Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The Yellow Wallpaper
I enjoyed “The Yellow Wallpaper” because for me it was sort of a mystery as to what was reality and what was fantasy. While I was reading I wasn’t sure just how crazy our narrator was. I had questions about if the house they where living in was really just a house or if she was in a mental institution. Even towards the end I wasn’t sure I thought maybe the woman that she saw “creeping” outside may have been other patients. The lines “ I often wonder if I could see her out of all the windows at once. But, turn as fast as I can, I can only see out of one at a time.” (Gilman, 205-206) really made me think it just other patients in a mental institution. I now know that it was just a house but for me that was a cool part of the story. During our discussion I thought it was interesting to find out when she “became” the woman in the wall, I didn’t think it happened that early. Someone had mentioned when they are just sitting around bored they notice weird patterns on things around them. That’s exactly what I thought was happening with “Jane.” Right know I’m sitting in my living room with wood panel walls and I can clearly see a bird in the pattern of the wood grain but nobody else says that they can see it. It first appeared to me one day when I was staring at the wall thinking about a problem. So if a person in a room all day I can see a person going a little stir crazy or just fixating on an object in that room.
The Chrysanthemums
This story was strange and confusing the first time I read it. It was not until I stopped to think about the story that I understood it for its face value. When I was thinking about it I came to the conclusion that there is more than one theme. I believe there are two themes. First, Elisa had a deep sense of duty and commitment to her husband, even though she was very distant to him. Another theme would be that the grass is not always greener on the other side.
The first time I read it I noticed the theme was that there is a sense of duty. When Elisa takes care of her Chrysanthemums she takes great pride in caring for them. She is so involved in them that it seems her life is revolved around them. She kind of treats them like her children with the intense year round care for them.
The other theme that I came across was that the grass is not always greener on the other side. With Elisa’s intense care for her flowers, her sense of duty, she seems to want to get away. It seems that she wants to live the life of the wonderer, and get away from her boring life. She wants to experience a different life that is very different from her own. When the wonderer explains that his life is very difficult and very straining, Elisa realizes that she cannot leave her husband and her life. That is why she gave the wonderer a Chrysanthemum. She gave it to him to take her place. With these two themes the story is very confusing, but once you realize them it became clearer. John Steinbeck wrote a great short story that was thought provoking and interesting
The first time I read it I noticed the theme was that there is a sense of duty. When Elisa takes care of her Chrysanthemums she takes great pride in caring for them. She is so involved in them that it seems her life is revolved around them. She kind of treats them like her children with the intense year round care for them.
The other theme that I came across was that the grass is not always greener on the other side. With Elisa’s intense care for her flowers, her sense of duty, she seems to want to get away. It seems that she wants to live the life of the wonderer, and get away from her boring life. She wants to experience a different life that is very different from her own. When the wonderer explains that his life is very difficult and very straining, Elisa realizes that she cannot leave her husband and her life. That is why she gave the wonderer a Chrysanthemum. She gave it to him to take her place. With these two themes the story is very confusing, but once you realize them it became clearer. John Steinbeck wrote a great short story that was thought provoking and interesting
The Chrysanthemums
By the middle of this story I was beginning to feel as though Elisa's chrysanthemums were somehow connected with her and her husbands relationship. When the author described how she replaced the past years flowers he wrote "Her face was mature and handsome; even her work with the scissors was over-eager, over-powerful. The chrysanthemum stems seemed too small and easy for her energy" (Steinbeck 632). I interpreted this as Elisa wanting change in her life, like she was ready to move on and start fresh. When her husband commented on the strength of the new flowers, she responded "Yes. They'll be strong this coming year" (633). I think she wanted to mend their relationship or perhaps maybe even actually try to put some effort into it. When the "man" came she was not at all interested in what he was "selling" her. until he pretended to be interested in her chrysanthemums. She was so excited to finally have someone to share them with, I think for her it was almost like she had an emotional affair. She was so impressed with him that she too gave a fake face and paid him for a job that she could do herselfjust to keep him around a little longer. "You might be surprised to have a rival sometime. I can sharpen scissors, too.And I can beat the dents out of little pots. I could show you what a woman might do" (637). (After it was mentioned in class I too changed my mind about the black speck on the road being the flowers, I too think it was the "man") When she started crying I think she not only felt as if she was losing the one person that understood her, even if it was just for a brief amount of time, but also out of guilt. She gave a complete stranger more of herself than she ever did her husband. She may have also realized, beacause of the closeness that she felt with the man, that the distance between her and her husband was her fault. What really made me think that she was going to try and make their relationdship work was when she started inquiring about the fights, this time it was her that was going compromise and meet him in the middle.
