Free Write 4/17/08

lion- very large, wild cat. very muscular; hunts other animals for food, has a loud "roar" noise; have huge manes of fur around head, long tail, females do not. They are tan in color

lioness- female version of lion- very large wild cat, very muscular. hunts other animals for food. smooth fur, long tail. hair is tan in color

In response to the blog about "She Unnames Them"

• I did not feel this deeply about the reading, but I think that if I read it again in more detail I may pick up some of the same thoughts about it. The response was very well-thought-out and interesting.

In response to the interview with the author:

• I think that Ursula was successful because she describes why she wrote the story with great detail. She came up with the idea from the original story of Adam and Eve and a lot of her background and childhood played a part in why she feels that names can be wrong. After reading this, one can see why she wrote the story and why she feels the way she does about names.
• She uses a biblical reference so that people can better understand her story. Biblical references are common in writing because they are well-known and make it easy for readers to make connections to the true meaning of the work. Biblical allusions are easy to recognize for most of the population whether they are Christian or not.

Homework for 4/17/08

Journey of the Magi

• This poem by T.S. Eliot sounds like the retelling of an adventure. It is in "the dead of winter" and he remembers times during the summer, probably to block out the cold. The last stanza questions whether it was a journey of Birth or one of Death. I think that here he is questioning whether the journey was a positive one. He says he would do it again but is questioning whether it would be a smart decision. The last couple of lines kind of say that he is no longer happy where he is right now and even if the journey leads to "death," he would rather do that than be where he is right now.

She Unnames Them

• This short story starts off talking about names of animals. I think that it has some humor to it. The writer lists names of different animals and then when she gets to "yak," she discusses it for a few sentences to tell the story of the naming of the yak. After listing sea animals, she lists farm animals, then pets, insects, and fish. The story is about unnaming all of the animals with names that have no meaning or at least no obvious meaning. Though I think this story is funny, I also think it is weird and am not really sure that it has any meaning.

Homework 4/10/08

Siren Song by Margaret Atwood

• This poem is about the mythical creature called the siren. Sirens are known for being beautiful women/bird creatures that sing an irresistible song. They are located on islands surrounded by rocks, etc. Seamen would hear the song and be pulled to the sirens because of the beauty of the women their voice and jump ship to come find the siren. No one could ever reach the sirens, and usually men that went to seek them ended up dying. The poem, "Siren Song," is spoken by a siren. She seems to not enjoy being on the island and singing to lure men to their deaths. The poem is tricky because as you read it, you think that the siren really does not enjoy being on the island and singing, but in the end she is really just luring another man to his death by tricking him into thinking he is special and different. This poem shows that sirens are not to be trusted.

Ulysses by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

• Ulysses was a war hero of Greek mythology. He battled in the Trojan war and was the ultimate hero. In going to war, he had to leave his wife and son, but safely returned to them afterwards. Ulysses is the same as Odysseus, the character in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The poem begins with Ulysses's return to home. He is reminiscing on times of war and saying that some were bad and some were good. He then speaks of his son, who he seems to be proud of. The interesting thing to me is that he never mentions his wife. This poem is hard to read and understand.

Leda and the Swan by William Butler Yeats

• In Greek mythology, "Leda and the Swan" refers to when Zeus came to Leda as a swan. Zeus rapes her the same night that Leda slept with her husband, so Leda has children from 2 different fathers in the forms of eggs. (Some versions may differ.) This scene is widely used in art throughout history as statues or paintings depicting a naked woman and a swan. The poem by Yeats has sexual tones to it, and after reading the background of what Leda and the swan means, I know that the poem depicts a rape. "A sudden blow: the great wings beating still" is the first line and right when I read it I knew what it really meant. The poem has interesting diction and sometimes it seems very harsh, like the first line, but other times more gentle wording is used. I like this poem because I feel that it captures what the situation really would be like, with conflicting feelings of passion, anger, etc.

Annotated Bibliography

Frota, Luis. "Securing Decent Work and Living Conditions in Low-Income Urban Settlements by Linking Social Protection and Local Development: a Review of Case Studies." Habitat International 32 (2008): 203-223. Academic Search Premier. Thomas Cooper Library, Columbia. 7 Apr. 2008.

This article discusses how the majority of people live in urban areas and that there is a problem with finding suitable living conditions for all of these people. I felt that this article directly related to the story I am analyzing because they live in a low-income urban area and the living conditions may not be adequate. This article also discusses solutions to problems that low-income families face. I may or may not use this as a source in the essay.

