The End

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

In the end of Frankenstein, although Victor's mournful struggle for life ends and his entire family has been decimated, he is still able to die with some form of peace. In his dreams and as he comes closer to death, he relishes in the fact that he will soon be with his family, in which he even believed that their spirits had been watching over him the entire time. Oddly enough, Victor dies not discontent that the creature still lives and even feels no remorse for his decision to reject the monster's companion. He speaks of how he fulfilled a far more important that his duty to his creature, his duty towards mankind. By his actions he inhibited the creation of a new race that, with preconceived hatred of mankind, could rout destruction to his fellow man. Seeing Victor's sure resolve and peaceful passing at least give the reader some sense of contentment.

Walton is greatly disturbed by the lose of his friend. He describes Victor's passing as, "the untimely extinction of this glorious spirit?" (Shelley 162). He remorses the fact that he had meat such a fine gentleman only at the brink of his death. Such feelings truly display Victor's loneliness. Such an affliction may seem simply ascribed to his current position, stuck out at sea with a crew of strangers, however, his sadness seems to be deeply rooted in a much more internal loneliness. Almost as if even back home, Walton did not have many friends to rely on. The fact that he is sending his letters to his sister and not some close friend or significant other only stresses this even more. Another, point of Walton at the end of the book is the parallelism with his final choices and victors. There comes a point when Victor shamefully and disappointedly admits the end of the voyage, for he does not want to risk the lives around him by his own ambition. Such a statement only reminds one of Victor, and how his own ambitions affected the lives of those around him. He must relinquish his hopes and return to England as a sorrowful failure, but an alive failure.

Finally, the creature ends this book with a sudden show of sympathy. As Frankenstein's monster speaks to Walton, one receives a brief look back unto before the creature was a heinous demon. During times when his hopes of being received and loved were extinguished by mankind. He states, "Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from the door with contumely?...Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the savior of his child?" (Shelley 165). On seeing Victor's cold, dead form he finally relinquishes his hatred for his actions, admitting to being a slave to passion. However, it would only have taken till the total destruction of his enemy that he would come to regret them. In the end, the creature resolves to enter the deepest depths of the arctic where he ends his wretched life. Throughout this story, the lives of Victor and the creature were juxtaposed so similarly, that one could only get a Harry Potter v. Lord Voldemort vibe. In the end, it is only fitting that if one would die, so would the other, in turn, die.

Victor's marriage

Frankenstein by Marry Shelley

During the last couple pages containing Elizabeth, one can truly see what an anchor she is to poor, wretched Victor. She loves him so much that she endeavors through his unexplained pain with him and sympathizes for him. However, the true sadness comes from the great despair and darkness that envelopes Victor in times when he should seem happy. With knowledge of the vengeful wretch waiting to tear the world around him, Victor looks with sadness upon the love of his family, knowing that it all may be taken away. In one instance, after reading of Elizabeth's pronouncement of love for him and hope for their union in a letter, instead of feeling great love and happy eagerness to return home, he immediately thinks of the monster's threat, "I will be with you on your wedding-night". This remark Victor woefully mis-interperets and it brings up one of the greatest ironies of the book. Although many would right away assume that this threat reference's the death of Victor's soon to be bride, Victor admits that something blinded him from that truth, for he believed that it was intended for his death. On that night after the wedding as Victor and Elizabeth stayed in the inn, Victor foolishly left his wife alone, in order to save her from witnessing his battle with the creature. Ironically, he does not save her from anything as she ends up being the next victim of the fiend.

Victor's mistake

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

When Victor is put between a rock and a hard place with the creature, one would say that a major role reversal has thus taken place. Victor is left with the task of recommitting himself to a task that he loathes physically disgusted of when he must make a mate for the creature. He feels this obligation towards the creature not for the creature's happiness as much as for the safety of those he loves. By this threat the creature has control over Frankenstein. With Victor having everything to lose and the monster having nothing, Victor does not have much of a choice then to fulfill the monster's wishes. This advantage that the monster has over his master gives him a sense of dominance as he says, "You are my creator, but I am your master, obey!" (Shelley 122).

In this very same scene when the creature asserts his power over Victor, Victor is given to his emotions and makes a grave mistake. His dismantling of the body and refusal towards the creature's wishes all come from an impulse of disgust and discontent with his work. His mind begins to create rationales to the discontinuation of his work such as the implications of letting lose two of the maniacal race to breed more wretches. One would think that a man who feels as tenderly than anyone for his family would make any sort of sacrifice and move heaven and earth for them would abide by the creature's wishes to secure safety for them. Although the sacrifice he makes by indirectly extinguishing the creature's race from the planet in the end would seem noble, Victor makes this decision more out of an impulse than a calculated risk. Because of his hatred of his wretched work, his makes the choice that will eventually put his loved ones in the ground. Good job family man...

The Creature's nature

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

One topic that was brought up by my small group in discussion was the creature's nature vs. nurture. Now, although the notion that because the creature was created in a laboratory by a scientists, he would not have a precomposed genial make-up meaning his initial nature would be impossible may sound logical, this is a science fiction book and such thoughts are to be thrown out the window. By staying in line with the imagination of the book, it would be conceivable to say that the creature does contain some precomposed tendencies. Although the many miserable encounters that the creature had with humanity and his scholarly learning formed him into the evil wretch he is by the end of the book, the creature does seem to posses some traits that may have been alive in him from his very conception. One obvious trait of the creature's initial nature is his heightened intelligence. When speaking to Frankenstein of his past he admits this by saying, "I may boast that I improved more rapidly than the Arabian" (Shelley 84). This does show that he can learn at a much faster rate than the average human. This trait of a nature plays a part in who he is because it is what enables him to learn about and contemplate the human world and his creator and deep, philosophical questions. These lessons only help him more in the destruction of his master. However, one trait that appears to lie in the monster that is less obvious is his very quick and unrelenting anger. Yes, the events that take place during his short life term him into a miserable wretch, however, the quickness in which the monster resorts to violence is unnerving. Just as the cottagers leave their dwelling, the creature goes mad and burns the cabin down while howling through the night. This is not normal. Another, instance in which the creature is quickly wrapped in his anger is when he takes his first victim. Here one can truly see his deviousness. After destroying the young boys life, the boy he had moments before wished to take as a companion, he feels no remorse what so ever. 

The Creature's Turning

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Throughout the creature's development, one common theme that seems visibly apparent goes along with the saying, "ignorance is bliss". One can find this when reading of the creature's accumulation of knowledge and his resulting demeanor. There is a great resemblance between the creature and one of his many learning materials, Paradise Lost. He speaks of the book and its plot of people rebelling and waring against God. He finds similarity in this to his own life immediately however many differences ensue, such as: God is a perfect being, Victor is not; God would not abandon his creation, Victor did; and lastly, what is most easily noted by the creature, Adam had a companion, he does not. All of this knew information that the creature learns from Paradise Lost, Sorrows of Werner, and Safie's history lessons, he relates all back towards himself. They fill his mind with numbing questions such as, "Who was I? What was I? Whence did I come? What was my destination?" (Shelley 91). Not only in his lessons does the creature feel more wretched, but also in the lessons he receives though real life. Before, while he was still ignorant of the cruelness of the world and the pain it could inflict, he was happy and hopeful in his small universe spent stalking the cottagers he cared for. However, when he finally attempts to reach out and fails when his "protector" attacks him with a stick, he learns that he is truly hopeful and incapable of any companionship. He also learns of the injustice of the world first hand, when he is attacked by a man after he saved the man's daughter. In this lessons, the creature is filled with grief and much hatred towards the human race.

Frankenstein 5

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Victor, out of his extreme guilt and self-loathing decides to take a trip up the mountains where he can escape his issues. However, he ends up enduring quite the contrary when he crosses paths with the monster up atop one of the highest mountain peeks. For their first encounter inside Victor's dorm room, Victor was filled with intense fear and regret and quickly fled the scene, however, in this setting, Victor has been through a emotional wreck and such worries of being dispatched by his monster leave him as he curses and berates the creature for the destruction of his youngest brother and Justine. However, the oddest and most unexpected thing happens when the creature talks back. This I was not expecting. Of my limited knowledge of Frankenstein stories, I had never known that the monster in the original novel could speak. This is another great difference between popular culture's Frankenstein and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. The creature speaks with great meaning and vocabulary as he tries to gain his masters sympathy through the retelling of his two years of living. He explains the odd experience of being alive for the first time, in which he, "saw, felt, heard, and smelt at the same time", not knowing how to distinguish each scent (Shelley 70). His retelling of his journey sounds displays his progress of learning and how, like a baby, he learns to eat, drink, sleep, and get warm when he needs to. He learns of the pleasantness of the world, the savory-cooked meals, and the sweet songs of the birds. He also learns of real human emotions that deepen past simple urges to either eat or drink. Living next to the family, he learns about pain and suffering of the poor, and about the happiness of a family. All this time, one can only gain sympathy for the wretched creature.

