A small good thing

this is a truly heart breaking story yet at the same time also heart warming, because it shows how traumatic events in peoples lives can bring them together even if there from different races or backgrounds. in the story a little boy is hit by car and goes into a deep sleep. as the story progresses a stranger keeps calling the family asking about their boy and then hanging up. at the end of the story the parents find out thats it the baker calling bout a cake and then the parents go to the baker to hurt him but things changed. how this story brings people together can be seen when the parents are in the hospital and the mother meets a black family whose son was stabbed an the mother jimmy sits down with an talks a little with the black family telling them about jimmy and how hopefully both their sons come out OK. another way this story is heart warming is how the baker brings jimmy family into the bakery an offers them food to help deal with their grief even if it only helps a little because eating is a small good thing one can do for their bodies.

Good Country People

I really enjoyed this short story "Good Country People". This story was mainly about joy she lived with her mother on a small farm. She was a handy cap she has only one leg that she lost hunting. Now she walks on a fake leg that she is very affraid of . People called her hulga she is a smart individual with a PHD and does nothing with it but lays up around hr mothers house doing nothing but reading. Her mother wants and trys to help her but all she does is complain about things and gets angry wanting to fight her. A man that sales bibles he visits her home shes excited because she like this man he stays there for dinner with her sort of like a date and they plan one the next day. Hulga likes this man alot and she thinks she can get him to liking her as well by seducing him. Well the next day the bible saleaman takes her into the barn and trying to take her fake leg off. He places it into a case with alchol and porn and then procedes out of the barn with her leg then she finds out that this man is not a bible salesman he steals fake legs. i really enjoyedthe way this aurthor wrote this story it seems as if this story is relly true.

A Small, Good Thing... Cobb.

In "A Small, Good Thing," written by Raymond Carver, The story is of a child named Scotty. Scotty is having a birthday coming up, so his mom orders him a cake from the local bakery. But one day, while walking to school, Scotty is hit by a car. He gets up, however, but goes into a coma later on in the afternoon. While he stays in the hospital, his mom keeps recieving a call from the baker, who says "You forgot about Scotty." So eventually Scotty's mom, Ann, goes to the bakery and fills the baker in on what has recently happened. To get to the point, the baker says that forgiveness is a small, good thing. I think that this point is awesome. This is not seen in today's time; forgiveness is a lost art in America. It is almost to the point of every one person always wanting their way and not stepping back to forgive and forget the past. I think that forgiveness can go a long way in one's rough day, and it needs to be brought back to houses across the nation. If forgiveness would have been sought in "Separating," their family would not have went through that rough time, and/or the divorce. Everyone always deserves a second chance, and one could tell that the husband in "Separating" was really sorry for his mistake.

A Small Good Thing

This is one of the best storys i did a paper on. It is also the hadest paper i ever did it on. People can look at this story in different ways. One of the ways i look at this story is from a commution part.This is one of the main parts of the story that maks the story baing.Let start from the beigging when she was talking to the baker. When she started talking to the baker, she started off on a good foot.The more she was talking she started to make her self look very crazy.She was saying things like i bet he never had no kids. She started to make her self very open to karma. If ever heard the old saying what gose around comes around. I personlly think that was one part of the foundation of this story, that made A Small Good Thing very good.

Good Country People Summary

In the story Good Country People, joy lives with her mother on their farm. She has glasses, a heart problem, and lost her leg in a hunting accident. She now has a prosthetic leg that she takes very fond to and treats it as the most sacred thing in her life. Her mother tries to help her with everything throughout her day but hulga only wants to complain and fight with her. She also has a PHD and all she does is sit in her house and read all day and every day. She is visited by a Bible salesman one day and she invites him to dinner. They plan a date for the next day and hulga is very excited. That night she things to herself that she could seduce him and make him like her. The day of the date he takes her into the barn loft where he precedes to take off her glasses then her fake leg. He then puts it into his case between some alcohol and some porno cards. He tells her that he goes around stealing prosthetics from people and that she will never see it again because everywhere he goes he uses a different name. She is left in the barn helpless and without her leg. In the end she thought he was Good Country People but it turns out he wasn't.

Good country people

Good country people to me was a good story to read because its easy for the reader to become intrigued quickly by what he/she is reading. Joy/Hulga is the central character of the story who changes her name to make herself seem as a unfortunate lady who loss a leg in an accident. And though she has a handicap she is well capable of doing better than she does. This indeed is one of Flannery O'Connor best works of writing he puts a lot of detail into this reading that one can't help but be amazed with the outcome. Mainly Pointer comes along one day and tries to sell Hulga and her family bibles, enjoying the company Hulga believes she can seduce him in a barn one night and she fails. It so happens that Mr. Pointer is a scam who has pornography and a host of other explicit items that he carries with him. The end result of the story Pointer seals Hulga's leg and leaves her in the barn puzzled and helpless. I enjoyed reading this because it allows you to capture the full extent of what the story is portraying. The most shocking event was the manner of man pointer was and the total of his dealings that was for certain immoral.

The Swimmer

I really enjoyed the swimmer by John Cheever. This story was mainly about the acholic named Neddy Merrill. He was a man of highly expected skills who had money as well. He and his wife lucinda they attended this swimming party that was full of rich people who thought highly of themselves. If you was at this party you had to be rich they didnt except people with no money here. They got filthy drunk here at this party everyone. Neddy was a swimmer his wife wounld drive him to different places where he could swim through every one pools. This story reminds me of a time when i was in high school people where high class and had there own groups they would hang in. i remembered this particular party that they had for one group it was big pool party. Everyone that was popular was there and if you wasnt you was a no go. So it was this one guy who was the basketball star everyone knew him he was a swimmer sort of like neddy was he showed peopl how good he could swim. they also dranked and smoked at this party this guy never touched a drink of acohol in his life until this night. Later what i remebered that he didnt finish school he was drunk all the time in high school he had problems and it ended his life sort of like neddy.

Babylon Revisited. Cobb.

