Frankenstein (Blog 10)
By: Mary Shelley

Upon finishing this novel, I realized that I actually really enjoyed the story.  I had never known the original Frankenstein story.  I was especially surprised to learn that the monster was not Frankenstein; it was the creator of the monster.  I was thoroughly intrigued by this book.  The suspense continued to build up throughout the whole story.  For example, I was really curious to continue reading at the beginning of the novel when William was murdered.  I wanted to find out if the monster really killed him, which motivated me to continue reading.  I am also surprised that I liked this novel after reading the ending.  I usually prefer stories that have happy endings, and this was definitely not the case of Frankenstein.  The ending of the story was sad, in my opinion.  "They retired, and I turned towards my friend, but he was sunk in languor, and almost deprived of life" (Shelley, 160).  I thought it was so sad when Victor Frankenstein died.  I was hoping that he would just let the creature go, and I wanted him to join Walton on his adventure after he recovered.  I thought that maybe Walton's task would be successful, and this could bring happiness to Victor's miserable life.  However, this obviously did not happen.  Overall, though, I think that Mary Shelley wrote an exceptionally interesting novel; I ended up enjoying the book very much.

Frankenstein (Blog 9)
By: Mary Shelley

Shelley does an exceptional job of placing dramatic irony into this novel.  Dramatic irony is used in this book when Victor fears that the monster will kill him on his wedding night.  Victor promised the creature that he would create a female companion of him.  In the midst of his work, however, Victor realizes the risks of a second creature.  The first one promises that he and his companion will remain out of human sight, but Victor does not know that the new creature would keep this promise.  In addition, the two monsters could create a whole race, which would be even more of a risk.  At these realizations, Victor destroys the progress he has made with a second creature.  Angered by this, the monster leaves his creator a threatening note that reads, "I will be with you on your wedding night" (Shelley, 123).  Victor is worried that the monster is going to kill him on his own wedding night, and he does not want Elizabeth to have to deal with his death.  This is dramatic irony because the readers clearly know that Victor is not going to be killed.  Victor is telling his story to Robert Walton, so obviously he is not going to die!  The monster is hinting at the fact that he will kill Elizabeth, which surprises Victor when it happens.  On the wedding night, Victor hears his new bride scream from the room she had gone to bed in.  "She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her hair hanging down, and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair" (Shelley, 144).  This quote describes the horrific and shocking (to Victor) scene of Elizabeth's dead body.  Dramatic irony fits this situation because Victor thought he was going to murdered by the creature, but readers already knew that it couldn't be Victor that would be killed.

Frankenstein (Blog 8)
By: Mary Shelley

Shelley uses a great deal of imagery throughout her entire novel.  She especially uses imagery to describe the setting of each scene.  Shelley is specific with the time of day, season, and current weather of each event.  The imagery is beneficial because it allows readers to clearly picture what the environment of each character is.  "It was on a clear morning, in the latter days of December, that I first saw the cliffs of Britain.  The banks of the Thames presented a new scene; they were flat, but fertile, and almost every town was marked by the resemblance of some story" (Shelley, 114).  This quote is a perfect example of Shelley's great use of imagery.  She fabricates clear pictures throughout her writing, making it seem more realistic to her audience.  Furthermore, the environment of a character often mirrors his or her emotions in that specific scene.  For example, earlier in the novel, it is raining when Victor goes to the murder sight of his younger brother William.  The rain is symbolic of the mourning Victor is experiencing due to the loss of his brother.  It also represents the upset state he is in and how his emotions were complicated.  Overall, Shelley does an exceptional job of using imagery to help her audience.  She doesn't include a ton of pointless descriptions; they are actually essential to the story because they often contain deeper meanings.

Frankenstein (Blog 7)
By: Mary Shelley

When the creature was leaving Victor's apartment after his creation, he stole some of Victor's clothes.  In one of the pockets, the creature pulled out some papers that were from the journal Victor kept during the creation process.  Now that the creature is able to read, he decides to learn about his creator and situation.  He was shocked to learn about how disgusted Victor was with his creation, and the creature hates him after the De Lacey family rejects him.  The creature angrily seeks revenge againt Victor and returns to Geneva to find his creator.  In the woods, he runs into William Frankenstein.  At first, he intends to have William become his companion because he thought a child would not have negative prejudices against him.  William cries for the monster to let him go and says his father M. Frankenstein will punish the monster if he doesn't let William go.  After learning of his relation to Victor, the monster becomes enraged.  "'The child struggled, and loaded me with epithets which carried despair to my heart: I grasped his throat to silence him, and in a moment he lay dead at my feet'" (Shelley, 102).  This tragic scene left me questioning the creature's intentions.  Did he actually mean to kill young, innocent William Frankenstein?  Or was he just trying to make the child be quiet so no other humans discovered him?

Frankenstein (Blog 6)
By: Mary Shelley

In chapter 13, the creature explains how he continued to observe the cottage family in secrecy.  The De Lacey's have an interesting family background, which the creature learns when a young Arabian woman named Safie shows up at the cottage.  Safie doesn't speak the same language as the De Lacey's.  This was a comforting fact to the creature; they are both "foreigners" and different than the others.  The De Lacey's are teaching Safie how to speak their language.  This is beneficial for the creature because he watches and learns along with Safie.  Felix reads Volney's Ruins of Empires to Safie, and the creature listens with much awe and curiosity.  "Through this work I obtained a cursory knowledge of history and a view of the several empires at present existing in the world; it gave me an insight into the manners, governments, and religions of the different nations of the earth" (Shelley, 84).  This is an example of an allusion.  This allusion is significant because it gives the creature a sense of hope.  He learns about the violent histories of cultures and their eventual downfalls.  The creature feels better hearing this because he feels like he can relate to the evil within these people.  "Was man, indeed, at once so powerful, so virtuous, and magnificent, yet so vicious and base?" (Shelley, 84).  The creature begins to think that his "evil" side is natural for all humans, and it helps him feel as less of an outsider.

Frankenstein (Blog 5)
By: Mary Shelley

Besides his looks, this monster does not seem like a monster at all.  I actually feel really bad for him.  Confused by his creation, the monster has no idea how the world works.  He ends up beginning to steal food from humans (he doesn't understand the wrong of his actions).  On one occasion, the monster found a hut and decided to enter it.  The man living in the hut ran away from him in fear, as do all the other humans he has encountered.  The monster decides to avoid interacting with humans at all because of the reactions they have to him.  However, he is still intrigued by humans and how they live.  Because of this, he begins to quietly  observe a family living in a cottage.  I felt bad for the monster when he described the first time he saw his reflection.  "At first I started back, unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror; and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am, I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification" (Shelley, 80).  The monster realized why humans reacted the way they did to his presence.  He is still extremely curious about humans, though.  He even ends up teaching himself how to speak and use the basics of the language.  The monster exhibits strong admiration for the family he watches (Felix and Agatha).  With this, he learns to be more gentle in his ways and hopes to eventually bring about better reactions from humans in the future.

Frankenstein (Blog 4)
By: Mary Shelley

This creature is starting to become extremely odd to me.  He conveniently shows up wherever Victor Frankenstein is.  How does he always know where his creator is?!  In chapter 7, Victor found the creature at the spot where William Frankenstein was murdered.  Victor's discovery of the monster in chapter 10 was even more strange in my opinion.  Alphonse, Elizabeth, and Victor went to their house in Belrive to hopefully lift Victor's depressed spirits.  I would have thought that the Frankenstein family could enjoy a trip together without seeing anyone that they knew.  This assumption was obviously proven wrong, though.  Victor climbed to the top of a mountain, and he saw someone or something on the opposite side of it.  Trying to get a better look at what it is, Victor realizes that it's his creation.  "I was troubled: a mist came over my eyes, and I felt a faintness seize me; but I was quickly restored by the cold gale of the mountains.  I perceived, as the shape came nearer (sight tremendous and abhorred!) that it was the wretch whom I had created" (Shelley, 68).  Right when Victor recognizes that it is his monster, he is terrified and angry.  I was surprised at the creature's actions towards Victor, though.  He tries to tell Victor to go with him to a cave where a fire is going.  Victor agrees to go, and the monster tells his creator his "tale."  I am interested in reading the monster's story.  This is mainly because I want to see how he always knows where Victor is.  Also, I am curious to find out what the monster's been up to and if he really did murder William.

