better herself, it didn't earn her respect from her fellow townspeople - she was ostracized and alienated for pushing the boundaries.
To me, this passage symbolizes Nel and Sula’s eventual drift apart. It explains how two parts of one self came to be separated by the passage of time. They remain friends in a particular place in time, just as the Bottom remains a community in a fragment of time. Their drift apart parallels their community’s disintegration. In a larger sense, Morrison appears to be highlighting one of the flaws of the postmodern society – isolation. While early 20th century communities were far from perfect, there was a sense of solidarity. Each had their own idiosyncrasies, in contrast to the faceless metropolises that dot the American landscape today.
This passage adds to the mythological quality of Morrison’s work. It seems the reader is always examining closely, yet is still remaining on the outside, confined to their own little particular place in time.
In a way, her strangeness, her naivete, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings; had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like any artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
I chose this passage because it highlights a major theme throughout the novel. Women have consistently turned to men, as a way to seemingly subvert the power hierarchy. What's ironic is that, while having sexual power makes one feel good in the moment, it doesn't change the historical paradigm. Woman's only creative outlet was to be a sex artist, which proved to be deeply unsatisfying for Sula, and many others.
Until very recently in history, women were denied many of the economic advantages men enjoyed. It is easy to forget that most of us still have grandparents who lived before the women's rights movement, without political, social, or sexual freedom. The setting of Sula isn't even a hundred years ago, which makes me very appreciative of those who fought to earn my sex equal opportunities for societal advancement.
Further, Sula and Nel were doubly disadvantaged, being minorities and women. While Sula tried to better herself, it didn't earn her respect from her fellow townspeople - she was ostracized and alienated for pushing the boundaries.
Sula: part I
"Hannah exasperated the women in the town – the “good” women, who said, “One thing I can’t stand is a nasty woman”; the whores, who were hard put to find trade among black men anyway and who resented Hannah’s generosity; the middling women who had both husbands and affairs, because Hannah seemed too unlike them, having no passion attached to her relationships and being wholly incapable of jealousy. Hannah’s friendships with women were, of course, seldom and short-lived, and the newly married couples whom her mother took in soon learned what a hazard she was. She could break up a marriage before it had even become one – she would make love to the new groom and wash his wife’s dishes all in an afternoon. What she wanted, after Rekus died, and what she succeeded in having more often than not, was some touching every day."
This passage seemed very compelling, because it accurately describes the plight of a woman who doesn’t fit into the narrow conception of what being a woman means, and is resented for it. It’s strange that even though Hannah and these women shared several of the same womanly desires and experiences, they still chose to despise her. Perhaps she physically manifested the evil parts of themselves they wished to pretend didn’t exist. I had a similar experience with a female who I became close to. Some of her personality traits I despised in other people, and they eventually ended our friendship. However, after she moved away and I reflected on the situation, I realized that I shared some of the same characteristics I had despised in her. Perhaps I, like the women in Sula, wanted to ignore the characteristics of myself I found to be negative, rather than trying to change them myself. There was a clash between the rational and the emotional halves of myself. The rational part wanted to change my behavior, but the emotional half was unwilling to admit it was even there.
"It was not really Edna Finch’s ice cream that made them brave the stretch of those panther eyes. Years later their own eyes would glaze as they cupped their chins in remembrance of the inchworm smiles, the squatting haunches, the track-rail legs straddling broken chairs. The cream-colored trousers marking with a mere seam the place where the mystery curled. Those smooth vanilla crotches invited them; those lemon-yellow gabardines beckoned to them. They moved toward the ice-cream parlor like tightrope walkers, as thrilled by the possibility of a slip as by the maintenance of tension and balance. The least sideways glance, the merest toe stub, could pitch them into those creamy haunches spread wide with welcome. Somewhere beneath all of that daintiness, chambered in all that neatness, lay the thing that clotted their dreams."
I found the last sentence of this passage to be particularly interesting. “Clotted their dreams” could simply mean occupied their innermost thoughts, but it could also mean destroyed their ambition. Thus far, neither Nel nor Sula has a particularly ambitious attitude toward life. If the female figures in your life need a man to validate their existence, what message does that send to you? Hannah, Sula’s mother, was constantly searching for a man to validate her existence, to recapture some of the feelings she experienced with her deceased husband. Undoubtedly the messages Sula and Nel received from the maternal figures in their lives informed their perceptions of men. My own experiences with maternal figures contrasts that of Sula. Several of my relatives consider themselves feminists, and the message "you don't need a man, so don't rely on one" was consistently reinforced. Thankfully I've turned out differently than Nel or Sula, in part because the messages I was given as a child didn't reinforce the cultural narrative that a woman needs a man to validate her existence.
This passage seemed very compelling, because it accurately describes the plight of a woman who doesn’t fit into the narrow conception of what being a woman means, and is resented for it. It’s strange that even though Hannah and these women shared several of the same womanly desires and experiences, they still chose to despise her. Perhaps she physically manifested the evil parts of themselves they wished to pretend didn’t exist. I had a similar experience with a female who I became close to. Some of her personality traits I despised in other people, and they eventually ended our friendship. However, after she moved away and I reflected on the situation, I realized that I shared some of the same characteristics I had despised in her. Perhaps I, like the women in Sula, wanted to ignore the characteristics of myself I found to be negative, rather than trying to change them myself. There was a clash between the rational and the emotional halves of myself. The rational part wanted to change my behavior, but the emotional half was unwilling to admit it was even there.
"It was not really Edna Finch’s ice cream that made them brave the stretch of those panther eyes. Years later their own eyes would glaze as they cupped their chins in remembrance of the inchworm smiles, the squatting haunches, the track-rail legs straddling broken chairs. The cream-colored trousers marking with a mere seam the place where the mystery curled. Those smooth vanilla crotches invited them; those lemon-yellow gabardines beckoned to them. They moved toward the ice-cream parlor like tightrope walkers, as thrilled by the possibility of a slip as by the maintenance of tension and balance. The least sideways glance, the merest toe stub, could pitch them into those creamy haunches spread wide with welcome. Somewhere beneath all of that daintiness, chambered in all that neatness, lay the thing that clotted their dreams."
I found the last sentence of this passage to be particularly interesting. “Clotted their dreams” could simply mean occupied their innermost thoughts, but it could also mean destroyed their ambition. Thus far, neither Nel nor Sula has a particularly ambitious attitude toward life. If the female figures in your life need a man to validate their existence, what message does that send to you? Hannah, Sula’s mother, was constantly searching for a man to validate her existence, to recapture some of the feelings she experienced with her deceased husband. Undoubtedly the messages Sula and Nel received from the maternal figures in their lives informed their perceptions of men. My own experiences with maternal figures contrasts that of Sula. Several of my relatives consider themselves feminists, and the message "you don't need a man, so don't rely on one" was consistently reinforced. Thankfully I've turned out differently than Nel or Sula, in part because the messages I was given as a child didn't reinforce the cultural narrative that a woman needs a man to validate her existence.
For July 16
"As Children Together"--Carol Forche
The first time I read this throuh, I had a much different interpretation than my fellow class mates. I read it in a much more aggressive, emotionally damaging tone. Then, after reading the blogs, I went back and read it again and felt the tone to be much different. The two friends once ran away together but now have drawn apart. They grew up and grew apart and this author is remember older days and missing and old friend. But the line that stands out the most to me is when she writes,
"Your mirror grew ringed
with photos of servicemen
who had taken your breasts
in their hands, the buttons
of your blouses in their teeth,
who had given you the silk
tassels of their graduation,
jackets embroidered with dragons
from the Far East. You kept
the corks that had fired
from bottles over their beds
their letters with each city
blackened, envelopes of hair
from their shaved heads."
This, like someone else posted, is very similar to the scene in Grease when that girl is describing the silk robe she got from the one of many soldiers she writes back and forth with. They both want independence, Victoria wants independence with a man, the narrator wants true independence. I think the narrator, in a way, wishes she had the same attention that Victoria does but also knows that is not fitting for her.