Guerra, Patricia L. "Latino Communities and Schools: Tapping Assets for Student Success." Education Digest 73 (2008): 4-5. Academic Search Premier. Thomas Cooper Library, Columbia. 7 Apr. 2008.

This article is about education. It discusses how schools with more minorities or low-income students often suffer. This article will be helpful to my paper because it discusses the reasons that schools suffer due to large amounts of minorities/low-income students. These reasons include family, home life, living situations, community values, etc. and remind me of some of the difficulties that the speaker faces in the story.

Kumanyika, Shiriki K. "Targeting Interventions for Ethnic Minority and Low-Income Populations." The Future of Children 16 (2006): 187-207. Project Muse. Thomas Cooper Library, Columbia. 7 Apr. 2008.

This journal article addresses changing the ways of low-income areas. It specifically addresses the issue of obesity, which is not relevant to my paper; however, it gives facts about low-income/minority children that will be useful to mention in my paper. Not everything in the article is directly related to obesity and the article itself gives many facts about low-income/minority children and their relationships with family, friends, etc.

"Segregation's Threat to the Economy." New York Times 19 Dec. 1993, sec. E: 12.

This short newspaper article is about the threat of having segregated schools. The article gives precise statistics on the segregation on minorities such as African Americans and Latinos and why it is negative for everyone. This sparked my interest because it could give an explanation as to why the story’s speaker is so biased about his opinions on different types of girls.


Shouten, Belinda T. Working the System: Low-Income Latino Student Achievement. Diss. Univ. of Texas at San Antonio, 2006. 2006.

This source is a dissertation. It discusses how low-income Latino students seem to struggle in academic progress. This dissertation is very lengthy but if used, I will only be using parts that I feel are most relevant to my paper. This seems to be a good source and because the speaker/main character of the story used for my essay is Latino, facts from the dissertation can be used in the paper.

Stull, Elizabeth. "Sub-Prime Shakeout on Rochester's Low-Income and Minority Communities." Daily Record (2008). InfoTrac One File. Thomas Cooper Library, Columbia. 7 Apr. 2008.

This article is specifically about low-income communities in Rochester, NY but really applies to all low-income/minority communities because it has a lot of general information. Rochester, NY is not far from where the story takes place (New Jersey) so it will be even more relevant. This article is useful because it explains a lot of financial difficulties that low-income/minority communities face. This is directly related to the story I have chosen.

Topic Proposal for Essay 3

I have chosen to write about “How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie” by Junot Diaz. I am going to write about how the speaker’s low socioeconomic standing affects the actions he takes throughout the story. This story is not very old (written in 1996) so the paper will be a cultural analysis more than a historical one. The culture in this piece is one of a low socioeconomic background. The speaker of the story lives in an apartment complex that is constantly exposed to violence and looked down upon by people that live in more prominent areas of town. It takes place in New Jersey. Knowing this information helps me understand a lot of the actions the speaker takes throughout the story and why he feels certain ways about different types of girls. I am going to research topics such as housing projects, low-income families, etc. My thesis is: The type of environment that one grows up in determines one’s self-confidence, opinions, and actions.

Homework for 4/1/08

The story I have chosen is "How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie." This story is rich in culture because the atmosphere that the speaker grows up in strongly influences his life, opinions on girls, etc. The culture of the speaker is that of a low socioeconomic background. He lives in an apartment in a bad part of town and his family requires government-issued food. This culture is familiar to me in a way. I have never been a part of it or experienced it, but I am aware that it exists and have been educated on some of the issues that surround this type of culture. The clues that give away the culture of the story are the government-issued food, the fact that people get stabbed in front of his apartment, etc. These are significant because they make his social class clear to the reader. I will search for more information on this type of culture by using keywords such as "low income."

Homework for Thursday 3/27/08

Becky-

• I think that the theme of this story is racism. The words black, white, negro, etc. are used more often than any other words in the story. It is hard to read the story without thinking of racism. The setting is very important to the story because it was written in 1923 which was a much more conservative time when having children of different races would be very unusual and looked down upon. It also mentions church often and this is an important addition to the setting because it lets the reader know that religion is important in their lives. In the beginning of the story, there isn't really a particular place that the story is happening at, but at the end, the author specifically lets the reader know that it is a Sunday in the fall.