Frankenstein 4

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

After gaining news of his youngest brother's death, Victor quickly travels back home to his native town of Geneva. There is he met with bad weather on a dark night, the perfect setting for another horror scene. Out of some odd impulse, Frankenstein, instead of visiting his mourning family, decides first to visit the murder sight of his little brother. There within the temporal flashes of lightning, he witnesses his wretched creature. Although, I am merely reading these descriptions from the confines of a book, I note that Shelley, through her diction and imaging, does well in creating a spooky and suspenseful atmosphere when writing of Frankenstein's sighting of the creature. For example, she writes, "A flash of lightning illuminated the object, and discovered its shape plainly to me; its gigantic stature, and the deformity of its aspect, more hideous than belongs to humanity..." (Shelley 50). Such a scene truly shocks and terrifies me. So with this odd and random appearance of the monster at the murder sight, Victor can only conceive that his brother's death was the monster's doing. This realization ultimately fills Victor with guilt, for he it was not of his own doing, yet he still caused the outcome. However, this guilt is none the same as when he finds that Justine Moritz is wrongfully accused of the murder. Out of the pain and humiliation of the whole trial, Justine cannot endure any longer and falsely admits to the crimes brought upon her. What I find quite strange is if Justine really was not the murderer (which she was not) how did the picture that had originally been with William come to her possession. Perhaps the monster is smarter than previously thought. Also, Victor admits that the first victims of the monster were William and Justine, meaning more are to come.

Frankenstein 3

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Within the dismal and disgusting charnel-houses, Frankenstein receives "a light so brilliant and wondrous" that sets his mind in motion (Shelley 31). He explains that there, among the decomposing forms of men, a light went on. Within the chamber Frankenstein inexplicably realized the amazingly simple way to animate inanimate objects. Frankenstein, however, refuses to reveal this information, as if the singularly educated Robert Walton were to understand any bit of Frankenstein's probably extremely complicated method of creating his own 8 feet tall, yellow monster. If you cannot tell from the sarcasm, i indicate that one can clearly see around Shelley's strategy of covering up the omission of Frankenstein's methods by simply stating that Frankenstein does not wish to tell. Although it is quite obvious, it is very smart of her not to try her hand at theorizing such an incredibly impossible and complex possibility, for when one does that with little scientific background, many can gain sights around it. That, in turn, leads to bad science fiction. She omits the specifics of the finding, because, honestly, it is not very important and then she continues on with the real story.

Having little background on this story, other than what pop culture has taught me, I was very astonished by the true creation story. I was very much expecting the gigantic foreboding mansion/castle in which Frankenstein and his hunchbacked accomplice Igor crank the green monster to the top of the building thus ensuing the great lighting bolt followed by the maniacal laugh and trademark, "It's Alive!". However, the real creation is much more subtle. In fact, if one were simply skimming the pages with his or her eyes and not fully digesting the information, they could altogether skip the infamous scene. For it only takes up a few lines and ends with Frankenstein growing cold-feet and running away. How's that for a mad scientist?

Frankenstein 2

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

As Frankenstein describes his upbringing, he gives the impression that no life could have been any better. His life was so good when he was a child that this might as well be true. He was the sole focus of his very loving, and understanding parents for years until the adopted his beautiful and radiant "more than sister" Elizabeth Lavenza (Shelley 18). He states that from the moment he met her, he meant to cherish and protect her till the day he died. These words that greatly resemble wedding vows, display the relationship between Victor and Elizabeth and foreshadow how that relationship grows with their own maturity. The foreshadowing of Victor's imminent doom begins with the death of his mother. He states that, "the first misfortune of my life occurred- an omen, as it were, of my future misery" (Shelley 23). His mother dies from the same fever that Elizabeth had contracted. This tragedy throws the family into shock. Victor leaves shortly after this horrible incident. It comes to effect him greatly, later down the road, as it is part of his motive for the reanimation of the dead. However, his path his filled with many other great foreshadows. He speaks of the time his father chastised him for reading Agrippa which only peeked his interest even more. There is also the time, when his professor enlightens and motivates him by telling him of how the modern science's can bring about powerful miracles. This theme of impeding doom seems very common throughout Frankenstein.

Frankenstein 1

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein, as you know, begins with the correspondence between Robert Walton and his sister, although the latter does not or send any letters back nor if she does, they are never shown. Right away, one can sense a peculiar connection between Robert and his sister, from the way in which he writes to her, "Farewell, my dear, excellent Margaret. Heaven shower down blessings on you, and save me, that I may again and again testify my gratitude for all your love and kindness" (Shelley 3). This interaction may just be in accordance with the time period, however, if not, he displays incredibly intense emotions towards his sister. Part of this may be subject to his lonliness. He writes her so desperately as if she is the only one he knows in the world, maybe perhaps because he currently is alone in the world. He is currently shut aboard a vessel bound for the North Pole, where he intends to make great expedition history and to find a quicker route across the globe as well. On the vessel, many of his officers and higher ups he greatly respects, however, as the captain of the ship and also having a different nationality from the rest of his crew, Robert feels greatly detached and lonely from the rest. He writes how he greatly wishes for a friend aboard his vessel. However, he soon receives that through the encounter of the mysterious man who turns out to be Victor Frankenstein. Due to their many similarities, they gain an incredibly strong bond. This bond and kinship thus is the reason why Frankenstein feels comfortable and obligated to tell Robert his story.

APO 96225

APO 96225 by Larry Rottman

Larry Rottman directly imposes irony in his very straightforward and easy to read poem. There is not much to this poem other than its overall meaning. With the examples of "napalm" and "funny monkeys" I assume that the war this young man is fighting in is the Vietnam War. One message of the poem would be not to send depressing letters to your mother, however, the true message is that, sometimes, omitting the truth is the best way to protect our loved ones. That is how the son tries to approach writing his mom at first. He realizes the horrors he has seen and does not wish to shock his mom with the same stories. He writes about the weather, monkeys, sunsets, but never about what he was actually sent to do. It is not until his mom sends the last letter where she implores him to tell everything that he decides to answer honestly. It is evident that his answer shocks his mother, when his next letter is from his dad and demands he does not send depressing letters. The boy's initial proclivity to protect his mother from the reality of the situation was justified, and after he had told the truth, he felt horribly.

Much Madness is divinest Sense

Much Madness is divinest Sense by Emily Dickinson

Once again, of course Emily Dickinson is writing about madness. In this case, I believe this very confusing poem is talking about the discrepancies between one person's idea of reality and another's. She writes of how madness can be taken as sensible and how very sensible could be taken as "the starkest Madness" (Dickinson 830). It explains that our own madness, can never be ascertained by us or by a single person, but by the majority. For it states that those who agree with you, say you are sane, and those who doubt you, say, "you're straightway dangerous" (Dickinson 830). It is condemning society for our accusative and sure-of-ourselves nature. Who are we to discern whether one is sane or insane. How do we know that we are not the insane ones. The whole basis on one's sanity is just based off of how we differ from the rest of the crowd. Then can we truly call an insane person sane? These are questions that Emily Dickinson raises in this poem. They are truly philosophical.

Funeral- Emily Dickinson

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain by Emily Dickinson

There are many odd patterns throughout this poem. One such pattern, is the capitalization of every noun within the text. The one outlier is the word "Being", that is unnecessarily capitalized (Dickinson 776). Maybe this is possibly irrelevant, but each stanza contains one non-concrete noun that is related to the speaker, "Brain, Mind, Soul, Being, Reason". It is obvious that Dickinson is trying to communicate to us that all of the sights that are being portrayed are unreal images that sprout from her imagination. This poem seems to be describing the eventual death of her brain. Yes, usually when one dies so does their brain, however I mean a slow deterioration of the mental health until it is reduced to a limbo like state. She says that as she is lifted into the whole, "And then a Plank in Reason, broke," like her reasoning is becoming null and void. Then she finishes the poem with an unfinished thought, as though her mental health had deteriorated to the bitter end. That is why she senses mourners in her head. It is how she feels about her dying mental health.

Miss Brill

Miss Brill by Katherine Mansfield

Miss Brill is certainly an odd lady. She is a people watcher, not living her own life but immersing herself into others lives for a brief time. I believe this is a tell tale sign of someone who is introverted and lonely. From what I can tell, Miss Brill is a relatively old women. She enjoys her sunday trips to the park so much because she feels as though her and the whole public are putting on a play. She comes to this realization and relishes in it, thinking that she is not just part of the audience, but actually on stage like the rest. This instance away from "her room like a cupboard" is some of the most excitement and satisfaction she gets all week (Mansfield 186). Another part of her routine is her fur. I am still quite lost on what exactly her fur is, but it sounds as though it is a cherished part of her day. It is some sort of treat or fine garment that she reintroduces into the public every sunday, making her feel even more excited and confidant about the day at hand. However, all of her excitement over the people watching and the breaking out of her favorite fur, is all demolished when her part in the play becomes too relevant. She sits at her park bench at the height of euphoria when she sees her hero and heroine enter the stage. However, to her disappointment, these punk, teeny-boppers make only to laugh and make fun of her when they believe she is out of earshot. Just as her perception of the young couple is quickly altered, so is her perception of the day and her overall mood. She comes home, sent rudely back to reality, to her lonely house. The play is over.