The story talks of Charlie Wales, a man who hit it rich then went broke with his decisions. Charlie has had some rough spots in his life. He has had drinking problems to where now he only limits himself to one drink per day. Another issue is the losing of his daughter, Honoria. Honoria lives in Paris with her mother, and Charlie wants custody of her. But it does not happen. One of the things that stands out to me is the symbolism of Charlie Wales being broke. I think he is not only broke in a sense of money, but in a sense of life as well. I think that Honoria was his life and because of his drinking problems, he lost her- his life. I think that Charlie would turn back time just to have Honoria and his old life back. Not necessarily because of the money b ut because he was rich on the inside; he had Honoria and his wife. But I do not think he should be penalized for being seen with the wrong people. He should have been able to prove himself to Honoria alone, not society. And I think that was another major deal. Society at that time seemed to be focused on looking good in front of strangers instead of focusing on their own lives.

Babylon Revisited

The main reason why I picked Babylon Revisited is that i can realate to hit really well. Charlie Wales is alot like my dad not in the fact that he lost all of his money but made bad decesions which lead to other things. Another thing that i noticed was how Duncan Schaeffer and Lorriane Quarrles kept poping up and trying to get Charlie to come drink with them. That the same excat things that some of my dads buddies would do. I didnt like how Charlie really never told them to leave him alone. He tries avoiding them and when they ask for his address he says he will call them later. Then when he goes to the bar hoping he can find Duncan and Lorraine so he can confront them there not there. later he Calls Lincoln Peters and Marion doesnt think that Charlie should have custody of Honoria and that he should wait six more months. The fact that Marion saw Charlie with his two old friends was the main reason why see made this decesion. All he had to do was tell them the first time that he wanted nothing to do with them and none of this would have happen. Other than that I thought the story was great, it made it more interesting for me because of the fact that I could relate to it.

Babylon Revisited

in this short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story takes place in Paris with a young man returning to win back the love of his daughter and to break away from the sins of the past. at the beginning of the story the main character Charlie returns to Paris in hopes to reclaim his daughter from his in-laws. from this point in the story i felt that Charlie wanted to be a true father an prove to everyone that he can be the loving father Honoria needs which i also felt was ironic about her name because by getting his daughter back he could also reclaim his lost honor of the sins he committed back in his past with old friends, his wife, and his daughter. also in the story Charlie tries to break free from his past because it contained alot of sins that he regrets such as the death of his wife and the actions he committed with his friends Loraine. From this i gathered that Charlie wants to find redemption to show that he can be a respectable man not just a wealthy one and to prove that hes changes from a partier of Paris to a responsible man that just want to be with his daughter.

The Evening Sun

The story of the Evening Sun is one of irony and yet humorous because the constant meaningless calamity of Nancy the slave girl. To me Nancy is very unstable in her mind about her husband (Jesus) who believes that she has slept with a white man and plans to kill her for her adulteress ways. Not only is that problem angering him but also the white man they worked for could enter and exit his house when he felt like it and he was banished from stepping foot on his property, this was a major problem. It makes you think and wonder if Nancy is guilty of prostitution with her being so fearful of her husband. It got so bad even the man she worked for children knew the problem that gripped her and she was allowed for a certain time to sleep at his house, because she thought he (Jesus) would be hiding in a ditch and surprise her and kill her. At the end of the story she takes the kids home with her and is in terror of heartache that he husband has left a bloody pig bone on her table that illustrates to her her time is shortly coming to an end. I think the story was interesting and great to read although it never gave true proof or evidence of her innocence or her husbands true motive for his belief of her infidelity.

Barn Burning

I belivee Barn Burning " is everyone's double ,and that is the source of the misery in which he immerses his family and all of those with whom he comes into contact. Snopes feels challenged,it seems , by the pure existence of others and succumbs on each occasion to the demon of incendiary rivalry.At the conclusion of the first courtroom scene, for example, when the justice of the peace , failing to find Snopes guilty of arson against Mr. Harris nevertheless orders him to "leave this. It also poses a problem for me as a reader in several instances more intent upon explaining and justifying Abner's barn-burning than in registering the pain his family suffers in the context of these fires. The often quoted fire-bbuilding passsage provides a good illustration: The night were still cool and they had a fire against it , of a rail lifted from a nearby fence and cut into lengths-a small fire, neat niggard almost, a shrewd fire; such fires weree his father's habit and custom always, even in freezing weather.

"I Thank You God"

This poem gave me such wonderful feelings and made me think of home in so many ways. I grew up in a home where going to church every time the doors were open was necessary if you want to live in my mother's house. She required us to praise God and pray to him everyday giving thanks for all that he had done.

In Cummings view of praise, he thanks God for all that is natural and what is in nature. He thanks him for the day at hand that was not promised the day before as well as the trees and sky that God has graciously put here on Earth that is amazing.

He then goes on to ask how can God can be so close and dazed the senses yet some do not still believe. He clams he is alive once again by asking forgiveness. This to me is showing how he repented and excepted God.

"(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)"

He can now see the truth and hear God's word. This poem is jaw doping and to me takes a leap of faith in poem where most of our previous poets haven't.

Dream Boogie

I really enjoyed this short poem the Dream Boogie by Langston Hughes. This poem really made sense to me I understood the way he placed every world in this poem. Its about a person dreaming of a dance that they had in their dream. By reading this poem if it have not had the title Dream Boogie or dream deferred in a verse of this poem you would have thought it was really true. or maybe the Dream Boogie is real and this person is trying to get her dad to dream about the boogie dance. this person is probably telling there dad about this because of there experience of the boogie dance as well. This dance is probably a dance that all the people who grew up in Harlem knew this dance unless you were a blues dancer and you liked to a Harlem night club. But this poem is a classic it really explained the rhythm that people in Harlem in the 1940's and 1950's use to move to Hey, pop! Re -bop! Mop! Dream Boogie. I really think this poem will show and help the readers who doesn't understand how the people of Harlem showed how they had a good time and where true soul of the blues came from the streets and clubs of Harlem New York.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers

River have been a powerful force thoughout human history. Many earaly mythologies made the river a symbol of both life and death. It is easy to understand the reason for this since most of the gteat early civiliization grew up in river valleys. The Euphrates, which is the first of the rivers mentioned in the poem, helps to form Mesopotamia. The Nile, too, played a central role in early civiliztion.It ensured Egyptian prosperity.It can be a allusious to deep dusky rivers, the setting sun , sleep, and the soul, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" is suffused with the image of death and, simutaneausly, the idea of deathlessness.I notice that the soul of the Negro in this poem goes back to the Euphrates , it goes back to a pre-" racial" down and a geography far from Africa that is identified with nethier blackness nor whiteness.