No Name Woman

• I think that the theme of this story is sadness. The story has to do with a woman that commits suicide. The speaker is the woman's niece. The woman (her aunt) that committed suicide lived in China during the 1920s, which was a time that women were treated poorly in China. The niece is reflecting on her aunt's life and death and the difference in culture of the the two countries. The setting of the story is America because that is where the girl now lives. It takes place in 1975, years after her aunt was living. The story she tells, however, takes place in 1924 in China. It is interesting that there are two opposing settings of the story.

Homework for Tuesday, 3/25/08

How to Date a Browngirl, Blackgirl, Whitegirl, or Halfie

This short story is easy to read and understand. This is a boy, mostlikely a teenager, who is having a girl come over while his family is gone. He got out of going to visit someone with his mother so he is sneaking around and having a girl over. He cleans up his apartment and hides certain things, such as embarassing pictures and food issued by the government. It is clear that his family does not have much money since they have government food and the fact that the boy says that his neighborhood is prone to violence. The way that the story is written almost seems like instructions that he was given or maybe instructions that he is giving someone else. He gives tips on what certain girls will do or where to take them to dinner, depending on where they are from. I think that the speaker of the story is Latino according to clues that he gave, but he never comes out and says it. This story is overall interesting and fun to read.

America

I think that this poem is a testimony to the way the writer feels about America and it's future. She uses negative words to describe it, but says that she "loves this cultured hell that tests [her] youth." I think that this means that there may be many things wrong with America, but she loves it all the same and that the bad things may even make it better. The last 4 lines discuss the future of America, and as we all know, there are definitely huge problems ahead with energy, pollution, etc. The writer says that she gazes darkly into the days ahead and sees "priceless treasures sinking in the sand." I think this is a type of warning to Americans to treat our country better and realize that we have to fix the problems at hand.

If We Must Die

This poem is by the same author as "America" and it discuess dying. McKay wishes for death to be noble, blooodless, and unlike the death of hogs, which is probably referring to being slaughtered. Later in the poem, it discusses a battle with some other group of people. She wants her and her "kinsmen" to face the other group and fight back, even if they die. This poem is somewhat weird in my opinion and it is hard to decide what she is talking about and why they would die.

Warm-Up 3/20/08

A.

• fighting, death, black, dark, loud, piercing,
• gun, shooting, killing, injuring, blood, red, fighting, enemy, trained to kill
• kill, hurt, win, conquer, take over, fight, charge, dominate

I don't imagine all war images to be of the Iraq war, I also think of movies and the poems read last night.

B. The strongest associations I have with WW2 are movies that I have seen that have to do with WW2. I also think of the Holocaust and Pearl Harbor. When I imagine WW2, I usually imagine it taking place mostly in Europe, not America. I view it as a time of death and destruction.

• The difference that I now see in the poem is that the belly is the turret. The poem makes more sense now that I know that a soldier would literally have to hunch in the turret for hours in the cold. Also, he can easily look down at the earth and the bombs that the plane is dropping down. I think the last line just means that he feels unimportant in his small turret while everyone else is in the plane, so when he dies, they just wash him out without giving much thought to it. I think that the reason that Randall Jarrell wrote this depressing poem is because he wanted to fly in the Army but failed the tests and didn't qualify. This would give him negative thoughts about flying in war. He probably thought about flying often because it was something that he was not allowed to do and he wanted to do it. Now that I know all of this information, it is much easier to interpret this poem and if I were to analyze it now, I would have a lot more to say about it and I would have a lot more insight. The information about what a turret is and the videos showing what it would be like inside one help a lot as well as the background information on the author.

The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

• This poem is very captivating to me. The language used seems odd, but after reading the footnotes it is a little more clear. This is another poem written about a soldier in war. The title lets you know that the character in the poem is going to die. The first two lines of the poem are the most unusual. I think that "the State" is his state of mind during the war. He is probably trying to zone out and think about other things while he is gunning down aircrafts. He says that he "hunched in its belly till [his] wet fur froze." "It" is the "state" that he is in. I think that this means he got so lost in the state of mind, he was damaged, or frozen. One can imagine that wet fur freezing would be a painful and cold experience, so this is a very negative connection to the way he is feeling. The next line, "Six miles from earth loosed from its dream of life" is another negative thought. I think that this means that when the plane was about six miles from the ground, he realized that he was not going to make it and that his dream for life was a lost cause. The part that strikes me as the most depressing is the 4th line, "I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters." I thought that when he awoke, he would be in heaven or in a more peaceful place, but even when he escapes and dies, he is in another nightmare. The last line is also depressing and I think that it shows the reality and harshness of war. The soldier realizes that his army cannot waste time on dead soldier and says that his dead body will just be washed away with a hose. It is hard for me to imagine feeling the way this character does. It also makes me wonder if soldiers in wars truly feel so unimportant and like they are trapped in nightmares, even when they die. This poem gives me a new respect for soldiers and the emotional and physical stress that they go through.