Frankenstein (Blog 3)
By: Mary Shelley

By chapters 6 and 7, Victor is presented with a huge conflict.  He receives a letter from his father saying that William, Victor's youngest brother, has recently been murdered.  Victor immediately heads home to Geneva to spend time with his family in this time of mourning.  When he gets there that night, he decides to walk around in the woods.  Victor ends up walking to the spot where his brother's body was found, and he is shocked and terrified to see the monster there.  Victor quickly comes to a conclusion that the monster must have murdered his brother.  Soon, Justine Moritz, a former friend of the Frankenstein family, is accused of the crime.  Justine ends up pleading guilty to the crime, but she swears to Victor and Elizabeth that she is actually innocent.  After Justine's execution, Victor struggles with the thought that something he created killed two people close to him.  "Thus spoke my prophetic soul, as, torn by remorse, horror, and despair, I beheld those I loved spend vain sorrow upon the graves of William and Justine, the first hapless victims to my unhallowed arts" (Shelley, 60).  Victor feels like it is all his fault that his brother and friend died.  He doesn't know what to do, though.  Should he tell the people that this creature is a murderer?  Or how can he undo the mess that he caused by creating this monster on his own?  Victor has no clue what to do, especially because anyone would think he is crazy if he told them how he created this monster.  I am curious to continue reading to find out how Victor handles this conflict.

Frankenstein (Blog 2)
By: Mary Shelley

After the creation process, I found situational irony.  Monsters are meant to scare people, but I did not think that the monster would scare Victor.  Victor was the monster's creator, so I figured that he would admire his work when it proved to be successful.  He actually did the opposite of this, though.  When the monster opened its eyes, Victor was immediately terrified and regretted his idea altogether.  "I had desired it with an ardour that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart" (Shelley, 35).  After seeing his creation come to life, Victor saw how ugly the creature was.  He was absolutely terrified of the monster.  He explained that his initial dream was beautiful, but its result was ugly and scary.  Victor ran away from his creation right after he brought it to life.  He eventually even got himself sick over the matter.  Overall, I found it ironic that Victor ardently worked on this project for 2 long years.  However, it took hardly any time at all for him to regret his idea and wish he had never pursued his dream.  Once the monster came to life, Victor did not even admire his work; he was too afraid.

Frankenstein (Blog 1)
By: Mary Shelley

Victor Frankenstein is a very interesting character in this novel.  I personally found his obsession with science to be intriguing because I was interested to learn how it led to him creating a monster.  A literary term that can be applied to the beginning of this book is motivation.  Victor provides some clues so that readers are able to determine his motivation.  I think the main driving force in Victor's task was the memory of his mother Caroline.  While nursing her adopted daughter Elizabeth back to health from the scarlet fever, Caroline caught the illness herself.  She was unable to fight off the disease and died before Victor went off to college.  Victor had a very close relationship with his mother.  I think that Victor wanted to somehow overcome death after this loss.  He used parts of dead bodies to create a new animate creature.  He felt that the success of one of these creatures could lead to him becoming the creator of a whole new species.  "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of life into our dark world.  A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me" (Shelley, 32).  This quote proves that Victor wanted to somehow create life after death.  He thought that a successful creation of a new species could guarantee him happiness and respect.  Another motivation for him was his professor M. Krempe.  Krempe told Victor that all of the studies he had done prior to college were worthless.  I think that this caused Victor to have a strong desire to prove him wrong.  Overall, Victor tried to let the sadness and discouragement of his life drive him to create a happier life.  Unfortunately, it seems like his work did the opposite of this.

Miss Brill
By: Katherine Mansfield

In this short story, I personally found Miss Brill to be extremely odd and creepy.  I was able to characterize Miss Brill with these traits based on her actions throughout the story.  The way that she holds her fur and pets it while watching the people was just strange in my opinion.  "She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn't listen, at sitting in other people's lives just for a minute while they talked round her" (183).  This quote explains that Miss Brill almost viewed this "obsession" as an art.  She was impressed with herself for remaining so discreet in her eavesdropping of the local people.  Shockingly, the people don't seem to notice Miss Brill's strange habit.  This came as a surprise to me because this is her activity every single Sunday.  I would think that the people would start to notice her and the fact that she basically watches everyone.  Another literary device that I found in this story was simile.  A great example of simile usage can be found towards the middle of the story.  "How she loved sitting here, watching it all!  It was like a play.  It was exactly like a play" (184).  This comparison of the daily activities of the people to a play further concerned me.  Miss Brill watches the people so intently that she considers it like going to a theatrical play.  Overall, Miss Brill clearly has some issues that cause her to act in this odd manner.  She seems lonely and isolated, and somehow her fur and watching the people seems to comfort her.

Much Madness is divinest Sense
By: Emily Dickinson

I had to read this poem a couple of times to figure out what the speaker was trying to convey.  The conclusion that I arrived to was that what most would consider madness is actually sanity.  The poem has a very unique message that I personally disagree with.  It says that one whom agrees with the majority proves his sanity.  However, going against the majority classifies one as crazy, even dangerous.  "Assent-and you are sane- Demur-you're straightway dangerous-" (830).  I do not agree with this message at all.  If one agrees with the majority, that's great.  However, going against the majority proves bravery and courage.  It is hard to stand alone on an idea or issue, so I think it is remarkable for one to do this.  It does not make one a threat or insane.

Bartleby, the Scrivener
By: Herman Melville

When I read this story, I actually felt really bad for Bartleby.  Compared to Nippers and Turkey, he was a very different person.  When asked to examine documents, Bartleby used the simple response of "I would prefer not to" (649).  He was so different that the lawyer was intrigued by him; he would even watch Bartleby.  He soon noticed that Bartleby never left the office.  He started to feel bad for him, and he decided to keep him employed out of pity.  One Sunday, the lawyer stopped by the office after Church.  He couldn't get the door unlocked because the key wouldn't fit, and Bartleby opened the door.  "In a brief word or two, he moreover added that perhaps I had better walk round the block two or three times, and by that time he would probably have concluded his affairs" (656).  The lawyer soon realized that Bartleby had been living in the office.  He felt very sorry for the scrivener.  The lawyer decided that he would try to talk to Bartleby about the situation, but Bartleby was resistant to the topic.  Bartleby eventually quit his job, yet he remained in the office as his only source of shelter.  He was thrown in jail when he was told that he must move out.  He eventually died in jail, and the lawyer found this to be very upsetting.  He later found out that Bartleby once worked at the Dead Letter Office.  Is this what made Bartleby go mad?  Was Bartleby "normal" befor he worked that job?  Overall, I found this story to be very sad.  I felt much pity for Bartleby; he was a very lonely person.  Because of this, he had trouble interacting with others, which the lawyer definitely picked up on.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
By: Emily Dickinson

This poem features a depressing mood.  The whole poem uses an extended metaphor to compare a funeral to the narrator losing her mind.  She is near a mental breakdown, and she views her mind as a funeral.  Like a funeral, the speaker is depressed and isn't experiencing happiness.  She mentions "Mourners to and fro" (776) in the symbolic funeral.  The current situations and hardships the the speaker is experiencing are like mourners lingering in a funeral.  They come and go, but some of them are always present.  She is feeling her mind go numb, as she states in line 8.  I think that the speaker is also comparing her soul to an old wooden floor.  I came to this conclusion in lines 9-10 of the poem.  She mentions "and then I heard them lift a Box and creak across my Soul" (776).  The creaking made me think of the creaking of a wooden floor plank.  I think she is saying that the problems that have put her in this state of mental instability is like a wooden floor.  She doesn't know how much more her conflicting mind can handle, just as a creaking floorboard can't support the weight of people and objects forever.  Ultimately, the speaker is in a terrible mental state.  She is going numb due to this state and the lack of resolution to her problems.  She describes her solitude.  She must feel alone and without anyone to turn to for help.  This extended metaphor between the funeral and speaker's mind establish the depressing mood of this poem.

APO 96225
By: Larry Rottman

I actually really liked this poem.  I feel that it has an important message, and I personally didn't find the message hard to understand.  When the poem begins, the speaker states that a young soldier was away at war, and he wrote his family a letter.  All that it said was "Dear Mom, sure rains a lot here" (846).  His mother's response was that the family was worried about him, and they wanted to hear how he really was doing.  The soldier avoided the topic of the war.  In his next letters, he mentioned monkeys and the sunsets.  His mother begged him to actually share what was going on.  They wanted to hear how he was doing and learn about what he was experiencing.  To satisfy his worried mother, the soldier wrote a shockingly honest letter.  "Today I killed a man.  Yesterday, I helped drop napalm on women and children" (846).  His father responded to this letter, saying to be less graphic and depressing.  That letter had bothered his mother, and she found herself even more upset after learning the truth.  I think that this shows situational irony.  There is irony in the fact that the soldier's parents pleaded for him to share what was really going on with him while he was away at war.  However, when he told his family what he had done, they asked for him to write less-depressing letters.  He had done exactly what they wanted, and they asked for him to write how he had previously written the letters before.  I think that this reveals an important and applicable message.  The tragedies and events that soldiers go through cannot be handled well by those back at home.  They do not understand the situations that soldiers are put in, and they find the actions of the soldiers to be very disturbing.  Just like there is physical distance between soldiers and their loved ones at home, there is distance between their understandings and handling of the realities of war.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night
By: Dylan Thomas

I actually really liked this poem.  It contains a wise message, but it presents it in a very clever way.  The speaker describes different classifications of people, making the poem easier for readers to relate to overall.  By addressing the different types of people, he makes it more likely for a larger audience to relate to the message of the poem.  He says that wise men know death is inevitable, but they enjoy their lives while they can.  Good men do kind deeds for others, hoping to avoid death as long as possible.  Wild men get caught up in their lives, and they seem to forget about the nature of death.  However, they at least enjoy the lives they live.  Grave men (men that are close to death) see death, but they try to blind themselves of its reality.  They do not welcome death, and they ignore it until it comes.  Lastly, the narrator addresses his father.  He presented this poem to him to motivate him.  He gives this poem with the message to live life to the fullest.  I liked the repeated line of "rage, rage against the dying of the light" (968).  This phrase is repeated with emphasis.  It tells us to keep on living our lives.  No one should welcome death before he or she has to.