Song for a Dark Girl- Cobb.

"Song for a Dark Girl," wrote by Langston Hughes, talks about a time in history that was about racial inequality, and it was also during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance was a time period of intellectual movement for African-Americans through poetry, literature, and jazz, or the Blues. Langston Hughes, along with Claude McKay, pressed this movement forward with works like "Song for a Dark Girl." This poem talks about Whites being abusive mentally and physically towards the African-Americans of that period. In the first stanza, it talks about the hanging of the speaker's black lover. It just shows an example of racial discrimination that was happening in that time. In the second stanza, the speaker talks about another "bruised body high in the air." Once again, it talks of inequality, as well in the final stanza. The last stanza mentions that love is a shadow. This makes one think that all African-Americans had in that time was love, and that was the most important thing for them. It also says that love is naked and hanging on a "gnarled and naked tree." These last two lines are moreso of an oxymoron. In most's opinion love is beautiful and worthwhile, however, this states it is hanging from a gnarled tree. The word gnarled to me is more of a grotesque word. In that one word, it describes the people of that time period who supported racial discrimination.

the negro speaks of rivers

in this short poem Langston Hughes talks about the many rivers the character has seen and about how is soul has become deep like the rivers. from this poem it seemed to me that Langton Hughes character was talking about the history of his race since one the rivers dates back to the beginning of time and about how he has known rivers that are older than the flow of human time. from this poem i thought about how the soul can be deep like rivers an i thought that it meant that he and others has endured alot of hardship an turmoil that have made them better people much how rivers become deeper an more expansive as erosion over time deepens and widens the river bed.

Harlem

When I first started thinking of which poem I wanted to write about I immediately went to Harlem. The reason is it reminded me of the poem The Red Wheelbarrow. These poems both ask a question and also create amazing images in your mind when you read them. Harlem is a little longer but now much and still accomplishes the same objective that The Red Wheelbarrow did. The first thing that Langston Hughes asks is “What happens to a dream deferred”, it’s the first sentence of the poem and I find myself already having to answer a question. Then he begins to create images with the Sun, Sore, and rotten meat. Just like in The Red Wheelbarrow the reader is either attracted to the questions or to the images that Langston Hughes is trying to create. I paid more attention to the Images that were created rather than the question that was asked. There is also another question asked at the end of the poem, “Or does it explode” which I didn’t pay any attention to at all. There is one thing for certain though; this poem definitely makes the reader think. This defiantly goes down with The Red Wheelbarrow as being one of my favorite poems.

Numero Cinco

William Carlos Williams wrote "The Great Figure" in 1919 and it was later published in 1921. The speaker talks about how one rainy evening he sees a golden number five on a red fire truck moving by quickly with the sirens howling and the gong clanging. I really don't find this to be a very deep work of literature but I see it more as a person recalling an experience that could have changed their life. For all we know after seeing this sight the speaker decides he wants to be one of te brave and become a fire fighter. Maybe the speaker wants to be the one getting looked at as he cruises by in a big red fire engine with the sirens blaring. Maybe this changed nothing about the speaker. It's possible it could just be a memory and had no effect on what the speaker did or wanted to do. We've all seen emergency vehichles fly by. I don't know about you but they don't change what I want to do, but I do remember seeing them on their way to do their duty to their community and not having any doubts or fears.

Dirty Underwear

In "Washerwoman" Sandburg is telling a story in a few lines. This is about a woman working for the Salvation Army. Her duty is to wash the laundry. It compares people to the dirty underwear and compares Jesus to the suds. As she sings her songs of rejoice and washes the clothes it's as if God is washing away sins and the wrongs people have done just like she washes the filth off the underwear. He does the hard work washing away our sins and bad conduct knowing that more will come and he will once again have to clean us up. The washerwoman has decided to give back to the community and try to correct some of her own wrongs and give back to the community. She is trying to do God's will and earn his respect so she will know when it's her time she'll be waiting in line at the pearly gates. We should all strive to be like the woman depicted and earn our way in, not just do a lot of wrongs and expect our records to be wiped clean every now and then and actually be productive people.

Road Not Taken

In this poem the speaker comes to a fork in the road and doesn't know which route to travel. He takes some time to analyze both roads and notices that both roads were grassy and wanted wear. He then thinks about going one way and then turning around and venturing down the other just to see where they both go, but doubted he should ever turn around and come back. He then stated that he would tell his tale ages later, possibly to grandchildren. He finally decides to take the one less traveled. In the end it seems he has made the right decision since it has made all the difference. This is a great life lesson. A lot of our peers come to forks in the road everyday whether it be drinking, drugs, sex, etc. Most are overwhelmed with peer pressure and end up doing whatever it is. The road less traveled is the smart and sober way. One incident could make all the difference in being a successful adult providing for your family or spending all your money on drugs and end up living on the streets.

Sandburg's Fog

To me it seems like he is comparing for to the cat. When he states that the fog comes on little cat feet it seems like he is talking about it creeping up as a cat would it's prey. While the fog sits it's like the cat is setting there mid prowl watching his target and observing. As the fog moves on it's as if the cat's prey either got away and the cat continues like nothing happened or like when after a cat catches his prey and is done playing with it or eating it the cat just leaves what is left lying there and continues on with it's life like nothing happened. I suppose this could be related to other things in life. I think it could also compare to love. When you do finally find love it creeps up on you like the fog. If things go bad and you break up then it sets there for a while and you feel in the dumps and it slowly fades away, as fog does, and you move on to the next thing like fog would move to the next city.

