Frankenstein- Blog 10

Death is a major theme in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. There are 6 deaths of major characters in the story. It is all for the same or similar reason and it all begins with Victor. If Victor would have never created the creature, William, Justine, Henry, Elizabeth, and Victor's father would have never died. If it were not for the creature's loneliness and Victor's possible creation of a mate, there would have been some sort of salvation for some of these characters. It is in the last couple scenes of the book that we that the creature has also caused the death of Victor. We finish off the story with the creature wanting to end his own life for all of the evil he has caused. "'This is also my victim!' he exclaimed; 'in his murder my crimes are consummated  the miserable series of my being is wound to is close!'" (Shelley, 163). It is this scene that strikes the most importance. We see that death has been a major theme and it is now that the creature, the cause of all of this, realizes all of the damage he has done and that there is nothing to do but end his own life.

Frankenstein- Blog 9

The psychological effect that the creature in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley causes is the lead cause to Victor's sickness. The creature keeps Victor alert and afraid throughout his existence. Victor is on the verge of suicide at one point, doesn't mind dying at another, and is devastated by his family member's deaths. It is the creature who afflicts pain. Not just emotional and physical, but psychological as well. "...but I was overcome by the sensation of helplessness, so often felt in frightful dreams, when you in vain endeavor to fly from an impending danger, and was rooted to the spot" (Shelley, 122). It is every move that the creature does that has Victor on his toes ready to respond. Victor lives in depression and becomes ill whenever some incident happens to him because of his emotional weakness. In the end, it terminates the lives of all his loved ones and eventually his.

Frankenstein- Blog 8

The doubling that happens between Henry and Victor in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is very predominant. It happens to be that as they go on to their voyage for Victor's quest to make the creature's mate, we see that Henry has become as Victor had been before the creature's creation. Henry was not interested in nature and science while Victor saw it in gloom. "He was alive to every new scene; joyful when he was the beauties of the setting sun, and more happy when he beheld it rise, and recommence a new appearances of the sky" (Shelley, 112). Henry was taking Victor's path of loving nature but in a way that Victor did not. Henry was optimistic and was not too eager. He was easy-going and had patience, something that Victor lacked. Victor wanted to hold the world in his hands while Henry knew he could only live in that world.

Frankenstein- Blog 7

The creature in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley provides for us a proof of what learning is to deprived children. The less fortunate or children raised in deprived conditions are grateful for what they have. At least most are; there are always those exceptions of rebellious children. In reading about the creature's background and means of learning, we see his eagerness and willingness to learn. A normal person takes learning for granted, but when deprived they seek it. This is also the case with the creature. As he hides in the cottage of a family in Geneva, he is craving to learn and to understand what is going on around him. "I conjectures, therefore, that he found on the paper signs of speech which he understood, and I ardently longed to comprehend these also..." (Shelley, 79). It is in this desire to learn that the creature was able to learn language and learn things about society that concluded him to realize of his rear existence in the world.

Frankenstein- Blog 6

The sense of time in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, is used very crucially. It is something that is kept in front of us, especially with the many stories within stories. In reality, we know that the stories are too detailed to be true, but we must not be stuck on that. We must acknowledge that this is a fiction story and that the stories are told in great detail but are told for the sole purpose of telling a good story. Furthermore, we have Walden writing his sister a letter with the story that Victor is telling him about the creature. On the mountains, Victor encounters the creature for the first time since the creature came to life. When meeting, Victor attacks but the creature wants only to tell Victor the reasoning and story behind his two years of life. "But I consented to listen, and seating myself by the fire which my odious companion had lighted, he thus began his tale" (Shelley, 70). With the start of this story, Victor begins recounting yet another story in his story to Walden's written story. (How confusing!) It is crucial for us to keep a sense of time within each story and for us to realize that all these events do not happen chronologically.

Frankenstein- Blog 5

Just as expected, the creature has come back to haunt Victor Frankenstein. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, we see that what was seen as a "monster" by Victor is really an eloquent, intelligent human being. "Be calm! I entreat you to hear me, before you give vent to your hatred on my devoted head" (Shelley, 68). The strangest thing has happened. First, a living being was created from dead matter. The being could not speak at the beginning and was on his own. He was lost and thought to be dangerous. Yet here he is, telling his creator that he will leave all in peace if they listen to him. It is quite interesting how such a dangerous and frightening man can speak so intelligently. To victor this was also a great surprise. He refers to the creature to "daemon". It is quite bizarre and interesting how it all plays it out.

Frankenstein- Blog 4

It is crazy how being afraid of something can help you hide your feelings and emotions. In Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Victor Frankenstein is so afraid of the creature he has created. He is so afraid that he runs away and does not think about the consequences that could lead to. He has left this "creature" to run around in the wild. Frankenstein doesn't think about this because of his fright towards himself for creating the creature and the creature itself. He continues to decline in health because of his constant worries and dismay. It is clear that he does not want to tell anyone of what he has done. He avoids it from Clerval and avoids it from his professors. He even tries to avoid it to himself but it cannot be possible because it haunts him. His fright is so large that when his favorite servant is accused of his death and he knows she is not the killer, but rather the large creature he has created, he avoids telling anyone. "My tale was not one to announce publicly; its astounding horror would be looked upon as madness by the vulgar" (Shelley, 530). He is afraid that people will think he is insane and it causes the execution of his servant. Only he knows the truth, and his fright is taking a hold of him.

Frankenstein- Blog 3

The one thing that is very unrealistic about the book Frankenstein by Marry Shelley is the details told to Robert Walton by Victor Frankenstein. When Victor commences to tell his story, he says many things that are red flags for us to know that the narrator is not reliable. For example, when recounting to Walton the letters that were sent between his sister and him, he was technically able to recite them word for word. A real person in a conversation would either have to have memorized it, have it in front of him, or summarize it. No one would really recite it in the way he did. "My Dearest Cousin, You have been ill, very ill, and even the constant letter of dear kind Henry are not sufficient to reassure me on your account" (Shelley, 40). This letter, written by Elizabeth is recited to Walton by Frankenstein. Again, I see it to be unreliable that a person can have such a memory. We have to take in to account that the above mentioned, of being able to have it in front of him or memorize it is most likely improbable since he was in the middle of the ocean. It just bring out the fact that this story is fiction, more specifically science fiction.

Frankenstein- Blog 2

As we learn more about Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, we learn about his creation. In Mary Shelley's version we see parts of the Frankenstein story that are unexpected and not like the movies or other stories told. In Shelley's version, the creator is terrified with what he has done as soon as the creature is brought to life. In other versions the creature is taken care of and nurtured. While reading Shelley's version, I did not expect Victor to be upset with the creation. I expected Victor to take a different approach to the way in which he reacted to the creature. He immediately ran away. "He might have spoken, but I did not hear; one hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped, and rushed downstairs" (Shelley, 36). It was this bizarre reaction that took me by surprise. I completely expected Victor to be extremely happy and be excited to have finally mastered what he had spent so much time working on. It was not the reaction that other movies or stories portrayed either. This of course, is Shelley's version.

Frankenstein- Blog 1

                      Frankenstein by Mary Shelley begins with letters written from Robert Walton, a very important character, to his sister. In these letters, Robert shares his passion for learning and his desire to know more about the world. Robert is a great example of a crucial character who is not mentioned much once the real story starts. He is our leading character until he comes upon Victor Frankenstein. It is Robert's passion for exploring that leads us to learn about Frankenstein's story. As Robert begins to know Frankenstein, his "affections for his guest increase every day" (Shelley, 11). They share many characteristics that lead to their eventual friendship and us finding out the story. They both share a passion for exploring and for learning.  Frankenstein tells Walton that he wants to prevent him from making the same mistake he made by being so ambitious. This is when the story of Frankenstein's great story is told. Again, if it would have not been for Walton and discovering Frankenstein in the middle of the frozen ocean, there would have been no story to tell. Robert is an important character although mentioned very few times.

