How I met your mother

Plot

In regards to plot, “How I met my husband” would be similar to the film adaptation. Instead of Chris Waters flying into the city on a plane to give rides, I would have him as a temp who is working on the road in front of the house where Edie is living. She would pass him working on the road when she took the kids to school everyday for months, and then one day Chris would come up to the door and ask her if he could get some water because they ran out that day. They would lock eyes and have a “moment”. Everyone else in the community would pick up on their odd romance, for he would be a very attractive man everyone wants to talk to. The film would be similar in the fact that there would be an annoying neighbor who thinks she knows everything and always interferes. Once the man goes onto a new job, he tells Edie he will write her, and she checks the mail everyday. Like the short story, she will end up marrying the mailman.

Point of View

The Point of View would be first person. The first scene would be Edie talking to her kids as they lay in bed and she is telling them stories of how she and their father met and got married. The story will be told with all of Edie’s personality. Because of this, the viewers will get mixed feelings. What is happening on the screen (Edie and Chris falling in love) will not match the narration. For, Edie will be very apprehensive about her relationship with him and talk about how it was very innocent and she didn’t know what to expect. More emphasis will be placed on the mailman when there is a montage of her going to the mailbox everyday and not getting a letter. They will start to talk and eventually hit it off. While on screen this may be a minor scene, the narration will convey passion and love.

Characterization

The second scene of the film would be Edie at her real home and what it was like for her to grow up. She will not have a washer and dryer or dishwasher or any amenity she has at the Peebles’. This will convey her innocence and naivety. Throughout the scenes in the film, Edie will be seen encountering things like a mixer, a washing machine, and a toaster for the first time. She will not know what to do with them, and she will be fascinated. This conveys how she loves new things and experiencing new adventures. Because of these details, it will not be a surprise when she jumps onto Chris. Chris on the other hand will be this dashing man who is suave and stylish and always knows the right word to say at any given moment.

Setting

Whereas the text occurred in a small town, so too will the film. It will be in a small farm town in Bargersville, IN. The neighborhood will be an affluent one, but with a farm feeling. Whereas the text had neighbors right next door, the nearest neighbors will be our of walking distance. This fact will make it more ironic how the neighbors think the know everything about everyone. The city will be large enough to have character, but small enough for rumors to travel quickly. The road being fixed is to help allow for a huge country club that is going in down the street. This shows that it is a growing city that is fairly sizable.

Theme

Whereas the theme of the text was Edie being older and wiser now, and looking back on her mistakes and wishing she would have chosen differently. The film adaption will lead the viewers to believe that the theme is “everything happens for a reason”. In the opening scene, she will be laying in bed with her son, who is upset about his girlfriend that broke up with him. She will start the story with the intention of telling him not to worry about it. She will show him that it is important to live life without regretting things. In what she thought was going to be a small anecdote to convey her message to her son, she ends up telling him how the two of his parents met, and how they would not change their life for the world. In the end, the son will learn to be okay with their separation and pursue the girl he never thought he would be with but found they have quite a connection.

Shawshank the Movie

PLOT

In regards to plot, the movie and the book were almost exactly paralleled. Most of the time when novels are made into movies, the film makers are forced to cut out key elements to the novel. Because Shawshank was just a novella, the film makers were able to keep all information from the novella when making the film. However, there were a few subtle differences between the film and the novella. For example, the head screw in the book did not get arrested once Andy escaped. Another difference was that Worden Norton did not kill himself when the guards were trying break into his office. In the novella, he simply resigned from his position and went on about his life. My mom's favorite part, when Andy turns on the music for the entire campus to hear, was not included in the novella.

POINT OF VIEW

When talking about point of view, the two were not all that different. In the novella, Red did most of the talking and told the stories from his point of view. He often interjected into the stories that some of his stories were just hearsay, but he did get them from reliable sources. While the movie was handled the same way, Red did not interject his opinion into each matter. It was more dialogue between he and Andy than him narrating, although there was quite a bit of both. Andy never really talked in the novella, but he did talk sometimes in the film version. I personally liked how Red did gave his opinion to most of the subjects, for it gave a personal touch to the story line.

CHARACTERIZATION

The first thing I noticed when watching the film version last night with by bestie Keaton McCoy was how violent the guards were when interacting with the prisoners. It caught me by surprise actually. In the text version, the "screws" kept them in line but never really physically abused him. This was the complete opposite in the film. Matter of fact, it made my heart hurt when I watched how they treated them. In addition, Red made the "screws" in the novella out like they were the scums who were dirty and didn't really care about life. The way in which the "screws" dressed made them portrayed as more sophisticated.

SETTING

When I pictured the prison Red portrayed in the novella, I pictured somewhat of a rundown shack that they lived in. I never imagined the castle-like prison that was used in the movie. I felt the prison used in the movie lacked the "hard" look that the one in the book had. However, once Andy escaped from his cell, the images of him escaping were exactly what I expected. The human waste exploding from the pipes and Andy climbing through them was almost more than I could handle. Once Andy has completely escaped from the jail, the image of him tearing off his clothes, was amazing and made me cry. The vivid images of the movie brought the entire morale of the story home to me.

THEME

When talking about theme, the novella and the movie were very similar. Everyone knew that Andy did not belong in prison. Even when he was there, he acted as if he wasn't even incarcerated at Shawshank. Everyone held Andy to a higher regard than the other prisoners, even the screws did. The warden made it his prerogative to make certain Andy didn't get the best of him. However, the warden let him do just that. Some people just don't belong behind bars, and the same is true with life. Some people are meant to be free spirits and just can't be held captive. This was Andy, he took his time in Shawshank to formulate his plan, and in a sense make his life better because of it.

The downfall of our society

I am a firm belivever of the coherence of the family. I believe that familes with a father and mother are more effective and will ultimately lead a more fulfulling life. When I read this story, my first reaction was this poor child. From the beginning, he is torn between who wants him because the two people that made him no longer want to be together in raising him. I feel like I could see him in ten years when he does not have a father and is living his life on the edge and his mother has no control of him. It makes me sad. I think our society can learn from this short story by learning to make better decisions about who we will marry and who to have children with. After all, no one is imagining their relationship will end that way when the deed is done.

The Drunkard

All I have to say is the little boy's mother respones way differently than my mother would have if I had come home drunk. First of all, I feel it was very disrespectful for him to do it. I am not fully convinced that he did it to be the brake for his father's drinking. I fell that he may have just wanted to see what it tasted and felt like to be able to act like his father. If I were his father, I would not have allowed him to act like that in the street. Yes, he may have been drunk, but he did not drink so much alcohol that he was trashed beyond his mind. He was just putting on a show in order to get attention and to make everyone else look at him. In fact, he may have been doing this so that his father could have seen what he looks like when he comes home drunk all the time. I am not sure what is true, for this is just one odd story!

Zoe is wierd

The whole story is an example of situational irony. Throughout the entire story, Zoe talks about how she is always getting in trouble for saying her jokes in her class at the university. However, she is also making a living off of her book about humor. Zoe felt that her expertise of humor would stay strictly to her business life and stay out of her life in the personal sense. However, she is proved wrong when Earl thinks she is downright odd when she starts cracking her jokes at the end of the story. Zoe is just wierd and a social misfit. Why would anyone in their right mind want to move to the midwest in a little town by Terre Haute. First of all, the only thing that happens there is extensive drug use. This means that Zoe isn't really that good of a history teacher and instead just settles for teaching US history in a small town at the local college.

Lottery of Death

The point of view of this story was crucial to the overall meaning of the work. Having a third person omnipotent view allows the reader to make his own decisions about the process as a whole. It also allows the reader to realize the tone of the lottery as well. Up until the end of the story, the reader has no idea what the lottery is actually conducted for. If the nararrator would have hinted at this throughout the story, then the reader would not have the surprise element at the end of the story. The POV shows that the community really does not care about what happens in the society. The fact that the little children were throwing stones at their mother adds an element of surprise that would not be revealed with a limited nararrator. The story would not be what it is without that element.