Class notes online

You can access the class notes here: http://sites.google.com/site/cptoreillymmi/

"Sunday Morning"

This poem is lengthy and if you are not out to find the true meaning of it you probably won't. I had to look up most of its meaning of articles written on the internet. These sources gave me a deeper look and meaning on the message Stevens is trying to sell to the reader.

In my opinion the poem had a masculine voice as well as a feminine one as well. The female was trying to justify her reasoning behind not going to church and believing in the same old way her forefathers had in the past. She asked the question when will this time of religion come to an end? Why does my soul have to live here on Earth and experience all the pain and love? She is finally answered by a masculine voice saying that it will always be there and her predecessors are the ones that mad these laws that we follow today.

To me Stevens is seeding the answer for truth and defines it in his poem by separating religion and desires; separating God and Palestine. It is as if he is saying that there is nothing wrong with desires as long as they do not effect, in a negative way, others around you.

In the end he some how finds the truth but still leaving the question if religion is the right answer, then what about faithful followers of previous religions? Are we all not going to end up living in the same after life in a similar heaven?

Stevens did a great job at making a reader not question his own religion but instead try to prove our faith. If we can all justify our love for our religion than it will lead us all to great deeds as just men.

The Red Wheelbarrow

The poem is simply amazing. I love how just a few lines of words can set a Hugh image in the readers head. This is very easy to read seeing how William Carlos Williams never really exceeded three syllable words. I say that because he separated the words "Wheelbarrow" and "rainwater". In my opinion the poem is straight to the point. I think when the author says "so much depends upon a red wheelbarrow" he is referring to the different jobs that it can be used for. When I first thought about it, the words never really caught my eye but after reading it again it finally clicked. It’s pretty cool how those few words can make your mind wonder as if the poem was actually longer than it really is. The poem can also be looked at as only having the purpose of describing an image. Either the reader can wonder what depends on a red wheelbarrow, or the reader may just use the red wheelbarrow and the white chickens to set an image in their head. It’s also amazing to see how so little words can become such a famous poem. This will always be one of my favorite poems.

Adventure

Sherwood Anderson in this Short Story discusses the life and times of Alice Hindman. I beleive the main point that Anderson was trying to get across was there is no such thing as one perfect match or true love. In the story Alice waste her whole life just for her chances of being with Ned again. This in turn ruins her. She becomes lonely, scared, and crazy. But on the other hand Ned was living a ful-filling life distant to Alice. He had no ties to Alice after a couple years after that departure but he moved on and had made himself a succesful and good life. Alice has boiled down to a person with no feeling and is useless to society with no friends or family left to rely on. That is why it shows that there is no true one person you are meant to be with. When they were still young, Yes, alice and ned could of been together, but there are plenty of males and females out in the world to make a family with. If you spend your whole youth looking for this special person you may never find them and ruin your chances of having a good life, or pass up all the other good people that tried to come in your path, but you denied them. This story seems to be a huge theme in modern day movies where people turn down many people just to find that perfect someone. I know this seems weird that i watched this movie, but in 27 dresses, the main character passes up this guy the whole movie trying to find Mr. Right, but it takes a drastic measure to find out the guy she was loooking for was there the whole time.

blog 3? or 4?

The fisher king
this was an interesting one and had a unique feeling to it. the story seemed a little medieval cliche to me not saying that it wasnt good or have a good meaning behind it just that it had a played out feel to it. i know this isnt really what the blogs are suposed to be like but this is really the bigest thing that stood out about this story it dose have things fix them selves in the end but there wasnt any thong to deep out outstanding about it

Love song

this is an interesting yet weird short story about man an his quest for love or just looking for someone to be with for awhile. in the story prufrock talks about going to parties and cheap hotels and feeling unintellectual with everyone talking about Michelangelo. in this part of the story prufrock to me is describing his short coming and belittling himself, to me if he just tried to engage in the conversation he might find that he knew what they were talking about or at least made a friend to take home. also throughout the story prufrock complains about his outward appearance and about how people talk behind his back about his hair balding. to me this is just him worried about others think and not about what he thinks or what he can, as long as he was confident in himself he could have found the girl of his dreams or that one person to be with for at least a night.

Adventure- Sherwood Anderson

This short story is about Alice Hindman, and the effect that love has on her. She starts to date Ned Curry, who she loses her virginity to. But Ned has to leave. He leaves, but Alice remains faithful, even though Ned was gone a long time. through this time, she begins to need, want another person's contact. So she takes an adventure- she runs naked in the rain at night. After this, she feels changed, as in breifly liberated, but she has stopped being social for her fear of not staying faithful to Ned Curry.

One of the main phrases that stands out to me is, "many live and die alone." I, honestly, think she let this get to her head, and she became grotesque as one might say. She blocked off all social contact and became crazy it seemed like. Sherwood Anderson did a good job at explaining his meaning of "grotesque" in "The Book of the Grotesque." I think one of the meanings interpreted, such as virginity, can make people change.. a lot. I think Alice took the meaning of faithful to an extreme when she cut herself off from civilization. This short story seems to have a deep meaning past love hurts... I think Sherwood Anderson wanted a story that connects with readers about moving on and living life.

Fog

The fog comes on little cat feet. To me he is comparing the movement of the fog to the silent, spry font step of a cat, on animal who is able to creep toward its destination without warnng. Fog often arrives quickly,yet completely, as it covers a city or a harbor. Akin to a cat who dose as it pleases fog obeys no rules, often shrouding the surrounding like a blanket that does not allow any light.In this poem, the fog arrived above the city where it sits looking over the harbor, and city much as a cat does when it arrives at its destination.The next thing I notice it says that the fog is sitting on sileat houoches as it looks out over the harbor and city, and indeed , few creatures can sit as silently as the cat.Finally , Cat are known to be wandering creatvres , stopping for a time and then moving on from destination to destination. Again the fog is compared to the cat in that the fog hovers silently , but it never stay in one place too long . Fog either rolls on anther destination.