Much Madness is divinest Sense- Alienation Unit

Much Madness is divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson is a poem of paradoxical proposition. Insanity is good sense and good sense is insane. "To a discerning Eye..." [Dickinson, 830] refers to a person who takes notice in things and in this poem it is referring to a person who notices that insanity is good sense. I have trouble figuring out why the words "discerning" and "Majority" provide the resolution of the paradox. I believe it is because those words bring about an uncertainty. They make us rethink insanity and good sense so that they no longer coincide. I have to be completely honest and say that I am having trouble comprehending this poem in general. I see the two parts, the insanity and the good sense, but I can not pick out what pulls them apart or what brings them together.

APO 96225

The irony present in APO 96225 by Larry Rottmann is situational because of the mother's expectancy to get a letter in the mail with exactly what is going to happen. The soldier writing back tells his mom the positive things that are going around him while the mother begs to know the reality. She is all too eager to be grateful that her son is being optimistic. She is too worrisome and can not enjoy that her son is alive and well to be able to send her the messages. Her son is in reality miserable but wants his parents not to worry. The soldier wants to keep his parents from worrying while his mother is worrying too much. It is the irony that brings about the important point that we must be grateful for the information that is given to us for things happen for a reason. Some people try to hide things from us for our own good and we are too blind trying to figure out the rest that we do not realize the good that someone is trying to do for us. 

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain- Alienation Unit

The poem I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson is terrifying due to the metaphor of the funeral being related to a part of the speaker dying. The speaker feels despair and the people who mourn her are really the pains she feels. She describes them as something that "Kept treading-treading-till it seemed That sense was breaking through-" [Dickinson, 776].  This repetition is to emphasize that they are so strong and keep coming back. These pains are tormenting her, destroying her even. It is like she is possessed and these pains come from the inner possession that is inside of her until she reacts and they go away. This poem is divided into two parts- the speaker as a viewer and the speaker as a participant. In the end they both shatter. Her pains get the best of her and she has what we call a mental break down. It is the end of the funeral, the part where part of the speaker dies.

Bartelby, the Scrivener- Alienation Unit

Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville brings me a sense of sadness and in a weird way a sense of warmth. Bartleby's character is somewhat bizarre with his weird obsession for being at work....or so we think. A homeless person, like Bartleby, has to be desperately poor in order to live at the place where he works. I guess it is really hard to imagine such a life. We take what we have for granted and all Bartleby had was work, work, and more work. Living a life like that would be 1) very solitary and depressing and 2) sad. I find warmth in this because I imagine myself being able to go to Bartleby's office and hugging him and taking him to a shelter. Poverty is a weakness and something I would like to someday try to combat. Bartleby was harmless although he was put in prison for not wanting to leave his "home", "Being under no disgraceful charge, and quite serene and harmless in all his ways, they had permitted him freely to wander about the prison..." [Melville, 672]. Bartleby eventually died in the prison and I like to think it was because he was in solitude and missed being in the comfort of the office he called home.

Miss Brill- Alienation Unit

Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield remind me a lot of the stories that I studied in my Junior year AP Psychology class. The way that Miss Brill acted was in no way normal. The first sign of this is when she begins to talk to her fur as it has come to life. "She had taken it [the fur] out of the box that afternoon, shaken out the moth powder, given it a good brush, and rubbed the life back into the dim little eyes. 'What has been happening to me?' said the sad little eyes" [Brill, 182].  The alliteration used to give live to the fur represents her mind seeing the fur as her only companion perhaps. When in the park, she also imagines her life as a play. Her solitude brings her imagination to life in a way that makes her believe she is not lonely. Also, her life is very routine, something that I suppose would bring comfort. Comfort was exactly what she needed since she lived alone and in a world of imagination. Sadly, it all comes falling down when the couple makes fun of her at the end of the story. Poor old Miss Brill.

Death Unit- Death, be not proud

The poem Death, be not proud by John Donne address death in a way that most people may not. "Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so" [Donne, 971]. Donne says that death is something that can't be proud because it is something that should not be feared. Death in itself is eternal sleep, something that should not be seen as scary. Most people are afraid of death and I know I cannot even bring myself to think of what it would be like to die. Donne says that since it is sleep and sleep is pleasurable, death must be even more pleasurable... (crazy and a little weird but alright). Death is a slave to fate, chance (accidental death), kings (who have the power of life and death), and desperate men. Donne is clearly seeing death's positives and not looking at how hard it would be on his family or how hard it would be not to see his family ever again. I guess if you're dead it wouldn't matter.

Death Unit- Do Not Go into That Good Night

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas is a poem that uses the title multiple times in the poem itself. The irony that belongs to the name is that "that good night" refers to death. In this poem, there seems to be apprehension towards an older man. It might be younger man who is concerned with the death of his father. It seems to talk about how he hates old age. He is scared of loosing his father and wishes that he could keep his father for as long as possible. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" [Thomas, 968]. This son sees his father as his light, his illumination. He dreads the thought of him dying but says that he has been a good person who has lived his live to the fullest and enjoyed what he has. His father has lived a great life and has taught him to do the same. It seems that there is a strong bond between the father and the son. The son now knows that he must do what he can to stay alive.

Death Unit- Crossing the Bar

The poem, Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, approaches death with two sets of figures. He uses "Sunset and evening star," and "Twilight and evening bell," as his two figures. Death is a like a sunset. When our life is ending, things start to shut off. A sunset does the same thing! When you think about it, light (youth) is with us through the entire day illuminating us and slowly at 6-8 p.m., it begins to darken slowly (death). Death comes slow and gradual, like a sunset. Death is like a twilight as well. Twilight is darkness at the end of the day. Death is darkness at the end of your life. Death is an extension of twilight. Death is forever. The precise moment in these two sets of figures occurs "When I put out to sea," and "When I embark" [Tennyson, 886]. In addition, I relate well to this poem because of the wanted avoidance of sadness and farewells. I despise farewells because of the sadness they bring and I want those who mourn me to be happy that I was in their lives and to cherish the moments they spent with me. Everyone will eventually be together in heaven in the end, right?

Death Unit- A Rose for Emily

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner presents a bizarre woman, Emily, which has a hard time letting go of the past. When a person does not have the best relationships with people, they seclude themselves into a world of extreme comfort. Emily secluded herself from the world and found extreme comfort in keeping to herself things that made her feel accompanied. Although this is not directly stated, we can infer this when she has "ministers calling on her, and the doctors, trying to persuade her to let them dispose of the body" [Faulkner, 285]. Emily was having trouble part with her father, even if he was dead. Emily did not want a number to be put on her house for her to attain an address. Again, she was not modern. She was living in the past. She couldn't let go of it and it was messing with her sanity. Eventually it became so bad that it is believed she poisoned the man she wanted to marry and kept his corpse for 40 years. She wanted him all to herself because she wanted some sort of company. Although it is really sad that she was that lonely, I think that those extremes of having trouble letting go of things are haunting and disturbing.