Homework for 3/18/08

• In "Cultural/Historical Inventory," the author discusses how the culture around us shapes our lives. It says that culture is part of who we are and has a huge influence on the way our lives are led. I agree with this because sometimes, culture shapes our actions and thoughts more than someone such as a parent or friend could ever do. This is important when one is reading a text because the culture of the time period in which the text was written has a lot to do with what the text says.
• "The Soldier" by Rupert Brooke is a poem about a soldier before he goes off to war. He speaks mostly of his country, England. If he should die, he wants his family and friends to remember that he fought for his country, which he speaks very highly of. When I think about going off to war, I usually think of sadness. This speaker, however, uses imagery of England's rivers and sun, which keeps the poem positive. The poem also uses many positive words, such as gentleness, peace, love, blest, and eternal. It is interesting that this soldier has such a positive outlook on going to war.

Concerns for Essay 2

I am concerned that I repeated myself quite often. I feel like I ran out of things to say and got very redundant. I need some new ideas of what to write about so I won't be repetitive and to make it longer.

Warm Up 3/6/08

• The message of my poster is "Don't drink and drive."
• I chose this particular issue because it is very relevant to my life as a college student. Drinking is a common activity on and off campus and it is important to remind people that dangerous things can happen if bad decisions are made when drinking.
• I used bright, bold colors to catch the eye of viewers. This way, the message stands out and is hard to ignore.
• If this were a real public service announcement, it would hopefully be much larger and be posted at the exits of bars and on billboards. I would also have a picture of a real car, not a little drawing.

Topic Proposal for Essay 2

For Essay 2, I have chosen to write about my toothbrush. It is an object that I use everyday and reflects a lot about me and my lifestyle. The surface message of the toothbrush is that it is a tool for cleaning one’s teeth. Toothbrushes can be used for cleaning of other objects, but mine is used only for my teeth. The toothbrush’s design is not overly complex, but not as simple as toothbrushes once were. The side has rubber bristles that help for the cleaning of gums.
The part of toothbrushes that interests me the most is the way they reflect American culture. They show that we as Americans are very interested in our cleanliness and appearance. Toothbrushes and toothpastes always promise to whiten and improve one’s teeth with their new design, special bristles, etc. Today’s more complex toothbrushes are just another object that reflects the importance of image and cleanliness to Americans. In other countries, not everyone even owns a toothbrush, let alone a complex one with rubber bristles and special designs for cleaning.
My thesis is as follows: Though a toothbrush seems to be a simple object, it ultimately reflects the importance of cleanliness and appearance in American culture. The audience of my essay is general. It probably would not be enjoyed by younger children; however, it is aimed toward the majority of people, from teenagers to adults.

Warm-Up 2/28/08

I. I agree with Keedy. If a cause is seen as worthy by consumers, they are going to appreciate the advertising around it even if the poster is not the best one around. There are many billboards about the dangers of smoking that catch my eye as a consumer. Even if the poster is not the most "inept," it is still easy for me as a consumer to see the message of the advertisement.

Homework for 2/28/08
Analyzing the Design of an Everyday Text
This text is perfect for guiding us through our second essay. I personally was a little bit confused about what I was going to write about in the second essay, but reading this makes everything more clear. The article gives direct guidelines for what to do in order to analyze common "everyday" texts. It gives the purpose of doing so as well as how to do it. It even gives some sample essays.