"Trifles"--Susan Glaspeli
County Attorney: "You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive"
Sheriff: "Nothing here but kitchen things."
As a feminist, this was a frustrating reading for me. It speaks of how superior men were to women which allowed men to make all decisions and then dictate them to the women, regardless of how the women felt. I also noticed how interesting it was that Glaspell used gender sterotypes throughout the play. The men's superiority is so important that it can not be lowered even to find the true motive for murder. It is the nuances of the woman's daily life that the real evidence is found.
"The Revolt of Mother"
This writing obviously focuses on the oppression of women as Sarah Penn fights for equality in treatment. There's also a demonstration of the lack of power women had.
I know you be, as well as I want to. Now, father, look here” — Sarah Penn had not sat down; she stood before her husband in the humble fashion of a Scripture woman — “I'm goin' to talk real plain to you; I never have sence I married you, but I'm goin' to now. I ain't never complained, an' I ain't goin' to complain now, but I'm goin' to talk plain. You see this room here, father; you look at it well. You see there ain't no carpet on the floor, an' you see the paper is all dirty, an' droppin' off the walls. We ain't had no new paper on it for ten year, an' then I put it on myself, an' it didn't cost but ninepence a roll. You see this room, father; it's all the one I've had to work in an' eat in an' sit in sence we was married. There ain't another woman in the whole town whose husband ain't got half the means you have but what's got better. It's all the room Nanny's got to have her company in; an' there ain't one of her mates but what's got better, an' their fathers not so able as hers is. It's all the room she'll have to be married in. What would you have thought, father, if we had had our weddin' in a room no better than this? I was married in my mother's parlor, with a carpet on the floor, an' stuffed furniture, an' a mahogany card-table. An' this is all the room my daughter will have to be married in. Look here, father!”
This excerpt is very powerful and gave me chills because she finally steps up and speaks her mind, she puts her foot down and says what I feel, she's been wanting to say for a long time. It's a demonstration of her fight for earned recognition. She says how hard she works and there's little to show because he doesn't put forth effort to help or contribute they way she feels he should, as a team. I loved this reading and think the point is very clear and made well.
The first time I read this throuh, I had a much different interpretation than my fellow class mates. I read it in a much more aggressive, emotionally damaging tone. Then, after reading the blogs, I went back and read it again and felt the tone to be much different. The two friends once ran away together but now have drawn apart. They grew up and grew apart and this author is remember older days and missing and old friend. But the line that stands out the most to me is when she writes,
"Your mirror grew ringed
with photos of servicemen
who had taken your breasts
in their hands, the buttons
of your blouses in their teeth,
who had given you the silk
tassels of their graduation,
jackets embroidered with dragons
from the Far East. You kept
the corks that had fired
from bottles over their beds
their letters with each city
blackened, envelopes of hair
from their shaved heads."
This, like someone else posted, is very similar to the scene in Grease when that girl is describing the silk robe she got from the one of many soldiers she writes back and forth with. They both want independence, Victoria wants independence with a man, the narrator wants true independence. I think the narrator, in a way, wishes she had the same attention that Victoria does but also knows that is not fitting for her.
"Trifles"--Susan Glaspeli
County Attorney: "You're convinced that there was nothing important here--nothing that would point to any motive"
Sheriff: "Nothing here but kitchen things."
As a feminist, this was a frustrating reading for me. It speaks of how superior men were to women which allowed men to make all decisions and then dictate them to the women, regardless of how the women felt. I also noticed how interesting it was that Glaspell used gender sterotypes throughout the play. The men's superiority is so important that it can not be lowered even to find the true motive for murder. It is the nuances of the woman's daily life that the real evidence is found.
"The Revolt of Mother"
This writing obviously focuses on the oppression of women as Sarah Penn fights for equality in treatment. There's also a demonstration of the lack of power women had.
I know you be, as well as I want to. Now, father, look here” — Sarah Penn had not sat down; she stood before her husband in the humble fashion of a Scripture woman — “I'm goin' to talk real plain to you; I never have sence I married you, but I'm goin' to now. I ain't never complained, an' I ain't goin' to complain now, but I'm goin' to talk plain. You see this room here, father; you look at it well. You see there ain't no carpet on the floor, an' you see the paper is all dirty, an' droppin' off the walls. We ain't had no new paper on it for ten year, an' then I put it on myself, an' it didn't cost but ninepence a roll. You see this room, father; it's all the one I've had to work in an' eat in an' sit in sence we was married. There ain't another woman in the whole town whose husband ain't got half the means you have but what's got better. It's all the room Nanny's got to have her company in; an' there ain't one of her mates but what's got better, an' their fathers not so able as hers is. It's all the room she'll have to be married in. What would you have thought, father, if we had had our weddin' in a room no better than this? I was married in my mother's parlor, with a carpet on the floor, an' stuffed furniture, an' a mahogany card-table. An' this is all the room my daughter will have to be married in. Look here, father!”
This excerpt is very powerful and gave me chills because she finally steps up and speaks her mind, she puts her foot down and says what I feel, she's been wanting to say for a long time. It's a demonstration of her fight for earned recognition. She says how hard she works and there's little to show because he doesn't put forth effort to help or contribute they way she feels he should, as a team. I loved this reading and think the point is very clear and made well.
July 16, 2007
"The Revolt of Mother"
"Nobility of character manifests itself at loop-holes when it is not provided with large doors."
I thought this line was great foreshadowing. After I read this line I knew she was going to take a chance and let her husband know what she really thought. Neither her son or her husband in the beginning would even really explain why, when or how they were building this new barn. She was never asked her opinion on it, she was not provided and "large doors" of opportunities to speak her mind, but she definitely let it be know how she felt which showed the strength in her character. It was a very effective line and I continually thought of it as I read.
Trifles
[Then Mrs. Hale rises, hands tight together, looking intensely at Mrs. Peters, whose eyes make a slow turn, finally meeting Mrs. Hales. A moment Mrs. Hale holds her, then her own eyes point the way to where the box is concealed.]
After this is stated the women take turns trying to hide the bird and the box all why just exchanging glaces. I liked how they communicated this way, with out using words because that been a joke amongst women about how we can just read each other with out using words. It services the whole story because it is the women who figure out the mystery while the men just laugh them off!
As Children together
"So standing in a platter of ice outside a catholic dance hall you took their collars in your fine chilled hands and lied your age to adulthood"
I like how this woman stood on "a platter of ice". The wording made me think of a platter of food, like she was helpless peice of food being served. The next line states that she took their collars, as if she were in control of the situation and lied herself to adulthood. I think it fits so well with the poem because that is a reoccurring thing. She acts older with men and then is thrown away. I really liked this line.
"Nobility of character manifests itself at loop-holes when it is not provided with large doors."
I thought this line was great foreshadowing. After I read this line I knew she was going to take a chance and let her husband know what she really thought. Neither her son or her husband in the beginning would even really explain why, when or how they were building this new barn. She was never asked her opinion on it, she was not provided and "large doors" of opportunities to speak her mind, but she definitely let it be know how she felt which showed the strength in her character. It was a very effective line and I continually thought of it as I read.
Trifles
[Then Mrs. Hale rises, hands tight together, looking intensely at Mrs. Peters, whose eyes make a slow turn, finally meeting Mrs. Hales. A moment Mrs. Hale holds her, then her own eyes point the way to where the box is concealed.]
After this is stated the women take turns trying to hide the bird and the box all why just exchanging glaces. I liked how they communicated this way, with out using words because that been a joke amongst women about how we can just read each other with out using words. It services the whole story because it is the women who figure out the mystery while the men just laugh them off!