Bartelby

Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville

Bartleby is certainly a sick, insane man. That is a key point that I certainly picked up from reading this lengthy "short" story. Its amazing how relative adjectives can deceive someone. So bartleby obviously has something wrong with him, for he seems absolutely oblivious to natural social cues and completely devoid of any manner of emotion. He is an empty shell of a man. However, the one who is completely maddening, is not the worthless, waste of space, Bartleby, but instead the narrator of the story, who remains nameless. The narrator has everything in his power to deal with the oddity that is Bartleby, however he seems neglectful out of either his pity or maybe his confused wonder of Bartleby. Early on in the story, it is quite clear that Bartleby is completely noncompliant. After every single request he answers with a simple and clear, "I would prefer not" (Melville 662). One would think that after a couple of days of this nonsense, any employer with any brains about him would deal with the problem in a simple manner. However, the narrator feeds his interest in seemingly brazen Bartleby by keeping him employed, thats logical. At one point the man is stuck, unwilling to work his job, yet unwilling to leave the premise. Bartleby unwittingly tries to reason to the oblivious man, with the expected result of some random creep still staring blankly at a wall in his office. At this point, any man with any bit of reason would simply call the authorities and have this piece of furniture removed from the premise, however the narrator feels too bad. Well that's too bad, because you still have a vegetable living in your office space. I do not know exactly what is wrong with Bartleby, but I will say this about the narrator; his problem is that he is just too passive. That is why his life is awful.

Death, be not proud

Death, be not proud by John Donne

Unlike many of the dismal, death poems prior to this one, John Donne's is a victory poem about death. However, he is not victorious in the sense that he cheats death. He mentions how death comes to all, even "our best men with thee do go" (Donne 971). There is personification in the text by how the narrator speaks to death, as if it were a some sort of being. He speaks of how death perceives itself as high and mighty, but negates this by saying that it is just not so. The main point that he is making of death is that it is not some sort of great evil presence that we must fear, however it is merely a vehicle that we use to pass from this world to the next. He belittles death to a "slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men", the desperate men referring to the those who commit suicide (Donne 971). Not only does he reference how death is not in actual control but he compares the actual death to one short sleep passed, understating it to a nap. He then quickly follows by saying, "we wake eternally" (Donne 972). The function of this line, is to compare death's small, and temperate role in our souls existence with the everlasting life that we live after death completes its purpose.

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas

This poem displays the ambiguous feelings must people have towards death and also the eventual unwillingness that all men experience upon their time. This unwillingness is highlighted by the repetition of "rage, rage against the dying of the light" or "Do not go gentle into that good night" (Thomas 968). The narrator speaks of how all men: wise men, good men, wild men, and grave men, no matter how their outlook may be on life or death previously, all resist death. The wise man knows that death is eventual and right, however, they fight death. The good man who looks back towards all his good deeds and impacts, when faced with death, he shall rage, rage against the dying light. This contradiction of how all men feel about death, is present with the narrator as he tells the story. He speaks of death as the good night and says that it is right, however, we witness the same process with him as he diminishes these thoughts on his father's deathbed. Although he has spoken of how death is expected and right, he tells his father to fight off death at the end of the poem.

Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Crossing the Bar by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Just as the rest of the literary works due in this unit, this poem by Lord Tennyson covers death. However, it more specifically highlights the actual process of dying through the metaphor of a sailor crossing the bar. In the first stanza, when he writes "may there be no moaning of the bar when i put out to sea", literally, that references how the wind moans against the sand bar out at sea, but metaphorically he refers to the actually moaning by his loved ones over his passing (Tennyson 886). The act of the narrator crossing the bar seems to reference the idea of going off into the great unknown, into the open expanse of death. I do question whether or not this poem has a religious aspect or not. I am confused when he writes of his hope to see his Pilot face to face. It seems inevitable for this Pilot to represent God for thats who one usually thinks of meeting upon their death. However, the rest of the poem does not reference religion nor any other notion of a higher power, just the metaphor of his own death.

Each stanza covers an aspect of the departing of the vessel. The first stanza gives the image of the end to a day and the author writing of when he is put out to sea. The second stanza describes the vessel that is to take him away heading towards the shore. The third is him entering the ship and setting off. The fourth and final paragraph is the final leaving of the author as he crosses the bar to enter the "boundless deep" (Tennyson 886)

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily is a very ambiguous, unorganized, and incomplete story, and the author meant for this completely. Just as are most gossip stories, this short story by Faulkner has many different parts to it that may be out of place or do not agree. That is the main point of why Faulkner narrates his story the way he does. His story telling in the first person plural simulates a collection of rumored stories that passed back and forth between the town's people. This way of presenting the story not only is interesting by what it mimics but also by how it gives an aura of mystery to Miss Emily. Imagine if this story had told every detail of her secretive life in chronological order. There would be much less mystery or intrigue or genuine care. By giving off only bits of information from far displaced times, Faulkner keeps the story interesting, slowly feeding the reader more and more until the final revelation. If this story had taken place in correct chronology, the reader would have known of Homer's death halfway through the story. This strategy of the disjointed story gives a more human experience to the story, just as how the shoddy, home-video styled scary movies appear to be much more terrifying. When you finally read that last line, "we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair", the movie ends with a sudden shock of revelation the same as a ghost movie (Faulkner 289).

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

If one were to know the title of this piece of literature and then immediately learn of the ending, they would say that it was quite ironic. Irony dominates the scope of this short story. Just the irony of the title is enough; The Lottery, has a positive connotation. However there is nothing positive about the eventual stoning of one of the towns few residents. As well, must of the irony of this story resides in the nonchalant attitudes of all of the town's residents. They talk and joke around before preceding to stone someone to death. Mrs. Hutchinson, the woman who is eventually stoned, arrives late and is welcomed with much good-humored teasing. The passage reads, "The people separated good-humoredly to let her through; two or three people said in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, 'here comes your Missus, Hutchinson," and "Bill, she made it after all"" (Jackson 266). The sickest and possibly most far-fetched part of the story is when her own children casually participate in the stoning. If these little, odd ironies were omitted throughout the book, this story would have been much darker and perverse. It is the over-the-top casualness of the townspeople that makes this story unrealistic and satirical. What is all of this satire meant to criticize anyways? The story is giving warnings of the serious problem of not questioning age old traditions. It explicitly states in the book that most townspeople had forgotten the reasons for the lottery other than that it was just what takes place.

The Missing Man

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Just like in Raisin, The Glass menagerie also has a character whom makes a large impact without ever being actually present. However, instead of the honorable and hardworking Big Walter Younger who died for his family and gave them an opportunity, this character has a more negative impact. This character is Mr. Wingfield, Amanda's abandoning husband, who walked out on the family previously. His presence is very foreboding through the play and is quite present especially by the immense portrait of his gleaming face. His absence puts an uneasy, depressing mood throughout the house, however it most influences Tom. For some reason or other, the absence of Tom's father has not made him condemning of such behavior but instead motivated him to do the same. Tom wishes to emulate the man and follow in his footsteps by also walking out on the prison he calls home. Tom states explicitly, "Why listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I'd be where he is- GONE!" (Williams 1247). Now, in that respect, Tom is more admirable than his father. Despite his longing to pack up and leave, he does contain some care for people outside himself. It was the abandonment of the family by this selfish man that gives the family their hopeless outlook. If even the one man who was supposed to be the head of the household, has fled them, then who else do they have.

Jim: The Realistic Man

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

One aspect in particular of this play that I found eerily peculiar is how separated from society and the outside world, the three main character's appear. Now this may be because most of the plot takes place between the family members, however it still feels as though they are secluded from the rest of the world. Besides Tom's interactions with the factory workers, whom still found him peculiar, the members of the family seem neither to have many friends nor acquaintances. It feels almost as though they are alone in the world. They live in their own little world of meager importance and illusion. However, Jim ,the unsuspecting Gentlemen Caller, breaks that all by being the emissary of the real world. When referring to Jim, the story speaks of how very popular and talented he was, how well connected he was with the rest of the high school. He is just a normal, average outgoing man with the blessing of a big personality. He also appears much less quarrelsome and aggravating than Amanda and Tom, he acts around people just as normal people act, polite and pleasant. He also is much more attentive to what goes on around him than those of the apartment. He amazingly, in less than a day, is able to read completely into Laura's complex and give her the confidence she so desperately needs simply by flattering her. This, Tom and Amanda had never managed to do in the many years they spent with her. He is the only realistic person in the play, because he is the one least effected by illusions.

Amanda's Illusions

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

One character who deserves much analysis because of her very complex attitude is the mother, Amanda. First off, one interesting find is how peculiar it is that a story involving a family's relationships, would not refer to the mother as mother but rather as Amanda. Now although this is in the play directions and would not be referred as such during an actual play, it is still as though Williams is trying to portray that Amanda, in many ways, is still more like a child rather than a responsible parent. This is further explained by her very nostalgic personality. She is constantly referring to and dreaming of her glory days as a young single woman entertaining gentlemen callers. Its as if that is all she ever cares about through the entire play. Her whole never leaving the past is probably the main cause for her obliviousness to the present, mainly with how she acts with Laura. She must have some major delusions when she habitually expects for Laura, who does not converse with a single being outside the house, to have many gentlemen callers coming to woo her on a given night. She cluelessly says, "Not one gentleman caller? It can't be true! There must be a flood, there must have been a tornado!" (Williams 1239).  She does not realize that the way she anticipates the imaginary callers, is even more discouraging to Laura. Not only her false expectations but her boastful, has-been speeches about her great past do as well. Whenever bewildered by Laura's lack of success, she conveniently begins bragging of how greatly she was desired in the past with her many courters. This does only to frustrate Laura even more.