The Open Boat

I enjoyed the short story the open boat, This story tells us about us about four men on a samllboat trying to find land. There naames was the cook, the oiler known as billy, captain, and the correspondant. The cook was the most talkative out of the four men. The four of them were al in danger of survival. No food and water because of the rough river, salt water. But the captain was sure that theyll make it to shore. He spootted a light house not to far away. Basically the light house was deserted. The men not understanding that as time continues to pass that they would grow weaker. Somebody spotted them on the shore waving at them. But they were only tourists that thought they were fisherman. So thats when the four men figured that there was no help coming. So while the men set off continuing to sail across the sea looking for light. They wasnt successful trying to find that so thats when thoughts of drowning came to heads. But i think this story was interesting because it takes courage to sail across rivers for days in a small boat like they did. But it was fattle for a coupe that died in the end.

Robert Frost, "Fire and Ice"

In this poem, Robert Frost blatantly tells of how the world will end: with fire or ice. Many critics believe that he is not talking about the world being destroyed by the two elements but instead comparing them to the actions of humans. It refers to Fire being desire or lust and Ice as hate or violence. These two emotions are frowned upon in society and are normally not tolerated; typically punishable if caught performing any of these feelings.

I feel that he is a great poet and deserves every Pulitzer Prize he won. He was always known to write poems that had moral meaning behind them. These poems were, in my opinion, meant to make the reader stop and think about the wrongs committed by the people he was surrounded by. This poem is just another great example and is used to revile the immoral behavior of those who are committing wrong. These actions are harmful to everyone around you and eventually, according to Frost, will help destroy the world we know. He really speaks to the reader in only a few lines and in a way asking us to look inside ourselves and observe our sins; we are to correct them less we pay the ultimate price of the end.

"Poker Flat"

in the story of "Poker Flat" the town has become pious and has either kicked out those they feel lacking in morals or they hand from a tree just outside of town. the main outcast in the story are Oakhurst, the Duchess and Mother Shipton who are banished and eventually meet up with a young couple. the outcast in the story try their best to act moral for the couple who don't know sin or evil and eventually at the end of the story sadly everyone dies but Innocent and Uncle Billy. from the story we learn that people are free to choose how they want to act and how just because some is lacking in morals doesn't make them bad people. Oakhurst was the best gambler in town and never lost a card game but he was kind in the fact that he sang hymns for the couple and how we gathered firewood for the rest of the survivors and at the end shot himself to give the others a better chance. Duchess being a prostitute in Poker Flat tried to keep everyone spirits up by singing and comforting the others. Mother shipton who we don't know much about her since starved herself to give the others more food as to survive. this story shows that just because one part takes in less than descent acts doesn't entirely make them evil or lesser than anyone else.

Home Burial- Robert Frost

This poem is about a child dying. The child's mother and father seem to be at different stages of grieving about their son. the mother is having a hard time letting go of her son, while the father seems like he has already moved on. The wife feels like the father simply does not care and is just living like the death of his son does not matter while she is still grieving. The mother also feels like the people around her have already moved on in their minds, even before her son is laid in the grave.

I, personally, think that the grieving period should be short... I do not want people mourning two years after I am dead. But then again, it is a case-by-case situation. Last year, I had a friend who lost his brother, who was also my soccer coach. seeing as how it was his brother, he is still grieving to this day. But since it was my soccer coach, I was only sad for a couple of weeks... but the world kept turning. I just think if someone is grieving, they should have all the time in the world to be sad and finally let go, as long as they do not force it on others- that is what the wife seemed like she doing to her husband and the boy's father.

The Road Not Taken.

The speaker tells of how he is walking the woods and comes to two roads. He stands looking down each one trying to see what is down each one. He can’t take both so he still stands looking and trying to decide which one he wants to take. He looked down the first road to where he could see the “bent in the undergrowth” and then thinks that he should take the other path for it looks to be less travled on. The speaker than decides that both are about the same after all. The speaker continues to analyze the paths and notices that both roads have leaves on them that have not yet been disturbed. He also thinks about going down one path and coming back just to see whats down both but “knowing how way leads on to way”, he chooses not to. The speaker ends the poem saying he will be telling his story with a sign. The sign may be either good or bad depending on the future if his decision to take the less traveled path was a good one or bad. This is one problem that falls into everyone’s life sooner or later. A decision between two things, and having to pick one along with not knowing what the outcome will be.

The Open Boat

He was forced to remain for thirty hours in the Boat, rowing frantically aginst the tide and bailing constantly to keep the craft afloat in the treacherous water , before they were ablle to come ashore at Daytona Beach. He would expect that this story would be writted as a heart-pounding adventure tale;yest it is very cerbral in its approcach , focusing less on the adrenaline rush of danger than on the philosophical question of man's relationship to the would of nature that so completely overwhelms him.

Bret Harte. Poker Flats.

This short story seems to be about karma. The four exiles were not killers, but they were not the cream of the crop. Mr Oakhurst, a professional gambler, The Duchess and Mother Shipton, who were prostitutes, and Uncle Billy, who was a thief, were all exiled from the town of Poker Flat on the account of the town trying to cleanse itself.

They were sent to Sandy Bar. Along the way, they set up camp in a cave-like area. As they set ip camp, the true inner selves of the four come out. The whiskey, cussing, and bad-mouthing begins. After a couple of days there, they end up snowed in with two new additions to the camp- The Innocent and Piney. These two were in love and engaged to each other.

As the story goes on, Uncle Billy steals the mules, and the food supply is running scarce. It seems as though the four exiles were getting what fate had in store for their careless lives. Mother Shipton dies of starvation, Uncle Billy is gone, and the days keep getting longer. Eventually, Piney and the Duchess die while The Innocent is going back to Poker Flat to get help. And Mr Oakhurst dies as well.

The suicide of Mr Oakhurst seems like a symbolism of that of Jesus. I pictured it as his own way of cancelling out his own sins, or the camp's for that matter. The symbolism in this story did not seem so strong to me. However, his death at the end seemed to bloat symbolism.

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

This story by Bret Harts tells a tale of of four outcasts that have somehow, all together, performed evil acts within the town they reside in. With a combined group of a saloon girl (Duchess), a brothel owner ("Mother Shipton"), a suspected robber (Uncle Billy), and a professional gambler (John Oakhurst), they are thrown out of the town. This is done in part because of a "cleansing" of bad elements and a way to get out the rift raft.