As Children together
"So standing in a platter of ice outside a catholic dance hall you took their collars in your fine chilled hands and lied your age to adulthood"
I like how this woman stood on "a platter of ice". The wording made me think of a platter of food, like she was helpless peice of food being served. The next line states that she took their collars, as if she were in control of the situation and lied herself to adulthood. I think it fits so well with the poem because that is a reoccurring thing. She acts older with men and then is thrown away. I really liked this line.
july 16
After reading "The Revolt of a mother" by Mary Wilkins, I found many things amusing and interesting. One passage in particular was, "However deep a resentment she might be forced to hold against her husband , she would never fail in sedulous attention to his wants."
I thought that ths was interesting because it shows at the beginning of the story how she seems so frustrated, yet so powerless because she is only a woman. She continues to do her wifely and motherly duties to the best of her abilities even though she is furious. I think that later on this becomes importatn becasue when she finally makes a stand for what she wants even though she is doing something that can make her husband angry she holds steady adn continues making dinner etc. i think that this actually played into her favor of manipulation.
Trifels is a story i have read once or twice in other classes a while ago. there are many things that stand out in the story such as, "I'd hate to have men comming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticising." This is interesting because although its basic meanign is true for most women, the deeper meaning which connects to the whole story is much more important. Teh kitchen is associtated with women. and it return it becomes the one place a woman had to claim as their own. Fro men to come into it the way they did, is like trespassing on something personal and sacred.
"So standing in a platter of ice/ outside a Catholic dance hall/ you took thier collars/ in your fine chilled hands/ an lied your age to adulthood." i thought this passage from Forche's poem "As Children Together" was interesting because it reminds me of many young girls wanting to be older and pretending that they are. This type of behavior sometimes led to bigger problems for these girls which is the feeling i got from the poem. ij felt htat that girl wanted her soldier so badly that she did anything without thinking about what more there is.
I thought that ths was interesting because it shows at the beginning of the story how she seems so frustrated, yet so powerless because she is only a woman. She continues to do her wifely and motherly duties to the best of her abilities even though she is furious. I think that later on this becomes importatn becasue when she finally makes a stand for what she wants even though she is doing something that can make her husband angry she holds steady adn continues making dinner etc. i think that this actually played into her favor of manipulation.
Trifels is a story i have read once or twice in other classes a while ago. there are many things that stand out in the story such as, "I'd hate to have men comming into my kitchen, snooping around and criticising." This is interesting because although its basic meanign is true for most women, the deeper meaning which connects to the whole story is much more important. Teh kitchen is associtated with women. and it return it becomes the one place a woman had to claim as their own. Fro men to come into it the way they did, is like trespassing on something personal and sacred.
"So standing in a platter of ice/ outside a Catholic dance hall/ you took thier collars/ in your fine chilled hands/ an lied your age to adulthood." i thought this passage from Forche's poem "As Children Together" was interesting because it reminds me of many young girls wanting to be older and pretending that they are. This type of behavior sometimes led to bigger problems for these girls which is the feeling i got from the poem. ij felt htat that girl wanted her soldier so badly that she did anything without thinking about what more there is.
July 16
The Revolt of Mother
"She looked as immovable to him as one of the rocks in his pasture-land, bound to the earth with generations of blackberry wines."
This passage really stood out to me because it showed the strength of Sarah Penn. She is determined to get an answer, and is not going to back down until she does. I think it is extremely important to the rest of the story because it shows from the first scene that she is tired of the passivity she usually shows. This is seems very much like a women's writing because she does give this character so much power, something many men wouldn't do.
Trifles
"Oh, her fruit; it did freeze... She worried about that when it turned cold. She said the fire'd go out and her jars would break."
I found this image extremely amusing. I can picture the women's faces in this scene and they seem very concerned. It is interesting because we haven't really seen this concern the entire play, even though they are talking about a murder, until the discussion of broken jars of fruit. It seems as if these women just go through the motions of everyday life and have taken on the role of being a good wife so well, that that is all they really care about. It also shows their lack of sympathy that is very evident throughout the end of the play when they decide not to tell what they have realized about the murder.
As Children Together
"Jackets embroidered with dragons from the Far East. You kept the corks that had fired from bottles over their beds"
"So standing in a platter of ice outside a Catholic dance hall you took their collars in your fine chilled hands and lied your age to adulthood"
This is my favorite poem that we have read so far! I LOVED it! I can relate to it so much!! The two images I picked out stood out to me very much. The first one about the jackets with dragons reminded me of the scene in "Grease" when Marty is showing all the girls her new silk, dragon robe from one of her many military boyfriends. Her character in the movie seems almost identical to the girl described in this poem.
The second caught my attention because I attended an all girls catholic high school. The image of this girl outside a Catholic dance hall with a boy reminded me of all my high school dances. It also made me think about the stereotypes about "bad" Catholic girls. This seemed to go along with that. I think they are both important because at the beginning of the story the girl is not like that. She is an innocent, young girl who her best friend loves very much. But by the end she has turned into someone that the narrator can hardly relate to. It is very sad to me but at the same time I believe that the narrator is very glad she wasn't ever like her best friend in the ways she describes.
"She looked as immovable to him as one of the rocks in his pasture-land, bound to the earth with generations of blackberry wines."
This passage really stood out to me because it showed the strength of Sarah Penn. She is determined to get an answer, and is not going to back down until she does. I think it is extremely important to the rest of the story because it shows from the first scene that she is tired of the passivity she usually shows. This is seems very much like a women's writing because she does give this character so much power, something many men wouldn't do.
Trifles
"Oh, her fruit; it did freeze... She worried about that when it turned cold. She said the fire'd go out and her jars would break."
I found this image extremely amusing. I can picture the women's faces in this scene and they seem very concerned. It is interesting because we haven't really seen this concern the entire play, even though they are talking about a murder, until the discussion of broken jars of fruit. It seems as if these women just go through the motions of everyday life and have taken on the role of being a good wife so well, that that is all they really care about. It also shows their lack of sympathy that is very evident throughout the end of the play when they decide not to tell what they have realized about the murder.
As Children Together
"Jackets embroidered with dragons from the Far East. You kept the corks that had fired from bottles over their beds"
"So standing in a platter of ice outside a Catholic dance hall you took their collars in your fine chilled hands and lied your age to adulthood"
This is my favorite poem that we have read so far! I LOVED it! I can relate to it so much!! The two images I picked out stood out to me very much. The first one about the jackets with dragons reminded me of the scene in "Grease" when Marty is showing all the girls her new silk, dragon robe from one of her many military boyfriends. Her character in the movie seems almost identical to the girl described in this poem.
The second caught my attention because I attended an all girls catholic high school. The image of this girl outside a Catholic dance hall with a boy reminded me of all my high school dances. It also made me think about the stereotypes about "bad" Catholic girls. This seemed to go along with that. I think they are both important because at the beginning of the story the girl is not like that. She is an innocent, young girl who her best friend loves very much. But by the end she has turned into someone that the narrator can hardly relate to. It is very sad to me but at the same time I believe that the narrator is very glad she wasn't ever like her best friend in the ways she describes.
Blog 3 - 7/16/07
THE REVOLT OF MOTHER
I really liked this piece. Throughout the story I envisioned little Sarah Penn as the ideal farm wife. As the story unfolded, I could feel the tension building. Two different passages really stuck out to me.
["Father, you come here." Sarah Penn stood in the door like a queen; she held her head as if it bore a crown; there was that patience which makes authority royal in her voice. Adoniram went.]
I really like how the author illustrates Sarah’s gut in sticking up to her husband. Reading this gave me the image of Sarah taking regal authority. I also found humor in how Adoniram is seen almost bowing to her rule as he drops what he is doing to answer her.
[Adoniram was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used. "Why, mother," he said, hoarsely, "I hadn't no idee you was so set on't as all this comes to."]
In the end, Adoniram really doesn’t put up too big of fight. Although we have seen him to be tough throughout the story, this part of the story shows that he does have some heart. All of his walls fall and we see a softer side as he found by his wife to be sobbing. The conclusion of the story really changed my opinion of Adoniram. I grew to respect him as a good husband and father who had gotten caught up in the progress of his farming.