Crossing the Bar
By: Alfred, Lord Tennyson

I found this poem to be a bit confusing.  I don't really understand how the narrator is relating this ocean journey to his death.  He does mention his departure; but other than that, I am confused as to how this is about his death.  When the poem starts, the narrator says that the sun is setting as the evening star rises in the sky.  He explains that he hopes the tide "seems asleep."  He says that he wants the tide to be "too full" to have any sound or create any foam in the ocean.  As his journey continues, the speaker notes that it is now twilight.  Darkness fills the sky, as well as the ringing of the evening bell.  He says that he doesn't want anyone to be sad when he leaves.  "And may there be no sadness of farewell when I embark..." (886).  This is how I determined that the narrator is talking about his death.  However, I don't get how the rest of the poem relates to this.  At the end, he mentions that he hopes to meet his Pilot face to face.  Who is his Pilot?  Is this a real person, or is the speaker using symbolism?

That Time of Year
By: William Shakespeare

In this poem, Shakespeare characterizes the speaker's age with different aspects of nature.  He begins by comparing the speaker's age to autumn.  He creates imagery of the few surviving leaves hanging on the dead trees, the cold weather of winter approaching, and the lack of birds because they have all migrated away.  Next, the speaker's age is compared to twilight.  The "sunset fadeth in the west" (966) informs readers that darkness is making its way into the speaker's life, meaning his death will be soon.  He then compares the narrator to a fire.  "The ashes of his youth doth lie on the deathbed whereon it must expire" (967).  The fire of the narrator's youth is dying out, so he will soon die in the ashes of this "fire."  In the final two lines of the poem, the speaker is addressing a loved one.  He tells the loved one to understand the situation, and their love will only grow stronger from this point forward.  I noticed Shakespeare's use of iambic pentameter in this poem.  The quatrains (4 lines in a group) ended in ABAB rhyme schemes.  Also, Shakespeare ends the poem with a couplet, as the final lines end in rhyme with the words "strong" and "long."

A Rose for Emily
By: William Faulkner

In this short story, I noticed situational irony.  Emily Grierson seemed pretty depressed and lonely throughout the entirety of the story.  Even when Homer Barron came into the picture, I did not think she was truly happy.  She was still seen sitting alone in the window of her house some nights.  When Emily went to the druggist, I thought she was going to pull a Lily Bart.  She kept telling the druggist that she wanted arsenic, which is very poisonous.  The label on the box had a picture of a skull and bones and said it was for rats.  Considering Emily seemed unhappy with her life, I thought she was planning on killing herself.  She would not tell the druggist why she was getting the arsenic.  "'But the law requires you to tell what you are going to use it for'" (286).  Even after this, Emily refused to explain her intentions.  Because of this, I assumed she would end up committing suicide.  The townspeople said that they did not see her leave her house for 6 months.  However, they also said the Homer Barron entered her house one day and was never seen leaving.  They all just assumed that Homer and Emily got married and lived in her mysterious house together.  Emily eventually died at an old age in her house, but no one even knew that she was sick.  After her burial, the curious people end up going upstairs in her house, which no one had supposedly been in in 40 years.  Shockingly, they find Homer Barron's dead, decomposing body laying in a bed upstairs.  I was taken by surprise when I read this.  I did not even think of the possibility that Emily planned on killing Homer with the arsenic.  This was situational irony because what really happened was completely different from what I expected to happen.

The Lottery
By: Shirley Jackson

A symbol that I took note of in this story was the black box.  It is a symbol of tradition, which is why the people still have it.  "...But no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box" (265).  The box is old and falling apart.  The narrator says that after each lottery, there is always talk of replacing the old box.  However, that has yet to happen.  "There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here" (265).  The people stay loyal to their roots and traditions, which explains why they still have not replaced the shabby box.  The box is used for the lottery, which gives it further symbolic meaning.  The lotteries have been traditions within the villages for years.  However, it is stated that other surrounding villages no longer practice the lottery.  I think it's interesting that the people are so dedicated to keeping the tradition of the box and lottery alive.  The lottery altogether seems like a crazy and ridiculous idea for a tradition, and they do not have any real evidence that it truly is a tradition.  In my opinion, they are almost brainwashed with the idea that the lottery and its outcome serve as a traditional practice.

The Glass Menagerie (Blog 5)
By: Tennessee Williams

While reading this play, I actually really liked it.  I actually found Williams' unique style with such detailed stage directions to be favorable.  I liked being able to picture all that was happening, and it was so easy to do this with the thorough directions.  "At the rise of the curtain, the audience is faced with the dark, grim rear wall of the Wingfield tenement.  This building is flanked on both sides by dark, narrow alleys..." (1235).  Descriptions like this were useful for me to better imagine the setting of each scene.  In addition, I liked the fact that Williams only included 4 main characters.  This made it much easier to understand their individual thoughts and actions.  Also, I feel like this made them have closer ties to each other.  One element that I particularly disliked was the ending.  There was not one happy thing at the end of this play.  Laura was still left feeling lonely, with no gentleman callers.  Amanda was still struggling with relating to her son.  Tom lost his job at the warehouse, and he ended up leaving his family altogether.  "'Not long after that I was fired for writing a poem on the lid of a shoe-box.  I left Saint Louis'" (1288).  I wanted at least one of the characters to end up achieving a goal or just anything positive.  The lack of such an ending made me dislike this aspect of The Glass Menagerie.

The Glass Menagerie (Blog 4)
By: Tennessee Williams

Williams successfully evoked sympathy for Laura Wingfield.  Throughout the play's entirety, I felt bad for Laura.  She was painfully shy and often times awkward.  An example of this was described when Laura told her mother that she stopped going to school because she got sick during a typing test.  "'Her hands shook so that she couldn't hit the right keys!  The first time we gave a speed-test, she broke down completely- was sick at the stomach and almost had to be carried into the wash-room'" (1242).  In addition, Laura had no self-confidence.  She was especially self-conscious about her physical disability.  Overall, Laura basically put herself down and made herself lonely.  In Scene 7, I thought she and Jim were heading in a good direction with their newly rekindled relationship.  Jim was motivating Laura to have confidence in herself, and she was actually opening up to someone.  After Jim kissed her, it was obvious that Laura really liked him.  Right after this, though, Jim decided to tell Laura that he was engaged and would be married in June!  "'Laura, I've- been going steady!  I go out all the time with a girl named Betty'" (1284).  This shocked me, and I felt so bad for Laura.  The little bit of confidence that she had finally built up was crushed in a matter of seconds.

The Glass Menagerie (Blog 3)
By: Tennessee Williams

All of the characters in this play are dealing with internal conflicts.  Amanda is trying to cope with an internal conflict centered around her son Tom.  Amanda's husband left her family years ago, and they have no idea where he even is.  I think that she fears that Tom will leave her family, too.  Tom is very frustrated with his life, especially with his job at the warehouse.  In Scene 4, she and Tom get into a very heated argument.  Amanda is upset by Tom's leaving every night to go to the movies, and she doesn't believe that he actually goes to the movies.  "'Why listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I'd be where he is-GONE!' (Pointing to father's picture)" (1247).  Tom denies that he would ever leave his family, but that does not comfort his stressed out mother.  I think that Amanda recognizes that Tom is the only source of real income for the family, and she has no idea what they would do if Tom left.  I was surprised at the end of the play when Tom shares that he left his family behind after he was fired.  I didn't think he would do this, especially when he kept trying to reassure his mother that he wasn't like his father in that sense.  I thought that he cared about his family enough that he wouldn't do this to them.