Death Unit- The Lottery

When thinking about the word "lottery", what usually comes to mind is going to your local gas station and buying a Hoosier Lottery number and hope that you get the right numbers in order to win. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson gives another meaning to the word "lottery". Peculiarly in this short story, winning meant death. When reading this story, I sensed that the lottery mentioned here and the lottery we think of modernly were way different. For example they mentioned that in some villages "the whole lottery took less than two hours..." [Jackson, 263-4]. A normal lottery would not take this long to decide the winner. It is also very weird that most of the village agrees to how the lottery runs. Why would families who have grown up together want to kill people of their own village. Although it is a human sacrifice for their harvest time, killing a person of your own family or village would be so hard. This is true yet they all go about doing these things nonchalantly. There is no hesitation and there seems to be no sadness from the spouses or children. What a sad story!

The Glass Menagerie- 5

The language that Tom uses to narrate is much more calm and knowing than the Tom as a character. It is as if Tom's narration is his most inner conscious. "I knew that Jim and Laura has known each other at Soldan, and I had heard Laura speak admiringly of his voice. I didn't know if Jim remembered her or not. In high school Laura had been as unobtrusive as Kim had been astonishing" [Perrine, 1262]. Tom was a drunkard in character. He was a man that had dreams of adventures and was not centered into the world he was living in. Tom as a narrator was. He seemed to know what he was saying and to know what he was doing. There would have been a big change in the story if the all-knowing and calm Tom would have been his character. There would have been less quarrels between Amanda and him and there would have been a more balanced family life for Laura than there was presently. Tom's manner as a character was too hard-headed and rebellious. This proves that Tom knew what he was doing wrong but was doing nothing to stop it. Tom just wanted to have fun and be like his father.

The Glass Menagerie-4

The play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is not like any play that I have seen or read before. This play is a memory, a nonrealistic piece. In the story, the narrator comes out and bluntly tells us that he is a narrator and a character. When we read or watch a play, the narrator is not supposed to do this. In fact, in order to be as realistic as possible, there should not be a narrator. We do not go around in our life with someone narrating our lives do we? The lighting  and music that are in the play are also big indicators that we are dealing with an unrealistic work. Emphasis on certain objects happens by us telling people directly and if we do not want it to be known, we do not say anything at all. When the characters don't say anything at all, the lights and music give away the feeling or thoughts that are expressed by them. In reality, we do not have lights and music that do this for us. " As if in answer, the father's grinning photograph lights up" [Perrine, 1249]. A thing that is unavoidable but also unrealistic, is not having a fourth wall. This causes seating and positioning in the room to be different than what it would have been if there would have been a fourth wall and we could peer from above. Peering from above would have give it a more realistic feel since these people are able to sit and move around in any direction.

The Glass Menagerie- 3

Tom's drinking in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, is very apparent. It amazes me how Amanda seems so oblivious to it and it makes me wonder if that is the reason why her husband decided to leave her. She was always telling Tom not to be selfish when in reality it is her being selfish. She was always complaining about the life she always wanted but never had. She always pushed her children to be the best they could, but she herself was not doing anything to better herself or try to financially do something for the family. Children see, children do. If Amanda did not try to better herself and they had the example of the father quitting out on the family, the children would do just the same. Tom left multiple times and said he was going to the movies and would come home late at night. He came home one day and told Laura he was drinking because of a magician... why would a magician give a show at a movie theater? Does not make sense to me. "First it turned to wine and then it turned to beer and then it turned to whiskey. I know it was whiskey it finally turned into because he needed somebody to come up out of the audience to help him, and I came up-both shows!" [Perrine, 1249]. Tom was completely lying!

The Glass Menagerie- 2

The glass menagerie in The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, is symbolic to Laura's character and reflects her completely. Laura is said to be very fragile, as is glass. Glass breaks so easily and that glass is broken several times. When Laura begins attending college, her nervous and shy manner causes her to vomit in class and to become so embarrassed that she drops out. This is obviously not normal, it brings in front of me a thought that she might have some psychological problem. A normal person is not so shy that she throws up and so embarrassed about it that she cannot show her face to school. Also, Laura becomes this sick when her high school crush, Jim has been invited to eat with her family. She cannot even open the door because she has a panic attack, something that also shows that she has a psychological problem. " Laura is still huddled upon the sofa, her feet drawn under her, her head resting on a pale blue pillows, her eyes wide and mysteriously watchful. The new floor lamp with its shade of rose-colored silk gives a soft, becoming light to her face, bringing out the fragile, unearthly prettiness which usually escapes attention" (Perrine, 1271). Laura is fragile; her emotions are so bizarre and unorganized that she appears to have no control over herself. When her brother has knocked over the glass menagerie and broken it to pieces, that is the same that happens to Laura because of the craziness of her family.

The Glass Menagerie

The play The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams is one of the more entertaining works that we have been presented with in AP Literature. While the family was absolutely bizarre, the story seemed to have natural elements of a broken family. There was a missing father, but he impacted the story greatly. More than any other person in the actual story did, actually. The father was a symbol of ambition for Tom and a sign of regret for Amanda. Tom wanted to be just like his father, to be able to get away. Tom wanted to travel, to leave and see the world. "I'm like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! See how he grins? And he's been absent going on sixteen years!" (Perrine, 1269). Tom at this point is talking to Jim and telling him all about how he has great dreams and plans of leaving the South. Amanda always refers to him and her disappointment in having married him. She speaks of him as if she regrets ever being with him. "All of my gentlemen callers were sons of planters and so of course I assumed that I would be married to one and raise my family on a large piece of land with plenty of servants. But man proposes and women accepts the proposal -to car that old, old saying a little bit- I married no planter! I married a man who worked for the telephone company" (Perrine, 1270). Amanda wanted the best like she could have and for her, that would be a life of riches, material things, and no absent husband.

Family Unit- Blog 5

Edward has killed his father and there seems to be no remorse for this. I speak not of Edward from that vampire movie but of Edward from the poem, Edward by Anonymous. With the descriptions of blood you would think it was Edward from the Twilight Saga though! Edward has just killed his father... The sad thing is it seems like he does not feel any remorse or guilt from it. Instead he wants to flee and is telling his mother that he will leave his wife and children to tend for themselves. I do not understand why Edward has done this. It sound to me that he had some sort of anger towards him. He is insane! He tells his mother that "The curse of hell from me shall ye bear..." [Perrine, 978]. He obviously has bad feelings about his mother as well. The family was probably very broken and his parents did something to him that made him react in this way.

Family Unit- Blog 4

Imagery of cold can go in two ways, cold as in being cold-hearted or cold as in being temperature cold. In Those Winter Sundays by Anonymous, both images are portrayed to create a feeling of sadness. "I'd wake and hear the cold splintering, breaking" [Perrine, 781]. This is exactly what I'm talking about. The double meaning of the quote symbolizes the actual cold that was present because of it being winter time and also because of the distance that seemed to stand between each person in the family. It is clear that the family is not close and that there is hard feelings towards each other. No one ever thanked father for what he did and it seemed that father never acknowledged the people om his family. There was "chronic anger," a constant distressing thing. A family cannot function with constant anger towards each other. In order for a family to function there must be love and understanding and neither seemed to be present in this family. It was quite sad how the author would relate his family life to the cold winter.