Laura's Glass Menagerie

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Just like in the beginning, Tom announces to the audience that he is a poet and that there is much symbolism throughout the play. One of the symbols that possibly holds as the most important would be Laura's glass collection. In many ways, it reflects Laura herself. As described, Laura is a very delicate being, who is sheltered and protected by her mother and brother. These traits are very similar to the fragile glass collection that she takes care of so passionately. What connects the two the most is the scene when Amanda and Tom's argument eventually leads to the breaking of many of her figurines. This accident symbolizes how Tom and Amanda's quarrels are greatly hurting poor Laura. Another part of her glass collection that holds much symbolism to it, is the rare unicorn that Laura shows off to Jim. The unicorn represents her, and how she is set apart from everyone else because her one difference. As Jim puts it, "Poor little fellow,he must feel sort of lonesome" (Williams 1281). Later when the unicorn's horn breaks off, it represents Laura overcoming her self-consciousness and freeing herself from her inferior mentality.

Amanda vs Tom

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Throughout the play, probably the most obtrusive and violent conflicts that constantly takes center stage  is the dissension between Amanda and Tom. There arguments spur from many different random scenarios. In some cases they just appear from Amanda's nagging of how Tom eats his breakfast or how Tom drinks his coffee. Although these are small instances, all these arguments gain much fervor and usually allude back to the underlying conflict of the two main characters. What Amanda truly wants from Tom is for him to become the man that their household is in need of, while Tom, on the other hand, wishes to just escape his mundane life and travel far away from the nagging. Some of this spurs from the bad relationship Amanda had with Tom's father. His careless exodus from the family has actually inspired Tom rather than made him feel ill will toward his father. He is restless to walk out just as his old man did as he says this, "I'm tired of the movies and I am about to move!". It is this neglect of the responsibility he now owes to the rest of the family that puts Amanda on edge around him. The only factor that keeps the family together is Laura, and their quarrels are damaging her greatly.

Those Winter Sundays

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden

This poem has a very depressing and regretful mood dispersed throughout its lines. It is from the narrators hindsight of a childhood memory that the poem is told. Its main focus is the thankless role the father most always plays in the family. He speaks about how his father would dutifully wake up first to lead the family into the day and dispel the cold from the waking house. His father was a laboring man, tough and simple in nature. The narrator speaks of this, "then with cracked hands that ached from labor in the weekday weather made banked fires blaze" (Hayden 781). His father endured through much laboring and pain for his family, however, the narrator speaks that as a naive child, "No one ever thanked him." This whole poem mainly seems to be an ode to the grown up little boys father. As a child, his firm father may have seemed less of a comforting presence than his possibly caring mother, however the love his father had for his family and the amount of care still equaled that of hers. That is what is meant when he speaks of the austere offices. Although his very private and course father did not always directly show love, he still lived to his duties out of love for his family.

The Drunkard

The Drunkard by Frank O'Connor

This is obviously a very humorous story. It gives its many humours in how wrong and abnormal the situation is of the young child becoming completely drunk but however, adds a comedic value as well with the child's innocent reaction to when the drink touches his virgin drink. One such way where the author adds innocent comedic truths would be when the boy comments on the taste of the drink, "I was astonished that he could even drink such stuff. It looked as if he had never tried lemonade" (O'Connor). What makes this line funny is not only the boy's naive reaction to the drink but how his innocent thoughts are intensified the the diction and vocabulary of a grown man. It gives the poem an ironic, humorous feel. However, this contradicting style of writing does not go only as far as being comedic. It plays a key role in the overall theme of the story. The childish thoughts coupled with the mature writing style, describe the young naive boy who now feels a heightened, but very false maturity after he has become drunk off his first beer. It is through this naive little boy, that he does a very mature act in saving his father from the drink during that night and thus from then on.

Once upon a Time

Once upon a Time by Nadine Gordimer

The opening section of this story gives a great foreshadow to the overall theme of the work. The narrator talks of how he is awakened in the middle of the night by creaking sounds throughout his home. He initially supposes that the producer of the noise is some thief, However the real reason for the creaking is from the tremors of the old minds located thousands of feet underneath his home. This is the real reason and it is also a much more significant and realistic reason. This has much to do with the theme of the short story that plays into how people can drive themselves mad worrying about unlikely occurrences and false intuitions rather than normal hazards. The final page of the story helps to further substantiate this theme. Due to many warnings from family friends and because of the "old witch", a reference that is mocking the grandmother for her superstitious proclamations, the family decides to set up a prison-yard like wall with barbed wire to keep out the imaginary burglars. However, instead of their supposed intruders, the razor sharp wire happens to harm their very real son. This goes in line, with the theme of watching out for the real possible scares in life.

A Worn Path

A Worn Path by Eudora Welty

To get to the point of the theme of this short story, first the main character, Phoenix Jackson, needs to be characterized. The most important detail about her is not how she is old or black but rather how senile she is. Most the story keeps track of Phoenix's treck though the frozen nature. It is odd that a woman as old and as mentally-ill as Phoenix, would be enduring this path to begin with. She runs into many different sights and obstacles during this trip; some are actually existing while others appear to be products of her worn mind. At one point Welty writes, "a boy brought her a plate with a slice of marble-cake on it... But when she went to take it there was just her own hand in the air" (Welty 224). As well, much of the dialogue in this story all sprouts from conversations that Phoenix is having with herself. It gives the thought that perhaps the old woman is as lonely as she is senile. As odd as these incidents seem, I feel they all have much merit to the actual theme. According to the nurse, Mrs. Jackson has been making these trekes for years and all with the intent to provide the mediative medicine for her sick grandson. It is out of this love for her grandson that this weary woman continues to fight her way through the brush. The worn path does not just describe the journey, but it describes phoenix as well.

The Joy of Cooking

The Joy of Cooking by Elaine Magarrell

The overall tone of this poem is a kind of dark, sardonic humor. What gives this poem its comedic value, is how Magarrell describes her sister and brother through subtle cooking recipes, "Although beef heart serves six- my brother's heart barely feeds two."The reader is given a good idea of what the narrator's siblings are like through these comparisons to food. The author writes about preparing her sister's tongue with the use of scrubbing it and cleaning it and carving it into slices of thin meat. When Margarrell uses these words that give the sense that the is cleaning her tongue, it portrays the idiom "a dirty tongue", meaning the sister has a vulgar vocabulary. As for the brother, the narrator describes the cuisine as "firm", "dry", and "resembles a muscle more than organ meat". With this description, the brother is portrayed as a unfeeling man, who shows little emotion.

A Raisin in the Sun (8)

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

Two character's who greatly differ in this play would easily be Walter and Mama. While Beneatha has some major differences towards Mama as well, I used a contrast between these two characters previously in an explanation of the generation gap that exits through the book. The big difference between Mama and Walter would be Mama's simple and content outlook on life and Walter's radical and impatient hopes and dreams. It is their personalities that bring out this difference in expectations. Throughout the play, it is quite evident that Mama is clearly the wisest of the family. That is why, therefore, she plays the role as the unequivocal leader. However, Walter, who is reckless, clueless, and very inappropriately drunk at various times, wishes to have more control of his family as well, being the emasculated man that he is. He is almost driven insane because of his lust for money, clearly identified here, "I want so many things that they are driving me kind of crazy... Mama- Look at me" (Hansberry 73).  Part of the reason that he earns his disrespect from most his family is because of the fact that is very immature for his age. The man is a constant complainer, who is a hypocrite towards his wife and so greedy that he gambles with his family's livelihood. Mama, on the other hand, is witty, charming, rooted deep in her morals, very religious, and earns much respect and authority over the family's dealings.

A Raisin in the Sun (5)

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

One big issue that resonates through this play is the generation gap that exits between Mama and the younger characters of the family, specifically Beneatha. There are many differences that exist between Mama and Beneatha that are there because of the impact of the period they live in. Mama was a little girl in a time just after the emancipation proclamation. Therefore she grew up in a time while black's were just moving to their feet and many of the adults in her life and lived through slavery. Because of this, Mama has a major proclivity to a simple life, without a craving for money and power. She says to Walter on the subject of money, "Once upon a time freedom used to be life- now it's money. I guess the world really do change..." (Hansberry 74). While she may be content with just freedom, now Beneatha has grown up with just freedom and has her own goals that she must attain, intelligence and a civil role in the new world. She differ's from Mama greatly in her own education and her worldly and philosophical approach to life. Mama believes in God, family, and morals, while Beneatha is geared toward knowledge, cosmopolitism, and revolution. As well, much of the contention that comes between the generations is the cynical outlook that often accompanies educated realists and Beneatha's disbelief of God.