The Chrysanthemums
In class today or group talked about the theme of the story. I think that the theme was about relationships.I thought that Elisa was a strong women who didnt know how to let people get close to her. The only thing that made her happy was her chrysanthemums. I think that they were like her kids. She was very protective and took very good care of them."Back at the chrysanthemum bed she pulled out the little crisp shoots, trimmed off the leaves of each one with her scissors and laid it on a small orderly pile."(633)
She seems to have communication problems with her husband. He tries to talk and complement her work."You"ve got a gift with things"(633) For some reason she doesnt show interest in what he is saying.When the man showed up at the farm she was not talkative. He wanted to do some work for her, to earn some money. Until he showed interest in the flowers, she wanted to send him on his way. She was happy that he liked her flowers and wanted to help him out. Somehow he got her to open up. She seemed to change at this point. It was almost like she had finally found someone she could talk to and trust. After he left, it was almost like she wanted to try to make her relationship work with her husband. When heading into town with her husband and she saw the flowers she had given the man on the side of the road, she was pissed. I dont know how she could open up to a perfect stranger but couldnt with her husband. Maybe seeing the flowers on the road opened her eyes to try harder with her husband.
She seems to have communication problems with her husband. He tries to talk and complement her work."You"ve got a gift with things"(633) For some reason she doesnt show interest in what he is saying.When the man showed up at the farm she was not talkative. He wanted to do some work for her, to earn some money. Until he showed interest in the flowers, she wanted to send him on his way. She was happy that he liked her flowers and wanted to help him out. Somehow he got her to open up. She seemed to change at this point. It was almost like she had finally found someone she could talk to and trust. After he left, it was almost like she wanted to try to make her relationship work with her husband. When heading into town with her husband and she saw the flowers she had given the man on the side of the road, she was pissed. I dont know how she could open up to a perfect stranger but couldnt with her husband. Maybe seeing the flowers on the road opened her eyes to try harder with her husband.
The Chrysanthemums
The feeling I had about the woman’s personality in this story is she was hard-headed. She liked to be smug, was boastful and wasn’t quite friendly. I felt like she was constantly trying to prove something to herself by being snippy to her husband and the wagon man. Maybe it wasn’t about her trying to prove anything; maybe it was just her liking to be in control.
I think the reason why she was so angry and upset in the end is because out of everyone in her life, a stranger got under her skin. Someone she didn’t even know got her to be a person of softness and excitement as derived from this quote, “The irritation and resistance melted from Elisa’s face. ‘Oh, those are chrysanthemums, giant whites and yellows…,'” (Steinbeck, 635-51). Once the wagon man saw that she found pride in taking care of the chrysanthemums and how she loved them so, he dug into that weakness by getting her to talk more about them and she did so. When she asked him if he knew what planter’s hands were, “her breast swelled passionately,” (Steinbeck, 636-72) and she seemed almost breathless and vulnerable after talking about the chrysanthemums. It was then when the wagon man pressed on her vulnerability by stating he would have no dinner tonight. She then felt guilty and decided to give him saucepans to work on for fifty cents.