Family Unit- Blog 3

The Drunkard by Frank O'Connor is my favorite short story of this unit because of the humor and irony that were present. In a household where a alcoholic resides, the affects on the child are more than one can imagine. In this case, the 9 year old son watched as his father goes through phases of being drunk and then not drinking and realizes that he likes his father more when he is in his phase of not drinking. When taken to his fathers' close friend's funeral, the little boy drinks the alcohol that his father has. The humor comes in when the boy thinks, "I was astonished that he could even drink such stuff. It looked as if he had never tried lemonade" [Perrine, 347]. The boy thought that the taste was disgusting and was surprised as to why his father had not tried any other drink (hahaha). Clearly we know he had, but it was the feeling that caused the father to drink, not the taste. The irony comes in when we think about the boy, son of a drunkard, getting drunk himself. The boy was on a mission to try to get his father to stop drinking and he himself does what he was supposed to get someone else to stop doing. The thing is that it actually worked though! His father was so ashamed about the incident that he probably never drank again!

Family Unit- Blog 2

I was very disturbed when reading Once Upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer because of the ending of the story. The author of the story is very bothered by not being safe and lives in constant fear, which is what creates the characters in this "children's book." I do not understand why a person would make a children's book such a scary story though. Usually children read this before bed, and reading about a kid being hurt by such a horrible fence would not bring about good dreams. Another disturbance was the fact that the characters in the story lived happily ever after but they lived in constant fear of being killed or robbed. Living happily ever after usually doesn't involve having to worry about being killed or being robbed. I also found it weird that they called the grandmother, the "witch." I guess it is because if it weren't for her idea of putting up all the security and have given the book to the boy, the boy would have never been hurt. I also felt like the story was trying to degrade people who were not rich, because only people with money can afford these fences and "perfect lawns," [Perrine, 235]. It was an all around disturbing story to read and it did not appeal to me.

Family Unit- Blog 1

In the short story, A Worn Path by Eudora Welty, Pheonix was portrayed as a strong woman. In my eyes, I see her as a rather weak woman. Her cane was a big indicator that she could not walk alone, therefore she was weaker than most people. Her age was the result of the use of the cane and another indicator as to why I believe that she was weaker than she sought to be. When walking, she hallucinated about seeing people. Another indicator that her age was becoming a big burden on her. "She did not dare to close her eyes, and when a little boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it she spoke to him. 'That would be acceptable,' she said. But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air," [225, Perrine]. Her insanity was a sign of weakness, of abnormal behavior. Her lack of fear when the man that she saw on her trip into town was beyond dangerous. A man of this type could have killed her easily, and her lack of fear would have left her alone and dead with no one to help her. Her insanity could have lead her to imagine more things that could have strayed her away from her path, another danger. So although she seemed tough, Pheonix was very weak in mind and body. 

A Raisin in the Sun- blog 5

          In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Walter and Beneatha Younger both want a better way of life for either themselves and/or their family. They each have their own approach and each desire to gain something different from it. Walter has been talking to his friends about starting a new business, a liquor store. He brings it up many times because he wants Mama to use the insurance money to sponsor the liquor store. Throughout the play, Walter is becoming crazy with the idea of this project and when he sees that he is not getting his way, he becomes a madman. He changes the mood of the story from having a  hardworking, sincere family to having a broken up, crazy family. As the play continues, his desire to reach his goals bring him to trust his supposed "friend" to keep the money and in return is fooled by his "friend", who steals all of the money. Beneatha wants the life of a white person. She wants to be modern and wants to be able to do all of the things that rich people do. The problem with this is that the Youngers don't have money for her to be pleasing herself this way. Beneatha has to learn that things can't always go her way and that if they do, she must be thankful. By the end of the play, Beneatha has learned that in order for her to earn what she has, she must work for it. Asagai asks her critical questions, "But did you earn it? would you have had it at all if your father had not died?" I think Asagai makes a great point here about how everyone is fighting over this money that if it weren't for Big Walter, they would not have. I think at this point Beneatha has to understand that she can not be selfish and mad about Walter losing the family money.

A Raisin in the Sun- Blog 4

         Mama from A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, is a women of great strength. She is quite a fighter with being the head of the family and being in charge of making sure everyone is where they need to be. I love her innocense about her children and the world around her. She was always quite sure that her son and her daughter would do the best they could for the family. Walter took advantage of this when he was given the money that he was supposed to use for the family and failed at taking care of it. She was manipulated several times, and time after time she would still trust her children to do the right thing. She was patient with them but she was also very naive. When talking to Beneatha about an African boy coming over, Mama says "I don't think I never met no African before." This ironic comment is somewhat humorous to me because they are all African American. Yes, maybe she has never met a pure African but she has definitely met an African American...SHE IS AFRICAN AMERICAN! I know that her meaning of it was that she had never met someone directly from Africa but it was still ironic that she would make such a remark. I thought it showed her naive side some but I still respect that woman for the way she held her family together.

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           A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry contained a quote spoken by Asagai when he tries to explain to Mama what "Alaiyo" means. "Aliaiyo" is the word he uses to speak to Beneatha and it is a Yoruba word. When he tries to explain to Mama what it means, he can't quite find the cotrrect way to explain it. He says to her, "Well...let me see... I do not know how just to explain it...The sense of a thing can be so different when it changes language." Being Mexian myself and being bilingual in Spanish and English, I can relate to this feeling of disturbance from not being able to fully explain what something means. There are words like "Bueno?" that people in Mexico say when answering a phone, but translated literally mean "good." It doesn't make sense to answer the phone and be like "Good?", but to those in Mexico it is a greeting and a way to say hello. Like not being able to translate words exactly from one language to another, we must realize that the Youngers are not all alike. They all have their own manner of speaking and acting towards different situations. Their approches are different and to the others there is no way of literally understanding what it means.

A Raisin in the Sun- Blog 2

            In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the character of Beneatha gives me a feeling of disgust and hatred for an unreal person that I have never felt before. I dislike her attitude and her egoistic remarks more than anything. For example, when she has just learned about Ruth's pregnancy and Ruth has told her to mind her own business she replies with, "It is my business-where is he going to live, on the roof?" I understand that the Youngers had merely enough money to go around for the 5 of them and a 6th person would be overwhelming, but the way that Beneatha has took the news is ridiculous. Her shallowness shows completely throughout the entire story and it becomes apparent even more when Walter has made a mistake with the money of the family and Beneatha is only worried about her school money. I like that she is determined to be something in life but her selfish characteristics take away from anything positive that may remain in her. I also like that she is prideful of her heritage, something that would be hard for me to do when African-Americans were constantly ridiculed because of their skin color. How can you be proud of something that so many people dislike?

A Raisin in the Sun- Blog 1

             My favorite work from AP Lit so far is A Raisin in the Sun, a play about an African-American family living in Southern Chicago, by Lorraine Hansberry. As we begin this play, there is a distinct poem that bring attention to the meaning of the poem. An author is very precise and knowledgeable about his placement and structure of the play. It is to my understanding that the reason for the poem being placed at the beginning of the play is so that we have in mind that this play is about this family's dream and how it is put off. It all makes sense to me! In the poem, we are asked if a dream deferred (an ambition which is put off) is like a raisin in the sun. Is a put off ambition dried up so much that it looses its value? In the play, this is what happens to the family's dreams of becoming something better. It is put off for so long that it takes the family so long for them to make a change. It becomes hard, just like a dried up grape becomes hard. The raisin still has value and nutrition, as does the dream of the Younger family to become a better people. As time passes, that raisin becomes drier and drier, just as the dream of the Younger becomes drier and drier as time passes. It is harder because nothing happens and all they can do is wait. I believe that the poem's metaphoric title and the storyline of the play match perfectly. 