Shawshank

Plot

By having Red narrate the entire story and build up the story, the climax of Andy's escape had that much more meaning. The first sixty pages informed the audience of life inside the prison, which allowed the reader to relate to the prisoners on a whole new level. Before I read this novel, I had a preconceived notion that all criminals were guilty and that life inside the walls of a prison was terrible. However, Red's vivid description of every happening inside the walls (e.g. Andy's role in the library, his asking Red for the rock hammer and posters) allowed the reader to put the pieces of the puzzle together when Andy finally made his escape. The plot structure and climactic scene of Andy's escape forced the reader to cheer Andy on and smile at the fact that he finally escaped his own destiny. Without the vivid descriptions, the readers would have had the same feeling toward Andy as they do most other prisoners.

Point of View

King could not have picked a better P.O.V to portray this story from. Red did a phenominal job of setting the scene of the story. On page 33, his vivid description of Andy being raped by the sisters allows the sotry to become personal to the reader. We hear about the stories where a prisoner bent over to grab the soap bar and is raped. However, Red's description makes it real to the reader. King could very easily have told the story from Andy's perspective; however, the story would have lost the point of view of an outsider looking in. The element of shock would not have been there at the end when Andy is missing at role call. Instead, Red, along with the readers make the connections of every little detail that occured in the prison up until that point to the escape.

Characterization

King also does a phenominal job of developing the characters throughout the story. If Red would not have foccused on how Andy meant everything to the guards and the wardens because of his experience with taxes and legal documents, the reader would not have viewed him as anything different than a convict. However, because this side of Andy is revealed by Red, the audience looks at Andy as more of a civilian than a prisoner. Red develops his own character himself. He reveals small parts about himself throughout the entirety of the novel. The reader then regards him as an old sole who is content living in prison and is not going to upset the status quo. However, just like the revelation of Andy's break into the real world, Red's parole leaves the reader just as excited.

Setting

The obvious setting of the prison reveals a lot about the story as a whole. While most people look at a prison as a place where no one could ever picture themself, a rather hell hole that can't be overcomed, the reader realizes that the prison becomes more of a comfort zone that is a way of life. Red speaks of how prison really isn't that bad, you learn to only have to go to the bathroom every 25 minutes past the hour. Red also speaks of how prison is not that bad unless you find yourself in solitary. However, once Red is out on parole, he does not know what to do with himself while working at the grocery store. By having all the freedom, he reverts to his old ways of structure and does not know how to overcome the fear he has. This surprises the reader because one would think that a prisoner would rejoice when they got out, instead the sometimes are bewildered and do not know which direction to choose.

Theme

The overall theme of the story is not revealed until the end of the work. Some men like Red are content with Prison and accept the fact that is their destiny, and never try to bawk the system and stick to the status quo. Then there are men like Andy who seem content to be in prison from the outside, but deep down in are eager to get out and will do anything to make sure it happens. Red speaks of how rarely does anyone successfully escape from the prison. Andy is one of them. In life, it is the same way. Some people are content with the status quo, with their job, with their position on the basketball team, or with their financial status. However, their are the Andy's of the world who have a burning desire within them to take that risk. These people know there is a substantial risk involved with the decisions they are going to make. People don't make an excess of money by playing it safe with hopes of eventually getting a raise (or parole), they invest money and take the risk of failure. They own business knowing their is a risk of failure that could impact the intirety of their life. However, if done right, these actions can prove to be lucrative, and in Andy's case life ending. (death of his old identity)

I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was

I find this story interesting. Throughout the entirety of the story, I was under the impression that the woman was an older lady who liked to sit back and just watch other people. But, then she started referring to older people in a manner that implied she was younger than them. This caught me off guard. So, like always I started reading between the lines and realized that perhaps the woman is in fact old on the outside, but still young at heart. I was under the impression that this woman's career relied on her face and outer appearance. As soon as that was compromised by old age, she lost her job. However, this woman still has yet to cope with this fact. Throughout the entire story, she is trying to figure out who she is deep down in.

Dead or alive?

Many people wonder if Phonex's grandson is really alive, or if she is just trying to cope with his death. In regards to the story as a whole, this detail is not relevant. The author purposefully made this detail ambiguous to the reader because she knew that it had no impact of the overall story as a whole. With the theme being unconditional love, whether or not the grandmother was doing this deed for her grandson that is dead or alive really does not matter. All that matters is that she would "go to the end of the earth" for this person. A lot can be taken from this story. Granny is a stock character for the parents in this world who love their children unconditionally and would do anything for their betterment. Some people would simply let a loved one suffer from swallowing lye, but this granny went on a trek to seek medicine that would help.

Once upon a time....

The definition of a frame story has stuck with me since I was a freshman in Mrs. Miles' class. As soon as the writer in the story started telling the "children's" story, I immediately knew that the short story would be a story within a story. In the beginning, the murder of the woman in broad day light foreshadows the death of the boy later on in the other story. The purpose of the story before the child's one is to give the reader an idea as to what is going to happen. The frame story structure strengthen's the overall message by the story because it is stated twice. Once by the writer, and once in the child's story. Without this structure, the reader would not know why the story is being told to begin with. The author of both stories is kind of saying "here's a child's story for you".

The unsympathetic

In regards to whether or not Eveline is a sympathetic character, I think she is unsympathetic. She had the option to get out of the house many different times. Even though her mother asked her to stay and watch over her father and siblings, I am sure her mother would not have wanted her to suffer. Eveline needs to put things into perspective and think about what is important in her life. It would be better if she could help her siblings get out of the abusive situation and help them get to a better life as well. At no point should someone have to live in an abusive situation. And, I know for a fact that a mother would not want their daughter or other children to be abused. It is very sad that the late mother would have an abusive husband that is abusing their children.

I'd prefer not to.....

So if I were to ever tell my mother that I'd prefer not do do something when she asked, I can not even imagine the consequences. I give the lawyer an immense amount of credit in this circumstance. I think too often in our society we jump to our reactions and do not take the time to really understand people the way we need to. Too often in this world, bosses just look at their employees as things and not human beings with backgrounds and histories. This story indicates how important it is to really know those around you. By not simply going off on Bartelby, the Lawyer shows patience and understanding with him. I think he knew what events had happened in his past that would allow him to act in such a manner. By knowing this about him, Bartleby does fine for a little while, but then is lead to an inevitable demise. Everyone can take a lesson of patience from this story and truly having a grip on those around us.

Oh mama...

At the end of the story when Tub and Frank are enjoying their pancakes when Kenny is dying in the back of the truck, Tub picks up each plate laden with syrup and licks it up. When I read this sentence, I immediately thought about my own mother. Before my mom and I discovered we had insulin problems and excess amounts of carbs and sugar put us into a "diabetic coma", "pancake sunday's" were a weekly happening at the Richardson house hold. My mom would always make French toast to please her own taste buds. Upon finishing her breakfast, she would always stand up and lick every inch of her plate to get all the syrup off. Yes, this sounds like something a sloppy hog would do, but my mom would only do this given the sunday circumstance. This was so habitual for her that one Sunday when my sister had friends over, she went into the pantry to lick it in private so the friend would not see. Now, she would probably not be so thrilled that I was posting this anecdote on here for the whole world to see, but I doubt she will look, so shhhhhh!

Tubby Tub Tub

Of all the characters in the story, Kenny goes through the most dramatic change. At the beginning, he is talking to Frank about how fat Tub is and how he looks like a "beach ball with a hat on". Later on in the story, he is making fun of Frank because he knows the secret about the babysitter and then will not let Tub in on the secret. Up until the climax of the story Kenny is putting all of the other characters down the whole time in order to make himself feel superior. After Kenny goes on his shooting rampage and Tub shoots him back, Kenny immediately switches roles and becomes the one being put down. After that point, he is completely reliable on the other characters in order to survive. Tub and Frank take advantage of this opportunity by being careless enough to forget the directions on how to get to the hospital, and making several un-needed stops along the way. This gives Tub the chance to give Kenny back what he deserves. This is a true example of "don't bite the mouth that feeds you."