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TRIFLES
I had read this story last semester for a different class, but I think I got more from this time. I mad e the extra effort to really think about the images the author was putting out, and it gave me more perspective on what was happening.
I really liked when the intensity picked up in the piece. This passage is definitely my favorite:
[MRS. PETERS. (in a whisper). When I was a girl--my kitten--there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes--and before I could get there--(Covers her face an instant.) If they hadn't held me back, I would have-- (Catches herself, looks upstairs, where steps are heard, falters weakly.)--hurt him.
MRS. HALE (with a slow look around her.) I wonder how it would seem never to have had any children around. (Pause.) No, Wright wouldn't like the bird--a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too.
MRS. PETERS (moving uneasily). We don't know who killed the bird.
MRS. HALE. I knew John Wright.]
I love how the women show their intelligence and wit here by discussing their discovery without really discussing it. It made my laugh how they outsmarted the men, who put down their intelligence earlier in the story. I also love how they are so loyal to Mrs. Wright. They feel for her loneliness and take steps to protect her.
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AS CHILDREN TOGETHER
I really don’t know how I feel about this piece. Although I am not sure of the author’s intent, I felt sad after reading it.
The ending really stood out to me:
“If you read this poem, write to me.
I have been to Paris since we parted.”
The author is reaching out to a long lost childhood friend. This made me reflect on my life and childhood friendships. I was reminded by grade school friends that moved away, junior high friends that transformed into different people, and high school classmates that I have lost track of in the short time since graduation. While growing up sometimes means growing apart, the people you grow up with are ones close to your heart. After reading this poem, I really hoped that the author was, at some point, reunited with her childhood friend.
I really liked this piece. Throughout the story I envisioned little Sarah Penn as the ideal farm wife. As the story unfolded, I could feel the tension building. Two different passages really stuck out to me.
["Father, you come here." Sarah Penn stood in the door like a queen; she held her head as if it bore a crown; there was that patience which makes authority royal in her voice. Adoniram went.]
I really like how the author illustrates Sarah’s gut in sticking up to her husband. Reading this gave me the image of Sarah taking regal authority. I also found humor in how Adoniram is seen almost bowing to her rule as he drops what he is doing to answer her.
[Adoniram was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used. "Why, mother," he said, hoarsely, "I hadn't no idee you was so set on't as all this comes to."]
In the end, Adoniram really doesn’t put up too big of fight. Although we have seen him to be tough throughout the story, this part of the story shows that he does have some heart. All of his walls fall and we see a softer side as he found by his wife to be sobbing. The conclusion of the story really changed my opinion of Adoniram. I grew to respect him as a good husband and father who had gotten caught up in the progress of his farming.
---------------------
TRIFLES
I had read this story last semester for a different class, but I think I got more from this time. I mad e the extra effort to really think about the images the author was putting out, and it gave me more perspective on what was happening.
I really liked when the intensity picked up in the piece. This passage is definitely my favorite:
[MRS. PETERS. (in a whisper). When I was a girl--my kitten--there was a boy took a hatchet, and before my eyes--and before I could get there--(Covers her face an instant.) If they hadn't held me back, I would have-- (Catches herself, looks upstairs, where steps are heard, falters weakly.)--hurt him.
MRS. HALE (with a slow look around her.) I wonder how it would seem never to have had any children around. (Pause.) No, Wright wouldn't like the bird--a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too.
MRS. PETERS (moving uneasily). We don't know who killed the bird.
MRS. HALE. I knew John Wright.]
I love how the women show their intelligence and wit here by discussing their discovery without really discussing it. It made my laugh how they outsmarted the men, who put down their intelligence earlier in the story. I also love how they are so loyal to Mrs. Wright. They feel for her loneliness and take steps to protect her.
---------------------------------------------------------
AS CHILDREN TOGETHER
I really don’t know how I feel about this piece. Although I am not sure of the author’s intent, I felt sad after reading it.
The ending really stood out to me:
“If you read this poem, write to me.
I have been to Paris since we parted.”
The author is reaching out to a long lost childhood friend. This made me reflect on my life and childhood friendships. I was reminded by grade school friends that moved away, junior high friends that transformed into different people, and high school classmates that I have lost track of in the short time since graduation. While growing up sometimes means growing apart, the people you grow up with are ones close to your heart. After reading this poem, I really hoped that the author was, at some point, reunited with her childhood friend.
Pastoral Engagements
The Revolt of the Mother
"I've done my duty by you forty year, an' I'm goin' to do it now; but I'm goin' to live here."
I find it interesting how this line embodies the simplicity of Sarah's heterodoxy. She has committed no great atrocity and nothing, except the scenery, truly changes for the community. It seems that her greatest crime is forcing her husband to honor a promise. While she must forcibly attain her desire, the sinister and subversive implications of her actions are nullified as she indicates that her social position has not changed. I like this line because it emphasizes that Sarah has no intentions of making some kind of grand stand or promoting societal upheaval. It is not a matter of justice, but a matter of right and wrong. Within the text, I believe the line indicates a lack of animosity in Sarah and the innocence of her action.
Trifles
"You know, it seems kind of sneaking. Locking her up in town and then coming out here and trying to get her own house to turn against her!"
In a variation of the classic stereotype, Mrs. Hale implies that a woman's home is her territory and thus beholden to her. It is made clear that Mrs. Hale knew John Wright, but she refers to the house as belonging to Minnie. The house does not seem to belong to both of them, but to the female due to her labors and expectations about the home as evidenced by the exchange between the men, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters in response to the state of the kitchen. While the women of the play may have been governed by men, it seems as though they have applied their own rules and ideas to these stereotypes as to make them their own. It is much akin to the idea that a derogatory term loses power when easily used by those it was intended to offend. I believe these lines indicate how differently the women perceive the house, suspect, and crime.
As Children Together
"...past crystal swamps and the death/ face of each dark house,/ over golden ice of tobacco spit...."
The first thing that came to mind when I read this was the old saying, "Don't eat the yellow snow." While the words "golden" and "crystal" usually evoke rich images of beauty or luxury, they are associated with what may be perceived as unpleasant or base things here. With the eventual degradation of Victoria, one could possibly interpret this deceptive imagery as foreshadowing.
"I've done my duty by you forty year, an' I'm goin' to do it now; but I'm goin' to live here."
I find it interesting how this line embodies the simplicity of Sarah's heterodoxy. She has committed no great atrocity and nothing, except the scenery, truly changes for the community. It seems that her greatest crime is forcing her husband to honor a promise. While she must forcibly attain her desire, the sinister and subversive implications of her actions are nullified as she indicates that her social position has not changed. I like this line because it emphasizes that Sarah has no intentions of making some kind of grand stand or promoting societal upheaval. It is not a matter of justice, but a matter of right and wrong. Within the text, I believe the line indicates a lack of animosity in Sarah and the innocence of her action.
Trifles
"You know, it seems kind of sneaking. Locking her up in town and then coming out here and trying to get her own house to turn against her!"
In a variation of the classic stereotype, Mrs. Hale implies that a woman's home is her territory and thus beholden to her. It is made clear that Mrs. Hale knew John Wright, but she refers to the house as belonging to Minnie. The house does not seem to belong to both of them, but to the female due to her labors and expectations about the home as evidenced by the exchange between the men, Mrs. Hale, and Mrs. Peters in response to the state of the kitchen. While the women of the play may have been governed by men, it seems as though they have applied their own rules and ideas to these stereotypes as to make them their own. It is much akin to the idea that a derogatory term loses power when easily used by those it was intended to offend. I believe these lines indicate how differently the women perceive the house, suspect, and crime.
As Children Together
"...past crystal swamps and the death/ face of each dark house,/ over golden ice of tobacco spit...."