Short Story 2- Identity Unit

In the Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri, I choose to focus on Mr. Kapasi. There is something about Mr. Kapasi that I can relate to, and that is his observation. I like to observe and I like to assume. I know that assuming cannot always be right. Assumptions made by me are based on the actions of those around me. I believe that in order for me to know someone better, we must see what they are like and quietly observe their actions in order to know what they like and dislike (not in a creepy way though). As Mr. Kapasi begins his journey with the Das family, he begins to observe the mannerisms that partake in the family. He sees that the Das parents "were all like siblings..." [Perrine, 151]. He observes how everyone around him acts. This is crucial in the story in order for us to know what the Das family is really like.

Short Story 1- Identity Unit

Everyday Use by Alice Walker is an extraordinary short story. My focus for this story is on Dee (Wangero). Dee was a completely selfish person. There was nothing about her that said, "I appreciate what I have and I am thankful for my mother." Her mother raised them with what seems like, no father. Dee was always embarrassed of what her mom could provide for her and told her that, "..no matter where we choose to live, she will manage to come see us. But she will never bring her friends" [Perrine, 177]. I felt bad for the mother of Dee. Dee seemed to always want everything. She wanted to look her best and her beauty helped her achieve this. Her mother felt bad for Dee's sister, Maggie, who was not as pretty as Dee. Also, there was a fire that happened when Dee and Maggie were smaller and Maggie was burnt from it, and Dee was untouched by the fire. Dee had all of the good luck in the family, but was completely out of her mind with how she treated her mother and sister. What really upset me was the way she treated her mom and sister when she came back to visit them. Why would she demand stuff from her mom when she isn't ever home? She can't expect everything from everyone. I am so glad their mom stood up for herself and Maggie.

Poem # 3

Hazel Tells Laverne by Katharyn Howd Machan was probably one of my favorite poems of this unit. I loved how improper and uneducated Hazel was, I found it humorous. I loved the take of "The Frog Prince" in this poem. I realized that Hazel was a hotel cleaner from the alliteration of "howard johnson ladies room" [Machan]. In the real story, Hazel is poor but does not work for a hotel. This take seems more modern and of a southern uneducated person. In the Disney movie, Hazel is actually black. Is Hazel black in this poem? This poem could be symbolic of a very matter-of-fact person. Hazel did not kiss the prince. In the real story, Hazel kisses the frog and converts the frog into a prince. What happened to that part of the story? We can't have a frog prince story without a prince!

Poem 2!

For the poem Mr. Z by M. Carl Holman, I want to focus on the satire that is used by Holman. The satire specifically covers people who are ashamed of themselves and who are not proud of where they come from. We see that this is evident as the poem begins with, "Taught early that his mother's skin was the sign of error" [Perrine, 848]. In the last line he was portrayed as "one of the most distinguished members of his race." How can someone be ashamed of his race but also be a distinguished member of it? Holman was clearly satirizing that a man could be ashamed of where he came from but was still seen as someone of importance in his race. Also, Mr. Z was ashamed of the food and customs that his mother's race offered to him; "Of pork in its profane form he was wary..." [Perrine, 848]. He would not eat pork and for some reason this proved that he had "exemplary" diet practices. Another thing I noticed when I was studying this piece was that he mentioned his mother's skin being error but his father's was never brought up. Mr. Z was said to have strayed away from anything raceless and "seized whatever ground was Anglo-Saxonized." This brings to point that he was probably bi-racial because he was easier to move to a white point of view. Mr. Z was not a distinguished member of his race if he strayed to be more white and not stand up for his race's rights.

The start of the poems...

In the poem Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes we see many similes that we don't usually use to describe dreams. The way Langston approaches images of a raisin, a sore, rotten meat, syrup sweet, and a heavy load are quite bizarre and seem a little appalling. Speaking of a dream as a "raisin in the sun" to me is like saying that you sucked all of the passion and beauty out of a dream, just like the sun condenses the grapes' juices in order for it to become a raisin. Also, a dream  "fester[ing] like a sore" sounds painful. It seems that the question "Or fester like a sore.." is asking if you had a nightmare, not a dream. Dreams are meant to be beautiful, not painful and blistery. Continuing with the poem, it goes on to ask if the dream deferred "stinks like rotten meat". This personification of the dream smelling makes no sense to me. Besides the inability to smell a dream, what makes you think that it would be so horrible as to smell like rotten meat? Again, I believe Langston is talking about a nightmare not a put off dream. Lastly, Langston asks if the dream if like a syrupy sweet or a heavy load. In both instances, these descriptions of the stopped dream make me realize that maybe putting off the dream is what is causing all of these questions. The thought of the dream being put off until a later time is what causes these horrible thoughts of Langston's dreams. 

Perrine Poetry Blog

      Perrine's "The Nature of Proof in the Interpretation of Poetry," had many points about poetry interpretations that I completely agree with. I agreed with Perrine's criteria for judging if an interpretation of a poem was valid or not. I believe that a poem cannot contradict itself in any way or it would become confusing to understand. Also, the interpretation has to be somewhat reasonable and not something that you would read and be like, "That's way wrong."  I think that this just makes explanations/interpretations short, sweet, and to the point. Something else I agree with in Perrine's essay, is her symbols explanation. I believe that all symbols, although they could have many meanings, narrow down due to word choice and such. It is pretty clear that a purple flower can't stand for an ugly monkey (that'd be bizarre). I believe that Perrine was right when she insinuated that although an interpretation can sound right, it might be completely wrong.
   There were things mentioned that I could relate to because of my recent experiences interpreting poems. When I read a poem, I would always think deep about what it could mean, never literally. Perrine mentions that in poetry, context may function to expand meaning as well as to limit it. This goes along with my earlier comment about being able to find meaning to something but that something can't be everything. I know that interpreting poems can be difficult because of this narrow path we can take to get the correct meaning of it, but I enjoy poems. I think that the way Perrine described things she made it clear that although we aren't always right about what poems really mean, we can be somewhat close. I know I sure was on the Emily Dickinson poem (not exactly everything though). I think that I will be able to find it a little easier to interpret poems now with Perrine's criteria and her points of what makes a right guess of what the meaning to a poem can be. I will enjoy AP Lit! YAY!

The Great Gatsby-15

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was a book I really enjoyed. It had many hidden meanings and it was a book that was easy to comprehend. Although things did not end well romantically for anyone, Nick was able to find his true self at the end. He was able to understand that sometimes you reach so far for you dreams that you don't realize that like Gatsby, you fail to grasp what you already have. "And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly grasp it" [Fitzgerald, 180]. Fitzgerald did not make a happy ending, but it was a peaceful ending. Nick learned a lot with his friend Gatsby, that was for sure.

The Great Gatsby- 14

In the last chapter of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Nick observes the differences between the Easterners and the Westerners. He realizes that "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]. He realizes that the West is less exciting than the East but that the East lacks what the West has. I understand what Gatsby feels, because that is the exact way I feel about Mexico. I feel like Indiana lacks the crazy, freedom of Guadalajara, but Guadalajara lacks the tranquility and peace of Indiana. I love both places, as I am sure Nick loves the East and the West, but there will always be one place you love the most. And it will always be home.

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Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is devastating with two deaths. The death of Gatsby and the death of Wilson. Thinking that whoever killed Myrtle was his lover, Wilson traces Gatsby as the driver of the car. Enraged, Wilson goes out to find Gatsby and shoots him and then shoots himself. Absolutely shocked, Nick finds Gatsby's dead body floating in the pool. This chapter shows a great deal of irony as well as chapter 7 because at one point a servant of Gatsby's says, "'I'm going to drain the pool today, Mr Gatsby. Leaves'll start falling pretty soon, and then there's always trouble with the pipes'" [Fitzgerald,153]. If Gatsby would have agreed to let his servant drain the pool, Gatsby would have never gone in and would have probably not been killed by Mr. Wilson. Needless to say, there's always a possibility that he could have gone into his house and killed him anyway.