Lives before the story

The mother, Dee, and Maggie all had apparently different lives before the story started. The mother, obviously was the working hand around the home and the one who made the family go 'round. She was the glue that kept them all together and tried to do the best she could giving the circumstances that she was solely responsible for the girls. Maggie was the young sister who just stays back and takes every detail of her surroundings in. Unlike Dee, she was content to just look around and watch other people's behaviors and then later analyze them. Lastly, Dee was the sister who was always high maintenance and anxious to get away from the family farm. She was eager to get out in the world and experience it on her own and not be tied to her background on the farm. She was the typical college girl who goes out in the world and finds herself.

Flashbacks

In the interpreter of Maladies, Mr. Kapasis's experience with his son dying forced him to realize what his true passion was. He and his wife's son died of a disease at a very young age. The reader knows this through the author's use of a flashback within the text. This shows importance becasue if his son would not have died, then he would not have had the passion to be the intrepreter at the doctor's office that he is. Before he was an interpreter, he was an english teacher that aspired to be an ambassador for a foreign nation. But after the experience with his son, he realized that he must stand up for those who did not have a voice. He realized he would have to be the voice for those who did not have one. In other words he would interpret the words of the patients to the doctor.

EDIE

Edie is a very sypathetic character in the story. She is taken advantage of in the story because of her innoncence. When she and Chris got "intimate" in the tent, she didn't even know what that meant. Alice looks down upon Edie and thinks she is just a little girl who is not worldly. Since Edie is only the help around the house, she never really gets out and is able to experience life the way most other girls her age do. When Chris left, she was innocent enough to believe that he was going to write her and eventually come back to marry her. Any other person reading the story would know that that was not going to happen. All of these things contribute to the persona of her character.

"Desperate- Party of one"

At first glance this poem was vey odd. After all who would put an ad in a paper for a date/girlfriend? Then after reading it closer, I realized that maybe they aren't looking for someone new, but maybe someone old. Maybe the speaker is describing his former love and is seeking advice as to where she may be. Perhaps he is talking of all the experiences they used to encounter and is reminisscent of all those days in the past. Obviously the speaker already has someone in mind about who they are seeking out, because they keep saying, "is it you?" The speaker has hit rock bottom and this is his last resort to try to find the woman he let go. In a way I thought it was very desperate, but then again I would love if someone put an ad in the paper for me!

Oh how I love this one!

Society as a whole can learn a great deal from "Delight in Disorder". Just like the Barbie Doll poem, this one glorifies imperfections. I have said it once, and I shall say it again, our society's infatuation with perfection and high standards will be the demise of us as a whole. All we have to do is take a look at the many things in our world that are not perfect. The Leaning Tower of Pisa being the most perfect. If this tower were to be just an upright, mundane tower, millions of tourists would not be attracted to it every year. The cookie-cutter lifestyle we are all acustomed to and feel we must lead is actually the the one we must avoid. Dare to be different. Be the person who calls the mole on their face a "beauty mark", or the bump on their ear an "angel kiss".

Hang in there a little longer!

The poem, "Do Not go Gentile into that Good Night" has a theme of perserverence. The speaker is talking to someone who is obviously old of age and suffering from an illness. Throughout the poem the speaker keeps telling the person to hold on and not give up quite yet. He says, "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Once again in this poem as well, light represents the disppearing sun at the end of the day. Toward the end of the poem, the reader figures out that the speaker is actually talking to his father. He is telling him that you may hate/curse me know, but you will be glad you put up a fight. I can only pray that I never have to have this conversation with my father someday.

Death and Winter

In the poem, "That Time of year" by William Shakespeare is a metaphor for death. In the poem, the speaker talks about how after the sunset fades in the west, dark takes over by night. This is a metaphor of how death is taking over the speaker's life just like how darkness is taking over the land. At the same time, the speaker is not talking of a literal death. Instead, he is talking about the death of youthfulness. For, he says "That on the ashes of his youth doth lie", meaning he is lying by the lying flame of his youth. At the end of the poem, the speaker talks of how since he is giving up his youthfull bliss, it causes him to love it that much more. This is kind of a case of you don't know what you have 'til it's gone.

His loss my gain

I thought the message of the poem "The Apparation" was one every teenage girl should read. We live in a society today in which women feel that their men feel so highly regarding them and they can never be replaced. However, in this poem, the woman approaches the situation with the attitude of "his loss my gain." I think this attitude should be applied to all girls when they break up with their boyfriends. They should have the attitude that they deserve better than that relationship anways. In the society in which we live, I feel like everyone is so concerned with what other's think about them, instead of how they think about themselves. If everyone could get a grasp of this idea, then the world would be such a better place for everyone. And the quicker they learn this, the better off women will be in the long run!

The Oxyen

Wow what a crazy poem. When I first read this, I was convinced that the speaker must be athiest. In th poem, the speaker talks about the magic of Christmas Eve. With winter being my favorite season, I could realate to this poem. I could see my whole family sitting around the couch and opening white elephant gifts. I then began to recall how much more magic was felt when I was a child and believed in (spoiler alert) Santa Clause. I believe that the way the speaker feels about Jesus is the same way that I once felt about Santa. Once the magic of of this goes away, so to does all the excitement surrounding the holiday.

Getting Out while you can!

The tone of the poem, "Getting Out" is somber and peaceful. In the poem, Mathis uses words such as refusal, silent, startled, tightening the heart, bewilderment. Mathis worked effectively to achieve a tone of bittersweet remorse. In the poem, the couple tried their hardest to make love between them work. They tried to leave, but couldn't, due to the piles of clothes and tennis rackets. At the end of the poem, the couple hold hands and then let go. In my head, all I could do was to think about "The Breakup" when Vince Vaughn an Jennifer Aniston look back at each other and then go on their merry way. It seems to me that the couple are still in love and just can't work it out.

My mistressess' theme

The theme of the poem of titled, "My Mistresses' eyes is conveyance of reality. In the poem, the speaker chooses to show the flaws of his lover instead of saying her "eyes are as bright as the sun" like some some men would. Instead, the speaker points out her flaws and imperfections. For instance, he says "...perfumes is ther more delight than in the breath that from my mistress reaks". Here, he is saying despite her bad breath and cheeks that really aren't that rosy, he still loves her. He always has loved her and always will. Wow! I wish every man in the world could be like this. In today's world it always seems that men are just concerned with the outward appearances of women, not their inner beauty, like this speaker is!

I am actually starting to catch onto this whole poetry thing...

I am not going to lie, when we started reading this poetry unit, I was convinced I was going to hate every minute of it. Up until this point, the only type of poetry I have experienced in literature is annoying poems I have never understood. However, the poem that really made me realize how much I am liking this stuff is APO 96225. This poem had a relatable sense about it. After reading the poem, I really felt what the mother was going therough with her son gone at war. After studying Vietnam last year, what the man was experiencing at war is something he could never describe to anyone at all. The other element of the poem brought out, was the fact that the war not only messes with a man physically, but mentally as well. The soldier was almost brainwashed and will never be the same. It is amazing what war can do to our young American boys.

I'm a barbie girl in a barby world (I'm assuming I am not the only one with a blog title as this)

The poem titles, "Barbie Doll" is the anthem of our society today. Many girls undergo this same issue today, just maybe not in the same way. It is crazy that such words can be put into a poem. Everywhere we look, there are pictures of models that are unruly thin. Being around such photos al the time forces young people around the country to feel they need to look the same way. I think we often always say that if a girl is overweight, as long as she has a good personality, it doesn't matter. To me, this is rather inappropriate. What mother wants their daughter to be talked about in such a way. I think that weight in any sense does not matter. And no matter the circumstance, weight does not matter in the least bit. Personality does.