Reading the Politics of Design
This reading is a compilation of several short articles/stories. In the first one, the author is a graphic designer. It seems that she is complaining about the lack of seriousness in her job and the way that they have to advertise things such as "butt toners, light beer, and cigarettes." This writing is a manifesto and it is signed by many graphic designers. They are calling "for [their] skills to be put to worthwhile use." This writing makes sense because if I were a graphic designer that had gone through extensive training, I would want to have work assignments that seemed important to me. The next reading is about the difference between advertisements and design. The author claims that consumers can't be expected to see a difference. I agree with this author because as a regular consumer, I do not have the same view of advertising and design as a graphic designer or an advertisor would. Neither of these professions would probably be happy about this article because it does not really speak kindly about either.All of the articles in this compilation are interesting, especially because I don't usually put much thought into the advertising that goes behind product. Now it is clear that it can be a controversial issue, especially for those behind the scenes.

Homework for 2/26/08: Car Culture

This is a witty article by Sharon Waxman. It is mainly about Hollywood drivers and their choice of cars, but everyone can relate to it. It discusses the differences in the choice between a car that gets great gas mileage (Prius) to those that have poor gas mileage (Hummer.) The article even claims that rappers with "new money" are more apt to purchase a Hummer while those with "old money" are more likely to purchase the Prius. The funny part about this is that they describe "old money" as having it since around the 1980s. I thought that when people said "old money" they meant that money had been in the family for generations. The article does not have that much of a plotline other than the argument between which is better and for whom: the Prius or the Hummer. In the end, the author points out something very funny when she is discussing Hummer dealerships. She spoke to one man who sold a Prius to a famous woman and he pointed out that she had 3 people living in a 20,000 square foot house that used all kinds of electricity. He, on the other hand, lived in a more reasonable 3,000 square foot house but had a Hummer. One has to wonder, who is really expending more energy?

Warm-Up 2/14/08

I don't quote movies or songs much, but one of my friends quotes movies often. Her favorite movie is Old School and she not only has watched it several times, she quotes lines from the movie very often. They are usually lines spoken by Will Ferrell. There is never one particular line or quote, but several different ones from throughout the movie. They aren't serious or meaningful sayings, they are just catchy and funny. Sometimes she just quotes them when she's thinking of them and other times it fits into a situation and it's funny. There isn't much meaning to her quoting the movie, it is just because it is her favorite movie and she finds it to be very funny.

Topic Proposal:
The text that I have chosen to write about for Essay 1 is the poem “Hidden Things” by Ed Madden. The central claim to this poem is that even if something horrible occurs, positive things can still take place. In other words, just because something unfortunate happens to a person does not mean one cannot recover. There are many passages in this poem that support this idea, but the one that struck me as the most meaningful was “We may not see the purple tulips again / this year, the second spring a gamble in this zone, / but tuberose will return in full, and the iris / at the corner has multiplied, three shoots / for last year’s one…” (stanzas 2 and 3, lines 3-4 and 1-3). These lines automatically struck me as meaning that even though one thing (the purple tulips) may be gone; there will be an abundance of other things (tuberose and iris).
Important word choices in the text include the often mention of flowers and blooming, which signifies new life and happiness. The last line of the first stanza mentions a jonquil flower, which is also known as a narcissus. This may be a metaphor to selfishness because the narcissus is named after the Greek god Narcissus, who was known as being very self-absorbed and in love with himself and his beauty. Also, the line “the plans you’ve made, are fingering forth in green” means that the plans that have been made are progressing well, just as grass becomes green when it comes alive after winter. Although this poem does use flowering and blooming to indicate life and happiness, there are also a lot of negative words used, such as dark, alone, forced, and quiet. Even though there is a significant amount of negative words, I believe that the overall tone of the poem is one of happiness and re-growth. The thesis for my essay will be “This paper will argue that even though negative events may happen in one’s life, there is always room for new life and growth.” This fits the poem because although the negative event is not directly mentioned, there is enough evidence to prove that something bad may have happened in a person’s life, life will keep going and if one is positive, things may even be better than before.

Introduction to Paper:
“Hidden Things” by Ed Bert is a poem that many can relate to. Throughout life, most people endure at least one tragic event, such as the loss of a loved one, witnessing a horrible crime, etc. “Hidden Things” is a poem about rebirth, growth, and moving on. The poem is written right before springtime, a period of new life. Bert uses flowers to signify this concept. In the poem, it is obvious that a tragic event has taken place in one’s life. The speaker of the poem is trying to convince the person that even though this event (unknown to the reader) has occurred, there is still hope in life. It seems that the speaker is allowing the mourning person to take his or her time to reflect on the negative event, but also lets the person know that he/she will be there for support. This paper will argue that even though negative events may happen in one’s life, there is always room for new life and growth.