When he left, that was probably when she realized that she wasn’t as strong as she always believed herself to be. This angered her because she then went to bathe, “Then she scrubbed herself … until her skin was scratched and red,” (Steinbeck, 638-93). It seemed like she was trying to wash the shame (or truth?) from her body. She knew that the wagon man manipulated her and seeing the pile of the dirt that was originally from her flower pot that the wagon man dumped on the side of the road confirmed her suspicions. That is probably why she was so snippy to her husband when he complimented her, she felt justified to try to feel “strong” again and this was the only way she knew how to feel strong – by being bossy-like to her husband, and being back in control. But I think in reality she was only fooling herself because she knew the truth: she was weak. Now I wonder how she actually feels about her precious chrysanthemums. Does she hate them now because they represent her definite weakness? Would she be so passionate about them now, knowing how the wagon man manipulated her with the chrysanthemums?
I think the reason why she was so angry and upset in the end is because out of everyone in her life, a stranger got under her skin. Someone she didn’t even know got her to be a person of softness and excitement as derived from this quote, “The irritation and resistance melted from Elisa’s face. ‘Oh, those are chrysanthemums, giant whites and yellows…,'” (Steinbeck, 635-51). Once the wagon man saw that she found pride in taking care of the chrysanthemums and how she loved them so, he dug into that weakness by getting her to talk more about them and she did so. When she asked him if he knew what planter’s hands were, “her breast swelled passionately,” (Steinbeck, 636-72) and she seemed almost breathless and vulnerable after talking about the chrysanthemums. It was then when the wagon man pressed on her vulnerability by stating he would have no dinner tonight. She then felt guilty and decided to give him saucepans to work on for fifty cents.
When he left, that was probably when she realized that she wasn’t as strong as she always believed herself to be. This angered her because she then went to bathe, “Then she scrubbed herself … until her skin was scratched and red,” (Steinbeck, 638-93). It seemed like she was trying to wash the shame (or truth?) from her body. She knew that the wagon man manipulated her and seeing the pile of the dirt that was originally from her flower pot that the wagon man dumped on the side of the road confirmed her suspicions. That is probably why she was so snippy to her husband when he complimented her, she felt justified to try to feel “strong” again and this was the only way she knew how to feel strong – by being bossy-like to her husband, and being back in control. But I think in reality she was only fooling herself because she knew the truth: she was weak. Now I wonder how she actually feels about her precious chrysanthemums. Does she hate them now because they represent her definite weakness? Would she be so passionate about them now, knowing how the wagon man manipulated her with the chrysanthemums?
The Chrysanthemums
After taking a closer look at the theme of the story I have a much wider understanding of it. Due to this new understanding I am able to see more possibilities as to what the message could be. Before discussion I had some skepticism about the symbolic connection between Elisa and her chrysanthemums. At first I believed the only connection was Elisa sending her flowers with the traveling tinker because she would not go with. Although looking deeper into the story I see that they also represent her as a woman, and the chrysanthemums also seem to symbolize children. Observing other classmates make these connections really helped me understand how many possible themes there could be in a story, even if the story seems like it lacks elements. What came across to me as very interesting was the fact that I failed to see a very significant element in the story. That element was the traveling tinker using Elisa's interests to manipulate her. Even now that I am aware of this element, I am still having difficulty finding the reason behind the tinkers manipulation.
"A Rose for Emily"
" A Rose for Emily" is a story with many twist and turns that really are very disturbing. When I think of poor Emily, I see a girl who has no self confidence, has never been able to make her own decisions, and is so mentally undeveloped. The story was overall pretty interesting, however not suprising since we read this in high school.
In the story emily never really grips the death of her family and once her true love Homer Baron wants to leave her she is unwilling to let him leave. She goes to the local pharmacy buys arsenic and kills Homer with the poison. Emily goes on with her regular life like nothing has happened even so much as to pretend their still "happy". The towns people start to smell awful odors coming from the house and try to confront her about the smell, she wont say a word and tells them to go away.
the story is a sad story, and i can still see some simularities today. People with always have a hard time coming to grips with loss, however they do deal with it in better ways than her. I think emily's problems are a direct correlation from the way she was brought up and I feel sorry for her.