Sense is madness is sense

The central theme of the poem, "Much madness is divinest sens" is that people who conform to societal norms is mad. Along with that, the speaker also says that the person who does not conform and in a sense has their own individual vibe has sense. To me, this idea actually does have some truth behind it. In history, people like Martin Luther King, who spoke out against the societal norm of civil rights, was put in jail and criticized. Most people at the time felt he was crazy in what he was asking, but now looking back, it is very apparent that he had a lot of sense. I would like to take the words of Emily Dickinson a bit farther and say those who go against conformity at the time are often considered mad, but in retrospect, they are considered to have sense. People such as George Washinton fit into this category because when he stepped down as President after two terms, he was considered to be crazy to give up such a prestigious position. However, looking back he was sensible to give up the position and not hold it strictly to himself.

Paradox

"Batter My Heart, Three Personed God" has many instances of paradox present in the poem. First off, the speaker requests to be broken. This stems from the fact that the speaker feels without being broken down, they would not be able to live in union with God. Along those same lines, the speaker also wants to be broken down before being built back up. Drug addicts have to go through a simular proccess when they are trying to recover from the addiction. They must hit rock bottom before recovering to their origional state. The main character of the poem also feeds into the theme of paradox because he wants to be imprisoned by God in order to be free. The author feels that the only way they could live a chaste life and a life pleasing to God would be to be imprisoned by God. The character wants to be free from the devil.

What do toads have to do with it?

Of all the poems in this unit, "Toads", by Philip Larkin gave me the most confusion. After reading the poem, I have come to the conculsion that is deals with life. However, I am confused as to how toads fit into it. The only thing I can come up with is toads are notoriously lazy and known to just bask in the sun. So, is Larkin comparing toads to the society of today? In the first stanza, the speaker is questioning why one would have to do physical work to make money, when instead they could just use their intellect to do the same. The more I analyze this, the better sense it makes. Furthermore, the speaker is wondering how it is possible to work so hard during the week only to make a couple dollars to pay the bills. Sounds like a pretty lonely and empty life to me!

Standing out like a sore thumb

Of all the poems this unit, this is by far my favorite. Elizabeth Bishop's "Pink Dog" should be plastered on the wall of every teenager's bedroom wall. By equating a pink dog as one who is scantily clothed, young people are able to get a sense of what they actually look like. In my opnion, if someone is dressed inappropriately in public, they desserved to be stared at. It really bothers me when people look at me as if I have no right do be doing so. Yes, I do, and if you do not want me to stare at you, then dress appropriately and assimilate into the society in which you live. I am tired of people trying to show their individuality by standing out from the crowd, just to be their own person. It is all well and good to be your own person, but please do it modestly.Bishop was brilliant when formulating this poem, for this timeless piece will always be relevent no matter what the era.

Love Struck

First off, of all the poems in this unit, "February" by Margaret Attwood would have to be the least identifiable of all. With the tone being cynical, I was not a fan of her pessimistic personality. The speaker of the poem did however convey his/her feelings toward winter/February/love to the audience effectively. By being so graphic with her diction, the audience is able to identify with the reader and their attitude toward humans as a whole. Attwood placed humans on the same level as cats, which is the worst possible comparrison! At the beginning of the poem, the readers felt the speaker was rather crazy in her accusations toward humanity as a whole. But, by the end, they almost begin to side with the speaker and their feelings. Even if the poem was perverted and had numerous hidden sexual refrences, I applaud you, Ms. Attwood!

Star Night, Star bright (I think that is how it goes)

"Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast.." Wow, quite the image eh? The diction John Keats used in this poem is impeccable. Throughout the entirety of the poem, Keats chose words that work together with the overall theme, being what he would do to be with his lover. By using such soft words when describing the lover, the readers gets a sense of tenderness and heartfelt love that he feels. By sending such signals to the reader, Keats was able to effectively convey to them that the speaker of the poem would even give up being an eternal star just to temporarily be with his wife (or husband?). He/she would give up being able to look at the earth from every view possible for as long as eternity allows to instead sleep with his wife until the love fades away. The message of the poem is what every loved one out there hopes their lover would say about them. Why can't we all have a significant other like John Keats?

What an inspiration...

The theme of the Poem, "Dreams Deferred" by Langston Hughes can be summed up in one sentece. Chase after your dreams, for if you don't they will haunt you infinitely. To me, the theme of the poem regarded the fact that one must chase after their dreams and aspirations, for if you don't the only one to blame is yourself. This poem could not be any more appropriate for me life right now. I hold many aspirations about what I want to do with my life; however, I am not always sure if they are attainable or not. After reading this poem, I have realized that I will never know until I go after them. Just like the African Americans of the Harlem Reniassance, I too must chase after my dreams, for you just never know what could come out of them. As I grow older, this will be my anthem as I go through the trials and tribulations I know are ahead of me.

Those tedious days

Of all the poems I can relate to most, "Those Winter Days" would take the title. My mother was the first person to pop into my mind when reading the poem. I know mothers are historically to be the child bearers and care givers of the family and this job is looked down upon by many; however, Amy Richardson is my definition of a superhero. She's the first one awake to make my buttered then peanut-buttered toast and the last one to put the dogs up after everyone is asleep. This week as she is in Florida with a friend, I have taken over the role as mother for the week. At this point while my father is at a meeting and I am here with all my sisters, I am almost to my breaking point due to the amount of stuff needing to be done around the house! Now I have a taste of this thankless job and a lot more respect for my mother! The respect that the father in the poem did not have.

After reading "After Apple Picking"

Of all the poems thus far, I can honestly say this poem is by far my favorite. I love the divine element brought into the piece paints vivid images into the readers's mind. While reading the poem, I couldn't help but think about the heavens being opened to this one person whose earthly journey has come to an end. I am big on experiencing life to the fullest potential and the empty apple baskets represent life experiences yet to be had. Because of this aspect, the poem has a rather bittersweet element to it. When the character talks of doing too much apple picking, I felt this directly applied to me. In life, we will not remember all the homework we stayed up hours completing, but we will remember the relationships and experiences had throughout our lifetime!

My brain senses a stressed senior girl right now...

Wow, what an amazing poem! Upon first glance of the poem, I was fairly lost as to what approach to take when tackling it. However, once I read each stanza carefully, I realized the poem was telling a story and the central theme was one's decent into mental insanity. Even though many feel the character of the poem is not aware he/she is mentally unstable, I beg to differ! In the first stanza, the character is trapped inside a wooden box (or a casket). Since the character is trapped, but still alive, he/she is rather a prisoner in their on body. Throughout each stanza, there is a reference to the character being helpless to the happenings outside the wooden box in which they are trapped. At the end, when the poem reads, "and then a plank of reason broke", this is referencing how a plank in the bottom of the casket broke and then the character was able to escape the imprisonment of their own body!

The Lamenting Widow

"A Widow's Lament" by William Carlos Williams is filled with rich details of vivid images painted for the reader. These images are also very abstract and many are symbols representing other things. For example, the yard the widow lives in represents comfort and safety. On the contrary, the meadow her son speaks of represents unchartered territory never before sought out. The motif of white flowers is another symbolism that is reoccurring throughout the work. The white color represents purity, happiness, and innocence. In the beginning when the widow says how the flowers are white that day, she is reminiscing of the days when she and her husband would walk the garden together. Similarly, when the widow talks of falling into the white flowers, this is a symbolism for wanting to become one with the leaves by falling into them and joining in union with her deceased husband. This poem is an allegory, for every element such as the ones mentioned represent another element in the telling of the widow's story.

Innocent Innocence

Innocent minds will one day be clouded with the harshness of reality.

If I had to describe the poem "Spring" by Gerard Manley Hopkins in a nutshell, the sentence above encompasses every aspect. Before deeply analyzing this piece, I was under the impression that it was just an allegory regarding the innocence of young children. However, the last two lines of the poem struck a cord with me personally. As I have gotten older, it seems I look back on the days when controversial issues were not addressed and sensitive topics were not discussed, and I think about how I did not realize how innocent I was at the time. The last lines of the poem hit on this idea as well. The "innocent minds in Mayday in girl and boy" have no idea that their way of life will soon be changed to include a multitude of grim occurrences.