The Glass Menagerie (Blog 2)
By: Tennessee Williams

In Scene 7, Laura shows Jim her glass menagerie.  She shows him the unicorn figure and tells him that it's her favorite one in her collection.  "'Poor little fellow, he must feel sort of lonesome'" (1281).  When Jim said this, I concluded that the unicorn is symbolic of Laura.  Laura feels lonesome, especially due to the fact that she has never had a gentleman caller before this.  In addition, Jim accidentally hits the table and breaks the unicorn's horn.  This makes it look like an ordinary horse.  Similarly, Jim kisses Laura.  However, he quickly admits that he is seeing a woman named Betty.  This causes Laura to feel unimportant, like she is just any other girl that Jim encounters.  She no longer feels unique, which she finally felt when Jim danced with her and kissed her.  In the end, Laura is still left alone.  She still remains without a potential husband, and she feels broken (like the broken glass unicorn).  I think that this was her motivation in giving Jim the broken unicorn.  It would have reminded her of how broken Jim left her feeling, and it would be better for it to no longer be near her.

The Glass Menagerie (Blog 1)
By: Tennessee Williams

One literary term that I found present in this play was situational irony.  In Scene 2, Laura admits to Amanda that she had a crush on a boy named Jim in high school.  She talks about how he was a talented singer, starred in The Pirates of Penzance, and had class with her three days a week.  I didn't think much of this confession of Laura's.  However, in Scene 6, I picked up on the ironic situation that was about to take place.  Amanda told her daughter that her gentleman caller was Jim O'Connor.  In the previous scene, Tom mentioned that he went to high school with this man.  "'There was a Jim O'Connor we both knew in high school.  If that is the one that Tom is bringing to dinner- you'll have to excuse me, I won't come to the table'" (1264).  Laura is terrified to see Jim again.  She doesn't know how she will handle his presence in her own home.  The situation of encountering Jim O'Connor is ironic because he was the last person Laura expected to see.  She thought that he was engaged when they graduated high school 6 years ago, so she assumed he was already married.  Unfortunately the situation doesn't end up how Laura would have liked, but I think that seeing Jim again was a positive experience for Laura.  He helped motivate her into finding self-confidence.  Because of this, the ironic situation had a positive outcome.

The Joy of Cooking
By: Elaine Magarrell

I found this poem to be extremely disturbing.  Magarrell clearly has some resentment towards her brother and sister.  I also believe that she probably possesses some kind of mental disorder.  The descriptions she gives of hurting her siblings is not normal.  In the first stanza, she describes skinning her sister's tongue.  "I have prepared my sister's tongue, scrubbed and skinned it..."  This is not a normal way to begin a poem, especially not one about your own family!  She describes slicing her sister's tongue as well; she even considers different sauces that she can put on her sister's tongue after doing this.  This crazy idea makes me think that Magarrell's sister must have verbally insulted her.  In the second stanza, Magarrell continues to prove that she is crazy.  She says that she will slowly cook her brother's heart to eat.  She also explains that her brother had a small heart.  "Although beef heart serves six my brother's heart barely feeds two."  Magarrell definitely has some sort of unresolved bitterness towards her two siblings.  Overall, this poem leaves me with one question: what did her siblings even do to her?!

Those Winter Sundays

By: Robert Hayden

In this very brief poem, the narrator describes his father.  He worked outside in the harsh conditions of winter.  He had "cracked hands that ached from labor" because of this (781).  The narrator mentions that his father was never thanked for his work.  "No one ever thanked him" (781).  He worked so hard to get the rooms of their house warm.  In addition, he would polish the narrator's good shoes.  The narrator's father seems like a stiff, quiet man.  It seems like he was kind of reserved, in addition to his strong work ethic.  I think that maybe the father was bitter about the fact that his hard work basically went unnoticed.  The narrator realizes that he took his father's determination to create a better life for granted.

The Drunkard
By: Frank O'Connor

I found this short story to be very unique.  I have never even heard of a story about a young child being drunk.  In the story, Larry, the young boy, goes to the pub with his father.  His father is an alcoholic and can never stop drinking once he starts.  Larry gets very thirsty and drinks his father's beer while he is not paying attention.  His father has no idea how to regain control of the situation, and he definitely has no clue how to help his child sober up.  I think that a theme of this short story is that children are products of their environment.  They see and learn things from their parents, and they often imitate these things.  Larry's father was an alcoholic.  His son didn't really comprehend his father's issue, but he seemed to be aware that something was wrong with his dad's behavior.  The father is careless and should not have even brought his son into the bar.  Furthermore, he should have at least watched his child while there.  Larry saw his dad enjoy beer, and he was curious to see what it tasted like.  "...and the idea occurred to me that it would be interesting to know what the contents were like" (347).  His father basically allowed the situation to happen by taking him into a bar in the first place.

Once Upon a Time
By: Nadine Gordimer

This "fairy tale" was a perfect example of irony.  Gordimer gives a brief anecdote at the beginning to explain that the story readers are about to read was one that she told when asked to write a children's story.  When most people think of a children's story, they probably think of a cute story with a minor conflict.  The conflict is resolved in the end, and everyone lives "happily ever after."  Gordimer tells a story completely opposite of this.  Ironically, she tells a story about a wealthy family that is extremely insecure in their neighborhood.  Many of the surrounding houses had been broken into, and the family (especially the mother) was fearful of this happening to them.  They went to extreme measures to protect their house.  Some of these included burglar bars on all the windows, an alarm system, a tall wall around the house, and razor coils all around the walls of the house.  The family successfully kept out burglars, but they did not stay safe themselves.  One day, the young son decided to play outside.  "...He dragged a ladder to the wall, the shining coiled tunnel was just wide enough for his little body to creep in, and with the first fixing of its razor-teeth in his knees and hands and head he screamed and struggled deeper into its tangle" (236).  The family took such extreme measures to protect their family and house, but they did not consider the dangers it posed for their young son.  It is ironic that the things they did to ensure their safety actually hurt their only child.  Gordimer's version of a children's story is disturbing, and I do not think that this story would be appropriate to tell any young kids.

A Worn Path
By: Eudora Welty

While reading this short story, I was kind of unsure as to what the point of the story was.  Phoenix Jackson, the main character, is a very elderly African American woman.  Her journey led her through many struggles on a path through the forest.  This consisted of many challenges such as walking through a creek, climbing uphill, and walking through a cornfield with no visible path.  After finishing this story and considering its symbolism, I think that Phoenix's journey is symbolic of the memory of slavery for African Americans.  I came to this conclusion when Phoenix said "'seem like there is chains about my feet, time I get this far'" (224).  The chains hint at the fact that this journey symbolizes slavery.  I am not sure when this story was supposed to take place, so it may be symbolic to Phoenix personally.  Otherwise, it could simply symbolize the painful memory of slavery for African Americans as a whole.  Phoenix's journey was tiring, difficult, and fearful.  This is probably how slaves felt everyday.  I also think that the journey could symbolize the difficulty of escaping slavery.  When Phoenix encountered the white man, she seemed very nervous.  However, she did not even flinch at the sight of his gun.  I am positive that slaves on a journey to freedom would have experienced a great amount of fear when they encountered a white person.  Because of this, I think that this short story could also represent the struggles of escaping such a terrible life.

A Raisin in the Sun (Blog 5)
By: Lorraine Hansberry

The characters of this play can be divided into three specific categories: those who make things happen, those who watch what happens, and those who are left wondering what happened.  I believe that Walter Younger serves as a perfect example of a character that makes things happen.  As the protagonist of the play, all of Walter's actions and words affect his family.  When Walter loses all of the money to Willy, his sullen mood affects the whole family.  He leaves everyone in a state of hopelessness, as they all believe they will never truly find happiness in their lives.  Mama is an ideal example of one who watches what happens.  Mama serves as an important character by offering good advice to her family.  Aside from this, she does not really ever take major actions in situations.  She buys a house, but she does nothing to convince her son that it is the best family decision when he becomes angry over the issue.  She is almost afraid to stand up to her children and defend herself.  A character that is always left wondering what happened is Travis.  Although he is only 10, Travis' parents make no effort to keep him informed about family matters.  Whenever a serious conversation is brought up, they send their son outside.  "'You go outside and play now, baby'" (471).  Ruth says this to Travis when Mama receives the $10,000 check.  This statement goes to show that Ruth and Walter do not try to inform their son about what is going on in the family.  Travis always seems confused when he hears his parents and relatives talking, and this proves that he is consistently kept out of the loop.  Overall, Hansberry successfully divides up her characters into categories based on how involved each character is with the progression of actions.