These four unfortunate travelers set out for the next town in hopes that they will be accepted and their mishaps will be over looked. They meet a couple along the way that do not see the wrongs of the band of misfits as the town of people do. But the road is long and harsh and they end up being confined to a abandoned cabin by a snow storm. When they go to retrieve help, Uncle Billy has made off with the horse and the mule. The ending of the story is tragic and you find that everyone dies except the young boy lover who is assume to have gotten the help that finds the bodies of the Piney Woods, the young girl lover and Duchess holding one another as they passed on. They also find the body of Mr. Oachurst lend up against a tree dead by his own hand with the pistol that laid by his side.

Some how, even though these band of misguided soul as the towns people describe them, they find a way to rectify their own wrongs in the end, but in such a way that they are still not saved according the Christian Doctrine. The story states that as Piney and Duchess are dieing they do not pray yet look so innocent as the law of Poker Flats find the bodies. Not repenting in the eyes of the church will not save you as because you are not asking forgiveness from the lord. Also, Mr. Oakhurst kills himself. This too is another sign from the church that even though it seems that he has rectified his wrongs, he is still considered a sinner.

Now my understanding, from the discussion we had in class, Harte is not trying to tell the story from a religious point of view but from the romantic ideal that a person can change from their evil ways given the right setting. I support this idea that anyone person can perform good deeds and that is can and will change an outlook on life.

This story to me presents a few life's lessons such as treat others as you would have them do unto you and also that a few good actions can change the lives of others surrounding you. Now the question is: Can you and I follow this road of change or are we too afraid to do so because of fear of being an outcast?

Daisy Miller

"Daisy Miller" was a great read, although the actions of some of the characters annoyed me to an extent. Daisy Miller is just a rich girl that doesn't have too much worry in the world. She has traits that I both admire and dislike. I admire her free-spiritness and independence. I really dislike her aimless flirting, ignorance, and love games. Her independence shows that she doesn't need to depend on anyone else, and her free-spiritness shows that no one can influence her in any way. Her aimless flirting makes me think that she is a skank, and that her sense of well-being is getting men's attention. Her ignorance ultimately results in her death. I think Daisy carried on with Mr. Giovanelli to shock her social circle, and to manipulate Winterbourne into starting something with her. She liked him enough, but she could never love him, nor Giovanelli, because she is so self-centered. Of all of the characters in the story she annoyed me the most. Now on to Winterbourne. Winterbourne's worldliness and matureness is appealing to me, but his lack of initiation is a flaw. Winterbourne is very intelligent; he analyzes Daisy's character to the end of the story, and, with now avail, tries to put Daisy into a class of women. I'm not convinced that Winterbourne loves her yet, but he definitely has unresolved feelings for her, and he is charmed and mesmerized by her. Most men actively go after the woman they want; Winterbourne makes passive attempts to go after Daisy. He's not weak, but he is too much of a gentleman, therefore Daisy stays with Giovanelli. I feel sorry for Winterbourne in this story; he tries his hardest to help Daisy, and he gets nothing in return.

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

When I first started reading The Outcasts of Poker Flats I got a little confused at first. I thought Poker Flat was a person when the author referred to it as being "after somebody". After reading over it again I finally got everything situated. This piece was very easy to read and I didn’t have to force myself to read it like some others poems. The main reason I like the story is because there are so many characters in it. To me it seems like there really isn’t a main character in the story. I know that Mr. Oakhurst is introduced first, but the author talks about the characters for the most part evenly. It just seems like Bret Harte wanted to stay away from the typical story line of having a main character. I also like how he changed up the ending as well. Most stories people read are ones of happy endings, this one ends with everyone dying. I’m not happy that everyone dies but after seeing so many stories that ended in happy endings, and knowing life isn’t like that; it was nice to see some change. I would defiantly read more of Bret Harte’s stories, seeing how this one’s stays away from the everyday story.

Twain

Mark Twain’s “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” is a widely known story. I recognized the story from a previous reading course I have taken. Twain does a good job making the story entertaining by incorporating humor into it. He, like many other writers, has a common theme behind his writing, but does a better job keeping interest high. His theme in “Jumping Frog” of course was be careful whom you trust. He left his frog that he bet money on in the hands of his opponent who he did not know. This was foolish and he paid the price for it.

One could even venture to say that Twain’s theme went deeper than that because the whole story was unnecessary information about a man that he was not interested in. He was looking for an entirely different person altogether. This was a good chance for him to put more humor in but also gave him the opportunity to add some local color to the story, which he had been known to do. By showing that the people in that area of the world are capable of talking your head off about something you did know want to know about, Twain was describing the people there according to his perspective.

The Outcasts of Poker Flat

I enjoyed the short story the outcasts of poker Flat written by Brett Harte. This story was about a professional gambler named Mr. Oakhurs who goes on a journey with four other people. While they were on there way to their destination. They got tired and wanted to stop and camp out for the night but Mr. Oakhurst doesnt want to he wants to keep going. Later on they they meet a horseman named Tom Simson he was known as the innocent. With him was his wife Piney she traveled with him from the sand bar to get married at Poker flat. They went to a cabin to stay the night. away from the camp before the snow came. While staying there Oakhurst wakes one morning and realizes that one of the people traveling with him has stole their mulesduring the night. Later throughout the story one by one each one of the people started dieing. From starvation, disappearance,and shot. The only too that servived was the thief billy and the innocent Simson. I really found enjoyment reading this story it showed me how helping out people you dont know can be disasterous to you and others you know . Because they can be theives, prostitues, and serial killers. It help me understand alot.

Jeong #2

Mark Twain is the father of American Humor. His stories have the cruel sense of current day American humor. Movies such as Bruno depicts Twain's humor perfectly. Modern humor consists of making fun or taking pun at gays, celebrities, and the military. Twain had a way of making the topics of his time. Writing about the Mississippi River was the setting of most of his stories. He grew up in the south and wrote of the south. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Fin had the setting partaking along the banks of the Mississippi River. Twain made fun of anything and everything he could. He writes of the western expansion and tells stories of the men slaying buffalo and getting chased by them, fictional tales of a man who loves betting and wins. The "news" of Mark Twain's era were subject to his criticism. He wrote with such swag that he was published throughout the world and was known for his "Americanism." It was Anne Hutchinson who had the first poems published, Ralph Waldo Emerson who sought for American culture, Edgar Allen Poe who defined short stories and made America known for its writers, but Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) was the father of modern day humor. He is the one responsible for all modern day humor. Comedians are the fruit of TWAIN.