Let's try this again

Poetry in and of itself is very difficult for me to grasp. I have always been under the impression that poetry can mean anything that a reader wants it to. When we were in grade school, as long as the words rhymed, it was accepted. Once I entered the tenth grade and wrote poetry in my World Literature class, I was still not completely sure what poetry was and was still just fishing around in an attempt to receive a good grade. Now, as a twelth grade AP Literature student, I am not only bound and determined to get an exceptional grade in the class, but am also ready to tackle the real world of poetry- the one educated scholars work with.

Mr. Perrine's article, "The Nature in Proof of the Interpretation of Poetry" left me rather eager to start learning about poetry. I have always been turned off by the fact that poetry leaves the readers with a rather gray matter. Interpretations could mean one thing, or polar difference. I am the kind of person who looks at things as either black or white and gray is not in my vocabulary. However, after reading this article, I was comforted by the fact that he feels there IS a right and a wrong interpretation of a poetic piece. However, this does come with the challenge of finding that right interpretation of the piece- the exact thing I struggle with.

Upon reading a poem, I develop my own interpretation of it in my head. Once I do so, I have a difficult time accepting anything other than the one I developed. For example, when I read the poem by Emily Dickinson, my interpretation was the exact expample he used as being false. Upon reading his interpretation, I saw how it could work, but I felt my interpretation was no better than his. However, being the enthuased learner I am, I am going to follow Perrine's advice this quarter, and accept other's interpretations and seek the CORRECT one, and not just one formulated in this little brain of mine.

Good readers do what?!

First off, I would like to touch on an aspect of Mr. Perrine's speech that left me rather miffed. In his lecture to his students, he said students should not relate to characters in the story. In other words, readers should not compare and contrast their personalities with those found in the readings. I completely disagree. When I open the first page of a book, the first thing I think about is what I like and dislike of the character's personalities. By doing this, I feel connected to the reading at a whole other level. Reading between the lines in an attempt to figure out the deeper motives of the characters is what brings me personal joy in a reading.

On the other hand, when someone reads for a simply scholastic purpose, this approach may not be the best. In this regard, when tackling a piece of literature, one must addresss the piece with an unbisased attitude. The minute that a person favors one character over another due to personal reasons, many things the character engages in over the course of the literature will go unoticed by the reader due to personal reasons. I just realized that I am writing about the wrong reading; however I will still publish the post.

It's finally over!

Dear Mr. Hemingway,

I am rather speechless right now. The end of your book left me feeling like I did when I finished the last page of Grapes of Wrath. As I sit here writing his post, I am not quite sure what to think of the last chapter, let alone this book as a whole. One thing I can say is my opinion of Brett never changed throughout the entire book. At the beginning I thought she was rather trampy, and on the last page of the book, my assumption was confirmed. I do have to say you did a phenomenal job of setting up the characters the way you wanted them; however, I feel they were very flat through the entirety of the plot, for every single person stayed the same. I do have one question for you though. Were you under the influence of any substances while composing this novel? All in all, it wasn't too bad, I commend you for your efforts, and I am hoping the next book I read by you isn't nearly this dry!

Best Wishes,

Alix Richardson

Vantage Point

I do not have a specific quote to illustrate this idea I am about to discuss, for almost every line in the book would be an example. This book is written in first person point of view, and I find it rather interesting. Even though this novel is written in first person and conveyed through the eyes of Jake Barnes, I feel like the audience gets a good taste of what is going through the entire cast of character's heads as well. Most first person novels are often biased toward characters or ideas because of the singular viewpoint. Even though we do get biased remarks, especially regarding Robert, I feel the audience is also able to formulate their viewpoint on certain characters as they wish. By portraying this story using this vantage point, Hemingway was very effective in conveying his sole message to the audience.

EPIPHANYYY!!

"Walking across the square to the hotel everything looked new and changed. I had never seen the trees before. I had never seen the flagpoles before, or the front of the theatre. It was all different. I felt as I felt once coming home from an out-of-town football game."

Even though I am sure it hurt, I am very glad Jake got hit by Robert. Yes, I know violence is not the answer, but after he was in the fight, he spoke the words above. To me, it is almost like Jake got some sense knocked into him. The first think I thought of when I read this paragraph was that the lightbulb finally went off inside Jake's head. After this happened he went back to Montoya's hotel to sleep for the evening while the rest of the "gang" stayed out and partied for the evening. Maybe, just maybe this is the beginning of the new Jake. Perhaps he will realize all the foolish choices he has been making and then evaluate his relationships with everyone accompanying him on the journey. Hopefully this incident will force Jake to transform into the person we, the audience, are all hoping he will become.

Robert Cohn

"For God's sake, go off somewhere. Can't you see Jake and I want to talk?"

"I didn't," Cohn said. "I thought I'd dit here because I felt a little tight."

"What a hell of a reason for sitting with any one. If you're tight, go to bed. Go on to bed."

While reading this chapter, I couldn't help but think about the role Robert Cohn plays in this novel. My impression of him is that he is this very intelligent and semi-wealthy man who simply has no social skills. This makes me sad for him, because I feel like everyone else has had their fling with Brett and not made a big deal of it, but when it comes to him, they are brutal toward him. I also think that Mike is very jealous toward this man, and therefore the only way he feels he can express his feelings about him is by belittling him to the point of harassment. Mike is almost like the big bully on the playground that has the pretty girlfriend right now, but they will break up and he will never amount to anything. After all this man is bankrupt! As for Robert, he is the little scrawny kid that does not have many friends when he is little but is very intelligent and will amount to something one day and the future. I can't help but think about him as the little brother or sister whom everyone just picks on, and he just stands there and takes it.

An all-around theme

"Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed as though nothing could have any consequences. It seemed out of place to think of consequences during the fiesta."

If I had to pinpoint a theme in this book, I would say it has to do with this quote above. Throughout the entire novel, I have gotten the impression that these men are going through something similar to a mid-life crisis. With that being said, I do feel like I need to give them the benefit of the doubt by saying the time period of the novel is right after WWI, and these men rather have the right to be going through this mental state due to what they encountered during the war. Even if they did not directly fight in the armed forces, everyone was impacted by the war in some way or another. However, at this point in the novel I am hoping that this mentality comes to an end and the men realize that there are consequences to their actions and it is time to stop living life like it is one big party!

How I feel.. in a nutshell!

"Probably read the same two pages over several times."

"To hell with you, Brett Ashley."

These two phrases above pretty much sum up how I feel toward this novel at this point in time. I am getting to the point where I am positive that I am not reading the same line over and over but it feels like I am. Is it me, or does it seem like the only thing they do in this book is drink and party? When I started the book, I felt that there would be some exciting action to take place, but thus far the only think that has sparked my attention would be the bull fight. As for the second quote above, this is my attitude toward Brett at this time in the novel. I feel like all this drama is going on between the group regarding their relationship with Brett. And, we saw earlier that Mike got mad at Cohn for the way he acted toward he and always followed her around. However, I have always been a fan of "it takes two to tango", and in this situation I know Brett should be the one to blame, yet the men don't recognize it.

Like a bull in a china shop

"That's too complicated, "Bill said. "Don't you ever detach me from the heard, Mike."

"I'm not drunk. I'm quite serious. Is Robert Cohn going to follow Brett around like a steer all the time?"

When I first started reading this chapter, I knew Hemingway wouldn't have included it into the novel just for the purpose of entertainment, for there had to be an alternative reason as well. After reading a couple of the lines over again to try to understand and take a grasp of the whole thing, I think I may have come up with the metaphorical language of the chapter. Here is my proposition as to what each character represents in this conceit Brett is the steer at the end of the arena that simply teases all the steers when the exit their cages. Like Brett, the steer has no physical power, but has the mental power to minipulate the bulls and force them to charge him by simply standing and looking "pretty". The first time a bull enters the arena and is by himself, he is all wigged out and does not know what to do since he is separated from the rest of his herd. Like each of the men- Robert, Jake, Mike, and Bill, they are very volatile and aggressive (not physically abusive) toward Brett in order to gain her love. Because of this, the steer receives all the attention, but end the end dies because he just can not measure up. However, once the whole heard is together in the arena at the same time, they are harmless toward the steer and are more complacent because they are back in their comfort zone. Like the crew of men in the novel, no one is trying to make a move on Brett while everyone is together, for that would be socially unacceptable!