A Raisin in the Sun (Blog 4)
By: Lorraine Hansberry

I think that Walter Younger is struggling with a major internal conflict in this play.  His family is struggling and does not have much money.  Walter dreams of a life full of money to get everything he has ever wanted out of life.  Unfortunately, he is so hung up on the idea of money, that he experiences many frustrations.  He takes these frustrations out on his family.  He is constantly annoyed and picks fights with people frequently.  "'Ain't you had it yet?  Don't you see no stars gleaming that you can't reach out and grab?  You happy? ...Man I'm a volcano'" (484).  Walter says this to Ruth in the midst of an argument.  This serves as a perfect example of how frustrated Walter is with his life and its lack of happiness.  I think that his internal conflict is centered around the idea of achieving a better life for his family.  I think that Walter feels pressure to provide his family with a better life since his father is no longer around.  Walter feels obligated to make his family happier, and this ultimately makes him unhappy.  He is not proud of his job as a chauffeur, and he dreams of opening a liquor store.  He realizes that he needs $10,000 to do this, but he cannot get this quantity of money all on his own.  I think that Walter also internally struggles with the fact that he cannot achieve this dream for himself without the help of others.  In the end, though, the Younger's head towards a better, more promising future.  This signals that Walter has overcome his internal conflict.

A Raisin in the Sun (Blog 3)
By: Lorraine Hansberry

One of the biggest themes presented in this play is that of racial discrimination.  Right from the beginning, readers are informed that the Younger family is African American.  However, very little information is provided about their discrimination until Act II, Scene 3.  In this scene, Mr. Lindner is introduced.  He is a member of the Clybourne Park Improvement Association.  Clybourne Park is an all-white neighborhood, and the people assumed that an African American family would disturb the peace.  He offers the family money to not move into their new house.  This part shocked me because I do not understand how people can be so racist.  Proud of his culture, Walter stands up to Mr. Lindner and refuses the offer.  "'And we have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for us brick by brick.  We don't want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbors.  And that's all we got to say about that.  We don't want your money'" (532).  The Younger's show their pride and strength and still move into their new house.  This play does an exceptional job of showing that people must stand up to those that discriminate them.  Nothing will get better if one backs down and allows discriminators to win.

A Raisin in the Sun (Blog 2)
By: Lorraine Hansberry

This play is filled with symbolism.  The symbol that I found to be most important is Mama's plant.  I think that the plant stood for Mama's dream for a house and better life for her family.  At the beginning of the story, the family is really struggling.  "'Lord, if this little old plant don't get more sun than it's been getting it ain't never going to see spring again'" (448).  I think that this meant that the plant was dying, just as Mama's dream was dying at this point in the play.  Their apartment received little light, which was killing the plant.  Similarly, the Younger's were in a dark place.  They were extremely poor and were not all getting along.  Mama mentions her plant at other points in the story.  At the end, they are moving to go to their new house.  Mama is the last person to exit the apartment.  She looks around and picks up the plant as she is leaving.  I think that this showed that Mama was taking one last look at her family's hardships.  The new house was said to have an area in the backyard where Mama could garden; her family even got her gardening tools as a gift before moving.  This showed that the plant would have an environment with enough sun.  Because of this, the plant would thrive and live longer.  This symbolized how the lives of the Younger's were going to improve.  They were heading towards a new beginning and new happiness.

A Raisin in the Sun (Blog 1)
By: Lorraine Hansberry

Throughout the entirety of this play, I noticed a significant change in Walter Lee Younger, the protagonist.  This change actually surprised me because it did not happen until suddenly at the end.  Every time that Hansberry hinted at a change in Walter's character, he did something to set me back to my initial opinion about him.  When I first began reading this play, I saw Walter as a disrespectful and rude man.  He was outright rude to Ruth, his wife.  At the beginning of Act II, Scene 1, Walter returns home one evening very drunk.  He and Ruth are fighting, which seems to be happening a lot lately in their marriage.  Ruth offers her husband hot milk or coffee to drink, and Walter explodes.  Events like this caused me to lose more and more respect for Walter.  However, I gained back respect for Walter in Act II, Scene 2.  Walter exhibits a sense of confidence and happiness when Mama gives him $6500 ($3000 for Beneatha's education and $3500 to invest in his liquor store).  After becoming extremely excited, Walter talks to his 10-year-old son Travis.  He motivates his son about his future.  "'Just tell me where you want to go to school and you'll go.  Just tell me, what it is you want to be-and you'll be it....Whatever you want to be-Yessir!  You just name it son...and I hand you the world'" (502).  I thought this scene was going to be Walter's turning point.  However, I was disappointed in Act II, Scene 3 when he kept all of the money to himself.  I thought this was especially selfish of him.  In the end, though, Walter proves himself to be a respectable man.  When Mr. Lindner is invited over again, Walter stands up to him.  He defends his family and says they will be moving into their house in Clybourne Park.  I was happy when Walter did this; it signified a new man in Walter Younger.  In addition, I think it symbolized the new and happier life the Younger's were going to now experience.

Interpreter of Maladies
By: Jhumpa Lahiri

In this short story, I noticed how often Lahiri used details that appealed to the senses.  There was effective imagery in every paragraph.  For example, on page 147 Lahiri describes "it was a dry, bright Saturday, the mid-July heat tempered by a steady ocean breeze, ideal weather for sightseeing" (Lahiri).  This quote appeals to the sense of feeling.  Readers are able to imagine feeling the heat of the sun and the smooth ocean breeze. On page 148 is another example of imagining feeling.  "...Mr. Das squeezed hands like an American so that Mr. Kapasi felt it in his elbow" (Lahiri).  I was able to imagine Mr. Das' firm and strong handshake with this quote.  We are also able to picture things based on the imagery presented, such as that on page 148.  "The family looked Indian but dressed as foreigners did, the children in stiff, brightly colored clothing and caps with translucent visors" (Lahiri).  I was able to easily visualize Tina, Ronny, and Bobby.  Their outfits were brightly colored and showy.  Another sense that is appealed to in this story is taste, which is exemplified on page 153.  "As soon as Mr. Kapasi put the gum in his mouth a thick sweet liquid burst onto his tongue" (Lahiri).  This description makes readers imagine the taste of a fresh, minty piece of gum.  Overall, Jhumpa Lahiri has no trouble engaging his readers into his short story.  He uses imagery so much that readers can imagine being thrust into the scenes that he describes.

Mr. Z
By: M. Carl Holman

I found this poem to be kind of confusing at first.  However, after reading it a second time, I found that is pretty simple to understand.  After figuring out Mr. Z's race, I really was able to understand the point of the poem.  Line 1 opens the poem by saying "taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error" (Holman). From this quote, I discovered that Mr. Z is biracial.  His mother is African American, and I am assuming that this poem was written during times of discrimination if her skin was a "sign of error."  Mr. Z's father, on the other hand, is Caucasian.   I learned this when Holman mentions "firmly seized whatever ground was Anglo-Saxonized" (Holman).  Mr. Z apparently rejected his culture.  He rejected African American foods like cornbread, yams, and collards.  Mr. Z marries a former Jewish woman who now rejects the culture she was raised in, too.  The couple tries to avoid situations that associate them with their cultures.  Overall, I think that M. Carl Holman wrote this poem to express the difficulty one lives with when he/she wants to separate from the culture he/she was born into.  However, he wants to give hope to those that do reject their cultures.  Mr. Z was a very successful man.  I think that this detail helps bring a more positive attitude to the poem.

Hazel Tells Laverne
By: Katharyn Howd Machan

I honestly enjoyed this poem.  Katharyn Howd Machan puts her own twist onto the classic fairytale of The Frog Prince.  In the poem, the narrator describes her encounter with a talking frog.  She was innocently cleaning one evening; suddenly, a frog appeared in the toilet.  When the frog tells her that kissing him will turn her into a princess, the narrator thinks the idea is completely absurd and ridiculous.  Twice in the poem she says "me a princess," as if she still cannot wrap her mind around the idea.  As the narrator continues to recount the story, I came to the conclusion that she was uneducated.  She uses informal words such as "musta," "flushm," and "hitsm."  In addition, this poem contains no capitalization or punctuation.  I think that Katharyn Howd Machan did this to make the poem more casual and humorous.  Also, it makes it seem more realistic; readers can imagine the story being told personally to them.  I liked the surprising twist to this poem at the end.  Instead of the ending that is commonly known, the narrator explains that she "hitsm with my mop an has ta flush the toilet down three times" (Machan).  By this ending (and the situation overall), it is not hard to see that Machan had the intention to entertain her audience with a funny poem.  In my opinion, the lack of formal grammar achieved Machan's goal.