HOW TO TELL A STORY

How to tell a story by Mark Twain was probably the best reading that I have read in either semester of American Literature class. For a few reasons, it was funny, true, and short and to the point. I dont want to make any assumptions but It seems as if Mark Twain was the father of modern day comedy and humor, he breaks down the two ways to be funny and the two different types of jokes that can be used to tell a story. Being Humorous or comical. In modern day you can tell the difference between the two types of stories, that comics use. Comedians like Dane Cook use a comical way of telling a story, as you already know what is basically going to happen and already lays it out for you. Other comedians such as Bill Cosby make you sit wait and listen and have to think to understand the point of his story or joke, which in the end is funnier than the blunt upfront comedy. Mark twain gives 2 good examples in the short writing that break down the difference between the two, and you immediately see the difference. Also, this was not a 10 page story or a poem that had to be disected to understand. THat is why I enjoyed this reading more than any other so far.

Life on the Missississippi

This book tells the story of his life on the river. One of the main part towards this story is he started out as a cub pilot under his mentos ,Horace Bixby.This is off the thing that I like because Horace Bixby is teaching him. Then he gets his own licence and starts to poilot on his own experiencing many adventures and meeting interesting people. I like this because it tells me I can do what i want to do if i leasen to the right people. I realy did not like how the story Ends , because in May 1861 the civil War came and he had to make his last trip from New Orleans to St Louis.Then the Union Army to transport troops.

The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

Here is some back ground on this story. Twain started writing during the California Gold Rush. The miner's stories helped him along in the start of his career. By the way, he didn't strike it rich. The stories brought him success as a humorous and satirical writer. In "The Notorious Jumping.....", the main character Simon Wheeler really brings color to the story with his digression from Rev. Leonidas Smiley to rambling about Jim Smiley, a horse, a dog, and a jumping frog. He is telling one thing then he goes off on a tangent when he is reminded of something. The reader never gets a full character development. I think Simon Wheeler is one of those people that likes to hear himself talk, and does that to get attention. I really enjoyed this short story . The humor really caught my attention. This story takes me back to the past, and I imagine the uncivilized lifestyle of the Western settlers and miners. The stories are so crazy that it reminds me almost of a tall tale, or it is at least an extreme exaggeration of an actual event. The people back east probably had no idea, except from maybe some newspaper articles, of what was really going on out west. Not only this was some form of news, it was also entertainment. The reason it became so popular, because it was not like some of the boring European stories and poems (like the stuff we read in class), but it was fresh, funny, and new.

Jeong #1

Emily Dickinson's poems go through many different phases as they go on. In the beginning her literary works seem to parallel to her state in life. In poem 49 she feels poor. I believe she is emotionally lacking love or companion ship in this phase of her life. As poem 130 illustrates that she is looking into her past and longing to be freed. As the poems start to mature it seems as if she is giving her life to the lord. At first she is hesitant to fully devote herself to God. In poem 214 she is in a state of euphoria off the air she breathes. In that state of euphoria she mentions that she will be happy until the end of days referring to the "Sun." As she writes on she starts to write more and more about the Lord. Poem 249 she is rowing in Eden and following her heart for the blind search for love. With the Lord being mentioned in the poems her poems move towards a gloomy morose stage lingering on the idea of death. She was one of the first "emos" of the United States. She writes of her mentality being in a horrid stage. She feels a funeral in the brain, and all hell is let loose in the infinite labyrinth of enigma. Her mind is puzzling and dark. Emily Dickinson through the poems that I have read, is like an artist. In the beginning of her career (hobby for her) she is writing like other poets of the time. As her writing matures it achieves a style of her own. The slant-rhymes gave Dickinson's works a unique genuine style to her works of her time period making it stand out from others.

God in her onway -324

I believe that she thinks that nobody can not help her at all with God. The reason why she think like this because people realy do not understand her. she believes that she do not need God and she will fine GOD in her own way. She believe that one way by staying at home. The part I really do not understand is instead of tolling the Bell, for Church, Our little Sexton-Sings. Then i found out what Sexton means then it made secne with the rest of what she was tying to say.

Emily Dickinson over Whitman

So far my class and I have only read and gone over Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson and out of the two I personally enjoy Emily’s work more than Walt’s. Even though Whitman’s poem are more up beat and seem to have more of a positive voice to it, Emily seems to have this air deepness in her poems and I like that. Also she seems to enjoy life and the beauty it has. In some of her poems she talks about how she comes across god or experiences a divine feeling out in nature like in, “Winter Afternoons.” This poem describes the beauty in the mountains of the Himalayas and that no matter what we do we can’t affect this.

She’s very deep in all of her poems; it doesn’t matter what she talks about wether it be a divine experience to experiencing love or even sorrow. Some people say she is a very depressed poet but what I see is the longing for love and affection like in her poem “If you were coming in the Fall.” I see how people could get the idea that she is all doom and gloom because at first glance I thought she was talking about woe is me to be alone and have no one here with me. After reading through it several times I started to get more of an understanding of it and what it truly was saying. What she was saying was if she knew when the one she loves was coming to visit she would wait for him, counting down the days/months/years it would take for him to arrive but since she doesn’t know the waiting is tearing her up inside. She describes what true love is in a way by saying no matter how long it takes I will wait for you to come. To me Emily Dickinson’s work is all about perception and the outlook of the person who is reading it. Dickinson is not all about sorrow and death, even though she mentions it a lot in her poems, she is the one who is just thinking outside the box and talking about real life issues or events in another manner.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson is said to be a sort of recluse. But personally I think she was just high on life, so to speak. Through a couple of poems of hers that I have read, she seems to be quite content with being her own biggest fan and loving nature and God. In her poem numbered, “249,” she writes of her true love being God; of course, everyone interprets each of these examples I am about to give differently.
“…To a Heart in port—
Done with the Compass—
Done with the Chart!
Rowing in Eden—
Ah, the Sea!
Might I but moor—Tonight—
In Thee!”
She is obviously looking for love- maybe not her true love, but some sort of love. However, she has given up looking, “Done with the Compass, Done with the Chart!” but if one was to look closely, they would notice that the capital “T” in the word, “Thee.” This gives the impression that she has found her love in God, and that tonight- each night rather- she will be spending her time with Him.
The second poem makes the speaker, or Emily Dickinson, seem to be drunk. But on what though?
“I taste the liquor never brewed—
…Inebriate of Air—am I—“
This is very deep in my opinion. She is drunk off of air? No, my friend; she is drunk off of life! The liquor which was “never brewed,” and her being “Inebriate of Air” leads the reader to think she is in love with nature, and that it is her own brand of heroine.