A far-fetched farce

"I couldn't tell you that in New York. It'd mean I was a faggot. That was what the Civil War was all about. Abraham Lincoln was a faggot. He was in love with General Grant. So was Jefferson Davis. Lincoln just freed the slaves on a bet. The Dred Scott case was framed by the Anti-Saloon League. Sex explains it all. The colonel's Lady and Judy O'Grady are Lesbians under their skin."

Wow. After reading this paragraph I was speechless. I was not sure off the top of my head which literary term this would fit under, but I knew it fell under something. After some careful investigation (looking at my sheet), I came to the conclusion that this was kind of a "mini farce". It meets all the qualifications to a T. I find it interesting how in today's world everyone thinks Lincoln was a hero for what he did (the general public any way), and here Hemingway is saying he was a faggot and really did not have the integrity of the Union at heart. I do want to know why Jefferson Davis was in love with General Grant. I have to say that one puzzled me just a little bit. But other than that, I do have to commend you, Mr. Hemingway, for, I would have never thought of such a thing!

Tone and mood

While reading chapter eleven, I felt a certain connection to my trip to Europe I took last summer. My family along with another family embarked on a fourteen day journey across England, Paris, and Italy. During our journey we met many people like the men in this chapter did on the bus. We also did our fair share of bargaining with taxi drivers and owners of stores. After all, we were traveling with a party of twelve, and any penny saved was well worth the fight. However, unlike these men we did have a bit of a culture shock as well. While at the pool in the village we were staying in Tuscany, our party was taken aback by the fact that the Australian women were bathing topless. Being with young children, eyes were glued to their chest, and had to be peeled off. Needless to say it was quite the experience.

"That doesn't have to do with the story"

I am a little weary as to what Hemingway was thinking while writing this book. On the back cover it mentions how he was injured in Italy during WWI and then moved to Paris. It fails to mention if he was injured in the head, but I am going to venture off and say he was. Either that or he was completely shmamered while he wrote the text for the novel. Not only does he include words irrelevant to the book, but also comes out and tells his audience that. I am crunched for time people and I do not have time to read things that are not pertinent to the book as a whole. Oh yes, and mustn't I forget the paragraph-long sentence on page 103. Yes, I am all about sentence variation and using structures that best suit the point being made; however, this was a little over the top. Come on Hemingway, I do not need to know every detail that runs through Jake's head (although I could probably guess because most involve Bret). Okay, I am off my soapbox now!

HELP! I am a little confused!

"We have the loveliest hotel," Mike said. "I think it's a brothel." When I came across this little excerpt I stopped when I read the word "brothel". I gave Hemingway the benefit of the doubt thinking that maybe the word has a duplicitous meaning. However, after looking it up on dictionary.com I came to realize that the only definition for the word was indeed what I thought it was. So, by using explication, I read the context around the mentioning of such a place and came up with nothing. The only think I have to offer is that maybe Mike is drunk and is just being sarcastic when he is comparing his hotel to a brothel? Bret did seem rather offended when he said this and simply dismissed his comment and told him to get his hair cut. So, with that being said, if anyone has any advice to offer, I would love it=].

Oh how times have changed

Okay I am in awe after reading this chapter. First off, if one did not know the time period in which this novel took place, the frequent, nonchalant use of the word "nigger" drops a huge hint. Hemingway did a grand job of soaking up of the language of his time. The diction he uses was vernacular during the time period. Using the word "nigger" is a prime example. On top of that, Mike says, "I had a date with this thing here," referring to Bret. How offensive in today's world! I am here to tell you if a man regarded me as a "thing" at all, let alone in public, I guarantee that would be the end of him in my eyes. Throughout the chapter, Hemingway reveals customs and traditions of the time by slipping in discreet details periodically. For example, he says "She [Bret] had no stockings on." In this sentence, the audience further becomes aware of the kind of Bret's character. Not only do we now know it was somewhat "trampy" to not wear stockings, but by connecting this phrase to Bret, the connotation can be connected with her.

It's all about me! Me, me, me, me, me

"Oh darling," Bret Said, "I'm so miserable."

Okay, so I am really starting to not like Bret! It seems to me that the only thing she does is tramp around and mooch off all these men. The quote above really spoke to me because it really dawned on me that the mood of the novel revolves around Bret's mood at that given point in time. For example, just a few chapters back, she invited herself over to Jake's apartment and practically threw herself on top of him. Now, at the end of this chapter she demanded Jake not to kiss her or anything. Now, I am no expert in love but if I were Jake, I would run. However, it seems to me Jake is blind to the whole situation (oh what can you say, he's a man:). I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that the situation is not going to change and that this is just a cycle that will reoccur many times throughout the novel (kind of like a motif).

Just a little Anecdote

On page 60 of chapter 7, the audience is offered a little insight as to why the concierge acts the way she does. Previous to the background on the woman, she is seen telling Jake how she feels about Lady Ashley. Hemingway could have very easily left the dialogue between the two and then moved on with the plot line; however, he chooses to add a little extra something. By following the conversation with an anecdotal background of the woman herself, the audience is able to believe the alternate impression the lady has toward Bret. In doing the extra passage, Hemingway offers a background of the woman and why the audience should trust her opinion of the woman. If this would have been left out, her remarks toward Jake's friends would not have as much credibility.

Number 74 Oxymoron

"She turned to me with that terribly bright smile. It was very satisfactory to her to have an audience for this."

In this sentence, the use of an oxymoron on the part of Hemingway proves to be very effective for the readers. By saying, "Terribly bright", the author is conveys that the character's expression too bright to be good. He could have just as well said a "mischievous smile"; however, the oxymoron is indeed stronger language and draws the readers attention to those two words in the sentence. Using two words that contrast each other force the reader to read the context around the phrase in order to dig deeper and find the author's true intent in using such diction. In this particular case, using two opposite words shows how duplicitous Frances is in her ways. She knows she has an audience and is going to take full advantage of the opportunity to rat on Robert.

A beautifully painted picture

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Ms. Joseph, along with my parents. Thanks to them, I have a clue as to the numerous allusions in this chapter (ch. 5) are referencing. When Hemingway refers to the Sorbonne, he is talking about the big university in Paris. The "Quarter" is actually the Latin Quarter and is where most students hang out and enjoy cheaper foods and drinks. Throughout this chapter, Jake and his coworkers are seen galavanting throughout the streets of Paris. Hemingway did a phenomenal job of painting a picture in the reader's mind through his elicit details. Even though I have had the privilege of traveling to Paris, I believe I would still have a decently vivid picture as to the experiences the characters are encountering. One thing I do have to ask is what is a chap? I am going to look it up real quick but I figured I would pose the question on here so anyone could input.

It's the Epigraph!

"I don't know," she said. "I don't want to go through that hell again."

"We'd better keep away from each other."

"But, darling, I have to see you. It isn't all that you know."

Okay, so if I had to guess, I would say this novel is going to be about Brett and Jake and they journey to "find themselves" and "unveil their pasts." In my mind, the three lines at the top of this post say it all. Even though they do not go into detail about what "hell" they went through, due to their dialogue, the audience is now clued on in the fact that the two of them had a past with each other. Then, in the next two lines, we are shown that the two characters still have feelings for each other, despite the difficulties they endured in the past. Because of these lines of dialogue, the audience now has somewhat of a clue as to what this novel is going to be about. I am going to be honest that up until this point, I had no idea as to what was going to happen throughout the next 130 pages. But, thanks to Mr. Hemmingway, I now have a clue!

