Lori*s

2006-05-03T18:49:00.001-04:00

I can't believe this is our last post! I enjoyed this class this semester and learned a lot of interesting information about Southern Literature. I felt that Bastard Out of Carolina was a way to put closure on the South being that it tied a lot of themes together that we saw in previous texts. It was also interesting in the later works of the semester to see the South in the view of white people, versus black people that we studied more in the first semester.

We covered a lot of material this semester and the theme in Bastard Out of Carolina that stood out to me compared to other texts, was the issue dealing with women and abuse. I found a lot of similiarities with Anney and Stella from A Streetcar Named Desire. While Stella deals with her own abuse and faces it herself, she stills stays with Stanley. Anney doesn't actually face abuse herself, but Bone is her flesh and blood and she allows Daddy Glen to take advantage of her own daughter!! This was just so disturbing to me. Every rape scene and masterbation scene was so hard for me to read because Dorothy Allison did make them so graphic. The last time Daddy Glen put his hands on Bone particulary stood out for me. "He rocked in and ground down, flexing and thrusting his hips. I felt like he was tearing me apart, my ass slapping against the floor with every thrust, burning and tearing and bruising." This graphic and horrifying depiction of the rape scene was on page 285 and truly was so hard for me to read, along with a lot of other lines Allison had included with this scene. Although Bone at this point had the courage to talk about to Daddy Glen and not cry, but curse, he still physically hurt her so much. I was happy when Anney actually witnessesed the rape because now she couldn't tell herself lies to not face reality. Even after she witnessed her husband raping her daughter violently, she still went back to him in time!!

I feel as though this happens a lot in real life, just how Stella and Anney stayed with Stanley and Daddy Glen for security and that fear of being alone. This theme that we saw depicted in these two texts are truly upsetting for me because it traumatizes people forever, especially in Bone's case. Her mother allows this to happen to her and didn't stop it. Abuse is something that is sort of avoided in the public eye because many times women are afraid to go public in fear of their attacker hurting them, or sometimes being alone. Bastard Out of Carolina was a clear depiction of this issue with abuse. My heart hurt for Bones as I read. In conclusion, I liked the book even with the graphic scenes because it gave me a true sense of what was happening and I almost felt like I had a connection with the characters.

2006-04-26T19:10:00.000-04:00

I enjoyed reading the Dickey poems, even though I am not every good with poetry. It requires me a class discussion to completely understand what the poem is about, but once I get a sense of what the poem is about I can enjoy it. In class, we discussed the theme of animals and man. A poem that struck my attention to reflect this theme was "The Heaven of Animals." I felt that this poem had a mysterical connection between the animals and man. In the last line of each stanza, Dickey portrayed a human characteristic to deal with the animal. For example, "it is grass rolling under the feet forever" and "The soft eyes open." Those lines are the the last lines of the first two stanzas and to me, I felt as though they were used as personification of the animals. Did anyone else see this in that poem?

2006-04-19T14:22:00.000-04:00

Flannery O'Connor's "Revelation" brought up many themes that we have discussed with previous texts in class. The theme that stood out to me was the self-reevaluation. This theme was seen before with the Misfit and Grandma, also other characters that O'Connor develops to signify a change and turning point in a persons way of thinking. In Mrs. Turpin's case in the "Revelation," her revelation and change occurs after her attack with Mary Grace in the waiting room. This attack caught Mrs. Turpin off guard and she was in shock more than anything that God would choose her to me attacked rather than the other "white trash" figures in the room. Much like Grandma and religion, Mrs. Turpin takes this event as her final revelation. It caused her to face reality and take a step back and see who she really was. Prior to this attack she was quick to notice other people's faults, while remaining blind to her own. When reality hit her after her encounter with Mary Grace, she began to question her spiritual and religious beliefs. On page 828, the line of "she had been singled out for the message, though there was trash in the room to whom it might justly have been applied." This line states her attitude toward other people and shows how she feels that she shouldn't have been the one attacked while there was "white trash" in the room. This was what make her question her beliefs because why would God choose her to be attacked, when her religion was supposed to be the basis of her happiness?

2006-04-05T19:38:00.000-04:00

In Flannery O'Connor's, "A Good Man Is Hard To Find," we see this theme of being pre-occuped with the past and not being able to adapt to the present again. We have seen this theme portrayed in a lot of past texts that we have read, including Faulker and the last piece by Tennessee Williams. Grandmother reminding me a lot of Blanche from "A Streetcar Named Desiree," in the ways in which they both drove the plot and wanted people to see them as a lady. Grandmother always had to look her best, like the typical Southern belle and Blanche, and thought she was better than everyone else. We see her believing she is better than everyone in various parts of the text. One example, that I also recall bringing up in class, is on pg. 118, when O'Connor describes what she is wearing for the road trip. "Her collars and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets contanting a sachet." This portrayal of her apperance is a direct reflection in ways in which she tries to let people see her as a lady. Is it not until her encounter with the Misfit that she realizes she was wrong to see herself as better than everyone else. Did anyone else notice this change in attitude with Grandmother after she encountered the Misfit?