Sonny's Blues- Places with laugh/smile:
1. pg 18: Narrator describes the children's laughter as "mocking" and "insular" not joyous
2. pg 18: Narrator is talking to Sonny's old friend who hangs out on the streets. "He grinned. It made him repulsive and it also brought to mind what he'd looked like as a kid." This relates to children again, but in a negative way.
3. pg 21: Narrator sees Sonny for the first time in a while: "He was smiling all over his face." This smile is more positive and the narrator does not relate it to anything negative.
4: pg. 22: Narrator is discussing the relationship between his wife and Sonny: "And she's always been able to tease Sonny in a way that I haven't. It was nice to see her face so vivid again and to hear her laugh and to watch her make Sonny laugh." This laughter is definitely positive and brings happiness to the narrator.
5: pg 24: Narrator is having a flashback of a conversation with his mother about his father: "...and she smiled in a way that make me feel she was in pain." This is another negative form of smile and laughter. The narrator seems to have an even amount of positive and negative feelings toward laughter and smiling at this point in the story. Here, the smile probably looked painful because she was talking about her dead husband.
6: end of pg 25: Sonny and the narrator are having a conversation and Sonny keeps laughing. This is a positive laughter and the narrator makes no negative remarks about it.
7:pg. 34: " And Sonny, also being funny...grinned, and put both hands to his heart and bowed from the waist." This is Sonny giving a bow after playing at a bar. This smile is genuine and the way the narrator describes Sonny makes him seem truly happy.


Exercise:
1. You're a girl
and you'd better not forget
that when you step over the threshold of your house
men will look askance at you.
When you keep on walking down the lane
men will follow you and whistle.
When you cross the lane and step onto the main road
men will revile you and call you a loose woman.

If you've got no character
you'll turn back
and if not
you'll keep going
as you're going now.

2. My reaction to this poem is that whoever wrote this poem has a biased view of women. I'm assuming the author is a woman and that she may have had bad experiences with men. She obviously has had men "look askance" at her and she has struggled with whether to keep going or turn around and say something. Also, the use of the word "loose" makes me think of sexual promiscuity. It is possible that this author feels that the only way that men view women is sexually. This leaves me to believe that she is self-concious when she is around men. The way that she writes the poem starting with "You're a girl" makes it seem that everything below that first line are the consequences of being a girl. I do not really agree with this because I am a girl and I do not feel that every time I leave my house I am in danger of men doing the things described in the poem.

3: askance, adverb, the idea expressed has varied considerably, different writers using them to indicate disdain, envy, jealousy, and suspicion
revile, verb, To subject to contumely or abuse; to assail with opprobrious or abusive language

The story of the poem is that whenever this woman leaves her house, all the men abuse her with words, but at the same time want to be with her. They view her as promiscuous and seem to only see her in a sexual way.

4. The narrator is probably an older woman, maybe a mother. The one being spoken about in the poem is obviously a girl that has issues with the way men view her. The speaker/subject relationship seems to be one in which the speaker has authority over the subject. The speaker is giving the subject advice on how to handle men.

5. The theme is feminism because it deals with the way women can be verbally mistreated by men.

Sonny's Blues
"Sonny's Blues" is a short story of two very different brothers. The younger one, Sonny, is a jazz musician who has gotten involved with heroin and been sent to rehab. There is an article about it in the newspaper and I am pretty sure that the story takes place in New York City or another large urban area. The older brother is the speaker of the story and the two brothers are much different. The older one is the more responsible one, being a teacher, while the younger one is obviously irresponsible and involved with drugs and is a musician. The older brother goes through what seems like a period of realization in the story and his perspective on many things change. He changes his idea of children's laughter from being joyous to being mocking and questions why he ever gave Sonny's friend money on the streets. Later in the story, he also remembers his mother's advice that although he may never be able to stop Sonny from doing bad things, he can always be there for him. In this moment, the story seems to turn and the older brother realizes his importance as a brother.

Lost in the Funhouse:
"Lost in the Funhouse" was an interesting piece that was confusing and hard to understand for me. The speaker begins by talking about a boy named Ambrose and his family vacations to the beach three times a year. He questions what the funhouse is, and because he never gives an answer, I also wonder what the funhouse is. This piece was written in an odd way because for a minute the author will discuss Ambrose and his family and then interrupt the story with different facts about literature and writing, such as when to use italics and Freitag's triangle. The story does not really have a very good flow. In the end, I came to the conclusion that these may have been a look into Ambrose's thoughts as a writer because he would tell parts of the story, then interject with writing tips or instructions. He also asked questions that were never answered, which led me to believe that he was writing for himself and that this was his true thought process. I liked this reading because it was interesting to try and decipher.