The Great Gatsby-12

In chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby, Daisy and Gatsby run over Myrtle, Tom's secret lover. This is complete irony that Fitzgerald is using. Which is amazing because it makes the story so much more interesting. This chapter was really fun to read and easy to understand. I was surprised at how Fitzgerald approached this part of the book. He made sure that some kind of tragic event was going to happen and that it would completely blow you away. When I first read that someone was "beaten", I expected Wilson to have beaten Tom because he found out about him and Myrtle, but it was actually Myrtle being killed by Daisy and Gatsby. Daisy had no idea, yet killed her "enemy" (she didn't really know Myrtle was her enemy though). Oh the irony. "Myrtle Wilson's body, wrapped in a blanket, and then in another blanket, as though she suffered from a chill in the hot night, lay on a work-table by the wall, and Tom, with his back to us, was bending over to it, motionless" [Fitzgerald, 138].

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As chapter 7 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald rolls around, there is expected conflict between Tom and Gatsby because of Daisy. Gatsby's truth of his illegal encounters come out into the air and so do Tom's sexism and hypocrisy encounters. "'She's not leaving me!' Tom's words suddenly leaned down over Gatsby. 'Certainly not for a common swindler who'd have to steal the ring he put on her finger'"[Fitzgerald, 133]. He has no moral qualms about his own extramarital affairs, but when faced with his wife’s infidelity, he assumes the position of outraged victim. Both are liars and both are guilty of their wrong-doings. It is quite harsh and I have a feeling of compassion for Daisy because of the bad luck she has gotten with these two men. I have a feeling Daisy is going to stay with Tom because of his possessiveness towards Daisy. 

The Great Gatsby-10

In Chapter 6, the truth of Gatsby comes out. Nick finds out that neither what Gatsby claims about himself or what others claim about him is true. This chapter in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald to me is really important because to me it symbolizes that there are always people in your life that are nothing of what they claim to be. People try so hard to show-off, to impress others and make themselves seem like perfect people. In reality, no one is perfect. Neither was Gatsby. He lied, he was poor! "James Gatz-that was really, or at least legally, his name" [Fitzgerald, 98]. He loved to show off his luxury, and it turns out that he was never what he claimed to be. The only thing I admire about Gatsby is how he went from being in poverty, fought for what he had then, and became what he wanted. He set goals for himself, something we all need to do. College is around the corner and I want to set goals for myself and achieve them, but without fooling anyone. I guess Gatsby was an inspiration, a lying inspiration!

The Great Gatsby-9

Something bizarre in chapter 5 of The Great Gastby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the fact that Gatsby has a great deal of British lifestyle in his mansion. Although it is all luxurious, it is not normal that an American veteran would have such things. My thought about this is that Gatsby is hiding something from everyone about his past and his luxury. "A brewer had built it [Gatsby's mansion] early in the "period" craze a decade before, and there was a story that he'd agreed to pay five years; taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw" [Fitzgerald, 88]. Why would this brewer want to do this? They refused though, Nick says, because Americans are stubbornly unwilling to play the role of peasants. Why would they want to be peasants, really though? Isn't that what Americans fought for a long time ago? Gatsby is one weird dude. 

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Chapter 5 is an important chapter of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, as Gatsby’s reunion with Daisy is what makes this novel rock from happy to sad. Before this event, the story of their relationship exists only in talk and memories. The plot shifts its focus to the romance between Gatsby and Daisy, and the tensions in their relationship becomes real. After Gatsby’s history with Daisy is revealed, a meeting between the two becomes inevitable, and it is highly appropriate that the theme of the past’s significance to the future is evoked in this chapter.This part of the novel explores ideas of love, excess, and the American dream, it becomes clearer and clearer to the reader that Gatsby’s emotional frame is out of sync with the passage of time. His nervousness about the present and about how Daisy’s attitude toward him may have changed causes him to knock over Nick’s clock, symbolizing the clumsiness of his attempt to stop time and retrieve the past. Gatsby was so terribly emberrased and came to believe that all he had done was a mistake. "'This is a terrible mistake,' he said, shaking his head from side to side, 'a terrible, terrible mistake'" [Fitzgerald,87].

The Great Gatsby-7

In chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, more and more is learned about Gatsby. Gatsby seems to be lying to Nick about who he is and how he has all the money he possesses. Even more confusing, is the story that Jordan tells Nick about Gatsby and his cousin Daisy. Gatsby loves Daisy, and Daisy loves him in return. Gatsby wants to see her more than anything, but is afraid that she will turn him down. Daisy has been completely faithful to Tom, but obviously Tom has not been faithful to her. Gatsby knows this, and he also knows that Daisy only married Tom because Gatsby left for the war. Nick is in quite a problem because now he knows about Tom and Daisy's secrets which could have a great impact on the story. Jordan tells Nick that Daisy is, "not to know about it. Gatsby doesn't want her to know. You're supposed to invite her to tea" [Fitzgerald,79]. Poor Nick, he has to be in the middle of this. We will what happens between Gatsby and Daisy.

The Great Gatsby- 6

Jordan Baker is Nick's crush in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. As time goes on, Nick decides to listen to Tom and Daisy's advice of seeing Jordan. As Nick begins to get to know her, he realizes that Jordan is a very dishonest person. She even cheated on her first tennis tournament. But Nick can not help but still have feelings for her. Her lying is so bad though, that Nick thinks that, "Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues, and this is mine, I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known" [Fitzgerald, 59]. This quote makes me sad; how bad can a person lie to you that it makes you think you are few of the people who are honest. It makes me scared for Nick. Jordan might lie to him about something and hurt Nick. Things between these two individuals could end bad.

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As The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald continues and chapter 3 rolls around, Nick has the opportunity to see his idol, Gatsby. As he sees him, Nick is in awe. "He smiled understandingly-much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced- or seemed to face- the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself" [Fitzgerald, 48]. I think that for a moment in Nick's life, he felt understood by someone. He felt connected with Gatsby on a deeper level. Something he probably never felt before. It might have been his awe for Gatsby or it might have been that he really felt this way. As Gatsby leaves the room, Nick is left with Jordan Baker and commences to ask her many questions about Gatsby. Jordan tells him that she only goes to Gatsby's house for the parties and does not really care for Gatsby. Nick is left with many questions and still does not understand what Gatsby's luxury comes from. Gatsby is a very reserved, strange man.

The Great Gatsby-F. Scott Fitzgerald- 4

In Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, crazy things happened. Why in the world would Tom take Nick, who is Daisy's cousin, to go see his lover? That is so disrespectful! That whole party was just awkward and weird anyway. Definitely the most random people ever. What was up with the McKee couple? Mr. McKee was a "feminine man from the flat below"[Fitzgerald, 30]. The flat that was being referred to is Tom's lover's sister, Catherine who was throwing the awkward party. Everyone ended up drunk and Tom's lover, Myrtle, was being obnoxious and yelling Daisy's name. Tom became so upset that he hit her and broke her now. Um... does anyone else think that it is a bit psycho of Tom? It comes to show that Tom was a complete jerk not only for cheating on Daisy but for hitting a woman. I hope that both Daisy and Myrtle leave him!