The first thing that came to mind when I read this was the old saying, "Don't eat the yellow snow." While the words "golden" and "crystal" usually evoke rich images of beauty or luxury, they are associated with what may be perceived as unpleasant or base things here. With the eventual degradation of Victoria, one could possibly interpret this deceptive imagery as foreshadowing.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Third Reading
The Revolt of “Mother”
Then she stood waiting. She was a small woman, short and straight-waisted like a child in her brown cotton gown. Her forehead was mild and benevolent between the smooth curves of her grey hair; there were meek downward lines about her nose and mouth; but her eyes, fixed upon the old man, looked as if the meekness had been the result of her own will, never the will of another.
This passage was the most important to me because it describes Sarah, the woman who becomes the main character, and it sets the stage for the rest of the tale. I think that it is very interesting that the reader doesn’t know the woman’s name until several pages into the story. It is the title and role of mother that distinguishes her from the other characters and it is this persona that allows her to come alive and create the crux of the story by asserting her desires and making them a reality. The images that I liked most in the paragraph were the description of the mother as child like. I think that it was also fitting to the story that she is a benevolent woman and not used to ruling her house as a dictator. The meek attribute I think is mentioned because it gives some control to the woman, she is humble by her own choice, not by her husband’s, which gives her the potential to control other things in the story which lend to foreshadowing. I liked this passage because it had a pleasant tone and introduced the mother in a way that made me respect her and understand her motives.
Trifles
MRS. PETERS: [To the other woman.] Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. [To the COUNTY ATTOURNEY] She worried about that when it turned cold. She said the fore’d go out and her jars would break.
I have read this short play in other classes and it is still one of my favorites. I think it is very appropriate for this class because it shows through speech and body language how women communicate and interpret each other, compared with how men bluntly interpret women. I really like this passage because it shows the caring that women have for things that men find silly, like what will happen to fruit when it becomes cold. I can picture Mrs. Wright as a woman who is very proud of her work and even without being close friends, these women immediately understand the trouble it is to keep a house clean and to put up cherries in the heat etc. I also like the story as a whole because of the irony of how the case is more or less solved. The two women get much more accomplished while speaking of quilting and what men would consider every day gossip, then the sheriff an attorney could imagine. This passage fits into the rest of the play because it outlines the understanding and connection between the women in the house and the woman in jail. It allows the plot to proceed because it establishes a state of mind that the women have that is completely different from that of the men.
As Children Together
I don’t know where you are now, Victoria,
They say you have children, a trailer
in the snow near our town,
and the husband you found as a girl
returned from the Far East broken
cursing holy blood at the table
where nightly a pile of white chavings
is paid from the edge of his knife.
This is the ending section of the poem and it strikes me as powerful because the sister is supposing how the other’s life is from stories she has herd. I think it is sad because the sister is unable to make a connection, and she outlines her sister’s life like the one she hated growing up. Victoria seemed like such a role model because she was older and more sexually mature, with dreams of going to exotic places and meeting exotic people. Now, at the end of the poem, her dreams have turned out to bite her in the butt and it is her little sister that modestly mentions having been in Paris. I think that though this poem is sad to me, it ends on a hopeful note and that is one in which the narrator has done unique things with her life and will possibly have the opportunity to shape her sister’s life in a better direction. The passage adds a lot to the poem because it is the progression of the biography and gives the reader a type of conclusion or idea of how the relationship between the women might grow and change, or not.
Then she stood waiting. She was a small woman, short and straight-waisted like a child in her brown cotton gown. Her forehead was mild and benevolent between the smooth curves of her grey hair; there were meek downward lines about her nose and mouth; but her eyes, fixed upon the old man, looked as if the meekness had been the result of her own will, never the will of another.
This passage was the most important to me because it describes Sarah, the woman who becomes the main character, and it sets the stage for the rest of the tale. I think that it is very interesting that the reader doesn’t know the woman’s name until several pages into the story. It is the title and role of mother that distinguishes her from the other characters and it is this persona that allows her to come alive and create the crux of the story by asserting her desires and making them a reality. The images that I liked most in the paragraph were the description of the mother as child like. I think that it was also fitting to the story that she is a benevolent woman and not used to ruling her house as a dictator. The meek attribute I think is mentioned because it gives some control to the woman, she is humble by her own choice, not by her husband’s, which gives her the potential to control other things in the story which lend to foreshadowing. I liked this passage because it had a pleasant tone and introduced the mother in a way that made me respect her and understand her motives.
Trifles
MRS. PETERS: [To the other woman.] Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. [To the COUNTY ATTOURNEY] She worried about that when it turned cold. She said the fore’d go out and her jars would break.
I have read this short play in other classes and it is still one of my favorites. I think it is very appropriate for this class because it shows through speech and body language how women communicate and interpret each other, compared with how men bluntly interpret women. I really like this passage because it shows the caring that women have for things that men find silly, like what will happen to fruit when it becomes cold. I can picture Mrs. Wright as a woman who is very proud of her work and even without being close friends, these women immediately understand the trouble it is to keep a house clean and to put up cherries in the heat etc. I also like the story as a whole because of the irony of how the case is more or less solved. The two women get much more accomplished while speaking of quilting and what men would consider every day gossip, then the sheriff an attorney could imagine. This passage fits into the rest of the play because it outlines the understanding and connection between the women in the house and the woman in jail. It allows the plot to proceed because it establishes a state of mind that the women have that is completely different from that of the men.
As Children Together
I don’t know where you are now, Victoria,
They say you have children, a trailer
in the snow near our town,
and the husband you found as a girl
returned from the Far East broken
cursing holy blood at the table
where nightly a pile of white chavings
is paid from the edge of his knife.
This is the ending section of the poem and it strikes me as powerful because the sister is supposing how the other’s life is from stories she has herd. I think it is sad because the sister is unable to make a connection, and she outlines her sister’s life like the one she hated growing up. Victoria seemed like such a role model because she was older and more sexually mature, with dreams of going to exotic places and meeting exotic people. Now, at the end of the poem, her dreams have turned out to bite her in the butt and it is her little sister that modestly mentions having been in Paris. I think that though this poem is sad to me, it ends on a hopeful note and that is one in which the narrator has done unique things with her life and will possibly have the opportunity to shape her sister’s life in a better direction. The passage adds a lot to the poem because it is the progression of the biography and gives the reader a type of conclusion or idea of how the relationship between the women might grow and change, or not.
Blog 3: Due 7/16/07
THE REVOLT OF MOTHER
"Sarah put her apron up to her face; she was overcome by her own triumph. // Adomiram was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used.” This quote was located at the end of the story. It sent a shiver down my spine. I liked the first part about Sarah because she finally stuck up for her and her family and it worked. She won. No more would the barn and the farm animals take precedence over her family. She had proven her point and she had won. I believe that Adomiram was so sad because he had finally realized what he had done and he felt bad that he had put these animals over his family who he loved so much. He didn’t realize that it upset them so much, because he hadn’t been paying much attention to them. It wasn’t that Adomiram didn’t want a new house or that he didn’t love his family, he just wasn’t paying enough attention to realize they were upset.
I really liked this story because it said that women can overcome men. We just have to stick up for ourselves. We don’t have to do exactly what men say (because that was expected at the time this was written).
I also think this story goes way past building a barn instead of a house. I think it has a much deeper meaning. I think it shows the importance of family and feelings. Put your family first because in the long run, they will be there for you. Not the horses or the cows or some stupid barn. In the end, the family stuck together, they compromised and they forgave eachother.
TRIFFLES
This play was rather interesting to me and it definitely left me thinking and wanting to read more of it. It never told us whether or not the wife killed her husband or not. My favorite quote is where they were talking and the wife said that she didn’t wake up when her husband was murdered. I think that no matter of how sound of a sleeper you are, if someone was being strangled or hung next to you, you will wake up. But on the other hand, he could have killed himself, in which case there was no struggle and maybe then she wouldn’t have woken up. I also that it was interesting how her husband was killed with a rope around his neck, strangled and the bird had the same type of death. Those two things alone got me to start thinking that maybe it was the wife that killed her husband. The quilt confused me though. I don’t understand how that played a part in the story whatsoever. The writer definitely made it suspenseful, so that I wanted to continue reading, however when I finished reading I was very disappointed that there was really no ending. We had no idea what happened.