Videotape:

This writing is very interesting. It is not necessarily a short story, and it could be a poem. The speaker seems to be undermining the family video, saying things like "it is just a kid..." and "this is just another game..." etc. The tone of the speaker makes him seem like he does not have a family or that he is bitter about family life. Before long, the story takes a very negative turn. It ends up that this videotape is a recording of a murder. Apparently it is a special occurance because it was recorded by a child and the murderer had murdered several other people, therefore this videotape was perfect evidence. The author of this story describes the death in a very gruesome way that left me feeling that the author had a sick and twisted mind.

"Golden Grove" by Sergei Esenin
"Golden Grove" has a somewhat depressing tone. I think that the "golden grove" itself may be a metaphor for life or something else that has a lot of meaning to the speaker. In the beginning the speaker says that the golden grove has "fallen silent" and that it has no reason to speak or function any longer. The speaker also describes himself as now being alone in in a "naked flatland" or "bare expanse," which means that he feels alone without the golden grove. Though he seems to be depressed, he does recognize that he cannot live with regret. The fifth stanza may be more upbeat, saying that "grasses will survive." The ending, in my opinion, means that if everything is destroyed (the leaves and grasses in the poem may be a metaphor for the things in his life) it is because the golden grove fell silent.

Hills Like White Elephants-
"Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway is an interesting short story. It begins with a somewhat boring conversation between a man and woman and all of a sudden the man says, "It's really an awfully simple operation, Jig" (126). The conversation then turns into the man convincing his girlfriend/wife (not sure?) to get this operation, and the woman seems to want to as long as it will make him happy and make him love her again. The "operation" is an obviously an abortion, even though they do not come out and say it. The rest of the story is basically an argument between the couple, and the woman clearly lets the man know that she does not want to go through with it. The man still tries to convince her. The conversation going on between the couple clearly shows that the man has more power than the woman in the relationship. In the end, she acts "fine" and "happy," but it is clear to the reader that she is not. My guess is that she is going to have the abortion. This story is somewhat depressing because from the beginning one can see that the couple is not a happy one. The woman wants more than she is recieving from the man, and the man dominates her. It is an unfortunate situation.

Homework for 1/29:
1. I like the first translation (in the left column) the best of the two poems. The second poem seems more modernized and this poem was most likely written in the early 1900s according to when the author was alive. The first poem, in my opinion, has a better flow and sounds more poetic and uses more colorful language. For example, the first line of the fourth stanza in the first poem is ""There is no point lamenting squandered years" while the second poem's translation reads "I don't regret the years that I have wasted." The first translation sounds more like a poem should and leaves more room for analyzing, etc.

Free-Write

Shephard: sheep, herding, pastures, nature, guidance, order, leading, fields, dog helping shephard, religious shephard, lamb, shephard of God, religion, ability to herd and lead others in right direction, ability to lead and train animals

Desert: dry, death, sand, cactus, no water, dehydration, lifeless, hot

Universe: includes everything, goes on forever, infinite, never ending, space, planets, stars, black, encompassing, huge

Warm-Up and Freewrite

Definitions:
1. Close reading in my definition is literally reading the materially closely and finding meaning beyond the words on the page. This means interpreting the words as not only what they simply say but what they mean and what point the author is trying to get across. In order to do close reading one must read between the lines.
2. In my words, pastoral is an adjective meaning fatherly and guiding and often refers to priests and pastors. A pastoral person is someone who looks over others in a guiding and helping way.
According to the OED, pastoral is:

I. A person or thing associated with spiritual care.
1. a. A book on the care of souls. Obs. Originally chiefly (in plural) with reference to the title of St Gregory's Cura Pastoralis.
2. A pastoral staff, a crosier. Now rare.
II. A person or thing associated with the tending of livestock.
3. a. A literary work portraying rural life or the life of shepherds, esp. in an idealized or romantic form.
c. A rural and idyllic scene or picture.
6. a. A shepherd, a herdsman. b. Austral. A sheep or cattle farmer; a pastoralist. Obs. rare.