A Raisin in the Sun (3)

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

If there is one person in Raisin who can be labeled as a doer, it is Walter. Now that may seem a small bit exaggerative in Walter's case considering that for most of the story he is just all talk. However, in the end he does make a great active decision and although it fails, it was quite a strong attempt filled with good intentions. It is his grave mistake in trusting Willy and loosing the money that brings a main climax to the play and for that, he earns the title as the character who drives the plot the most. It is also fitting that he is the doer of the family, considering he is a feeble minded man with the temper and pride of a brute. Therefore, he rarely thinks things out and rather just attempts them.

The watcher in the play would most likely be Ruth. Although Travis offers little to the story other than filling the occupation has the Younger's kind hearted child and the motive for their decisions, the fact that he is just a naive child dismisses him from watcher. Ruth, who is a much more dynamic character, is probably the most relatable character and one of the more reasonable characters. She for most of the play, is perceiving the actions of Walter. While she mainly curses him and adds to the plot with twists such as her pregnancy, her being a more mild character makes her less of a doer and more of a watcher.

The thinker in this play inevitably goes to the college student, Beneatha. She is an obvious choice for one, because she is the most educated (Yet not the most wise) of the family and for the sake that she is always philosophizing with either her boyfriend or Asagai on life's problems and habits. All of her conversations with Asaigi, who is much more inclined to participate in her wonderings than George, all seemed as though Beneatha had conjured these ideas before, or now was swiftly making interesting points as he and she debated. It appears that she is always inside her head, contemplating and calculating risks and rewards and life, "Too many things- too many things have happened today. I must sit down and think" (Hansberry 137). Clearly the thinker.

A Raisin in the Sun (1)

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

In Raisin, two main character's who strive to change their current situation are Walter and Beneatha. While Walter dreams of more simple and selfish ideas of achievement, Beneatha wants to become greater in a more radical and social way.

For Walter, his greatest motive throughout the play is the most greedy one of all, money. Although he speaks of aspirations of owning yachts and heading board meetings, all these center strictly around his accumulation of cash. It is what he believes to be the biggest provider of happiness and the most satisfying end there is. What seems to drive Walter towards this goal is his great amount of pride violently mixed with the inferior life he has been living. When confronted about his job by his mom, he answers, "A job. Mama, a job? I open and close car doors all day. I drive a man around in his limousine and I say, "yes,sir; no, sir... Mama, that ain't no job"" (Hansberry 73). Instead of that chaefuer, he wishes to be the fat cat banker riding backseat.

As for Beneatha, she strives to gain an intellectual intelligence that will then propel her to make advancements and move big worlds in the oppressive time period. In this play, she completely represents the ambitious woman of this new age of civil rights, who wants to excel out in the real world. Although Beneatha's goals of making enduring changes to the culture may contain some selfish aspects, her hopes are still much less greedy than Walter, who ignorantly just wishes to gain money and power. At least Beneatha has a part in her dream in which she wishes to give back.

A Raisin in the Sun (7)

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

One initially small gesture that takes place in Raisin that transforms to have a very large impact is Mama's handing over of the financial power from herself onto Walter. By this point, throughout the book, Walter has been constantly complaining about the lack of respect and worth he feels. Mama, sensing this misunderstood discourse in his life, decides to go out on a limb and trust him with the money elicited by Big Walter's death. A portion of the conversation goes like this, "And from now on any penny that come out of it or that go in it is for you to look after. For you to decide" (Hansberry 107). Though it is a very compassionate and understanding gesture for Mama to hand the reigns to Walter, it also fairs to be a great mistake as Walter looses the fortune in an unfortunate, ill-conceived investment.

One of the immediate outcomes of this exchange between Mama and Walter is the obvious one, Walter managing to loose all of the family's security money which contained a large portion of Bennie's Medical School money. This in turn sends the family into a whirlwind of uneasy emotions. However, the more important outcome is how it leads into the eventual maturity of Walter. Walter, by making this great blunder and decreasing himself to his all-time low, is somehow able to bounce back and in a very proud moment, inform the stingy Mr. Linder that his family intends to move into their desired home whether he likes it or not. I believe that after Walter made the great mistake of loosing the money, he stepped back and looked solidly at his life and contemplated his father's life. It was then, that he realized that he was, at that point, not even half the man his father was. He saw how low he had fallen and decided it was time to grow mature and be the man that his family was in need for.

Everyday Use by Alice Walker

Everyday Use by Alice Walker

This poem completely juxtaposes the separate lifestyles of glamour, beauty, and pop culture with simplicity, sturdiness, and honest living. Dee is a character who represents the superficial side of our culture. She is the wild child, who always has felt disconnected from her traditional family and strives to be dressed nice and to keep up her appearances, both physically and culturally. Her mom, the narrator, is the one who represents the simpler side of life and, although is not as intelligent or in touch with current world affairs or fashions, she is much wiser and virtuous than Dee. Dee has the aura that she is above her family and the dirty, window-less shack that she comes from; Walker writes, "Press us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand. Drawing from the fact that this short story is taking place during the 60's, it appears that Dee represents the common rebellious youth from that age, hungry to experience freedom in her lifestyle and escape her maker's old-fashioned ways. I like to think that a part of Dee's character is supposed to symbolize the up and coming young ladies of this time period. There were dramatic, radical changes through this decade and one was more political and cultural freedom for blacks, women, and other classifications that had been previously oppressed. Dee has grown up and been let out into the world during the forefront of this age and now is becoming defined by it. She looks down upon her simple mom and sister, whom she believes lack the intelligence and ambition that women of the changing era should adopt. Although Dee is right in this subject, her treatment of her mother and sister is still unacceptable, and his reminded of that when her mother refuses to give to her the quilts that her grandmother sewed.

Mr. Z by M. Carl Holman

Mr. Z by M. Carl Holman

The poem titles Mr. Z by M. Carl Holman, tells the burdened story of a ethnic looking man, possibly black, and his struggle to rise above racial profiling and prejudice. I find it peculiar that the poem is entitled Mr. Z and does not offer real insights to his name or race. Although it does hint at the fact that he has, "exotic skin". I believe this strategy in keeping Mr. Z unmasked, is done with the reason that all minority people who deal with this struggle can relate, not just pertaining to blacks. The poem talks about how Mr. Z tried to avoid involving race in his life and tried to act as if it was not an issue. However, throughout the entire poem, which documents his life, Holman is constantly mentioning words are phrases having to do with race. He writes words such as, "Anglo-Saxonized", "Jewishness", "Episcopalian", "kosher accent". This poem has the purpose of displaying a man's very sad and ironic life in which he is constantly hammered by that which he tries to ignore. He tries to live his life as much as possible without the issue of race even being of subject. However, he is put to shame at the end of his life when it reads this in the paper, "One of the most distinguished members of his race" (Holman). I believe that this poem tries to attack the issues of racial profiling and how it can make humans feels less as individuals and more as another stereotype. This poem seems to fall in the same line as the previous poems and stories of this unit. I believe I am on the right track, when I state that this unit is based on the subject of race.

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

Dream Deferred by Langston Hughes

The entirety of this poem consists of many hypothetical questions that are offered to imagine what is the end result of a lost dream. To describe these, Hughes utilizes many words with a very negative connotation. He uses words such as, "fester", "sore", "stink", "rotten meat". With descriptions accompanied by these words, Hughes seems to be describing the feeling of a dream that was denied from you as something that sticks with you and brings much anxiety and consternation to the psyche. The very last line is very peculiar, as Hughes writes, "or does it explode?". With this line of the poem the very last line, italicized, and completely irregular with the previous questions, it seems as though there must be a large meaning behind it. It is very certain that since this poem was written by Langston Hughes, a poet who placed racism and his black culture as the main subject of most his poems, it has a theme that relates to the oppressed blacks of the early 1900's. When he writes about the deferred dream exploding, its as if he is proclaiming that the end result of his people's dreams being torn to shreds is their eminent reaction of anger and call for a change. That is what Hughe's means by the explosion.

Interpereter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

This short story offers a picture perfect insight as to two opposing cultures: America and India. The events of the story take place as a native man, Mr. Kapasi, is giving a tour ride to an American family, the Das's. This family who come from Indian origin as well, perfectly portray a lose, disconnected American family. There's the half conscious dad who is more interested in taking pictures and studying tour guide notes then in his family, there is the wild undisciplined kids who perform whatever reckless thought that pops into their head, and there is the numb, but pretty and young mother who is more interested in their tour guide than anything else around her. The way the story is narrated with Kapsi's thoughts offered gives him an air of intelligence that the reader can find as he analyzes what happens before him, "Mr. Kapasi found it strange that Mr. Das should refer to his wife by her first name when speaking to the little girl" (149 Lahiri). This gateway into Mr. Kapasi's mind helps the reader identify with this man much more than the American family. Through all of this, the subject of Kapasi's gift of languages is continuously alluded to. I feel that his role as a translator symbolizes his whole life. Kapsi in almost all aspects of life, is treated just like a means to an end. In his job he does not produce his own thoughts or ideas, but rather is used as a bridge between a language barrier at a hospital. At home his wife, who was matched to him by his parents, neglects Kapasi and shows no interest in the man she was forced to marry.