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson’s poems are very deep. It takes more than the usual once or twice over to pick up her intended message. When I first read the assignments from her, I was greatly unimpressed. I thought it was poor writing and confusing. However, once we started breaking down the poems in class, I realized how much she puts into each one. There was a deeper meaning behind every one and I was completely oblivious. I began to appreciate her writing much more.

In her poem “Success is counted sweetest”, she speaks of winning and losing. This poem relates well to the audience because everyone has had time of triumphs and times of defeat. She does a good job bringing the memories of these times out in the reader. In “Wild Nights”, she uses capitalization and punctuation to her advantage to express excitement and emphasize the energy of the poem. She speaks of wild nights or a good time with a friend but we know from her previous poems that her idea of a good time is just breathing in the free air and being around nature. She speaks of tasting “a liquor never brewed”, and being “inebriate of air” in her poem 214. This just shows she needs no outside force to enjoy life.

Vigil Strange

"Vigil" by Walt Whitman is a a a short story describing the feeling of person that lost his son/comrade one night. this story is very depressing because it tells how how a father lost his son in a battle that they fought together, and how the father found his son lying dead. later in the story it tells how the father covered his son in blankets and buried him in a grave. this is a very depressing story because of the truth laid out in the story. Walt Whitman was a a war nurse during the civil war and therefore saw many fathers lose sons and have to bury them there on the blood stained battle fields where they died wrapped in the blankets that was used to keep them warm during the cold nights when they were sleeping or standing watch looking for enemy movement.

Emily Dickinson "67"

About a year ago I accomplished something that set me free from any doubt on my ability on being a soldier and how far I could push myself. At the age of twenty-one I began and completed my first marathon but I did so in army fatigues and with a forty pound rucksack on my back. The grueling twenty six miles, Mountain Man March, would take from me four toenails but give me the pride of knowing I had done something that most soldiers wouldn't even dream of completing.

In the pom "67", Emily Dickinson states that "Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed". In agreement, I support Dickinson with the hopes that everyone will take this poem in to considerateion and extract what I myself learned from it. When a veteran retires from the military, he looks back at all the great thing he has accomplished. Just as I did, you can find all of the hard work you poured into what you wanted has taken you where somewhere you never thought you could go.

As he defeated-dying-
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Burst agonized and clear!

This states that those who win over and over again only know success and will feel the sting of loss more so than a man who has felt defeat more often. Humility is the key to a successful career and for one that seeks much to gain and learn. A man who can take a crushing failure often and only come back to try once more will hold victory to his own heart more so than any other.

The Dalliance of the Eagles/Wild Nights Whitman/Dickerson

I really enjoyed reading these poems on Walt Whitman and Emily Dickerson. Whitman more of a poet that writes free verse poetry. I really tuned in on the poem the dilliance of the eagles. Whitman i think was basically outside one day close by a road by a river and all of a sudden glances in the sky and recognizes two eagles. Two eagles seem to be in a tussal over something maybe a female eagle, because in the poem i read that two eagles tightly together,wings flapping fiercly they where going after it. Maybe one of the eagles didnt make it so later on in the poem last line in the poem on page 983 it says (she hers, he his, pursing). So yes the females eagle sees that one eagle is still on his true flight to mate with her because he was the last eagle out of two to still flying victorious. I enjoyed the writtings of dickerson poetry but the one that really caught my eye was wild nights. I think it wasnt emily who was the one in this poem. She could be just narrating this one, Emily tells use the wild nights that a certain peron had with someone. That someone to me i thnk shes talking about was the sea. Wild nights they may have had on this sea maybe drinking, fishing, or probably just out on a big boat shooting in the skies. this poem just showed alil of what was going on but it caught my interest.

The Dalliance of the Eagles

In The Dalliance of the Eagles a man walks down a river road and sits down to take a rest. He then observes two Eagles as they intertwine in each other’s claws and then began to fall and let go of one another. What the man has seen are two Eagles which are mating. He has such an incredible imagination that every detail of the two eagles is brought out, which is why I like this piece of poetry so much. The first thing I noticed was the Imagery in the poem; he does such a great job of setting a picture in the readers mind. The description I like best is when the author says “The clinching interlocking claws, a living, fierce, gyrating wheel, Four beating wings, two beaks, a swirling mass tight grappling, in tumbling turning clustering loops, straight downward falling”. Right away my mind begins to race as it sets an image of two eagles interlocked in one another’s claws diving towards a river. Whitman then ends the observation as he describes the air being “motionless” and then the Eagles fly “upwards again on slow-firm pinions slanting, their separate diverse flight”. The description of the air being motionless adds that special touch to the image in my opinion.

Welcome to ENG 252 04

Welcome to the ENG 252 04 blog!

Posting guidelines:

You may leave a blog post on any of the readings that we’ve read for that week. Blogs are due on Fridays for MWF classes and Thursdays for TTh classes, and comments for each blog will be due on the following Wednesday for MWF classes and the following Tuesday for TTh classes. Each blog post should be at least 200 words, and each comment should be at least 100 words (excluding quotes, if any). If you wish to write more than the minimum, you may certainly do so.

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