Epanalepsis

"Really? I find it so extraordinarily clean. One of the cleanest cities in all of Europe."

"I find it dirty."

First off, I have to say this dialogue on page 26 is the epitome of what I think of when an American and Parisian would debate given the circumstance. Americans have the opinion that Paris is dirty and the natives are unwelcoming. However, on the other hand Parisians are proud of their city and take offense to anyone who thinks otherwise. This Epanalepsis found in the quote above serves to show the audience that she takes offense to the words spoken to her about how dirty France is. By ending one sentence and starting another with the word "clean", the audience is able to more fully understand the stance being taken regarding a certain issue. Another observation I have to the dialogue on this page and the following one is the one who stated an observation does not justify her stance in rebuttal to the critique given. I find this often happens in real life as well. The person who disagrees with a statement always justifies himself/herself in their critique, whereas the other person who spoke the statement in the first place just sticks to their opinion and doesn't waiver.

Don't judge a book by its cover

I am not going to lie, I am rather apprehensive about this book. However, I do not have much time to spare, for I only have three days to read and complete all my blogs. I blame my mother for ruining the book for me because she read it before I did. She had absolutely no good things to say about the book. In fact, she said I could even skip over some chapters because they have no relevance to the book as a whole. Thanks mom! Even with her saying that though, I will be reading all 251 pages. Uh oh, I have a feeling I am in for a real treat! As I watched T.V. this morning and every commercial had something to do with "back to school", I couldn't help but cringe at the thought I would be back in the "hallowed steps of 002" on Monday. (No, I am not cringing at the idea of AP Lit, just the fact we will be back in school, where did summer go?) Alrighty, well enough procrastinating on my part, I am off to tackle this sucker!

Final Thoughts

After just completing the book, I figured I would write some last remarks on my impressions of the book as a whole. When I first started reading the book, I went into it with a historical mind, one that enjoyed the historical references. However, as the book progressed I began to realize that Mr. O'Brien really doesn't care about the historical accuracy, but instead how this horrific war impacted he and many other Vietnam veterans. The concepts of death and life, silence and noise, and bravery and shyness seemed to come up many times throughout the entirety. One of the biggest things I marvel at now that I have completed this composition is the way that O'Brien was able to tie things together. The first example that popped into my mind was how he corollated his experience with Linda's death to his encounter with the first dead man he saw in Vietnam. By doing this, I think O'Brien was able to bring home how he felt to the audience by connecting it with a situation many readers have undergone. All in all, I think this was a very well-written master piece. I commend Tim O'Brien for being able to open up about his experience in Vietnam. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, those men who left for the war never returned the same. While this was a way for O'Brien to cope with his experiences during this grim time period in his life, I think in the process he allowed many other people to share in his struggle and get a taste of what he experienced.

Silent Motif

Throughout the whole book I kept my eyes peeled for motifs that I could incorporate into my blog. (Yes, I just finished the last page of the book.) Other than the obvious common theme of death and life, I decided I would adopt the motif of silence, or noise to scour. All throughout the book it seemed to me that O'Brien would relate every experience he encountered to what he heard or better yet what he didn't. The most prime example would be the men in the jungle who believed they heard people partying at night. Another example would include Norman Bowker's suicide. His mother said he was a quiet boy and probably didn't want to bother anyone with his death. Many other war stories throughout the book were described by what they could hear - grenades exploding, men yelling, or perhaps even the silence after the battle when soldier's bodies were being carried away. As for the purpose of this motif, I think the men in the book like to describe things by the intangibles. They do this because more times than not, the tangibles, such as each other, photographs, and security blankets either prove to be unreliable or can be lost at any given moment. By describing things by noise, the audience is not only clued in on what these men paid attention to most, but also how the intangibles, such as ghostly noises or silence in the night, seem to always be present.

Dynamic Bobby Jorgenson

Throughout this book, O'Brien introduces many characters to the plot of the story. Some the audience gets to know pretty well, and others exit the plot just as soon as they enter. However, one character - Bobby Jorgenson isn't really introduced to the audience with what he did do, but what he didn't do. The only reason the audience knows of this man is his lack of skill sets to take care of injured soldiers (such as Tim who suffered from shock due to his lack of experience on the battle field). However, after he and his gang come to the base where Tim is stationed, the audience learns that this same man who caused Tim to have to rub antibacterial ointment all over his back side, also saved another man - Morty Phillips. Over the course of the couple months that Tim had left the group, this medic had transformed into a seasoned professional in his line of duty. Because of this transformation, Bobby Jorgenson qualifies as a dynamic character.

Speaking of Courage

After typing a very long post and then my internet crashing, I am going to attempt this again. In the chapter titled “Speaking of Courage” (pages 131-148), a few thoughts popped into my mind. First off, this chapter was a dramatic shift from the previous one- a war story. To me, even though this chapter simply followed a man who just returned from Vietnam for a four hour period, I think it screams many lessons that can be learned. The first being, what doesn’t someone learn from a war. It seems that throughout this book, O’Brien is constantly talking about lessons and talents learned from being at war. Norman, the man in this chapter, talks of how he always knows what time it is because he can “feel” it. The second lesson we learn from this chapter is how the men who returned from the war were not the same ones who left their loved ones back at home. Unlike WWII when after the men returned from overseas there were big parties and an economic boom following, Vietnam was the complete opposite. Historically we know that the war was very controversial and extremely unpopular on American soil. He also know that the men who came back were not the same mentally as when the left. This concept is clearly explained in this chapter. Norman feels he has nowhere to go and doesn’t even know where to begin to get his life back on track. Because the war was unpopular at home, soldiers did not receive a warm homecoming as in previous wars, but instead kept there war stories and medals close to their heart and prayed for a somewhat normal life.

The things I carried...

After getting back from two weeks out West and a week at the majestic Disney World in Orlando, I thought I would write a short reflection on the things I carried because I have grown rather weary of learning about the things they carried. Just like approx. 40 other students and staff members on SFS, we made the glorious (depending on how you look at it) trek across the Grand Canyon- Rim to Rim that is. Unlike the men in the book who carried their security blankets and things that held personal value to them, I only carried the bare necessities with me on the 24 mile hike. Yes, I was only gone for one day (or two- once again depending on how you look at it), but I was bound and determined that I was not going to bring more weight with me than what I needed. I did in reality pack way too much protein bars. Who would have thought that a cinnamon coffee cake Kashi bar or a white chocolate strawberry Cliff Bar would not sound too appetizing at the bottom a larger-than-life hole that at that point you are questioning when and/or if you are gonna get out of. Oh well I guess I will just chalk it up to experience- well as of right now I do not plan doing that every again!

A shift in P.O.V

On page 121, the point of view suddenly shifts from first person to third person. Why you ask? Well, be patient, that's what I am here for. From the beginning of the chapter the audience is aware of how much of a toll killing a man has taken on Tim. To all the other guys this is no big deal because after all, isn't war all about killing people? But to Tim this means something more. By having the narration switch from a first person to a third third person "all knowing" point if view, the audience is able to more clearly understand how bad Tim fells about killing this man. When the all-knowing narrator steps in and describes the dead man in full detail, the audience too begins to feel bad that he is dead. And, instead of just acting this is just another number added to the casualty list, we are able to realize that every man who died in this war had a story, and unlike this man, most went untold.

Look! They foil each other!

Awww, I was hoping for a happy ending. Oh well, life goes on! At the beginning of the chapter, Mark Fossie and the girl he shipped in to be on the base with him, Mary Anne, was the All American girl every man on the base wish he could have dated. However, as the chapter progresses, she slowly "lets herself go" and becomes "one of the boys." As this happens, Mark kind of questions who she is and why he brought her here in the first place. In other words, they become foils to each other (a.k.a foil characters as it says on the sheet provided). After thinking about how/why this happened, the only conclusion I could come to was- this only elicits the vulnerability and unpredictability of war. I think that up until this point in the book we are under the impression that war can only change those men who are in direct combat with the enemy. But by foiling these two people in the story, O'Brien is able to show that war does terrible things to those who aren't even in direct contact with it.