Hazel Tells Laverne by Katharyn Howd Machan

Hazel Tells Laverne by Katharyn Howd Machan

The first thing that can be picked up while reading this poem is how Machan tries to accent the dialect of her people through her mis-spellings. When writing a sentence that means, "and I hit him with my mop," she writes it as, "an i hitsm with my mop" (Machan). This is one of the tools she uses to help give an idea of where the narrator comes from. Also, we learn from the description of her work that she cleans the bathrooms of a whole-in-the-wall motel called Howard Johnson. It is this background on our narrator that ties into why she reacts the way she does upon seeing the talking frog. Her flushing of the frog gives an idea of most poor middle-colored workers psyches. For them, their lives are mostly simple and lack wistful thinking. Every day they work a hards day work and are crass to those ridiculous hopeful wishes that most privileged people dream. Its as if her life has been through so many hardships and she has been beaten down so much, that she has grown cynical to life. She is completely shocked by the talking frog, but what sticks out to her more is his inclination that she would become a princess. She says, "me, a princess". This last part of the poem has an air of cynical skepticism that she realizes that never through the course of time could she become a princess.

Perrine Poetry Blog Entry

Perrine Poetry Blog Entry

What I found most interesting about Perrine's approach to interpreting poems is how he relates it just the same to the development of scientific hypothesis. He treats the different details of the poem like facts in science and he logically analyzes the details and makes sure that none counter each other for a specific interpretation. From those two points that Perrine makes on the first page, that is as specific as his instructions appear. After that, as he delves into the poems he has offered as examples, you see that interpreting poems is much more complicated and obscene than he makes it seem. For each poem there are a plethora of intelligible interpretations and sometimes the difference between one or the other is a single word. Or in the case of The Sick Rose, you must realize that trying  to discern that one, fleeting analysis is in folly because according to Perrine, they are all credible. In a way it frustrates me, because now I have found that trying to analyze these poems is not as basic as I previously thought, and I will need much practice. Although the man does give descent advice that could possibly elicit some clever insight on my part later on, I now see that as hard as I try, if I am able to accurately propose the interpretation of a poem, it will be tangential at best and it will be the result of my own luck.

I do not understand why he suddenly references the philosophical quality of a poem near the end of his example of the Melville poem. His sudden revelation that ,"Melville ends his poem with a question of a doubt" has no grounding. He merely just announces this hefty assumption and expects that the momentum of his previous logic and ethos legitimize his thoughts. I will admit I can clearly see where God can be a subject of this poem, mostly when he references a chief, but I do not gain the sense of any doubt from Melville's writing and Perrines non-explanation does not make me feel otherwise. In fact I believe the poem is more of a testament to God. It feels like an ode to a such a being powerful enough to create these formations of stars, that routinely "stream" across the sky in perfect order. It maddens me that a man who so harshly rectify's interpretations that lack reasoning would so quickly go back on his word and declare a very prominent statement and then just leave it there, ringing without an answer. I am not dismissing though his idea that the poem questions the existence of God. Although I believe the opposite I am open to any other interpretation, be that it has substantial reasoning, just as Perrines preaches. Well in this case, the man has none, and in this case, I feel that he is the misguided one.

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9, Pages 174-180

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The last blog of the 2012 summer...yay! I would first like to start this blog evaluating Tom and Nick's brief meeting that concludes Nick's involvement with that couple and all of the drama that is inherited through them. Through all of their interactions, I can distinctly pick out differences from when he met with Tom at the beginning of the book. It appears that Nick has become much more brass and intolerable of people he does not enjoy. You can clearly tell from this interaction, in which I commend Nick for greatly,

"What's the matter, Nick? Do you object to shaking hands with me?"

"Yes. You know what I think of you." (Fitzgerald 178)

I find this interaction quite awesome and totally different from Nick's submission to Tom early in the book. Throughout the entire conversation, Nick is leading the charge and asking the questions that Tom wishes to cowardly avoid. My favorite part is when Nick finally comes to terms with who Tom truly is. He realizes when listening to Tom's reasoning for telling Mr. Wilson the truth. Nick originally thought it was because of Tom's own deceitful subterfuge for the indirect killing of Gatsby but then learns that it was merely his lame fear of not being killed by Wilson himself. Nick no longer feels that Tom is some menacing, plotting brute but feels as though, "[He] were talking to a child." (Fitzgerald 179).

What I am most proud about is the subtle pick up I had on the Middle West theme in one of my earlier blogs. It appears from one of Nick's long monologues at the end of this chapter. Nick talks about his fondest memories of "my Middle West" (Fitzgerald 176). When hearing him talk about his happy memories of his old MidWest Wisconsin, he conveys this positive and loving attitude towards life that is distinctly absent throughout his tale of life on the East coast. Being from the MidWest myself, I feel that the way he describes it is spot on; the old traditional values, loving and comforting families, christmas time and snow and a real reason to live. That is what was missing from his East Coast home. Just as Gatsby was detached from it all so was Nick, detached from the East itself. There was always something about this book that gave me a peculiar depressed outlook on life. It appeared that none of the characters were heading anywhere through their lives. Nick, the entire time, was sitting at some low wage job, in a large unfeeling city where he scarcely knew anyone and was fairly lonely and pessimistic about the future. A part of Nick's detachment from the East is obviously due to his love and attachment to the MidWest but I feel the biggest reason is that this book conveys that the MidWest is just simply better than the East. Looking back, it is so simply spread throughout all of the pages. The constant allusions to the joyous and nostalgic times back in the Midwest are juxtaposed over and over with the current problems and misery's that all these characters endured in such a place. Its overall a comparison between two very opposite lifestyles, the traditional and honest image of the Midwest compared to the fast living and lonely lives of the East. I guess that the one greatest outcome of reading this depressing book during my summer is that it has greatly reminded me how blessed I am to be from the great MidWest. That is all.

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 9, Pages 163-175

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

"'Hello!' I interrupted breathlessly. 'Look here- this isn't Mr.s Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby's dead.'" (Fitzgerald 166). So it is as I suspected, the great Mr. Gatsby has been murdered, and Nick, who now feels he was the only real friend Gatsby ever had, finds himself trying to settle Jay's old affairs. Although Nick and Jay had a solid relationship, he wants to believe that there are others who once held a part in Gatsby's life who would now feel compelled to honor him at his funeral. He explains how he almost hears Gatsby's voice telling him, "Look here, old spot, you've got to get somebody for me. You've got to try hard. I can't go through this alone." (Fitzgerald 165). However, it now appears that most of the major characters of Nick's little group, Nick, Jordan, Daisy, were the closest thing he ever had as friends. I find this quite saddening because Gatsby always seemed like the kind of man who always had something going on and when not with Nick, was probably out having a grand time with other friends from some other distinct network. I mean for God's sake, I once compared him to the Most Interesting Man in the World and now this man is dead and hardly anyone gives it a thought.

To some extent, the lonely passing of Gatsby is somewhat lessened with the arrival of his father. For some reason or other, I found the line where Mr. Gatz asks Nick, "Where have they got Jimmy?", the most miserable and humbling quote so far (Fitzgerald 167). Its in this way that he addresses his son that hints to the foreign idea that, yes, Gatsby was once a wide-eyed innocent child, who was loved by his mother and father. The presence of Jay's father in some sense, makes Gatsby come across more tangible than before. Instead of being portrayed as a symbol or some mysterious apparition, he now feels more human than ever. While this does make Gatsby's death seem a little less peculiar, it still feels as depressing as before.

The funeral could not be anymore of a solemn occasion not due to the simple fact that it is a funeral, but because the fact that hardly anyone out of the hundreds who had once took advantage of his hospitality had shown up. In order to escape the problem and move on with their own lives as usual, Daisy and Tom undoubtedly do not show. Either because he does not want to be seen involved with a dead man with a criminal past or because of his warped principles of life and death, Mr. Wolfsheim also does not
show. And for the general reason that they liked the parties more than the man, most of the usual parasites who used Gatsby's hospitality, do not care and therefor do not show. Except for one man. As Nick likes to call him, "the man with owl-eyed glasses", for some reason probably involving the fact that he is not a shallow Easterner who find meaning in their life through aesthetic value, decides to come to Gatsby's funeral. The man is truly shocked upon seeing the paucity of attendants and rightfully says, "Why, my God! they used to go there by the hundreds... The poor son-of-a-bitch," (Fitzgerald 175). I believe that the biggest reason for this untimely and lonely end to Gatsby's life was that although he became a rich man with a gargantuan mansion filled with an abundance of guests, he never was truly attached to any of it, because the parties and the house were not part of his vision, they were only mere utilities to facilitate his quest of gaining back that one person, Daisy. He had assumed this position and lifestyle to impress that one person who gave him meaning; he had put out all his cards on the table for his one shot at a happy life and lost. I believe this man could have heard some wise words from the country singer great, Kenny Rogers...