Everyday Use
By: Alice Walker

After reading this short story, I came to the conclusion that Maggie, Dee, and their mother are African American women.  I figured this out on page 175, when the mother explains that her school was closed down as a child.  "Don't ask me why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now" (Walker).  An important literary device that I noticed Walker frequently uses is indirect characterization.  She describes things in great, specific detail.  Personally, Walker's descriptions of appearances and actions of the characters helped me better comprehend the situations taking place in the story.  The mother is a large woman. She is able to survive in tough conditions, which helps her work as hard as she does.  Dee, the oldest daughter, is described to have "nicer hair and a fuller figure" (Walker).  She seems to be a lot more independent and a bit high-maintenance.  Her sister Maggie is more shy and reserved.  Part of this is because of a fire that burned down their old house, which heavily affected the younger daughter.  Just by Walker's descriptions, readers are able to picture what the characters look like.  Knowing what they look like assists us in understanding their actions.  Dee seems like she is very concerned with preserving her heritage in the constantly changing world.  She has a strong desire for quilts that her grandmother made years ago.  She gets a little bit possessive and selfish over them, though.  This is where I came up with my thought that Dee is somewhat high-maintenance.  By the end of the story, it seems as though the mother has suddenly started acting differently.  When she denies Dee the two quilts, everyone in the scene acts shocked.  I assume that the mother is normally a push-over and wants to always please her daughters.  In addition to the mother's sudden change of character, Maggie has a slight change of attitude.  She sincerely smiles to her sister when she leaves, and Maggie is normally very awkward and standoff-ish.  She wouldn't even get into a picture with her mother at the beginning of the story.  By describing the looks and actions of the characters, Alice Walkers helps readers understand the different personalities of the women.

Dream Deferred
By: Langston Hughes

In this poem, Langston Hughes questions what happens when we put off a dream.  Does it eventually just go away?  Or is it possible for it to occur later?  Hughes gets his purpose across with the use of literary techniques, such as rhetorical questions, similes, and rhymes.  All of these are weaved throughout the poem, and they make his short poem carry a much deeper meaning.  The rhetorical questions cause readers to consider what does happen to dreams that are put off.  The similes are very descriptive and make readers really understand the possibilities.  Hughes uses the similes "like a raisin in the sun," "like a sore," "like rotten meat," "like a syrupy sweet," and "like a heavy load."  All of these similes are unique and cause readers to think more deeply about Hughes questions.  In addition to these techniques, Hughes uses rhymes.  Lines 3 and 5 complement each other by rhyming the words "sun" and "run."  Lines 6 and 8 do this with "meat" and "sweet."  Also, lines 10 and 11 are a couplet, ending with "load" and "explode."  I think that Hughes did this to emphasize his rhetorical questions.  By rhyming lines, he keeps readers engaged and interested in his poetry.

Perrine Poetry Blog Entry

As I first read page 1 of Perrine's article regarding his belief on interpreting poetry, I completely disagreed with him.  I did not agree that only the author's interpretation of his or her poetry was the only correct one.  Surprisingly, though, I ended up agreeing with Perrine.  I agree that we only are truly correct when we interpret the same as the author. We will never fully understand a poem if we try to alter the details of it to match our thoughts.  When Perrine said that we "must be able to account satisfactorily for any detail," I found this to be really surprising.  I had never thought of this when I have interpreted poems.  However, I honestly agree with him on this.  Adding in our twist into a poem alters the author's purpose, and we have no right to change what the author was writing about.  After reading this article, I have noticed that I do not sufficiently interpret poems.  I often would read it and guess what it meant, adding in my own details that never were actually mentioned in the poem.  (I did exactly what Perrine described in the example of wrongly understanding Emily Dickinson's poem about a sunset).  Hopefully after reading this, I am able to more closely interpret poems.  I think that it will cause me to take longer in searching for an understanding of them, but I really think that it will help me be more accurate in doing so.

One thing that struck me in this article was how off I was in my interpretation of Herman Melville's poem titled "The Night-March."  I assumed that it was about an army, similar to Walt Whitman's poem that was paired with it.  I obviously did not pay close enough attention to Melville's details.  As Perrine explained, Melville included multiple words to hint at the fact that he was writing about stars.  However, I showed a lack of attention to this, and I was very off in my understanding of the poem.  When we discussed these poems in groups last week, not one person in my group correctly interpreted this poem.  I think that this further proves that students do not recognize the best way to interpret poems.  Because two poems that we assumed to both be about armies were grouped together, we did not read deep enough into Melville's poem.  Readers must pay closer attention to details of poems; most authors do not make their poems easy to understand.  They require deep thought and imagination.  Authors put much effort into writing quality poetry; we should put equal effort into understanding their works.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 15)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

This book, along with The House of Mirth, shows that one can never truly achieve happiness by living the "American Dream."  It seems like this dream leads to the downfall of characters like Jay Gatsby and Lily Bart.  "I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all-Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life" (Fitzgerald, 176).  All five of these characters in The Great Gatsby were trying to live the "American Dream."  However, they never really fit into the lifestyle of the West, and this eventually destroyed all of them.  Gatsby was killed.  Daisy will probably never find happiness, especially now that she is staying with Tom.  Jordan and Nick do not end up together.  All of their lives are left empty and unhappy.  Nick eventually decides to avoid West Egg on Saturday nights, as it is too hard to remember the parties at Gatsby's.  "I spent my Saturday nights in New York, because those gleaming, dazzling parties of his were with me so vividly that I could still hear the music and the laughter, faint and incessant, from his garden, and the cars going up and down his drive" (Fitzgerald, 179).  I think that this quote proves that Gatsby had a greater impact on Nick's life than he could have ever imagined.

The American Dream that was so appealing
to the characters of this novel led to their
corruption and unhappiness.

Overall, I actually thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Unlike Edith Wharton, Fitzgerald was able to consistently keep me engaged in this book.  It was simple to understand, and there were not any parts that I found to be completely boring.  I definitely enjoyed this book a lot more than The House of Mirth!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 14)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Nick describes what it was like after Gatsby's death.  Nick tried so hard to contact a lot of people about the incident, and I found it upsetting that only a few people showed up to Gatsby's funeral.  I feel like all of the people just used him to go to his parties because they clearly didn't care enough about him to show up to his funeral.  They all made up excuses to not come.  I think that this shows that, besides a few people, Gatsby was ultimately a very lonely man.  I was shocked when Mr. Gatz, Gatsby's father, arrived; I had no idea that his parents were even alive.  When Mr. Gatz walked around Gatsby's house, I liked to see how proud he was of his son.  "He had reached an age where death no longer has the quality of ghastly surprise, and when he looked around him now for the first time and saw the height and splendor of the hall and the great rooms opening out from it into other rooms, his grief began to be mixed with an awed pride" (Fitzgerald, 168).  It seems like Gatsby's father had never been to his son's house, so he was not aware of how successful his son had become.  I expected Mr. Wolfsheim to come to the funeral, but he seemed to be too caught up in his work to care.  He said that he was extremely upset about the news, but I think it is a shame that he didn't show up to the funeral of his closest friend.  Another person that I expected to show up to the funeral was Daisy.  Nick never got a hold of her, yet I still think it's sad that she wasn't there because Gatsby really was in love with her.  When Owl-eyes showed up to the funeral, I honestly didn't even remember who he was at first.  I think this further proves that none of Gatsby's "friends" were sincere, but at least Owl-eyes made an effort.  I think that he really just had a desire to become close to Gatsby, which is why he probably showed up to the funeral.  Ultimately, I feel sorry for the lonely life that Gatsby lived.  I didn't realize how alone he must have been until Nick explained his funeral situation.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 13)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

After a sleepless night, Nick gets up very early to talk to Gatsby.  Nick tells Gatsby that his car will be easily traced, and he suggests that Gatsby leave West Egg immediately.  Gatsby ends up telling Nick of he and Daisy's past in Louisville.  At the time, Gatsby was not wealthy; this was the reason that Daisy did not marry him.  "However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past, and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders" (Fitzgerald, 149).  After talking for awhile, Nick realizes that he must leave in order to catch his train.  "'They're a rotten crowd,' I shouted across the lawn.  'You're worth the whole damn bunch put together'" (Fitzgerald, 154).  I thought this was nice of Nick because, as he mentions, he never complimented Gatsby.  Meanwhile, back in the city, Wilson is struggling immensely with his wife's death from the previous night.  Honestly, he kind of goes crazy.  He starts saying that he knows Myrtle's lover is the one that killed her.  He begins a search to find Tom Buchanan, who he thinks will help him identify the car.  (Little does he know that Tom was Myrtle's lover.)  Tom tells Wilson that Gatsby was the driver.  Enraged, Wilson heads to Gatsby's West Egg mansion.  When he arrives at Gatsby's, he shoots Gatsby in the pool.  He then kills himself.  Both are dead by the time Nick arrives at Gatsby's house.  I could not believe this!  I didn't expect either of these men to die, especially not Gatsby!  This ending is already depressing, and I wonder how Nick is going to cope with the death of his good friend.  I also am curious to see how Daisy handles Gatsby's death, since she chose Tom over him the night before.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 12)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I honestly could not put this book down while I read chapter 7!  It was so eventful, and I didn't expect any of this to happen.  On what is said to be the hottest day of the summer, Nick, Gatsby, and Jordan join the Buchanan couple at their house for lunch.  There is much tension building up during this lunch.  Daisy and Gatsby do a terrible job of hiding their love for each other.  As a result, Tom sees Daisy tell Gatsby that she loves him.  "She had told him that she loved him, and Tom Buchanan saw.  He was astounded.  His mouth opened a little, and he looked at Gatsby, and then back at Daisy as if he had just recognized her as some one he knew a long time ago" (Fitzgerald, 119).  Tom is infuriated, and he tells everyone that they are going into town.  Once in town, they decide to go up to a suite in the Plaza, where matters only get worse.  Gatsby has the nerve to confront Tom about his wife.  (Bad idea, old sport.)  As if he isn't already crazy enough, Tom explodes and goes off on Gatsby.  He says that Daisy does love him, and no one can understand their relationship.  I was so shocked when Daisy defended Tom!  News flash, Daisy: your husband is crazy, and everyone hates him.  Just earlier in the afternoon, she was telling Gatsby how much she loved him.  Make up your mind, Daisy!