AS CHILDREN TOGETHER
This poem was very sad. As I was reading, it wasn’t making much sense to me, and then I read the line that brought it all together. “I don’t know where you are now Victoria. They say you have children, a trailer in the snow near our town”. I believe they were sisters that did everything together. Victoria was a little older then the author. Was Victoria was promiscuous? The poem was about their memories together. Maybe Victoria may not have been happy with her life and ran off with one of the guys. I can tell from the poem that the author misses her sister very much. This poem had a lot of emotion in it and the author seemed very depressed.
"Sarah put her apron up to her face; she was overcome by her own triumph. // Adomiram was like a fortress whose walls had no active resistance, and went down the instant the right besieging tools were used.” This quote was located at the end of the story. It sent a shiver down my spine. I liked the first part about Sarah because she finally stuck up for her and her family and it worked. She won. No more would the barn and the farm animals take precedence over her family. She had proven her point and she had won. I believe that Adomiram was so sad because he had finally realized what he had done and he felt bad that he had put these animals over his family who he loved so much. He didn’t realize that it upset them so much, because he hadn’t been paying much attention to them. It wasn’t that Adomiram didn’t want a new house or that he didn’t love his family, he just wasn’t paying enough attention to realize they were upset.
I really liked this story because it said that women can overcome men. We just have to stick up for ourselves. We don’t have to do exactly what men say (because that was expected at the time this was written).
I also think this story goes way past building a barn instead of a house. I think it has a much deeper meaning. I think it shows the importance of family and feelings. Put your family first because in the long run, they will be there for you. Not the horses or the cows or some stupid barn. In the end, the family stuck together, they compromised and they forgave eachother.
TRIFFLES
This play was rather interesting to me and it definitely left me thinking and wanting to read more of it. It never told us whether or not the wife killed her husband or not. My favorite quote is where they were talking and the wife said that she didn’t wake up when her husband was murdered. I think that no matter of how sound of a sleeper you are, if someone was being strangled or hung next to you, you will wake up. But on the other hand, he could have killed himself, in which case there was no struggle and maybe then she wouldn’t have woken up. I also that it was interesting how her husband was killed with a rope around his neck, strangled and the bird had the same type of death. Those two things alone got me to start thinking that maybe it was the wife that killed her husband. The quilt confused me though. I don’t understand how that played a part in the story whatsoever. The writer definitely made it suspenseful, so that I wanted to continue reading, however when I finished reading I was very disappointed that there was really no ending. We had no idea what happened.
AS CHILDREN TOGETHER
This poem was very sad. As I was reading, it wasn’t making much sense to me, and then I read the line that brought it all together. “I don’t know where you are now Victoria. They say you have children, a trailer in the snow near our town”. I believe they were sisters that did everything together. Victoria was a little older then the author. Was Victoria was promiscuous? The poem was about their memories together. Maybe Victoria may not have been happy with her life and ran off with one of the guys. I can tell from the poem that the author misses her sister very much. This poem had a lot of emotion in it and the author seemed very depressed.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
7/12
Daystar
“She wanted a little room for thinking: but she saw diapers steaming on the line, a doll slumped behind the door.”
I thought this provided a good image. I can imagine all of the diapers that she just finished washing and a little door slumped behind the door. This image tells the reader that the woman is the mother of an infant and a toddler. In this work the mother just wants a break from her life. The time that her children nap each day is her only break and she uses it to relax and let her imagination go. In my opinion, she is not happy in her life, as a mother or a wife. She is tired and restless as a mother, and does not enjoy her husband. This is obvious from the end of the text when the author says: “Later that night when Thomas rolled over and lurched into her, she would open her eyes and think of the place that was hers.”
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A Pair of Silk Stockings
“She smiled, just as if she had been asked to inspect a tiara of diamonds with the ultimate view of purchasing it. But she went on feeling the soft, sheeny luxurious things--with both hands now, holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel them glide serpent-like through her fingers.”
This created a vivid image for me. When I read this part of the story, I could imagine Mrs. Sommers feeling the stockings and the satisfaction it gave her. I can see the stockings gliding through her finger tips and the beautiful shine that they have. I really related to Mrs. Sommers in this work. Sometimes after a paycheck, I am guilty of going shopping and several impulse purchases one after the other. In this story, Mrs. Sommers just gets caught up in the escape from her lifestyle that the $15 can temporarily fix. In my opinion, it is the beautiful stockings that originally steer her from her path as she winds up at the theater.
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Why I Want A Wife
"I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals,serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying."
Throughout this entire work, not just in the passage that I selected, I imagine a woman running around trying to get all of the things listed accomplished. In the above passage, I can imagine a woman planning, shopping, cooking, entertaining, and cleaning. And I imagine that she does so in a "cookie-cutter wife" manner, pleasantly and with a smile.
This was my favorite out of the assigned reading today. I laughed at the irony. The author makes some excellent points and really makes it known how she feels. I thought that finding an image in this was much tougher because she is so -to the point-that she doesn't really paint images as much as she came out straight with what she meant. I thought the author did a great job of illustrating her feelings toward the job of the wife.
“She wanted a little room for thinking: but she saw diapers steaming on the line, a doll slumped behind the door.”
I thought this provided a good image. I can imagine all of the diapers that she just finished washing and a little door slumped behind the door. This image tells the reader that the woman is the mother of an infant and a toddler. In this work the mother just wants a break from her life. The time that her children nap each day is her only break and she uses it to relax and let her imagination go. In my opinion, she is not happy in her life, as a mother or a wife. She is tired and restless as a mother, and does not enjoy her husband. This is obvious from the end of the text when the author says: “Later that night when Thomas rolled over and lurched into her, she would open her eyes and think of the place that was hers.”
--------------------
A Pair of Silk Stockings
“She smiled, just as if she had been asked to inspect a tiara of diamonds with the ultimate view of purchasing it. But she went on feeling the soft, sheeny luxurious things--with both hands now, holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel them glide serpent-like through her fingers.”
This created a vivid image for me. When I read this part of the story, I could imagine Mrs. Sommers feeling the stockings and the satisfaction it gave her. I can see the stockings gliding through her finger tips and the beautiful shine that they have. I really related to Mrs. Sommers in this work. Sometimes after a paycheck, I am guilty of going shopping and several impulse purchases one after the other. In this story, Mrs. Sommers just gets caught up in the escape from her lifestyle that the $15 can temporarily fix. In my opinion, it is the beautiful stockings that originally steer her from her path as she winds up at the theater.
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Why I Want A Wife
"I want a wife who will plan the menus, do the necessary grocery shopping, prepare the meals,serve them pleasantly, and then do the cleaning up while I do my studying."
Throughout this entire work, not just in the passage that I selected, I imagine a woman running around trying to get all of the things listed accomplished. In the above passage, I can imagine a woman planning, shopping, cooking, entertaining, and cleaning. And I imagine that she does so in a "cookie-cutter wife" manner, pleasantly and with a smile.
This was my favorite out of the assigned reading today. I laughed at the irony. The author makes some excellent points and really makes it known how she feels. I thought that finding an image in this was much tougher because she is so -to the point-that she doesn't really paint images as much as she came out straight with what she meant. I thought the author did a great job of illustrating her feelings toward the job of the wife.
July 12 reading
In Rita Doves' poem Day Star, i was interested by the line in which she says, "Other days/ she stared until she was assured/ when she closed her eyes/ she'd see only her own vivid blood". This stood out to me because she seems to desire some sort of peace. Such a peace that she can see her own bright blood as it flows through her body. It makes it seem as if she desires to feel alive. I believe this image functions with the whole poem because the poem seems to be about how she feels like a robot or not a person at all, but rather someone who goes through these daily routines and they make her feel dead. There is no passion in these daily activities or duties and the vision of blood emphasizes her desire for this.