In the story emily never really grips the death of her family and once her true love Homer Baron wants to leave her she is unwilling to let him leave. She goes to the local pharmacy buys arsenic and kills Homer with the poison. Emily goes on with her regular life like nothing has happened even so much as to pretend their still "happy". The towns people start to smell awful odors coming from the house and try to confront her about the smell, she wont say a word and tells them to go away.
the story is a sad story, and i can still see some simularities today. People with always have a hard time coming to grips with loss, however they do deal with it in better ways than her. I think emily's problems are a direct correlation from the way she was brought up and I feel sorry for her.
The Chrysanthemums
The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck is a story filled with gender specific ideas, as well as the main character, Elisa Allen, desire to break down these gender related roles. Right away she is described as “handsome” and “over-powerful” (632). These are two words I would not generally associate with women. Later on while the traveling potsmith was talking about sleeping in his wagon as he worked up and down the pacific coast Elisha said “It must be nice, it must be very nice. I wish women could do such things” (637). I believe that Elisha is expressing her contempt for the socially acceptable role for a woman should be. She has been stuck in a rut for a long time and is beginning to wonder if maybe she has missed out on all that life has to offer. To me the most glaring of the gender issues was before Elisa and her husband Henry went into town for dinner he said that she looked “strong” (638) when he first saw her all cleaned up and wearing her dress. Strong is an interesting choice of word. I would not usually think of a female in her best dress as strong.
Gender specific ideas were a constant theme throughout this story and show a lot about the characters.
Gender specific ideas were a constant theme throughout this story and show a lot about the characters.
A rose for emily
A rose for Emily was a pretty interesting story. It was kind of confusing since not everything goes in chronological order. I thought the characters in the story were also really interesting. Over all the story was okay, but it really was kind of disgusting.
Obviously the main character Emily is suffering from some sort of mental illness. She doesn't want to believe her father died, and then kills Homer Baron because she does not want anybody else to have him. To me she seems lonely and will do almost anything to have a companion. What really grossed me out was in the end of the story the last lines that said, "We noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, the faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair"(212). This proves that she did not only kill him so he would stay with her forever, but she also laid by his dead body which to me is really sick.
Besides some of the bizarre things going on in the story, A Rose for Emily did give me a good idea of how times were in the deep south in a small town. Everybody seemed gossipy, and everybody wanted to know each others business. On Emily's behalf i can understand why she probably felt crazy, everyone wanted to know what was going on with her,and in her business. Not only was this town gossipy but it seemed to be very racist and full of bigots.
Overall the story was a good read and having the discussion in class really helps me look deeper into the story and really understand in depth what is going on. It makes the story a lot more enjoyable.
Obviously the main character Emily is suffering from some sort of mental illness. She doesn't want to believe her father died, and then kills Homer Baron because she does not want anybody else to have him. To me she seems lonely and will do almost anything to have a companion. What really grossed me out was in the end of the story the last lines that said, "We noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, the faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair"(212). This proves that she did not only kill him so he would stay with her forever, but she also laid by his dead body which to me is really sick.
Besides some of the bizarre things going on in the story, A Rose for Emily did give me a good idea of how times were in the deep south in a small town. Everybody seemed gossipy, and everybody wanted to know each others business. On Emily's behalf i can understand why she probably felt crazy, everyone wanted to know what was going on with her,and in her business. Not only was this town gossipy but it seemed to be very racist and full of bigots.
Overall the story was a good read and having the discussion in class really helps me look deeper into the story and really understand in depth what is going on. It makes the story a lot more enjoyable.
A Rose for Emily
"A Rose for Emily", may be one of the most intersting stories I have read in a long time. When I read it at home for the first time, I really didn't even know what to think about it. I was confused and had no idea what I just read. Although after doing some in class projects I really enjoyed it and have since reread it to get a better understanding. Emily is a soft hearted women who you think is just a mean person, but she isn't. She is almost lost in time she is a very traditional woman. When she finally passes away and they find the hair around her neck. I was very disturbed, until I finally realized that it was from her lover. Who had passed away before her. Although the story is one of my favorites so far you may not like it, but give it a more in depth look and they you may understand more. Definately worth reading "A Rose for Emily" and get your won feelings bout the short story.
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