After leaving the hotel, Nick, Tom, and Jordan notice that someone has been struck and killed by a car.  A man named Michaelis informs them that Myrtle Wilson is the victim.  It was a hit and run accident, so the scene is especially hectic.  Nick quickly connects the dots and discovers that Gatsby and Daisy were the ones that hit her.  After leaving the tragic scene, Nick returns to the Buchanan's house.  Gatsby tells Nick what happened.  Daisy was the one driving, but Gatsby says that he is going to take the blame.  I would say that this chapter offered a lot to take in!  I think that Gatsby will come forth and confess to the crime for Daisy.  This will probably land him in jail.  I also am predicting that Daisy and Tom are going to be fine again.  This is because Daisy was acting completely normal while talking and eating with him in her room after the accident.  I am not a big fan of Daisy Buchanan anymore!

P.S.  I love Nick Carraway's sense of humor!  "Angry as I was, as we all were, I was tempted to laugh whenever he opened his mouth.  The transition from libertine to prig was so complete" (Fitzgerald, 130).  This was Nick's description of witnessing Tom's crazy outbreak.  I thought this quote was really clever and funny!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 11)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

In chapter 6, Nick goes to Gatsby's house one evening after not seeing him for weeks.  When he gets there, he sees Tom Buchanan and Mr. and Mrs. Sloane.  Gatsby tells Tom that he knows his wife, which creates an awkward situation.  Tom seems concerned after learning about this.  "'I wonder where in the devil he met Daisy.  By God, I may be old-fashioned in my ideas, but women run around too much these days to suit me.  They meet all kinds of crazy fish'" (Fitzgerald, 103).  The following Saturday, Gatsby holds a party at his house.  Unfortunately, Daisy brings Tom with her.  Tom apparently did not trust Daisy to come to the party on her own.  "Perhaps his presence gave the evening its peculiar quality of oppressiveness-it stands out in my memory from Gatsby's other parties that summer" (Fitzgerald, 104).  Tom's presence at the party made it seem different from Gatsby's other parties, according to Nick.  Nick had a premonition that something bad could happen because of this.  I feel like Daisy acted a little bit different around Gatsby at this party.  She just seems like she is afraid of Tom (and I can't blame her).  However, she does get a short amount of time with just Gatsby.  "Then they sauntered over to my house and sat on the steps for half an hour, while at her request I remained watchfully in the garden" (Fitzgerald, 105).  Daisy wanted to spend time with Gatsby alone; however, she feared her husband's reaction.  She had Nick keep an eye out to make sure Tom didn't see them.  Nick realizes that Daisy has not enjoyed herself at all at this party, besides the 30 minutes she had with Gatsby.  Later on in the evening, Nick chats with Gatsby after the Buchanan couple has left.  Gatsby is very upset to notice that Daisy didn't seem to enjoy herself.  "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say 'I never loved you'" (Fitzgerald, 109).  I hope that Daisy does build up the courage to end her marriage with Tom; however, she is so afraid of him that it is hard to predict whether or not she will.  Also, Tom just annoys me and I cannot stand him at all.  Daisy was right...she was crazy to marry Tom Buchanan.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 10)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

What is it about Mr. Jay Gatsby that
motivates people to make up so many
rumors about him?

Jay Gatsby seems to have a ton of rumors made up about him.  Early on in the novel, Nick was informed that Gatsby was rumored to be a murderer.  Another rumor about him was that he was a foreigner.  When chapter 6 opens, a newspaper reporter shows up at Gatsby's door to interview him.  Gatsby, caught off guard, has no clue why this man is at his home.  In my opinion, the most recent rumor about Gatsby sounds completely ridiculous.  "Contemporary legends such as the "underground pipe-line to Canada" attached themselves to him, and there was one persistent story that he didn't live in a house at all, but in a boat that looked like a house and was moved secretly up and down the Long Island shore" (Fitzgerald, 97).  I don't really understand what makes Gatsby so susceptible to rumors.  Is it because he doesn't try to defend himself when he learns of them?  Is it because he is shy and doesn't bother to bring attention to himself?  I don't really understand it, but I am curious to see if any of the rumors mentioned so far end up being true.  I also am wondering if Gatsby will build up enough courage to defend himself against all of these rumors.  Unlike many other wealthy people, I feel like Mr. Gatsby tries to remain more quiet.  Because he keeps to himself more than others, I think that people prefer to make up rumors about him since he probably won't defend himself.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 9)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

In the second half of chapter 5, Gatsby takes Daisy and Nick to his estate to give Daisy a tour.  I don't think that he necessarily was showing off for her.  Daisy is extremely impressed by Gatsby's belongings.  I thought it was sweet how glad Gatsby was to see Daisy again.  "He hadn't once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house according to the measure of response it drew from her well-loved eyes.  Sometimes, too, he stared around at his possessions in a dazed way, as though in her actual and astounding presence none of it was any longer real" (Fitzgerald, 91).  I liked this part because Gatsby was so intrigued by Daisy's reactions to his belongings that he even started to admire all of his possessions.  Seeing Daisy interested in all of his belongings must have given Gatsby great satisfaction.  Gatsby eventually brings his friends to his bedroom, where he shows them all of his beautiful clothes.  "Suddenly, with a strained sound, Daisy bent her head into the shirts and began to cry stormily" (Fitzgerald, 92).  She tells Gatsby that she has never seen shirts so beautiful.  I believe that Daisy was overwhelmed with emotions already.  She was experiencing great joy to see Gatsby again, and she was now trying to take in all that he was showing her in his mansion.  Later, Gatsby takes them downstairs to have Mr. Klipspringer play them a song on the piano.  Soon, Gatsby realizes that his presence is no longer recognized; he decides to head back over to his house for the night.  Overall, Gatsby and Daisy clearly had a successful reunion.

The green light on Daisy Buchanan's dock represented
the distance that once separated them.  However, Gatsby cannot
see it through the rain the night they are together again.  This
is because there is no longer any distance between them.

One element of this chapter that I really liked was when Nick explained the symbolism of the green light at the end of the Buchanan's dock.  I honestly probably would have never even thought of this if Nick hadn't explained it to the readers.  "Possibly it had occurred to him that the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever.  Compared to the great distance that had separated him from Daisy it had seemed very near to her, almost touching her" (Fitzgerald, 93).  Before he reunited with Daisy, Gatsby could always see the green light on the dock.  It represented the distance between them.  The night that they are together, it is raining heavily when Gatsby looks out towards the dock.  Because of the rain, he is unable to see the green light.  This is symbolic of how no distance separates the two anymore.  Daisy is with Gatsby now.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 8)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I think that the rain in this chapter symbolized the
conflict that Gatsby faced in reuniting with
Daisy.  He was unsure of how she would
react; in addition, he didn't know if their
relationship could be rekindled after 5 years.