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        In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, there seems to be a big emphasis on the two sides of New York called East Egg and West Egg. "I lived at West Egg, the-well, the less fashionable of the two, thought that is a most superficial tag to express the bizarre and not a little sinister contrast between them" [Fitzgerald, 5]. I begin to believe that in this time, there was a lot of criticism of a lot of things, just like I have talked about in my two previous blogs. There was even a better side of town to live in, when in reality it was the same city just split into different sections. I guess the only difference was what kind of people lived on each side of town and how elegant each town was. For some reason, I found this to be an interesting feature to blog about. It's peculiar but very interesting. The only thing I can think of is that it will pose some kind of problem with love and money. Nick, do not fall in love with someone from the East Egg...

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald- 2

In chapter 1 of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Daisy opens up to us about how she feels about life in general. She implies that a girl can have more fun if she is beautiful and simplistic. Daisy herself often tries to act in such a way. She conforms to the social standard that every American had in the 1920's. With this it brings back my point of people thinking you're better off if you act, dress, and are a certain type of person. In this chapter Daisy shares her hopes for her daughter's future with the words, "I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool" [Fitzgerald, 17]. Daisy believes that the best way to live her life is to be beautiful like I said above. This way of thinking is quite ridiculous but it is a characteristic of Daisy's that unfolds in this first chapter. I wonder if this way of thinking will cause problems for her in the future. I feel that her husband Tom might be a little unappreciative of it since he has cruel white-supremacy  thoughts. 

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald- 1

  "'Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had"[Fitzgerald, 1].

  This opening quote from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald symbolizes the meaning of a big social part of life for me. In this world, people set themselves out to be "perfect", they try their best to fit in to what the media says is "in". I am guilty of this myself, as I am sure many of you are. I do not understand why taking a good look at people and finding things wrong with them makes others feel better about themselves. This media that we surround our lives with tell us what we can and can not do without us even knowing about it. They manipulate us in a way so secretive that we do not even become aware of how they render us to do certain things. We are told to wear certain clothes, buy certain brands, because if we don't...those people who do wear and buy these items have suddenly become better than us. What I find disturbing is that not all people have the sufficient money to be in those ranks. They do not have a chance in being equal to everyone else. Not just with buying and wearing certain brands, but in everything they do. We can not judge those people, because they do not have the advantages that most of us have had. This applies to every aspect of life.

The House of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 10

In this almost-concluding part of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily has sunk to her all-time low. Lily was now working as a hat-maker and there were no social class distinctions. As she mentioned, "There was no desire that they should recognise any social difference in her; but she had hoped to be received as their equal, and perhaps before long show herself their superior by a special deftness of touch..." (Wharton, 231). Although she was at her lowest, this statement shows that Lily was still determined to fight her way up the social ladder. Although we all know that it would be hard to do so after everything she went through, Lily was determined to at least be the top in her workplace. The only problem was that Lily was awful at what she did. She couldn't even sew spangles on a hat frame. I am guessing that after two months of working there, you would at least know how to do that right? Just kidding, because I have no idea what that is and it is probably really hard. Poor Lily again. Sinking down to the very very bottom. Will anything good happen to her at all?

The House of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 8

In this part of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I realized what a good moral person Gerty Ferish is. Even after all of the stupid things that Lily has done, Gerty has always been there to support her and help her out. In this particular chapter after talking to Lily and seeing how sick and not well she is, she tells her truthfully. If you recall, in chapter one Lily told Seldon that she had always wanted a friend who would tell her unpleasant things once in a while. Gerty was telling Lily how sick and tired she looked all the time and although Lily took it as an offense, it was what Lily wanted in the beginning (a true friend). Gerty was able to talk to Selden and tell him that it would be best if he helped Lily. He was the only one that could help her, she said. Gerty was trying to be a good friend even if Lily did not approve of what she was doing. Lily was better off with friends like her than with Bertha Dorset. That lady is evil! Gerty was nothing like Bertha and it made me feel content to know that someone was actually looking out for poor old Lily. You go Gerty!

The House Of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 6

In this chapter of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, I decided that Lily is plain stupid. Sorry, but it is true! Why would she not want to help George with his marriage? He did nothing to her! She is being mean to him when she should be trying to ruin Mrs. Dorset's life! AGH! Lily is such a strange woman. Why would she not want to help him and help herself? She would rid herself of the rumors as well. Bertha is a horrible person anyways. I don't want to sound awful, but she is! I REALLY don't like this chapter Mr. Costello. Sorry. I had to blog about it though, And show you how upset this made me. She's annoying me at this point. I hope to see something happen here, a little action on her part would be nice.

The House of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 4

In this section of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Mrs. Peniston has died, and everyone has gathered to hear the reading of her will. Everyone assumes that it is to be left to Lily. Mrs. Peniston, having heard of Lily's scandalous affair with George, leaves only ten thousand dollars to her, and the rest to Grace Stepney. Grace became rich and Lily was left with enough to pay Gus. What I find interesting still, is that Lily still does not blame Bertha Dorset for anything. Lily decides that it is her rotten luck as to why everything that has happened to her has been the way it has been. I find it disbelieving how Lily could think that after all that Mrs. Dorset had done to her. She was cruel and awful and Lily still blamed it on herself. It comes to show how much Lily changed throughout the book and how her humbleness went from 0 to 100. I believe that it wasn't the best way to change because of the cruelty, but it certainly taught Lily a lesson. I just do not know what else to expect after all of the things that have happened to poor Lily. I hope that she decides that her and Seldon are meant for each other. She will be better off with him and she will at least be happy, money or no money. 

The House of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 14

In the final chapter of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily has died. Selden is ready to tell Lily that he does love her, but it is too late. Lily will never be able to hear those words again. Selden found all of Lily's truths and he was happy that she was rid of all her debts. She wrote a check to Gus for the nine thousand she owed him and although she was left without money, she had no more weight on her for her to die. She was free of everything. It still makes me upset how dumb she was in letting Bertha take advantage of her. I hate how she let Bertha treat her and how dumb she was with the decisions she made with Selden. She lived a life that she never wanted because she was afraid to let go of what she had or what she could have. She was just like her mother, too proud. I liked the way it ended though, because it was not a happy ending like every love story. Not that I don't like happy endings. Oh Lily, your cowardliness took you to ruins. Poor Selden, too. What will be of him now? Ah...love stories.

The House of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 12

Almost to the end of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily decides to apologize to Selden. This is absolutely so sad. Lily and Selden love eachother but Lily's choices made it impossible for Selden to respond. She chose to do something with her life that he told her not to. She was scared to lose the luxury and money to be with someone who could not give her such a thing. Even though she tried to live this life, it failed miserably and she was worse off than if she would have married him in the first place. Lily has grown skinny and alone. Lily has decided to leave everything behind and start as a new Lily. Even though she says this, she knows that Selden will always be a part of her and will never be able to leave what they had behind. Lily will probably never see Selden again. In what I think is their final scene, Lily "went up to him and laid her hands on his shoulders. ""Goodbye,"" she said, and as he bent over her she touche his forehead with her lips" (Wharton, 252).

The House of Mirth: Book 2 Chapter 1

As the second book begins in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily and Seldon are now both in Europe. Selden for business and Lily is on the cruise with the Dorsets. I believe this is fate. Seldon and Lily always end up together. Seldon has tried to go on this trip without thinking about her and when he finds out that Lily is where he is, he realized that he really does love her. Seldon felt " the latent ache, and realised that after all he had not come off unhurt" (Wharton, 150). This shows that Seldon felt a comprehension of his feelings for Lily. Although this is true, Seldon finds that Lily "was on the edge of something...on the brinks of chasm..." (Wharton, 155). Whatever that means, Seldon sees that Lily is not doing so hot. Maybe she needs him or maybe something if going to happen to her. I do not know, but Lily does need help with finding new friends who do not betray her all the time.