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 8

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I had a slight foreboding of this chapter from the second I read this line, "I felt that I had something to tell him, something to warm him about, and morning would be too late" (Fitzgerald 147). When Nick and Gatsby settle down to spend their time together, the mood is one of great hopelessness, or at least Nick sees it. Gatsby, on the other-hand, most likely based on instinct or at least an attempt to hold on to what he has been seeking to rekindle for years still refuses to let go, "He was clutching at some last hope and I couldn't bear to shake him free" (Fitzgerald 148). I am finally starting to see a theme involving these main characters and their bitter-sweet nostalgic outlook of the past. It seems as though, for most of them, their times back home out west was filled with much more happiness, good memories, and love. Over and over throughout this book, Gatsby's made reference's to marrying Daisy back in Louisville, so it must hold some great sentimental value to him. In his recount of the past to Nick he mentions how that town, the one where he and Daisy shared their memories, "was pervaded with a melancholy beauty" (Fitzgerald 152). Its a common feeling when one feels a depressed nostalgia about cheerful times now reduced to memories. Yes, it is beautiful because these memories hold with them a certain great happiness that you so wish to revisit, but at the same time, it is surrounded by much melancholy due to the fact that the past is past. So during this entire visit between Nick and Gatsby, the whole situation practically screams impeding tragedy. The entire time, Nick is thinking about how he doesn't want to leave Gatsby and when he finally does, he gives him a finalizing, concluding compliment which he remarks he had never done before, "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together" (Fitzgerald 154). Do not forget to mention the final line before the space where Fitzgerald clearly adds in the "goodbye" from Nick. Realizing that simple exchanges such as this are not just added for no reason in these types of novels, I find that those words do carry a great weight. It appears to be Nick finally saying good-bye to the man and the lifestyle that has been the subject of his life for the past couple months.

I do not know that Nick is just overwhelmed by the past events and for the time being wants nothing to do with Jordan, but I do find it very sad when he very distastefully avoids meeting with her over the phone. When at first she calls, it is quite evident that she is still bitter about his attitude towards her the night before, however she still cares and gives him a another chance when she says, "However- I want to see you" (Fitzgerald 155). I firmly believe that Nick still does love Jordan and, if not for the current circumstances, would reconcile with her, but he is still shaken by the past events and tells her, "It's impossible this afternoon. Various-" (Fitzgerald 155). After reading about Nick's realization in the earlier chapters that he is thirty and has entered the downward spiral of his life, I was really hoping that this relationship between him and Jordan would last, for his sake of ever having a wife and children. I cannot say what the future holds for Nick now, but I do believe his words on the phone permanently sealed off the relationship he once had with Jordan.

I suppose my ramblings about the foreshadowing of an impeding doom do account for something because Mr. Wilson does find out that it was Gatsby's car who killed his wife and he does seek out and murder Gatsby. If it means anything, I might add that Wilson is found dead on the scene as well. I suspect suicide was what did him in.

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 7, Pages 136-145

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

So chapter 7 ends with a huge twist and odd coincidence when Daisy, driving back in Gatsby's car whom the Wilsons thought was Tom's car, hits and kills Myrtle Wilson, Tom's mistress, and then continues to drive before Tom, Jordan, and Nick arrive in Tom's actual car. Yes, it is a crazy and complex situation of Soap opera proportions. However, what I found most interesting throughout this turn of events, was the sympathy that I began to feel towards Tom. We actually gain a glimpse of this once aloof and dispassionate man feel sympathy towards someone else. Even as he drives back towards west egg tears begin to flow down his face as he whimpers, "The God damned coward... He didn't even stop his car" (Fitzgerald 141). Originally when Tom had seen what was left of Myrtle, it was suspected that Gatsby had been driving.

I keep taking notice that every time Nick begins to view Gatsby in a negative light, the man finds some way to re-establish his rapport with Nick and divert the attention away from the doubt. This time, I felt as though Nick was at the edge where even conversing with Gatsby was too much. However, this time he relinquishes his doubt of the man upon learning that it was actually Daisy who had been driving and who was too terrified to stop. It appears that the resolution of Gatsby's most recent vice seems to wash away the presence of any other transgressions that Nick still held in his mind. For the time being, Tom's earlier foreboding of Gatsby's shady business is swept aside, but I do believe the subject of Gatsby's unexplained amassed wealth will soon take center stage.

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 7, Pages 113-136

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

So Nick is invited to the Buchanan's for a nice afternoon and it just so perfectly is a very hot and uncomfortable day, very suiting for the uncomfortable confrontation that will soon reside. So as if Tom had had his suspicions before, they are now completely confirmed when Daisy's careless lips say passionately and suddenly to Gatsby, "you look so cool" (Fitzgerald 119). Tom, who is not exactly the dumb brute that Gatsby take him as, very easily notices the subtext in this remark. Now everyone is quite aware that everyone is quite aware, and now the tention and awkwardness in the room is rising, and Tom's quick temper is as well. However, in the mist of this delicate situation, I find it fascinating that Fitzgerald gives time for an aside between Gatsby and Nick about this; "'[Daisy's] voice is full of money', he said suddenly" (Fitzgerald 120). After first reading this, I automatically thought that it may have something to do with a particular theme or maybe the symbolism that Gatsby, a man who has been chasing wealth for some time, is attracted to Daisy as he is attracted to money. However, when Nick examines this idea, he does not account it to anything symbolic or abstract, rather, he simply acknowledges what he had never understood before, that her voice literally mimicked the sound of money. I feel as though this fleeting moment, that is so suddenly forced into a environment it has no connection to, must suggest that their is some great importance behind the statement, and Fitzgerald obviously is trying to convey some insight towards the reader. However, at the moment, what it is is over my head!

So to avoid the confrontation becoming out of hand, Daisy suggests that the group traverse to the city. The whole situation is even more muddled when Tom, scornfully just wanting to cause problems, suggests that he and Gatsby switch cars for the ride and then shortly after Daisy requests that Tom drive Nick and Jordan while she and Gatsby drive in the coupe. At this point I figure that either Gatsby and Daisy are so in love that they ignore any simple discreetness or maybe the whole purpose of this meeting was to absolutely let Tom's ignorance dissolve because, this small gesture of riding in the coupe alone practically spells out affair. So the party, rents a suit and settle on some small talk to diffuse the situation when Tom finally decides to skip the charade and, after mocking Gatsby's questionable past says, "What kind of a row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow?" (Fitzgerald 129). At this point, now that Tom has openly acknowledged the underlying conflict, all bets are off for the separate baths they had been planning minutes before. Daisy, this entire time has been trying to nullify Tom's accusing remarks by trying to make humor from them and calling Tom an idiot, which I do not believe is really working anyhow. Although daisy is so obviously trying to smooth this conflict over, Gatsby sees the opportunity as a chance to say what he has for so long felt, "Your wife doesn't love you...She's never loved you. She loves me" (Fitzgerald 130).

From that statement on, I found that the whole situation backfires towards Gatsby and slowly, he presumes the role of the "bad guy". First of all, Jay is made to look quite stupid when he forces Daisy to inform Tom that she did in fact never love him, only to be denied by Daisy who truthfully explains that she did once love Tom. Now Tom, who finally realizes to what extent he has absentmindedly let his wife slip away from him and into the arms of this "swindler", finds a better strategy in exposing what he had found about Gatsby instead of pointlessly arguing about how he loves Daisy more. Tom explains to the crowd that in his investigation he became aware of many "drug stores" that Gatsby had staged to make a business out of the selling of alcohol. This does not truly come as a shock but the real kicker comes when Tom says, "That drug-store business was just small change... but you've got something on now that Walter's afraid to tell me about" (Fitzgerald 134). It is not exactly the statement that sets us on edge, but however, it is the sudden reaction that it withdrawals from Gatsby, when he begins to excitedly deny the accusation that Tom had never truly laid on him. The fact that this small statement brought Gatsby to a nervous wreck completely illustrates its significance and I am afraid for the worst from Jay. Through the whole first section of this chapter, I find this role reversal between Gatsby and Tom quite interesting as we begin to shift the sympathy and support from Gatsby towards Tom and all of the anger and adversity vice versa. I very much commend Fitzgerald on the subject of how dynamic his characters are. For what I have come to realize is that in this book there is no clear antagonist or protagonist or black and white. His use of this very much reminds me of the HBO series Game of Thrones. Now if you have never seen this, I implore that you stop reading my long, drawn-out post and go watch it now. It would do you great good. With that being said, one of the best features of the show is its ability to slow your decisions on taking sides throughout the plot. Just as Fitzgerald does in Gatsby, in GOT, there is no perfect, pure protagonist. All the characters throughout the show certain downfalls that are unsavory and just as Fitzgerald slowly evolves his character's throughout the story, so does Game of Thrones.

In all honestly, I've been trying to plug this for a while now...

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 6, Pages 104-111

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

So just as Tom had declared earlier, he showed up to Gatsby's latest wild party with Daisy, mainly with the intent to cure his suspicion of Gatsby. Nick describes that of all the party's he had attended during the summer, this one stands out in his mind the most for having a peculiar feeling to it. I believe this feeling he had was of nervous anticipation towards Daisy's opinion and of the "peculiar quality of oppressiveness", contributed by Tom's presence (Fitzgerald 104). Its understandable for Nick to have felt such a pressure in hoping that Daisy would enjoy the party. As Fitzgerald says, "It is invariably saddening to look through new eyes at things upon which you have expended your own powers of adjustment" (Fitzgerald 104). What Fitzgerald means is that Nick, now in the presence of someone else's judgmental eyes, is starting to realize the flaws in his once accepted social event. What Nick is going through reminds me of the feeling when you first watch a new, unknown movie by yourself and enjoy it so much that you publicize it to all your friends. However, when watching it again in their presence, you nervously anticipate how they will react while at the same time, cringe at many of the corny or "not so funny" parts that seem some how amplified to a much greater extent than before. Sadly to Nick and Gatsby's dismay, "[Daisy] wasn't having a good time" (Fitzgerald 106).