In "A pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin, i was drawn to the line in which she describes the stockings. "But she went on feeling the soft, sheeny luxiourious things-with both hands now holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel them glide serpent-like through her fingers." I thought that this description of the stockings was quite interesting because the stockings themselves are made to sound like a temptation. They are compared to a serpant and a serpant is always associated with the devil, temptation and sin. Also the fact they they are shiny and glisten seems like a piece of jewelry that one would desire. I feel that this image connects to the whole story because it is this woman finally ignoring what she should be doing with the money she found and letting herself enjoy the pleasures it brings form her. Instead of clothes for her children etc. she buys things for herself and they make her feel alive and womanly again. It is another story about the need for freedom.
"Why I want a Wife" by Judy Styfers, is such an interesting poem. The part where she says, "As i thought about him as i was ironing one evening, it suddenly occured to me that i too, would like to have a wife." This line is interesting because she is a wife. And the image of her ironing in the evening displays this quite well. It also connects with the whole pieces because the whole piece deals with why she wants a wife and it basically outlines how wives are treated and what is expected of them. She is part of this group and the fact that she is ironing clothes in the evening displays her frustration of why she feels resentment for the behaviors towards and about wives.
In "A pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin, i was drawn to the line in which she describes the stockings. "But she went on feeling the soft, sheeny luxiourious things-with both hands now holding them up to see them glisten, and to feel them glide serpent-like through her fingers." I thought that this description of the stockings was quite interesting because the stockings themselves are made to sound like a temptation. They are compared to a serpant and a serpant is always associated with the devil, temptation and sin. Also the fact they they are shiny and glisten seems like a piece of jewelry that one would desire. I feel that this image connects to the whole story because it is this woman finally ignoring what she should be doing with the money she found and letting herself enjoy the pleasures it brings form her. Instead of clothes for her children etc. she buys things for herself and they make her feel alive and womanly again. It is another story about the need for freedom.
"Why I want a Wife" by Judy Styfers, is such an interesting poem. The part where she says, "As i thought about him as i was ironing one evening, it suddenly occured to me that i too, would like to have a wife." This line is interesting because she is a wife. And the image of her ironing in the evening displays this quite well. It also connects with the whole pieces because the whole piece deals with why she wants a wife and it basically outlines how wives are treated and what is expected of them. She is part of this group and the fact that she is ironing clothes in the evening displays her frustration of why she feels resentment for the behaviors towards and about wives.
Blog 2
DayStar
"Sometimes there were things to watch- the pinched armor of a vanished cricket, a floating maple leaf."
This passage stood out to me the most because for some reason I could really picture it. I think it is because of the strong connection I have with nature. My whole life I have been fascinated with it, so this imagery I can definitely see vividly. I also liked this quote because it describes something that most people wouldn't even notice. We see bugs and leaves every day. However, this woman seems so unhappy and bored with her life, that something as little as a cricket's shell or a leaf breaks the monotony. I think many woman can relate to this poem.
A Pair of Silk Stockings
"She had sometimes caught glimpses of spotless damask and shining crystal, and soft-stepping waiters serving people of fashion."
This imagery definitely stood out to me because I am a waitress and have been for all of my working life so the description of this restaurant really relates to me. However, I guess because I am surrounded by it daily and this woman had never been in the restaurant, our thoughts of it were very different. She looked at it like it was beautiful, where I see it as just a building. This really made me think about how two people can look at the same thing, and see something totally different. Each person just takes their life experiences and thoughts, and they cause a different reaction. This is the same reason that when we read poems in class, each person reacts to something differently. I just found this extremely interesting.
Why I Want A Wife
"I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties."
This image struck me mostly because showed how differently men and women view women as a whole. It reminded me of what we had talked about in class, how in the past women were thought of as hysterical and never treated. This seemed like the same sort of thing because the man already assumes that the wife is just rambling and does not have real, valid complaints. That is infuriating! I could not imagine living in a time (even though this was only written thirty-something years ago) where men thought this. It was interesting however, to hear these things come from a woman's writing, and not a man. I believe it shows that we see what is going on, and we are trying to fix it.
"Sometimes there were things to watch- the pinched armor of a vanished cricket, a floating maple leaf."
This passage stood out to me the most because for some reason I could really picture it. I think it is because of the strong connection I have with nature. My whole life I have been fascinated with it, so this imagery I can definitely see vividly. I also liked this quote because it describes something that most people wouldn't even notice. We see bugs and leaves every day. However, this woman seems so unhappy and bored with her life, that something as little as a cricket's shell or a leaf breaks the monotony. I think many woman can relate to this poem.
A Pair of Silk Stockings
"She had sometimes caught glimpses of spotless damask and shining crystal, and soft-stepping waiters serving people of fashion."
This imagery definitely stood out to me because I am a waitress and have been for all of my working life so the description of this restaurant really relates to me. However, I guess because I am surrounded by it daily and this woman had never been in the restaurant, our thoughts of it were very different. She looked at it like it was beautiful, where I see it as just a building. This really made me think about how two people can look at the same thing, and see something totally different. Each person just takes their life experiences and thoughts, and they cause a different reaction. This is the same reason that when we read poems in class, each person reacts to something differently. I just found this extremely interesting.
Why I Want A Wife
"I want a wife who will not bother me with rambling complaints about a wife's duties."
This image struck me mostly because showed how differently men and women view women as a whole. It reminded me of what we had talked about in class, how in the past women were thought of as hysterical and never treated. This seemed like the same sort of thing because the man already assumes that the wife is just rambling and does not have real, valid complaints. That is infuriating! I could not imagine living in a time (even though this was only written thirty-something years ago) where men thought this. It was interesting however, to hear these things come from a woman's writing, and not a man. I believe it shows that we see what is going on, and we are trying to fix it.
Just Another Day
Daystar
"She had an hour, at best, before Liza appeared/pouting from the top of the stairs."
Although one technically cannot determine precisely who Liza is from the passage, the connotations associated with "pouting" would lead one to assume she is a child. A number of ideas provide further evidence of this, such as the napping children and diapers on the line. Having a small battalion of nieces and nephews and fair experience with younger children myself, I can easily picture a sleepy face appearing at the landing. It would look slightly quarrelsome as it has not yet shook loose its sleepy stupor and is rather unclear whether it should be happy or if there is something about which it should show displeasure. In the poem, this line is one of many that emphasize how desperately the woman seeks to escape her domestic duties, which seem to be quite trying at times (Liza appears pouting rather than with a smile).
A Pair of Silk Stockings
"...when she lay awake revolving plans in her mind...."
"Revolving," lacking its usual prepositional phrase, reminded me automatically of a revolving door. Considering the events of the rest of the story, the line may act as foreshadowing and reiterate the idea of Mrs. Sommers' "better days" that encouraged her actions.
Why I Want a Wife
"...I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one."
Oddly enough, this line causes me to picture a washer. It might possibly be because it is a useful machine that toils hard regularly only to be replaced by newer models or thrown out when something suddenly goes wrong. My family has gone through a number of perfectly healthy looking washers as they took to devouring our clothes. A part of me suffered regret and reluctance as the machine did look so new; however, the fact that it was ruining all my favorite undergarments could not be ignored. Simply put, they had to go, new or not. In the manner in which Syfers described a wife, wouldn't she be just another domestic machine?
"She had an hour, at best, before Liza appeared/pouting from the top of the stairs."
Although one technically cannot determine precisely who Liza is from the passage, the connotations associated with "pouting" would lead one to assume she is a child. A number of ideas provide further evidence of this, such as the napping children and diapers on the line. Having a small battalion of nieces and nephews and fair experience with younger children myself, I can easily picture a sleepy face appearing at the landing. It would look slightly quarrelsome as it has not yet shook loose its sleepy stupor and is rather unclear whether it should be happy or if there is something about which it should show displeasure. In the poem, this line is one of many that emphasize how desperately the woman seeks to escape her domestic duties, which seem to be quite trying at times (Liza appears pouting rather than with a smile).
