Humanities Lit. Class

Invisible Man

2005-04-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

Just as a quick overview, I did not really like this book. It started out with promise, but by chapter 3 it had lost it all. The rest of the book for me just took way too long. I definitely would say that it is a typical political book: it says 250 words when 5 will do. It was better, in my opinion, than most of the things we have covered in this class, but still a little on the dry side.

Though, despite the majority of time reading it was boring, there were a few times in the book I did get excited and fired up. I got fired up when the narrator didn't stand up for himself when he was being accused by another Brother for his beliefs. Later, the group of Brothers gives him a hard time after the death of Clifton. Those two points got me thinking just how much the Brotherhood was using the main character. There was a line, "you weren't hired to think..." That really got me mad. I thought the narrator should have stood up for himself there and broke free from the Brotherhood.

I think that something like this could and most likely does happen today. There are societies in this world that have similar groups found in them. Maybe not so in the United States. By now most of the problems that relate to race have been settled. There are still some racists found in the country, but the vast majority of citizens in the US aren't. Then again, I am from a small town in the lower part of Western Pa. I think there are still some problems to be delt with. That is why I still believe that this book could be rewritten in todays society. There would have to be some changes, mostly shift away from the notion that the Brotherhood is a Communist-like run organization. That wouldn't really work in todays society. But the general ideas of the book could still be found in America today.

The House of the Spirits 8-11

2005-03-29T16:15:00.001-08:00

While reading chapters 8 through 11 of The House of the Spirits, I found many influences of ideology. The main concept I focused on is how the Trueba family thinks and acts in terms of the family name and pride.

The ideology found behind the Truebas is that they believe their family status is higher than almost all. They would do anything to protect the family honor. In chapter 8, Blanca returns home shortly during her honeymoon. Esteban is so upset by this he almost hits her. He insists she return before anyone notice because it would bring dishonor to the family name. Later in chapter 9, it seems thats Blanca doesn't want to tell Alba the truth of who her father is, because it would bring shame to the household name: Trueba. In chapter 10, Esteban sends Alba to a private school because of her actions of shaving her head and marching around with the Institute for Union with Nothingness. These are just some examples of the ideology that to the Truebas, family is most important.

Rachel Blau Duplessis Question

2005-03-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

While reading Leaving One Place for Another and “Whirr Shrill Crickets”, I noticed that the author has a very interesting writing style. The poems to me seem like they don't necessarily flow from line to line, word to word (with giant spaces and skipped lines), yet they resemble related thoughts poping up in the mind of the poet. My question therefore is: When writing your poems, do you find interupting or slowing down the flow of your lines and words help bring out the meaning, or does these spaces and such force the reader to go into more thought to get out the meaning? Basically, are you doing those spaces to help bring out the meaning or disguise it?

Antigone

2005-03-03T16:15:00.000-08:00

The Tragedy of Antigone was a very well written play. I enjoy the flow of the story. The way that the characters acted and how the story unfolded was very interesting for me.

I liked how determined Antigone was. She was willing to go against the king of Thebes to bury her brother. She knew the cost of her actions and was willing to face the fate that awaited with those actions. Even more suprising to me was how she acted in the face of Kreon. She didn't show any sign of weakness, but instead showed me signs of Kreon's weaknesses. She seemed to understand the big picture. Even the Elders weren't able to see this until later in the story.

I didn't like how Kreon ruled. But then again, he was a tyrant. I just didn't like that no one would appose him, until Antigone came. The elders, his son, the seer; none of them apposed his word until Antigone came along. In a way, she started a revolt on Kreon. Once she spoke out against him and was sent off to die, more and more people started following in her footsteps. It was as if the people wanted to revolt, but weren't willing to get the ball rolling.

I also didn't like how the book has Antigone die. By hanging herself she was accepting defeat and giving up hope in her words. I believe that if she would have hung on a few hours more, Hamon would have found her and together they would have led a revolt against Kreon. By doing this, they may have had enough time and support by Thebes to save the city from distruction by having the wisdom to surrender the citystate, something Kreon lacked.

Gregorio Cortez

2005-02-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

The stories of Gregorio Cortez were very enjoyable to read. I would have to say that the very first version we read was the most enjoyable for me. It was very detailed and more of a story-format than a song. Being the longest version, it showed you the whole action of his travel, where as the other song versions were very short and only told parts of the trip.

Watching the movie clips also added some insight into this tale. From the story and the songs, I understood it as Gregorio was a very skilled man who would not be tested. He shot the first shariff because he attacked his brother. The movie added a new version of that he was defending himself when the shooting started.

This story had a lot more action than any of the previous we have read, adding to the enjoyment of this reading. He was actually traveling, meeting new characters, and overcoming obstacles. Just the journey itself was more interesting than any previous story we have read. I felt more like I understood this tale because I was able to follow along easier.