The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 15

To conclude Book 1 of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily has had terrible luck and now her aunt has kicked her out. What else could go wrong? Lily had been hoping that her aunt would be nice enough to help her deal with the money she owed to Gus but her aunt replies with "...beyond that I recognize no obligation to assume your debts" (Wharton 140). Lily has lied to her aunt at this point telling her that her debts are not of her dressmaker like her aunt insinuates, but of playing cards. Her aunt feels ashamed of Lily and sees no reason to help her. I believe that it was cruel of her aunt to not want to help her but I also see where she is coming from. It is not any one's fault but Lily's own because she chose to get easy money by Mr. Trenor. I feel sad for Lily because of her bad luck, but I will always believe things happen for a reason and Lily's attitude towards money and luxury had to be changed somehow. In this case, it was cruel but Lily will learn her lesson. I just hope that Lily finds a way to pay all her debts. Poor girl.

The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 13

I was right! In this portion of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily find out what Trenor really wanted. Sex. Of course a man like him would want to use her money as an excuse. Lily is terrified that Trenor would do such a thing. On the other hand, I sensed that this was going to happen. Lily was being way too kind to a man who was looking for "new meat". It makes me sad to know that there are still men like that. People like Trenor get nowhere in life. They are always wanting to advance in life by being wrong-doers and taking advantage of others. Trenor even went as far as to lie to her about Mrs. Trenor, her best friend, being there. How could a man want to take advantage of his wife's best friend? It sickens me to think that Trenor invented all of the stock market shenanigans, gave her money, only to get her to do what he wanted. Lily was stupid to believe that she would be getting money so easily.

The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 12

During this part of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily has decided to keep peace with Mrs. Dorset. Mr. Dorset has invited Lily to go on a cruise with himself and Mrs. Dorset and Ned Silverston. At this point of the story I do not understand why Lily would want to befriend Mrs Dorset. Mrs. Dorset had an affair with Selden and ruined her chance with Percy Gryce. Lily had "dirt on Mrs. Dorset and was not even thinking to attempt to screw her over. Lily thought, "The enmity, however, had apparently expired in a renewal of friendliness between the two women" (Wharton , 104). This comes to show that Lily had forgiven Mrs. Dorset. In a way I admire her maturity, she was able to be the bigger person and forget everything. Mrs. Dorset has yet to find a way to ruin Lily again. I think she will find a way to do so and Lily will be sorry that she ever thought of them as friends. Mrs. Dorset has had the awful courage to have no fidelity towards her husband when she committed adultery with Selden. I think Ned Silverston will be next on her list of affairs.

The House Of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 9

In this portion of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Lily has came back from her cousin's wedding and has learned about Percy's engagement with Evie Van Osburgh. I feel that this was a good turning point in the story because Lily would be better off living a life of happiness and well-being with Selden than living a lie with Mr. Gryce. Lily is now at her aunt's house when a sudden visitor arrives asking for Ms. Bart. Lily comes to the door and realizes it is the charwoman who was at Selden's house in New York when she was waiting for her train (chapter 1). Lily is confused as to why she is there and soon learns that she has come to sell her some letters she has found to Mr. Selden from Mrs. Dorset. It tells of their affairs and she buys them off of the charwoman. Since the charwoman thought Lily was the author of the letters, I see it suitable that "Lily throbbed with fear..." (Wharton, 86). I get a sense of fear due to the fact that Lily was thought to be the author of the letters. This would be information the charwoman could use on Lily, even if Lily was not the author. Lily never told the charwoman, but Lily was more intent on the "dirt" she had on Mrs. Dorset. Lily hides the letters for a future time when she thinks she will need them.

The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 7

At this point in The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, Mrs. Trenor berates Lily for being completely flaky and indecisive. Because Lily took Selden away from Bertha, Bertha retaliated and turned Percy against Lily by giving him all the dirt on her. She told him how Lily gambles, smokes, and doesn't go to church. Percy runs away from Lily and Lily realizes she is now alone. After her talk with Selden about success, she realized that Selden has his priorities in the order that she wishes to have hers. Even with this reality check, Lily decides to listen to Mr. Trenor's offer of using her money in the stock market to make her wealthier. She is preoccupied with finding ways to make money instead of listening to her inner-self. Lily does not know what to do with herself at this point and it could mean consequences. I find it a little fishy that Trenor is taking her money and miraculously converting it to more wealth. It may have to do with the fact that he is using the stock market but in all honesty, I am naive as to how it works. 

The House of Mirth: Chapter 4

Continuing with The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton, it seems more obvious that Lily is in it for the money. Although her instincts say she has feelings for Lawrence Selden, she is more interested in Percy Gryce who has the money and dullness that she wants in order to live a life of luxury. Lily's friend, Mrs. Trenor, seems to be in accordance with Lily's choice of Percy. She wants Lily to be able to live a life of luxury like herself. Lily is also a bit uncomfortable with the idea that Selden will be coming to Bellomont, most likely because she has realized she has feelings for a non-wealthy person. Mrs. Trenor mentions Percy's  income and tells Lily not to wear her "scarlet crepe-de-Chine for dinner" and not to "smoke if you can help it, Lily dear!" (Wharton, 36). Mrs. Trenor wanted Lily to be her best in order to attract Percy and her advice was to not smoke or dress sexy. Mrs. Trenor wantes Lily to impress Percy so that she could hit off well with him.

The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 3

As The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton continues, we learn that Lily's mannerism of caring so much for money is due to her mother, Mrs. Bart. Lily even admits that, "she was secretly ashamed of her mother's crude passion for money" (Wharton, 27). Growing up, Lily was able to live a life of well-being; she needed nothing more, nothing less. Her father became bankrupt right before his death and left Lily and her mother to live in poverty. Lily's mother, though, "died of a deep disgust" (Wharton, 28). Her mother hated the life they were living and she was better off dead than living in simplicity. After Lily's mother's death, Lily was left money-less to live by herself. She had no choice than to live off of her aunt and do what she could, but she would continue complaining and act as if she had the money to do so. She owed her dress-maker and was in debt for gambling (even if she knew she did not have the money to do so...). Lily was living her poverty life, in a not-so-humble kind of way.

The House of Mirth: Book 1 Chapter 1

Beauty is an essential feature that all women want to bear as part of their characteristics. It is a feature that our main character, Lily Bart, possesses triumphantly. While the first part of The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton unfolds, Lily's beauty is emphasized, revealing to us that her beauty is going to be an important part of the story. "One or two persons, in brushing past them, lingered to look; for Miss Bart was a figure to arrest even the suburban traveller rushing to his last train" (Wharton, 1). Lily was able to attract the attention of many men. Lily also had the internal beauty of being able to speak well and intelligently to others. She had a great way of speaking to others and letting others hear what they wanted. Lily was a beautiful girl that had beautiful manners but these would be ruined with her famish for money and luxury. As we know it, Lily was a poor girl living with her rich aunt. Her parents had lost everything before dying and her desire for money was ugly. She was willing to marry a dull, boring man for wanting to possess his money. Lily would be in great need of someone to help her be a beautiful woman, without her ugly wishes.