After the party, Gatsby is greatly distressed at how badly Daisy received the whole event. I believe that Jay Gatsby is starting to find that his envisioned renewed life with Daisy may not be as simple as he previously perceived. Fitzgerald ironically writes, "He wanted nothing less of Daisy than that she should go to Tom and say: 'I never loved you'. After she had obliterated four years with that sentence they could decide upon the more practical measures to be taken" (Fitzgerald 109). I like the way Fitzgerald writes this so sardonically, making fun of Gatsby's wishful thinking. Just like Gatsby, this statement completely ignores all the other major implications that make his goal a quest for folly. Nick sees this in Gatsby and upon telling him that it is impossible to repeat the past, Gatsby incredulously cries, "Can't repeat the past... Why of course you can!" (Fitzgerald 110). I believe Gatsby's emotions are blinding his practicality and I foresee that this is going to bring him to an untimely end.

Can't repeat the past? Doc would prove otherwise...

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 6, Pages 97-103

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

In chapter 6, we finally start to gain a real glimpse of Jay Gatsby's past, or should I say James Gatz's past. Not only do we learn his real name but we learn that he used to be a young imaginatively ambitious boy of a poor, failed farm-family. When describing the young Gatsby, I like how Fitzgerald uses the phrase "He was a son of God", describing that he thought of himself as being part of a higher calling than just a farm-boy (Fitzgerald 98). With all his ambition, young James Gatz was soon taken under the wing of the millionaire Dan Cody. It was he who Gatz aspired to be like.

So back at Gatsby's mansion, one of Jay's many usual house guests decided to bring Tom Buchanan over for a drink. By some curious impulse, Jay very brazenly starts directing his conversation towards Tom. In mid-conversation, Jay suddenly says, " 'I know your wife,' continued Gatsby almost aggressively" (Fitzgerald 102). I am not sure the exact reason for Gatsby's eagerness to get that across to Tom, whether it be out of nervousness or a negative disposition towards Tom and his rude "hosts", but I am sure that after hearing this, Tom is greatly off put at the thought of Daisy "running around alone" (Fitzgerald 103). Tom, who already seems like the jealous type, is soon to find out about Daisy and Gatsby's newly found love, and once Tom decides to take action against Gatsby, I believe this story will not end well for either Tom or Jay.

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 5

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

So in chapter 5, Nick answers Gatsby's request by asking Daisy to come over for tea alone without Tom. For this chapter for the first time, we get to see Jay Gatsby nervously frantic. The reason for his nervous demeanor probably spawns from the fact that this meeting he is to have between Daisy is his best attempt at reconciling their past love. After Daisy arrives, Gatsby soon knocks on the front door and Nick answers it only to find, "Gatsby, pale as death, with his hands plunged like weights in his coat pockets" (Fitzgerald 86). For the first half hour, the whole experience is a very awkward and embarrassing ordeal for all of them, until Nick leaves the room for a short while only to return and find Gatsby back to his usual confident expression and Daisy in tears of longing. It seems that Nick and Jay's relationship is starting to really strengthen because Nick now talks to Gatsby with a certain impolite criticism that can be found between two friends who have known each other for a long time. Nick says to Gatsby, "You're acting like a little boy... Not only that, but you're being rude. Daisy's sitting in there all alone" (Fitzgerald 88).

Although the awkwardness has settled, Gatsby, excited by the whole event, accidentally lets his act slip in front of Nick on the topic of his affairs. He mentions to Carraway that it took him three years to raise the money for the house. Nick quickly remembers that Jay had once told him he inherited the money and asks him about this. Nick realizing his mistake fabricates a lie that he had lost his money during the war and now was in business. Upon Nick's question of what business he was in, Gatsby quickly says, "That's my affair" (Fitzgerald 90). It appears to me that the smooth, clever Jay Gatsby is starting to lose his grip, and I predict that this dirty business he is involved in, most likely bootlegging, will soon crash down upon him.

So Jay Gatsby invites Nick and Daisy over to his house to show them, but mainly her, his house. Daisy is in wonderment of the house and also in a depressed state realizing what she has been missing, while Gatsby is, at the same time, enchanted by everything about Daisy. I find it funny because the more the moment becomes more perfect between Daisy and Gatsby, the more Nick gets uncomfortable and attempts to leave. After a while, the couple becomes so infatuated with each other that their remarks borderline stupidity, " 'I'd like to just get one of those pink clouds and put you in it and push you around.' I tried to go then..." (Fitzgerald 94). When Nick finally leaves, Daisy and Jay are left on the couch "remotely, possessed by intense life" (Gatsby 96).

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 4, Pages 74-80

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The second half of chapter 4, we finally get to here what Gatsby had told Jordan at that first party. Coincidentally, the whole story ties into Daisy Buchanan and her and Gatsby's past relationship. "But it wasn't a coincidence at all" (Fitzgerald 78). As Jordan tells Nick, Gatsby's real intent for moving into the West egg was to be in close proximity to Daisy and his sudden interest in Nick was in hoping that he would have her over for tea. So now the life and motives of the mysterious great Mr. Gatsby are starting to come into focus and oddly enough it is not that fascinating. It's like that moment in The Wizard of Oz when they realize that the wizard is not the all powerful being he claims to be but rather just a man behind a curtain; or it is like what the masking of Master chief would be like when you lift his hallowed helmet to find just a man staring back at you. When we learn more about this character, he soon starts to become more human, thus making him much less grand and amazing.

One big development before the end of chapter 4 is Nick and Jordan's kiss where Nick finally abandons his self-control and gives into the moment by kissing Jordan. I believe that in discussing the plights of men such as Tom Buchanan and Gatsby involving their women problems, Nick gains a kind of confidence that assures him that he, in some aspects, has it better than these rich powerful men; in his case it is his steady relationship with the beautiful women whom his arm is around. "Unlike Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, I had no girl whose disembodied face floated along the dark cornices and blinding signs , and so I drew up the girl beside me, tightening my arms" (Fitzgerald 80).

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 4, Pages 61-74

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The beginning of chapter 4 offers a very long and poignant list of the many characters who have visited Gatsby's house parties. I found it interesting that at several occasions, Fitzgerald will mention some kind of dramatic event that happened to the person later on. Phrases such as: "before he went to the penitentiary", "who afterward strangled his wife", "divorced now", or "who killed himself by jumping in front of a subway train in Times Square" (Fitzgerald 62) (Fitzgerald 63). I believe Fitzgerald does this to show the real mortality that these rich socialites hide behind the facade of glamour and material happiness. This may turn out to be a heavy theme throughout the book.

On another one of Nick's outings with Gatsby, he is offered some irrefutable evidence from pictures of Gatsby's past that confirm that he did attend to Oxford and he really is a war hero. Although the chances of him being a bootlegger or being involved in any other vices now seem much slimmer, I will not complete reject the idea. Following their car-ride to the city, Carraway and Gatsby sit down for lunch with a new character named Mr. Wolfsheim. Wolfsheim proves to be a very sketchy character with a questionable background. He talks about the night when one of his old associates was killed, "I can't forget so long as I live the night they shot Rosy Rosenthal", giving the impression that Wolfsheim is involved in shady business (Fitzgerald 70). The most shocking news comes from Gatsby when he explains to Nick after Wolfshein's departure that he was the man who had fixed the 1919 World's Series. Of course, in lines with his mysterious aurora, Gatsby does not go as far to explain how Wolfshein executed such a feet but this statement does suggest two things: that he is beginning to trust Nick, and that he is involved with some not so honest people.

The Great Gatsby, Chapter 3, Pages 50 - 59

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

So now I am starting to get the picture that Nick is not as much the cool, content bachelor that I once saw. Well before from some of his actions at other social events I thought him maybe not the must outgoing but now I see that he is a shy introvert who lives his best moments through his head. Nick talks about how he enjoys the bustling walk through downtown manhattan and how he romanticizes different scenarios involving himself and other lovely women who cross his path. Then it does make sense when right after he states, "At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others" (Fitzgerald 56). Still I may be jumping to conclusions because the relationship between Nick and Miss Jordan Baker appears to be steadily becoming more intimate. One thing peculiar about Nick's infatuation of Jordan is that it sprouts from a great curiosity of her true personality. As Carraway soon realizes, "She was incurably dishonest" (Fitzgerald 58). It makes some sense why Nick, a self-proclaimed honest man, would become so infatuated with a girl who is quite the opposite. Its as if such a difference is in a way exciting to Nick and this excitement would go along the lines as to fuel his hot obsession of her. However, when the fun and excitement has died down, I would suspect that these little traits of Jordan will not exude Nick to love her in a serious relationship. In fact I think this difference would easily destroy their courtship. So like all hot and exciting love affairs, I predict that this one will just as well burnout quickly.