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].

The Great Gatsby-11

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. 

The Great Gatsby- 8

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.

The Great Gatsby- F. Scott Fitzgerald- 5

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.