I expected Jay Gatsby to act cocky to try to impress Daisy when they were reunited over tea at Nick's house in chapter 5.  However, I was shocked to see that he acted completely different from this.  (I have only read half of this chapter so far, though!)  He was so nervous and practically had a breakdown before Daisy's arrival.  Two days before the event, Gatsby offers to have someone cut Nick's grass.  The day that Daisy is to come over, Gatsby sends a gardener with flowers and a man to mow the lawn.  He seems so serious about this event, which is the reason I did not expect him to get so nervous.  When Nick brings Daisy into the house, Gatsby is nowhere to be seen.  He emerges and looks almost ill.  "Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets, was standing in a puddle of water glaring tragically into my eyes" (Fitzgerald, 86).  I think that Gatsby was afraid that he and Daisy could never be the same.  Because of this, he turns the whole situation into an awkward mess.  Nick leaves the room for a brief period of time to leave Gatsby and Daisy alone.  "While the rain continued it had seemed like the murmur of their voices, rising and swelling a little now and then with gusts of emotions" (Fitzgerald, 88-89).  Once he re-enters the room, Nick is relieved to see the two reconnecting and happy to see each other.  It had been raining the whole day, but it stopped when the awkwardness between Gatsby and Daisy ended.  I think that the rain symbolized the conflict that Gatsby faced.  He didn't know how Daisy would react to seeing him after 5 years.  Furthermore, he was terribly worried that their relationship could never be the same.  When the rain stopped, I think that it symbolized the peace of mind Gatsby was now experiencing.  He and Daisy were talking and were emotional to finally see each other again.  In the end, the problems cleared (like the sky cleared of rain).  I believe that Gatsby and Daisy's relationship is going to progress from this point forward.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 7)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

I was shocked to learn about Gatsby and Daisy's past in chapter 4!  The "secret" that Gatsby built up was not anything as serious as I thought expected it to be.  When Nick makes Gatsby go with him to greet Tom Buchanan at the restaurant, I was confused as to why Gatsby got so embarrassed that he walked away.  Nick seems just as surprised as I was when Jordan Baker tells him the whole story of Gatsby and Daisy.  Jordan noticed the way that Gatsby looked at Daisy the first day she saw him.  "'The officer looked at Daisy while she was speaking, in a way that every young girl wants to be looked at some time, and because it seemed romantic to me I have remembered the incident ever since.  His name was Jay Gatsby, and I didn't lay eyes on him again for over four years-even after I'd met him on Long Island I didn't realize it was the same man'" (Fitzgerald, 75).  When Jordan proceeds to explain Daisy's meltdown before her wedding to Tom, I instantly figured that she must have realized she was really in love with Gatsby (although she hadn't seen him in years).  Jordan also mentions Daisy's reaction to Nick's speaking of Gatsby when he visited the Buchanan house in East Egg just six weeks earlier.  "'...-I was half asleep-she said in the strangest voice that it must be the man she used to know.  It wasn't until then that I connected this Gatsby to the officer in her white car'" (Fitzgerald, 77).  I found it interesting that Gatsby never gave up on reconnecting with Daisy; he constantly hoped that she would end up arriving at one of his parties.  He even bought his house in West Egg to be closer to her.  When he asked his guests if they knew her, he was excited to find that Jordan did.  This is the long conversation that the two must have shared in solitude at his party.  Daisy seems extremely lonely in her marriage, and I do not think she is happy at all.  (Not to mention, Daisy's husband is a complete jerk!)  Gatsby also seems like he isn't completely satisfied with his life.  I really would like to see the two of them find happiness together!  I have regained respect for Jay Gatsby at this point in the book.  In addition, I hope his reunion with Daisy at Nick's house goes well.

Side Note:  I was really surprised and excited at the sudden change in Jordan and Nick's relationship!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 6)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

In my last blog post, I showed favor towards Jay Gatsby; however, I am not so sure how I feel about him after continuing my reading into the first half of chapter 4.  In chapter 3, I thought the rumors of Gatsby being a murderer were completely ridiculous.  I still do not see him as one, but the whole secret with Jordan Baker is getting me kind of confused.  When he and Jordan were away from his party for over an hour, I was a little bit lost on what had just happened because they were acting very suspicious.  Now I am starting to think that they were just talking about Gatsby's "secret" that he needs Nick to be aware of.  I think it's a bit cowardly that he is making Jordan tell Nick.  Shouldn't he own up to this secret and tell Nick himself?  "'You see, I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me'" (Fitzgerald, 67).  Stop building up the suspense, Gatsby!  I just want to know what the secret is!  Even Nick is getting annoyed with Gatsby over this matter.  He even starts to regret getting to know Gatsby.  "I was sure the request would be something utterly fantastic, and for a moment I was sorry I'd ever set foot upon his overpopulated lawn" (Fitzgerald, 67-68).  Nick is already to the point of not wanting to associate with Gatsby due to the annoyance this issue is causing him.  Gatsby (NOT Jordan) needs to tell Nick the truth because he is making himself sound very suspicious!  I am questioning what Gatsby is really like at this point in the novel.

P.S.- At first I thought he was just trying to be friendly by calling Nick "old sport," but Gatsby says it so often that I am starting to wonder why he attaches this phrase onto the end of EVERYTHING he says to Nick.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 5)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

As random as this is, I pictured this library from Disney's
Beauty and the Beast when Nick described
Gatsby's library in this chapter.

Well, it's about time that we are introduced to Mr. Jay Gatsby!  Besides characters mentioning him briefly prior to chapter 3, it was difficult to know much of anything about Gatsby.  However, now that I have learned more about him and actually know his character, I really like Gatsby!  He seems to have more money than he knows what to do with, and he throws some very extravagant parties.  Aside from this, he seems like a genuinely nice person.  For example, at Gatsby's last party, a young girl named Lucille had a small incident that involved the dress she wore.  "'When I was here last I tore my gown on a chair, and he asked me my name and address-inside a week I got a package from Croirier's with a new evening gown in it'" (Fitzgerald, 43).  I thought that this was so sweet of Gatsby because at least he is willing to use some of his money for others.  I also liked that Gatsby was so interested in getting to know Nick.  I really like Nick Carraway, and he seems like he could get along with Gatsby well.  One thing that I thought was strange, though, was that most of Gatsby's guests either don't know him or just don't see him the whole time they are at his house.  I think that Gatsby at least makes an effort to try to associate with the people, but he kind of comes off as a shy and standoff-ish man.  For example, when the band was playing Jazz History of the World, he was just standing on his porch watching everyone.  "The nature of Mr. Tostoff's composition eluded me, because just as it began my eyes fell on Gatsby, standing alone on the marble steps and looking from one group to another with approving eyes" (Fitzgerald, 50).  I think that maybe Gatsby just stood back to make sure that his guests were all enjoying themselves, but I am not really positive.  Overall, I appreciate Gatsby's character as he comes off as a kind and genuine man.  Hopefully he continues to act this way throughout the rest of the novel!

The Great Gatsby (Blog 4)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

This picture depicts Jay Gatsby's house in the
film adaptation of The Great Gatsby.

Although I am not very far into this novel yet, I have already frequently taken note of Fitzgerald's excessive use of imagery.  He fabricates some really elaborate pictures for his readers.  When I first began chapter 3, I was really impressed with how much I was able to envision the extravagant parties at Gatsby's that Nick Carraway described.  Early on in the novel, the description of Gatsby's West Egg mansion helped paint a vivid picture in my mind; however, now I am able to envision more little details about his house.  Also, I am able to try to picture what his parties and guests looked like.  "On week-ends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains.  And on Mondays eight servants, including an extra gardener, toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before" (Fitzgerald, 39).  This thorough description proves that Gatsby goes all out for his parties, and he certainly invites a large number of people (although, Nick says that most people show up without an invite).  It also sounds like a great deal of drinking occurs at Gatsby's parties.  "The bar is in full swing, and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside, until the air is alive with chatter and laughter, and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot, and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other's names" (Fitzgerald, 40).  Apparently so many people show up at Gatsby's that it is impossible to remember everyone's names.  Nick does end up mentioning that he was actually invited to one of Gatsby's parties.  "I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby's house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited" (Fitzgerald, 41).  I am only a couple pages into this chapter, but I find it interesting that Gatsby invited Nick, considering they have never formally met.  When Nick described how he got invited, I was pretty surprised because it seemed so random.  However, I feel like Nick is going to become good friends with Mr. Jay Gatsby, even though he criticized Gatsby's showy way of life at the very beginning of the novel.

The Great Gatsby (Blog 3)

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tom Buchanan just gave me better reasoning to hate him!  When I read chapter 1, I sensed that Daisy Buchanan feared her husband, and I can't blame her!  In chapter 2, Tom takes Nick into town, where he introduces him to his lover Myrtle Wilson.  I haven't decided how I feel about Myrtle yet; however, I feel awful for her after what Tom did to her at the end of chapter 2.  Tom, Nick, Myrtle, Catherine (Myrtle's sister), and the McKee's are having a "party" and drinking heavily in the apartment.  Based on how much they were drinking, I knew something bad was going to happen, and my assumption was correct.  Tom and Myrtle were arguing about whether or not Myrtle should be allowed to mention Daisy's name.  "'Daisy!  Daisy!  Daisy!' shouted Mrs. Wilson.  'I'll say it whenever I want to!  Daisy!  Dai-' Making a short deft movement, Tom Buchanan broke her nose with his open hand" (Fitzgerald, 37).  Tom Buchanan is CRAZY!!!  I cannot believe that he would even think to hit a woman, and I do not think that saying he was extremely drunk justifies his action.  I hope that after this Myrtle realizes that Tom isn't as good to her as she initially thought.  She explained to Nick and Catherine that she was crazy when she decided to marry her husband, but I think it would be even crazier for her to stay with Tom after he broke her nose.  I am guessing that Tom is going to continue to give me reasons to dislike him.  Also, I am thinking that this event was not Tom's first time hurting a woman.  To put it simply, Tom Buchanan is a jerk.