2006-03-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

Through watching the movie "A Streetcar Named Desire," I come back to that same idea of thinking of why women actually stay with their husbands after they don't treat them very lady like. In previous classes and posts, we have discussed the situation with Janie from "Their Eyes Were Watching God" and how she stayed with Tea Cake even though he abused her. In the case of "A Streetcar Named Desire," we still Stella struggle from her husband, Stanley, with his violent acts. When reading you become familiar with the way Stanley treats Stella, but I feel when we watched the scene in class after the men were playing poker and Stanley had been drinking and went on an outrage, you really see how disgusting the situation is. Stanley is portrayed as a very attractive, masculine man in the movie who is always sweaty and wearing tight shirts, so he would be a hard man to say no to. I feel as though Stella is very dependent on him and is proud of him and almost infatuated by his looks and when he goes on these outrages she claims she "gets a thrill." I was in shock when she said that and how she acted toward him after how he acted toward her, especially in front of her sister!! His violent actions were totally uncalled for and no women should have to experience that. What disgusts me the most was how she fell into his arms after! The whole scene of Stella walking down the stairs after Stanley cried for her was all very dramatic because she was walking as though she was nothing with out him and when she fell in his arms he knew that he had total control over her. Stanley's violent actions is something that shouldn't be overseen because of his attractive masculinty, but unfortunately Stella lets him get away with it, and actually likes it?! Did anybody else find that scene and the Stella/Stanley situation to be absurd in ways where you don't understand how they can be so crazy about each other?

2006-03-21T15:05:00.001-05:00

"Their Eyes Were Watching God" was an enjoyable story to me because it kept you wanted to read more. I liked how Hurston took you on the journey of Janie's life and her quest for identity. At the end of the novel Janie finally comes to her identity and achieves independence, but her relationship and power struggles to get to that point were not easy. Each marriage she had, something was wrong. Her first marriage with Logan was arranged and he made her feel used and unloved so she left him for Jody. Jody was high in social status, being he was the mayor, but made her feel more like an object rather than a person. After Jody past away, she fell in love with Tea Cake and he was her opportunity to explore and catch up on the young, rebellious life she had missed out on. I talked about the situations with her husbands in class on Monday when we had to answer the questions regarding the book. I feel as though they were included in the novel to not only point out that after 3 husbands she didn't have any children, but also to signify her struggle to independence.

At the end of the book, Janie had to do something that only a person with courage and bravery be able to do. She had to shoot her husband in self defense. After they faced the hurricane, she had to then face Tea Cake's health condition and how it took over his mind. She knew that it wasn't really Tea Cake that wanted to hurt her, but he was sick, and she had to realize that killing him was the only way to save both him and herself. The scene in Chapter 19 of her shooting Tea Cake was symbolic to the novel because it shows how Janie was able to kill him to save herself. Through Tea Cake she was able to grow into a person and realize that is finally strong enough to live on her own securely. In conclusion, Janie has achieved the horizon at the end of story.

2006-03-16T19:16:00.000-05:00

In class we discussed themes in which reflect the Southern culture and also relate to other texts we have read in class. The theme that stood out to me was gender roles and sterotypes. In Their Eyes Were Watching God, Hurston sets up the character of Janie to be biracial, which is shown through her long straight her. The fact that she hides her hair shows how protective she is in trying to hide her white characteristics. She also contradicts gender stereotypes in the fact that she wears overalls. On page 6 in the book, she is looked down upon for returning back wearing overalls. This clothing is more connected with a male, not female attire. In other texts we have read, a Southern belle would not be caught wearing overalls. Janie definetely contradicts the charcteristics of a female gender roles in this text. Does anyone else agree?

2006-02-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed reading the Porter stories and I found then easier to understand compared to Faulker especially. As we had discussed in class, these stories related to other texts we have read through various themes. One of the themes that I saw was a significant relation to other texts and Porter's was importance of past. In a lot of the Porter stories, the meaning of old life leading into new life was stressed. I found this to be most shown in "The Last Leaf" and "The Grave." In "The Last Leaf," it was showing Nannie expecting her death and how the last of the old way of life is dying out. On the bottom of pg. 349, it states, "They were growing up, times were changing, the old world was sliding from under their feet, they had not yet laid hold of the new one." This line basically backs up the symbolic meaning to how the past was dying out, but the future was uncertain. In "The Grave," the setting of taking place in the cemetery was again to show how the old generation was dying out. Both these stories clearly show the importance of past which we have also seen in other texts we have read, such as Poe,"The Fall of the House of Usher."