A Pair of Silk Stockings
"...when she lay awake revolving plans in her mind...."
"Revolving," lacking its usual prepositional phrase, reminded me automatically of a revolving door. Considering the events of the rest of the story, the line may act as foreshadowing and reiterate the idea of Mrs. Sommers' "better days" that encouraged her actions.
Why I Want a Wife
"...I want the liberty to replace my present wife with another one."
Oddly enough, this line causes me to picture a washer. It might possibly be because it is a useful machine that toils hard regularly only to be replaced by newer models or thrown out when something suddenly goes wrong. My family has gone through a number of perfectly healthy looking washers as they took to devouring our clothes. A part of me suffered regret and reluctance as the machine did look so new; however, the fact that it was ruining all my favorite undergarments could not be ignored. Simply put, they had to go, new or not. In the manner in which Syfers described a wife, wouldn't she be just another domestic machine?
for 07/12/2007
Daystar: There are a few places that spark a glimpse of imagery but I dont think the piece accomplishes a total picture or fluid creation. The line that reads, "So she lugged a chair behind the garage to sit out the children's naps" This line not only gies a tone to the reading but also does create imagery. I can see her dragging that chair to the same place she regularly goes to do this, unenthusiastically setting to down in the same spot and slumping into it, replicating the doll that's slumped behind the door. I also like how the author chose to say "sit out the children's naps" I think this gives us good imagry of her body language and facial expression during their naps. It's clear that she does not want to be there but it's something she must do so she reluctantly sits it out
A Pair of Silk Stockings: Though lengthy, the line that I chose for this piece really stood out to me. "She sat herself upon a revolving stool before a counter that was comparatively deserted, trying to gather strength and courage to charge through an eager multitude that was besieging breastworks of shirting and figured lawn" This line nearly speaks for itself in terms of imagery and what it evokes. The words flow nicely together which grasps the reader and the word choice sets the perfect picture in one's mind and allows the reader the see what the writer is feeling. This connects us to the reader, something that is a struggle to accomplish.
Why I want a Wife: In this piece, I think that Syfers creates more of a "movie" imagery, which by that I mean changing picture that flows with the writing. There is obviously a lot to pick apart in this piece like how she wants someone that does all that she does for the husband. As she describes what she wants a wife for (to do all that she does) i can just picture her doing these things, working hard, hair falling in her face, and her brow is lined with sweat. This is also a neat technique and one that I enjoy because it keeps the reader reading and keeps the mind interested by keeping it active.
A Pair of Silk Stockings: Though lengthy, the line that I chose for this piece really stood out to me. "She sat herself upon a revolving stool before a counter that was comparatively deserted, trying to gather strength and courage to charge through an eager multitude that was besieging breastworks of shirting and figured lawn" This line nearly speaks for itself in terms of imagery and what it evokes. The words flow nicely together which grasps the reader and the word choice sets the perfect picture in one's mind and allows the reader the see what the writer is feeling. This connects us to the reader, something that is a struggle to accomplish.
Why I want a Wife: In this piece, I think that Syfers creates more of a "movie" imagery, which by that I mean changing picture that flows with the writing. There is obviously a lot to pick apart in this piece like how she wants someone that does all that she does for the husband. As she describes what she wants a wife for (to do all that she does) i can just picture her doing these things, working hard, hair falling in her face, and her brow is lined with sweat. This is also a neat technique and one that I enjoy because it keeps the reader reading and keeps the mind interested by keeping it active.
Blog 2: Due 7/12/07
DAYSTAR
This poem seems like something that everyone could relate to. While reading it, I imagined images of a girl sitting on a couch and all she wants is some peace and quiet. It was only an hour until the little sister, Liza, usually woke up. My favorite part in this poem is she would open her eyes// and thing of the place that was hers// for an hour where she was nothing// pure nothing, in the middle of the day. I like this because it’s true. Someone can be very stressed out and keep trucking a long and they will be noticed. However, if you give up and take time off no one will notice you. Although I am not a mother, nor do I have little kids in the house, I still feel that I can relate to this. Everyone wants to be alone sometimes. I feel this poem is very literal and that most people would be able to relate to it.
A PAIR OF SILK STOCKINGS
It’s very obvious what this story is about- a woman who had a little extra cash and is very happy about it. She’s having a difficult time not spending it all on something that doesn’t matter. But her items were important.
“She wanted and excellent and stylish fit, she told the young fellow who served her, and she did not mind the difference of a dollar or two more in the price so long as she got what she wanted.”
That was my favorite sentence because it is so true! Everyone, especially girls, will spend a little extra money on something they love instead of just buying something they like. I am picturing a lady in a department store surrounded in shoes and clothes, trying them on, and debating what she should buy. The end did seem a little sad or disappointing, but I’m not sure why. I can’t seem to put my finger on it, but they why she’s writing kind of changes.
WHY I WANT A WIFE
This poem is extremely repetitive but it has the most amazing imagery. I can’t pick my favorite line or stanza because it all had something to do with each other. I think it explains something that everyone wants—not a wife, but someone to take care of them. In a perfect world, we would all have “a wife”, but life is not perfect and we have to do things for ourselves. I feel lucky to have parents that can afford to support me and put me through college. The images that I am imagining is a little robot wife that’s programmed to do everything you tell it.
In a way, I kind of feel that this poem is a little degrading to women. The “wife” described in the writing is emotionless, with no feelings. Everyone, man or woman, has feelings. The author doesn’t want a wife; she wants to start a new life. What surprised me is that she starts out the writing saying that she is a wife and a mother, and if this is the case she would know how difficult it is. She would know that wives aren’t these emotional robots that have no care in the world. They are the complete opposite.
This poem seems like something that everyone could relate to. While reading it, I imagined images of a girl sitting on a couch and all she wants is some peace and quiet. It was only an hour until the little sister, Liza, usually woke up. My favorite part in this poem is she would open her eyes// and thing of the place that was hers// for an hour where she was nothing// pure nothing, in the middle of the day. I like this because it’s true. Someone can be very stressed out and keep trucking a long and they will be noticed. However, if you give up and take time off no one will notice you. Although I am not a mother, nor do I have little kids in the house, I still feel that I can relate to this. Everyone wants to be alone sometimes. I feel this poem is very literal and that most people would be able to relate to it.
A PAIR OF SILK STOCKINGS
It’s very obvious what this story is about- a woman who had a little extra cash and is very happy about it. She’s having a difficult time not spending it all on something that doesn’t matter. But her items were important.
“She wanted and excellent and stylish fit, she told the young fellow who served her, and she did not mind the difference of a dollar or two more in the price so long as she got what she wanted.”
That was my favorite sentence because it is so true! Everyone, especially girls, will spend a little extra money on something they love instead of just buying something they like. I am picturing a lady in a department store surrounded in shoes and clothes, trying them on, and debating what she should buy. The end did seem a little sad or disappointing, but I’m not sure why. I can’t seem to put my finger on it, but they why she’s writing kind of changes.
WHY I WANT A WIFE
This poem is extremely repetitive but it has the most amazing imagery. I can’t pick my favorite line or stanza because it all had something to do with each other. I think it explains something that everyone wants—not a wife, but someone to take care of them. In a perfect world, we would all have “a wife”, but life is not perfect and we have to do things for ourselves. I feel lucky to have parents that can afford to support me and put me through college. The images that I am imagining is a little robot wife that’s programmed to do everything you tell it.
In a way, I kind of feel that this poem is a little degrading to women. The “wife” described in the writing is emotionless, with no feelings. Everyone, man or woman, has feelings. The author doesn’t want a wife; she wants to start a new life. What surprised me is that she starts out the writing saying that she is a wife and a mother, and if this is the case she would know how difficult it is. She would know that wives aren’t these emotional robots that have no care in the world. They are the complete opposite.
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