Two Oxymorons on the same page? No way!

I am now going to unravel two phrases found on page 77. "But in truth, war is also beauty." And, "Almost everything is true. Almost nothing is true." Okay as for the first phrase. I am trying to imagine how war can be beauteous, but then I remembered I have never been in a war like the men in the book. I believe that when one is stuck in such of a "Hell on Earth," that in order to stay somewhat sane, one MUST see the beauty in the things others would find horrific. O'Brien mentions some of these things in the lines following the oxymoron. As for the second phrase. When one is engaged in a war, suddenly every movement, every breathe becomes about life, but it also becomes about death (avoiding it). By using such contradictory terms, I think O'Brien is able to convey to the reader the vulnerability of war itself

Metaphorically Speaking

War is Hell. Wow, those are some bold words. By using a metaphor and not a simile (which says one thing is merely "like" another thing, O'Brien is able to fully convey how he feels about war as a whole. To me, metaphors speak louder than similes. By saying something "is" something else the reader is left no room for interpretation and not given any space to qualify the degree to which the two things are alike. Like O'Brien says, this phrase is a generalization. Yes, it is used to convey to the reader what he believes war is, but what is hell? Is it Dante's vision of an iced-over, center-of-the-world chamber one is summoned to? Or is it the common, cliche, we all grew up around- the one where the devil is red with horns and breathes fire to all those who he has "possession of"? I think the decision is up to us individually to decide how we interpret the metaphor.

Didactic in the Diction

On page 74 when O'Brien and Sanders are talking about the situation of the men "hearing" things in the mountains, Tim asks Mitchell what the moral of the story is. After a moment of hesitation, Mitchell responds by saying the moral is to "hear the quiet" and "that quiet is your moral." I am not going to lie, I struggled quite a bit with this one, after all how could "quiet" be a moral. However, after I read farther down in the diction , O'Brien goes on to say basically say one cannot extract the literal meaning of the word at the surface without digging down to find the deeper meaning. Here, I think the two men are just as confused as I am when trying to wrap their heads around the moral of the story. Quietness is something that does not face a soldier often in war; however, when it does, (like the men of the anecdote) men have to adapt their mindset and perhaps if they don't they will "hear" the many battle cries of war.

Playing with Parallelism

On page 73, O'Brien includes some parallelism into his text. The second paragraph on the page Mitchell Sanders tells his fellow comrade, Tim that he think he knows the moral of the whole situation of the men thinking they were hearing voices and sounds in nature while at a lookout point. He believes that in the case of these men they actually listened to their enemies. Now, whether or not the sounds they heard were real or a figure of their imagination, they believed they heard them and that's all that mattered. Now, as for the parallelism. O'Brien compares these men to politicians, all civilian types, your girlfriend, everybody's sweet little virgin girlfriend. By doing this the reader is shown that they need to listen to their enemy, contrary to what the soldiers in Vietnam did.

It's up to you to decide

Going along with my last comment on diction, I think a sentence containing ambiguity found in the text should be noted. The sentence, “In its intransitive form, to hump meant to walk, or to March, but it implied burdens far beyond the intransitive.” Once again, O’Brien goes with the idea of the intangible factors weighing more than the tangibles they carried on their backs. Here, we are fortunate enough for O’Brien to give us the duplicitious meaning of the word “hump”. However, from this point on, I believe it us up it us to recognize how he often implies this idea with future diction found in the text.

"Weighed" down diction

One thing I observed and I would like some help from others regarding the matter is how O’Brien said how much everything weighed. At first I just thought he was adding details to the diction in order to paint a more vivid picture for the readers, but then after it kept occurring, I think his purpose in doing so was to convey the vulnerability of the men fighting abroad. By adding such details O’Brien shows how every little one pound item adds up on one’s back, and before they realize it, they are not only weighed down by their own tangible items necessary for battle, but also their fears that keep them bogged down mentally.

Dejavu- Haven't I heard this before?

I am not going to lie, I was kind of apprehensive as to what to expect after getting through the first chapter; however, I have found many concepts and ways of thinking in which I can relate, or which others in my family can. My older sister, who is in her mid-twenties is known around our house as being the one who makes rash decisions or accusations without any argumentation to back up her comments. With that being said, she once made the comment that, “some people should not be forced to fight on the front line, but should instead stay back and be the ones instrumental in keeping the country running along with maintaining the position of the ‘figure head’ who makes the military decisions (this was paraphrased, for I do not recall the direct dialogue, just the content of).” In awe, I did not know how to respond, other than being appalled and hoping her eyes will one day be opened and she would not be able to place the life of one person above another. Upon reading the last passage of page 39, I couldn't help but recall this comment my sister made. This mindset shared by her and the main character allowed me to open my eyes to the harsh accusations that some people actually believe in in certain points in their lives.

What is a Rhetorical Question?

Page 38, oh how I love you! This page is FILLED with literary terms and devices along with many concepts and ideas fundamental to the book as a whole. However, one literary device essential to the concepts of the page would be the numerous rhetorical questions asked by the writer. I have always been lead to believe that rhetorical questions are posed by the writer to challenge the reader to stop and think about where they stand on the matter at stake. But, after reading over the passage once again, I think these questions offer insightful knowledge into the life of the character who “asked” them. By adding these questions to his diction, Tim O’Brien offers the readers the knowledge necessary to fully understand the main character’s way of thinking along with insight into the way in which his brain processes the current status of the nation.

Love is in the air

The Chapter entitled “Love”. This chapter serves as an anecdote in the scheme of the whole story. To me, it allows the author to convey the long-term effects of the war on the Veterans once they returned home. O’Brien had just got done explaining what life was like on the battle front, but he then takes it a step farther and explains “the things they carried” with them later in life. Instead of necessities for battle, these men carried memories and life-altering experiences as vivid memories with them to their grave. To me, this chapter allowed the readers like myself to have an insight into what these veterans experienced in the years following their last mission in the jungles of Vietnam.

Anastrophe/Inversion- You choose!

Once again, this could be a stretch, but when I was writing the definition for anastrophe (a.k.a inversion), I was a little confused as to how this could be applied in reali literary works. However, I believe I might have found an example on page 15. The latter part of the sentence, which reads, “...all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at loss for things to carry.” In previous sentences, “they carried” (or some version there of) appeared at the beginning of the sentence, but in this particular example it is at the end. As to why the syntax allows for the phrase to be at the end, I think it has to do with the fact that here, O’Brien is not talking about what they carried as he did previously, but instead he explains how in their (the soldier’s) minds, they have assured themselves they would always have something to carry- be it something physical or be it emotional or something untangible. In order to convey this to the reader, I think the writer purposefully uses anastrophe as a “red flag” to pay attention to the point being made.

Maybe a Motif?

Okay so this may be a stretch, but I am going to go for it. Even though I have only tackled the first 56 pages of the book, I think I may have found a motif. On page 38, O’Brien mentions the novel (novel during this era atleast) concept of America “not fighting a war unless knowing why". Hmm does this not resemble what is currently happening in the second Gulf War? (tell me what y’all think!) I could be wrong at this point in the novel, but my intuition tells me this notion will keep appearing in the book. I also think that as of right now, this could develop into the common theme of the story- one of questioning and uncertainty.

First Impression

As I sit on a flight from Ft. Myers to Indianapolis listening to “The Space Between” by DMB, I decided I would start typing some of my thoughts regarding the book on Pages, (since I cannot access the internet.) After studing the Vietnam war in APUSH just a couple of months ago, the words on the pages of this book kind of bring a sense of reality to what was printed in my text book. Yeah we studied the Gulf of Tonkin Resolutions, Ho Chi Minh, the Viet Cong, but most importantly how unpopular the war was at home. To me, in the first few pages of the book, I think O’Brien did an exceptional job of conveying the harsh reality of the war that forced those at home on American soil to question not only why we were fighting this war but also the credibility of those “men in pinstripes” (p 38).