In conclusion, reading all those different versions of the text had an affect on my judement of Cortez. In the story version, he seemed like the actual living hero who came to the help of his brother and his people. As each story passed he seemed less heroic and more of just being in the wrong place at the wrong time and able to get himself out of trouble. It's funny how different versions of the same story can tarnish the meaning of the tale.

Blood Wedding

2005-02-13T16:15:00.001-08:00

Finally! Something enjoyable to read! Now that I have said that, I can move on to what I got out of this play.

The Blood Wedding was a tale of two loves: the Bride & the Bridegroom, and the Bride & Leonardo. Once I had picked up on that, it was only a matter of time until one would triumph over the other.

The Bride seemed to be caught in the middle of a struggle. She was ready for marriage to the Bridegroom and the sacrifices that came with it. Yet, at the same time she was not ready to let go of her lasting love for Leonardo. In the end she made the ultimate sacrifice, leaving the Bridegroom during the wedding. At this point I feel she wasn't leaving to go be with Leonardo. I think she was just planning on running away and starting a new life. It just happened that Leonardo was planning she would run, and waited with the horses for her.

I found the mother also very unusual. In the beginning of the play she hated knives and the gruesome results that usually followed men who faught with them. By the end of the play she hands her son the knife and tells him to go do what he has to do(meaning kill Leonardo). I also thought it was weird what she said to obtain a knife for her son: "I'll give him all I have -- my eyes, my tounge even..." Ironically, the only way of obtaining those body parts back during those times were to have them removed by knife.

The Awakening

2005-01-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

The Awakening was not an enjoyable book for me to read.

I thought the book was very dull. Maybe thats what Chopin was going for: describing the life of a married woman during that time period. It seemed as though she wanted to break free from her existance and start a new life. I said during one of the group discussions that it seemed like while growing up Edna had all these ideas and plans of what married life was going to be like. After actually experiencing that life, she found that it was nothing like what she planned and she wanted out.

Her husband wanted total control of her. He wanted to dictate what she did, and how she liked things. But Edna did not want her life to be controled. She came to many realizations and decided that she did not want anyone controling how she thought or lived. I guess this is were the story gets most of its passion. Edna rebelling her life as a wife, or controlled companion.

I didn't like the parts about Robert. In my opinion, if you're going to introduce a romantic view to the book, make it have a better ending than just "good-by." That was just a dry ending to that part of the book. It seemed like Chopin wanted it to be more, but I wasn't able to understand the magnitude of where she was going with it. I think why I feel this way about it because the romantic part of the story was the only thing that kept me reading. Without it, I doubt I would have read past chapter 10.

The Yellow Wallpaper Responce

2005-01-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

This story I found not so entertaining as the previous story. The Yellow Wallpaper seemed to give off depressive and anxious vibes. What I caught as unusual however, was the heavey emphasis on the lady's husband and how he treated her. My view on this story and all the actions and words written in it are a result of the husbands treatment on his wife.

She wrote on one of the first few pages how she didn't think she started out in the relationship so anxious and nervous. It seemed as if when she would have any depressive thoughts or feelings, her husband John would rush in and put his "two sense" in the situation(being a physician and thinking he knew exactly what was wrong and how to treat it). By the time they move into the house for the summer, John has taken away almost anything that his wife can do. It's because of this I find no wonder his wife says she sees things happening in that wallpaper; when there is nothing left to do but sit and stare at the walls in your house, one tends to see things.

I believe she was seeing herself, trapped in that seemingly, prisonish wallpaper. This could be a result of her husband basically putting her under house arrest. She could do no work, have almost no entertainment of friends or family, and constantly hear that everything that happened was a result of her condition. To me, conditions like this would drive the sane, well, insane. She holds on to reality by writing, also something that her husband doesn't allow her to do.

I think this story was a sad call for help. A person driven insane by the conditions under which she lived.

Douglass Narrative

2005-01-20T16:15:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed reading this narrative; not for the sense of pleasure, but for the new knowledge about the horrific thing that is slavery that I got from reading it. I had never before read an autobiography on this subject and was very taken back on the torturous treatment and horrid working conditions these people were put through. I felt a mixture of pitty and embarrassment while reading this: pitty for those who had to suffer and embarrassment that people of my country would subject people to slavery because of their color of skin. I believe this narrative brought out some truth to this country's history that I had never thought of before. I used to just accept the fact that there was slavery one time in the US, but now i am discusted by it. The senseless beatings and killings spoken about in this story are what I find the most disconcerning; how cold-blooded murderers would walk free because it was just a slave who had been killed.

I said earlier how I "enjoyed" reading this story. After reading over my entry, I feel that I need to elaborate more on why I used that word. I basically stated that I enjoyed reading how horribly these people were treated. That is far from what I was trying to say. I was saying that I enjoyed finally hearing from someone who experienced the tragedy that is slavery and had survived and did something with his life. I enjoyed that someone could be so strong willed to overcome such obsticles and become a proud, free person.