B. adj.
I. Relating to the tending of livestock.
1. a. Of or relating to shepherds or their occupation; relating to or occupied in the care of flocks or herds; (Austral. and N.Z.) spec. engaged in or relating to the farming of livestock as opposed to the production of crops.
b. Of land or countryside: used for pasture; (Austral. and N.Z.) spec. of or related to land used for the farming of livestock (as opposed to land used for arable farming).
b. Of a landscape, scene, etc.: having a simplicity or natural charm associated with pastureland.
II. Relating to spiritual care.
3. a. Of or relating to a pastor or minister; concerned with the spiritual care of a Christian congregation or community.
b. Educ. Of or relating to the care or responsibility of a teacher for a pupil's general well-being.

2. In my mind, a nymph (noun) is a mythical female creature that dwells in nature and is desired by men and other male creatures found in nature. OED's definition of a nymph:

Chiefly Classical Mythol. Any of a class of semi-divine spirits, imagined as taking the form of a maiden inhabiting the sea, rivers, mountains, woods, trees, etc., and often portrayed in poetry as attendants on a particular god. A prostitute; a woman regarded as a means of sexual gratification; A beautiful young woman; a maiden, a damsel.

3. In my own words, a mistress (noun) is a female who is used for sexual purposes only, usually to married men. A mistress is a woman that a man uses, even when married, for sex. I think that this term was more common earlier in history.
OED:
The female head of a family, household, or other establishment; a woman holding such a position in conjunction with a male counterpart. A woman having control or authority. A woman who employs others in her service; a woman who has authority over servants, attendants, or slaves.

6-D and 6-E in Strategies

6-E: The word grandmother is a word that has a lot of meaning for me. I only have known one grandmother (my mom's mom) because my dad's mom was deceased before I was born. My grandmother has always meant a lot to me because she has always been there at family events and is always entertaining and fun. She also makes everyone feel loved by giving compliments often.

6-D: In "Black Elvis" (66-74), the main character's name, Black Elvis, has an obvious connection to the character. He is an African American Elvis impersonator. His name is an exact definition of what he does. In "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," (102-115) the character June Star's name seems to relate to her physical appearance. O'Connor describes her as having a yellow head. This description of her blonde hair makes her sound summery, much like the month of June.

Response to "The Passionate Shephard to His Love"
This poem is a profession of love. The very first line "Come live with me and be my love" automatically lets the reader know that this will be a romantic poem. The speaker in the poem shares with his lover all that they will do together and the things that he will provide for her. Many of the elements mentioned in the poem are found in nature (fields, hills, posies, wool, ivy, etc.) which makes the poem feel genuine and sincere to the reader. The speaker in this poem obviously wishes to live in a carefree almost utopian type world where there will be nothing between him and his lover.

Response to "The Nymph's Reply to the Shephard"
This poem is a response to "The Passionate Shephard to His Love." This poem takes on a very different tone. It is much more serious and sensible as opposed to being as carefree as the shephard. The nymph recognizes that everything cannot be perfect, that flowers fade, and that sadness occurs in every relationship. She also replies that if things could be the way the shephard wished, she would live with him and be his love; however, things are not. This poem is much more negative than the first and includes words such as whither, rotten, sorrow, forgotten, etc.

Response to "A Man Said to the Universe"
This poem was brief but had a lot of meaning. The "man" is desperate for someone to take notice of him. He speaks to the "universe," but this could be interpreted as him wanting to be noticed by a couple of people in particular or that he really feels that the universe or world does not realize his existence. The exclamation point in "Sir, I exist!" really gives the line a feel of hopelessness and a need to be recognized. The reply of the "universe" is almost comical and lets the man in the poem know that even though he desires to be noticed, no one is concerned with his problem. The reply, "The fact has not created in me/a sense of obligation" clearly tells the man that the "universe" does not feel the need to notice him. This poem seems to be a reflection of the way the author may have been feeling at a particular time in his life. Everyone probably feels unnoticed at some point or another.

Homework Questions for 1/22/08

4. A genre is a category used to name and identify a text with consistent and familiar features.
12. Context is the who, what, when, and why that surround every word, image, or artifact.
17. Perspective is the illusion of depth in paintings.
18. Point of view is the "camera angle" as defined by photographers.
19. The Wall Street Journal uses hedcuts rather than photographs to reflect the philosophy of the paper and its focus on hard news.