2006-02-22T18:51:00.000-05:00

Delta Autumn was a very significant story in dealing with the "black" and "white" branches of the family tree and how Carother's mistress' baby is male and can carry on the McCaslin name. As well as that significance, I felt that the value and attitudes of Isaac and Carother's was also very significant. The fact that Carother's was ready, without much remorse, to literally pay of his mistress to end their relationship clearly showed his true colors come out. Money is treated as such a value in society today and I feel that many a times money and pay offs actually do take place secretely when it comes to divorce settlements and such. It is a shame that men feel as though they can get rid of a woman by simply paying them off to get away and that will settle everything and that will be all. Yes, money is powerful and can speak silently, but I feel as though when it comes to love, money is not a supplement. It is clearly the cowardly way out, and that is what Carothers took... the easy way out, and couldn't even give it to her in person! This event really got to me because it made me angry how their values and priorities were acted upon. Women should be valued in society because without them, you wouldn't be able to produce a male to take on your family name. The fact that Carothers wants to simply pay off his mistress without allowing chance for his son to take on his name, boggles my mind. Then at the end of the story, it ends on a different note and their attitudes towards women and human nature changes. In the beginning of the story, Isaac feels that "most men are a little better than their circumstances give them a chance to be," and Carothers feels that people behave out of the fear of punishment. Then at the end of the story, Carothers proves both his and Isaac's thoughts wrong because by killing the doe it doesn't prove him to be a better man and he does so without thinking of of his punishment. Does anyone else feel that the significant of values and women were challenged in this story?

2006-02-15T21:37:00.000-05:00

After the question in the beginning of the class regarding "Pantaloon in Black," the statement made in class of Faulker trying to truly depict the feelings and experiences of other races stuck in my mind. I feel that is hard for someone who did not experience first hand the "black life" and to write about it. In "Pantaloon in Black," Faulkner stresses the relationships between the black characters and the value of masculinitiy. Basically trying to show his perspective on "black life" and write what it was like. Then he contradicts himself in Chapter 2 when the sheriff is comparing black people. I feel that Faulker wrote this chapter in a difference perspective than the first it was his way of showing the white inability to see the true beauty of humans beacause of racism. Does anyone else feel that Faulker's way of relating his insighgt to "black life" was contradicted or confused you due to chapter 2?

2006-02-07T20:24:00.000-05:00

In Kate Chopin's "Desirees Baby," the theme was that race can be something that you can keep secretive. In reality, unless you have a long line of untrackable ancestors, your race is something that is known and you are proud of. In the beginning of the story, Armand has pride of his name and race and is proud to pass his name unto Desiree and his son. Then once the babies "blackness" begins to show as the baby develops more, it is his race that is ruining his pride. In class we talked about the "One Drop Rule," meaning that no matter how far back it goes in your family, if you have any remnant of non-white blood, then you can not be considered white, but you are therefore black. I find this rule to be absolutely ridiculous. It is almost as if the present generation is being punished for past generations years ago! This time period was so preoccupied with race that they were missing out on the happy things in life. This family was so happy being in love and with their new song, that Armand and Desiree would have been able to enjoy life together and maintain a wonderful family if race wasn't such a huge issue. It breaks my heart to see how race, even if it was the smallest show of blackness, can ruin a family.

2006-01-31T21:13:00.000-05:00

I truly liked reading The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. I didn't partically like the material that I was reading about, but I was actually able to understand the piece which was important in this type of narrative. The way it was written was very emotional and touching. I feel as though Douglass allowed and wrote his narrative in a way that read so smoothly so that he could clearly justify himself for people to understand who he was and his experiences of slavery first hand. I feel like the piece wouldn't have effected me as much as it did if it was hard to read. I was truly touched by the information about his mother in the first part. The fact that he was taken from his mother when he was born in order to prevent a relationship from starting was very upsetting because I value paternal relationships. Then when he revealed how his mother snuck to see him in the middle of the night, knowing the consequences, was very deep because you were aware of the punishments that she could have faced. When I found out that Douglass wasn't even made aware of her death, it upset me because that was his mother and they showed no respect to the fact.

As you can see, I felt the emotional and touching tone of this piece was very effective.

2006-01-26T22:30:00.000-05:00

When reading Edgar Allan Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher," I got the feeling from the gothic house that the house was in a way alive. When the mood was being set to create the gothic-horror house, it was almost as if the house had a mind of its' own the way in which it went in it's frenzy that made the images come alive and feel real so that the reader got the full sense of the setting and mood of the house. The entire story is very dreary and gloomy, and is topped off when Lady Madeline is heart stuggling from her coffin. I feel the fact that they were twins has something to do with his reaction.

2006-01-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

While reading the reserve by George Fitzhugh, I was taking notice of the fact that he was referring to white slavery. He states, "In the absence of negro slavery there must be white slavery, else the white laboring class are remitter to slavery to capital, which is more cruel and exacting than domestic slavery." I was wondering if anybody else caught what he was trying to state and can explain it to me? I am a little confused about overall theme and point that Fitzhugh was making regarding slavery.

2006-01-20T09:02:00.000-05:00

Trying to see if I have this working properly?